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Harris Campaigns In Pennsylvania Ahead Of Democratic National Convention Tomorrow In Chicago; Two New Polls Show Harris Leading Trump Nationally For The First Time; Antony Blinken Arrives In Israel For Key Meeting With Benjamin Netanyahu; DNC Protests; Blinken Arrives In Israel. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 18, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:33]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: And I'm Jim Sciutto in Tel Aviv.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is now here in Israel where he will meet with the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow. Hamas, though, throwing cold water on the latest ceasefire offer. I'll have more on that coming up.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jim, we'll get back with you momentarily.

Right now it is the eve of the Democratic National Convention and final preparations are underway as delegates are set to send on the United Center in Chicago tomorrow. There they will celebrate their nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, as she builds momentum in this tight presidential race.

A new ABC News-"Washington Post"-Ipsos poll out today has Harris taking the lead outside of the margin of error over Republican Donald Trump. It's the first time a major poll has Harris leading since she announced her candidacy last month.

And we just heard from the vice president a short time ago, you saw it live here on this program, she's spending the day on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state that could hold the key to winning the White House.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is live for us at the DNC in Chicago, while CNN's Eva McKend is tracking the Harris campaign trail in Pennsylvania.

All right, Jeff, you first. I mean, Democrats are preparing, you know, for these big moments as they make the case to voters. And what are you learning about the plans?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, as Vice President Harris makes her way here to Chicago of course she's stopping in that critical battleground state of Pennsylvania. Preparations are underway here for this Democratic convention, and boy, what a different convention it is shaping up to be. They've been planning this for more than a year, but in the last

month, of course, the candidate changed. But tomorrow night will be the moment for President Biden to make his entrance here into the convention hall. And there is no doubt he will be warmly received not only for what he's done in office by Democrats, but also for what he decided to do a month ago and that of course is to step aside and allow his vice president to become the party's standard bearer.

So I'm told that Vice President Harris said she wanted to be in the hall. She wanted to watch this speech. So that is going to happen tomorrow evening on the opening night of this. And then President Biden is going to take his leave. He will not be in Chicago for the remainder of the convention that was designed to celebrate his accomplishments and be somewhat of a capstone for him.

But that of course is being cut short because of his decision to step aside, but because of that, of course, this race is in an entirely different place. It is different than it had been for the last year. And as we've seen from the polls, Vice President Harris now is slightly ahead of former president Donald Trump.

But, look, this is an incredibly tight contest, an incredibly a tight race. For the rest of this week here, the former president Barack Obama will be speaking on Tuesday evening. Michelle Obama will introduce him, I'm told. Of course this is their hometown. Former president Bill Clinton will be speaking on Wednesday and former speaker Nancy Pelosi also will be speaking on Wednesday.

That will be a very interesting moment of course because she had a very large role in urging President Biden to step aside. But this convention is all about one thing now. It is sort of conveying who Vice President Kamala Harris is to the rest of the country, talking about her life story, talking about her life's work and her record as a prosecutor, growing up in the middle-class family.

That's what this is going to be about. There is no doubt Donald Trump, of course, would be doing some counter-programming as the week goes forward. But this week is what Democrats hope will be a time to keep momentum alive, which really has been the rule of the game here for the last month or so. She's been on something of a rocket ride. Can they keep that going? And can she fill in some of the blanks here to what she would do as president?

So the message is forward. The question is forward to what? But Democrats here are excited and unified, something they were not just one month ago -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: No. All right. Jeff, thank you so much.

Eva, let's bring you in here, now you're in Western Pennsylvania. And so, you know, Kamala Harris has been talking to people there about her vision forward while, you know, at the DNC, she will be talking about her story. What has been the focus today?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the vice president telling volunteers that her campaign is about lifting people up at its core, seeming to suggest that the former president is more concerned about tearing people down.

[16:05:05]

And it's where she's delivering this message today that is particularly interesting. You know, the last couple of weeks, we have seen her in these large rallies in Milwaukee and in Atlanta, but here in Western Pennsylvania, she's really connecting with voters in more intimate spaces, volunteers, phone banking, canvassing, retail shops, to really get that important facetime, one-on-one with voters in this battleground state.

We have the opportunity to catch up with a canvasser out on the doors doing that important work of door knocking here in Pittsburgh. And she told me that she was really happy with what she's been seeing on the doors, that she's been targeting specifically Republican and independent voters that at least expressed to her an openness to taking a real look at supporting Vice President Harris.

Harris, though, getting a lot of attacks from the right for her economic policy plan. Well, a lot of her supporters actually like that plan, especially the provision to go after corporate landlords. Take a listen to what this Pittsburgh man told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL KINNEY, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: It's so difficult to find a place to rent because they keep raising the prices. The corporate landlords and the price gouging. They recently raised my rent by 20 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And, Fredricka, another issue also top of mind for voters that we're hearing about is reproductive rights. No doubt something that she is focusing intently on in her campaign -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. Eva McKend, Jeff Zeleny, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

So Democrats are riding a sudden surge of strong polling going into tomorrow. CNN's Poll of Polls incorporates those new polls and now gives Vice President Kamala Harris a slight lead in a nationwide head- to-head matchup with Donald Trump. She sits at 50 percent to Trump's 48 percent. But the race remains close enough that there is still no clear winner.

I'm joined now by CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston at the Democratic National Convention.

Mark, great to see you. So the election, I mean, 79 days away, but here we are in the eve of the DNC. So how should the two parties react to these polls showing Harris now leading? We know her camp is very happy.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I'll tell you what, Fred, there's no question that Kamala Harris really needed to have her campaign launched with a bang and it certainly has. You know, a lot of people have started saying, perhaps she has peaked too early. I would disagree with that. She needed to show that she has the support and the confidence of Democratic voters behind her.

And that is what we are seeing, this renewed energy specifically among key groups in the Democratic Party, including young women, young people, and also people of color. These are all groups that we've seen in these polls that have shown that in the past few weeks have moved their support back to Kamala Harris.

If you're Donald Trump, however, right now there has been a lot of criticism about how he's addressed this. But I will tell you right now, he's not talking about the issues. He's talking about more criticisms than he is actually talking about issues like the economy, where he actually does better than Kamala Harris does -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So tomorrow night, opening night, you know, President Biden will deliver the keynote speech. How do you see him kind of striking a balance about his legacy and Kamala Harris' vision, and this theme of moving forward?

PRESTON: I got to tell you, probably one of the most difficult speeches he will have to give will be tomorrow night here right behind me here in Chicago. You know, President Biden is going to have to do two things. One, he's going to have to talk about his legacy, but talk about it in a way about how it was the Democratic Party's legacy. If he does it that way, it will be very powerful but more importantly, he's got to be able to pass the torch, to talk about how he had laid this groundwork for the likes of Kamala Harris to come in.

The first African-American woman, you know, to be on a ticket, to be the vice president. He did open that door and I suspect we will see that tomorrow night.

WHITFIELD: And we're looking right now at the, you know, invited speakers. You've got former president Barack Obama, former president Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, Illinois governor. I mean, tell me more about the lineup here and the positioning of all of these speakers. And Hillary Clinton.

PRESTON: Well, certainly, you know, you have the -- what I would like to call the elders of the party, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, at this point now, Barack Obama, you know, really the folks who have brought the party to where it is now. But, again, there has to be this passing of the torch that we're going to see this week, where younger Democrats, you're going to probably hear more from younger Democrats than we have heard in past conventions, and this whole idea that the Democratic Party is the party of the future.

[16:10:05]

Now whether or not they can convey that we'll see that over the next four days, but it will be interesting to see the likes of Michelle Obama delivering this passion, this oratory that she doesn't necessarily speak often. But when she does speak, people do listen. And then of course the straight talk that we'll hear from Barack Obama to members of his own party. It will be interesting if he tells them that if they don't get their act together, then they could lose the White House.

WHITFIELD: And then, Mark, you know, Harris' opponent, Donald Trump, he's planning some counter-programming and it's interesting because he's doing that now when, I don't know, it was just a week ago when he says, you know, I'm waiting, I'm going to let her have her, you know, moment at the convention and then, you know, I'll be on the attack. So what changed? What's going on now?

PRESTON: Well, I mean, be careful what you wish for, right? I mean, they wanted Joe Biden to be really damaged throughout the summer. They thought that the debate, you know, would damage him, but he wouldn't necessarily drop out of the race. But by dropping out of the race, you know, we see all this enthusiasm for Kamala Harris. I would say that some of that enthusiasm, though, is about the future.

It's young people now who are able to relate more to the likes of Kamala Harris, somebody who, you know, they have more in common with than Joe Biden, you know, who is, you know, the age of many people's grandparents. So I do think that the Trump campaign sees this and they realize that if they are going to win this election, they really need to start digging in deep in some of these battleground states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Georgia.

These states that really we'll see most of the time, I think, from the presidential candidates in the closing months -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fascinating. Of course, we'll all be watching.

Mark Preston, thank you so much.

Let's toss now to Tel Aviv and Jim Sciutto.

SCIUTTO: Thanks so much, Fred.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now here in Israel ahead of high- stakes meetings with the Israeli prime minister, as well as other senior Israeli officials. Hamas, though, is not expressing optimism about these talks. We're going to break it all down coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:54]

SCIUTTO: I'm Jim Sciutto in Tel Aviv. Happening right now, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken is here in Israel, here for what could prove to be a crucial meeting with the Israeli prime minister set for tomorrow. The U.S. is calling this an inflection point in the continuing pursuit of a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza. But even with negotiations expected to resume later this week, Hamas just a short time ago accused Netanyahu of introducing new conditions to undermine the talks, saying in a statement, quote, "After listening to the mediators about the recent round of talks in Doha it became clear to us once again that Netanyahu continues to place obstacles to reaching an agreement, sets new conditions and demands in order to thwart the efforts of the mediators and prolong the war." With me is CNN State Department reporter Jennifer Hansler.

Jennifer, you traveled in here with the U.S. secretary of state. The word from U.S. officials and from Israeli officials is we're making progress. But I wonder if they are still so confident in that given what we're hearing from Hamas officials tonight.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's certainly this projection of extreme optimism around this entire deal, Jim. We've heard other U.S. officials say that they are in the end stages, that they could even wrap up these discussions this week. On the way here, a senior administration official described this as an inflection point. They said, you know, this is this is Blinken's job to kind of hammer home the need to get this done and that's why these talks tomorrow are going to be so high-stakes.

He's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He's meeting with the defense minister as well as the Israeli President Hertzog. And these conversations as you and I both know they're never easy. They're always difficult, particularly around something so sensitive that we've seen months and months and months of negotiations to try to hammer this home because the U.S. wants this war to come to an end.

They want to see an end to the fighting in Gaza. They want to be able to move on to these day-after proposals as Blinken describes them. That have been so key to a lot of his conversations throughout the region. This is his ninth trip over here, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HANSLER: And, you know, these are perhaps the highest stakes talks we have seen just because of this level of optimism that they project around. At the same time, as you noted, Hamas is kind of throwing cold water on here. Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not said an outright yes to this proposal either so there are still a lot of work to be done here.

SCIUTTO: Listen, ninth visit still no deal. We'll see if this one does the trick.

Jennifer Hansler, thanks so much.

Let's get more on this and what's happening behind it. We're joined now by Ambassador Richard Haass. He is the president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, author as well of "The World: A brief Introduction," and of course a veteran of many negotiations like this one.

Ambassador, thanks so much for taking the time this evening.

AMB. RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT EMERITUS, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Thanks for having me, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So I wonder what your read is of these current negotiations because if you listen to President Biden, State Department officials, and Israeli officials, they were projecting cautious optimism. Hamas seems to be saying something quite different now. Do you see hopes for an agreement on a ceasefire as realistic at this point?

HAASS: I guess I have cautious pessimism.

[16:20:02]

The United States, Jim, is getting close to a dangerous point where we're violating former secretary of state Baker's rule that would United States should never want a deal more than the protagonist, and I would say that's where we are. Israel has not put a priority on getting the hostages back and wants to continue to downgrade the Hamas' military capability. It has no plan for what would come after, while Hamas is willing to continue to sacrifice the people of Gaza and seems to think a long war will further isolate Israel. So I'm not sure where the optimism comes from right now.

SCIUTTO: Yes. The other James Baker rule, of course, was dead cat diplomacy. The idea being that it's becomes less about a deal than putting the blame, the dead cat on someone else's doorstep. And I wonder if you fear that we're entering that phase of this negotiation?

HAASS: Well, the answer is maybe in which case there'll be a lot of blame to go around. Everyone will be pointing fingers at everybody else. But let's take it another way. Just say, you know, our pessimism is wrong and we do get a deal. It's not a solution. There's still fundamental questions about the use of force. If Israel gets a chance to kill Sinwar, you know and I know they're going to do it no matter what the ceasefire looks like.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HAASS: There's still no plan for governance in Gaza afterwards. There are still no political alternative to Hamas and none of this, as you know better than anyone, includes the basics of what about the northern front with Hezbollah in Lebanon? What about the growing violence on the West Bank between settlers and Palestinians? What about fundamental questions between Israel and Iran?

So at times, I'll be honest with you, I'm a little bit hard pressed to understand just why there is this extreme focus here because it's not clear to me it will necessarily lead to what people seem to think it will.

SCIUTTO: Just last week, there was genuine fear of an expansion of this conflict with perhaps an attack not just from Hezbollah in the north, but from Iran. I will tell you, sitting in Tel Aviv today, my sense is some of that fear has dissipated for now. Do you think the risk of an expansion of this war has been just delayed or possibly reduced, reduced as a possibility?

HAASS: Well, I'd say at best it's been delayed and it's not clear to me that any of the protagonists see the upside right now, but I don't think it's necessarily been reduced. Israel still faces an untenable situation where, what, 60,000 or 70,000 of its citizens can't go home and you also have the problem of Iran's nuclear capabilities are inching ever closer to something that Israel and possibly the United States cannot tolerate.

So I'm not seeing the basics of stability in this part of the world even if in the aftermath of the Israeli assassination of Haniyeh at an Iranian guesthouse in Tehran. Even if the parties are pulling back from escalation in the short run.

SCIUTTO: Before we go, I'm curious what you think the state of U.S. influence is in these negotiations, in this time period, U.S. election, two and a half months away, in fact, a lame duck U.S. president, and that he's not running for reelection, Joe Biden? Do you believe the parties here, Israel included, calculate that they don't have to make a deal with the U.S. right now? Don't have to listen to U.S. pressure right now?

HAASS: Look, what you've raised is an awkward but important question, and I don't like my answer, but I think essentially they're looking past this administration. And by the way, for the last 10 months the parties have essentially been rejecting U.S. and treaties in any case, long before Joe Biden was thought of as a lame duck. But now I think this exacerbates it and so, no, I don't think either party feels pressured to do a "favor," quote-unquote, for this president or this administration.

They're thinking about their own long term political and strategic interests, and they'll figure they'll reach some kind of a relationship with whoever wins the American election here later this year.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Yes, not a lot of investment here in Joe Biden's political legacy certainly.

Ambassador Richard Haass, author of "The World: A Brief Introduction," thanks so much for joining.

HAASS: Good to be with you.

SCIUTTO: And we will have much more after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:29:18]

WHITFIELD: All right. To Pennsylvania now, where Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, and their spouses there at a firehouse in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. They are touring four cities in Western Pennsylvania, letting folks know where they stand and what the vision is this day forward. Now, just one day ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

All right. Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters are expected to arrive in Chicago to march in opposition to Israel's war in Gaza. Activists are pushing Democrats and Vice President Kamala Harris to take a harder line with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

[16:30:00] And, today, Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth says Harris is committed to a quick and peaceful end to the fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D), ILLINOIS: I think we need to work hard on getting the seize-fire agreement. And I think what she can push for is to talk about making sure that we get the humanitarian aid into Gaza. And I think she will lean more heavily towards the humanitarian side of things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I'm joined now by Hatem Abudayyeh. He is the spokesperson of the Coalition to March on the DNC. Hatem, great to see you. What are you hoping?

HATEM ABUDAYYEH, SPOKESPERSON, COALITION TO MARCH ON THE DNC (via Skype): (INAUDIBLE.)

WHITFIELD: What are you hoping Harris will be saying?

ABUDAYYEH: Listen, the only way that I think there can be any kind of shift in the relationship between our community, Palestinians and Arabs in this country, and so many others that are going to be joining us tomorrow and throughout the week at the DNC, is if Vice President Harris actually says that she is going to demand that Israel stop the genocide.

It has to be said that way. We have that kind of power. She has that kind of power. Where she could turn that tap of money and weapons off immediately, and Israel would not be able to perpetrate its war against the Palestinian people of Gaza without the U.S. And she can stop it today.

WHITFIELD: Is it your hope that, if elected, that's what she would say? Or is it your hope that as vice president, presidential candidate, that's something she could say?

ABUDAYYEH: Well, I think she's going to have to take into consideration the elections, themselves. I believe that, you know, there is a movement in this country that says that the Democrats are responsible for this genocide. That Joe Biden stood up for 10 months parroting the Israeli military and government talking points on the genocide in Gaza and showed nothing but unequivocal support for Israels murderous regime.

And she's got to make it seem as if she has a different perspective. Right now, we believe that Harris is in lockstep with the Biden Administration. She's in lockstep with U.S. policy, generally. And that's why I don't believe she's going to get the support from our community and others who want to see the end to this genocide. And want to see U.S. initiate an arms embargo and stop U.S. aid to Israel.

WHITFIELD: So, I wonder if I could ask you, you know, about what is a planned demonstration, protest outside the United Center and on the way to the United Center for the DNC. It's being called, you know, pro-Palestinian protest. It's comprised of different advocacy groups.

How is this coalition to march on the DNC going to assemble, going to protest, going to try to direct a message to be heard while that parade route is going to be, what, one mile, you know, outside of the United Center. And then, when it ends, you'll kind of be within sight of the United Center. But what, what is the plan?

ABUDAYYEH: Yes, Fredricka, I'm very, very excited about tomorrow. It is going to be a beautiful sight.

As you said, the center issue -- the central issue in our coalition since October has been the stopping the genocide and ending U.S. aid to Israel. Absolutely. But there are so many other issues that we're going to be addressing.

And so many other communities that are going to be there. Black liberation, stopping police crimes, reproductive rights, women's rights, workers' rights, LGBTQ rights. All of these forces and communities, organizations and activists from across the country that will be here. But all carrying the banner of a free Palestine, carrying the banner of stopping U.S. aid to Israel and stopping the genocide.

That's why it is going to be so impressive. Because it's going to be diverse. It's going to be children and seniors. People of all different abilities, all different immigration statuses coming out with that central message to Harris, to Biden, to Blinken, to Jeffries, to Schumer, to all the top Democrats who have been unequivocally supporting Israel. Not just for 10 months, but for decades in this country.

And this mass movement, since October, is shifting the narrative in this country. 70 percent of the people in poll after poll after poll are saying that Israel needs to stop its killing. And that the United States needs to stop supporting Israel. That's a -- that's a powerful message that we are going to make in the next week.

WHITFIELD: This is a passionate issue. You know, and even Chicago police superintendent, you know, says they are mindful of that.

[16:35:03]

WHITFIELD: Take a listen to what he told this network.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SNELLING, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: It's important to understand that these officers are human beings. And, like anyone else, when you're faced with these types of challenges, it's challenging internally.

And we're asking these officers to maintain control of their emotions. Their responses. Their physical response. Their verbal response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, how do you ensure, you know, that things don't get out of hand?

ABUDAYYEH: Listen, we have -- we have decades of experience in organizing these kinds of actions. The organization -- the lead organizations mind the United States Palestinian community network, the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, a black liberation organization, and a few others that are in the top leadership of this coalition, have been doing these actions for a long time.

Ever since the 2008 march on the RNC, we've protested every RNC and DNC and NATO in Chicago in 2012. We have a lot of experience. We have hundreds of marshals in our security team who have been professionally trained in de-escalation tactics with protesters and with others.

We have -- we're working with the greatest legal association in the entire country, the National Lawyers Guild, to make sure that police are monitored so they don't violate our rights. And they're there just in case people get arrested so that they can represent us.

So, the police, whether it's Superintendent Snelling or the secret service or the DHS or any of the law enforcement that's going to be here this week, they only have one responsibility. Their only responsibility is to make sure that they do not infringe on our First Amendment rights to talk about Palestine and to talk about all the other issues that we're talking about. Other than that, they don't have any responsibilities.

We don't need them for protection. We don't need them to keep us safe. We keep us safe. It's a slogan that comes from the black liberation movement. And we've accepted it as our slogan in the coalition as well. The community keeps itself safe. The protesters keep themselves safe. Our movement keeps ourselves safe.

WHITFIELD: OK. Hatem Abudayyeh, thank you so much and all the best this week.

ABUDAYYEH: I appreciate you.

WHITFIELD: All right, the first delegates will be arriving at the DNC in just a matter of hours. And officials from multiple agencies, including the FBI, are assessing potential threats. According to a new report, officials are vigilant of possible retaliations against Democrats following the assassination attempt of former President Trump.

CNN Correspondent Shimon Prokupecz joins us now from Chicago. Shimon, what do things look like?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly massive security. The fencing that is around the DNC is just massive. You know, it really stretches over a mile encircling the entire arena and for blocks and blocks and blocks. Which is really going to prevent any protesters or anyone else without any the special credentials from getting anywhere near the arena.

The arena sits so far back behind these barricades. You can see here that there is no way for any of the planned protests to get anywhere near there.

The secret service is running the security here with the Chicago Police Department. Which is mostly -- for the Chicago Police, that is their primary focus are the protesters that are supposed to start to come to the city here tonight and really gather in the morning. Organizers are expecting thousands and thousands, 10s of thousands, of protesters here.

For security. Here, you have the FBI. You have to secret service, the Chicago police department. And they're also bringing in officers from outside of the Chicago area to help with the security.

But, really, when you look at the massive fencing that just encircles this arena, it just takes over this entire area. And it's going to be very difficult for anyone to get anywhere near here or certainly get anywhere close to the arena.

WHITFIELD: All right. Shimon Prokupecz, thank you so much for that view.

All right Iran's members of parliament tell CNN revenge against Israel is coming. We're live in Tehran next.

[16:39:17]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I'm Jim Sciutto in Tel Aviv. A short time ago, U.S. secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, arrived here in Israel. He'll be meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow.

The U.S. trying to bring home a deal for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza. The talks and the precarious situation still growing, raising serious questions. We're also hearing from Hamas tonight, releasing a statement accusing Israel of putting up new obstacles to these talks. But Iran has been watching this throughout very closely.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran. Fred, tell us what Iran's leaders are watching for.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Jim. Well, first of all, you're absolutely right. The Iranians are really watching this very closely.

In fact, I was in Iran's parliament for the better part of the day today, and I spoke with several senior Iranian parliamentarians. And one of the things that we heard from them is they say they're actually rooting for these ceasefire negotiations. They say that they hope that a ceasefire can be established.

However, the Iranians are saying that they don't believe that Israel is serious in these negotiations. Of course, we also, as you said, have heard from Hamas tonight, as well.

[16:40:03]

PLEITGEN: One of the interesting things that we're finding in the Middle East right now, with this threat of Iranian retaliation, is that Iran is actually also going through a power transformation right now. Where a new government and a new president is trying to get his cabinet ministers confirmed by Iranian parliament.

We saw that process in play today which, obviously of course, is also overshadowed by the security situation that we're currently seeing here in the Middle East. Here's what we witnessed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Iran says its drones and missiles are ready for an attack against Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas chief, Ismail Haniyeh. But as tensions remain at a boiling point, Iran's political transition continues.

The new president Masoud Pezeshkian's cabinet appointees going through confirmation hearings in Iran's parliament, the modulus.

(on camera): Once Masoud Pezeshkian's cabinet is approved by Iran's parliament, the new government will have its work cut out for it. The Middle East, of course, is in severe terminal as the region awaits Iran's possible harsh retaliation for the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

(voice-over): While Iran's response appears delayed, parliamentarians here say, make no mistake, revenge is coming and will be harsher than Tehran's last strikes against Israel after Iran's consulate in Damascus, Syria was bombed and in April.

ALAEDDIN BOROUJERDI, PARLIAMENTARIAN, IRAN (translated): This time, they attacked our mainland. The world will witness a serious reaction by us. The time, the place, and the type of reaction is to be decided, he says. And then adds, you saw the first example. You can multiply that as much as you like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): We will teach our enemies a lesson, so they will not attack us anymore, this parliamentarian says. We are seeking peace and calm in the region and are not warmongers at all.

PLEITGEN: The U.S. says it's seeking a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, also in the hopes a deal to end the violence in Gaza could persuade Iran not to launch the retaliatory strikes against Israel. But Washington has also deployed substantial forces to the Middle East. A senior Biden Administration official warning Iran could face, quote, "cataclysmic consequences" if it attacks Israel. Iranian parliamentarians brushing off that warning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): If they attack or threaten us, the Iranian response will be jaw breaking, he says. Iran has showed, in practice, it will do so and has the means to do so. The capabilities we have are not what the world knows about. They are far beyond. But when, where and how Iran plans to use those capabilities remains shrouded in secrecy, keeping the Middle East on edge. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (live): So, as you can see there, Jim, some pretty tough talk there coming out of Tehran. While, at the same time, the leaders here are keeping their cards pretty close to their chest, as to what exactly they plan to do and when they plan to do it.

At the same time, we do have to say that those cease-fire negotiations that are ongoing, and that will be ongoing in this coming week, is definitely something that is very important to the leadership here in Iran. Even though, of course, we've discussed about this, that they are not at the table. They are being kept informed by the mediators, as to what exactly is going on and what sort of progress is being made -- Jim

SCIUTTO: Fred Pleitgen in Tehran, thanks so much. And we'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, this just in. Ernesto has regained its strength into a category one hurricane. More than 22 million people are under high alert for dangerous rip currents along the East Coast.

Joining me now, CNN Meteorologist Elisa Raffa. OK, what is it doing now? It just does not stop.

ELISA RAFFA, AMS CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: Yes, regaining its strength a little bit because it's still sitting over some pretty warm waters. And then, it heads up to Canada, as we start out the work week here.

On satellite, you can see where its regained strength. A little disorganized earlier this morning and then look at how that eye has emerged. It's gotten its center back in shape again. And it's gotten now and eye with some 75 mile-per-hour winds in there. Still sitting about 525 miles south of Nova Scotia. That's where its headed next.

It will continue to work its way north through the Atlantic. It gets into colder waters up here, so it will weaken again within the next 36 to 48 hours. And, kind of, scrape by some of these Canadian islands with some of those strong winds, possibly tropical storm force, and some intense wave action as well. As you could see, some of these winds again scraping some of these islands here of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

Wave height, again, continuing to be a problem. You have a hurricane just sitting in the Atlantic, just churning the ocean. The wave heights could cause some coastal erosion, especially as the center gets closer to parts of Canada.

And then, again, look at the rip current risk from Maine down to Miami. You've got that moderate or high rip current risk along most of the East Coast here. Really concerned about that, you know, deadly, potent part of the storm, even though its hundreds of miles of way. The rip currents and the rough surf that it could cause, as beachgoers, again, try to take in the last bit of summer here.

What is steering Ernesto into the Northern Atlantic is this front that's draped across the East Coast. And while this front is kicking Ernesto out, it's actually packing a punch with severe thunderstorms. Look at the severe thunderstorm watches that stretch from New York, to Philly, to D.C., down to Raleigh, Charlotte, even Atlanta.

[16:55:03]

RAFFA: As these storms pack a punch again with damaging winds and some large hail. We have already seen a couple of warnings. Even a tornado warning earlier in parts of northeast Pennsylvania. A line of strong and severe storms there. Coming into parts of western New Jersey, headed towards New York City. We've had some severe thunderstorms even around the Atlanta area as well.

Some flooding concerns with this, too. Could get some rain to really squeeze out from this front as it keeps Ernesto out to sea.

But, again, we'll need to keep in mind those rip currents, as we start out the work.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

RAFFA: Just remember, if you have flags up on the beach, red flags, double red flags, just don't go in the water.

WHITFIELD: I mean -- I mean, what an impact. I mean, so far reaching, this Ernesto, the entire Atlantic Ocean along North America coast. Incredible. All right, thank you so much, Elisa Raffa.

All right, thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. CNN special coverage of the DNC is next. Jessica Dean anchors the NEWSROOM, live from Chicago after this.

[16:56:03]

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