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CNN International: Iran: President Raisi Dead After Helicopter Crash; ICC Seeks Arrest Warrants For Israel's Netanyahu & Hamas Chief Sinwar; Gallant: Israel Has "Moral Obligation" To Destroy Hamas. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 20, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BECKY ANDERSON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Well, hello, and welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Becky Anderson in London. This hour, we will bring you the very latest on the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and what that means for the region and for the world.

OMAR JIMENEZ, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": And I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Also this house, major breaking news from the International Criminal Court. The ICC is seeking arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and the leaders of Hamas. CNN's Christiane Amanpour is live in The Hague with all the details this hour. Plus, back on the stand, Michael Cohen faces more questioning next hour here in New York. Where does Donald Trump's hush money trial go next?

ANDERSON: Well, Iran has announced five days of mourning after a helicopter crash killed President Ebrahim Raisi. Iran's Foreign Minister and seven others were also killed. Iranian officials say the helicopter went down in heavy fog on Sunday as it was flying over Iran's East Azerbaijan province. Now, the President and other officials were returning from an inauguration ceremony for a new dam near the border with Azerbaijan. Well, the chair that Raisi usually sits in was vacant and draped with a black sash in his memory, in a photo shared by state media. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appointed the First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber to take over as acting President. Elections are supposed to be held within 50 days.

Well, CNN's Ben Wedeman is tracking the developments, and joins us now from Rome. Ben it was Sunday afternoon when reports started circulating that this helicopter had experienced what was described as a hard landing. It was only in the sort of daylight hours Monday morning that the news came that no one had survived this crash. What do we know about the circumstances and the investigation at this point?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that this helicopter was heading to, along with several other helicopters, to the city of Tabriz after that ceremony on the border with Azerbaijan. But, we also know that the weather wasn't very good that it was very foggy, that the helicopter went down about around 61 kilometers from the border with Azerbaijan in a very mountainous forested area, which explains why it took so long for rescuers to get to the site.

Now, as far as the actual cause of the crash of this helicopter, Iranian media is describing it as the result of a so-called technical failure. The details, however, have not become clear. However, there are suggestions that one of the reasons for the crash is perhaps Western sanctions, which have denied for many years Iran's ability to go on the international market and buy things like spare parts. But, we are at the very earliest stages of the investigation. So, we'll just have to see what the Iranian authorities actually come up with as far as the cause of the crash is concerned. Becky.

ANDERSON: So, this begs the question, what happens next, is -- was the Iranian President and the Foreign Minister, neither of whom are the most powerful individuals in the country, of course, that is the supreme leader, but what happens next at this point?

WEDEMAN: Well, what we have now is Mohammad Mokhber, who is the 69- year-old Vice President, one of 12 vice presidents of Iran, is now the interim President of the country. And according to the Constitution, within 50 days, an election has to be held. Now, to sort of organize the election, the interim President will be coordinating closely with the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and the head of the judiciary to prepare the grounds for an election.

Now, what happens is that the Council of Guardian, which is made up of six clerics, will pick among the would-be candidates for the presidency the ones that they consider eligible for the job, and then the election takes place.

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But, it's worth mentioning, and I think you did touch on it, is that the real power rests with the supreme leader. That is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, Khamenei is 85-years-old. He is not in very good health. So, the real concern is, who is going to take his place? Now, Raisi was considered one of the contenders for that job. He was very much a man of the regime, an insider, so to speak. So, it does sort of open up the question beyond who is going to become the next President, who is going to become the next supreme leader. Becky.

ANDERSON: Well, it may certainly change the scenarios for succession. There is no doubt about that. Thank you, Ben.

Well, Lebanon has announced three days of mourning over the death of President Raisi. Now, the international reaction also pouring in, the European Union, UAE, Qatar, Pakistan, among countries expressing their condolences to the government and people of Iran. Russia's President Vladimir Putin expressed his sadness, Syria's President Bashar al- Assad commended Raisi's dedication to his work, And Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group in Lebanon, called the Iranian President a big brother and a strong supporter of its issues. Hezbollah also extremely close to the Foreign Minister who perished in this crash.

Let's bring in CNN's Kylie Atwood, who joins us now from Washington, D.C. And I've just listed a number of countries that have expressed their condolences. What has been the reaction from American administration officials so far, Kylie?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It's been pretty quiet so far, Becky. Yesterday, we heard from the White House only to say that President Biden had been briefed on the situation, on the helicopter crash, that was obviously expected to have President Raisi on board. We heard from the State Department saying only that they were closely monitoring the reports of that downed helicopter. But, beyond that, we haven't actually gotten a response from the administration, since it has been confirmed that President Raisi is now dead. So, we're waiting for that, Becky.

It's important to note, as you and Ben were discussing just previously there, the question now is, who is likely to be the successor for the supreme leader of Iran? I've talked to U.S. officials who truly believe that Raisi was the most likely to step in and fill that role. So now, there are questions about, who that might be? Perhaps, the supreme leader's son. U.S. officials really don't know exactly where that is headed.

And as you know extremely well, there are not formal diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Iran, which, of course, complicates this, not to mention the fact that the region is, of course, in a very unsteady state right now. So, U.S. officials are obviously to watching to see what the response will be inside Iran to this news. But, we'll just have to watch and see what they say in the coming hours here is only confirmed from the Iranian government just hours ago that Raisi did in fact die in that crash.

ANDERSON: The supreme leader is 85-years-old. He has been in poor health over the past couple of years. His successor will, of course, be significant, as you rightly pointed out, because it is the supreme leader who sets the ideological direction for the Islamic Republic of Iran and holds on to the national security fight alongside the security apparatus and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. So far as Washington is concerned, where do we stand with regard, one, the nuclear file, certainly, there were indirect talks between the deputy Foreign Minister, who is now the acting Foreign Minister, and the U.S. in Oman recently, and importantly, the complex and very complicated conflict going on at present in Gaza, and how that has played out between Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and of course, Tehran, Kiley?

ATWOOD: On the second part of that, when it comes to the ongoing conflict, the Israel-Hamas war and how Tehran may try and take advantage of that, of course, and try and insert itself to make this into a broader conflict, U.S. officials have been very, very clear in their concerns about that.

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But, after we saw that back and forth between Israel and Iran with Iran launching that attack from Iranian own ground into Israel, and then of course, Israel responding, U.S. officials believed that there was a desire, particularly on the Iranian side, to tamp things down a little bit. We haven't seen an aggressive response since that Israeli response. And so, they are thinking that Iran saw that things could have been escalating and/or maybe turning it down a little bit. So, we'll have to watch and see how that plays out.

But, Becky, on the nuclear file for Iran, it has been a remarkably quiet subject of conversation here in Washington. And I think that's important to note, because this administration came in, very, very ardently saying that they want to revive the JCPOA. They were unable to do that. And now, because there is so much else going on in the region, that just hasn't fallen at the top of the pecking order, if you will. And you know how these things work out. They have to triage. They have to focus on the matters that are really the focus of the day. So, when it comes to that Iran nuclear file, it could very well come back to the fore easily at any moment in time, but it just hasn't been a focal point here in Washington.

ANDERSON: Yeah. This at the time, of course, that Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor for Joe Biden, and the Saudi Crown Prince look to complete the sort of finer details on a --

ATWOOD: Yeah.

ANDERSON: -- U.S.-Saudi bilateral deal. That includes a civilian nuclear program alongside, of course, as we've been discussing now for weeks, the sort of rapport of normalization with the Israelis. It is a complex region as ever. Washington firmly keeping an eye on what is going on, and the messaging out of Tehran at a time of significant instability in the wider region.

Kyle, it's always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed. I'll have more, much more detail on the death of Iran's President, its significance and consequence coming later this hour, including a look, a closer look at who might take power next inside Iran.

The Israeli Defense Minister says his country has a moral obligation to destroy Hamas. Yoav Gallant made the comment to visiting U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. It comes as the Israeli military says its forces are fighting and carrying out strikes across Gaza. Hospital officials in the central part of the enclave say an Israeli airstrike in Nuseirat killed 35 people on Sunday. The IDF, meanwhile, says two senior Hamas operatives were killed in airstrikes over Gaza over the weekend.

Well, I want to turn you to this breaking news now. And in an exclusive interview with our Christiane Amanpour, the International Criminal Court's top prosecutor says that the ICC, the International Criminal Court, is seeking arrest warrants in relation to the October 7 in Israel and the Gaza war. Karim Khan says that the arrest warrants are being sought for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Al-Masri, who is not pictured here. In addition, Khan is seeking arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Let's get straight to Christiane Amanpour who broke this story, joining us now live from The Hague. Christiane, what more did the chief prosecutor tell you in what was this exclusive interview?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Becky, he explained that this had been the result of months of investigation, evidence gathering, that these basic charges have been laid down for which he is seeking arrest warrants, have been laid down with a very high level of proof, in other words, burden of proof, that he would -- has established for the independent panel and others the belief that these charges and the evidence that they've gathered would likely lead to conviction. So, it's not just a burden of proof to take to trial at the ICC. But, he has raised that bar, and he is satisfied that these charges meet them.

So, the charges, firstly, he lays out against Hamas for what they did on October 7 inside Israel. There is some eight charges which range from crimes against humanity to war crimes.

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They involve the word "extermination", which means mass killing in ICC legal definition, the rape and sexual assault of women, the taking of hostages, the torture of individuals, the inhumane conditions, and eight of those charges. He then says, after October 7, the fact of starvation being used as a weapon of war, which is what the international community believes is happening, is a crime against the statutes, crime against humanity. And he has listed out some seven questions, including mass killings and failure to distinguish between civilians and militants inside Gaza. So, those are the reasons.

Now, in answer to the question that's being put, and certainly you've heard that Benny Gantz, who is an opposition member but part of the war cabinet, has just said that you cannot equate Israel a state, a democratic state fighting for its life against a terrorist organization, as they call Hamas, which has created and caused such mass suffering, killing and other war crimes inside Israel. I asked Karim Khan about that, and this is what he said.

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KARIM KHAN, CHIEF PROSECUTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: Israel has every right not to give (inaudible) to Hamas. That is not contested. Israel has every right and indeed an obligation to get hostages back, but you must do so by complying with the law. The fact that Hamas fighters need water doesn't justify denying water from all the civilian population of Gaza.

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AMANPOUR: So, much of the evidence that the ICC has is based around the starvation charges, starvation as a weapon of war, and this comes from going all the way back to the Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, who is also charged alongside Benjamin Netanyahu, what he said in the two days after October 7, declaring a total siege of everything, including food, water, energy, all of that. He said, we are fighting human animals and we are going to fight back. So, you also have U.S. and other officials confirming the pockets of starvation, the pockets of famine, and all sorts of other aid officials. So, that is where the bulk of the evidence is, and that is why -- and this is the first time starvation, if it gets to an actual trial, will be prosecuted at the ICC as a war crime. Now, in terms of Israel being a democracy, and why shouldn't its own

judiciary and law enforcement be tasked with this issue, he said, well, of course, they can and should, and of course they're capable of doing so. But, I've been warning, these are his words, Karim Khan, for months, publicly and in my conversations with the government, that if you do not pay proper attention to civilians while you are fighting the enemy and the terrorist organization, then don't complain if my office does something about it. So, he is saying he gave Israel all the opportunity to take this matter into their hands as any democratic state --

ANDERSON: Right.

AMANPOUR: -- is afforded, any country that is able to do that independently and willing to do that will not be -- the ICC will not seek arrest warrants. It will be up to that country to do it. So far, that hasn't happened.

ANDERSON: Christiane, then this is where we stand. The ICC seeking arrest warrants at this point. What are the next steps here?

AMANPOUR: So, the charges were laid out. The arrest warrants, as we said, are being sought, and those were approved unanimously by an independent panel. So, that was the first step. The independent panel comprises a group of highly distinguished jurists. And there are Jewish jurists. There are some Muslim jurists. There are British. There are all sorts of very, very distinguished jurists who have had incredible world experience in the field of human rights and in the field of prosecuting war crimes in the past.

One of the main jurors is somebody who I've interviewed several times, and that is Judge Theodor Meron. Now, he is not just a Holocaust survivor. He used to be President of the ICC. And he was once an advisor to the Israeli Foreign Ministry shortly after and around the 1967 war, which is when all this -- the occupation and the settlements and all of that became entrenched. So, there are people who really have a huge amount of experience, who Karin Khan has brought into this process.

The next step is to present this request for these arrest warrants for these five individuals to and then to what they call the panel of trial judges here at the ICC and they will then rule whether it's in a matter of weeks or months. We don't know how long this process will take on whether in fact these -- this demand for arrest warrant stands up, and then there is the rest of the process.

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Now, clearly, you can beg the question, even if we have arrest warrants, how can we affect them? The ICC does not have an independent law enforcement or arresting -- apprehending apparatus. So, that is a whole another kettle of worms or whatever it is, as they did with President Putin, for instance, charging him and his henchwomen over the abduction, the illegal abduction of children in Ukraine. They have not been able to arrest him. ANDERSON: Christiane Amanpour, it's good to have you. Christiane is at The Hague. She has just completed what is an exclusive interview with the chief prosecutor, and the headlines coming out of that, quite unprecedented. Thank you. Christiane.

CNN's Scott McLean joining me now live from Istanbul today. Of course, Turkey has been urging ICC action against very specifically Israel now for weeks. Scott, you've been monitoring reaction from Israeli officials and the administration there. And what have we got?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, my colleague Jeremy Diamond in Israel has reached out to both the Prime Minister's Office and the Israeli Minister of Defense. So far, we have nothing in terms of response directly back from them. It's also important to point out that Israel is not a member of the International -- of the ICC, but the Palestinian territories have been signed on to the ICC's jurisdiction since 2015.

Now, late last month, Becky, you'll remember that there was some reporting in Israeli media suggesting that the International Criminal Court was mulling the possibility of also charging Israeli leaders. And in response to that, we heard a lot from the Israeli Prime Minister. He said it would be an outrage of historic proportions, an indelible stain on the concept of international justice and law. He said that Israel already has its own legal system that investigates violations of the law. He said that Israel would never accept any attempt by the ICC to undermine its right to self-defense, and said that this would set a dangerous precedent that would threaten officials from all democracies from fighting terrorism.

It's also interesting to note, Christiane mentioned this briefly as well, that Benny Gantz, an opposition figure, a member of the war cabinet, in the midst of a very public spat with the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had nothing but defense of the Prime Minister in his statement, saying in part that drawing parallels between the leaders of a democratic country determined to defend itself from despicable terror to leaders of a bloodthirsty terror organization is a deep distortion of justice and blatant moral bankruptcy. The prosecutor's position to apply for arrest warrants is in itself a crime of historic proportion.

Another opposition leader in Israel, Yair Lapid, called this a complete moral failure. The National Security Minister, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu's government, called the court and the prosecutor Karim Khan "antisemitic". And we've also heard from the hostage families who applauded the decision to charge these leaders of Hamas, but said that they were uncomfortable withdrawing the equivalence between Hamas leaders and Israeli ones. We've also reached out to Hamas for comment, none thus far.

But again, those hostage families went to The Hague back in February to file their own charges or to make their own complaints against Hamas. And at that time, a member of the Hamas political bureau had told CNN that going to the ICC was wrong and that the quickest way to get the hostages back was through negotiation. Becky. ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Scott. Thank you very much indeed, Scott reporting on reaction to the news that we've had in the past less than hour that the ICC is seeking arrest warrants against Yahya Sinwar of Hamas and a number of other operatives in the Hamas organization and Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister for war crimes over the October 7 attack and Gaza war. I'll have a lot more on that, and the death of Iran's President, breaking news, of course, in the past couple of hours, coming up in just a few minutes.

For now, let's get you to my colleague Omar Jimenez in New York as Donald Trump's hush money trial enters a new week. Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, Becky. We could be in the final stages here. Still to come, we're going to check in on Donald Trump's hush money trial where a crucial witness is close to wrapping up his testimony and could be the final steps to wrapping the trial itself. The court is going to get going in just about 20 minutes here.

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We also have breaking news in the case of Julian Assange. He will likely be sent to the U.S. to face charges later, rather than sooner. Stay with us. We'll explain.

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JIMENEZ: Donald Trump's hush money trial could be entering its final stages today. In about an hour, Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen will return to the stand for more cross-examination by the defense team. They expect to be done questioning him this morning. And it's possible the prosecution will rest their case soon after. It's unclear, though, how many witnesses, if any, Trump's defense team will call when they have the opportunity. The judge has told both sides to be ready to begin their closing arguments as soon as Tuesday.

I want to bring in CNN's Brynn Gingras. She is live outside the courthouse in Lower Manhattan. She has been live throughout the trial here. Obviously, we are starting this new phase of testimony here today after what I think many would say was a pretty good win for the defense at the tail end of testimony last week. What are we expecting from Michael Cohen on the stand today?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I know, Omar. Can you believe, five weeks of this trial so far?

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

GINGRAS: We are nearing the end. Like, you just said, the defense says they've got about an hour to two hours left of cross-examination of Michael Cohen. Remember, jurors went home for the weekend with that very key moment in their heads where the defense was basically saying Michael Cohen was lying about a crucial conversation that the prosecution put forward where he essentially says that he discussed the hush money payments with Donald Trump. The defense basically tore that apart and said he was completely lying about that. So, we'll see how jurors took that. And of course, after they are

done, then the prosecution has the chance to redirect with Michael Cohen. So, we fully expect to take -- for them to take some of that time to sort of really reel in their case because he is expected to be their last witness before they rest likely today. We fully expect that to happen today.

And then, what's up next? Well, you just said, Omar, we don't know if the defense is going to call any more witnesses. We are hearing it's possible they might call a campaign finance expert. And last week, they didn't rule out the possibility that the former President would take the stand, though, experts would say that's very unlikely, but we shall see. In the end, the judge has asked both sides to be ready for closing arguments set for tomorrow. So, they may happen tomorrow. They may not happen tomorrow. But certainly, they are going to be prepared for that. And then it goes to the jurors and we'll see if it goes to them before Memorial Day weekend. It's a short week of courts. But, a lot can happen in this three days of court this week. Omar.

JIMENEZ: Of course, and court set to begin a little earlier than usual, about 15 minutes, for them to get through some evidentiary matters, and then the jury will be seated in about an hour, and we will continue this testimony, as Brynn has laid out. Brynn Gingras, really appreciate the time and reporting.

Later this hour, I'm going to speak to a criminal defense attorney and former federal prosecutor about Michael Cohen's testimony and where the hush money trial goes next.

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That's coming up in about 15 minutes.

But also, breaking news now within that past half hour, a British court has ruled that Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the United States. Now, the WikiLeaks founder is wanted in the U.S. for posting thousands of classified government documents on his website back in 2010 and 2011. Two British judges ruled that U.S. assurances over his right to freedom of speech in a trial were not sufficient and Assange would be allowed a full appeal hearing.

Clare Sebastian joins us from outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. So, Clare, a short time ago, we heard that Assange can appeal his extradition. What happens now?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Omar. This is being seen, on the one hand, I think by his team and by the dozens of supporters that you see out here outside the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, as a victory, in part, right? If the hearing today had not gone his way, he could have faced imminent extradition to the United States where he faces life in prison, very likely. He is facing 18 counts, most of them under the Espionage Act. So, on the one hand, this is a big victory. The judges found that the U.S. assurances that were provided about his treatment were not sufficient.

But, on the other hand, Julian Assange will remain in Belmarsh high security prison in London. And this sort of kicks the can, he remains in that legal limbo. Having said that, it does feel like things are accelerating. His legal team has been given just to the end of this week, until Friday, to submit what's called a draft order on this new appeal. So, that's pretty quick, based on past precedent of the sort of gaps between the legal dates when it comes to Julian Assange.

And this is also a moment politically. There is a lot of talk here about comments that we saw from Joe Biden back in April, saying that he was considering a request from Australia to drop the case entirely. We saw a lot of flags outside the court saying, let him go, Joe. That seems to be the slogan for the day. And obviously, Australia has been vocal. The Prime Minister saying last month that he really thinks that enough is enough.

So, on the other hand, his wife has come out and said, look, we are relieved, but this has taken an enormous toll on him, and how long can this go on. But, this has given his supporters and his team a new sense of hope here, Omar.

JIMENEZ: And again, this is just permission to a full appeal, significant step, nonetheless, but certainly not the end of the process here. Clare Sebastian in London, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Still to come, we're going to have more on the death of Iran's President when we return. We're also going to examine what all of this means for Iran's immediate future. Stay with us.

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ANDERSON: More on our breaking news this hour, Iran's acting President Mohammad Mokhber has held an extraordinary meeting with the heads of the country's legislative and judicial branches. It follows the shocking death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The country's Foreign Minister and seven others were also killed. Iranian media report the aircraft went down in heavy fog in a remote mountainous area of East Azerbaijan province. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared five days of mourning. Raisi was widely considered to be a prime candidate to eventually succeed Khamenei as supreme leader.

Let's get some perspective now from Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour, who is a Senior Fellow at the think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Let's start with the details, as we understand them, of what happened, Karim. This is the President, the Foreign Minister, and a delegation reportedly killed in a helicopter crash, in an aircraft, which is decades-old. You make the point, posting on X this morning, that it's sort of ironic that these are men who control so much and yet are flying around in equipment which is so old, it seems, unable to protect them.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SR. FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Its true, Becky. The identity of the Islamic Republic of Iran can be sealed in its slogans. It says "Death to America" and "Death to Israel". But it never says "Long Live Iran". It has spent far more, billions and billions, on sophisticated weapons to counter Iran's adversaries, but hadn't spent that amount to prioritize things like internal safety and certainly the well-being of the Iranian people.

ANDERSON: Karim, let's talk about the significance for the country and for the wider region of the death of the President, and indeed the Foreign Minister. Of course, neither of those men are the most powerful individuals in the country, despite their titles. Explain.

SADJADPOUR: In most countries, if the President of the nation and the Foreign Minister and several other senior officials go down in a crash, you would say that's going to have enormous consequences. And I think it will have enormous consequences in Iran in the future.

But, in the immediate term, I actually don't think it's really going to have a major impact on Iran's regional conduct, its nuclear ambitions, or even the immediate term stability of the regime. What Raisi's will most impact and it's highly consequential here is the future of the regime, because as you alluded to earlier, Raisi was thought to be one of only two serious contenders to succeed the 85- year-old supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, who is one of the longest serving dictators in the world, and the other person who has been in the conversation to replace Khamenei is Khamenei's son Mojtaba Khamenei.

And so, when one of the candidates is killed in a helicopter crash, I think that only further calls into question the legitimacy of the dictator's son to succeed him.

ANDERSON: Khamenei himself and the first supreme leader Khamenei, both have spoken about hereditary succession. And despite the fact that Khamenei's son, it seems, is in the running, although nobody knows this is sort of just received wisdom as it were, there is still a likelihood, despite the fact that both supreme leaders have spoken against the passing on the hereditary succession of title, you still believe there is a likelihood that his son could take the top job, because let's remind our viewers, that top job has its arms around national security and the ideological bent of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

SADJADPOUR: So, making predictions about any country is obviously on why so.

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We can't say for certain what's going to happen in Iran's future. But certainly, Mojtaba Khamenei, the dictator's son is on a very short list of serious contenders to replace him. It's true, Becky, that the Islamic Republic of Iran came to power in 1979 by overthrowing a hereditary monarchy and the Shah of Iran, and they vowed to be different.

But, if you remember when, as you mentioned, Ayatollah Khamenei died in 1989, it was always said that he needed to be replaced by a Grand Ayatollah, a senior cleric, and they changed the Constitution to accommodate Ayatollah Khomeini as his successor. So, the regime, as they themselves say, they're able to change things for regime expediency. And at this moment, there is -- really nobody else has been in the conversation for succession. So, that doesn't guarantee that Mojtaba Khamenei replaces his father. But, at the moment, nobody else has really been in the conversation.

ANDERSON: Karim, let's talk about the wider story here. The acting Foreign Minister has announced in the past couple of hours, he is the former deputy to Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister who was killed in this same crash, he was recently reportedly in Oman, holding indirect talks between Tehran and Washington on the Iran nuclear file. And then, of course, there is the kind of wider and very worrying continued conflict in Gaza, which has set up once again the evidence of this shadow war between Iran and Israel. How does this change either of those files, if at all?

SADJADPOUR: And the immediate term, Becky, I don't think it has an enormous impact on Iran's nuclear ambitions or its regional conduct. Obviously, this is a crisis moment for the regime. And so, their attention is going to be directed more internally and in the near term. So, the tension and bandwidth of security forces maybe focused more internally right now. But, ultimately, as you alluded to, Ebrahim Raisi had almost a negligible impact on Iran's regional conduct and nuclear ambitions.

And we're now in a -- a friend of mine, who is a professor at Tehran University, used to say that at the beginning of the revolution in 1979, the regime was 80 percent ideologues and 20 percent charlatans, meaning only 20 percent really didn't believe in the ideology but they went along with it. Now, it's the opposite. He argues it's 80 percent charlatans and 20 percent ideologues. It's a regime like the Soviet Union, and that it's ideologically bankrupt. So, very few members of its society believe in this "Death to America" revolutionary ideology anymore. And they're running out of individuals who both believe in the ideology and are competent.

So, I would argue it's a regime that isn't really sustainable. And I think what Raisi's death could do is hasten one of two possibilities. One is a transition to more of a military government, and the second is, frankly, the implosion of the regime, as we saw with ideological regimes like the Soviet Union that proved totally incapable of reforming.

ANDERSON: There will be no love lost by many Iranians for the passing of Ebrahim Raisi. It'll be interesting to see whether this provides a sort of another crack, an opportunity for the sort of revival of the opposition marches, the dissent that we had seen so much of over the past sort of 18 months. That remains to be seen at present. Karim, for the time being, thank you very much. Indeed, always a pleasure --

SADJADPOUR: Thank you.

ANDERSON: -- speaking to you. Your insight analysis is so important.

Well, I'll have much more our breaking news from the International Criminal Court and the death of Ebrahim Raisi at the top of the hour.

For now, let me get you back to my colleague Omar Jimenez. Omar.

JIMENEZ: Thank you, Becky. We're following the beginnings of what could be the final stages of Donald Trump's hush money trial. Donald Trump is back in the courtroom.

Coming up, we're going to have a preview of what to expect this weekend this morning, straight ahead.

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JIMENEZ: I want to return now to one of our top stories. Donald Trump's hush money trial is getting back underway right now to deal with evidentiary issues. The judge is back on the bench and has addressed Donald Trump. Then we expect star witness Michael Cohen to return to the stand in about 45 minutes or so for more tough cross- examination. It seems possible that Cohen will be the last person called by the prosecution. It is unclear, though, how many witnesses Trump's lawyers will call in his defense. Maybe none. The judge has told, I should say, both sides to be ready to begin reading their closing arguments, which could begin as early as Tuesday.

Let's take a deeper dive as the trial enters its final moments of the trial here. Joining me now is Amy Lee Copeland, a criminal defense and appellate attorney. So, thank you for taking the time. Now, I want to start with one of the big moments last week, because that was when Michael Cohen appeared to contradict himself under cross-examination, essentially over an account of a call he previously said under oath was to talk about the hush money payment, but based on texts that were produced, it appeared the call, at least to begin with, was about something else entirely. The defense has clearly been trying to attack his credibility throughout this. Did you see that as enough to sink the credibility of Cohen in the eyes of the jury here?

AMY LEE COPELAND, CRIMINAL DEFENSE AND APPELLATE ATTORNEY, & FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Good morning, Omar. Apparently, it was a really big moment. All the courtroom observers say that that really caught the jury's attention. Omar, he testified -- Cohen testified previously that this 96-second call was about the Stormy Daniels hush money payment, that Cohen made the call to Trump's bodyguard, that the bodyguard relayed the message to Trump or put Trump on speakerphone. But, on cross-examination, the defense introduced all of these text messages that Cohen wanted to speak with the bodyguard about pranks that a 14-year-old kid had been making and wanted to get some Secret Service protection.

The judge is going to instruct the jury that if you disbelieve a witness on one thing, if he lies about one thing, then you can disbelieve all of his testimony, kind of like you act in real life. If someone lies about a crucial point, you're always going to view them with some suspicion. We'll see what happens. The prosecution is going to try to rehabilitate Mr. Cohen on redirect. They're going to take the jury through. They're going to show the many times that the documents supported what Cohen had to say. But, unfortunately, Cohen is the link to the former President in this case.

JIMENEZ: And there was a little bit of a risk, not so much, but I guess he was always seen as a potentially problematic witness in regards to credibility, just given his track record of lying in the past, which he has claimed was for Donald Trump, but also based on his convictions as well, which in part was for lying to Congress. If you are the prosecution, and you touched on some of it there, how do you mitigate some of this damage on redirect when you have the opportunity here?

COPELAND: There are a lot of documents that support at least the contours of what Mr Cohen is saying, and the jury just have to believe him enough, I think.

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And so, if I were the state in this, I would go back and show, well, the documents do support what Cohen is saying. For instance, he testified about a meeting at the White House with the former President, and the prosecution was able to put up photographs and Mr. Cohen standing behind the lectern in the press briefing room. They were able to put up information that Mr. Trump had a scheduled meeting with Mr. Cohen that day. And I think that the prosecution is going to have to ground Mr. Cohen's testimony and facts and support it by the documents as much as it can.

JIMENEZ: Now, look, we're nearing the end of the prosecution's case here. And it's -- there are multiple aspects to this case, obviously, but they alleged Trump broke the law by falsifying records to cover up the hush money payment, but also that it was to deceive voters ahead of the 2016 election, which is also a crucial component of this. Do you believe the prosecution has sufficiently proven their case at this stage?

COPELAND: As an attorney, Omar, I always just tell clients that you got to wait and see what a jury is going to do, that nobody can predict what is going to happen. But, there certainly has been very compelling evidence that that was the reason for these discussions. That was the reason for the hush money payment. You look at the timing of the Access Hollywood tape. You look at all the scrambling about after that, and what happened. You have a boss, Mr. Trump, who is very penny pinching, who apparently, if Cohen is to be believed, approves a massive payment to Mr. Cohen and says it's legal services.

So, you've got David Pecker's testimony. He certainly came across as a very straightforward guy that admitted when things went wrong and admitted the warts in the case. So, we'll see what the jury does. But, personally, yeah, I think the state has done a good job of admitting up that part of it.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. We will see what happens. As you say, you can't predict what a jury will do. I think that's probably the most sage advice you could give anyone that's following this trial here. Criminal defense attorney Amy Lee Copeland, really appreciate you taking the time.

COPELAND: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course. Alright everyone, we'll be right back.

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JIMENEZ: All right. So, once a year, Abu Dhabi hosts a Formula One racing event. But, the city's track recently hosted a race with no drivers at all. Instead, teams used artificial intelligence to make the crucial decisions on the track.

Veronica Miracle shows us how it works.

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VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the past 15 years, the Yas Marina Circuit has played host to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, one of the most anticipated events on the Formula One calendar. But, last month, drivers were replaced by artificial intelligence, as eight university teams from around the world came head-to-head in the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League, the first of its kind in the region.

TOM MCCARTHY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASPIRE: We believe that there is a potential in autonomous robotics and AI to combine these with the average driver in order to bring about greater safety on our roads. We thought the best way to do it is demonstrate its capability in the most extreme conditions you can, the fastest one designed race car in the world.

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MIRACLE (voice-over): Each team races using identical super Formula cars. What sets them apart is the coding, software algorithms that allow these vehicles to travel autonomously on the track.

LAWRENCE WALTER, TEAM PRINCIPAL CODE19 RACING: For a team of race engineers, world-class robotics, researchers and scientists bringing all have their expertise to get this car to go at high speed around the track without crashing. It's a very difficult thing. Every day, you're fighting for time, fighting to keep your car where it can still run on the track. It's just a thrill. It's literally like a playground for AI.

MIRACLE (voice-over): From understanding grip levels to predicting opponent movements, AI will gradually learn to replicate the mind of a racing driver. But, could it change the future of motorsports?

MIRACLE: How do these Formula One drivers or at least ones that you've talked to feel about this?

MCCARTHY: Just because it's a machine, it doesn't mean that aren't inhuman elements in it. We're not trying to get rid of drivers. We would always want the gladiatorial contest of the driver. We're bringing an extra dimension into this. Remember, it is people that are doing the programming here.

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JIMENEZ: Just incredible.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Omar Jimenez. Connect the World is up next. Stay with us.

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