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War With Iran; 98th Academy Awards. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired March 14, 2026 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:31]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN BREAKING News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN NEWS. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York and I'll be with you the next two hours as we follow live developments in the Middle East and all around the world. We do want to start, though, with the latest on the US and Israel's war with Iran.

President Donald Trump says that he's not ready to strike a ceasefire deal with Iran because "the terms aren't good enough yet," the President said. Meanwhile, the President has claimed that other countries will be sending warships to reopen, at least to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That's his hope.

China and the UK, they have since responded to CNN's request for comment, but neither confirmed whether they are actually sending warships or any other naval assets to one of the world's most critical oil shipping routes. And all this comes amid a new warning from Iran's military following the US strikes on Kharg Island on Friday. That island actually handles roughly 90 percent of the country's crude exports and it's just a third the size of Manhattan. Earlier, Tehran said that it believes it has a legitimate right to target the UAE, including what it calls US military hideouts.

Let's go now to CNN's Will Ripley, who joins me live from Taipei following developments on many fronts. Well, it's good to see you again. So, it seems that President Trump essentially calling for help from US allies to try to reestablish free navigation in that critical waterway, what are some of those nations saying?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He named China, France, Japan, South Korea and the UK, Polo. So far no country, though, confirming that they would actually send warships and get themselves dragged into this conflict. Of course, an escalation that puts shipping through the Strait of Hormuz at risk. With about 20 percent of global oil passing through that waterway, it could be highly significant.

Iran's foreign minister, before I get to the response from countries as to what they're saying to President Trump's request that they send in ships. Iran's foreign minister actually put out a statement saying essentially that the strait is only closed to America and its allies, its enemies, as he put it. Listen to his words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The Strait of Hormuz is open. It is only closed to the tankers and ships belonging to our enemies, to those who are attacking us and their allies. Others are free to pass. Of course, many of them prefer not because of their security concerns. This has nothing to do with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: So China is not saying, like the other countries whether it's going to send any naval assets. But it did put out a statement, Polo, and I'll read a portion of it for you. Basically calling for an immediate end hostility, saying, "as a sincere friend and strategic partner of Middle Eastern countries, China will continue to strengthen communication with relevant parties, including parties including to the conflict, and play a constructive role for de escalation and restoration of peace.

The United Kingdom also keeping things sort of ambiguous at this stage, saying that they're currently discussing with their allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region. So obviously, we've done a lot of reporting about the fact that the White House wasn't anticipating the energy crisis that is rapidly unfolding that is affecting nations around the world, certainly here in this region, whether it be Taiwan or Japan, or other nations that are starting to feel the crunch or the crunch in just a matter of weeks from an oil shortage.

This is going to affect everybody, and create a lot of economic problems for the entire world very quickly, Polo. But so far, US and allies saying they want a solution, but they figure since America was the one that joined Israel to start this war, that they want America to figure out how to solve this particular issue.

SANDOVAL: Yes. CNN's Will Ripley with a report reminding us that this war has global implications. Thank you, Will.

Let's get some expert insight now, some military perspective and bring in retired US Air Force Lieutenant General David Deptula. Lieutenant general, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.

DAVID DEPTULA, RETIRED US AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT GENERAL: You bet.

SANDOVAL: Great to be here, Polo. Yes, it's great to have your insight right now as we try to really wrap our head around the evolving situation right now in the Straits of Hormuz. President Trump insists that Iran is totally defeated, those were his words over the weekend. Yet, as you've just seen in the first four minutes just of this, of our broadcast, Iran continues to keep a chokehold on that critical Strait of Hormuz with strikes, there's a threat of mining if it hasn't already happened.

[23:05:06]

What is your assessment of Iran's current capabilities right now? DEPTULA: Well, specifically to your question, in terms of their capabilities, Iran can certainly create disruption, but sustaining a closure of the strait in the face of what allied and partner nations can do with air and naval operations to "close it" would be very difficult to do. And as you heard in the previous report, shipping is, you know, the Straits of Hormuz are not closed. Shipping's proceeding. So it is -- one has to be very careful in terms of the accuracy of what's really going on in terms of the Arabian Gulf.

So I think that contrary to several commentators perspectives, that the United States was caught by surprise and Israel was caught by surprise, no. They weren't caught by surprise at all. It's just a fundamental element of what's going on where Iran is attempting to create disruption.

But if you look at the success of both Israel and the US' operations to reduce Iran's ability to project power, it's very, very impressive and it continues to be. So, yes, the reduction of shipping in the Arabian Gulf is something that does affect markets globally, but I don't think that it will be closed per se and frankly I'm pretty positive about shipping in the Arabian Gulf continuing.

SANDOVAL: Yes. As we heard just a little while ago from that foreign minister that that critical passageway, that waterway, is open, just not for the United States and Iran's enemies as we heard. But yet, we continue to see navigation restricted. And, of course, many of these ships refusing to at least move through that area and their insurance carriers really having second thoughts about insuring them.

When you -- I'm sorry, lieutenant general, you're going to say?

DEPTULA: What I was going to say is no, that's an excellent point that you raise. The issue isn't that they're physically not able to move, the issue is one of risk those shipping lines are willing to take. So, we need to be very careful in terms of accuracy of what's going on here.

And I can assure you that the United States military, both naval and air assets, have plans in place to conduct maritime security patrols, escort operations, mine countermeasure operations, air and missile defense coverage, you know, any -- and then there's the surveillance and intelligence piece, which is enormously important here.

Because what's going on is continuous 247 monitoring of just where the Iranians are popping up. And when they pop up, they get hit. So there's a lot of coverage and the Iranians would like the world to believe that they're controlling what's going on and, in fact, they're losing control every day this operation continues.

SANDOVAL: Lieutenant general, those plans that are possibly in the works right now that you mentioned, do you think that they work without this possible alliance of other nations and naval assets coming from countries like China, Japan, etcetera? Or do you think that US forces would be able to essentially regain navigational control without other countries assistance? DEPTULA: Well, the short answer is yes. However, the better answer is

the more allied nations that can partner in putting the kind of pressure that's necessary on Iran to reduce the risk to shipping certainly improves the situation overall. So coalition operations are always welcome. But if you look at the plans that the United States has in place, not look at them, but understand that there are plans in place to keep those shipping lanes open for global traffic to move through the Gulf.

Yes, we can do it alone but it would better and quicker to have allied forces involved.

[23:10:07]

SANDOVAL: Lieutenant General David Deptula, thank you so much for your expert insight. Really appreciate your time.

DEPTULA: You bet. Have a great night.

SANDOVAL: You do the same. Well, Israel is currently reportedly keeping the door open to potential talks with Lebanon. Two sources are now telling CNN, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been chosen to lead the possible negotiations. But an Israeli official says that doesn't necessarily mean that there are plans to hold talks, at least not at this point.

The head of the World Health Organization is currently castigating Israel's deadly strike on a healthcare center in Lebanon, calling it a war crime. While UN General Secretary General Antonio Guterres is now calling on Israel and his bullet to stop that ongoing fighting. He says that Southern Beirut is at risk of "being bombed into oblivion." Here's CNN's Isobel Yeung.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So we're in the southern suburbs in the area of Dahieh, and it's just another level of destruction here. You can see this building was just recently struck by an Israeli airstrike, still on smoke. This whole building just entirely crumpled, stuff everywhere on the floor.

I mean, the Israeli Defense Forces said that this is a Hezbollah stronghold, and there are Hezbollah command centers here that they've been targeting. They've ordered everyone to evacuate, and that's saying that they'll treat anyone who remains here as terrorists.

This is the strike that leveled the building behind me. Dahieh has been hit harder than any other Beirut neighborhood. But still, a small trickle of residents returned to pick up belongings or check on their homes.

What did you come to pick up?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I wanted to take some stuff from the house, like clothes for the kids.

YEUNG: What does it feel like seeing your neighborhood like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): We stand firm. We need to stand firm. Because the resistance fighters are sacrificing a lot of blood and what whatever we offer is too little.

YEUNG: Hezbollah is the reason that the Israelis are targeting this area. You have no blame for them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Israel is the reason. For 15 months, they've been killing us and we've been silent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): This is what the complex looks like after the strike.

YEUNG: In the aftermath of strikes, it falls on the civil defense team based on the outskirts of Dahieh to put out fires and save any casualties. The Israeli military has warned it could start striking ambulances across Lebanon if, as they allege, Hezbollah continues to use them as transport vehicles. Hezbollah told CNN they do not use ambulances or medical centers for military purposes.

On Friday, the IDF also struck a healthcare center, killing 12 medics in southern Lebanon.

Is that something you're worried about?

GHANDEER ZEINEDDEEN, LEBANESE CIVIL DEFENSE: Yes, of course. We had a threat like today he wanted to attack the ambulances. So it was like a shock for us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Although there's a high risk that we will get bombed, but we can't stay down. This is our duty. YEUNG: Now, though, the strikes are not limited to Hezbollah strongholds. An apartment block in a mostly Christian neighborhood of Beirut was struck twice, once yesterday and again today.

YEUNG: (Foreign language) How are you?

Locals tell us they no longer know who to trust, and fear their neighbor could be an Israeli target.

All the glass is shattered here?

YEUNG: Many are resentful that they've been dragged back into yet another war.

From up here, you can really just see how everyone lives to each other and how densely populated this area is. You've got apartment blocks wedged in next to each other. I mean, this apartment was targeted just a few hours ago. And the residents here, many of who are Christians, are saying that they just don't have anywhere else to go to. So it must be absolutely terrifying.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Is anyone not afraid? We were really scared.

YEUNG: What's it like seeing --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): It's the first time they strike here. I mean, they never struck like this.

YEUNG: Who do you blame for this situation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, Hezbollah. Wherever Hezbollah is present, anywhere in Lebanon, there is no safety. Of course, they're endangering the lives of Lebanese all around Lebanon.

They didn't have to enter this war. And then they're saying that they're supporting Iran. What's that got to do with us?

YEUNG: It's a cruel question, particularly for the civilians forced to shoulder the cost of this relentless war. Isobel Yeung, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And let's continue our conversation about the impact beyond just Iran and Israel, and go now to Ian Kelly. He's a former US Ambassador to the Republic of Georgia. He's speaking to us coming from Highland Park, Illinois. Mr. Ambassador, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.

[23:15:11]

IAN KELLY, FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO THE REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA: Yes, thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Help us look into the future. As uncertain as things are, what do you see as the next possible escalation for the region beyond Iran, Israel, Lebanon, really many of these Gulf states that we've been watching?

KELLY: Well, I think that the main issue now for the United States, I think, is the hit that the economy has taken, especially with rising oil prices. And I think that there will be a lot more attention paid to opening up the Strait of Hormuz. I think we've seen the President talk about dangling the possibility of taking out Iran's oil shipping capability in hard islands, sending Marines there. And so, I think that is an area that we could see some escalation.

But right now, I think that -- I don't know that it's going to spread too much further beyond the region. I mean, obviously Iran has brought in the broader region with its strikes.

SANDOVAL: As a former diplomat to the north of Iran, you have a unique perspective that you offer to the ongoing situation. I mean, do you see any impacts perhaps to the north, perhaps in the South Caucasus right now. How are they going about and watching this very closely, and seeing how they may or may not be affected, including Georgia?

KELLY: Yes. Well, they have been affected and I'm thinking primarily of Russia. I think in the short term they've had some tremendous economic and strategic gains. The economic gains, of course, are the skyrocketing oil prices which is really helping Russia with its balance, its budget and pay for the war in Ukraine, the lifting of sanctions, the depletion of much needed interceptors, that Ukraine needs replacement interceptors for their Patriot missiles. But those are really getting burned through in this war.

But also I think in the longer term, I think Russia has taken some reputational damage. They watched Syria disappear from their list of allies and, of course, Venezuela, with the regime change in Venezuela. And now Iran, which has longstanding ties with Russia, is obviously not a very reliable ally right now.

SANDOVAL: It's important to highlight Russia too right now, Mr. Ambassador. We heard from Ukraine's president and his concerns that the sell of the sanctioned oil during this 30 day waiver, that it has potential to increase Vladimir Putin's war chest by billions of dollars. So I'm so glad you highlight that, and so glad that we could tap into your expertise and your experience as well. Mr. Ambassador, Ian Kelly, thank you so much for your time.

KELLY: Thank you very much.

SANDOVAL: Well, we now know the names of the six crew members who were killed when the refueling aircraft crash in western Iraq on Thursday. They've been identified by the Pentagon as Major John Klinner, these are their faces, Captain Ariana Savino, Technical Sergeant Ashley Pruitt, Captain Seth Koval, Captain Curtis Angst, and Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons.

The incident, it is still under investigation. The military says that it was not the results of any sort of hostile fire or friendly fire, referring to the crash that took the lives of these brave service members. With that, we'll be right back.

[23:19:27]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Amsterdam's mayor is announcing what she calls a targeted attack. And this after a bomb exploded at a Jewish school. The blast hit the outer wall of the building. Luckily, nobody was injured.

Police say that they do have images of the person who allegedly set off the device. Officials in Amsterdam said that they increased security after similar incidents in Rotterdam and in Liege, Belgium. All of these incidents, they have occurred since the US and Israel started the war with Iran some two weeks ago.

North Korea launched a series of ballistic missiles on Saturday, that's according to the US military. The United States Indo Pacific Command said that the launches did not pose any imminent threats to US forces or its allies in the region. North Korea's show, the actual show of force. This comes after its leader, Kim Jong Un, vowed to strengthen its country's nuclear capabilities.

Anti-government protesters in central Cuba, they took to the streets on Saturday. They are venting their anger over that ongoing energy crisis. You see this video of one of those demonstrations where you can see people setting fire to, and also throwing rocks at the local communist party office in the city of Moron.

Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel responding to this incident on social media, saying that there will be no impunity for violent protests. Frustration, it continues to grow in Cuba as the oil blockade imposed by the US is causing daily blackouts all throughout the island.

And let's get you back to the war with Iran. Indian foreign ministries officials now telling CNN that Iran has allowed two of their tankers to pass through that critical Strait of Hormuz you see on the map. The ships, they were carrying liquefied petroleum gas.

[23:25:08]

They cleared the strategic waterway early on Saturday before continuing their journey to India. Iran says that the strait is only closed to US and Israeli ships for now. They say that other countries vessels can still transit through the route safely.

India is one of the world's largest gas importers and it's also faced shortages after two weeks of supply disruptions. And according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, at least 17 vessels in and around the Persian Gulf have been attacked since the war started on February 28th, which is why many of those tankers refused to move.

On Saturday, Trump posted on social media that he hopes that other nations will join the US in sending naval assets to help, actually try restore free navigation on that waterway. China and the UK, they have both responded to the post by calling for dialogue and de-escalation to resolve that crisis.

And rising oil markets, they are also reacting to these fears that the war in Iran will likely continue to disrupt the flow of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Global oil prices, you see them closed the week at their highest level since 2022, about a 47 percent increase for US crude oil since the war started. The international oil benchmark, it actually settled on Friday above $103 a barrel.

US crude that finished under $99 a barrel and that is causing the spike that you see here. It's really causing now gas prices to continue to rise, just over $3.65 a gallon. For more on all this, let's put this all together now and head over to Kate Gordon. She's the former Senior Adviser to the US Secretary of Energy and joins us live from Berkeley, California. Thank you so much for taking the time to join us.

KATE GORDON, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO THE US SECRETARY OF ENERGY: Thanks for great to be here.

SANDOVAL: I'm wondering if we could tap into your expertise so you can walk us through some of the thinking behind the US refraining from interdicting some of the very few ships that have been able to navigate through the Strait of Hormuz. Of course, I'm talking about those Iranian ships packed with oil destined for China. What would happen to global oil prices if those ships would be intercepted, do you think?

GORDON: I mean, I think all of this is a reminder of just the global nature of the oil and gas marketplace. I think sometimes we think that because individual countries like the US are increasing production, that means we're less dependent on this global system. But the reality is that the system is extremely globalized.

The infrastructure is built out globally. The companies are selling and buying globally. So any interruption through the strait has a significant impact on markets. This is about 20 percent of the oil and the natural gas going through the world markets. And that does have a significant impact even on oil producing countries like the United States.

SANDOVAL: And of course, the question that consumers, not just in the US but all around the world, are asking themselves is just how much worse do you think or do experts think that it's likely going to get for oil markets, before there seems to be some relief?

GORDON: It's a really tough question. I mean, this is -- there's a number of things that could continue happening in this situation. So you've already seen that ships, the folks captaining the ships are afraid to go through the strait. They're worried about attacks. There's increasing need for military support to get those ships through.

All that does is increase the presence of military in the strait, which of course creates targets. So I think there's a very, very heightened sense of danger, and of instability and risk in that region right now and again, really disrupting the markets. And at the same time, I think what it underscores is just the inherent risk of the system.

I mean, this is today's disruption to the system. But, you know, to be honest, I mean, hurricanes in the Gulf also disrupt the system. I mean, a number of things can happen across this global oil system that can affect prices. So while this particular situation I think is likely to go on for some time, just given the rising tensions, given the reality of the leadership in the countries at play, it is not the only disruption, the only shock to the overall oil system that we're seeing, you know, this decade.

SANDOVAL: Yes. I mean, to your point, any tiny change could certainly lead to a sort of a shift in oil prices. I mean, remember when President Trump just a few days ago, it speaks to another outlet and says that this war would end soon. You saw those numbers with some short term relief, but now look at where we are.

Kate, I'm also wondering, just speak to the extraordinary nature of what's happening right now. I mean, you said it best a little while ago about just the global impacts that we're seeing. I mean, I have to remind myself, we're talking about a regime that was greatly debilitated going back to last summer, and yet it still continues to wield really some tremendous influence.

[23:30:12] And in essence, kind of finding the Achilles heel, one Achilles heel

of the United States and really exploiting that.

GORDON: Yes. I think people should not underestimate this regime or this part of the world. I mean, I think often about sort of interventions in Afghanistan, both from the United States and from Russia. Small country, looks like it's been decimated, just continues fighting.

When you have a country that has a sort of deeply held religious belief tied to its government, tied to its military, with the feeling, the depth of feeling right now against the US and Israel, and you combine that with just, you know, essentially a lack of regime change. I mean, yes, the leadership has been weakened, but the leadership has not changed dramatically.

And so, you know, combine that sort of instability and just high level of tension with this really fundamental asset of the strait, which is this just a very, very narrow choke point through which a significant amount of the oil goes. Oil is, of course, something we are all incredibly dependent on.

Now, I hope this will be another reminder of our need to become less dependent on these global systems. We really do need start moving towards something more diversified. We're seeing even countries like Saudi Arabia diversifying away from oil because of the recognition that these shocks can really bring down a system.

But I think we're looking at a region and a regime that is not interested in backing down.

SANDOVAL: This is absolutely eye opening for sure. Then that is a great point to end on. Kate Gordon, thank you so much as always for joining us. Really appreciate your time.

GORDON: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Well, Ukraine, it is accusing Russia of providing more assistance to Iran than previously reported. Still ahead, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling CNN exclusively that some drones used in Iranian strikes, that they were Russian made.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:35:30]

SANDOVAL: Ukraine's president is accusing Russia of helping Iran more than previously reported. He made the claim during an exclusive interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, who asked him about earlier reports on Moscow's assistance to Tehran. Here's how he answered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: Do you have intelligence or any information about this report that the Russians are providing Iran or 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?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: First of all, Russia gave drones already these 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 the day that Iranian regime used against American bases and against our 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 dated the first. And the second point is, my intelligence told me next that they think that they share information, intelligence with Iranian regime. They help 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 its effect and you see that it's not a big secret.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: For more on this, we're joined by John Spencer. He's the Chair of War Studies at Madison Policy Forum. He's speaking to us from Colorado Springs. Thanks so much for taking the time to join us.

JOHN SPENCER, CHAIR OF WAR STUDIES, MADISON POLICY FORUM: Thanks for having me back.

SANDOVAL: I wonder if we can just get your immediate reaction to what you just heard from President Zelenskyy right now, the Ukrainian leader basically laying out the case and offering what his intelligence is showing. So, how is Russia benefiting from this war and hostilities in the Middle East?

SPENCER: I mean, I don't think it's benefiting. I think it's been losing for a while in the Middle East. And why in the show of weakness, it had to go to Iran to get the Shahed drones back in the beginning. And I think it's very credible that when it took tens of thousands of these to bomb civilian sites in Ukraine and do it daily, that they did evolve and upgrade them from electronic warfare and other means, and then return that service back to Iran so Iran could upgrade the drones that we're seeing now.

But also the intelligence, I mean, that's not the first report that we've had that Russia provided that intelligence. If you look at this, basically who Ukraine is fighting is not just Russia, it's Iran, it's North Korean soldiers, it's a wicked web that they weave.

SANDOVAL: So far, it's intelligence, apparently. Do you see Russia maybe eventually becoming to be a bigger part or at least more involved in the war?

SPENCER: Absolutely not. I mean, it's already lost enough in Syria and multiple other places. It can, you know, I once sat in meetings where it was viewed as a pure competitor. It's not even the second best army in Ukraine at the moment. I don't think it has any capability to provide Iran, nor the political will.

It has signed security agreements, exchanges, all of that with Iran. In Iran's time of need, I don't think they'll have anything to do with the current conflict. While they were doing that sharing, they did a joint naval exercise before the war kicked off. I think that's very unlikely. There's no certainties in war, but very unlikely.

SANDOVAL: Sure, sure. No, and that's the key, right? There are no guarantees here. So in your assessment, it would be unlikely. Would it be fair to say that's even practically impossible? Should the United States, and mainly the United States, opt to maybe even send in troops on the ground, which is something they still haven't taken off the table?

[23:40:08]

SPENCER: Right. Nearly impossible for Russia or China, and I'm sure we'll talk about that, to have a direct impact at this moment or political will or interest to do so. And yes, you can't take boots on the ground for limited purposes for any reason. You never tell your enemy what you're not willing to do in an ongoing conflict.

SANDOVAL: Yes. John, you've set me up nicely for my next question, which is what kind of direct or indirect support China provides to Iran beyond certainly that oil that's on those few tankers that have made their way through the Strait of Hormuz.

SPENCER: Yes. I mean that's the big card here. China is the biggest loser in all of this. I mean, China gets 20 percent of its imported oil from Iran, but it's also 90 percent of where Iran's oil goes despite sanctions. And it buys it at dirt cheap prices like $7 to $15 per barrel, 1.6 million a day just in the energy aspects.

But they also signed just last year a 25 year $400 billion deal with Iran for infrastructure, transportation and of course energy. But really the only reason we're having this conversation is because China is the reason that Iran had centrifuges, 20,000 centrifuges that were destroyed during the 12 day war. The ability to make those was China, the missile ballistic missile supplies, how many sanctions, even last year, the United States was putting on China firms for supplying Iran with the necessary components to make ballistic missiles, and pursue its intercontinental ballistic missile program that it wanted.

But this is also a unraveling of the greater China strategy. So not just in its losses, which is not willing, it's not going to step in to help Iran. It's just the biggest loser in this situation. But it's also part of that larger thing that China was trying to do in its belt and road.

I mean, if you add Venezuela and who is buying Venezuela's oil on the shadow fleets and the black market, who bought the Panama Canal and all the ports in South America, this is all part of China's larger plan. But in Iran, it's losing its gas station and its ability to pursue with Iran's grand strategy a really a new world.

And that's now been -- that plan has definitely been not torn up, but greatly impeded with this war.

SANDOVAL: John Spencer, great context as always. Thank you so much for your time.

SPENCER: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Well, destructive sandstorm in southern and central Gaza, it has thousands of Palestinians who were displaced by the conflict with Israel now struggling to secure the temporary encampments. Here's CNN's Ben Hunt with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A tent camp in Gaza is engulfed in a thick orange haze. Gaza's civil defense warning people to stay inside their homes and shelters as a massive sandstorm whips through the region. But most of Gaza's population of about 2 million people have been displaced, according to the UN. Many living in tents made out of salvaged materials which give little protection from the cutting winds.

IBRAHIM JERGHOUN, DISPLACED GAZAN (through translation): These tents have already been worn out. They've been here for almost a year, maybe more than a year and a half, worn out tents in the winter, the water lands directly above our heads. When the wind blows, it just lifts everything.

HUNTE: The storm churning up gusts of winds of up to 65km an hour, so strong that some people struggled to keep their tents from blowing away.

MOUHAMED ABU HARBID, DISPLACED GAZAN (through translation): The bathrooms have collapsed, the tents have collapsed, and our whole life has fallen apart. The tents are our only shelter. Without a tent, we have nothing. Our belongings are being ruined by the sand. Our mattresses are being ruined by the sand. Everything we own is being damaged by the sand.

HUNTE: The high winds are expected to last until Sunday night, with gusts possibly even more powerful than the ones that already covered parts of Gaza in dust. Ben Hunte, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: We'll stay on severe weather after the break. It continues throughout much of the United States as well, bringing the threat of blizzard conditions in March to some areas and heavy rain, thunderstorms and even tornadoes to other parts of the country. The latest forecast in moments.

[23:44:33]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Right now, more than 60,000 TSA workers are missing their first full paycheck this weekend because of the partial government shutdown. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security that ran out last month, and Republicans and Democrats, they're currently in a standoff over federal immigration enforcement funding. With a result, employees are now hoping to eventually get paid and they are guaranteed their pay eventually when this is all resolved.

But many workers are now wondering just how they'll get by for now. One TSA officer had to take off from work because he said he couldn't afford gasoline. He told CNN he even had to dip into his retirement account. He said, "I put myself in debt to serve the American people. It's crazy." He said, his words.

And you could see major delays due to severe weather to a high impact storm system. It is bringing a dangerous mix of severe thunderstorm, heavy snow and strong winds to a wide swath in the United States this weekend. Let's go now to CNN meteorologist Chris Warren for the forecast.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're tracking a massive winter storm and record heat. First, the winter storm with blizzard warnings up and a winter weather alert spring spanning more than a dozen states and will be impacting more than 20 million people.

This will be a big time snow producer as well. Even just outside of Minneapolis, it is possible there could be two feet of snow. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, possibly three feet of snow with this, dangerous travel can be expected. And this same system that will be working through the Great Lakes and eventually off into the Northeast will bring some dangerous severe thunderstorms as well.

So this threat continuing throughout the day Sunday and into Monday, and the threat for severe thunderstorms includes damaging winds. Tornadoes can't be ruled out, that's a possibility. Also, large hail continues again here on Monday now from Florida all the way up to Upstate New York.

Then the temperatures, have you noticed that how different it has been in just a couple of days in the east while the serious heat is going to be expanding here in the West. First to look at these temperatures that after seeing readings in some areas well into the 70s, even near 80s in the Eastern Time zone, Monday will be another day. Relatively mild in the 50s in Boston to around 60 degrees in New York, and 70 in DC.

[23:50:06]

But by Tuesday, that cold air settles in. And these are high temperatures. High right around 39 degrees in Washington, DC. Meanwhile in the West, still the beginning of this heat with the heat is going to linger through much of the week.

And for Los Angeles, 80 degrees here on Sunday, 91 by Tuesday, and Phoenix, 98 degrees. You're going to be well into the triple digits by the end of the week. And with that, the potential is there with possibly more than 300 daily records falling in the coming days.

SANDOVAL: Our thanks for that forecast. Meanwhile, Hollywood's biggest night, it is almost here. Rehearsals for the Academy Awards that was held on Saturday. And now sources are saying that there's one tribute to a film legend that may steal the show, and some folks may even shed some tears along the way. I'll tell you more in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: Well, this time tomorrow, we will know who will be the latest Oscar winners. Those final touches on the red carpet. They are underway ahead of Sunday's Academy Awards. Here's CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister with a preview.

[23:55:00]

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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT Tomorrow night expected to be an incredibly tight race. It really seems to be a showdown between "Sinners" and "One Battle After Another" which will be going head to head for Best Picture.

Now, "Sinners" has the most nominations coming in with 16, which by the way is an Oscars' record. No other film has ever been nominated so many times in a single year. But the race to watch is really going to come down to "Sinners" star Michael B. Jordan in the Best Actor race, why? Because all eyes are on Timothee Chalamet.

Timothee Chalamet was considered the frontrunner at the beginning of Oscar season. He won the Critics Choice Award, he won the Golden Globe, but he has lost some momentum not just because of those controversial comments that he made about opera and ballet, but also because Michael B. Jordan came through and won the SAG award. So that is really the race to watch.

Now, let's also talk about the host, Conan O'Brien is back and certainly compared to Jimmy Kimmel, he is not a political comic. So the question is, will President Trump come up? Will everything going on in the world come up?

Well, Conan did address that this past week during a press conference with Oscar producers. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, COMEDIAN: It is a dance. It's a dance that goes on up until the show begins. And it's still evolving because we live in a very fast paced world. So jokes we thought of two months ago are irrelevant now, and there might be things that happen this week that will find their way into the show.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: So you heard it there from Conan. We do not know what you're going to get on the Oscar stage tomorrow night. But I do want to tell you that I am hearing the In Memoriam segment is expected to be the moment of the night. So many huge stars have been lost this year in Hollywood. Everyone from the iconic Diane Keaton to Robert Redford, who will be honored by Barbra Streisand, who is expected to sing for her former co-star and, of course, the loss of Rob Reiner.

I am told that there is going to be a huge tribute with many of his co-stars on stage tomorrow night, including Billy Crystal. A source familiar tells me that in rehearsals there was not a dry eye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Elizabeth Wagmeister, and thank you for joining us. I'm back with another hour of breaking news coverage in just a moment.

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