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New Strikes In Israel, Iran As Conflict Enters Second Week; Israeli Official: "Skeptical" Of Diplomatic Talks With Iran; Iranian Official: Trump, Israel Can "Easily" End Conflict. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired June 21, 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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[01:00:28]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Let's get straight to our breaking news. Israel and Iran have been exchanging new strikes as their conflict enters its second week. Israel says its air force has started attacking Iran's missile storage and launch infrastructure.
This video shows the Iranian city of Qom. Iranian state media says a strike on a residential building here killed two people and injured four others. The city is close to Iran's Fordo fuel enrichment plant. Meanwhile, in Israel, people have taken shelter from the latest Iranian missile launches. In Holon, just outside Tel Aviv, a building caught fire.
Israel says it was hit by shrapnel from an intercepted missile. This all comes as President Donald Trump says his decision on whether or not the United States will strike Iran could come in less than two weeks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Giving them a period of time. We're going to see what that period of time is, but I'm giving him a period of time and I would say two weeks would be the maximum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes has more on the president's position.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump stopping to talk to reporters about the conflict between Israel and Iran on the way to his New Jersey golf club in Bedminster saying this about calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asking him to stop the fighting for at least a brief period to bring Iran to the table. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, I think it's very hard to make that request right now. If somebody's winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if somebody's losing. But we're ready, willing and able and we've been speaking to Iran and we'll see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And now this, of course, again, was in response to the Iranians saying that they would talk to the U.S. directly about diplomatic conversations about a possible a nuclear deal, but only if the U.S. got Israel to stop its attacks on Iran. It doesn't sound like that's going to happen. Now President Trump was also asked about this two week period. He said it was enough time to get people to come to their senses, but also said that was the maximum amount of time indicating that something could happen in terms of U.S. involvement before the two weeks was over.
And one more interesting thing to point out that happened is he once again went against his director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who back in March said that Iran was not developing a nuclear weapon, saying she's wrong. Vatically, she is wrong. Of course, we have been reporting that there has been somewhat of a rift, at least from President Trump when it comes to his DNI because he believes that she is quote, "off message."
Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he won't back down in the conflict with Iran. On Friday, he visited a location where an Iranian missile struck earlier in the week. Addressing reporters, Netanyahu said he's determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER: As long as it takes, that's the answer. As long as it takes because we face an existential danger, a dual existential danger, one from 20,000 such rockets, 20,000, not one. This is one rocket, one missile, and the other is, of course, atomic bombs in the hands of these mad regime.
Iran is the preeminent terrorist regime in the world. It must not, cannot have nuclear weapons. That is the purpose of Israel's action, to save itself from the Iranian threat of annihilation. But by doing so, we're saving many, many countries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, Israel's foreign minister calls Iran's nuclear program an existential threat to Israel. Gideon Sa'ar toured the site of damage in Haifa on Friday. Sa'ar says Israel must act to stop Iran's nuclear program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GIDEON SA'AR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: We know from the record of Iran they are not negotiating honestly. And we just read it from the last report of the IAEA that stated they are reaching all their commitments. So personally, I'm skeptical with regard to their intention and honesty. We have no other option but to remove this existential threat by ourselves. And this is what we are doing now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Now all this comes as European diplomats held talks with Iran in Geneva on Friday, hoping to get Tehran back to the negotiating table with the United States. Their nuclear negotiations were deadlocked when Israel began its aerial campaign against Iran last week. As Matthew Chance reports from Geneva, getting them back on track will be a tall order.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the thrusts of these talks in Geneva, here in Switzerland, has been to communicate what the latest U.S. position is. European political figures, the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany were here in Geneva, sort of made a point, according to diplomats, you know, who are inside the talks to communicate, you know, messages directly from Washington to the Iranians. David Lammy, who's the U.K. Foreign Secretary, flew directly from Washington to Geneva to do precisely that. It was a dual message. One message was, if there's going to be a deal with the United States, it's not going to involve uranium enrichments of any kind. That's obviously a big red line for the Iranians. They've expressed that publicly.
They expressed it privately to me as well. And when I tried to speak to the Iranian foreign minister after the talks, he, you know, refused to be drawn on it. But, you know, look, you know, this is something that is still -- something that the Iranians are not prepared to go to at the moment.
The second issue that was communicated to the Iranians from Washington via David Lammy and the other European figures that were there is the issue of direct talks. I was told by a diplomatic familiar with what took place inside the negotiating room that Washington wants direct talks with Iran. Iran has rejected that categorically, while Israel remains -- is still, you know, bombarding Iranian nuclear targets and other targets inside the country.
If there's any positive that came out of these nuclear negotiations or talks with the Europeans here in Geneva, it's that both sides agreed to go away and to speak to their respective, you know, kind of allies that the Europeans are going to speak to Washington about this, if they're not already. The Iranians are going to speak to, you know, their senior leadership back in Tehran. And if they can both agree a pause, and obviously that's a very big if, then it's possible that the two sides, the Americans and the Iranians, could meet directly. But that does feel, I have to say, a long way off from where we are right now. JIMENEZ: Matthew Chance, thank you for the reporting. Now, while diplomatic efforts continue, there have been no tangible results so far. And Israel and Iran continue to trade missile strikes. CNN's Nic Robertson was in Haifa, northern Israel, as an air raid warning sounded, this is what he saw.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And we're going underground now.
LEONID REZNICK, HEAD OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, HAIFA MUNICIPALITY: We're going underground.
ROBERTSON: Into this bunker.
REZNICK: Exactly. It's a bomb shelter bunker.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's Haifa's war room.
ROBERTSON: It's very quiet in here right now.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Almost 24 hours since the last missile strike.
REZNICK: We are trying to let the people at least to go to their houses to buy something and to be a little with the families.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): We don't know it then, but they'll soon be running back here. Haifa's missile response and resiliency in their hands. Back out on the streets, people enjoying the lull until the sirens go off.
ROBERTSON: People are running for the shelters. The sirens have just gone off. It's the middle of the afternoon here and everyone's going to try and take shelter.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Iranian missiles have killed three people here in the last week.
ROBERTSON: We're just going to follow the people where they're going to a shelter.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's a desperate rush.
ROBERTSON: So we've followed everyone and this is where we've come to. It seems like it's an underground car park underneath a shopping mall.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Life on hold. People with babies and pets waiting, scouring their phones for news of what's happening above ground. A week of missile strikes taking its toll.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My first time here.
ROBERTSON: Really. Why now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just couldn't stay at home anymore. I was too scared.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): And with good reason, while were underground, a missile struck about a mile away.
ROBERTSON: Just arriving on the site less than an hour after the blast. You can see here water pouring out, the damaged cars here as well. This is a scene of the aftermath of a strike here. And it's -- looking at the damage, it's big. Just turning the camera over here, you can see here the building has been blasted, rubble everywhere.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Already, the rescue teams coordinated by the war room on site. Sniffer dogs to locate those trapped in the rubble. Drones to scour the debris. Then the rescue teams looking for unexploded missiles. The city's mayor, who runs the war room, one of the first officials to arrive. Where is diplomacy not working fast enough?
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ROBERTSON: President Trump waiting two weeks to make a decision, what do you think about that?
YONA YAHAV, MAYOR OF HAFIA, ISRAEL: It's too much.
ROBERTSON: Why?
YAHAV: Because we have no time. You see what's going in the middle time?
ROBERTSON: Well, there's more destruction.
YAHAV: They have to sit now and negotiate and design a treaty. It's not a big deal and do it.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Israel's foreign minister next on the scene. For him, a deal with Iran nowhere near in sight.
ROBERTSON: And what's your understanding of the diplomatic talks between the Iranian foreign minister and the European foreign ministers in Geneva? Are they making progress? What is your assessment of what's happening there?
SA'AR: Well, frankly, I was always skeptical with regard to diplomatic talks with the Iranians because they are misleading. And even until now, we hadn't heard anything from them which hints they want to change direction.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): By morning, the roads here will be open again, the path to lasting peace still blocked.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Haifa, Israel.
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JIMENEZ: I want to continue this conversation now with Miri Eisin, a senior fellow with the International Institute for Counterterrorism who is retired from the IDF. She joins us from Tel Aviv. Thank you for being here and taking the time.
So as we just heard in that report, Iran and Israel continue to trade strikes. And the question now is where are there opportunities for diplomacy? And we've heard from this official with the Iranian presidency who said all it would take is a phone call to Israel by Trump to stop its strikes on Iran. President Trump has indicated that would be a difficult thing to do. What do you see as the path forward here?
MIRI EISIN, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (RET.): The path forward at the end will always be diplomacy. The question is when that steps in. I'm sitting in Tel Aviv right now. It's very quiet. I'll remind everybody that there was another round of incoming Iranian missiles at 2:30 a.m. our time, or maybe it was 1:30, I apologize, we forget our time.
So when diplomacy steps in, it's going to be more because of what this impacts in the world rather than what Israel is targeting specifically inside Iran and the defense that we've put up against these Iranian missiles and drones. I think that the international community has an interest because of oil prices, because of geopolitics, not necessarily because of the Islamic regime and its threat. I understand that difference, but because of that, right now, I think that we're being given, I don't want to call it leeway, but we're being given the opportunity to really attack all of these different targets inside the Islamic regime throughout Iran. And within a week, I Imagine that we will not stop having targets, but that the world will have much more of a voice on stopping the capability that Israel is showing in Iran.
JIMENEZ: And as you mentioned, a lot of different interests at play here, I guess, depending on what part of the world you're looking in from. I mean, you are sitting in Tel Aviv literally listening and seeing parts of your country bombed at points firsthand, I'm sure. Is there a way in which American pressure alone would be enough on Israel to get them to pause for a chance at diplomatic solution as the -- diplomatic resolution, as the Iranian officials have intimated?
EISIN: Omar, it's such an interesting question in Israel. We just heard before from where Nic is up in Haifa, where the feeling is as if, yes, I think there's a difference also in immediately after a missile attack inside Israel and right now where I'm sitting and it looks kind of nice outside. So I'll say the following, and I don't mean it in a disrespectful way, Israel is not the 51st state of the United States. We are an incredibly close ally, and we are right now where we are. We border Lebanon, that's where Hezbollah was.
We border Syria, we border Jordan. Iran fires these missiles at us from Iran around a thousand kilometers, you know, and miles away. Depends where from Iran. So I don't think that it would just be U.S. pressure. And I have to say I don't see that kind of U.S. pressure right now.
What could make a difference is if everybody said, Israel, stop. Everybody mean both the U.S. and the other allies, and we listen to our allies. But we're the ones who live here. We're the ones who have been under attack directly by Iran from April and October last year and right now. But through their proxies, we've been under attack from Iran for many years.
This war didn't just start last Friday because suddenly Iran became a threat to the world. This has been going on for a very long time.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, let's look at the overall goal, at least, of some of the strikes in Iranian territory right now. Of course, the worry is about the proximity to the Iranians being able to have access to a nuclear weapon. We've seen some various estimates about what that exact timeline would be. But bottom line, is there any scenario in which the United States could either assist or lead in an attack on an Iranian nuclear -- on Iranian nuclear capabilities and not be dragged into anything further?
[01:15:27]
I guess my question is there a way to cripple or extremely devastate those nuclear capabilities without triggering something much wider?
EISIN: Isn't that the question right now that everybody is asking, and especially the different approaches? Because I've heard such different voices, both inside Israel, but certainly in the United States when it comes to U.S. participation. Omar, the Iranians are going to threaten the United States. Khamenei, the supreme leader, has threatened the United States directly. You attack us, we're going to attack you.
Khamenei has directly done the same type of threat in this last week against the U.K., against France, against Germany, meaning watch out. As long as we attack Israel, that's OK. You -- and just look at this, and again, I'm smiling, it's not like I'm happy, the question being, can you attack the different regime, especially the nuclear sites, without the Islamic regime responding?
I think that also has to do with what we're attacking right now. Israel is attacking a variety of targets. We're not just attacking the nuclear sites. From the beginning, we've been attacking the different places that the Islamic regime used to attack both U.S. troops in the past inside Iraq or anywhere in the Gulf areas. And certainly what attacks us, we've intercepted over the last week over 1,500 Iranian drones.
I mean, we don't talk about the drones because they've all been intercepted, those are capabilities that could be used against U.S. sites. So my bottom line is that I think that Iran would absolutely respond. I do think so. I don't think that's the reason not to attack, because then we are yet again succumbing to the Islamic regime threats to the world. And those threats have almost paralyzed us for over 20 years where we've allowed proxies to do whatever they want and all sorts of forces that are very negative to do whatever they want and nobody touches Iran.
That nuclear capability is a real definitive threat, not just against Israel, that has been directly threatened to be annihilated, but for me, to any place those missiles and drones arrive at, and that's anywhere, you know, anywhere in Europe, anywhere in Asia.
JIMENEZ: Miri Eisin, really appreciate you taking the time from Tel Aviv. Thanks for the time and insight.
EISIN: Thank you, Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right. Coming up, the United Nations is again warning of an impending famine in Gaza with aid supplies limited by Israel. Some Palestinian families say the deep hunger is driving people to turn on each other. Their stories coming up after the break.
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JIMENEZ: Back to our breaking news, coverage of the conflict between Israel and Iran. Diplomacy is taking the backseat for now as both sides reported new aerial attacks in recent hours. European leaders held talks with Iran in Geneva on Friday, trying to get Tehran to return to its stalled nuclear talks with the United States. Officials say Iran doesn't want to negotiate as long as Israeli strikes continue. But some analysts say Tehran can still reach out to Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARAK RAVID, POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYT: There's no chance Israel would agree to stop the war only to facilitate talks between Iran and the U.S. If Iran wants negotiations, it will have to do those negotiations under fire. I do think, however, that if the Iranians came today and said, A, let's meet tomorrow, if it came to the U.S. and said let's meet tomorrow to discuss a nuclear deal along the parameters that the U.S. proposed, I think most likely President Trump will go to Benjamin Netanyahu and tell him, listen, you did your job, you did what you had to do, now allow me space to do what I want to do. But at least for now, the Iranians don't seem to be close to, you know, making those decisions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, the United Nations is again sounding the alarm about the pervasive hunger and dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel's war with Hamas drags on. The U.N. says the enclave is on the brink of famine and civilians continue to come under attack while they attempt to access the scarce food supplies that Israel allows in. CNN's Paula Hancocks has more, but a warning her report includes material that may be distressing to some viewers.
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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mohamed al-Darbi is 12 years old, he has a message for the world.
MOHAMED AL-DARBI, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): We in Gaza have no flour, every day, 24 hours. They tell us there are trucks coming and we come and find nothing. We eat this sand, we have no food, we have no food. We have no flour, we have no food. Have mercy on us, we have no food. We are eating sand instead of flour. Have mercy on us, mercy, we are eating sand instead of bread. A loaf of bread costs 20 shekels, $5.70, a loaf this little.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Mohamed walked eight hours with his father to a flower distribution point in Gaza City. He finally collected two kilos of flour, but thieves attacked him and stole it.
He says, I saw the journalist filming and I asked him to pass on my message to the world that I was robbed and I ate sand because I had no flour and I was so depressed. Mohamed's mother says she uses old dried bread used for animal feed, soaks it with water and bakes it over and over to feed her children.
[01:25:00]
His father says, people are killing each other over a bag of flour. Five or six individuals attack each other because people want to eat and they have become monsters due to the lack of food.
Mohamed and his family, only two of tens of thousands of starved Palestinians risking their lives to feed their families. Dozens have been killed by Israeli fire this week as they waited for aid, hundreds since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on Gaza in late May, allowing a trickle of aid in, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The Israeli military says it operates to minimize harm to those seeking aid while maintaining the safety of its troops.
The United Nations warns the entire population of Gaza, more than 2 million people face impending famine without a drastic increase in aid.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
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JIMENEZ: All right, meanwhile, in regards to the war between Russia and Ukraine, some prisoners of war from Russia and Ukraine are headed home after a second prisoner swap between the countries. You see some of the images here. It's a second prisoner swap between the countries in two days. Neither side said how many troops were involved in Friday's exchange, but Ukrainian's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says some of the released Ukrainians were held for more than two years. Now the two countries have conducted a series of similar swaps since starting their direct talks in Istanbul last month.
Again, as we're showing you some of those images there. So a dynamic we will continue to watch in that war as it rages on now years in the making.
Now, I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. For our international viewers, Inside Africa is next. And for our viewers in North America, more CNN Newsroom just at (ph).
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Back to our breaking news, Iran's state media reports explosions were heard in the central Iranian city of Isfahan after Israel's military said it had begun a new wave of attacks overnight. Now the city is the home of Iran's largest nuclear research complex. It has been the target of Israeli strikes before.
Meanwhile, new video out of Israel shows a building on fire near Holon near Tel Aviv. Now officials say it was hit by falling shrapnel after a missile was intercepted. No injuries were reported. On Friday, both Iran and Israel's United Nations ambassadors said that their countries will continue to fight.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen is the first western journalist to enter Iran since the latest conflict started. He spoke to an official with the Iranian presidency about the escalating tensions with Israel and what happens if the United States gets directly involved.
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MAJID FARAHANI, OFFICIAL WITH THE IRANIAN PRESIDENCY: I think that Israeli thought that they can be win for example in two or three days. But now you see that the control is with Iran. And in every attack to Iran will be -- there will some missiles to Israel against. And as I know Iran announced that. Until these attacks has continue, the missiles will continue.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What about President Trump? President Trump says he wants to give diplomacy a chance. What diplomacy do you think can happen now?
FARAHANI: United States President Trump can easily stop the war by only one telephone to Israel. But I don't know why he didn't do that. We believe to all part of diplomacy. So I think if Mr. Trump order to Netanyahu to stop the attack, the diplomacy can be start again easily.
PLEITGEN: Do you think Iran is willing to speak directly to the Trump administration now?
FARAHANI: Directly or indirectly is not important. The important is that Iran believe to civilian dialogue.
PLEITGEN: The U.S. has talked about using a gigantic bomb called the bunker buster against the installation in Fordo. What would happen if America bombed Iranian nuclear sites?
FARAHANI: If America involved to the war, Iran predicted all choices and we are not hand backed and there are so many options. And as I know all these options are on the tables.
PLEITGEN: So you think that American military bases, for instance, would be under threat that Iran would use its militias? FARAHANI: There are so many -- there are so many options. Not only these. It is only one option. There are so many options, and all options has been planned very carefully.
PLEITGEN: Do you think that Iran would be willing to give up enrichment --
FARAHANI: No.
PLEITGEN: -- and, for instance, join a consortium?
FARAHANI: No, no. Iran announced that so many times the enrichment, we will do the enrichment, and we don't accept the statement of enrichment. Maybe the enrichment can be lower, but we don't stop it anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: I want to keep this conversation going now with Mehran Kamrava, professor of government at Georgetown University, Qatar. He's in Doha. Thank you for being here.
Look, while we've heard from Iranian officials that they would only meet with the United States for nuclear talks if Israel agrees to stop striking the country and that it might just take a phone call from the U.S. to make that happen, we're hearing from President Trump it would be difficult for him to request Israel stop its airstrikes because they are winning, as he put it. What is your reaction to that posturing from Trump? And do you believe it will have an impact on any ongoing negotiations among the key countries here?
MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVT., GEORGTOWN UNIV. IN QATAR: Well, this is typical of President Trump to try and delay his decisions for as long as possible. And he has openly said that he won't make a decision until the very last second. And we have also heard the timeline of two weeks many times before used by the American president.
[01:35:01]
So I think what he's trying to do is to kind of see in which direction things are going to evolve, whether the negotiations or discussions that happened yesterday between Iran and the European powers in Geneva will bear any fruit, if there is any diplomatic move that can be or any diplomatic initiatives that can be made. And I think he's waiting to see until the very last minute.
You also know that his own domestic base in the United States is deeply fractured over this. And so it won't be an easy decision for the American president to make.
JIMENEZ: And you know, at this point, partly from Fred Pleitgen's reporting, who were just watching his reporting before beginning this interview, we've also seen mass protests in Iran, demonstrating against Israel strikes, as well as President Trump's administration as well, since this most recent Israel-Iran conflict began, do you believe the regime's grip on power is strengthening or weakening amid this conflict?
KAMRAVA: That's really hard to tell. The -- it's --
JIMENEZ: Yes.
KAMRAVA: -- very difficult now to read the public mood in Iran, if social media is to be believed, there's an upsurge of nationalist sentiments, even by people who oppose the government. And even opponents of the Islamic Republic are now saying it's a question of Iranian sovereignty and Iranian security and independence. So it's very difficult to tell. At the same time, I think it's fair to remember that the Islamic Republic over the last 45 years has excelled in street theater in getting people to demonstrate for various causes. But I think there's a measure of genuine nationalist sentiment inside the country that is manifesting itself.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, when Israel launched its series of strikes against Iran last week, it suggested Iran was fast approaching a point of no return in obtaining nuclear weapons and that the strikes were necessary to stop that outcome. We've heard a little differently in regards to the timeline from U.S. -- from United States intelligence assessments. But bottom line, do you worry about Iran's nuclear enrichment program, and if so, what aspects?
KAMRAVA: You know, I don't. And I live in the region. I live only a matter of 90 minutes or so from Tehran, being here in Doha. But I've never worried about an Iranian nuclear program or weaponization of the Iranian nuclear program so far at least, because the Iranians -- the Iranian military command has always believed that it had, at the very least, parity when it came to conventional military powers, and that if it were to develop a nuclear weapon, it wouldn't have delivery system and it would -- it would enter into a game in which it would not have parity, it would not have any sort of advantage. So I think strategically, the Iranians had made a decision that it would not have been to their advantage to have nuclear weapon up until this point.
Now, moving forward after this attack, and particularly if the Americans get involved, I think we might be looking at a very different security posture adopted by Tehran.
JIMENEZ: Well, of course that is a question is if what diplomatic solution eventually comes out of this and under what timeline. It's still very unclear to this point.
Mehran Kamrava, thank you so much for being here out of Doha. Really appreciate the time and insight.
KAMRAVA: Thank you very much.
JIMENEZ: Of course.
All right, still to come, two months have passed since the roof of a nightclub collapse on hundreds of people in the Dominican Republic. We're going to have the latest details emerging from CNN's investigation into the tragedy. Stay with us.
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JIMENEZ: The Palestinian activist who has been at the center of a long running deportation fight is now free. Mahmoud Khalil was released from an immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday. You can see him here pumping his fist in the air more than three months after he was arrested on Columbia University's campus. A judge ordered Khalil's release on bail after finding he is not a flight risk or a danger to public safety. He was required to surrender his passport and is prohibited from traveling overseas.
He was one of the first migrants arrested in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown targeting student activists.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance seemed to take a swipe at California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla who was forcefully removed from a news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week. Speaking to reporters in Los Angeles, the vice president called Padilla Jose instead of Alex. Now, Vance's spokesperson responded by saying he must have mixed up two people who have broken the law. And to be clear, Senator Padilla was not charged with anything in regards to that incident. But Vance was in Los Angeles defending President Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops, which has been upheld now by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JD VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: The President has a very simple proposal to everybody in every city, every community, every town, whether big or small. If you enforce your own laws and if you protect federal law enforcement, we're not going to send in the National Guard because it's unnecessary. But if you let violent rioters burn great American cities to the ground, then of course we're going to send federal law enforcement in to protect the people the president was elected to protect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: All right, now to a CNN investigation into the cause of a nightclub tragedy in the Dominican Republic two months ago. More than 230 people were killed when the roof of the Jetset nightclub collapsed onto concertgoers. The nightclub's owners have now been arrested amid allegations of negligence. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has the latest. But first, a warning that the following report may be disturbing to some viewers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): On April 8, what started as a normal merengue night in the Dominican Republic ended in a catastrophe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Oh my God. Calm down.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Desperate schemes punctured the silence as first responders surveyed the rubble and removed debris from the shattered dance floor. The Jetset nightclub an institution in the capital Santo Domingo, reduced to rubble. The club's collapse, among the deadliest building collapses this century, left at least 235 people dead, including 17 U.S. citizens, dozens injured and hundreds of families seeking answers.
[01:45:24]
We set out to uncover how this tragedy unfolded. A CNN analysis of open source material reveals that Jetset had major structural slows and early warning signs went unaddressed for years. A preliminary statement from Dominican authorities matches CNN's findings. The roof was severely overweight and visibly damaged. Structural experts contacted by CNN analyzed the composition of the roof, they found it's made up of multiple layers, one on top of the other.
This may have been the result of an ill-fated attempt to prevent water leaks. But adding more and more layers of heavy coat treatment, the roof weighed many times more than it should have, according to one analysis. On top of that, drone footage unearthed by local media, Somos Pueblo, shows seven enclosed sheds, some of which housed air conditioning units and ductwork.
A military satellite Image taken in 1975 shows the roof initially had similar structures, but only at the north and south ends of the building. Additional imagery shows that in the year since, more structures along with air conditioning units and water tanks were added, piling even more waste on the roof around its center and the south end. That along with the removal of this load bearing column during renovations in 2015 emerged as key factors that contributed to the collapse according to the Dominican attorney general.
Club owner Antonio Espaillat has now been arrested and charged with manslaughter and negligence. He admitted the building suffered from constant water leaks and that he replaced the ceiling tiles on a regular basis.
ANTONIO ESPAILLAT, JETSET CLUB OWNER (through translator): We had to buy new tiles all the time. (inaudible) on the very day of the concert.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Despite this, Espaillat said he never had the roof properly assessed. Dominican authorities visited the building at least four times over the past three years. Fire inspectors after flames damaged the generator room in 2023 and the Environment Ministry officials because of noise complaints from the club's neighbors, and yet the fragility of the roof was never flagged as a potential risk.
POZZEBON: Dominican authorities have accused Espaillat of putting his profit ahead of the safety of the workers and customers at the club. And the case is going to trial. We repeatedly requested an interview with him before his arrest, but he wouldn't reply. The Dominican Minister of Housing has announced a review of the country's construction laws to prevent a similar tragedy from ever happening again.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon.
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JIMENEZ: That reporting. Meanwhile, here in the United States, the jury in the Sean Diddy Combs racketeering and sex trafficking trial could start deliberations sometime next week. Prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to wrap up their cases by Wednesday. Closing arguments could happen as soon as next Thursday. Friday's testimony from Combs former assistant Brendan Paul was similar to others who testified about the arrangements staff would make before Combs so called freak off parties in hotel rooms.
Paul also testified he saw Combs use drugs including cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy and marijuana.
All right. Still to come, Pope Leo attends the second annual Artificial Intelligence Conference in Rome. We're going to tell you what he had to say to tech leaders coming up.
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JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. The second annual conference on Artificial Intelligence was held in Rome this week. During the event, Pope Leo urged tech leaders to create an ethical framework when developing AI. CNN's Clare Duffy has more.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, so this is the second annual Rome Conference on AI, which has brought academics and Vatican officials and tech executives from companies like Metta, Google, IBM, OpenAI to the Vatican to discuss the social and ethical implications of AI. And I don't think we need to remind anyone that this is sort of a fraught moment for AI development. Of course, the technology has lots of promise, but it also brings risks that range from taking people's jobs, developing even more powerful weaponry at this time of intense global conflict. And Pope Leo would like to see these tech companies develop an ethical framework or criterion by which they would abide when developing and deploying AI technology that he says would respect human dignity, human work, and protect children.
And I want to read just a portion of his statement that really stood out to me as sort of an admonishment of the way that we've heard some tech leaders talk about artificial intelligence systems potentially becoming smarter than humans. He says, "No generation has ever had such quick access to the amount of information now available through AI. But again, access to data, however extensive, must not be confused with intelligence."
And I think this is really a sign that Pope Leo plans to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Pope Francis, in pushing the Vatican to take an active role in shaping AI policy, especially at a time when we're seeing the U.S. Government pull back on many of the regulatory efforts when it comes to the big tech companies. Back to you.
JIMENEZ: Clare Duffy, appreciate it. Meanwhile, the U.K. is sweltering under its first official heat wave of the summer. Highs are expected to reach 34 degrees Celsius, or 93 degrees Fahrenheit. And health officials issued an Amber health alert across the country. The heat wave is especially dangerous because Britain doesn't typically get this hot and air conditioning is rare in homes.
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The scorching temperatures come as two major events draw people outside, too. The Royal Ascot races wrap up today and Wimbledon Championships are just around the corner.
And here in the United States, nearly 100 million people are under heat alerts. The first dangerous heat wave of the season started in the Great Plains states but is expected to head east, all thanks to what's called a heat dome. Meteorologist Tyler Mauldin explains what's ahead.
TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The summer's first heat wave is upon us, thanks to this massive heat dome that is expanding across the eastern two thirds of the country. This big blue H puts a lid on the atmosphere. The air underneath it sinks, it compresses and it heats up to temperatures like this. When you combine the air temperature with the humidity, you're looking at temperatures that will feel like they're well above the century mark. Case In Point, Washington, D.C. By the time we get to Monday and Tuesday of next week and it will feel like 108 degrees.
Records? Yes, we're going to see records be broken later this weekend and early next week probably extending into mid to late next week, too. Now when you do take the heat and the humidity that's going to stress your body out, it's going to put a lot of stress on you, especially when we don't see the temperatures cool down all too much during the morning hours. So make sure if you don't have to go outside of over the next seven days, don't do that. If you do have to go outside, play it safe, find plenty of shade and make sure you drink plenty of water.
What's riding the northern edge of this heat dome? It is a lot of thunderstorms. We are looking at strong to severe thunderstorms potentially over the weekend across the Great Lakes on into the northeast. Main threats here, strong winds, large hail and yes, the potential for some isolated tornadoes. Back to you.
JIMENEZ: All right, thanks for sticking with me, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. There's more CNN Newsroom ahead with Brian Abel right after the break.
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