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Iran Ambassador Accuses U.S. Of Psychological Warfare; Violent Attacks Against Jews In U.S. Near Historic Levels; Champions For Change: Young@Heart Chorus Inspires All Ages. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired May 14, 2019 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:30:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us. Welcome to NEW DAY.
MAJID TAKHT RAVANCHI, IRAN'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Thank you very much. Good to be here.
BERMAN: You heard the president say he's hearing little stories about Iran. And, "The Wall Street Journal" reports that U.S. intelligence suspects that Iran is behind the sabotage of those Saudi vessels in the Strait of Hormuz the other day.
Was Iran involved in the attack on those vessels?
RAVANCHI: Definitely not. This is something that we have said we have regret and this has to be -- there has to be a thorough investigation about this incident which is endangering the safety and security of navigation in the Persian Gulf area which is very vital for Iran as well. So we want a thorough investigation.
And let me tell you that these allegations are being heard by certain people in Washington who whisper in the president's ears and some of the people in our region, which are called B-Team -- B.B. Netanyahu, Bolton, bin Zayed, and bin Salman. And these people are spreading these lies in order to provoke, in order to prepare the ground for a conflict in our neighborhood.
BERMAN: No involvement from Iranian proxies, either? No one connected to Iran?
RAVANCHI: As I said, Iran is not -- is not in the -- in the business of doing such a thing. And we need to have a thorough investigation as to what was the -- what was -- what has happened and who is responsible for it.
BERMAN: The United States predicated the movement of U.S. aircraft carrier and other equipment to the Persian Gulf based on what they told the media was intelligence that Iran was planning some kind of attacks on U.S. interests. What about that intelligence?
RAVANCHI: These are -- these are all fake intelligence. These are fake intelligence based on certain narrow-minded agenda, as I said, pursued by certain people in Washington as well as in our region. They are -- they are making up these allegations in order to create fake stories.
BERMAN: Do you have any plans -- does Iran have any plans, either directly or through its proxies or allies in Iraq, in Lebanon, to attack U.S. interests or troops?
RAVANCHI: We have vested relations with our neighbor, Iraq, and we do not -- we do not interfere in the affairs of Iraq. So, Iraq is a sovereign government. We have good relations with that country.
BERMAN: It was reported overnight and CNN has confirmed -- well, "The New York Times" reported -- let me say this -- that national security -- the National Security Council was brief on Pentagon plans to deploy some 120,000 U.S. troops to the region -- to the Persian Gulf region if Iran attacks U.S. interests there.
What's your reaction to these plans?
RAVANCHI: These are all psychological warfare, in our opinion. We are not in the business of trying to create conflict in our neighborhood because nobody's going to have benefit from such a conflict in our region except for a few as I explained earlier -- some people in Washington and some countries in our neighborhood.
BERMAN: You've heard the President of the United States say it would be a very big mistake if Iran does anything. What do you think he means?
RAVANCHI: I don't know, you should ask him.
Iran is having great relations with our neighbors. Iran is in the Persian Gulf area. We are not in the Gulf of Mexico.
So these questions should be directed to those people who have come to our neighborhood from thousands of miles.
So we are there. We are protecting our interests in our neighborhood and we are protecting the safety and security of the Persian Gulf area.
BERMAN: You are increasing your stockpiles of heavy water and enriched uranium. Why?
RAVANCHI: Because JCPOA or the nuclear deal was the result of many years of intense negotiations between Iran and a number of countries. And when, last year, President Trump decided to leave the JCPOA -- the nuclear deal --
BERMAN: Right.
RAVANCHI: -- our partners within that deal told us not to rush to withdraw from the -- from the agreement. And we did, and we accepted their offer.
So we waited for one year. We were very patient.
And -- but unfortunately, after one year, we came to this conclusion that nothing actually is happening as regards to Iran's interests based on what we agreed in the JCPOA. So we decided for 60 days to -- not to honor only two commitments based on JCPOA. And we will see what will happen in the course of the next 60 days.
BERMAN: Do you want -- does Iran want nuclear weapons?
[07:35:00] RAVANCHI: No, because it is against our religion. Our supreme leader has made a verdict on the -- on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. Besides, it is not -- nuclear weapons are not within the defense doctrine of Iran.
BERMAN: Last question. The U.S. president has said he would welcome a call from Iran to negotiate. I know you have said that the United States pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, so what is there to talk about. But is there any condition with which Iranian leaders would speak to President Trump?
RAVANCHI: You know, the policy of maximum pressure and the offer of a dialogue are mutually exclusive.
They cannot expect Iran to accept an offer under pressure. Why? The policy of maximum pressure is creating problems for the Iranian people. We cannot accept a dialogue based on coercion, based on -- based on intimidation and threats.
BERMAN: Ambassador Takht Ravanchi, thank you very much for being with us. Please come back on NEW DAY. An interesting discussion. I really appreciate your time, sir.
RAVANCHI: Thank you very much, sir.
BERMAN: Alisyn --
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, John.
Anti-Semitism in America has reached an alarming level.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE SELIM, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE CENTER FOR EXTREMISM: The threat environment today is one that we haven't seen in this country in recent memory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: All right. So we're going to take a closer look at this growing and deadly threat, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:40:35] CAMEROTA: Anti-Semitic attacks in the U.S. have reached almost historic highs following two deadly synagogue shootings just months apart. So we want to warn you some of the video that you are about to see in this report might be very tough to watch.
Here is CNN's Sara Sidner. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Orthodox Jew beaten in the streets of Brooklyn; another sucker-punched in New York. In Los Angeles, a driver targets Jewish men with his car, screaming, "F- ing Jews." And exactly six months apart, shooters attacking American synagogues during services with the intent to kill Jews.
Pittsburgh, last October, 11 lives lost in the worst act of anti- Semitic violence in American history. Poway, in April, killing one worshipper.
The direct threat against American Jews as victims of vandalism, assault, and even murder is at alarming levels.
SELIM: We're talking some of the highest numbers of incidents that we've ever seen. It's really kind of unfolded itself in a very ugly way.
SIDNER (voice-over): For a third year in a row, the Anti-Defamation League says anti-Semitic incidents in America rose to near historic highs. Each of the 1,879 dots, a physical manifestation of hate in 2018.
SELIM: The threat environment today is one that we haven't seen in this country in recent memory.
SIDNER (voice-over): George Selim oversees the ADL Center for Extremism. He has also spent more than a decade working to fight extremism and radicalization at the Department of Homeland Security.
The growing deadly threat, he says, is homegrown and overwhelmingly far-right and white.
SELIM: There is this concept within white supremacist circles of accelerationism. That means that individuals feel like the white race is in danger and they need to act now.
SIDNER (voice-over): The evidence of the growing threat is plain to see. Synagogues now pockmarked with bullet holes.
RABBI YISROEL GOLDSTEIN, CHABAB OF POWAY, POWAY, CALIFORNIA: I was centimeters away from death. I still feel the power of the bullets flying.
SIDNER (voice-over): Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein came to Poway, California in the 1980s with a dream to build a safe oasis for the Jewish community, but his sense of security was shattered in seconds.
SIDNER (on camera): At what point did you see a gunman walk into your synagogue?
GOLDSTEIN: It's so hard to go back to the moment. It's like unimaginable. Right there in the lobby, 10 feet from me -- 15 feet away from me, standing there, his feet spread apart in the aiming position, right at me. SIDNER (voice-over): The first blast, marking the door and wall, hit and killed congregant Lori Kaye, who was there to pray for her recently-deceased mother. Then, the rabbi was hit.
GOLDSTEIN: My granddaughter looks up to me and says, "Grandfather, you're bleeding."
SIDNER (on camera): You didn't even know you were hit?
GOLDSTEIN: I didn't even know I was hit. The look on her face -- she was so traumatized. She's just 4 1/2 years old.
These are pictures you see of black and whites during the Holocaust, during the pogroms Kristallnacht -- that's where you see those images -- not 2019 in the United States of America.
SIDNER (voice-over): Eight-year-old Noya Dahan and her uncle were also injured by gunfire in the synagogue.
NOYA DAHAN, 8-YEAR-OLD INJURED AT CHABAD POWAY: He was aiming at all the kids. He was aiming where the kids were. It was terrifying, scary.
SIDNER (voice-over): The 19-year-old white male suspect wrote of killing Jews in an open letter before the attack. "I feel no remorse. I only wish I'd killed more."
He said his inspiration came from the slaughter of 50 Muslims at two mosques in Christ Church, New Zealand and the massacre of 11 Jews at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, both of which police say were perpetrated by white supremacists.
Poway's mayor says this was not representative of a city he loves.
KIM GARNIER, POWAY RESIDENT: There are swastikas spray-painted in our schools. Just last Hanukah our family had swastikas spray-painted on their house.
SIDNER (voice-over): Lifelong resident Kim Garnier says the attack didn't surprise her one bit.
SIDNER (on camera): How do you see Poway?
GARNIER: When I hear this isn't Poway, that's a slap in the face to the people who have experienced the bigotry, the hatred, the racism, the anti-Semitism. There's another element and to ignore it is so disrespectful to those who have experienced it.
[07:45:03] SIDNER (voice-over): According to the ADL, all but four states saw incidents of anti-Semitism last year, down slightly from 2017 where all 50 states had incidents for the first time ever, the most deadly at the hands of far-right-wing extremists.
SELIM: Let me be very clear on this. White supremacy and white nationalism is a real and persistent threat. Law enforcement at the federal, state, and local level need to take this threat much more seriously.
SIDNER (voice-over): If it isn't, he says, the deadly trend may continue.
GOLDSTEIN: You're never safe again. You don't feel safe again. If this could happen to us it could happen anywhere and everywhere.
SIDNER (voice-over): Sara Sidner, CNN, Poway, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: It can happen anywhere. It's such an important message and these attacks seem to be pervasive.
CAMEROTA: I mean, the first step is obviously to call it by its name, to talk about, report it, raise awareness. And then what? How do we fix this? How do we stop it?
BERMAN: Stephanie's on this all week and we thank her for that.
Also this week, we are bringing you stories of remarkable people who are having a lasting impact around the world.
Let me introduce you to a band of rock and roll seniors who inspire people of all ages. And there is a brief tease. Without giving too much away, I'm going to sing.
CAMEROTA: I can't wait.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:50:47] BERMAN: So this week, we're bringing you stories of exceptional people who are making a lasting impact around the world. We call the series "Champions for Change."
It's our chance to revisit amazing changemakers we have met in the past who rocked our world. And for me, that's literally what happened.
Now, you might have heard of the Young@Heart Chorus. There was a wonderful 2008 documentary on the group and that's when I met them -- 2008 -- working for "NIGHTLINE" at ABC. They are an antidote to cynicism and an inspiration to new people every day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YOUNG@HEART CHORUS: Singing "Dancing in the Dark."
BERMAN (voice-over): The Young@Heart Chorus has a unique membership.
BOB CILMAN, DIRECTOR, YOUNG@HEART CHORUS: It's a performance group of older people ranging in age now from 75 to 90.
BERMAN (on camera): And how young are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventy-eight. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will be 90 in November.
BERMAN (on camera): When you're up there singing --
STEVE MARTIN, MEMBER, YOUNG@HEART CHORUS: Yes.
BERMAN (on camera): -- do you feel 90?
MARTIN: No, I don't feel any age.
YOUNG@HEART CHORUS: Singing "Dance to the Music."
BERMAN (voice-over): And the chorus has a unique repertoire.
BERMAN (on camera): Seniors singing rock and roll is a simplistic way of saying it, yes?
CILMAN: It is. It's a very limited way of saying it, yes.
BERMAN (on camera): But why limited?
CILMAN: Because there's more to it than that. I think for older people, I think it's a real joy to see old people on stage as opposed to in the seats in the audience. I think that breaks a lot of rules.
And I think that the music we choose to do breaks a bit of the mold of what seniors are used to singing.
YOUNG@HEART CHORUS: Singing "Tainted Love."
MARTIN: Don't give up when you get older. Don't be afraid of getting old because you have so much to offer. You have so much to give.
BERMAN (on camera): So, the first time I visited with the Young@Heart Chorus it was 2008. I had spent much of the previous five years going back and forth to Bagdad covering the U.S. war in Iraq.
I meet Young@Heart and what I really need more than anything is a story that's not violent and will just make me smile. And man, did I find it.
When I first met you, which was 11 years ago --
MARTIN: Right.
BERMAN (on camera): You told me that --
MARTIN (11 YEARS AGO): It's like the Super Bowl, it's like the world's best Bar Mitzvah, and being ordained as the Pope.
MARTIN: I still feel that way. It gave me a purpose to want to wake up in the morning and come to rehearsal and participate in something that just was great.
BERMAN (voice-over): And everyone needs to participate. As I learned, even a reporter can't stand around and watch. BERMAN (on camera): And you are pretty much getting ready to go and you said to me -- no, wait a minute.
BERMAN (voice-over): So I sang Barry Manilow's "Copacabana."
BERMAN (on camera), 11 YEARS AGO: Singing "Copacabana."
BERMAN (on camera): The chorus, as you told me, is always about 25-26 members and it changes.
CILMAN: Yes.
BERMAN (on camera): The membership changes.
CILMAN: Yes, it does. You know, we lose a lot of people. We've lost a lot of people. There's probably maybe four or five people left in the chorus you saw in 2008.
BERMAN (on camera): So, 11 years ago, Young@Heart had performed in a prison -- basically, once or twice. They went in and they sang before the prisoners and it was a very moving experience, but it was performance.
Now, 11 years later, it's part of their program. They're inside the prisons singing with the prisoners.
When you hear that Young@Heart's coming -- when you see it on the calendar --
AARON FOGG, INMATE, HAMPSHIRE COUNTY JAIL: Oh, I get excited -- I get excited. I -- like, I'll be sitting -- it will be like the night before and I'll already want to go to bed early. It's what keeps me going, definitely.
CILMAN: They know it's an hour or an hour and a half where they're going to be able to really just express themselves in a way that they feel really comfortable doing.
ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ, INMATE, HAMPSHIRE COUNTY JAIL: I've never done this. I'm out of my comfort zone.
I'm just doing this because -- I don't know, I want a change. You know what I mean? I want to be a new person. This is a new side of me.
[07:55:03] BERMAN (on camera): Do they inspire you?
RODRIGUEZ: Of course.
MARTIN: It's a blessing to both of us -- the prisons and to us. We mix between the grandfather or the grandmother that they can't see or may not even have.
We're saying to them look, you're OK. You're going to be alright. Don't quit.
BERMAN (on camera): What's changed for you since we first met?
CILMAN: My age. I have -- I've become one of them. It's like I'm now 65. I get Medicare.
The average age of this group is 84 and I can't imagine what I'm going to be doing when I'm 84. So I look at what they're doing and I have a deep appreciation for it all.
BERMAN (voice-over): And I do, too, because if they can do it, who am I to say no to a little James Brown?
BERMAN (on camera): Singing "I Feel Good."
MARTIN: And this chorus -- someday, people will look back and they'll say they did good things for people of all ages.
BERMAN (on camera): Singing "I Feel Good."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't quit your day job.
BERMAN (on camera): I'm not going to have a day job after this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: John, you're not going to have a day job because agents are calling. You really came out of your shell. That was fantastic.
BERMAN: There was a point to it. I have to tell you when I first met them 11 years ago, I had no idea they were going to make me sing. I was ready to leave and they were like you have to sing. And the feeling I had was I can't say no to this.
CAMEROTA: Of course, not.
BERMAN: If there are people 90 years old up there putting it all on the line, you have to participate.
CAMEROTA: Oh --
BERMAN: And that's the message.
CAMEROTA: Well, first of all, they're remarkable.
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: I mean, what an inspiration.
Is there an age minimum or can we all join?
BERMAN: No. I mean, there is -- well, no. You have to be 75. I think it's either 70, 72 or 75 to join. They keep moving it older and older as we get an aging population.
CAMEROTA: Wow, all right. Well, that's something to look forward to.
But I feel that you started as lounge lizard -- BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: -- with "Copacabana" and then you segued into just sort of -- you know, burn it down rock and roller.
BERMAN: I knew they were going to force me to sing this time because they had done it before, so I went thinking what can I do? I need to raise my game. I need to -- because they raised their game.
CAMEROTA: You did it.
BERMAN: They -- again, they're an antidote to cynicism and they make me smile.
CAMEROTA: They make me smile, too. And I can't believe that that woman was almost 90 years old. I think she's the one who was singing with the Talking Heads.
BERMAN: Yes.
CAMEROTA: This ain't no Mudd Club, this ain't no CBGB.
BERMAN: And then you heard Steve Martin -- not "the" Steve Martin -- that I had talked to 11 years ago and is 90 now and he's still singing after a fall. He was in a neck brace.
Good for all of them and thank you for letting me share that time with you.
CAMEROTA: That was really inspiring.
BERMAN: We're going to share these inspiring stories all week. Don't miss the hour-long "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" special this Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
I might sing Madonna for that one.
CAMEROTA: I look forward to it. And don't spare us. I feel in the next hour you should also sing something.
BERMAN: I've got to hold it back a little bit.
CAMEROTA: NEW DAY --
BERMAN: I can't give you too much.
CAMEROTA: We'll see.
NEW DAY continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMEROTA: The top federal prosecutor in Connecticut now aiding Attorney General Bill Barr in reviewing the origins of the 2016 Russia investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI acted lawfully. The whole thing was about Russia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're on much better footing with Mr. Durham. Some of the tactics used are going to be very difficult to defend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: China is already contemplating more tariffs.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There can be retaliation, but it can't be very substantial.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Given the rhetoric that we are hearing, it's really hard to envision how they can resolve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pompeo will be meeting with Putin. Iran is set to be at the top of the agenda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to avoid taking a maximalist approach toward war.
TRUMP: I'm hearing stories about Iran. If they do anything, they will suffer greatly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
BERMAN: All right, good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, May 14th. It's 8:00 in the East.
And we begin with details about a new Russia investigation. A source tells CNN that Attorney General William Barr has tapped a top federal prosecutor to look into the origins of the Russia probe and to determine if intelligence collected about the Trump campaign was lawful.
CAMEROTA: Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just arrived in Russia where he will meet with the foreign minister and the president, Vladimir Putin, in just hours.
This comes amid fears of a military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran. President Trump is warning Iran that they will, quote, "suffer greatly" if the U.S. is provoked.
So we have a lot to talk about.
Joining us now is Abby Phillip, CNN White House correspondent; David Axelrod, CNN senior political commentator and host of "THE AXE FILES"; and, Shawna Thomas, Washington bureau chief for "VICE NEWS TONIGHT."
OK, guys, let's just start with back here at home for a moment -- what's happening with Bill Barr.
So, Shawna, this will be the third.
END
