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Interview with The Brookings Institution VP and Director of Foreign Policy Suzanne Maloney; U.S. Treasury Secretary Unveils Economic D-Day Sanctions on Iran. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired August 24, 2026 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Amanpour." Here's what's coming up.

Economic D-Day for Tehran. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to unveil new sanctions in a bid to end the war. But will this strategy work?

I ask Iran expert Suzanne Maloney.

And --

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Putin hopes that we are tired, but we know that he is mortal. He never understood us.

Now, he will not have time to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: As Ukraine marks 35 years of independence, its allies gather in Kyiv. And Britain gives Zelenskyy access to secret missile technology. We

get the latest from correspondent Nic Robertson.

Then --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: America is trying to break us so they can own us. And I promise that that will never, ever happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: -- the U.S. and Canada exchange tit-for-tat tariffs. What does this mean for consumers and relations between the countries? Former

Canadian ambassador to the U.S., Frank McKenna, joins the show.

Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York, sitting in for Christiane Amanpour.

Economic D-Day is coming for Iran, the words of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who's set to unveil new sanctions on Tehran today. Writing

in the Financial Times, Bessent called them the toughest in history. Now, this comes as the six-month war remains deadlocked and Iran continues

inflicting global economic pain by disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite itself being drained by years of sanctions and a brutal military onslaught, Tehran has managed to withstand the pressure. But Iran's

currency has now dropped to a record low against the dollar. And its top officials are now admitting that they are suffering. Iran's president,

Pezeshkian, told state media they, quote, "cannot continue with war forever."

So, will this U.S. economic pressure get Tehran to return to the negotiating table? Suzanne Maloney is a leading expert on Iran and has

advised multiple U.S. administrations. She joins me now from Washington, D.C. Always a pleasure to have you on the program, Suzanne. Welcome back.

So, I want to quote from Treasury Secretary Bessent's op-ed in the Financial Times, as we're waiting to hear exactly what these measures will

look like from him in about an hour's time. But he previewed it by writing this. "Any nation that serves as a financial artery of a withering regime

should expect to share in its isolation. To become a sanctuary for terror is to become, in the eyes of the United States, a global pariah."

That's a description of primarily China, but also the UAE until just last week, Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, to some degree Russia. Is the United States,

in your view, prepared to make those countries, if need be, pariah states, like the secretary has threatened?

SUZANNE MALONEY, VP AND DIRECTOR OF FOREIGN POLICY, THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Well, thanks so much, Bianna, and it's an excellent question.

We'll have to wait and see exactly what the secretary unveils. I would be listening for specific designations of particular entities or individuals

in each of the countries that you mentioned, especially China. This has been often a symbolic target for American sanctions.

But fundamentally, the relationship between Beijing and Tehran has been one of the factors that has enabled the Iranian economy to stay afloat, even

since the United States returned to maximum pressure sanctions during the first Trump administration, when the president walked away from the nuclear

deal that had begun to reopen Iran's economy.

That pressure has been very high, but the Iranian economy has adapted through smuggling networks, through different financial arrangements,

especially reliance on cryptocurrency. And much of that is largely sanction proof at this point.

GOLODRYGA: And China, no doubt, has adapted as well. There have been large stockpiles over the last few years of oil. Iran is much more dependent on

China. Some 90 percent of its sales go to China than China is on Iran. And yet the question comes to mind as to whether the president of the United

States would actually put that pressure on Xi Jinping, not only from this announcement today from the secretary of the treasury, but also when

they're expected to meet later next month in Washington. That is an unknown.

[12:05:00]

But let me ask you perhaps a question that you may be more familiar with in the mindset of those in Tehran right now. Do they take these threats

credibly?

MALONEY: Well, Iranians know that they have been able to persist through sanctions pressure that has been in place on the country since November of

1979 --

(VIDEO UNAVAILABLE UNTIL 12:30)

[12:30:00]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.

GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Let's update our top story today. Opening statements in Tupac Shakur's murder trial are expected any minute

now. Nearly 30 years later, the deadly shooting of a legendary musician is being brought back into the spotlight.

Here now is a live look at Las Vegas, Nevada where Duane Keith Davis, also known as Keffe D, is on trial. Davis has pleaded not guilty to one count of

first-degree murder.

ASHER: Davis is accused of orchestrating his -- Shakur's killing during a drive-by shooting on September 7th, 1996. This after his nephew got into a

fight with Shakur and his entourage in Las Vegas. Shakur was only 25 years old when he died. His music often touched on social justice issues and is

still beloved by several fans to this day. Prosecutors will argue Davis planned the 1996 attack and supplied the weapon as well.

GOLODRYGA: Much of what we know about Davis comes from his 2019 memoir, "Compton Street Legend." At one point in the book, Davis says he had a

conversation with rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs. Combs allegedly asked Davis for help with a, quote, "couple of problems I need to be handled." This

conversation appears to be referencing Shakur. Davis is standing by his claims that he had nothing to do with the killing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA MURPHY, REPORTER: Did you have anything to do with the murder of Tupac Shakur?

DUANE "KEFFE D" DAVIS, ACCUSED OF ORCHESTRATING MURDER OF TUPAC SHAKUR: No, ma'am. No, ma'am. I wasn't even in Nevada. I wasn't in Nevada, period.

MURPHY: Do you regret the book and the interview?

DAVIS: Yes. I was just after the money. And they said I was covered. I did it for the money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Let's discuss with our legal analyst Joey Jackson live from New York. A couple of questions here at the top, Joey. So, Davis is the only

man ever charged with Tupac's murder. He spent years narrating his killing, as we mentioned his memoir, there's a BET interview. He had a play-by-play

of what went down. His defense says that he was just embellishing for money and his own credibility.

A, how hard is it to convict a man who is basically all of the evidence comes from his own storytelling? And, B, I mean, I think a more simple

question is, why has it taken 30 years to finally get to this point?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Great questions. Good to be with you, Bianna and Zain. Listen, this trial is going to be about the battle of the

narratives. And to your point, prosecutors are going to really lean in on the issue of this a number of things, really, you mentioned the media

issues, but there's more as we look at him there.

They're going to talk about the 2008 proper agreement. What does that mean? It means that the government offers you immunity if you speak. But what

happened in that proper agreement, from the perspective of the prosecutors, is that he told chapter and verse, that is Keffe D who we're looking at

there, Mr. Davis, as to his involvement, as to procuring the white Cadillac, which was the car, as to getting the murder weapon, as to doing

everything.

[12:35:00]

Why would he say that? Because, right, he was actually asked to say it and was really given immunity for saying it.

Now, the defense will argue that he was saying that in the context of being investigated for a federal drug conviction. And the whole reason he spoke

with them is because he was given immunity. And so, the defense will say that he said what they wanted to hear. And that's how they will distance

themselves, the defense will, from that statement.

But then you have to really get into, Bianna and Zain, as we look at the live pictures there of him being in court to start this trial 30 years

later, is you have to look at what he said on the podcast, what he said on Netflix, what he said on YouTube, which really was, again, referencing his

involvement, referencing the shooting, referencing the murder weapon, referencing the gang. And the defense has to distance themselves from those

statements.

Last point, the defense, though, will also argue that, listen, all you have are those statements which could be discredited. My client had to make a

living. And he is, of course, going to go out there and say fictional things, which are going to line his pocket. This case comes down to the

defense will argue the evidence.

And, by the way, if we look at the evidence, where is it? Where's the murder weapon? Where's the getaway car? Where's the DNA? Where are the

fingerprints? Where are the eyewitnesses? Where's anything, other than his fictitious words when he was telling the police what they wanted to hear,

and then repeating it in public to make money, what connects him to guilt in this case?

Nothing, the defense will say, why are we even here? And that's going to be the battle of the narratives in this case.

ASHER: So, no evidence other than, you know, as you've talked about, his own words. I think that prosecutors will look at the fact that there is

somewhat of a, you know, in their view, a believable motive, given that he is the uncle of Orlando Anderson, who got into that famous altercation with

Tupac Shakur at the MGM Grand, after that Mike Tyson fight in Las Vegas.

But we're about to see the jurors come in. And no matter how good your lawyers are, as I'm sure you know yourself, Joey Jackson, it really does

come down to the jurors. When you have somebody as famous and as beloved as Tupac Shakur who died so young, just 25 years old, and made such an impact,

you know, on this country, especially culturally, but also around the world, you're now picking these 12 individuals who represent a cross-

section of society who are supposed to be impartial. How difficult is that just to sort of pick the jurors in a case like this?

JACKSON: Yes. So, it's definitely a challenge. And they, of course, that is both sides talked about getting a jury and talked the jury through the

issues of pop culture and the feelings of the jury about that. The issue of gangs, the issue of police conduct and misconduct, right, the issue of just

in general what they thought and they felt about Tupac Shakur himself, the celebrity status. So, they vetted the jury and they hope, both sides, that

they have a jury that's fair and that's impartial.

When you have jurors that say, hey, I can't be fair. I love Tupac. I hate the police. I hate gangs. I love gangs. If you have any of those outliers,

they could be challenged for cause. And you could get rid of jurors like that all day and all night. It's unlimited.

And then, of course, you go into this other issue where you have these what's called peremptory challenges where you could excuse jurors for any

reason or no reason as long -- as long as it's not discriminatory, excuse me, predicated upon race. You have eight of those challenges and then two

for the alternates.

But I think to your issue, Zain, and your question, it's always difficult because jurors tell you kind of what you want to hear, but you would hope

that in the vetting process, they've gotten people who can really be receptive. The issue is not have you heard about the case. The issue is

whether you like Tupac or not whether you like him. The issue is, can you base your decision on what you hear in the courtroom?

Last point. You mentioned something very important, Zain, and that's motivation. And I think the prosecutors are going to say, everything, no

matter what jury you have, has to make sense. And wouldn't it make sense, the prosecution would argue, right? That the statement that he made, Keffe

D, was credible. Who's the one who would want revenge? That would be Keffe D. Why? Orlando Anderson, the one who got beat up at the MGM Grand, was his

nephew. And when did he seek revenge? Immediately after his nephew got beat up. And why would he seek revenge? Because he was a shot caller for this

gang.

So, I think they will, of course, talk about prosecutors, the motivation, try to make that motivation make sense, connect it to his prior statements

and argue, we don't need a murder weapon. We don't need the getaway car. We've got the guy who told us he did it. And you could believe what the

defendant says, because the dots connect, the motivation connects, and it was him. That'll be their argument, of course. But as I noted earlier, the

defense will have an awful lot to say about that.

[12:40:00]

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And opening statements by the prosecutor is just now beginning. A big question is, how does a jury waste secondhand decades old

at times, you know, in this case gang testimony and who does the passage of time benefit more, the defendant or the prosecution here. We're going to

keep a close eye on all of it. Joey Jackson, thank you.

JACKSON: Thanks, Bianna. Thanks, Zain.

ASHER: Of course. All right. New York City's mayor is getting applause on social media for his language skills.

GOLODRYGA: Zohran Mamdani is using multilingual videos to get the word out to local high school students about free Broadway tickets. CNN's Zane, not

you.

ASHER: Really, it's not me?

GOLODRYGA: Zane Heinlein has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZANE HEINLEIN, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is turning heads for something you might not expect; speaking

Mandarin.

The video is grabbing the attention of millions of people on social media and many are surprised by his skill. People took the TikTok to weigh in on

Mamdani's Mandarin with some saying it shows he's trying to connect with his constituents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's what we should be expecting of our leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, his Chinese is better than yours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When did Mamdani learn how to speak Mandarin?

HEINLEIN (voice-over): Mamdani, who is known for his social media savvy, used the video to promote a lottery giving New York City high school

students free tickets to shows On and Off Broadway. He also made a version of the video in Spanish.

In addition to his original post in English. According to New York City public schools, 42.3 percent of students enrolled in the 2024 to '25 school

year were Hispanic. And 18.7 percent were Asian and Pacific Islander.

Mamdani's administration, in partnership with the Theatre Development Fund, is giving away more than 2,000 tickets to shows like "In the Heights" and

"The Lost Boys," according to TDF. He says he hopes the lottery makes theater more accessible for kids and their families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, for the first time in history, Cameroon have won the Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cameroon are the champions of Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: The indomitable Lionesses won the final in Rabat, Morocco on Sunday with a three to zero victory over tournament debutants, Malawi.

ASHER: Yes. Back home in Cameroon, celebrating the long way to the win. This after their team finally clenched the title in their fourth final

appearance. Their team actually reached the final in three previous tournaments losing to Nigeria. I'm Nigerian, obviously, every time.

GOLODRYGA: Next year. There's always next year.

ASHER: And although they may not have brought home the top prize, sisters, Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga, carried Malawi to the final. The duo combined

for nine of Malawi's 12 goals during the tournament, securing the country's first ever qualification for FIFA's World Cup next year in Brazil.

GOLODRYGA: All right. That does it for "One World" today. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. She'll be back in 15 minutes with "Amanpour." You're watching CNN. "African Voices Playmakers" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MAX FOSTER: It was an emotional day as both clubs paid their respects ahead of kick-off to Kevin Keegan, former player of both sides and former

Newcastle manager who died last month at the age of 75. And it was Newcastle's Anthony Elanga who scored the game's opening goal after five

minutes. His first goal for the club stayed at 1-nil until 10 minutes into the second half. Cody Gakpo pulling a Liverpool level, but not for long.

Just two minutes later, Joe Willock gave the hosts the lead in Matthias Jaissle's first Premier League game. In charge only for Lewis Hall to bring

down Victor Munoz in the box with seconds left. Up steps Dominic from the penalty spot to make it 2-2 with almost the final kick of the game. CNN

Senior Sport Analyst Darren Lewis gave his reaction to my World Sport colleague Don Riddell.

[12:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARREN LEWIS, CNN SENIOR SPORT ANALYST: Teams paying tribute to the legendary Kevin Keegan who managed them. And it was a really big day for

this man on the other side of the screen, Matthias Jaissle, who's taken over from Eddie Howe, but he wasn't able to stop Andoni Iraola extending

Liverpool's run of not losing to Liverpool -- to Newcastle at St James' Park, to 10 games. And that was because Liverpool had that fight and desire

to make sure that Iraola's opening game did not end in defeat.

As for Newcastle, they keep throwing away two goalies. They've done it yet again. We expect more from Liverpool. We expect more signings, more

firepower. Iraola has a big plan with big ambitions. He's talked about it already. His side are going to have to do a lot more than this. They host

Nottingham Forest next weekend and that should be a big, big match for them.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes. Spurs have big ambitions under their new manager, Roberto De Zerbi. They've spent a ton of money in the summer

and yet they were absolutely humiliated by Brentford on Saturday. Still no improvement after two really, really worrying seasons where they were

flirting with relegation. What is your assessment of where they're really at?

LEWIS: There's a lot to worry about as far as Tottenham are concerned. They spent around $400 million on players after finishing 17th and narrowly

escaping relegation last season. But they might just be, you know, Don, the only team to spend nearly half a billion dollars and look worse than they

did before, because this man, Keith Andrews, the Brentford head coach, masterminded a fantastic result. They scored three, should have had four.

They missed a penalty. It would have been a record win over Spurs.

Bear in mind, too, Spurs poached Brentford's manager, Thomas Frank, last season and a lot of backroom staff as well, only for Frank to lose his job

in north London while Brentford under Andrews basically carried all before them. Spurs have a lot to do. Roberto De Zerbi, their head coach, bringing

in big players on the way to signing, even more raising eyebrows everywhere, but the only thing that raised eyebrows on Saturday was just

how poor that performance was.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Darren, speaking to Don a little earlier on. Now, to Ukraine, marking 35 years of independence from the Soviet Union, but it's a

milestone overshadowed by a ruthless war with Russia, now dragging through its fifth year. Just as the City of Odessa was hit by a wave of Russian

strikes, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed foreign dignitaries to Kyiv, paying tribute to the thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who have died

defending Ukraine from Moscow's aggression. Striking a defiant tone, he insisted his country wants peace, but not at any price.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Ukrainians are proud of themselves, but without pomp. They rejoice modestly. They

congratulate one another, knowing the price of independence. Our eyes are full of tears and hope at the same time. We are hurting, but we are

learning to be stronger than all their evil. We are all tired, but we do not complain for long. Ukraine absolutely wants peace very much, but it is

not ready to simply surrender.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: So, what will it take for Ukraine to secure peace, the peace it so desperately needs, and what comes next in the war? Joining us now, CNN's

Nic Robertson from London. I was just wondering, Nic, what your thoughts are at this point, because no one expected it to go on this long to develop

as it did. How does it compare, do you think, to what you expected at the beginning of this war?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I don't think anyone really expected it to go this long. Certainly Ukraine didn't, and

certainly President Putin thought that he would storm into Kyiv after about four days. He didn't. Four and a half years later, he still hasn't even got

the parts of the country that he said that he wants to have, Donetsk being the important part -- or one of the sort of important parts. 20 percent of

that is in Ukrainian hands still, and that's where the front line is.

But the real desperate part for the Ukrainians is they're running out of air defense munitions to stop Russia's ballistic missiles. That's what

President Zelenskyy wants. And over those four and a half years, Ukraine's allies have stepped up and provided more and more military hardware, and

that was what happened today. The message from Andy Burnham, the British prime minister, was, you know, as much help as is needed for as long as is

necessary.

He today provided the blueprints for components for a cruise missile system that will allow Ukraine to build in its own country those missile systems.

They will be able to go further and deeper with greater accuracy inside of Russia. And that's the sort of script that Ukraine is following now, which

is to sort of hold the front line, which it's been doing very effectively, but at the same time put pressure on Russia, its long-range drones, it's

now getting these longer-range cruise missiles.

[12:55:00]

The piece that it misses is the ability to intercept Russia's ballistic missiles as well as it wants to develop its own ballistic missiles.

But I think there are several things that are going on here. I mean, if you -- you know, the British prime minister has said as his first overseas

trip. President Zelenskyy was his first international leader, whom he hosted in London. And it's a very strong message that Europe, the U.K., are

strongly behind Ukraine. And that's sort of become the script and the message of the last four-and-a-half years, a resilience in Ukraine but a

resolve in Europe to continue supporting them.

Burnham today said that Ukraine was defending Europe. It's not a drag on Europe's security. It's defending Europe. And that's when, at a time when

the Kremlin is putting a lot of pressure on Andy Burnham as a new prime minister to cease and desist in his support of Ukraine. And that was

something Emmanuel Macron, the French president, commented on today in Ukraine. There was a meeting there hosted by Burnham of the Coalition of

the Willing, those 34 nations. Macron was in Paris, joining by video link. And he said, we have to expect more pressure to come from Russia. NATO

nations should expect Russia to up and increase its pressure.

So, the importance of today is not just that Ukraine gets another step towards defending itself. And by defending itself, put pressure on Russia,

which is the way that everyone sees to end the war, by causing Russia to have economic pain for its civilian population to realize that it's stuck

in a war that's hurting them economically. And that was the message.

While Russia pushes back and accused Britain today through the Kremlin spokesman of, in fact, flaming or sort of putting fuel on the flames of the

war, if you will, the message from Andy Burnham was very clear, that Russia started the war. It was a war of choice. It was an illegal invasion. And

the simple script to get to the off ramp today is for Russia to stop. No one's expecting that. And what they are expecting is more of what we've

seen today, which is doubling down on support for Ukraine.

FOSTER: Yes. The E.U. ambassador to Ukraine said the war is moving into a new phase in which both sides will try to inflict serious economic damage

on each other. But we've seen a general new phase, haven't we? More attacks on civilian targets for the Russians, but also Ukrainians expanding those

attacks outside the traditional military targets it was aiming at.

ROBERTSON: Yes. So, what Ukraine has done, it's found a way to get missiles deep into Russia. That's its long-range drones. They can fly 2,000

miles. They were for a long time targeting and still are Russia's energy infrastructure, be it the oil facilities or gasoline facilities. And that's

put a pressure on Russia that there are lines at gas stations that didn't exist before. It's losing money because it can't export the oil that it

would like to export. So, there's that economic impact that's going on there.

But at the same time, with those long-range drone missiles, they're also now switching to the bigger economic targets in Russia that the population

realizes, the warehouses for distribution of goods that people buy online. And that's having a significant impact. And this is weapon systems that

Ukraine has developed for itself.

So, it sees that sort of way to stop Russia as stopping it making money and drawing attention to the civilian population that the country is in a war.

We have reports just last week, President Zelenskyy saying that he believes President Putin wants to recruit 300,000 more troops for the front lines to

continue his offensive and have those ready by the end of the year. It's hard to check those figures for sure. Russia's not making them public. But

this is the intelligence assessment that Ukraine has.

So, Russia is clearly expecting to fight a longer war here. And Ukraine is getting the backing and seeing the way to bring it to a halt by reaching

and targeting deeper inside Russia. And that's the blueprints, if you will, for these components, for the scalp missile system that will target deeper

into Russia.

It will hit things like command bunkers, weapon storage. In simple terms, what that means is Russia won't be able to keep its main front line

military assets so close to the front line. It will have to push its command bunkers further back. It will have to push its logistic hubs

further back.

[13:00:00]

And what that means is that anything that moves towards Ukraine becomes easier to target over a longer distance. It's incremental. It's a war of

attrition. But it's one that Ukraine now calculates. It's got a methodology to perhaps put peace inside, and that's what Zelenskyy says he wants.

FOSTER: Andy Burnham, the new British prime minister visiting Ukraine, and he handed over these blueprints for these long-range missiles, which aren't

necessarily the missiles they most want, of course, but it's going to be pretty useful.

We also saw, didn't we, Nic, the Russian ambassador to the U.K. being withdrawn. I mean, there's a genuine concern here in the U.K. that Andy

Burnham is dragging the U.K. into a more vulnerable position by throwing himself so behind Ukraine. I mean, how much of a risk is there to many of

these allies when they support Ukraine in this way?

ROBERTSON: Well, this is what Emmanuel Macron, the French president, spoke about today. He said NATO nations should expect to be targeted more, that

targeting is going on. This is sort of hybrid effect. Look, we think back to the last British prime minister, Keir Starmer. It was Russians who were

believed to have funded the criminals who targeted the British prime minister's house, tried to set fire to it, tried to set fire to one of his

cars as well.

What Andy Burnham is doing is really sort of picking up the baton from the last prime minister, from the one before, from the one before. They've all

been strong on supporting Ukraine. It plays well domestically in the U.K. It's very well seen that standing together with other European nations and

supporting Ukraine is the best way to try to stop President Putin. And what Putin likes to do is to try to divide individually, divide off the

contributing nations that support Ukraine.

And look, it's no coincidence that on the very day that Andy Burnham became prime minister, stepped into number 10 Downing Street, a Russian frigate in

the British Channel fired warning shots near a small, tiny yacht that was being skippered by a pensioner and his wife. The very next day, as you say,

the Russian ambassador, the 21st of July, the Russian ambassador to the U.K. left and didn't come back. And then we heard from Russian officials

saying just last week that there would be consequences for the U.K. supporting Ukraine in the war against Russia for helping missiles that will

reach into Russia.

This is very typical of the Kremlin to try to sort of change the narrative of the Kremlin --

FOSTER: Nic, I'm going to interrupt you -- but we've got to cross to the U.S. treasury secretary who is making this big announcement on Iran.

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: -- and its enablers. In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our

allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries. Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic

onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe. Around the globe.

Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone. Iran's fanatics devote

themselves to death to America and seek nuclear weapons to do just that. They have murdered and maimed more of our citizens and service members than

any other terrorist regime on earth. And they have been at war against America, their neighbors in the Gulf, and much of the world for 47 years.

President Trump has taken action that his predecessors have long deferred. And under his leadership, America is no longer managing the Iranian threat.

We are ending it. Our great armed forces have laid the groundwork for achieving the president's objective of preventing Iran from ever obtaining

nuclear weapons.

They have shown America's resolve to finally end this threat. And the strength of America's economy, under President Trump, allows us to wage

this sustained financial operation alongside the might of our military.

Iran now faces a very clear choice with only two paths before them. Complete global isolation and a subsistence economy or a path back to

normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy. Today we are launching Operation Economic Outcast to foreclose every other option

available to the Iranian regime.

[13:05:00]

END