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Uneasy Calm in Beirut after Deadliest Violence in Years; Police: Bow-and-Arrow Attack Appears to Be an Act of Terror Taiwanese Keep Calm in Face of Beijing's Show of Force Prince William on Rush for Space Travel: Save Earth Instead; Israel Softens Stance, Could Accept Diplomacy with Iran; Running the Real-Life 'Downton Castle'. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired October 15, 2021 - 00:00   ET

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

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, political tensions in Lebanon erupt into running gun battles in the streets of Beirut, raising fears of another civil war.

[00:00:18]

Police in Norway now say five people allegedly killed by a suspect armed with a bow and arrow were the victims of an act of terrorism.

And the prince versus the billionaires. Prince William criticizes joyrides to space, when the planet is facing an existential crisis because of climate change.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause.

VAUSE: It's just gone 7 in the morning in Beirut, and on this Friday, they're waking to the sight of army soldiers on patrol, their presence maintaining an uneasy calm after running gun battles in the streets of the Capitol left at least six people dead in the worst violence there in a decade.

The U.S., the United Nations, and Egypt, all calling for calm after a protest on Thursday by the militant group Hezbollah erupted into violence.

For hours, the sounds of gunfire and explosions could be heard echoing across Beirut. Many residents fled their homes, fearing they could be killed in the crossfire.

The sudden eruption of violence has only heightened the sense of instability, the country already devastated by economic crisis, a global pandemic, and political gridlock, and bringing warnings from the prime minister that Lebanon could be heading towards another civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAJIB MIKATI, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I wish they remembered the civil war, so they learn how the civil war affected Lebanon. With tens of thousands of victims, what was the result? At the end, we will set on the table and agree between each other, and all the Lebanese should be together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The main issue here driving the violence is an intense disagreement over the man leading the investigation into last year's deadly explosion at Beirut's port.

Hezbollah and its allies accuse him of political bias. They want him removed. Families of those who were killed in the port blast want him to stay.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh has more now, reporting in from Istanbul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a really terrifying day for the people of Lebanon, for the residents of Beirut. These were the most intense clashes the world has seen in more than 10 years.

Now, we still don't really know how this all unfolded. But as we understand, this was a protest that was called for by the powerful Shia political parties. There are also powerful militias, Hezbollah and their ally Amal. They called on supporters to go out in the streets of Beirut, to protest against the judge leading the investigation into the Beirut port blast last year that killed more than 200 people.

Now, according to these -- those groups, according to the security services, the protesters came under fire, they say, from unidentified gunmen in a number of buildings.

There were also local media reports of snipers on the rooftops of buildings, and clashes after that erupted for several hours.

Now, the protests against this judge, Tarek Bitar. He is a judge -- the second one to lead the investigation into the -- the port blast. He's a judge known for -- he's quite popular. He's known for his professionalism and integrity. He has really been determined to go ahead with this investigation. He has issued subpoenas and arrest warrants for high-ranking officials in the country.

Most recently on Tuesday, he issued an arrest warrant for a former finance minister, who's affiliated with the Shiite group Amal, wanting to question him in relation to the port blast.

He -- the judge has come under a lot of criticism from Hezbollah and Amal. He has been accused of being biased. He's been -- his investigation has been labeled by the groups as politicized, and that is why they called for these protests.

Now, we don't know the identity of the gunmen who opened fire on the protesters, but Hezbollah and Amal have accused the Lebanese Forces, that right-wing Christian political party, also a heavily-armed militia, of being behind the -- the incident today.

The -- the Lebanese Forces leader responded by saying that what happened today is a result of all the weapons that are out on the streets in Lebanon.

[00:05:07]

As we understand, the situation on the ground right now is relatively calm but very much on edge. People are very concerned about where this might be headed next.

This is a polarized country with heavily-armed militias and a weak state.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Journalist Habib Battah is founder of Beirut.com. He joins us now from Lebanon's Capitol.

Habib, thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

HABIB BATTAH, FOUNDER, BEIRUT.COM: Thank you.

VAUSE: In terms of big picture here, was Thursday's deadly clash, was it the result of political tensions erupting in violence because of the inquiry into the port explosions, or is this the beginning of a descent into factional warfare as different groups essentially vie for control of what's left of the country known as Lebanon?

Battah: Yes, it's a big question. You know, I think this flare-up is not necessarily a civil war. It was a kind of testing of the water between the sides. We've had militias running Lebanon for the past 30 years since the war ended. And occasionally, there are these challenges between them to kind of test who was in power and who's in control.

No one's really controlling Lebanon. That's the main problem. There are all these competing groups that are still street fighting decades after the war ended. So we could ourself question as to why the situation in Lebanon is still continuing to face violence after all these decades?

And it's that the country has a very weak political system, frankly.

VAUSE: So how much blame do you put on that -- sort of the current dysfunction within the political system itself, which essentially rewards the various political militant factions, right?

BATTAH: It does, and all of these factions are proxy forces. Let's face it. The United States, Iran, all have their players in Lebanon. And Lebanon is a kind of battlefield. They say it's the world's mailbox, and it hasn't changed over the decades.

And so what happens in Lebanon doesn't just stay in Lebanon. And it's very much tied to people who arm these militias.

VAUSE: You describe the system there as being similar to a -- having a political filibuster but with guns.

BATTAH: That's right, I mean, can you imagine, you know, in the U.S. Congress, people talk about paralysis when there's two parties, and, you know, men in suits, you know, fighting.

But here we have, you know, almost 20 parties in the Lebanese parliament, another reason why the country's always in dysfunction. Because there's too many players, really. No one's in control.

And that leads to so many problems, with the economy, electricity. You know, I'm speaking to you mainly on battery power, because we're out of -- it's very hard to form a government and make anything work in a country when not one side is really in charge of the -- of the ship.

VAUSE: We heard a little earlier from the prime minister. He was calling for unity. He went on to liken the country to a patient in hospital. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKATI (through translator): We are going through a difficult phase, like a patient in the emergency room. With the formation of the government, we entered the emergency room, but we still have other stages for total healing. We may need a surgical operation, then intensive care unit to stop the bleeding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: At this point, would it be more accurate to say instead of intensive care, the patient is actually bleeding out in the middle of the street, and help is not coming.

BATTAH: Yes, I mean, Lebanon has been bleeding for a long time. And, you know, people suffer the most. You know, Lebanese people wake up in the morning, and they have electricity problems, water problems, you know, fighting in the streets. They have -- you know, their money is worthless. Let's not forget. People here have lost almost, you know, 90 percent of their earnings because of the inflation and the crash of the currency.

And again, all this is tied to the fact that Lebanon is, you know, at the whim of so many forces beyond its control. And so, you know, I think it's not really a hospital patient, but it's a health care disaster.

VAUSE: This protest, essentially, was over the man who leads the inquiry into the explosion in the port. Hezbollah do not want him. Others do. What are the chance that he will actually get to finish that inquiry to its natural conclusion?

BATTAH: You know, justice inquiries in Lebanon are, you know, very difficult, because in a country that's so deeply divided, people don't really have a lot of faith in courts. Some people, you know, have faith in the courts when the courts are in their favor. And when they're not, they accuse them of being dictatorships.

So, you know, we have this constant battle over legitimacy in the country. And most court cases don't really amount to munch.

Let's not forget that, you know, dozens of people have been killed in this country. The prime minister is assassinated over the decades. Nobody's been brought to justice.

So justice in Lebanon is very much in the eyes of the beholder and whoever is in power that time. And we've had -- you know, we've had thousands killed during the civil war. We've had no reconciliation since the war. And I think this is really what's still with us. The war still -- wars don't really end, you know, within a generation. It takes a very long time.

[00:10:02]

And so at this point we're really living in unsettled conflict. We're not living in a state. We're living in a battle of militias, supported by foreign powers.

VAUSE: Yes. That's a good way to sum it up. Habib, thank you so much for being with us.

BATTAH: Thank you.

VAUSE: Police in Norway believe Wednesday's deadly bow-and-arrow rampage was an act of terrorism. The suspect, Espen Anderson Brathen, is expected to appear in court in the coming hours.

Authorities had earlier spoken to Brathen, who they say recently converted to Islam over concerns of radicalization.

But the motive for the rampage, which left five people dead, three others wounded remains under investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANN IREN SVANE MATHIASSEN, POLICE PROSECUTOR: He has told us all about what happened yesterday, and he has told us that he was the one that killed these five persons. But more about what he said we cannot tell. He has been talking to a psychiatrist today, and there will be more investigation on -- around this, his mental health.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Norway's prime minister is scheduled to visit the town of Kongsberg on Friday, as locals there gather to mourn the dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ELLEN PYTTE, KONGSBERG RESIDENT: It's extremely important to be here together to show the families that we are together about this. Even though I didn't know the people that are killed, but I still know them. KENNETH BERGERUD, KONGSBERG RESIDENT: I think when something like this

happens, it kind of brings the best out of people. And they support each other, and pay respects to the ones that have suffered really big losses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: CNN's Melissa Bell is in Kongsberg, reporting on the very latest on the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was the supermarket in the town of Kongsberg to the southwest of Oslo, where the rampage began on Wednesday evening. Espen Anderson Bathen leaving from here after having wounded an off-duty police officer and beginning what was to become a more than half-hour rampage with a bow and arrow.

The death toll now stands at five, four women and one man killed in that rampage, and several other people wounded.

It's being treated as a terror attack, although the police chief has said that whilst the suspect had been known for his radicalization, it was important to await the investigation's outcome to work out precisely what his motive had been here on Wednesday evening.

Now, speaking to us a little earlier, the prosecutor explained that whilst the suspect had expected to be in court on Friday morning, she wasn't sure whether that would be the case, since he's to be evaluated Thursday night by psychiatric services and further questioning, to work out whether his mental state means he is fit or not to stand trial.

Melissa Bell, Kongsberg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: One of the strictest coronavirus vaccine mandates in the world is now in full effect.

From today, all public and private employees in Italy need a green pass to go to work. It provides proof they've been fully vaccinated, or had a negative test within 48 hours -- that's a PCR test -- or recently recovered from COVID.

Those who do not have this pass, they face fines, as well as suspensions. Green passes became mandatory in August and in many indoor spaces like a gym or a museum.

Most Italians seem to be on board, but there have been protests, and they've been picking up steam. More are expected in the coming days.

In Australia, fully vaccinated international travelers will soon be allowed to visit New South Wales without having to quarantine.

The state's premier says starting next month, international arrivals will only have to show proof of vaccination, or have a negative COVID test before boarding a flight.

Australia's borders have been closed to foreigners since March of last year.

The new policy comes as the state's inoculation rate is expected to hit 80 percent by this weekend.

Military flights, landing drill, veiled political threats, all things China's been doing to turn up the pressure on Taiwan. When we come back, we'll ask people on the island there, how they feel about this growing tension.

Also ahead, the U.K.'s prime -- Prince William, I should say, slams space travel. Sharp words for the billionaires and their joy rides to the edge of the final frontier.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:16:29]

VAUSE: On the Canary Islands, lava continues to flow from the volcano on La Palma. Hundreds more are now being evacuated as homes are being threatened. Nearly 6,000 people have already been evacuated since the first eruption, nearly a month ago.

The lava has destroyed more than 1,000 structures. One hundred earthquakes have hit the eruption zone in the past day, the strongest measuring a magnitude of 4.5.

Well, police are revealing surveillance videos, as they investigate the cause of a deadly fire in Taiwan. At least 46 people were killed, dozens more injured after a 13-story residential building went up in flames on Thursday morning.

Taiwan's official news agency, reports that human factors have not been ruled out as a possible cause.

According to the city's mayor, the first floor -- first six floors of the building housed flammable material, a major reason for the high number of casualties.

Well, we've been reporting on China's saber rattling towards Taiwan recently, as tensions between the two countries, or between the two, rather, continue to rise.

But we now wait -- want to see another look at the other side of the equation. We'll show you how the average Taiwanese person feels about China, flexing its military muscle. And for that, we turn to Will Ripley, who's in Taipei -- will.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, John, people aren't as concerned about it is you make think, if all you watch is international news.

We were surprised that on the day that they had the record number of planes flying in Taiwan's air defense identification zone, we covered it every hour. The local news here, barely made a mention at the end of the hour, on one show.

We came to find out is the reason for that is people actually are desensitized to this. And they think, if it's going to happen, why spend so much time worrying about it? Why waste your energy thinking about what could happen? Just live your life.

But mainland China, certainly is stepping up its propaganda, including this "Global Times" editorial, where they talked about crushing the notion of a rock-solid commitment of the U.S., to Taiwan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (voice-over): Chinese soldiers training for the invasion of Taiwan. A new propaganda video shows an amphibious assault. Beijing says this training exercise targets Taiwan independence. And interference by external forces like the U.S.

A warning for President Joe Biden and other U.S. allies who continue to voice support in Taiwan. The U.S. arm sells to the island, at record highs.

Taiwan's defense minister says China could launch a full-scale war by 2025. He says military tensions are the worst in more than 40 years. The mainland's massive army poses a growing threat to the world's only Chinese-speaking democracy.

(on camera): Can I ask you, like, a really quick question?

(voice-over): On the streets of Taiwan, we get a sense of the mood on the ground. It is and what you might think.

LOUIS YANG, RESTAURANT OWNER: China is, for a long time, they want to take over Taiwan. But maybe they're just -- may be just saying it. We don't know that.

RIPLEY: You're still here.

YANG: Yes. We're still here.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Louis Yang owns a small burger restaurant. He believes Taiwan is a country, his country, not part of China.

Tea shop owner Lisu Su thinks the U.S. military would intervene.

LISU SU, HERBAL TEA SHOP OWNER: I think the United States has to help, because of Taiwan's strategic position. As long as Taiwan does not give up on itself, and has a strong defense ability, I think the United States will definitely help.

RIPLEY: This month, China flew a record number of warplanes near Taiwan, including fighter jets and nuclear-capable bombers.

Beijing has never ruled out taking Taiwan by force, insisting the island is part of mainland China, even though it has its own government and military, more than 70 years after China's civil war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: Chinese President Xi Jinping talked over the weekend about finding a peaceful solution for reunification.

Of course, in Taiwan, they questioned use of the word "reunification," because they say the People's Republic of China and Beijing never had any rule over this self-governing island since the end of China's civil war.

But this editorial in "The Global Times," I think, spells out what a lot of people suspect is the view inside President Xi's administration and says China will not give up efforts for a peaceful solution to the Taiwan question. But reunification must be the end of a peaceful solution.

John, if you negotiate, but you already know what the outcome has to be, is that really a negotiation? Or is that a takeover?

VAUSE: Or kabuki theater. Will, thank you. Will Ripley there, live for us in Taipei.

China will launch three astronauts into space on Saturday. Beijing's space agency says the crew will spend six months at the under- construction space station.

One astronaut, Wang Yaping, will become the first female to board that station, and the first Chinese women, as well, to take a spacewalk. The launch will be the second crewed mission to that station while it's under construction. It's expected to be fully built by December of next year.

Well, it seems not everyone was left breathless and taken aback by William Shatner's voyage to the final frontier. In fact, Britain's Prince William has a blunt message for all the billionaires joyriding into space: Focus on saving this planet first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE WILLIAM, UNITED KINGDOM: A rise in climate anxiety. You know, people now are growing up where their futures are, basically, threatened the whole time. It's very unnerving. It's very, you know, anxiety making.

We need some of the world's greatest brains, and minds, to fix and repair this planet, not try and find the next place to go and live.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Prince William went on to say he has absolutely no interest in going to space. His remarks come a few weeks ahead of COP-26, the climate summit in Glasgow. And just days before his earth shot ceremony, which awards Nobel-like prizes for environmental solutions.

Dana Nuccitelli is a research coordinator for Citizens Climate Lobby, as well as a journalist for Yale Climate Connections. He joins us now.

Good to see you. Thank you for being with us.

DANA NUCCITELLI, RESEARCH COORDINATOR, CITIZENS CLIMATE LOBBY: Yes. Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: So the issue which Prince William raises about spending priorities, it's been around since John F. Kennedy announced a race to the moon. Back then, though, the reasons for spending billions of dollars was closely tied to national security, the Cold War, with a certain union.

And this time, the billions of dollars are being spent, what, so a fortunate few can have an epiphany, like William Shatner. Here he is. Listen to Captain Kirk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM SHATNER, ACTOR: Everybody in the world needs to have the philosophical understanding of what we're doing to Earth, and the -- and you hear this so often. The necessity of cleaning everything, and stopping right now the apocalypse that's coming our way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: We don't need seven billion people to take a joyride into space, so everyone becomes aware the planet is fragile and in trouble. It just seems like a luxury.

NUCCITELLI: Yes. I mean, at the same time, it's not like resources that climate change is going towards space tourism. So I would explain that as an either/or situation. But it's certainly true that climate change is a more pressing priority.

VAUSE: The good news -- I guess the bigger picture here is that, you know, there is a way to those resources, the -- you know, the huge amount of money which is being spent on the luxuries of just a few. In a time of emergency, it should be redirected.

NUCCITELLI: Yes, and you can do that with policy. For example, doing increased taxes on the wealthy so that their -- our resources aren't going, so much towards things like space tourism, and can be directed more usefully towards policies like those that will tackle climate change.

VAUSE: I want you to listen to Jeff Bezos, back in July. Again, he' making the argument for why these ten-minute space rides are so vital to the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF BEZOS, AMAZON AND BLUE ORIGIN FOUNDER: We have to do both. And what our job of Blue Origin is to do, what this space tourism mission is about, is have a mission where we can practice so much that we get really good operational space travel, more like a commercial airliner and less like what you think of this traditional space travel.

If we can do that, then we'll be building a road to space for the next generations to do amazing things there. And those amazing things will solve problems here on Earth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: You know, that may be true. One day, sometime in the future, yes. But it just seems to me a very tenuous connection, if you like, between these joy rides into space and what will be, you know, a tangible benefit anytime soon.

NUCCITELLI: Yes. I mean, there are certainly going to be very few people in the near future, that are going to be able to afford these space flights, whereas everybody on Earth will benefit from, you know, investments to tackle climate change right now.

[0025:05]

VAUSE: And when we had the space race, though, back in the Sixties, you know, there was some tangible things that came from that. Velcro, I remember, came out of the space race. And a whole bunch of other things. Heart monitors, things like that kind of stuff.

I mean, these are very real-world advantages that came from traveling to space. But again, in the face of this climate emergency that will ultimately affect every single living person for generations to come.

It seems, again, this is something which needs to be prioritized. And even the space race didn't kind of produce the benefits that were promised from the time.

NUCCITELLI: Yes. I mean, were talking about addressing the climate crisis. I mean, it's an urgent thing that we have to do right now. And so, it is fine to make investments, do research, and projects that will yield to future advances, but really, what we need is deployment of green energy technologies, so that we can start to get greenhouse gas emissions decreasing, and meet our Paris goals.

VAUSE: And beyond this question of allegation of resources, there are some genuine questions about the carbon footprint of these spaceflights, also the pollution and the damage which is to the upper layers of the atmosphere.

And you connect to that, just a couple of weeks ago, that more than 2,000 employees at Bezos' Blue Origin spoke about the bro culture, and accused the company of dismissing environmental concerns, and Bezos of acting counter to his public donations to environmental causes.

Should there, at the very least, to be some kind of regulation, or environmental safety standards put in place for these flights?

NUCCITELLI: Sure. I mean, one thing my organization, Citizens' Climate Lobby, advocates for is price on carbon pollution. And so in any case, whatever the source of the pollution is, like it shouldn't be free, because we want to at least make sure that the polluters are paying for the cost of the pollution that they're putting into the atmosphere.

Or that these space travel are just burning fossil fuels and power plants. So that's one thing we're going to do is going to do is to ask for these policies that will implement a price to discourage, or at least make polluters pay the cost of this pollution.

VAUSE: you know, one of the reasons that William Shatner was chosen for the space flight, Jeff Bezos, apparently, is a bit of a Trekkie. He's a fan. He made an appearance as an alien in one of the more recent "Star Trek" movies. Maybe the most recent, not too sure.

When our kids and grandkids look back, what will they think when they learn we wasted resources and squandered their future, because a few billionaires wanted to pal around with their childhood heroes?

NUCCITELLI: I mean, I think that our future -- kids in the future are definitely going to wonder why we didn't do more to address the climate crisis, given that the less we do now, the worst the future extreme weather impacts, like hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires, and heat waves, are going to be.

And so I think regardless of how much action we take, they're going to wonder why we didn't take more action. And so, really, we have much that we can do now in terms of implementing climate policies that we need to do.

VAUSE: OK, Dana, we'll leave it there. Thank you for being with us. We appreciate it.

NUCCITELLI: Thanks. Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Still ahead, what Israel once considered a worst-case scenario might not be so bad after all. How the Israeli government's views on a nuclear deal with Iran are involving.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:34]

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone, I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has been admitted to a California hospital because of a blood infection. His doctors have spoken with CNN's Sanjay Gupta, and they say a urinary tract infection has spread to President Clinton's bloodstream. It's a common problem in old people.

Clinton is actually in the ICU right now, but doctors say the 75-year- old is responding well to antibiotics, as well as fluids, and may be released as early as tomorrow. He's been there since Tuesday

And they stress this has nothing to do with COVID-19 or any previous problems with his heart.

The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol riot is moving forward with criminal contempt charges for Steve Bannon. The former Trump aide has refused to comply with a subpoena, and he skipped a deposition with the panel on Thursday. Contempt of Congress could result in a fine and one to 12 months in

prison. But the process is rarely invoked and rarely leads to jail time.

The White House says it's up to the Justice Department, how to proceed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Is it the president's position that those who defy congressional subpoenas related to January 6 should face prosecution from the Justice Department?

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, Kaitlan, I know that that has been raised as an issue, of course, by -- by what we've seen happen in Congress. It's the purview of the Department of Justice to determine if there would be a -- a criminal referral, a criminal -- any criminal decisions. So -- and they handle exclusively those decisions, so I'd point you to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Attorneys for Bannon say he will not testify. He will not provide any documents until a court weighs in, or the committee reaches an agreement on executive privilege with the former president, Donald Trump.

Israel is softening its opposition to restarting the Iran nuclear deal. Tehran revved up its nuclear capability after Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement. President Biden wants the deal back, and he may be getting support from Israel's new leadership. CNN's Hadas Gold has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear --

HADAS GOLD, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credits himself with convincing former President Donald Trump to pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Frankly, perhaps most importantly, getting out of the terrible Iran nuclear deal.

GOLD: But now the new Israeli leadership is changing the tone, as the Biden administration hopes to return to a deal, even if the Americans believe it may be a long slog.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warning that, in the three years since the U.S. pulled out, Iran is closer than ever to a nuclear bomb.

NAFTALI BENNETT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Unfortunately, in the past three years, the Iranians have made a huge jump forward in the uranium enrichment abilities. The Iranian nuclear program is at its most advanced stage ever.

GOLD: Iran now enriching uranium up to 60 percent. Its stockpiled enriched uranium going up month by month.

What's being seen as a tacit public criticism of what sources in the prime minister's office say out loud. It was a mistake for Netanyahu to press Trump to get out of the deal, without a well-thought-out plan for how Israel follows up.

Bennett's tone, a significant departure from what he sounded like in 2015.

BENNETT: The deal, as we've see it, is worse than the worst-case scenario that we had anticipated.

GOLD: Compared to this week.

BENNETT (through translator): The world is sitting and waiting for a decision from Tehran, whether to return, or not to return, to the discussion table in Vienna.

GOLD: Israel's defense minister, Benny Gantz, even more explicit, telling "Foreign Policy" magazine Israel be willing to accept a return to a U.S.-negotiated deal, although they would want to see a U.S. Plan B, in case talks fail, and will always reserve the right for military action.

A message repeated by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Washington this week.

YAIR LAPID, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: Other options are going to be on the table if diplomacy fails.

GOLD: Get past the saber rattling, though, and the shift in tone from Israel's government on the Iranian nuclear deal seems clear. They feel Trump and Netanyahu got it wrong.

Hadas Gold, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Sixty years ago, in 1961, the Nazi officer known as the architect of the Holocaust was charged with organizing genocide on an unthinkable scale. Adolf Eichmann was facing justice in an Israeli court, and millions around the world watched as survivors and witnesses described the unspeakable horrors that he orchestrated.

Elie Honig is a CNN senior legal analyst and a former federal and state prosecutor, whose grandparents lived through this dark, this very dark period of history. He sat down with some key participants in that trial who are themselves survivors to talk about their quest for justice and the threat that anti-Semitism and ethnic hatred still pose today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (voice-over): In 1961, millions of people across the globe watched as Adolf Eichmann, the notorious Nazi official known as the architect of the Holocaust, stood trial in Jerusalem for crimes against humanity.

MURRAY HONIG, SON OF HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS: But I do remember it happening, and I remember more the aspects of, like, I think -- it struck me as more like they've got this guy. And I remember from that point on, it certainly -- people began to understand what this was about.

E. HONIG: Eleven months earlier, Israeli Mossad agents had captured Eichmann in Argentina, where he'd been living as a fugitive for a decade. They brought Eichmann to Jerusalem to face justice for his role in the systematic execution of more than six million Jews during World War II.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Please join us for Elie's full report on the Eichmann trial. It comes up here, next hour on CNN. It is long, it is lengthy, and it is worth watching.

We'll take a short break. We'll be back in a moment.

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VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone.

A half-shredded painting by the elusive street artist Banksy has sold for $25 million. "The Girl with Balloon was originally sold in 2018, but you may remember this. While it was being auctioned, back then, a hewn mechanism destroyed the original.

Since then, the tattered remnants has gained some notoriety. Renamed as "Love is in the Bin," early estimates put the sale price around $8 million. The $25 million winning bid on Thursday tops the previous one Banksy sold last year for 23 million. He can do no wrong.

The smash TV series "Downton Abbey" is known around the world as a quintessential English historical drama, even as its real estate has become famous. But it's also a family home.

CNN's Richard Quest asked the owners of Highclere Castle, how they managed to keep their famous and expensive palace actually going.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: How else are you going to arrive at Highclere Castle? Go on.

(voice-over): Highclere Castle has stood for more than 300 years, yet the world knows this magnificent place better as Downton Abbey, home to the Lord and Lady Grantham.

(on camera): It's exactly the same as it is on the telly. FIONA, COUNTESS OF CARNARVON: It is.

QUEST: The real Granthams, if you will, are actually the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon.

That is my husband in the queen's arms here. Here she is, his godmother.

QUEST: Highclere's been the family seat since the 17th Century. Through two world wars, and now COVID. In the early pandemic, we spoke to Lady Carnarvon from Highclere, when she was one of our voices of the crisis.

CARNARVON: Like many other businesses, it's incredibly tough times, and we've all fallen over a cliff.

QUEST (on camera): Why did you promised me?

CARNARVON: I promised you afternoon tea.

QUEST: And as good as your word, ooh.

(voice-over): Tea at Downton. I must remember not to call the butler Carson. But to be honest, he's used to it.

JIM CARTER, ACTOR: I am the butler at Downton. My name is Carson.

BRENDAN COYLE, ACTOR: How do you do, Mr. Carson?

QUEST: When we spoke last year, you were in the process of working out ways to get the thing moving again. How bad did it get?

CARNARVON: I think it got -- well, it got to zero income, which for any business is definitely really bad. Because obviously, the bills continue to come, and the costs continue to be there. So like other businesses, it was working out what we could do. The after possible.

QUEST: Did you ever get worried?

GEORGE HERBERT, EARL OF CARNARVON: It was very, very difficult. People were on furlough, coming back and going away again.

CARNARVON: I think we were all fighting for our health, for those we loved, fighting for our business, fighting for what we built up, and fighting for the future.

QUEST (voice-over): Keeping Highclere in good shape is a constant struggle.

CARNARVON: It's an extraordinary building, and I don't know we have the craftsmen today to make it.

QUEST: The eighth earl of Carnarvon inherited the castle from his father 20 years ago.

(on camera): Did you think, oh, God, it's very beautiful, but look at it.

CARNARVON: We did used to wake up in the middle the night, and I'd go and get a cup of tea, thinking what do we do?

QUEST (voice-over): The landed gentry in England are used to this tug of war, between keeping their heritage, and managing to pay the bills.

MICHELLE DOCKERY, ACTRESS: Will the staff stay? Will the farms pay? What are we going to do about the roof?

QUEST: Lady Mary would be proud of the way the real countess views the business.

CARNARVON: There's no secret pot of gold. What we do here every month, and firstly pays the salaries, because that's going to pay everybody's mortgages.

HERBERT: Yes. It's beautiful and romantic to look at, but it's only there because somebody is continually paying up.

CARNARVON: Working and bringing some money in. I've always remembered that sales of vanity, profits of sanity. I don't to be a busy fool.

QUEST: Forgive me, I'm a huge Downton fan, and I can't resist looking everywhere.

CARNARVON: I think you're going to recognize this room.

QUEST: Lord Grantham's desk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's this?

HUGH BONNEVILLE, ACTOR: That's the sphinx, darling, in Egypt.

QUEST (on camera): Do you find it a bit surreal that your home is a fictitious place?

CARNARVON: It is surreal, but how wonderful.

QUEST (voice-over): To walk through these rooms, to hear the history, to meet the Carnarvons, it's like, well, Downton.

Richard Quest, CNN, Highclere Castle, or Downton Abbey. Or Highclere Castle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Or Downton Abbey.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Please stay with us, WORLD SPORT is up after a very short break. And then I'll see you again hopefully, at the top of the hour.

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