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Israel Missile Strikes Hit Iran's Military Industrial Sites. Iran Missile Strike Hits Southern Israel; President Trump Sets Two- Week Deadline for Iran Decision; Iran Foreign Minister to Meet with European Counterparts in Geneva; Russia and China Discuss Israel-Iran Conflict; IDF Kills 70 Palestinians in Gaza; Israel On Edge Amid New Missile Launches From Iran; CNN Team Gets Rare Access In Iran's Capital; L.A. Dodgers: ICE Agents Denied Access To Stadium. Aired 2- 3a ET

Aired June 20, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Hello. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's get right to our breaking news. It is 9:00 a.m. in Southern Israel where the latest Iranian missile strike has sparked a fire at a technology park in the city of Beer Sheva. Authorities say at least six people suffered minor injuries, but rescue crews are searching the damaged buildings for anyone who may not have gotten out.

And that comes as U.S. President Donald Trump says he will decide within the next two weeks whether to carry out military strikes against Iran. Israel's prime minister thanked the U.S. for its help in the conflict and refused to rule out targeting Iran's supreme leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translation): I instructed that no one in Iran will have immunity. I said we will achieve all our goals, all their nuclear facilities, but the decision to join is President Trump's. If he wants to join or not, it's his decision. He'll do what's best for the United States and I'll do what's best for Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Iran's foreign minister is scheduled to meet in the coming hour with European representatives in Geneva to pursue a diplomatic resolution. The British foreign secretary says a window exists now to end the escalating crisis. I want to bring in CNN's Paula Hancock who's live in Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, the Israeli military is releasing new details on the targets it struck overnight in Iran. What more can you tell us?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Kim, the latest we have from the Israeli military is that they used some 60 jets, they say, overnight and in the early hours of Friday to target a number of military sites. Now some of those that they have specified, are, for example, a site that is involved in missile, production. And this is really one of their focuses to try and lessen the ability of Iran to retaliate against their strikes. They've been focusing on missile launches, missile production.

And we also understand from the military that they have targeted a research and development center, a facility for the nuclear program, so one of the other main focuses, we're hearing from the Israeli military side. Now when it comes to what has been targeted the other way, we know that in just the past few hours, there have been a number of missiles launches against Israel. Some did get through, not all were intercepted by the aerial defense systems in Israel.

And as you mentioned there, in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, there was a missile strike near a technology park. Now this is the same city where a missile impacted a hospital on Thursday. So this the second day that this city is being impacted by these missile strikes, six lightly injured in that missile strike according to officials.

So we are still seeing the ability of Iran to be able to impact Israel despite the fact that the Israeli military claims that they have significantly affected the missile production, the missile launching capabilities of Tehran. Just a couple of days ago, we heard from the defense minister suggesting that civilian restrictions would be eased, and yet we are still seeing the significant impacts, on the country itself.

Now when it comes to Iran later this Friday, we could potentially see protests on the streets. The government has been calling for its loyalists, for its supporters to come out onto the street to show their anger against Israel. Now, certainly, we will see those that support the regime likely coming out. It's uncertain if there will be more than that. We know that this government is not popular within the country.

And yet even those that don't support this government, are certainly angry and fearful about the Israeli strikes against it. So we are seeing somewhat of unity against a common enemy. Now these sorts of protests after Friday prayers have sometimes been used by the supreme leader, for example, or Iranian, leaders to make a political message. But, of course, the Ayatollah Khamenei is very much a target at this point. So it would be risky to be prevalent or to be visible on this particular occasion.

In fact, we heard just then from the Israeli prime minister, saying that no one's immune. We've heard from the defense minister, Israel Katz saying on Thursday that Khamenei, quote, "cannot continue to exist."

[02:04:58]

So we're almost a week since the -- or we are a week since this commenced, with the Israeli strikes on Iran, and we are seeing no sense of either side letting up at this point. Kim? BRUNHUBER: I appreciate the update. Paula Hancocks, thanks so much.

So a number of factors are in place the U.S. president considers his decision on Iran. CNN's Kristen Holmes explains.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump in a statement saying that because of a substantial chance of negotiations, that he would not be making a decision on whether or not the U.S. was going to get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran for two weeks. Now there are still a lot of questions about what exactly that means. This was announced by press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a White House briefing, and we tried to get to the bottom of what does -- what happens at the end of two weeks if there is no deal, if Iran does not come to the table, and we still aren't entirely clear.

Does that mean that the U.S. will automatically get involved? What does U.S. involvement look like? Are we talking about strikes? Are we talking about something larger than that? But specifically, the other part of this is why two weeks? Why this extension? And that was something that I posed to the press secretary today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: We have heard from a number of U.S. officials who say that Iran doesn't want to make a deal, that they are just stringing the United States along. What is to say that they are not going to continue to do so if we don't get -- if we continue to give them extensions now two weeks before 60 days?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHIE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, Iran is in a very weak and vulnerable position because of the strikes and the attacks from Israel. And with respect to the president's statement, I shared that with all of you, and he has been very direct and clear. Iran can and should make a deal. We sent a deal to them that was practical, that was realistic, or they will face grave consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: So you hear what they're saying. They believe that because Iran has been weakened by these missile strikes that perhaps they're more likely to come to the table. There's another part of this as well, which is that the Middle Eastern envoy, Steve Witkoff, met today with his counterpart for the United Kingdom. That's important because that same counterpart is going to Geneva for talks with the Iranian counterpart to that job.

Now Witkoff is not intended to go at this point to that meeting, but the question is whether or not this is going to open up some more diplomatic avenues. Right now, it does appear that Donald Trump, President Trump, and his advisers are looking for an off ramp or looking for anything other than U.S. involvement. We know he's been wary about that. Now his language had gotten more aggressive.

He started taking a more aggressive tone with Iran in recent days. But clearly, with this two week time frame, they are taking a step back to try and get it to the table where there's not actual U.S. involvement, not actual U.S. strikes in the region. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

BRUNHUBER: Now some of the Iranian missiles that have reached Israel's Iron Dome have caused extensive damage. During such emergencies, Israel often deploys a specialized military search and rescue unit. CNN's Jeremy Diamond shows us how they responded to a recent missile strike in a suburb of Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Air raid sirens in Tel Aviv these days can mean only one thing, another barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles. For these soldiers, it also means being ready for what comes next.

(On camera): So like millions of others in Israel right now, we are in a bomb shelter, but we're with the elite rescue unit of the Israeli military. These are the people who are going to be going out and trying to rescue people should any of those ballistic missiles, which are now flying overhead, actually make impact.

(Voice-over): Minutes later, the team leaders head straight into the command center. Reports of strikes, interceptions, and falling debris are pouring in all at once. Lieutenant Colonel Golan Landsberg needs to make sense of it all and determine whether and where to deploy his team of specialists.

GOLAN LANDSBERG, IDF SEARCH & RESCUE: It look like either it falls in open areas or interception.

DIAMOND (on camera): So right now, you're trying to assess whether those two potential impact sites are worth your team going to and providing your expertise.

LANDSBERG: By this time, we should have seen all of the pictures, movies from scenes --

DIAMOND: Right.

LANDSBERG: -- of reports on casualties.

DIAMOND: So even that open source information from social media is being fed into your systems?

LANDSBERG: Look like --

DIAMOND: So that's it.

(Voice-over): This night, it's back to bed. But the next morning isn't nearly as quite. Four ballistic missiles have broken through Israel's air defenses. Lieutenant Colonel Landsberg decides to deploy to a strike on the outskirts of Tel Aviv.

(On camera): So we just arrived on the scene of this ballistic missile strike.

(Voice-over): The scale of the damage is stark. A single missile has shaved off the side of this building, partially crushed another, wrecking cars and shattering windows four blocks. Colonel Landsberg and his team immediately push into the building, going floor by floor, apartment by apartment, searching for casualties and evacuating survivors.

[02:10:05]

Inside the building that was struck, it's easy to see how deadly this attack could have been.

(On camera): The destruction here is just enormous. I mean, it's hard to describe if you weren't to see these pictures. Everything is covered in dust and soot. And this right here is the building's gym or what once was the gym.

(Voice-over): But while the people evacuating this building are shaken, they are alive.

LANDSBERG: Five minutes ago, we finished up scanning the entire building from bottom to top and take every mind (ph).

DIAMOND: The safe rooms seem to be making your job a lot easier.

LANDSBERG: Oh, yeah. Well, they save life. So it's very easy to see that.

DIAMOND: Right.

LANDSBERG: Save life, you get in, 99 percent that you actually are safe.

DIAMOND (voice-over): But as one war spills into another, danger still lies ahead. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: So as President Trump weighs his options, global affairs analyst Barak Ravid tells CNN that Israel believes Trump will end up joining the conflict. Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Israeli officials I talk to still think that Trump eventually is going to join this war especially because they don't believe that there's any diplomatic solution that can be achieved. They don't think that Donald Trump's minimum can meet Ali Khamenei's maximum. And that's why they think that even if it's going to take another few days, maybe two weeks that Donald Trump spoke about today, at the end of the day, Donald Trump will end up joining this war to eliminate the Iranian nuclear program.

Israel had a list of targets and a timetable to bomb each one of them. I think right now they're ahead of schedule. From what I hear, the targets that they have will be exhausted in the next few days, including the nuclear program. I think what's left, every day that passes leaves the facility in Fordow as the big thing that is left to destroy. And I think what the U.S. wants to see is how much can Israel get in those few days or maybe in those two weeks that Donald Trump was talking about.

And the Israelis, on the other hand, also say we want to see how much we can do before Donald Trump goes in. So the Israelis have a plan for another few days of bombings. The Trump administration has a plan for another few days of diplomacy. I think it's going to meet those two -- timetables are going to meet sometime next week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And joining me now to discuss this from Tel Aviv is Alon Pinkas, former Israeli Consul General in New York. Good to see you again. Thanks so much for being here with us. So just to start, do you agree with what we just heard there, that President Trump will eventually join the war?

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Good morning, Kim. I believe that this is what Israel's wishful thinking, state of mind is. I believe that this is what mister Netanyahu wanted all along. I believe that he's trying to lure, Mr. Netanyahu is trying to lure Trump into this war. But, at the same time, President Trump is subject to a different analysis and different risk calculations and cost benefit considerations and so he's taking his time.

Now, by the way, this urgency about the U.S. imminently joining and dropping two GBU 57 bunker busters, that's a creation of the Israeli media fed by the Israeli government. I'm not saying it's true -- that it's true or not. I'm not saying it's going to happen or not. I'm just saying this timetable is artificially -- was artificially manufactured by Israel trying to exert pressure on President Trump.

Right now, you know, Barak Ravid said a moment ago in the previous segment that the targets list is exhausting itself. Basically, it's done. You know, this -- the last two, three days, the war has settled into a pattern of attrition that's pretty predictable. A cycle of, you know, Israeli attacks during the day and Iranian missile barrages or fuselage during the night or early morning.

And unless the U.S. intervenes, which could constitute a game changer, could not necessarily, we're looking at just two, three, four more days of these kind of exchanges, but no breakthrough.

[02:15:02]

BRUNHUBER: You talked about Netanyahu luring Trump into the war. I mean, this isn't the first time Israel has tried to drag an American presidents into attacking Iran.

PINKAS: No. This is -- and well, it's not only -- not only is it not the first time, it's a consistent feature, a permanent feature, in fact, with Mr. Netanyahu. He's been trying to sell the idea of attacking Iran and militarily dismantling or destroying or annihilating their -- the nuclear -- military nuclear program for the better part of the last 30 years. Every time he was prime minister, there was an American president.

First, it was Bill Clinton in the late '90s, and then it was Barack Obama, and then it was Joe Biden, and now it's Donald Trump. Well, twice Donald Trump given his two terms. So he's been trying to do this for a very, very long time, which by the way, I don't need to tell you, is the source of the pushback or the opposition that Mr. Trump is hearing from his MAGA base inside Washington and outside of Washington, that he is being considered some kind of an outsourcing contractor for Israel's foreign policy.

I mean, this is not me saying. This is Tucker Carlson or Steve Bannon saying that. And so I think that, you know, when Trump says two weeks, he did not say in two weeks. He said within two weeks, which means that it could either be a deception, and the U.S. could intervene in the next three hours. But it could also mean that he's going to take his time.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah.

PINKAS: If that -- if he does take his time, I think those pressures that we just spoke about, domestic political, are going to increase, not decrease.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. But there are diplomatic talks today in Geneva involving Iran and several other nations. But ultimately, you've argued the power to actually end the conflict between Israel and Iran lies basically with Donald Trump.

PINKAS: Yeah. With Donald Trump and, you know, we've not used that country's name frequently enough, China. Because look, one of the scenarios that Mr. Trump heard from his generals is that in retaliation for an American intervention, Iran may try and block or mine the entire Strait of Hormuz. Through the Strait of Hormuz, 25 percent of the world's oil and around 20 or 21 percent of the world's liquefied national gas passes. Much of that goes to China. Iran is considered by the Chinese an ally.

So, I could see the Chinese in the next few days trying to press Trump as will the Saudi Arabians who don't want this uncertainty, unpredictability, and instability. But, yeah, you're right. In the end, it's up to Trump. He can end this war within 24 hours if he so chooses to. Unlike Ukraine where he promised 24 hours, he can actually do this now.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. Great comparison there. So many implications for the entire world here. Really appreciate getting your analysis on this. Alon Pinkas. Thank you so much.

PINKAS: Thank you, Kim. Good morning.

BRUNHUBER: The leaders of Russia and China discussed the conflict between Iran and Israel and they're sending a message about what they believe should happen next. We'll have that story ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: The conflict between Israel and Iran is also playing out in cyberspace. Pro-Israeli hackers are taking credit for stealing $90 million from Iran's largest crypto exchange on Wednesday. The hackers claim Iran used the crypto exchange to skirt international sanctions. In a separate attack, the hackers say they destroyed data at Iran's state owned bank on Tuesday, claiming it was used by members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iranian media report that the cyber-attack disrupted services at ATMs around the country. Iran is thought to have some of the best hackers in the region. Cyber security organizations are advising U.S. businesses to be on high alert.

Moscow says forcing regime change in Iran would be a red line for Russia. In an interview with Sky News, the Kremlin also said assassinating Iran's supreme leader would open Pandora's box and unleash more extremism in Iran. Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussed the crisis on Thursday and sent thinly veiled messages to Washington. Clare Sebastian reports.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was a previously unscheduled call between presidents Xi and Putin. And on the one hand, it shows the global geopolitical divide hardening around the Iran Israel conflict. Russia and China, of course, two allies of Iran, both according to a Kremlin aide who briefed on the call roundly condemning Israel. China calling on, quote, "major powers" to deescalate the situation according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry. Clearly, a thinly veiled reference there to the United States.

Well, both countries have not only a shared desire to counter U.S. influence globally, but they have economic skin in the game. China is by far the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, and Russia built Iran's only nuclear power plant at Bashir and is currently building new reactors there. Putin saying on Wednesday, Israel had agreed to ensure the safety of the Russian staff at the plant.

[02:25:00]

But both Russia and China have also offered to mediate in this conflict. And for Russia, especially which still maintains open lines of communication with Israel, this is a crucial opportunity to appear as an indispensable regional power broker. And, of course, to keep the door open to resetting relations with the United States, Israel's biggest backer. Well, President Trump though, who had signaled openness to the idea of Russia mediating, toughened his stance on that on Wednesday saying that he told Putin, quote, "let's mediate Russia first." A reference, of course, to the faltering US efforts to bring an end to Russia's war in Ukraine. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

BRUNHUBER: The Palestinian health ministry says Israeli strikes in Gaza Thursday killed more than 70 people including children. We just want to warn you the video you're about to see is graphic and it shows first responders trying to rescue victims from destroyed buildings. Palestinian health officials say at least two children were killed when several homes came under Israeli fire in Northern Gaza. Three other children were killed by Israeli bombardment while they were sheltering in a tent -- in a tent at Al Shati refugee camp near Gaza City.

When asked for comment, the Israel Defense Forces says it was, quote, "not familiar with any strike in Al Shati." The U.N. warns that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly with famine increasingly likely.

So as the Iran-Israel fighting enters its second week, we'll have a look at the latest attacks and the U.S. president's self-imposed deadline for getting directly involved.

Plus, how the Israel-Iran conflict could impact the Strait of Hormuz and oil prices around the world. That more coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:21]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: The Israeli military says its defensive systems have been working to intercept a new wave of missiles launched by Iran. Police say falling munitions sparked fires near a tech park in Beer Sheva that houses Microsoft. Six people were reportedly injured.

A major hospital in that same southern Israeli city suffered extensive damage from an Iranian attack a day earlier. The spokesperson says 80 people were injured, and Israel's prime minister says his country has the power to strike all of Iran's nuclear sites and intends to do just that. The U.S. president says he will decide whether to attack Iran within the next two weeks.

Well, CNN journalists are getting extremely rare access in Tehran. Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen toured Iran's capital and a TV station that was hit by an Israeli missile earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Iran and Israel continue to trade salvos of bombs and missiles in Tehran, the cleanup is in full swing in residential areas that were struck. We went to several impact sites, buildings partially collapsed in some, completely destroyed in others.

The authorities here say this building was flattened in the first wave of strikes against targets in Tehran. But in other parts of Iran as well. And they say in this site alone, six people were killed and two bodies are still buried under the rubble.

As tensions between Iran and Israel continue to escalate, many residents have left Tehran, the streets empty, some shops closed, but defiance remained. Billboards across Tehran showing those killed by the Israeli aerial attack and vowing revenge. This one addressing Israel directly, saying you have started it, we will finish it, as Tehran's leadership says it won't back down.

If the Zionist regime is hostile, actions persist, our answers will be even more decisive and severe, the president says.

And Iran saying the Israelis are also targeting civilian installations, taking us to the state TV channel IRIB, recently bombed by two Israeli airstrikes. An anchor had been reading the news as the building was hit.

This is that studio now burned out with only a skeleton of the charred anchor desk left.

Authorities say three state TV employees were killed here.

You can see how much heat must have been emitted by the impact and by the explosion. The phones that they had here are molten here. Also, the keys molten, the screen.

And there's actually someone's lunch still at their desk. Standing here, which probably they would have been wanting to eat until they had to evacuate the building. You can see there's a spoon here that's also been melted away by this explosion, and the devastation here is massive at the Iranian state broadcaster.

Iran's leadership vows to persevere, saying it will continue to target Israel if the Israeli aerial campaign doesn't stop.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, live now to Tehran, Abas Aslani is a journalist and senior research fellow at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies.

Thanks so much for being here with us.

So, it's been a week since Israel attacked Iran. What's the mood there in Tehran now that the initial shock may have worn off?

ABAS ASLANI, IRANIAN JOURNALIST AND RESEARCHER: Well, Kim, after the initial shock that you mentioned, the country has been trying to recover in order to respond to the attacks coming from the Israeli side and the air defense system, you know, has been trying to improve targeting Israeli, you know, projectiles or drones coming from outside.

[02:35:11]

However, you know, it seems that this could be a prolonged war as an Iranian senior official yesterday was saying that accepting a truce and ceasefire at the moment would not be a good idea because this could lead to a renewed war in future, and they will continue to fight by the time that they make sure that the, you know, it is guaranteed that there will be no further attacks in future. So, in the meantime, you know, Iran has been trying to improve the level of or the efficiency of its attacks against Israel. It's using everyday a new missile. So Iranian side thinks that if this battle continues, it will benefit

Iran, because in terms of strategic depth and geographical size, Israel is incomparable to Iran, which is a much bigger country. And so that's why they think that Iran needs to continue by the time that it makes sure that its interests are safeguarded and to establish a deterrence that will make sure that this will not happen again.

BRUNHUBER: Well, interesting outlook there in terms of the defiance, I guess we heard not just about the regime, but how Iranians on the street are sort of in this defiant mood. We heard the government calling for street protests. I think today to show their anger. I mean, what are you expecting to see?

ASLANI: Maybe the initial assessment was to think that some specifically Israel and the United States, that that following these attacks against the country, people of Iran will come to the streets protesting against the government that will lead to a regime change in the country. But in practice, this turned out to be somehow different. And to the contrary, these days we are seeing different walks of lives and different political factions.

Even those who have been critical of the government are calling for unity and cohesion in the country. In responding against Israel, because when it's an external, the matter of an external threat, it makes the people rally around the flag. Even those who have been in prison in the past years, even those who have been criticizing the government on different aspects of its policies today, they are somehow mostly united against this aggression coming from the Israeli side.

And so that's why I think the government wants to solidify this sense among the public in the society and holding gatherings or rallies in support of this response against Israel will somehow -- could somehow, let's say, strengthen that sense among the public, meaning the Iran responding against Israel.

BRUNHUBER: How worried are Iranians that the U.S. will join Israel and attack Iran directly?

ASLANI: Well, this has been the discussion in the past couple of days that whether the U.S. will engage and intervene directly in this conflict or not. And that's why we have been hearing from senior Iranian officials, including the leader, who had a message yesterday that in case that the U.S. intervenes in this conflict, there will be serious repercussions for that. And this will escalate and expand the war into the -- to the whole and entire region.

Iran has warned that it has delivered to block the Strait of Hormuz and the target American interests and bases all over the region. This has made even those regional countries worried that this could end up in a fire in entire region. So that's why Iran and Iranian officials think that they shouldn't have -- they shouldn't use or come with full force against Israel. And they have kept the potential and part of their, let's say, military power to confront in case that U.S. intervenes. So -- and that's a question that if the U.S. intervenes, how long this

war can continue, and what could be the consequences? And they are saying that both sides will, you know, receive harms as a result of a full-scale war in the region.

BRUNHUBER: So, President Trump has announced that a two week pause, I guess, to on a decision ostensibly to allow for more diplomacy. There are talks today in Geneva. Do Iranians have much hope that anything will actually come from this?

[02:40:01]

ASLANI: Kim, we have been hearing different deadlines from President Trump, and this is a new one. And this is perceived as a kind of, let's say, political pressure on Tehran in order to accept the terms of the United States, specifically in terms of enrichment and the nuclear program of the country. Iran's foreign minister today is meeting a foreign ministers from three European countries, as well as the foreign policy chief of the European Union. And they are going to discuss the nuclear matter as well as the recent developments following the war between Israel and Iran.

But if this will end up Iran accepting the terms of the United States, which will equal a complete political surrender toward the United States, I don't see that happening because many here in Tehran believe that a political surrender toward the United States will not be an end to this problem, but it will be a new beginning for further, let's say, pressure, further attacks against the country. And this will not guarantee the safety and the security of the -- of Iran.

So that's why they are against that surrender. And I think the country, meaning Iran can engage in serious discussions in case that this war has ended. And in that condition, they will -- where they think that they have been able to establish a balance, they will engage in those discussions. But by the time that that is not achieved, I think Iran sees those negotiations as meaningless. It will continue to talk to different parties and sides.

But a meaningful negotiation to achieve a nuclear deal. I think by the time that this war ends and Iran establishes a deterrence, will be not acceptable from Iranian perspective, because that will equal, you know, Iran emptying its strategic, you know potentials and power, which will make it, you know, vulnerable in much more vulnerable in future.

BRUNHUBER: Listen, fascinating to get the Iranian perspective on all of this.

Abas Aslani, thank you so much for being here with us.

ASLANI: My pleasure, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: A powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq, is threatening to shut down a vital waterway used to ship oil from the Middle East to the rest of the world.

CNN's Anna Stewart explains what could happen if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the narrow body of water on Iran's southern coast, the Strait of Hormuz. It's just 21 miles across at its narrowest point, and it plays a huge role when it comes to global energy access. One of the world's biggest oil producers is Saudi Arabia. It exports most of its oil through this narrow body of water. According to JPMorgan, if we look at Iraq, about 85 percent of its oil exports travel through here. And then you have Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar for them, they're entirely reliant on the strait.

So, actually, in total, if we look at it, about a quarter of the world's oil passes through the strait, about a quarter of liquefied natural gas as well. Here we can see some of the oil price spikes of the last ten years. This one's very noticeable. This is the invasion of Ukraine. Oil prices were around $120. You can see the pandemic. This is where oil prices actually crashed. And the big rebound in 2021, 2022.

Now this one is harder to see, but it's really relevant for now. This is 2019 key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia were attacked. Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed responsibility, but the U.S. said it thought Iran was behind it and oil prices here actually surged by 20 percent.

So, if the current conflict escalates in the region, this is what we could be looking at. Attacks in or near this strait could lead to some tankers being unable or unwilling to make that transit. Iran could also simply close the strait to antagonize gulf states.

One reason not to is it would also upset its biggest customer, which is actually China by a long way. When it comes to oil. It may not want to do that. Other key customers, when we're looking at these gulf states, are also in Asia, we have India, we have Japan, we have South Korea.

So essentially, this narrow body of water could impact the gulf producers, their Asian customers that could raise oil prices around the world. And that could bring domino effects, possibly stoking inflation and reducing the likelihood of interest rate cuts for central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The Trump administration and the L.A Dodgers are now at odds after federal agents were seen gathering near the team's stadium.

On that story and much more coming up here on CNN. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:48:32]

BRUNHUBER: The Los Angeles Dodgers say they blocked U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents from entering Dodger Stadium on Thursday morning, but the Department of Homeland Security says the agents weren't from ICE and their presence, quote, had nothing to do with the Dodgers.

Now, the dispute comes as the city has seen an influx of federal agents and protests against President Trump's aggressive immigration agenda.

CNN's Natasha Chen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Protesters gathered outside of Dodger Stadium ahead of Thursday night's game.

[02:50:02]

This has been a buildup of two weeks of anxiety, and for some, resentment against the Dodgers for having stayed silent in their opinion about the immigration raids happening throughout Los Angeles, affecting a lot of the immigrant community that make up such a big part of the Dodgers fan base.

Now, these feelings really bubbled up and reached a fever pitch Thursday morning when federal agents were spotted at Dodger stadium in tactical gear and unmarked vans wearing masks. The Dodgers organization said that agents showed up asking for permission to enter their parking lots and were denied entry.

Now, we also heard from the Department of Homeland Security after that, saying that that was not ICE at all, claiming that it was Customs and Border Protection, that it was not related to any operation or enforcement, and that it had nothing to do with the Dodgers. In fact, DHS said that CBP was here briefly on the grounds of because of a car malfunction. So, a couple of different messages going on here.

Overall, it's clear that the community is extremely rattled by the presence of federal agents and also at odds in some ways with the team about what they are saying or not saying about the current climate in Los Angeles.

Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Now to the FIFA Club World Cup and some concerns that people may not attend if they fear ICE agents could show up.

CNN's Gustavo Valdes reports from Atlanta, which has been hosting some of the matches.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just under 32,000 fans witnessed a surprise victory of Miami over favorite Porto from Portugal, and this international competition that has attracted people from all over the world, although perhaps not as many as some might expected.

Yes, this is an afternoon game. It's early in the tournament. Perhaps we'll see more people attending these matches. FIFA has said that just over half a million people attended the first 16 matches.

But there seems to be a shadow over the tournament, especially the question if the current immigration environment in the United States is affecting attendance. There are people who were afraid that either migrants in the states would not come or participate, or people would simply don't want to come to the country.

The foreigners that we have spoken with over this past week, they tell us they were not worried.

Your name please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Rafael.

VALDES: Rafael, you come from Brazil. Did you have any concerns about coming into the United States right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody has a little concern with the immigration going on, coming to America and afraid of going back. But we're here to enjoy the beautiful game. And we want to have the best time. And right now, we're not worried about immigration. We're just worried about having a great time with the events.

VALDES: Do you have any problems getting into the country?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all. Everything was a breeze.

VALDES: Thank you very much.

And that's basically what we've heard from most of the people we've talked to. Monday during the Manchester United, I did talk to some British fans who told me that they were here for business. They took advantage of the opportunity, but they recognized that if they wanted to take some personal time off, maybe the United States would not be their preferred destination.

Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The NBA Finals are going to game seven. The Indiana Pacers crushed the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. The Pacers won in a blowout 108 to 91. That means Sunday's game in Oklahoma City will be winner take all. It will be the NBA Finals first game seven since 2016.

Well, look at that. That massive fireball is SpaceX's Starship exploding on its launch pad in Texas on Wednesday night. It happened during a routine ground test. The cause of the explosion isn't yet clear. SpaceX says no one was injured. The Starship program is part of SpaceX's ambitions for exploring deep space, including missions to the moon and to Mars. On social media, SpaceX owner Elon Musk called the explosion just a

scratch.

Small coastal communities in northern Venezuela celebrated the Roman Catholic Feast of Corpus Christi this week with a unique ritual dating back to the 18th century. Tradition holds that enslaved people in the area prayed for rain to save their harvest in a torrential downpour occurred. Now, participants say the celebration honors the triumph of good over evil. The festival is recognized by the United Nations as a part of the cultural heritage of humanity.

One of Britain's great annual events was held on Thursday, the Royal Ascot horse races. Odds on favorite Trawlerman led from start to finish, taking the Gold Cup in record time by seven lengths.

[02:55:05]

The seven-year-old gelding didn't seem fazed by scorching hot temperatures that hit 86 degrees Fahrenheit, or 30 degree Celsius. Some people were actually treated for heat sickness. King Charles and Queen Camilla presented the trophy to jockey William Buick for his first Ascot Gold Cup win. He happily kissed the cup for a couple of seconds for the crowds there. The five-day Ascot festival started on Tuesday.

I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta. I'll be right back with more CNN NEWSROOM after this break.