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New Strikes By Israel And Iran Fuel Fears Of All-Out War; Trump Leaves G7 Early To Monitor Middle East Tensions; Iranian State Media: Air Defenses Activated Explosions In Tehran; Iranian Strikes Leave Damage Across Parts Of Tel Aviv; Israel-Iran Conflict Threatens Global Energy Market; Interview With Palestinian Poet And Author Mosab Abu Toha; Trump On Trade Deals; Trump's Sons Announce New Wireless Service; Suspect Faces Federal And State Murder Charges. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 17, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:20]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

Israel and Iran are exchanging deadly back-and-forth attacks as the White House waves its next move. A few hours ago, the Israeli military warned of a new Iranian missile attack, ordered civilians to head to bomb shelters and safe rooms.

Sirens have been heard across the country. In Iran, state media reports air defenses have been activated over Tehran, as a number of explosions have been heard in the capital. And a local official says Iran has shot down an Israeli drone near the country's Natanz nuclear facility.

Meantime, the U.S. President, on his way back from the G7 meeting in Canada, in his words, for obvious reasons, also told his national security staff to convene in the White House Situation Room. Earlier, Donald Trump posted, Iran should have signed the deal I told them to sign. What a shame. What a waste of human life.

Simply stated, he went on to write, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again. Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.

The Israeli Prime Minister says the strikes have set back Iran's nuclear program, quote, a very, very long time, but also made clear that additional targets remain. During an interview with "ABC News," Benjamin Netanyahu refused to rule out assassinating Iran's Supreme Leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So are you going to target the Supreme Leader? BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Look, we're doing what we need to do. I'm not going to get into the details. But we've targeted their top nuclear scientists. It's basically Hitler's nuclear team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But U.S. officials tell us that the President flatly rejected a plan, an opportunity that -- that -- that you, that the Israelis had to take out the Supreme Leader. Do you understand his concern? My understanding is his concern is that this would escalate the conflict beyond where it is already.

NETANYAHU: It's not going to escalate the conflict. It's going to end the conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Joining us now live from Tel Aviv is Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces. Colonel, thank you for being with us.

LT. COL. NADAV SHOSHANI, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES SPOKESPERSON: Thank you, and good night.

VAUSE: So what is the latest information on where and how many Iranian missiles have actually been fired at Israel in this latest wave? How many have been intercepted, and how many have not?

SHOSHANI: Well, tonight was the least impactful night by the Iranian attacks since the beginning of this operation. Just a few missiles, and no hits during this night. And I think that is, of course, to explain why that is happening. We've been in the last 48 hours, more than even the beginning of this operation, have been operating as what you can call missile hunting in Tehran, in Iran, finding those missiles before they're launched, finding those missile launchers, and the bottleneck, really, for launching missiles towards Israel.

And -- and taking them out one by one, finding them, striking them, and neutralizing them. And we've seen the results last night, and we're still operating currently as we're speaking above -- above Iranian skies.

VAUSE: Just in terms of numbers of missiles, do you have a specific number? Would you put it in, say, dozens of missiles were fired?

SHOSHANI: We're still assessing the situation after this night, but it looks like single-digit numbers. And -- and Israel was successful in intercepting those who came towards Israel. And we're happy. We can say this night is over without any significant hits on the Israeli public, on the Israeli population.

Iran has been targeting the center of our populated areas, targeting civilians. And I'm glad to say that this night was over. In Israel, this night was over without serious impacts or hits on the Israeli population.

VAUSE: It's just gone three minutes past 8:00 there in Israel. So what's the latest advisory for Israeli civilians with regards to bomb shelters and safe rooms at this hour?

SHOSHANI: Well, Israeli civilians are always advised to be by the bomb shelters. And this time, we understand this operation operating in Iran. We understand the threat from Iran isn't over yet, so our people are advised to stay close to shelters, to listen to the Home Front Command. Only essential workers are working today. There are no schools and so on.

But currently, people, Israelis, are sleeping. They're not in the bomb shelters. They're resting, whatever it may be. And then when a situation comes, we'll give them a warning, and then they can get into the safe room. But again, we've seen great success in the last 48 hours hunting those missiles. More than a third of their missile launches we have been able to eliminate.

[01:05:06]

We have been able, in many dozens of occasions, hunting those missiles in real time in Iran. We're intercepting them in Iran now and not intercepting them above our skies because we have -- we have created the freedom of aerial operation in -- in many parts of Iranian skies and we are locating and neutralizing those threats to our people.

VAUSE: The Iranians claim that an Israeli drone was shot down over a nuclear facility there. What can you say about that?

SHOSHANI: Well, the Iranians since the beginning of this operation are -- are -- have been putting up fake news about incidents with our -- regarding our aircraft. I think they've already four or five times claimed that they have downed one of our fighter jets. I -- I do not know to this moment of any hits or any damage to our aircraft in Iranian skies. I can tell you our aircrafts are safe.

I can tell you all our pilots who operate in Iran have returned safely. But we have to stay vigilant. We have to stay on our guard and make sure this is not a simple operation if people are starting to take it for granted. But we're operating over a thousand miles away from Israeli -- from Israel. Our aircrafts are operating hours at a time. And it's a complex operation that even though we have been able to establish aerial supremacy over many parts of Iran doesn't mean that nothing can happen and we must stay vigilant when we're operating.

VAUSE: Do you have a percentage or areas where Israel has air superiority over Iran? Is there a percentage you have on that in terms of total airspace?

SHOSHANI: Well, all the way -- all the way from western Tehran to western Iran to Tehran and we're expanding that for more areas. We've -- we've put out statements saying that we've been able to for example neutralize two -- two fighter jets of the Iranian regime in eastern Tehran. We've been able to carry out strikes against different targets, military and nuclear all around Iran and we're -- we're operating as we speak to remove more aerial defense system and to expand our aerial supremacy throughout all Iran. VAUSE: Nadav Shoshani, Lieutenant Colonel there in Tel Aviv. Spokesperson for the IDF. Sir, thank you for being with us. We appreciate your time.

SHOSHANI: Thank you very much.

VAUSE: Live images now of the U.S. President leaving the G7 Summit in Canada. He is now boarding Air Force One in Calgary in Canada. Seven minutes past 11:00 there. This is Donald Trump's early departure from that meeting. He's heading back to Washington to the White House where he's ordered his national security team to gather in the Situation Room.

He's also pushing for a meeting with the Iranians at some point in the coming days to try and a last ditch effort at diplomacy to end this conflict. Also to try and reach some kind of nuclear deal. Let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks live from Abu Dhabi for more on all of this. And just in terms of what we heard from the IDF Paula, so far this seems to be a very one-sided conflict.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well John, certainly what we saw overnight was Monday into Tuesday was very different in Israel than what we saw Sunday into Monday. We saw hundreds of missiles being fired from Iran overnight Sunday into Monday and a lot of them got through. The majority were intercepted according to the IDF but we did see some of them getting through and causing significant damage.

Now what we are seeing and of course it's still early hours in -- in Tel Aviv in Israel, it's about 8 o'clock in the morning, but there does appear to be far less damage far less of those missiles that actually did get through.

Now the IDF as you heard there was -- was saying the reason for that is because they have been as he said, quote, missile hunting. The fact that they had been trying to -- to root out the missile production facilities, the missile launchers, to try and lessen the retaliation that Iran was able to carry out. Now of course it is very early days to be able to say that that was successful.

I think -- I don't think many within Israel would want to be quite so complacent but certainly there does appear to be a far lesser impact in Israel this -- this Tuesday morning. Now of course we are seeing in Iran those -- those strikes are continuing. It's a very different situation for residents in Tehran.

There are no air raid sirens that warn them of -- of incoming airstrikes or drones and there are no shelters effectively. People are sheltering in the metro, they're sheltering in underground parking lots, so they're certainly not as well equipped to deal with this, the civilians in Tehran as they are in most of -- of Israel.

[01:09:59]

And what we are seeing is that many are trying to flee the city, not least after the U.S. President Donald Trump said that citizens should evacuate Tehran, not -- not making it entirely clear why he was making that call. But we have been seeing gridlock getting out of the city, people desperately trying to get to more rural, more isolated areas, knowing that they are very exposed within Tehran itself.

So certainly when it comes to the -- the citizens, the civilians on both sides, those in Israel are far more protected than those in Iran are. And the fact that we see Israel saying rightly it appears that they have air superiority in much of Iran also goes to show that at least militarily at this point Israel does appear to have the upper hand.

Now whether of course it can achieve its objectives of destroying or setting back the nuclear program, that's really a different question. John?

VAUSE: So what happens right now with the Israelis having the upper hand from a military point of view, that doesn't lend itself really to a diplomatic solution here which is what the White House and the U.S. President is pushing for at some point later this week with meetings with the Iranians who have also called for a ceasefire.

HANCOCKS: Well, that's right. It certainly does appear to just be coming from the American side at this point, any talk of diplomacy. We're not hearing that from the Israeli side. We're hearing from -- from Prime Minister Netanyahu for example that -- that they are not targeting the -- the Iranian people, that they respect the Iranian people.

This is just about the -- the -- the Iranian regime itself. In fact in an interview with -- with "Fox News," Benjamin Netanyahu was asked would you support regime change and he said it could certainly result in regime change. Also saying that 80 percent of the people would throw these theological thugs out.

So really tapping into the fact that -- that this is a government in -- in Tehran that is not particularly popular and certainly not supported by the majority of Iranians. But we're not hearing talk of diplomacy from the Israeli side at this point. What we are hearing is the military successes and it's the U.S. President who is saying according to U.S. officials familiar with the situation that he wants -- he has asked his -- his -- his people to reach out to the Iranians.

To see if there's a possibility of having some kind of discussion, some kind of talks later this week. He certainly seems far more open to finding a diplomatic result to this than the Israeli side. I mean bear in mind, this is what Benjamin Netanyahu has wanted to do for many, many years.

He has wanted to militarily target the nuclear program in Iran. He has seen the opportunity. He is able to do that with the tacit approval of the United States. So the -- the overwhelming feeling among many experts and analysts who follow this closely is that he's unlikely to give up until he feels he has sufficiently damaged the nuclear program that -- that it would not be able to get back online quickly. John?

VAUSE: Paula, as two old Jerusalem correspondents, yes, absolutely. This is what Benjamin Netanyahu has been -- has wanted for quite some time. It seems to be working in his favor at least for now. Thanks for being with us. Paula Hancocks there live in Abu Dhabi.

[01:13:29]

We'll take a short break. When we come back here on CNN, why Donald Trump believes he could be the one who can find a diplomatic solution to the Israel-Iran crisis. More on that in a moment.

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VAUSE: Leaders at the G7 Summit in Canada have signed a joint statement calling for a resolution to the Israel-Iran crisis. U.S. officials say Donald Trump was initially reluctant to support that resolution, but eventually signed the statement after changes to the language. The final version calls for the protection of all civilians in the conflict. Also refers to Iran as, quote, the principal source of regional instability and terror, and says Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.

President Trump has now left the G7 a day early to monitor the Israel- Iran crisis. He has suggested he could soon strike a diplomatic deal to end the conflict. The source tells CNN the U.S. President has directed his team to try and set up talks with Iranian officials as soon as possible sometime this week. CNN's Kristen Holmes has the details now.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump leaving the G7 early. He was supposed to spend Tuesday with several meetings as well as holding a press conference, but Monday the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, posted that after the day that Donald Trump had had a series of good engagements that he needed to get back given what was going on in the Middle East.

Now I talked to a number of White House officials who said throughout the day Donald Trump kept asking to be briefed on what exactly was happening in the Middle East, where things stood between Iran and Israel, and it became clear as things began escalating in the Middle East that it would be better for him, at least they believe so, to be in Washington with all of his officials nearby. They are likely going to convene in The Situation Room.

I do want to note one thing that I was told by a White House official is that their posture has not changed. We've seen a lot of speculation swirling about why he left early. Was this a change in posture from the United States? We are told pretty definitively that at this time, of course anything can change, at this time the U.S. is still maintaining a defensive posture, meaning they are helping Israel with deflecting, with interfering with those missiles.

They have used the argument that there are U.S. military assets in Israel they need to protect, there are U.S. citizens in Israel they need to protect, but they are not at this point going on the offensive. Now, part of that reasoning we are told is that Donald Trump is still really hoping to get around to the table in terms of a nuclear deal.

[01:20:10] They are hoping to have their top intermediaries meet, their top officials meet, to try and work something through and throughout the last several days Donald Trump has been urging these officials, these U.S. officials, to maintain contact with their Iranian counterparts but if not them, with the intermediaries around the globe to try and ensure that this still happens, that Iran comes to the table.

We've obviously seen him calling for that publicly as well. So unclear what the next steps are going to be but right now what we do know is that Donald Trump is not staying the full time at the G7. He had a set of meetings on Monday and then is heading back to Washington.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Calgary.

VAUSE: And according to French President Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump has put forward a ceasefire proposal to try and end the Israel-Iran crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Listen, this is what I'm saying. Listen, there is an offer that has been made indeed of meetings and exchanges. There is an offer that has been made especially to have a ceasefire and to initiate broader discussions and I think this is a very good thing. And so if the United States of America can achieve a ceasefire, it is a very good thing and France will support it and we wish for it. Then I say it is absolutely essential that all strikes from both sides against energy, administrative and cultural infrastructures and even more so against a civilian population cease. Nothing justifies this and they are absolutely intolerable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Live now to Tehran, 51 minutes past 8:00 there on a Tuesday morning, Abas Aslani, a journalist and researcher, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies joins us. Aslani, thanks very much for taking the time. Just very quickly, can you explain or just describe what the situation is like in Tehran right now? People have been fleeing the city, it's been hit by repeated Israeli airstrikes. Do you feel safe? What's it like being there at the moment?

ABAS ASLANI, JOURNALIST & RESEARCHER: John, there have been a number of people who have left the city, the capital city, I mean. But many are yet staying in Tehran and, you know, the point is that why the streets are not that much crowded, the point is that many are working remotely from home and are avoiding any unnecessary commutes so and, you know, things are going somehow, you know, smoothly, no cuts in power or let's say issues related to the energy.

However, you know, we have been seeing that in the past couple of days Israel have been trying to create a sense of fear and intimidate the public in order to escape from the city and -- but -- or I think one of the main points have been to create a chaos in the capital city against the government. But what we are seeing from the public even including those who have been critical of the government and establishment is you know calling for a strike or response against Israel and they have been supporting what Iranian armed forces have been doing in reaction against Israeli aggression.

VAUSE: So the Israeli airstrikes have rallied the public around the leadership there in Tehran?

ASLANI: Yes, yes. It has rallied the people around the flag, you know, if the I mean point and the aim was to I mean provoke them to come to the streets and protest against the government it has worked the opposite and they are now supporting the government and yesterday when Israel targeted the Iranian T.V. station this also created a sense of more support for the government and the -- when the anchor didn't leave the studio after a couple of blasts she has changed a kind of a let's say hero on the social media and the users have been supporting her.

So when, you know, in case of external threat in Iran people normally become more united even we have been seeing people who have been you know in prison in the past, you know, or they have been critical of the government but today they are supporting the response and the self-defense against Israeli aggression.

VAUSE: We saw that in Afghanistan when the U.S. had tried to overthrow the Taliban back in 2001 we saw that in Iraq when they invaded -- when the U.S. invaded and they rallied around Saddam Hussein we are now seeing it again I guess in Tehran. I want you to listen to the Israeli Prime Minister's reaction to calls from Iran for a ceasefire. Here's Benjamin Netanyahu. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU (through translator): I'm not surprised that they want to give up like this because we are hitting them hard on the ground. Of course they want to stop. To stop and continue building the death machines, both the nuclear weapon that threatens our existence and the ballistic missiles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:25:11]

VAUSE: Well, Israel has the upper hand militarily. It seems that -- that they're not interested in a ceasefire, at least not yet. How serious is Iran, though, when it comes to a ceasefire?

ASLANI: Well, Iran has been responding to the attacks coming from the Israeli side. But, you know, the media in Israel, they have not been allowed to report much on those, let's say, areas that have been hit by Iran. But when it comes to the ceasefire, I mean, some Western leaders are talking about Iran coming back to the negotiating table on the nuclear issue. Iran was already at the table. They also made a deal in the past years.

But the U.S. withdrew from that deal. And at the same time that the negotiations were taking place, Israel attacked Iran. That's why Tehran now says that those talks are meaningless. And if the aim was to gain more concessions from Tehran, meaning zero enrichment, that will not happen. In case of a ceasefire limited to this, I mean, conflict and war, I think that -- that could depend on the field developments.

I think Iran will continue by the time that there is a deterrence that will stop from further additional attacks in future. Unless I think seeing without that balance, I think seeing a ceasefire could not be, I think, feasible.

VAUSE: Just in terms of a nuclear deal, that's as far as your -- your -- you can -- your -- your opinion, that's pretty much off the table that -- that now Iran will simply push forward with its nuclear program?

ASLANI: You know, John, at the -- at the moment, you know, engaging in nuclear discussions could be meaningless for Tehran because they think that this could not be a fair and balanced, you know, way of discussion. So they will continue this, I think, the war. But by the time that there is a deterrence that will make sure that the Iranian interests will be served in those discussions.

It will not mean that it is totally off the table. But for a time that Iran feels that in a -- it's in a position that could engage in meaningful discussions, I think this cannot happen. But the immediate, you know, issue is the war or the conflict which is ongoing. And by the time that it is resolved, I think we cannot see those discussions taking place.

VAUSE: Abas ASLANI in Tehran. Thank you, sir. We appreciate your time. Please stay safe.

ASLANI: My pleasure, John.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break here on CNN. When we come back, we have much more on the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, including a closer look at the damage left behind by Iranian strikes on Tel Aviv.

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[01:32:35]

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

More now on our top story. The deepening conflict between Israel and Iran. Sirens rang out across parts of Israel overnight after the military said Iran had launched a new wave of missiles.

Meantime, in Iran, local media report the country's air defenses were activated over Tehran. A number of explosions were heard. State affiliated news agency citing a local official reports, Iran shot down an Israeli drone near the country's Natanz nuclear facility.

The Israelis have denied that. The unfolding crisis in the Middle East has prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to leave the G7 summit in Canada a day early.

Israelis living in Tel Aviv are still reeling from Iranian strikes on Monday, which left parts of the city damaged.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This is what surviving an Iranian ballistic missile attack looks like. Amid wrecked cars and scattered debris, this central Tel Aviv neighborhood engulfed in flames as rescuers arrive on the scene.

For the third night in a row, Iranian ballistic missiles struck the Tel Aviv area. We arrived minutes later as people emerged, shaken but alive, from their bomb shelters.

This man arrived distraught to inspect the damage to his shop.

"We came here and everything was destroyed," he tells me.

After an hour long wait, a boyfriend's anxious wait turns into a loving embrace.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you can feel it. It goes through you.

DIAMOND: Even inside their shelters people here felt the power of the blast.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like smoke, like a really strong -- I had to cover my nose with a T-shirt.

DIAMOND: And were overwhelmed by the smoke-filled air as they emerged, the shock wave broke windows and damaged homes blocks away from the impact.

But at the epicenter, where rescue crews continue to pour in and out of the scene, it is another level of destruction altogether.

This is the devastation caused by an Iranian ballistic missile that struck this Tel Aviv neighborhood. And you can see all around me what that looks like, these buildings that have been torn to shreds, vehicles wrecked from the missile.

DIAMOND: At least five Iranian missiles penetrated Israeli air defenses, according to Israeli rescue services, killing ten people on Sunday night.

[01:34:52]

DIAMOND: In Iran, a widening Israeli bombardment campaign driving people to flee the capital city as jets strike not only military and nuclear facilities, but also economic targets and residential neighborhoods.

More than 200 people have been killed in the Israeli strikes, according to the Iranian health ministry, which says a majority of the victims are civilians.

"I'm scared," says this woman, whose home was damaged in a strike. "My heart is pounding. I felt like my heart stopped."

Iranian state TV became the latest target on Monday as an airstrike hit the station during a live broadcast. Smoke filling the studio. The latest sign this conflict is showing no signs of de-escalating.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, the Israeli -- the Iranian missiles though have actually killed three Israeli oil company employees in the coastal city of Haifa. The company, The Bazan Group (ph), says Monday's attack did significant damage to a power plant at the refinery.

Israel's energy minister expressed condolences for the victims, says the government is working to try and keep energy sectors functioning despite the ongoing attacks by Iran.

The conflict in the Middle East, though, is raising serious concerns about energy costs and the impact on the world economy.

Let's take a look at oil prices right now, I think we have those numbers for us. Not quite.

But they are up -- well last hour they're up by about half of a percent. They've been up for quite some time now as concerns grow.

And Vanessa Yurkevich now has more now on the cost of oil and the potential effect on consumers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Anytime there's a geopolitical conflict, especially in the Middle East, we look to oil prices and then to gas prices to see what the domestic impact may be.

Now, after spiking by 7 percent last week and crossing $70 a barrel, Brent Crude, the global benchmark for oil and U.S. oil, fell by about 2 percent on Monday.

Oil prices inform gas prices for consumers. And if things between Iran and Israel continue to escalate, some economists suggest prices could surge to $100 a barrel for oil. And then we're talking about inflation.

But right now, gas prices are sitting relatively low at $311 a gallon. And that's compared to about $312 a month ago and $360 a year ago, so coming down substantially in the last year.

But according to GasBuddy, prices are expected to rise nationally about 10 cents to 20 cents in the coming days following this spike in oil prices.

Now, the reason that we're watching this so closely is because Iran is part of OPEC, the largest oil producing countries in the world. And the most critical choke point of all oil flow on the planet happens in the Strait of Hormuz, which is -- which Iran is a bordering country and about 21 million barrels flow through that strait every single day.

Now, there are fears that Iran could decide to block the flow of oil, which would have serious implications for the price of oil and thus gas prices and oil supply shocks often lead to recessions.

But there has been some signal or signs that Iran is trying to cool down the war instead of escalating. And that, along with oil prices cooling off, had investors on Wall Street doing an about face with the Dow closing up more than 300 points compared to Friday, where the Dow dropped 760 points.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Vanessa Yurkevich -- thank you -- Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you for that report.

We'll take a short break here on CNN. We'll have an interview from Tel Aviv in a moment with Alon Pinkas, a former ambassador, on all the implications of Israel's attack on Iran, and whether or not a ceasefire in this conflict is likely any time soon.

Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

[01:38:45]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

We were hoping to go to Tel Aviv for a live interview with the former Israeli consul-general in New York, Alon Pinkas. He's an ambassador.

We're going to talk to him about the current situation with Israel and the ceasefire. Unfortunately, he has had to take shelter in a safe room or a bomb shelter with air raid sirens now sounding across Tel Aviv.

If he manages to reemerge anytime in the next 15 minutes or so. We'll try and talk to him.

But in the meantime, well move on.

As the conflict between Iran and Israel deepens, residents in Gaza now fear their suffering will be overshadowed.

The Palestinian health ministry says more Palestinians were killed Monday, were lining up for aid in Rafah. Families of those killed gathered at a hospital in Khan Younis to mourn their loved ones.

Gaza health authorities say hundreds have died attempting to find food in recent weeks amid a worsening food crisis.

The International Committee of the Red Cross says access to basic goods is increasingly difficult because of Israeli restrictions on what can and cannot be brought across the border into Gaza.

Palestinian author and poet Mosab Abu Toha has been raising awareness of the suffering in Gaza. He's lost many family members in the war and has been documenting life in Gaza since the conflict began.

He's won a Pulitzer Prize just last month for a series of essays he wrote for "The New Yorker", and he spoke with our Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOSAB ABU TOHA, PALESTINIAN POET AND AUTHOR: I think for any writer or journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize is a satisfaction.

[01:44:49]

ABU TOHA: But this satisfaction is lacking because the stories that I wrote about in the past year and a half have been happening and happening again every day. Every day is the same stories that I wrote about.

The destruction of Gaza, the blowing up of houses after forcing people to leave them continues until today. The destruction of the refugee camp continues until today.

The starvation about which I wrote continues until today in different ways. This time, the starvation took a different turn in which the Gaza -- the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has lured people into going to their sites where Israeli soldiers are not very far from them to shoot them or to kill them.

And I talked to so many people, some people I know from my family, some people who are my neighbors, some people who are my students, who went to there -- to that site and they were killed on the spot, whether by Israeli bullets, whether by Israeli shells, while they were gathering there before or during or after they collected some of the very, very small amount of aid.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Mosab, you're accusing Israel of directly killing people? Obviously they deny that. They would deny that. Why do you say that?

I mean, deliberately --

(CROSSTALKING)

AMANPOUR: Deliberately.

ABU TOHA: Ok, so it's not me who is accusing Israel. It is the people who are there. People are there. There is only Israeli soldiers in the area where the food sites are. So it's not me who is accusing and Israel before denied the killing of

15 medics in Rafah. And at first they denied that. And then when there was a video, they came up with a different narrative. And then, of course, there was no consequences for these actions.

So Israel is accused of doing every killing in Gaza. This is what I know as a Palestinian who is living under occupation, because Israel, as you know, controls the sea, controls the air and controls the land.

So every Palestinian who is killed in Gaza, for me it is -- they are killed by Israel, unless there is any proof that proves that they were killed by someone else.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, before U.S. President Donald Trump announced his early departure from the G7 summit in Canada, the main focus there was to try and convince him to walk back his aggressive trade war.

The president did sign a trade deal with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday, but the U.K. still faces a minimum 10 percent tariff on most exports to the U.S.

Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also agreed to pursue economic and security negotiations within the next 30 days. But the U.S. President says he is still partial to tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think we have different concepts. I have a tariff concept and Mark has a different concept, which is something that some people like. But we're going to see if we can get to the bottom of it today. I'm a -- I'm a tariff person. I've always been a tariff.

It's simple. It's easy. It's precise, and it just goes very quickly. And I think Mark has a more complex idea, but also very good. So we're going to look at both. And we're going to see what we're going to come out with something.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Once he left Canada, Trump actually then responded to the French President Emmanuel Macron, who said that he had put forward this ceasefire proposal, saying he actually was critical of the president, the French president, for saying that he was returning to Washington to work on a ceasefire.

Well, there is also business news with the U.S. President. It seems that his media group and technology group attempting to launch the exchange traded fund, which will invest entirely in cryptocurrencies. If this is approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission, their Truth Social bitcoin and Ethereum ETF would give investors exposure to the world's two largest digital currencies. And all of this comes after Trump Media raised $2.5 billion to create

a bitcoin treasury for the company. New filings are expected to raise more concerns about conflicts of interest surrounding the president's business empire.

President Trump's sons, meantime, have announced another new business venture. That's Trump Mobile. They've licensed the family name for a new wireless service offering monthly cell plans.

CNN's Hadas Gold has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: My new Trump watches.

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Trump fans can already wear a Trump branded watch and sneakers. Soon, they'll also be able to have a Trump phone in their pocket.

Eric and Donald Trump Jr. announcing Trump Mobile, cell phone plans that will use other wireless carriers' networks and eventually sell their own gold-colored phones.

Plans are set a symbolic monthly price of $47.45, a nod to Trumps presidencies. But they'll also bundle in telemedicine and roadside assistance.

DONALD TRUMP JR., DONALD TRUMP'S SON: A big part of what we've done right now in the world has been focused on technology for people who have been underserved, whether that's been in crypto or anything else. But one of the places where we felt there was lackluster performance was in the mobile industry.

GOLD: The Trump sons claim their mobile phone will be entirely made in America, taking on device giants like Apple and Samsung, which President Trump has threatened with high tariffs if they don't start building their phones in America.

[01:49:54]

TRUMP: If they're going to sell it in America, I want it to be built in the United States.

GOLD: But manufacturing high quality phones in the U.S. would be logistically impractical and much more expensive. Trump Mobile says their phones will be $499, which experts say means it probably won't be like an iPhone.

DIPANJAN CHATTERJEE, VICE PRESIDENT AND PRINCIPAL ANALYST, FORRESTER: There is a version of the phone that will be good enough for many people, and particularly for people who are already bought into the Trump value proposition.

As long as you make a phone that's good enough for them and if it comes in at a reasonable price point, hey, maybe that is the magic solution. GOLD: Trump Mobile is just the latest moneymaking venture for

President Trump's family, as they capitalize on his presidency in unprecedented ways.

Many of those businesses have benefited the president himself, who made more than $600 million last year, according to financial disclosure forms and Reuters. Much of that is from recent ventures like Trump Media and his Trump crypto coin. He's also made money last year from Trump watches, Trump sneakers, Trump fragrances, Trump guitars, and even Trump bibles.

Though Trump has ceded control of the Trump Organization to his children, experts have called out the many conflicts of interest as the federal government regulates many of the industries he's making money from, including wireless phones.

Experts I've been speaking to who manufacture cell phones, who understand the market, they say that this made in America phone is almost completely unlikely to actually be fully made in America.

Only one company is known as of now to domestically produce a cell phone, and even some of their parts have to, by necessity, come from abroad, and those phones go for nearly $2,000.

So we'll see when this phone actually comes out, whether and how much of it is actually made in America compared to what the Trump Organization claims.

Hadas Gold, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The suspect in the Minnesota lawmaker shootings, Vance Boelter, has appeared in court. He's accused of killing State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding State Senator John Hoffman and his wife. Police say he had many other targets in mind as well.

CNN's Whitney Wild has more now on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE THOMPSON, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY: This is the stuff of nightmares.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The photo captures the end of the largest manhunt in Minnesota history. Police say 57-year-old Vance Boelter started his rampage around 2:00 a.m. Saturday.

THOMPSON: Boelter went to the homes of four Minnesota state politicians with the intent to kill them. He had a list of other elected officials, their home addresses. Boelter stalked his victims like prey.

WILD: The U.S. attorney says the terrifying plot began much earlier, detailing the planning, surveillance and Internet searches Boelter allegedly made to organize his attacks. He says the key to Boelter's plan was dressing in uniform to imitate a police officer.

THOMPSON: He arrived in a black SUV with emergency lights turned on and with a license plate that read police. He carried a flashlight and a Beretta 9 mm handgun. He also wore a hyper realistic silicone mask.

WILD: Authorities say Boelter began his shooting spree at the home of State senator John Hoffman, banging on the door and shouting, this is the police. Then opened fire.

The two survived and are still hospitalized.

After the attack, police went to perform a wellness check on several lawmakers. According to a federal complaint, Boelter headed to the home of an elected official in nearby Maple Grove. But the family was away. He left and then traveled to the home of a state senator, where a local law enforcement officer was on the way to perform a wellness check and found Boelter sitting in a black SUV nearby.

The officer says she thought Boelter was law enforcement, but when she stopped to speak with him, he continued staring straight ahead and didn't respond. That officer then headed to the senator's home to do a wellness check. And Boelter left the area.

Officers went to the home of State Representative Melissa Hortman to check on her as well. When they arrived, they say Boelter was standing outside.

THOMPSON: He drew his weapon and began firing. He rushed into the house through the front door, firing into it. He repeatedly fired into the house. And when he entered, he murdered Representative Hortman and her husband, Mark.

WILD: Police officers say they began shooting at the gunman, but he escaped. He left behind his car, where police say they found multiple weapons, including semiautomatic weapons and ammunition, passports and about $10,000 in cash.

He was captured Sunday night in the woods after a massive manhunt. A resident saw him on a trail camera and contacted police.

THOMPSON: This was a political assassination, which is not a word we use very often. It's a chilling attack on our democracy, on our way of life.

WILD: Boelter allegedly texted his family shortly after the shootings, according to a federal complaint, saying "Dad went to war last night. I don't want to say more because I don't want to implicate anybody."

[01:54:50]

WILD: Officials say there is still no clear motive for the attacks.

THOMPSON: I've seen nothing like a Unabomber-style manifesto in his writings. Obviously, his primary motive was to go out and murder people. Now, they were all elected officials. They were all Democrats.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: And we should add that right now, Boelter remains in federal custody.

And our thanks to CNN's Whitney Wild for that report.

And thank you for watching. I'm John Vause.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with our friend and colleague Lynda Kinkade after a short break.

See you right back here tomorrow.

[01:55:20]

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