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Judge Admonishes Defense Witness; U.S. on Iranian President's Death; Drone Warfare in Northern Ukraine; Taiwan's New President Urges China to Stop Intimidation; War Crimes And Crimes Against Humanity; Death Of Iran's President; Trump's Hush Money Trial. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired May 21, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:24]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Paula Newton. Ahead the head right here on CNN Newsroom, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. The International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Hamas and Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A Country in Mourning, funeral ceremonies for Iran's President begin in the coming hours. Plus, Michael Cohen makes a major admission as Donald Trump's hush money trial enters its final stages.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Paula Newton.
NEWTON: The October 7th Hamas terror attack and Israel's massive military response in Gaza setting off a potential legal battle before the International Criminal Court. Now, the chief ICC prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, as well as Hamas leader is Anwar and two others.
Now, Karim Khan announced the decision in an exclusive interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour. He says the charges would include war crimes and crimes against humanity. Now, we are nowhere near any kind of a verdict as of yet but the charges could result in up to 30 years in prison, even life under exceptional circumstances. Some accused the ICC prosecutor of putting the Israeli government on the same footing as a terrorist organization.
US President Joe Biden meantime denounced the move as outrageous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: Let me be clear, we reject the ICC's application for arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. Whatever these warrants may imply, there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. And it's clear, Israel wants to do all it can to ensure civilian protection. But let me be clear, contrary to allegations against Israel made by the International Court of Justice, what's happening is not genocide. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, the decision by the chief ICC prosecutor to seek arrest warrants must be approved by a panel of judges. Here's part of Christiane Amanpour's exclusive interview with Karim Khan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARIM KHAN, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT PROSECUTOR: I mean, every avenue that is so important to human survival has been constrained or suffocated. It's not just the denial of aid, it's under the fact that as an occupying power. Israel has an affirmative obligation to make sure food and the objects indispensable to survival get to the civilians, have an affirmative obligation.
So there's a lot of deficiencies that give rise not just to recklessness or negligence, or indifference, but seems to be part of a criminal common plan to deny these objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. And how many doctors have to talk about amputating the limbs a little babies or children without anesthetic, or how many people need to die without insulin, or how many people with 50 percent burns can be left by the doctors and the different hospitals because they don't have antibiotic creams for burns, and they can't save them without that, for us to realize that the law has been breached.
Now, this is what we have analyzed. And we've presented it for judges who make the final decision if warrant should be issued or not.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: And again, you say that you have requested these warrants based on a higher level of evidence than is normally required. Not just that it is a reasonable belief that it could lead to actual warrants and a charge. But you believe your evidence has what?
KHAN: Well, I -- when I came in as prosecutor, the standard for a warrant reasonable grounds to believe, that's what the judges have to determine. I -- across all our situations, when I became a prosecutor, I required the leaders in the office, the heads of the teams, to certify that there's a realistic prospect of conviction. It's not enough in these kinds of cases to have enough to issue a warrant. We must be able to bring it home.
AMANPOUR: On both sides?
KHAN: On both sides. And in relation to both, I've determined and the team are unanimous that we have a realistic prospect of conviction in relation to the three warrants being sought regarding the Hamas leaders and the two that are being sought in relation to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gallant. And of course the judges will decide if you've got it right and our analysis is spot on or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[01:05:06]
NEWTON: Now, Benjamin Netanyahu is, of course, condemning the ICC decision to seek arrest warrants as "a travesty of justice." CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more now from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the decision by the International Criminal Courts top prosecutor to seek arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is certainly sparking a lot of controversy inside of Israel, outrage and condemnation from across the political spectrum. The Israeli prime minister himself, of course, but also his political rivals, including the leader of the opposition, all of them condemning what they view as the International Criminal Court applying some kind of moral equivalency here by carrying out this decision to seek arrest warrants against both Israeli and Hamas leaders in the same breath.
We've heard from the Israeli prime minister, who said that this is not only an attack against him, but he views it as an attack against the State of Israel.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: With what audacity do you dare compare the most of Hamas to the soldiers of the IDF, the most moral army in the world. With what audacity you compare between the Hamas that murdered, burns, butchered, raped and kidnapped our brothers and sisters in the IDF soldiers were fighting a just war that is unparalleled in morality that is unmatched.
As the Prime Minister of Israel, I reject with disgust the Hague prosecutors comparison between Democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas.
DIAMOND And the Israeli prime minister also calling this a "disgrace and a distortion of reality" vowing that it will not deter Israel from continuing to carry out its war in Gaza, and it will not deter Israel from accomplishing its goal, as he has laid it out, of defeating Hamas. But this notion of moral equivalency of carrying out the search for arrest warrants on both Israel as well as Hamas is something that Hamas actually picked up on themselves as well.
In their statement reacting to this request for warrants, Hamas says quote, that it strongly condemned the attempts of the ICC prosecutor to equate victims with aggressors by issuing arrest warrants against the number of Palestinian resistance leaders without legal basis.
Now, what is ultimately clear here is that the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for war crimes as well as crimes against humanity on both sides. On the Hamas side, they focus in particular on the murder of civilians on October 7th, the taking of hostages, the sexual violence that has been committed by Hamas against hostages as well as against women on October 7th. As it relates to Israel, there's a focus on the targeting of civilians, as well as using starvation as a weapon of war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: That was Jeremy Diamond. In fact, reporting from Jerusalem now the threat of war crimes charges isn't stopping Israel from its military campaign in Gaza. Palestinian Health officials report at least 12 people were killed in Israeli strikes in Northern Gaza on Monday. And the UN says more than 900,000 Gaza residents, about 40 percent of the population, had been displaced over the past two weeks alone.
Some desperately needed humanitarian aid is getting into Gaza through that temporary pier built by the US military. Central Command says nearly 570 metric tons of supplies have been delivered so far.
Funeral prayers and ceremonies will begin soon in Iran for President Ebrahim Raisi after he and eight others were killed in helicopter crash over the weekend. Now, video released by Iran state media shows the caskets carrying the late president and the country's foreign minister who was also killed when a helicopter went down.
In Tehran, crowds turned out to pay their respects to Raisi on Monday as the country began five days of official mourning.
For the Northwest though, the city of Tabriz, prayers in a procession will begin in the coming hours and will continue in other cities in the days ahead before the Raisi is buried on Thursday. CNN's Paula Hancocks is following all these developments from the region and she joins us now live from Abu Dhabi.
I mean, Paula, this is going to be quite an extensive burial process. What can we expect in the coming hours?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Paula, this -- you're right. This is will be a multi-day funeral ceremony. What we're expecting today, this Tuesday and in about an hour or so, we are expecting one of the first funeral processions to start. That will be in the city of Tabriz. This is the closest city really to the location of that helicopter crash. And we are expecting that that procession to go to the to Tabriz Martyrs' Square we're expecting many to be accompanying the government supporters and then on to a prayer hall.
Now later in the day, those bodies will be flown to the holy city of Qom, and also in the evening to Tehran, to the capitol where the bodies will be held in the Grand Mosalla mosque.
[01:10:10]
Then on Wednesday, there will be funeral prayers in that that mosque itself, and we do understand there will be a couple of other ceremonies which officials say that they will announce at a later time. And then on Thursday, the bodies will be moved to Birjand. This is an area where the late President Raisi was serving. He served as the Supreme Leader's representative in that area. And then he will be going to Mashhad, to the Imam Reza shrine. This is where we will see that the true power in Iran, that the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will be attending there. And he will be conducting prayers over Raisi's body. And then later Thursday, Raisi will be buried in Mashhad.
Now, this is a five day mourning period. Certainly there's an extensive period in Iran. We would expect to see many supporters of the government coming out to show their respects and their commemoration. We also know that a number of other countries in the region as well have announced between one and three days mourning.
And on the other side, this is a dual track at the same time as the mourning process begins. We are also seeing the investigation process begin. The Chief of Staff has ordered an investigation into exactly what happened, when this helicopter went down on Sunday carrying the president, the foreign minister and seven others. And we know that there will be a military commander, technical teams will be going to the location of the crash to try and find out exactly what happened.
Now, we did hear from Turkey's Transportation minister speaking on state media saying that as far as they were concerned, the signal system on the helicopter was either off or not working at the time of the crash. They say they were trying to pinpoint where the plane -- the aircraft went down immediately after it was lost. And so, he is saying that at this point, it does appear as though it may have been caused by the foggy weather. So that's the Turkish point of view.
At this point, obviously, the investigation will look into it much deeper. But it's interesting we are hearing from Iranian officials, many have pointed to the conditions. We haven't heard many accusations in an official capacity as to foul play by other countries. But obviously, the investigation will look into that closer.
What we are hearing from the official point of view is, this is a time of mourning but it is also a time to highlight the message that there is stability in Iran, and that there will not be any disruption to the running of Iran due to the deaths of the president and the foreign minister. Paula?
NEWTON: OK. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi for us. We will continue to keep a watch on the funeral procession. Thanks so much, appreciate it.
Trita Parsi is the Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute and Author of "Losing An Enemy: Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy." And he joins us now from Reston, Virginia.
So, it's now been nearly 24 hours since the stunning events. We may in fact even have one of the funeral processions happening in the coming hours. Has any of the reaction within Iran surprised you?
TRITA PARSI, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, QUINCY INSTITUTE: No. I mean, I think what's been interesting to see is how tight the messaging has been from the regime. They made it very clear, they think this is an accident. They've done everything they can to put to rest any rumors that there was any foul play. And at the same time, they're really focusing on making sure that this is a smooth transition, that elections will be held and there won't be any commodity or any type of commotion going on inside of the country.
I think in some ways, this is a way for them to prepare for the secession that will follow when the Supreme Leader passes away, which is likely to happen within a year or two.
NEWTON: Yes. And speaking of him, he is old, he is frail and yet what do you believe we can expect from Ayatollah Khamenei now? He is needing to groom a successor, that's obvious. It may have been President Raisi that obviously will no longer happen. So, how much does he have to do in the next, you know, couple months or so to actually stand up a new person for election as president? And, of course, from what they crave, right, have that veneer of legitimacy.
PARSI: So I think the first challenge is going to be what he decides to do with the elections in the next 50 days. Up until now, they have closed down the political spectrum in Iran, and people have stopped participating in the elections by and large because they don't see any real choices.
[01:15:06]
There is an opportunity, not one that I think is likely that he will take but an opportunity to actually broaden the spectrum, allow different candidates to run and see where the population wants to take matters. And by that actually get a degree of buy in from the population again. But given the fact that the succession for the Supreme Leader's position is likely to happen within the next two years, my bet is that the that the governor will actually buckle down even further and tighten the spectrum, make sure that it's only folks that are acceptable to the hardliners in Iran that end up standing for election for the presidential.
And in parallel of this is going to have to be those discussions that will overwhelmingly take place behind the scenes about who should be contending for the Supreme Leader's position.
NEWTON: You know, I do want to talk to you about the reaction here in the United States. It was nuanced and yet there is this debate now going on. The Biden administration offered condolences, right? It was terse, it was polite, and it was decent. Some though, wanted condemnation, if not outright satisfaction, glee that a man personally responsible for repression and menace is now dead.
PARSI: Sure, and I think what we're seeing here is a tendency not just in the United States but throughout the world, unfortunately, in which there's a premium on simple condemnations. Those condemnations, imagine if this is the direction that the United States would have taken would have made absolutely zero difference in terms of what happens in Iran. It wouldn't help the victims of Iran's human rights violations, but it would make a few people over here feel better about themselves.
But it would really do however, would it make it more difficult to be able to find some sort of coexistence because reality is whether we like it or not, the United States does not have the capacity of getting rid of the regime in Iran. And that regime, and that country is very powerful there in the Middle East, US troops are in the Middle East, and it is in our interest to make sure that we don't get into any unnecessary fights that leave American servicemen and women dead for no reason, but to get a couple of politicians in the US to feel better about themselves because they issued a comment.
NEWTON: Right. So you --
PARSI: It's about maturity and, unfortunately, we're lacking a lot of that in our foreign policy.
NEWTON: I see what you mean by, you know, jumping up and down and saying this was an evil man, as opposed to what the US did, which was polite, to observe that this was an accident and that a head of state was killed. You're saying it leaves the door open to get to that de- escalation that the United States and so many others desperately need in the Middle East right now.
PARSI: Absolutely. We have interest, and our core interests here is to make sure we don't get dragged into another war, which means that we need to be able to de-escalate. And that means that there is a diplomatic protocol. We should follow it instead of getting entangled in emotions and desires for condemnation, do absolutely nothing in terms of advancing our interests.
NEWTON: And Trita Parsi, as we continue to watch these extraordinary events in Iran, really appreciate you being with us. Thanks so much.
PARSI: Thank you for having me.
NEWTON: Heated moments in Donald Trump's hush money trial between the judge and a key defense witness, what he did that prompted the judge to clear the courtroom. Plus, a legal victory for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange which now puts his extradition to the United States in doubt.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:20:42]
NEWTON: Angry moments in the Donald Trump hush money trial. A key witness for the defense brought in to discredit former fixer Michael Cohen managed to infuriate the judge, who then cleared the courtroom. And the defense also got Cohen to admit he had stolen tens of thousands of dollars from the Trump Organization.
Case is now entering the homestretch with closing arguments expected sometime next week. CNN's Kara Scannell now has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After four weeks of testimony, prosecutors rested their case in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial, just after their star witness, Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen, concluded more than 17 hours of dramatic testimony over four days. Trump's attorney Todd Blanche intensely attacked Cohen's credibility over multiple days, trying to paint him as a liar who's motivated by money.
MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER DONALD TRUMP LAWYER: I just want to get through this so that I can start my own life again.
SCANNELL: Blanche got Cohen to admit that he stole from the Trump Organization. Cohen confirmed he paid a tech company $20,000 instead of the $50,000 that was owed by Trump. But Cohen asked Trump to be repaid the full amount which was doubled to cover taxes. Ultimately, Cohen admitted he kept around $60,000 for himself.
Blanche asked, so you stole from the Trump Organization. Yes, sir, Cohen replied. Cohen said he was angry about getting a low annual bonus. Earlier in the trial, Cohen told prosecutors he requested the full reimbursement because that's what was owed and I didn't feel Mr. Trump deserve the benefit of the difference.
On Monday, Cohen admitted it was wrong to have taken the money. Cohen defended his character during testimony to Congress in 2019.
COHEN: I understand. I have lied but I am not a liar. And I have done bad things, but I am not a bad man.
SCANNELL: After cross examination concluded, prosecutors tried to clean up some of the damage done to Cohen's credibility. Prosecutor Susan Hollinger asked about repayments Cohen received from Trump for the $130,000 in hush money he provided two adult film star Stormy Daniels, which is the crux of the case.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: This is why I'm here because we call it a legal expense payment to a lawyer.
SCANNELL: Cohen testified that despite the 11 checks referring to a retainer agreement, he said no agreement existed because there was no legal work that I was to be paid for. Prosecutors played an audio clip for the jury of Cohen talking about Trump to Daniels' lawyer, Keith Davidson, about the payment.
COHEN: And I can't even tell you how many times he said to me, you know, I hate the fact that we did it. And my comment to him was but every person that you've spoken to told you was the right move.
SCANNELL: After the prosecution rested, the defense started calling witnesses, including Robert Costello who once served as a legal adviser to Cohen. Costello was visibly frustrated as the judge sustained several objections from the prosecution, audibly saying geez and rolling his eyes. Judge Merchan became so angry he briefly cleared the courtroom and address Costello. Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCANNELL: Bernarda Villalona is a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, and she joins us now from New York. And we are lucky that you have stayed up to tell us what happened. You were there today, and I really want to get your impressions. But I do want to further quote the judge after Robert Costello, you know, was basically on the stand. I want to quote him by saying, I'm putting you on notice that your conduct is contemptuous. That if you try to stare me down one more time, I will remove you from the stand.
Tell us what went on here and what were your impressions were especially when you were trying to observe what the jury was doing at this point in time.
BERNARDA VILLALONA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Paula, this was pure chaos. This was fireworks inside of the courtroom. Everyone was confused as to what was actually going on. So I was in the overflow room. So the good thing about the overflow room is that the camera is directly on the face of the witness. And also you see the judge and you see Donald Trump, so you get to see like the facial expressions and what exactly is going on.
[01:25:02]
So when this witness, Mr. Costello, and let's think, let's remember he is an attorney. So for him to behave in the manner that he did, made it even more disrespectful. Like you can see the vibes that I got from Robert Costello is that kind of like my cousin, Vinnie (ph) with a mix of mafioso type. And what's interesting and important about that is I remember Michael Cohen, when he testified, he said, I didn't trust Mr. Costello. I didn't trust he was acting in my best interest. So of course, I wasn't going to tell him that I had information about Trump and the payoff to Stormy Daniels. So that is crucial.
So the judge, yes, he got really upset, ended up having to clear the courtroom. But let's not forget that the jury still heard some of those comments when he said Jesus and geez, and his facial expressions. And let's not forget what's important about the jury is that there are two jurors who are attorneys and understand that this is not proper decorum. And that jury is going to help to evaluate the credibility of Mr. Costello, and this does not very well for him.
NEWTON: Yes. He was incredibly belligerent and I dare say Trumpian, right? Kind of did what the former president may want him to do in terms of standing up for what he thought of the judge or what he thought was the judges doing. But what's crucial here too is, can you explain to us what did Costello actually testify to? And why did the defense want to put them on the stand in the first place?
VILLALONA: Quite honestly, Paula, I think that it was a choice and a direction by Donald Trump. That Donald Trump wanted Mr. Costello to testify, because in my opinion, they did not have to put any witnesses to testify. And, of course, the law doesn't require the defense to put up a defense, to have witnesses testify, because the burden is on the prosecution.
But I think what the defense was trying to get is a one liner. And that one liner was that Michael Cohen, when he spoke to Mr. Costello said, I swear to God, I don't have anything to give them about Donald Trump and Stormy Daniels. He didn't know anything about it. And if the jury were to believe that that, that was the conversation Michael Cohen had with this attorney, who was supposed to represent him, or he was engaging in to try to represent him, then everything else is recent fabrication. So he's lying about everything that he's presented to this jury.
I think that was the goal by the defense but that didn't play out that way.
NEWTON: Yes. And in the middle of all this, such dramatic testimony that then the jury heard, but then they were called out and then called back in.
I do want to get back to Michael Cohen's last hours on the stand is admitting. He stole money from Trump. I mean, legally, how big of a deal is this? Because some people, you know, set out to portray this as a big mistake for the prosecution. VILLALONA: So, we know from the very beginning, from opening statements, that, look, the prosecution was going to have to deal with the credibility issues of Michael Cohen. So that was no big surprise. But I will say that the defense did land a blow in the sense that they did put him out as a thief. I don't think the prosecution when they directed Michael Cohen brought that out or flesh that out that actually Michael Cohen benefited a lot by taking this money and charging, and access to Donald Trump.
But still, in the end it's going to come down to closing arguments, and the prosecution is going to have to bring it home as to despite Michael Cohen being a thief, despite Mr. Cohen having lied before, despite Michael Cohen having some kind of a debtor against Donald Trump, that you can still believe what he's saying as to the material issues in this case.
Look, Paula, I've tried dozens of cases, and usually witnesses, you don't get the perfect witness. They are no angels. You don't get the perfect witness. I said this before. When you cast a play in hell, there are no angels to play the part. So I wasn't expected Michael Coleman to be this perfect witness. But if you bring that to the attention of the jury, and show the jury how his testimony could be corroborated, then it's more likely that a jury will be able to accept Michael Cohen.
And then, we're not asking the jury to take Michael Cohen home having babysit your kids, or handle your finances, can you believe what he is saying now as he's testified before you for the last four days. And that's ultimately going to be the job of the jury.
NEWTON: Bernie, you've been on both sides of this, OK? If you are preparing your closing arguments, your summation, can you just tell us quickly what is the focus point for you right now in terms of when you're in front of that jury trying to sum up all this chaos for them?
VILLALONA: So for the prosecution, if I was summing up for the prosecution, you have to lay this out clearly and it has to be nice and streamlined. And just to know that this closing argument, at least 60 percent of it was prepared even before the case started because that's how you tailor out your presentation of the case.
[01:29:51]
But they have to be clear, just how they went through the direct examination of Cohen every time he said something, if there was corroboration, bring it out right in front of the jury and refocus them to what their purpose is in this jury.
What do they have to determine? What are the major issues and how it was proven and how the law applies to the facts. But they have to streamline and really bound (ph) this down so the jury can be able to understand where to focus and how they presented the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt and not get lost in the weeds of the defense.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Bernarda, wow, we are so lucky you stay up late for us, especially after you had a long day of court, we are lucky viewers. You summed that up perfectly for us as we continue today to watch the closing hours of this trial.
Bernarda Villalona for us. Thanks so much, appreciate it.
Now London's high court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal his extradition to the United States and he's been wanted by U.S. authorities for more than a decade on espionage charges for publishing classified documents exposing alleged U.S. war crimes.
Back in March, the court sought guarantees from the U.S. protecting Assange's free speech rights and that he wouldn't get the death penalty.
But on Monday, the court ruled those assurances, in fact, weren't enough. Assange's supporters cheered the news outside the courtroom with some saying it gives them hope he'll someday gain his freedom.
Ok. Coming up for us, the U.S. response to allegations that its sanctions played a part in the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will soon be laid to rest with multi-day funeral ceremonies beginning in just a few hours from now all. Mr. Raisi was one of nine people killed in a helicopter crash in the remote East Azerbaijan region on Sunday.
The United States has sent official condolences for their deaths, and it is also forcefully rejecting allegations that its sanctions were responsible for the crash.
Former Iranian foreign ministers Javad Sharif told state media that the U.S. kept Iran from accessing spare aviation parts.
Washington is denouncing those allegations, calling them baseless. CNN's Fred Pleitgen brings us up to date.
[01:34:47]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iran's presidential helicopter completely destroyed after crashing into a mountain in the remote north of the country. Dense fog, frigid conditions making the recovery efforts even harder.
President Ebrahim Raisi, along with foreign minister Hossein Amir- Abdollahian and seven others were killed in the crash. Rescuers having to carry the bodies away through the rugged terrain.
A CNN Turk journalist showing how challenging the conditions are.
FULYA OZTURK, CNN TURK JOURNALIST (through translator): This place is a very difficult terrain with dense trees, deep valleys, and steep mountains.
We can say that this is the most challenging terrain of Iran.
PLEITGEN: Raisi inaugurated a dam with the president of Azerbaijan and was traveling to nearby Tabriz. The chopper, a decades' old American- made Bell 212, a model developed for the Canadian military in the 1960s.
The chopper crashed in poor visibility. Iran under heavy sanctions, has been unable to acquire more modern helicopters.
President Ebrahim Raisi was rumored to be a possible successor to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose 84 years old. As the chopper went missing, the Supreme Leader taking the reins, chairing a meeting of Iran's security council, and vowing the country's government will continue to work.
AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER (through translator): Be assured that there will be no disruption in the country's affairs.
PLEITGEN: black flags have been hoisted across Iran as the country's leadership has ordered already five days of mourning, canceling most public events.
Also deeply mourning the country's foreign minister Hossein Amir- Abdollahian who was instrumental in the past months as Iran and Israel came to the brink of full-on war and traded missile strikes.
Abdollahian also challenging the U.S. in a recent interview on CNN's "OUTFRONT WITH ERIN BURNETT".
HOSSEIGN AMIR-ABDOLLAHIAN, IRANIAN FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER: I do think that America must pay closer attention and focus on the adventure- seeking regime in Israel so that such a crisis will not happen in Gaza because Netanyahu showed he will not respect any of the red lines.
PLEITGEN: Tehran has launched an investigation into the crash that killed two key figures of the Islamic republic's leadership, while vowing that the nation will carry on.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: CNN's Anna Coren is following developments and joins us now live from Hong Kong.
And of course, we do expect those funeral ceremonies to begin any moment now.
Meantime, though the Iranian regime has been very difficult to parse (ph) for decades. Given Raisi's, sudden death, a man who, as we just heard from Fred could have been a successor to the Supreme Leader, what's at stake now as they get ready to hold elections within two months.
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Paula, firstly, the big unknown, right? Who will replace Ebrahim Raisi? They 63-year-old, you know, divisive hardliner who as you say, was being groomed for the top job of Supreme Leader.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he's 85 years old and in recent years, he struggled with illness. You know, back in 2022 it was reported that he had to cancel all public appearances because he was gravely ill. And there were reports that he had to have surgery for a bowel obstruction.
So whoever they push into that position and these elections will be engineered as they have in recent years. They will need to be ready to take over that top job. You know, they're not just choosing a person, they are choosing the future Supreme Leader of Iran as well.
Look -- socially, politically, economically, Iran is on the brink. Regionally, its long shadow war with Israel that came out into the open last month in that exchange of drone and missile fire following the assassination of Iran's senior commander of the Revolutionary Guard and its consulate in Damascus, Syria, its ally, Hamas, launched the October 7 attacks on Israel, and that war, as we know, it's raging in its eighth month shows no sign of abating.
Iran's nuclear program has expanded and accelerated in recent years. There's a huge concern for the international community.
And then domestically in Iran, the economy's in freefall. The real has, has lost 55 percent of its value in less than three years. Inflation is soaring. Western sanctions are biting and adding huge pressure on the economy.
And on top of that, you have this social unrest not just in response to the economy, but in response to the strict morality, laws and human rights abuses that are occurring in Iran.
[01:39:47]
COREN: The death of Mahsa Amini in 2022 that led to that wide-scale protest right across Iran. And then you had that bloody crackdown that followed.
So -- but hope that the regime may correct course, I think is wishful thinking. You know, reformers were shut out of Iran's sham elections back in 2021. And then, you know, elections for the parliament earlier this year.
Raisi, he was a hard liner. The next president will be as well. There's a lot of talk about the Supreme Leader's son Mojtaba Khamenei. He is a possibility to succeeding. He is close to Iran's Revolutionary Guards. He's, of course, a driving force behind Iran's nuclear program.
The first vice president Mohammad Mokhber has been appointed acting president. He's also close to the Supreme Leader. He could be a potential contender as well.
But as you say, Paula, there is just so much at stake. And Iran is isolated and very vulnerable right now. NEWTON: Yes. And before I let you go, Anna, I mean Raisi, of course, was accused by many of being a menacing, brutal oppressor and which is why I come to this issue of a reaction, right?
I mean, there have certainly been signs of relief and with some even joy.
COREN: He was referred to, Paula, as the butcher of Tehran, the hanging judge for his key role in the extrajudicial killing of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. We heard from the State Department earlier today, and they said that Raisi had blood on his hands. He was widely unpopular even among conservatives.
And yes, we've seen government supporters turnout and gather for prayers to mourn his loss. But there has also been this celebration within Iran and also in the diaspora.
And we want to show you some of the video of people celebrating, they're not showing their faces. These I believe are fireworks in Kurdistan.
But there are some videos that have been posted on social media and I want to read to you what one of the women said. She said, "I had never thought I would be happy with someone's death. I congratulate everyone on the death of the Iranian president, especially the family of those who sacrificed their lives, their wealth, and their children for the freedom of Iran. I hope for happier times for the people of Iran."
These celebrations though Paula, as we know, it may be short-lived. It is widely-believed among many analysts who closely follow Iran that whoever they put as the next president will be of the same mold as Raisi.
NEWTON: Yes. And with despair, we note the young people that have lost their lives in the last few years in Iran still suffering from that.
Anna Coren for us from Hong Kong, appreciate it.
Still to come for us, CNN goes to the front lines in northern Ukraine where cross-border attacks and drone warfare are ramping up on both sides of this fight.
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NEWTON: Ukraine says it has managed to stall Russian advances near the country's northern border. Russia has been targeting the embattled town of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region but Ukrainian officials say their forces now control about 60 percent of the town adding that the situation in the region is stabilized.
Now, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Russia is obliterating Ukraine villages and bombarding civilian infrastructure in its renewed assault on Kharkiv. Now the fierce fighting in Ukraine's north has seen both sides carrying out more and more cross-border attacks and notably an increase in the use of drones by both Russia and Ukraine.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reports now from the front lines.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dusk begins a race to hide before dark.
It's this drone unit's first night in a new location.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull up.
WALSH: Twilight a tiny window when perhaps you can unpack, set up without the Russian drones that are always, always above, seeing you as clearly.
Like so much in this fast-changing war, their task was unimaginable when Moscow invaded. The target is on the horizon. Russia itself into which they fly and plant mines on key roads. They wait for dark.
Those lights twinkling over there on the horizon that's Belgorod, Russia. How close they're operating towards Russian mainland.
Putin's latest offensive towards Kharkiv has made the fight personal for Artyom. His parents live about a five-minute drive away and fighting for his literal home is unsettling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's anxious. For real. For a year and a half, they didn't know that I'm in a combat brigade fighting near Bakhmut. I was telling them I'm guarding checkpoints.
WALSH: And now for the first of many times, their only defense is to listen for drones.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back. Back. Back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Orlan flying. Right over us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Orlan.
WALSH: It passes. Now it is dark they must hurry. Russian drones have thermal cameras. They hear another.
No lights. No lights. No lights.
Battles raging nearby may help them go unnoticed. They resume. Any strike could also ignite the two mines they're fitting. But they hear another drone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The (EXPLETIVE DELETED) won't let us work.
WALSH: Such an escalation. We're over two year into the war to now see Ukrainians flying drones of explosive straight into Russia.
Inside Sasha watches it cross the border.
SASHA: Here's the border. Did you bring your passport. No visa needed.
WALSH: Remarkably when Russian jamming kicks in, the drone keeps going. And they're able to pick the signal up again, deeper inside Russia.
They spot the target road they will mine. Dropped both payloads and head back.
A GPS problem means that drone crash-lands, but they have a spare. They wants (ph) elsewhere managed 24 sorties in one night.
But they have to be spotted only once. And these shells may not pass overhead. We leave.
Lights off at first to avoid drones. The road littered with anti-tank defenses, not laid out in time to hinder Russia's latest advance.
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WALSH: And now they have only courage and ingenuity to hold back the dark.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN -- outside Kharkiv, Ukraine.
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NEWTON: The Democratic Republic of Congo says a group of American citizens were involved in a failed coup attempt on Sunday. A military spokesperson tells CNN, armed men targeted the country's presidential palace and the homes of top officials there.
DRC officials say the attempted coup was led by opposition leader Christian Malanga, who was killed in a shootout. The DRC claims Malanga was a U.S. citizen, but the U.S. State Department says it has no record of him.
The DRC military spokesman says three other Americans were also involved in the plot. U.S. officials say they will cooperate with DRC authorities and hold accountable any U.S. citizen involved in criminal acts.
Ok, still to come for us. Taiwan's new president has a strong message for China. Stop the threats. What else he said after taking office. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NEWTON: Taiwan's new president called on China to stop intimidating the island during his inauguration speech on Monday after officially taking office. Lai Ching-te said China needs to quote, "face the reality of Taiwan's existence."
Joining us now how is CNN's Will Ripley in Taipei? Good to see you, Will.
This really was a provocative speech, but substantively, do you believe there are any changes ahead in this new leadership in Taiwan?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What made the speech provocative, Paula was the fact that Lai Ching-te, the president of Taiwan, said that he hopes China will recognize the Republic of China, which is the official name for Taiwan's existence.
And yet, of course, China has always said that there's just one China and that Taiwan is a part of that, even though the democratically- elected government that has been in power here for decades does not agree. This has been an ongoing conflict for more than 70 years since the end of China's civil war.
But this particular administration is quite infuriating for the powers that be, the communist leaders in Beijing, because not only do you have President Lai Ching-te, who six years ago stated that he was in support of Taiwan Independence, even though he's now toned down those views as president. He also has a vice president who served until very recently as the U.S. -- the envoy to the United States in Washington. That's Hsiao Bi-khim, the vice president.
So you have these two leaders that Beijing essentially detests. And a lot of people are wondering what their response is going to be now to try to make this new government look illegitimate or even weak.
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RIPLEY: Taiwan begins a new era with a new leader, Lai Ching-te. The island democracy's 64-year-old president steps into a political minefield. China's communist leaders loathe Lai and his government.
How is Beijing likely to respond?
WEN-TI SUNG, FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL'S GLOBAL CHINA HUB: Beijing is likely to play a hard ball towards Taiwan. More military exercises from Beijing, likely targeted economic sanctions against Taiwanese economic exports to China.
RIPLEY: Just hours into his presidency, Lai called on the communist mainland to stop its military and political intimidation and recognize the sovereignty of Democratic Taiwan using the island's official name, the Republic of China.
[01:54:48] LAI CHING-TE, PRESIDENT OF TAIWAN (through translation): I hope that China will face the reality of the Republic of China's existence and respect the choices of the people of Taiwan.
RIPLEY: Lai faces rising tensions at home and across the Taiwan Strait.
This is the first time in the history of Taiwan's democracy that any political party has won a third consecutive presidential term. But the next four years could be even more challenging for the new president.
Challenges like chaos in a fiercely divided parliament. A brawl broke out last week over legislative reforms to give more power to Lai's political opponents, champions of more China-friendly policies.
SUNG: The opportunity, however, is that there's always possibility for the ruling party and the opposition party of Taiwan to kind of play good cop, bad cop towards Beijing.
RIPLEY: At a closed-door briefing in Taipei, a senior official telling CNN, Taiwan's new president is bracing for a turbulent tenure. Taiwan is spending billions to bolster its military defense, forging friendships with like-minded democracies, despite a dwindling number of formal diplomatic allies. One of many huge hurdles facing President Lai Ching-te as democratic Taiwan prepares for an uncertain future.
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RIPLEY: Taiwan lost ten formal allies over the past eight years of Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen. They only have 12 tiny allies to speak on their behalf at the United Nations. And some of those nations, particularly Haiti, are considered by analysts to be quite vulnerable to financial overtures by Beijing, which is how they've managed to pluck off some of these last remaining holdouts that have given Taiwan's government that crucial legitimacy on the global stage.
So they're still trying, of course, to invest in friendships with like-minded democracies like the U.S., Paula.
But of course the election there throws a whole new level of uncertainty into the mix for Taiwan's new President Lai Ching-te.
NEWTON: Yes, it's certainly maybe until after that election in early 2025 before we understand what that relationship is going to look like.
Will Ripley, always good to see you. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Studio Ghibli has made history at the Cannes Film Festival, becoming the first ever group to win the honorary Palme d'Or. The festival's top award has historically been given to the director of the winning film shown each year. The award was accepted by Director Goro Miyazaki, son of award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, a studio co- founder who debuted four new short films at Cannes.
I want to thank you for watching. I'm Paula Newton. I'll be right back with more news in just a few minutes.
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