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CNN International: U.S. And UK Strike Iran-Backed Houthi Targets In Yemen; Houthi Leader Calls U.S-UK Strikes In Yemen "Barbaric"; Biden: U.S. Strikes On Iran-Backed Houthis Send "Clear Message". Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 12, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Winter storm that has been rolling in. This is the second wave of that storm, Erica. The expectation here in the city is that there will be, at least today, between three inches and four inches of snow. That's because the lake here has been unseasonably warm. The City of Chicago has also been unseasonably warm. They have not had a high below freezing since November 28. So, that's the good news, keeping a little bit warmer here in the city.

A different story out in the suburbs, Erica, where they could see up to a foot of snow. This winter weather advisory from here until Saturday at one o'clock, the Illinois Department of Transportation says they have up to 1,800 vehicles and pieces of equipment or more to try to mitigate this storm for drivers and residents, Erica. This is just the prelude, because next week, our weather team is reporting that it could get shockingly cold. We are talking a 30 below with a wind shell in some areas of Illinois, Erica.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN THIS MORNING: Whitney Wild, thank you. And CNN This Morning continues right now.

MAX FOSTER, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello. Welcome to CNN Newsroom. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead, retaliation threat, Houthis say Western military airstrikes will not go unpunished or unanswered. Israel hits back at South Africa's claims of genocide in Gaza. The UN's top court calling it profoundly distorted. And unfaltering support, the British Prime Minister's promise to Ukraine, as he visits Kyiv.

The U.S. and UK have carried out a series of airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Western military powers hit more than 60 targets and more than a dozen Houthi militant locations overnight. It was in response to months of attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. A Houthi leader called the airstrikes "criminal and barbaric", saying that five people have been killed and six others wounded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YAHYA SAREA, HOUTHI MILITARY SPOKESPERSON (TRANSLATED): The American and British enemies bear full responsibility for their criminal aggression against our Yemeni people. It will not go unpunished or unanswered. The Yemeni Armed Forces will not hesitate to target threatening sources on all hostile targets on land and sea in order to defend Yemen, its sovereignty and independence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The British Defense Ministry has released video of some of its airstrikes. Britain's Junior Armed Forces Minister says no additional strikes are planned this time. U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. and its allies cannot allow one of the world's most critical shipping routes to be threatened. And U.S. Military officials say there will be further costs to Houthi forces if they don't end their illegal attacks on the Red Sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We reserve the right to protect and defend our forces, to defend the global trade that transits through the Red Sea, and to take necessary steps to, again, make sure that the Houthis understand loud and clear that it's unacceptable to the international community to continue to conduct these reckless, dangerous and illegal attacks against commercial shipping and mariners that are transiting this vital waterway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Paula Hancocks is tracking the latest developments in the region. So, largely an economic argument coming there from the U.S. But, I know that in the region, there is real concern. This will just inflame regional tensions and widen the war.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Max. It is something that the U.S. had been signaling for some time, saying that if the Houthi rebels do not end their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, then there would be consequences. Now, interestingly, we have heard from a U.S. official that while the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the region just over the last few days, one of the messages that he was bringing to the leaders he met was that if the U.S. was going to carry out these kinds of attacks, then it was defensive. It was not intended to be escalatory. Now, of course, that's not the way that many are going to see it. But, it shows that this had been planned for some time. It was just waiting for the political will and the decision by the U.S. President Joe Biden.

Now, as for reaction here in the region, Saudi Arabia, of course, is one that everyone watches closely. They've been engaged in peace talks with Yemen's Houthis for months now. And there are concerns that any retaliation from the Houthis could be targeted in some way to Saudi Arabia as well. In their statement, they have said that they have expressed deep concern, while they understand there does need to be freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. They do call for restraint and avoiding escalation.

Now, the Houthis have said that there would be retaliation. They have promised that. We don't know when, and we don't know where, because we also don't know how much damage the U.S. and UK militaries have actually done to the infrastructure of these militant bases of the areas where they can launch missiles from. U.S. officials saying that that was the intention, to degrade their ability to be able to target these commercial ships in the Red Sea and also to be able to target U.S. and UK assets that have been brought to the region.

[08:05:00]

So, what will be happening today is an assessment of just how successful those targets were, and whether there would need to be more strikes. Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Paula, thank you.

Well, there has been a mixed reaction from congressional leaders to the U.S. strikes against Houthi rebels. Some Democrats are criticizing President Biden for not getting congressional approval, which is required by the Constitution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): He should have come as the Constitution requires to Congress, and that was echoed in a bipartisan way by Senator Mike Lee, Representative Jonathan Jackson, and many other senators and Congress people. The Constitution requires that if there is not an imminent threat of self-defense that he has to come to Congress. And here we know, by your own reporting, that this has been going on since December. He has assembled an entire international coalition. He certainly should have come to Congress so that we can discuss whether this actually could put more American troops at risk. I'm concerned about retaliation in Iraq, and whether it could draw us into a Middle East war. And I believe that he did not follow the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Senator Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders welcomed the strikes, but they blame Biden for not acting sooner. Here is what a former Defense Secretary in the Trump administration had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ESPER, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Look, I think it's a bold action by President Biden. I think it's overdue. And based on what we've seen so far, I think it's fairly comprehensive and should go a long way to determine the task of degrading their capability to continue conducting these attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, according to a congressional source, leaders in Congress were briefed by senior Biden administration officials earlier on Thursday. The strikes against the Houthi targets in Yemen prompted Russia to call an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. On Wednesday, the Council passed a resolution condemning the Houthi rebels and their attacks on ships in the Red Sea. But, it also is expected to discuss the situation in Gaza at the meeting, which begins in about two hours for now.

Nic Robertson joins us now from Tel Aviv. I mean, how would you describe this escalation? Because there are those saying that it effectively inserts the UK and the U.S. in the war, and that very much works to the Houthi narrative.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, if you look at the way the Houthis, Hamas, the Iranians, Hezbollah leaders as well are all framing this, they're not framing it in the context of this is the United States and the UK targeting the Houthis. They're targeting it -- they're framing it as this is the United States in the UK targeting Yemen, not the Houthis, the whole of Yemen. So, they're trying to create and sow confusion. They're on that point. And they're also saying that this, in essence, is a way of the U.S. and the UK to distract from what Israel is doing inside of -- in Gaza. So, it's all the narrative that's part of the narrative that suits them, because it stands to cast the United States and the UK as aggressors in the region that they're inflaming the tensions.

I think one of the statements from the -- from Iranian officials today said that this escalates tensions in the region. But, the broader context here might well be that Iran and its proxies have been escalating tensions in the region. So, it is -- what I'm saying, in essence, is it serves to show how divided the narrative is, and therefore, the potential for misconstruing events and escalating the situation. I mean, the Houthis' potential for escalating and they've said that they will have a response. It could be quite broad and could be quite -- it could be quite damaging and could potentially put U.S. troops in the region in harm's way, if they were to fly cruise missiles into Saudi Arabia, which is what the Houthis were doing for many, many years, cruise missiles that were built and manufactured in Iran.

That's was the assessment at the United Nations who looked at the some of the remnants of some of the Houthi missiles during that period, not so long ago. So, the potential for real escalation here is high. But, I think when we look at the UN Security Council meeting today, the emergency session called by Russia, just reflect what Russia's ambassador said at the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, that vote, by the way, 11 to 04. But, it was Russia, China, Mozambique, who abstained, and Russia's Ambassador at that Security Council meeting on Wednesday said that this is the United States and the UK trying to find a reason to insert themselves militarily into the region, to have freedom of military action in the region.

[08:10:00]

And the Kremlin today said that the UN Security Council resolution of Wednesday did not authorize airstrikes and is against BRICS, international law in this regard. So, the sides are very clearly drawn, and not just politically, diplomatically. But, the reality is that the Houthis are very likely to retaliate, and there'll be very likely to be a response to that. So, at the moment, this has the potential to get worse at all levels. FOSTER: Okay. Nic Robertson in Tel Aviv, thank you for that. We'll have more reaction from Downing Street later in the show as well from Bianca.

Now, Israel today vehemently defended itself against accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza. A lawyer representing Israel at the UN's top court in The Hague responded to claims lodged by South Africa, calling them "profoundly distorted and manipulative". He said it's actually Hamas that seeks genocide against Israel. Whilst outside the court, pro-Palestinian demonstrations continued. Protesters waved Palestinian flag, shouting "shame on you".

Melissa Bell is in The Hague where Palestinian demonstrators have gathered, and she joins us now. The sense of feeling, they're obviously profound. But, what are they learning? What are you learning from these hearings in the way they're going?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pretty robust defense, we've just heard, mounted by the Israeli side, three hours of defense we've just seen finished. In fact, the South African delegation there, you can see have been inside the court, have come out to give their reaction to the press. Of course, as you can see, the pro-Palestinian protesters still there. They've been watching those proceedings on that giant screen just behind me.

What we heard and I think what we'd expect to hear was a fair amount of indignation in the tone of a number of the barristers representing Israel, to begin with, the first one who explained, as you mentioned a moment ago, that this was a distortion of the reading by this -- of the Genocide Convention by the South African physicians, suggesting that in fact if the Court were to listen to them, it would be essentially turning the 1948 Genocide Convention into an aggressor's charter. Those were his terms.

We then heard from a number of the other barristers much more than we'd expected to hear about their self-defense claims, the idea that Israel has been defending itself. We've heard, as we expected to about October 7, government papers, things to demonstrate that they have done all they can to avoid civilian casualties. And that this is about what Hamas has done to its own people. They've also, Max, tackled the question of intent, and this from the British barrister who has been defending them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALCOLM SHAW, ISRAEL ADVOCATE: The core of genocide is intent. Without intent, there can be no genocide in law. And the prima facie consideration, indeed, of intent, even at this preliminary stage, will only demonstrate its absence from Israel's activities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: What intent there had been, Malcolm Shaw said, was on the Israeli part to defend themselves against Hamas. And I think some of the concluding remarks were amongst the most interesting. Remember here, Max, that what the lawyers on the South African side are hoping to get is essentially an injunction that would demand that Israel cease its hostages. What you heard from the closing remarks on the Israeli side was that, essentially, going in the direction of the South Africans on this would prevent Israel from being able to defend itself that Hamas' point is to carry on -- carrying out attacks and attacking Israelis on Israeli soil. And that's the entire case.

Essentially, it puts aside of shores (ph), ignores the fact that Israel is fighting a war for its own survival. This was the gist of what was said in court today, Max. The South Africans continue to hope, of course, on their part that the International Criminal Court will be convinced of its arguments that they had the suspicion that genocidal acts are being committed is enough for them to rule that Israel must stop, Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Melissa, thank you so much for joining us from The Hague.

The British Prime Minister is in Ukraine to deliver a message of support and solidarity, and announce new military aid. In a social media post, Rishi Sunak told Ukrainians that Britain is with them for as long as it takes. He traveled to Kyiv by train and is meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. According to a statement, the Prime Minister's Office says he'll sign a historic security agreement with Ukraine that will include a UK commitment to consult with Ukraine if Russia ever invaded again.

[08:15:00]

Voters will head to the polls in Taiwan on Saturday to elect a new President and Parliament. It comes amid growing tensions with China. Tens of thousands are attending the final pre-election rallies like this one from the Democratic Progressive party that was held in Taipei. Three candidates are running for President. The outcome being closely watched by Beijing.

Still to come, more on the diplomatic fallout from those U.S. and UK airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen. A live report from Downing Street, when we return.

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FOSTER: More on our top story, the retaliatory strikes by the U.S. and UK against Houthi fighters in Yemen. A Houthi military spokesman says five people were killed. The strikes are a direct response to the surge of Iran-backed Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, one of the world's most critical waterways. A British defense official said there were no more UK missions immediately planned after Thursday's joint strikes. The action has prompted Russia to call for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council later today. China and Saudi Arabia are amongst nations urging restraint.

For more on the strikes and Britain's role as well, the international role, let's go to CNN's Bianca Nobilo. She is at Downing Street. Obviously a U.S.-led coalition, but it did have a lot of international support, and that's been pretty crucial to those countries, but also to America, Bianca. BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There is no question that the UK is playing the junior role in this. But, nevertheless, they are an important part of the narrative and the operation of this mission. So, we understand that the RAF used four Typhoon jets to execute precision strikes on targets, one in the north of Yemen, which was used mainly for reconnaissance and drones, and another in the south, which is used to launch missiles and also for drone attacks.

Now, frankly, the UK's involvement in this militarily was not a necessity. The U.S. could have done this on its own. And in fact, it was inconvenient in many ways for the RAF because they're coming from bases in Cyprus. There were other aircraft required to refuel because of the distances needed. But, this is part of the political execution of what is going on right now, the fact that the UK want to show that they are in full support of America. And indeed, the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, even though he is in Ukraine today, has been asked by journalists about this operation, and he said it is absolutely fundamental to the United Kingdom that they show that they are standing behind freedom of navigation, and also the protection of global trade.

In terms of the other partners, we know that in a non-operational capacity, Bahrain, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands has played a role as well. Now, the political balance here in the United Kingdom at the moment is stable, because the Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer, and the shadow Defense Secretary, so the key opposition figures when it comes to this, and also the likely party that will be victorious after the next election here, they're singing from the same hymn sheet.

[08:20:00]

They are supportive of the Prime Minister, and they've asked their MPs to restrain themselves and be disciplined in terms of their messaging. So, they want to present a united front on this. But, we know, Max, that in this country, there have been many protests where tens if not hundreds of thousands of people have gathered on the streets in support of the Palestinian cause.

They are wary of more military involvement and intervention. There is even a Twitter hashtag today trending, not in my name, people opposing the government's action. But, for now, at least, Parliament and MPs behind the Prime Minister's actions at launch, and on Monday, we expect Rishi Sunak to address the House of Commons where perhaps he'll face more criticism from some of the backbenchers, Max.

FOSTER: Okay. Bianca in Downing Street, thank you for that.

Coming up, we'll talk tell you about closing arguments in the Donald Trump's civil fraud trial in New York, and the familiar but false claims that he is still making.

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FOSTER: We should know by the end of the month what the judge will decide in Donald Trump's $370 million fraud trial. The leading Republican presidential candidate is campaigning in Iowa this weekend. But, on Thursday, he spent the day in a New York courtroom where closing arguments in the trial wrapped up. Outside the court, Trump falsely claimed that his legal troubles were caused by President Joe Biden. However, the New York case was initiated by state investigators in 2019, before Mr. Biden came into office. The former President also launched into a five-minute monologue from the defense table.

CNN's Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid has more on that and the rest of the story

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Former President Trump getting the last word in at closing arguments. Usually, closing arguments are an opportunity for lawyers to summarize their theory of the case. And the day kicked off with Trump's lawyer Chris Kise laying out their theory of the case, arguing that this is a political persecution and that his client Trump had no intention of defrauding banks and that the banks were never harmed.

But, after Kise wrapped his remarks, he then asked if his client could have a few minutes to address the court? And look, the judge granted it, saying, I'll give you five minutes, and the judge had previously set a restriction on Trump saying, you can participate in closing arguments but you can't give a campaign speech. And that's exactly what Trump did, attacking the judge, attacking the Attorney General's office, and insisting that he is a "innocent man".

Now, Trump addressed the public on his way in to court, on his way out of court, those remarks in court, and then had a press conference.

[08:25:00]

So, it appears that he got a real return on investment here in terms of amplifying his argument that he is being targeted because of a desire by his political opponents to try to interfere in this election. But, I want to note something that the Attorney General's Office said in their closing arguments.

They noticed that even though Chris Kise talked for two hours, other attorneys got up and laid out their closing arguments, not one person addressed the false financial statements that Trump submitted that misrepresented his assets by billions. And those are really the key to this case. Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, President Biden's son Hunter has pleaded not guilty to tax-related charges in the federal court in California. Prosecutors say, for tax years 2016 through to 2019, Hunter Biden spent his money on drugs, escorts, girlfriends, luxury cars, exotic cars, luxury hotels or other exotic cars, basically everything but his taxes. His attorney argues that the charges are part of a political hit job. Republicans have accused President Biden of benefiting financially from his son's business dealings with Ukrainian and Chinese companies, and these claims remain unproven. The judge has set Hunter Biden's trial date for June the 20th.

Now, after months of campaigning and speculation, the 2024 presidential election season does get underway in earnest on Monday when Iowa Republicans hold caucuses to select their nominee. Candidates will spend the weekend trying to stay warm and making a last ditch appeal to voters.

As you saw in Iowa, along with much of the Central United States could experience bone-chilling temperatures in the coming days. The (inaudible) thinks more than 240 daily cold temperature records could be tied or broken across the country between now and Tuesday, courtesy of a massive storm system impacting much of the nation. More than 20 million people across the U.S. are under wind chill alerts right now.

And on that frosty note, thank you for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. Not quite as bad as here this week. I'm Max Foster in London. World Sport is next.

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