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Kuwait Caught In Middle Of Iran Conflict Decades After First Gulf War; Trump Reiterates Push For Global Effort To Secure Strait Of Hormuz; California Rabbi Laments Rise In Antisemitic Attacks Worldwide; A Friend Remembers Lt. Col. Shah: "Couldn't Ask For A Better Soldier"; Zelenskyy: Russia Provided Iran With Drones Used In Conflict; Trump: "Save America Act" Only Second In Importance To War. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired March 14, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I did absolutely not say the P word about you."

That summer, Ferguson set out on a PR tour to try to revamp her public image, including a reality TV show.

SARAH FERGUSON, FORMER DUCHESS OF YORK: I'm 51 and I have no self- worth, and I'm determined to find it.

LEE (voice-over): By July of 2011, Ferguson and Epstein appeared to mend any hard feelings. "I knew you were always on my team." "That was right," Epstein wrote. She responded, "I am on yours and you on mine, with great love and strength."

CNN did not find any direct correspondence between Ferguson and Epstein after 2012 in the Epstein files. Again, Ferguson has not been accused of crimes related to Epstein. And the appearance of one's name in the Epstein files does not suggest wrongdoing. We've also reached out to Ferguson's representative for comment. Meanwhile, at least six companies linked to the former duchess are shutting down in the aftermath of the release of the Epstein files.

MJ Lee, CNN, Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. Right now Iran is lashing out after the U.S. says it obliterated military targets on its main oil export hub. The U.S. embassy in Baghdad is urging all Americans to leave Iraq immediately after an official tells CNN the building was struck by two drones today. Video geolocated by CNN shows smoke and flames pouring out of a tower near the U.S. embassy. And in the UAE smoke was seen rising from a major oil hub after a reported drone attack there. Iran is warning of further escalation, vowing to reduce U.S. Linked

energy sites across the Middle East to, quote, "a pile of ashes," end quote, if its oil infrastructure is targeted.

I want to go straight to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson. He is in Kuwait which has also been attacked by Iran during this conflict.

Nic, what more can you tell us about these strikes and threats?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, and look, it does seem that Iran is following through on its words to up its attacks in the Gulf. I mean, just in the past hour or so we've heard that the sirens have been activated, air raid sirens activated, and Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in Saudi Arabia, Prince Sultan Air Base outside the capital there has been targeted.

Again, that's the air base where we understood that several of the air tanker refueling aircraft, the KC-135, have been damaged. President Trump has said it was just minor damage. We know that in Qatar, there have been a number of incoming ballistic missiles and drones that have been intercepted. Today, the UAE has taken again the sort of highest preponderance of incoming missiles.

And here in Kuwait, in the last half an hour, we heard that drones impacted the civilian airport, Kuwait International Airport here. The Civil Aviation Authority said that the radar equipment in the airport was damaged, no indications of casualties there. But just a few hours earlier the armed forces here in Kuwait said that three service members have been injured in drone strikes earlier on today.

There have been seven drones, three intercepted, two fell in open areas, and two hit the Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, which is just north of Kuwait City, where we are right now. Sirens have been going off here in the evening as well. You wouldn't sort of sense that from the -- from the sort of busy activity in the street behind me here. And I think that's because people here in Kuwait and elsewhere in the Gulf understand or believe that they are not the targets, but Iran is threatening, as we've heard from the foreign minister and from others there, to target U.S. associated infrastructure, commercial infrastructure, oil infrastructure in the region.

And of course, we've heard that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was hit by a couple of drones in the last several hours, and the instruction within the last hour or so from the U.S. State Department is for Americans to immediately leave Iraq, suggesting via Saudi, where the airline still work from the capital Riyadh.

WHITFIELD: And then, Nic, what about Kuwaiti residents? What are they saying to you? I see a lot of, you know, activity behind you. So it looks like some people are going about their biz, but what have they said to you?

ROBERTSON: Yes. Look, setting the scene a little bit last few days of Ramadan, holy time of year, it's Eid Al-Fitr, the sort of festival at the end of Ramadan in a few days' time, people typically come out and buy gifts for family members, and that's what we're witnessing. There were huge tailbacks on the highway getting here around the major shopping malls, people here going out.

And I think part of, you know, in Kuwait, it's slightly different from the rest of the Gulf where really this was the first time they've been impacted in war. And it was terrifying and it was a new experience.

[16:05:02]

But Kuwait is here 30 odd years ago. That's when Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the brutal dictator there, invaded Kuwait and they were occupied. Thousands of people killed here over a seven-month period. President Bush led that big international coalition back in 1991 to oust Saddam Hussein. And back then the Kuwaitis were traumatized.

So when I asked people to compare them with now they say, look, it's not as bad as it was back then. It is dangerous. This isn't our war. We don't want this war. But, you know, we spoke to an air traffic controller here, former air traffic controller, and he said, look, we believe in our defensive systems. They're intercepting 98 percent of all incoming missiles. That may be a bit above what we're witnessing at the moment.

Four Kuwaiti service members have been killed here. More than 90 people, military, civilians, have been injured. But I think what you see on the streets here is reflected in a confidence in the defensive systems and a confidence that Iran is targeting, it may be just a few miles away, but not the people directly.

WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson in Kuwait, thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

Also today, new CNN reporting outlines just how the White House is scrambling to contain the fallout after deciding to attack Iran.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us now from West Palm Beach, Florida, near where the president's home is in Mar-a-Lago.

What are you learning, Julia?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're now entering that third week of this conflict. And President Donald Trump, he's back in Florida at his Mar-a-Lago estate, which is where he monitored those first joint U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran, and according to new reporting from our CNN colleagues, prior to those strikes, there was intelligence that the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, as well as other top officials, were going to be meeting.

And that led the U.S. and Israel to accelerate plans for those attacks with the goal of taking out the regime's top leadership at once. And those strikes were successful in killing the supreme leader and dozens of high-ranking officials. But that could have created another issue going forward, as some that the administration had considered as options to potentially lead Iran in the future were also taken out. That's something that Trump addressed publicly in the days after, saying that some of the people that they had in mind were now dead. Now, when it comes to an exit strategy here, there are still a lot of

questions. According to people who are familiar with some of those internal deliberations. The administration does not seem to be any closer to articulating a detailed exit strategy and that comes as there have been many different timelines laid out. Trump himself at one point said this could last two to three days through the week.

Of course we're well past that now, and most recently he's been saying four to five weeks or four to six weeks, but adding it will be as long as it takes whatever it takes. Now when he was speaking to a group of Republican lawmakers last weekend, he said we've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough. And I had the chance to press him on what those comments meant, what his baseline was here.

And he said, in part, "When they are not going to be starting the following day to develop a nuclear weapon." He added that they needed to be able to look to negotiators like special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was in the room at the time, and to confirm that they did not have plans to pursue it.

Now since the start of Operation Epic Fury, 13 American service members have been killed and roughly 140 wounded.

WHITFIELD: And then, Julia, the president commented today on the Strait of Hormuz, saying, I'm quoting now, "many countries," end quote, will send warships to keep it open. Any more about whether that is indeed the case? Promises being made by certain countries?

BENBROOK: And he's now posted about this twice, so it is obviously top of mind as 20 percent of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. His most recent post, he said that this always should have been a team effort and that other countries need to be joining in. But I want to pull up his first post. That's where he provided some more detail. In it, he said, "Many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran's attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending warships in conjunction with the United States of America to keep the strait open and safe.

"We have already destroyed 100 percent of Iran's military capability, but it's easy for them to send a drone or two, drop a mine or deliver a close range missile somewhere along or in this waterway no matter how badly defeated they are." He added that he hopes, emphasis on hopes there, that China, France, South Korea and the United Kingdom would be sending ships and that in the meantime the United States would be bombing the shoreline.

[16:10:08]

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Benbrook in West Palm Beach, Florida. Thanks so much.

All right. Let's continue this conversation now. Let's bring in Michael Allen. He is the former special assistant to President George W. Bush for national security.

Good to see you. Iran, you know, continues its retaliation not just against the U.S. but also, you know, its neighbors in the Middle East. In your view, are we nearing an end of Iran's capacity for significant retaliation, or is this really just the beginning?

MICHAEL ALLEN, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH FOR NATIONAL SECURITY: Well, I think we have significantly degraded their ability to get ballistic missiles off. And also less so their ability to shoot drones. But I still think we're a long way from a conclusion to this. The Iranians don't seem to -- don't seem to be seeking an exit ramp. If anything, as you say, they're trying to ramp it up a little bit.

They're hitting U.S. bases wherever they can. They're trying to hit our allies and the entire Straits of Hormuz action, of course, is to show that they have leverage, and it's designed to put pressure on the United States to get out of this conflict and seek a ceasefire sooner rather than later.

WHITFIELD: Right. And in fact, I mean, Iran has said it will be seeking out U.S. energy sites and may potentially reduce them to, I'm quoting now, "piles of ashes." Those are the threatening words coming from Iran. Is it -- can it achieve that?

ALLEN: Well, it's unclear what they mean. I mean, I don't know how many of these energy sites we have. As you know we're largely self- sufficient over in the United States, with a few exceptions. But I don't doubt that they want to try and maximize the price of a barrel of oil. I think any constriction of supply hurts everywhere and puts everybody back up at the top of the pump. So I do believe that they are going to seek additional asymmetric ways to hit and hurt the United States. So we need to remain vigilant on this and a dozen other things.

WHITFIELD: OK. Iran's new supreme leader hasn't been seen. At least the globe hasn't seen him, but they did hear a statement being read by someone else, you know, on state television. What do you think is happening behind the scenes? Is it powerful that there is this ominous figure that no one has seen, but it's been stated that there's a new supreme leader? I mean, is there leverage with that? Is there -- is there fear or, you know, threats that come with that?

ALLEN: Yes, I definitely think it's mysterious. I sort of believe two different theories. One, I think he probably is injured. By all accounts he was in the bunker. It also killed other close members of his family. He was just supposedly in an adjacent room. But also if he comes out from hiding or wherever he might be, the Israelis might swiftly, and they have vowed to do it, kill him also.

So it may just be the way he's going to operate for a little while because I think the last thing the Iranian regime wants is to have to go through another succession crisis that just complicates things for them, and it makes people believe that they, especially their own citizens, that they may be insecure and vulnerable to another march out on the streets.

WHITFIELD: And then the president of the United States, you know, saying on social media that other countries will be sending warships in conjunction with America. Do you see that as a real, viable and possible?

ALLEN: Well, it's definitely possible. I really hope it materializes. I mean, I think it helps not just with burden sharing, but it also helps to have others out there demonstrating to the world that we're serious about extending barrels getting to market so that we have affordable gasoline all over the globe. And I think it would also sort of internationalize the effort and it would be harder for the Iranians, I think, to try and close the straits if the world is united and trying to open them.

So let's hope somebody announces very soon that they're ready to join in a coalition with us. Certainly our European allies who also have an interest in steady, secure oil, should get involved, and I know others in Asia also are feeling the downstream effects. So we have some candidates and let's hope they materialize.

WHITFIELD: All right. Michael Allen, great talking to you. Thank you so much.

ALLEN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, India says Iran lets two of its fuel tankers pass through the Strait of Hormuz without attacking them.

[16:15:02]

We'll have more on the standoff over the access to the strait and what Iran is saying about the key waterway today. Plus an explosion outside a Jewish school in Amsterdam. It comes as Jewish communities in Europe and in the U.S. face a wave of threats, putting many on alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL, AMSTERDAM RESIDENT (through translator): But now I'm walking around in a bulletproof vest, you see. I don't dare go to the synagogue without it. Because of all the tensions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WHITFIELD: All right, we're following developments out of Amsterdam where an explosive device was detonated overnight at a Jewish school. The blast hit an outer wall and no one was hurt. City officials tell CNN that police have images of the person who allegedly set off that device. The city's mayor is calling the blast a, quote, "cowardly act of aggression" toward the Jewish community. One father shared his worries about his family's safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL (through translator): My five daughters went to this school. So I wonder now, where is the government? Where is the safety? We have very good police in the neighborhood which are doing their best for us. But now I am walking around in a bulletproof vest, you see. I don't dare go to the synagogue without it because of all the tensions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Today's attack appears to be part of a recent wave of antisemitic violence around the globe amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. And that includes Thursday's terror attack on a Michigan synagogue with more than 100 children inside. The Jewish community at Temple Israel vowing not to let hate keep them from coming together after a driver rammed a truck filled with explosives and opened fire.

They held Shabbat service last night at a nearby location and praised the teachers' training during the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI JEN LADER, TEMPLE ISRAEL: Our teachers are magnificent. They are heroes. They love our children because our children are their children, too. And because of their quick and decisive action, their courage and their strength, every single baby, every single one was wrapped in their parents' arms by the end of this terrible day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Julia Vargas Jones joining me now with the latest.

Julia, what are you hearing from the Jewish community there in Southern California?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're saying, Fred, that they are beyond outraged at this point. A lot of the congregants said that they are just exhausted of being afraid for their lives and having to go through extreme security measures just to get to a place of worship. We're talking about metal detectors, showing your I.D. Take a listen to what one rabbi said to us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL NICKERSON, SENIOR RABBI, WILSHIRE BOULEVARD TEMPLE: Despite the fact that we have incredible security here, the fact that I have congregants who question whether or not they should show up, who are worried about bringing their children to school. Those are things that we should not have to be worrying about. The fact that as a Jewish community, that is something that almost on a daily basis people in my community are waking up and thinking about, that is so upsetting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And what we heard from people we spoke to, Fred, is just that they feel like they're being held responsible, the entire Jewish community, for the actions of Israel and for war that is so far away from home to them right now.

Of course, in that Michigan attack, the motive is still unknown. But we did hear from the Michigan attorney general that there is a clear nexus between the Iran attack and this particular temple, which she said by no accident is named Temple Israel.

Now, the rabbi also mentioned, as did some of the congregants here in Southern California, that there is a Jewish holiday coming up. It is Passover and there is a whole analogy of going through a dark time to get to a sacred land, a good place in the long run. And they said that the only hope for this community to heal from these attacks and hopefully work towards avoiding them in the future, is to continue to congregate, to not be scared, to be in these places of worship to continue to show up for each other and for the greater community -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much in Los Angeles.

I want to bring in now CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas for more on these growing attacks.

Alex, great to see you. So we've consistently heard, you know, from the temple's rabbis how grateful they are for the security team and training. So how critical, you know, were those preparations in preventing this kind of mass casualty event?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, it sounds like it was extremely significant because the security guard intervened. And that's really the reason that this stopped. And the FBI had provided training actually on site at the temple about two months prior. So good preparation and security was an essential element in getting this to stop before this turned into a mass casualty event.

WHITFIELD: And we know the assailant, you know, appeared in federal databases for having ties to known or suspected terrorists connected with Hezbollah in Lebanon. And while he was not a member of Hezbollah himself, can you explain the challenges of trying to monitor individuals where there may be some kind of relationship, but nothing direct in order to prevent, you know, attacks?

[16:25:00]

PLITSAS: Sure. I mean folks that are being monitored by law enforcement are characterized or categorized rather based on the threat that they pose. And at the time it appears that while he may have had some nexus at one point, there really wasn't a direct connection. He certainly wasn't a member of the group, which was obviously a concern. You know, was this a gentleman who, excuse me, was this an attacker -- I was about to call him a gentleman -- who, you know, who conducted this attack on behalf of a terrorist organization like Hezbollah? Or was this an individual action?

What we can now tell is that this was not a sleeper cell, despite the fact that there is a connection loosely with him to Hezbollah. You know, it's been said in overseas press that he lost several family members in an Israeli strike in Lebanon on about march 5th, and that appeared to have radicalized him to engage in this action. You know, he drove into the building, he had purchased a bunch of fireworks and he had a rifle with him. But that's not indicative of somebody with professional training who

had built or constructed a bomb, you know, somewhere that you would have seen to the attack on the World Trade Center in '93, or things of that nature. So there doesn't appear to be a direct nexus to a terrorist organization nor was this a professional. This appears to be a single radicalized individual responding to a familial event in Lebanon in which family members were killed.

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, as this conflict in Iran does continue, I'm wondering what your concerns are about continuing or heightened threats?

PLITSAS: You know, it's an excellent question. And when we look at the threat picture, there's been a series of attempted attacks, you know, recently in ones that were in fact successful. We had the shooting in Texas and the bar in Austin. The attacker there was wearing a sweatshirt that said "Property of Allah," allegedly had a T-shirt underneath that had a, you know, an Iranian flag on that. Again, no nexus back to a terrorist group, appears to be self-radicalized.

And then we saw several in which the folks had had pledged allegiance to ISIS who were attempting to conduct attacks in their name but again, those individuals were not cells that were dispatched. And believe it or not, there's an ideological difference between the Iranians and ISIS. They actually are opposed. And ISIS has conducted bombings inside of Iran so, although we've had a series of incidents over the last week or so, they're actually not necessarily connected. And we still don't have a direct connection to a terrorist organization directing this.

So, but that does speak to your previous question about the difficulties of this with law enforcement trying to identify self- radicalized individuals who are already inside the United States before they commit an act of terror and normally flash to bang from an incident that radicalizes an individual until an attack happens is about 20 months. So we're certainly inside that window for Gaza and the Iran conflict is just kicking off.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alex Plitsas, great talking to you. Thank you so much.

PLITSAS: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. Up next, new details emerge about the man accused in the deadly shooting at Old Dominion University. A closer look at the suspect's past, including a prior conviction for attempting to support ISIS, and what neighbors who live nearby are saying.

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[16:30:00]

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WHITFIELD: Friends and family are remembering the life of ROTC instructor Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Shah, who was killed in the shooting at Old Dominion University.

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CARLOS ORTIZ, FRIEND OF LT. COL. BRANDON SHAH: Couldn't ask for a soldier to be, you know, a better service than Brandon. Brandon put his heart and put all his effort into serving the United States Army.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We're also learning the gunman who opened fire on that classroom of students at Old Dominion University was also enrolled as a student. Additionally, a man has been arrested and is facing federal charges for allegedly selling the weapon used in that terror attack. CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're getting new details about the Old Dominion University gunman from court documents, from other sources, and from neighbors of his and his family's here in Sterling, Virginia, where he lived. According to court documents the CNN has reviewed, the suspect, identified as 36-year-old Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Sierra Leone. Now, we do know that he spent about seven years in prison -- almost seven years in prison, after pleading guilty to trying to help the terror group ISIS.

According to authorities at the time, he was arrested in 2016. He tried to procure weapons for an ISIS attack. He is a former member of the Virginia National Guard. And according to neighbors, this is a -- his family who he lived with here in Sterling, in a townhouse here, who did not interact very much at all with the community.

One neighbor described walking past Mohamed Jalloh on walks in the neighborhood, saying that when he would say hi to him, that Jalloh would not engage at all. Wouldn't say hi. Would just look down to the ground, he said. That happened on multiple occasions.

Neighbors described the family as being a large extended family. Many members of which lived in this townhouse behind me here in Sterling, Virginia, which with people always coming and going. But neighbors said that the family didn't really interact very much at all with the neighbors. They said -- they said that they often -- they sometimes would have a large party at the house with loud music. But other than that, they just did not interact at all with members of the community.

Neighbors also expressing some frustration that he spent this time in prison for collaborating with ISIS, and was allowed to come back here. One neighborhood saying he was surprised that they released him and let him come back and live in the neighborhood with everybody else here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Brian Todd, thank you so much. Up next. This picture from the dignified transfer of U.S. service members killed in the Iran war used as a fundraiser promotion. The promise the president made to those who donate.

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[16:39:33]

WHITFIELD: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is exclusively telling our Fareed Zakaria that Russia's assistance to Iran in the war goes much deeper than previously reported. Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: Do you have intelligence or any information about this report that the Russians are providing Iran with intelligence, specifically, providing Iran with intelligence on where American troops are, where American assets are, so that the Iranians can strike and kill Americans?

[16:40:07]

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: First of all, Russia gave drones already, the Shaheds. They are using Iranian licenses, you know, that they built and produced a lot of drones. They gave them.

I have 100 percent facts that they -- that Iranian regime used against American bases and against all Middle East -- in Middle East, I mean, and Middle East neighbors of Iran. They used these drones. We saw intelligence shared with us some details and it was Russian details in these Iranian drones. They said the first.

And the second point is my intelligence told me next that they think that they share information, intelligence with Iranian regime. They helped them. And also, they told -- my intelligence told me that they said if Europe and United States can help Ukraine with intelligence in this war, it means that Russia can help Iranian regime. This is their point of view on this. So, it's a fact. And you see that it's not a big secret.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can see that full interview on Fareed Zakaria GPS tomorrow, right here on CNN. All right. Today, President Trump says that five U.S. tanker planes were hit at an airport in Saudi Arabia but sustained minimal or virtually no damage. In a Truth Social post, Trump said the attack happened at a base a few days ago and that four of the five tankers are back in service. That incident coming one day after the Pentagon confirmed that six U.S. service members were killed after an Air Force plane crashed in Iraq.

All right. Now, to a new CNN investigation by KFile that has uncovered an e-mail from President Trump's political action committee, where he uses a photo from last Saturday's dignified transfer honoring six fallen U.S. service members who were killed in the early days of the war with Iran. The image shows a flag-draped transfer case, which is used to transport soldiers' remains. The e-mail promises access to the president's private national security briefings. Andrew Kaczynski from CNN's KFile is joining us right now. Andrew, what more can you tell us about this e-mail and what kind of reaction it's receiving?

ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: So, this e-mail went out on Thursday night. It was sent by Never Surrender Incorporated. That is a political action committee that supports Donald Trump. It is his political action committee. The address for that is the former one for his 2024 campaign, donaldjtrump.com.

The e-mail went out. It's written as if it's from Trump, addressed to his supporters. And it tells people that they could sign up to receive -- you can see it right there. Be a member of the national security briefing. And there, right there, is that photo that you just mentioned in between two links that say claim your spot. And that link then takes you to a donation page for Trump's political action committee.

There has been a lot of outrage to this online, both before we posted our story a little bit and a lot after we posted it, from Democratic members of Congress, Democratic senators, former National Security officials, former members of the Obama administration, who have said that this is not an appropriate use of this photo. This is an official government photo from the transfer of those remains of those service members, the six of them, who were killed in Kuwait last Saturday. And it's really -- it has a lot of people pretty worked up online.

I don't know in my career if I've ever seen a photo like this used in a fundraising e-mail. We did reach out to the White House. We asked them what's going on with this. We didn't hear back from them. We reached out to the Republican National Committee about this. We didn't hear back from either of them. And as I said, people both online are very, very -- a lot of people very upset seeing this photo used for fundraising, especially in the context of it being around a war that Donald Trump started.

WHITFIELD: All right. Andrew Kaczynski, thank you so much for that.

Coming up. The U.S. Senate could vote within days on a law supported by the president that would require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. A look at what else it could call for if signed into law, and the opposition it may be facing.

[16:45:00]

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WHITFIELD: All right, to this breaking news. An Indian official says Iran has allowed two of its tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway effectively shut down since the start of the Iran war, carries about a fifth of the world's oil supplies. Earlier today, President Trump claimed countries affected by the strait's closure are sending warships to help reopen it. But in a new interview today, a representative for Iran's ayatollah in India disputes that, saying the waterway is closed only to the U.S., Israel, and countries supporting them. [16:50:13]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL MAJID HAKIM ELAH, REPRESENTATIVE OF IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER IN INDIA: Actually, Iran, from the beginning, also didn't want to have any conflict in this strait. But they imposed this conflict on Iran. And Iran wants to provide opportunities for other countries except those countries who are fighting with us. And yes, the oil and the ships, which support our enemies, that they are not allowed to go

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Back in the U.S., with the midterm elections less than eight months away, President Trump is pushing hard for Republicans to pass the so-called Save America Act. A version of the federal elections overhaul bill has passed the House, but it faces an uphill fight in the U.S. Senate because Republicans lack the votes to eliminate the filibuster, which allows the Democratic minority to block the bill.

I'm joined now by Fredreka Schouten. She is a scout -- sorry, she is a CNN Politics National Political Writer. Fredreka, great to see you. So, help us understand what is the Save America Act.

FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, CNN POLITICS NATIONAL POLITICAL WRITER: You know, there are lots of provisions in this massive overhaul bill. But there are two that are really important. One requires a strict photo identification to vote in every election at the federal level. And then the other part of it is proof of citizenship to register to vote in the first place.

I mean that means that you provide a birth certificate or a passport, or naturalization papers to prove that you are a U.S. citizen to vote. And that is a pretty dramatic change from where we are now. Currently, people, when they register to vote, sign an attestation that says, yes, under penalty of perjury, I'm a U.S. citizen. So, this would be a pretty dramatic change. And it's something that President Donald Trump really wants, although it faces long odds in the Senate of actually passing.

WHITFIELD: This bill, you know, is still going through, you know, changes on Capitol Hill. What does President Trump want from it?

SCHOUTEN: Well, he really wants to expand it. One of the things that he is after is some new restrictions on mail-in voting. He has long argued, basically, I might add, that it is rife with fraud. And so, one of the things that he is saying is end no excuse mail voting.

Now, currently in 36 states, you either get a ballot automatically in places like California or you don't need an excuse to vote by mail. He's saying, no, I want to say that only if you're in the military, you're disabled, you're ill or traveling can you vote by mail. And so, that's one of the big changes he wants.

It's not that popular with Republicans or Democrats because it's so widely used. And then he also wants to tack on some sort of hot-button culture issues that have nothing to do with election administration, dealing with transgender women in women's sports, and gender-affirming surgery for children. He wants to ban that.

WHITFIELD: And republicans in the Senate don't have the votes, you know, in the Senate to overcome a filibuster. So, can it realistically become law?

SCHOUTEN: It's -- it seems as though it's near impossible that it will pass. I mean, there is a vote scheduled for next week. Republicans are facing a lot of pressure from the president and conservative activists to move on this, but it faces incredibly long odds. There is some talk of, well maybe we should try to tack it on to some other must-pass bill. But this is going to be difficult to get through the Senate.

One thing I will note, however, is that some states are starting to move on this. Late last week, I covered the fact that Florida, which is -- you know, has 13 million voters. The Republican legislature there just approved their own proof of citizenship bill. Now, it doesn't attack mail voting, doesn't do all the things that the president wants, but you're seeing growing currency among Republicans for this notion that people need to prove their citizenship to participate in U.S. elections.

WHITFIELD: Fredreka Schouten, thank you so much. And thank you for joining me today. And Fredricka Whitfield. NEWSROOM with Jessica Dean continues right after this.

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