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Spirit Airlines Halts All Flights, Shuts Down Operations; Interview With Representative Marlin Stutzman (R-IN); Gas, Oil Prices Soaring While Iran Peace Talks Are Stalling; London's Jewish Community On Edge After String Of Attacks. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired May 02, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:16]

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EVA LONGORIA, CNN HOST, "EVA LONGORIA SEARCHING FOR FRANCE": How old are these?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's almost finished. They are three months. The slime. He is sliming.

LONGORIA: I don't know if this is going to help me to like them more. I don't know about this. Wait, is it a boy or girl?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boy and girl.

LONGORIA: They're both?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, they are hermaphrodites.

LONGORIA: Oh, my --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. They're both sex.

LONGORIA: Oh, OK. So I want to know how -- I don't know if I want to know how they reproduce.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they find a partner, they begin with a love dance that lasts two hours.

LONGORIA: A love dance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LONGORIA: They have, like, a little flirtation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LONGORIA: For a couple hours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And just before the mating, they throw a little love dart.

LONGORIA: Love dart. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LONGORIA: So if they like somebody, they go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And then they're mating.

LONGORIA: And then that's it. Et voila. They're mating.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know they have sex during 10 hours.

LONGORIA: They have sex for 10 hours?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

LONGORIA: I got to say, I have a whole new respect for snails.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my goodness. OK. I like escargot, but not when I have to see all that.

All right, so new episode of "EVA LONGORIA SEARCHING FOR FRANCE" airing tomorrow night starting at 9:00 right here on CNN, and you can stream it the next day on CNN app.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

WHITFIELD: All right. Hello again, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. We're following breaking news after Spirit Airlines shut down operations this morning, abruptly canceling all upcoming flights. The discount carrier is now advising passengers to rebook their own tickets on different airlines. This leaves 17,000 workers out of jobs and passengers scrambling to get on to other flights. This morning air traffic controllers and other pilots were actually heard on radio wishing their Spirit colleagues well after what appears to have been the final flight to Dallas.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Spirit, from us guys at American, good luck to you all. Sorry to hear what happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any other Spirit flights coming in after us?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You might be the last one. Well, it was a pleasure working with you guys, and I wish you the best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We're following the latest on the developing story. CNN national correspondent Rafael Romo is live from Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. Also joining us is CNN correspondent Gloria Pazmino at LaGuardia Airport.

So to you first in Atlanta, Rafael, without personnel at the counters, as we see behind you, how are customers supposed to get refunds or to their final destinations or answers period?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I know that's the question of the hour, right? What the airline has promised there will be refunds. But at the same time it's asking customers to book flights with other airlines because Spirit is no longer flying. Of course, any passenger then.

Fred, word has gotten around. We haven't seen any passengers show up here at the Spirit Airlines ticket counter in the last three hours because they will probably got the message already that this carrier has gone out of business. As you can see behind me the Spirit Airlines ticket counter is cordoned off. Signs that normally direct passenger traffic have been set up as barriers and screens have a message for passengers saying the following.

And here I quote, "We regret to inform you that Spirit Airlines has ceased global operations. All Spirit flights have been canceled and customer service is no longer available. It has been our honor to bring friends and families closer together for 34 years."

This decision will put 17,000 workers out of a job, Fred, including 14,000 Spirit employees and thousands of contractors and other people whose jobs depend on Spirit and its operations at multiple airports around the country. Spirit Airlines' demise has stranded thousands of passengers who have to adjust plans and perhaps millions who have tickets for future dates.

Customers have been instructed not to come to the airport, and those who booked directly through the airline with a credit or debit card will be issued refunds and have been instructed to rebook travel on other carriers, including JetBlue, Southwest, Delta and United Airlines, all of which have announced they are offering lower cost rescue fares so that Spirit customers can rebook flights.

Earlier today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was asked whether the war with Iran and the subsequent surge in fuel prices accelerated Spirit's demise. And this is what he had to say about that.

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SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Once the merger was denied in 2024, Spirit filed for bankruptcy immediately after the denial, and then last August, Spirit again filed for bankruptcy. So Spirit was in dire straits long before the war with Iran. Multiple times had filed for bankruptcy. Their model wasn't working. They couldn't get to fiscal health. So this was not the impetus. The war was not the impetus for Spirit.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMO: And regarding the point the secretary was making, yes, Spirit filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2024, but then emerged from it in March of the following year only to file again five months later. In February, the airline was able to reach a deal with its creditors to move forward. But then fuel prices surged and ultimately contributed to its demise.

Fred, Spirit is the first significant U.S. airline in 25 years to go out of business because of financial problems. Now back to you.

WHITFIELD: Very significant. All right. Rafael Romo in Atlanta, thank you.

All right. Gloria, what have you heard from passengers there at LaGuardia about their experiences?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred. You know, it's interesting hearing Rafael say that there's been no passengers in Atlanta because we have actually run into a handful of people throughout the morning, especially in the early morning hours. People told us that they did not realize that Spirit had gone out of business literally overnight. They showed up here to LaGuardia airport thinking they would be able to get on their flight.

And I just want to show you behind me the single Spirit Airlines airplane that's sitting on the tarmac clearly not going to be going anywhere. All of the Spirit Airlines flights have been canceled. Their vessels grounded across the country and leading to a lot of frustration among passengers, especially the ones who got up here early this morning hoping they'd be able to travel.

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ALEXANDRA MERINO, TRAVELING TO FLORIDA: I just got here in the people that were standing here just said, there's no flights. Spirit went out of business.

DANNY NUNEZ, TRAVELLING TO ORLANDO: I saw the notices, didn't really think about it, walked right by them and I went to the kiosk and I typed in my information and they're like, oh, yes, your flight has been canceled. Find an agent. So I was looking for an agent. They were like, there's no agent. There's no customer service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Fred, I want to show you. Behind me is Marine Terminal A. This is actually a historic building on LaGuardia airport, and it was the sole hub for Spirit Airlines. And I want to just take you inside with me to show you if you were to show up today thinking that you're going to travel, you're going to walk through these doors, the first thing you're going to see is that flier telling you that Spirit is out of business and letting you know that not only are the flights canceled, but there's also no customer service to be found anywhere.

You're going to see, inside this building, essentially completely desolate, except for some maintenance workers, some people who have been walking through this terminal, actually with moving boxes, packing supplies and packing office materials throughout the day. The Soul Coffee shop that was inside of this terminal was open -- was full this morning, empty, but still full of supplies. It has now been emptied out.

All of that supply, all of that food has been emptied out. And as you can see, it's a ghost town. You can't go anywhere. The terminals are not working. The departure hall is shut down. There's a security back there just making sure that people don't end up walking through those doors. And as I said, a lot of frustration. But here, even though we have come across some passengers, it's starting to slow down.

And it does seem that people are finally getting their notices and getting the message that unfortunately, they will not be flying on Spirit Airlines after 35 years. The airline going out of business. It did make history for a while in the industry as the cheap option, but ultimately it appears Spirit Airlines was perhaps a victim of its own success with the model that it tried to push for so many years -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And now just so desolate where you are. Really striking. All right. Gloria Pazmino at LaGuardia Airport, what was the area to go if you were going to be flying on Spirit today. Thanks so much.

All right. Let's talk more about all this now with Roben Farzad, business journalist and host of NPR's "Full Disclosure."

Roben, great to see you. I mean, what a shock, right, for travelers today, really for the entire airline community and a shock to see LaGuardia and that terminal and that emptied out space where Spirit once was. So what do you think is now going to happen, you know, especially for those employees?

ROBEN FARZAD, BUSINESS JOURNALIST AND HOST, "FULL DISCLOSURE": Yes. Well, don't shed too many tears for the Marine Air Terminal at LaGuardia. It's really valuable. It's going to get snapped up, let's say South Florida, the LaGuardia route, very valuable.

WHITFIELD: True.

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FARZAD: And you know, the other airlines discount legacy, otherwise, they're all licking their lips right now on what they can pick up in bankruptcy. And employees are already being snapped up so that --

WHITFIELD: Are they?

FARZAD: There's some incremental good news. I will say in terms of mourning Spirit Airlines, this was like the 2006 Nissan Altima of airlines. It's passing you on the highway, three out of four hubcaps are missing. The other one is taped to the tire. You know, it was very seat of the pants. And everybody knew that. When you were buying a Spirit ticket, there was a bit of a roulette element to it. I'm really familiar with the airline. I grew up south of Fort

Lauderdale. We always use it to fly the family there, and when it worked, it did work but barely. And when it didn't work, it didn't -- you know.

WHITFIELD: Now you have me envisioning like the Flintstone vehicle. But go ahead.

FARZAD: That's really metaphorically what it was. And it is striking to hear your correspondent say this is the first major airline failure in 25 years because we used to have these all the time. But the difference is, since 9/11, in the 25 years that have transpired, we've had such consolidation in the industry. There's very little room, wiggle room. And when you have oil prices spike the way they did, the weakest player like this is inevitably short of options.

WHITFIELD: So you explained what's already happening to some of the employees. They are already being, you know, snapped up. That's great. Now, what about the fleet of airplanes, those that might be in, you know, particularly good shape, not the ones that you're talking about with duct tape and all that. What happens?

FARZAD: Really valuable in liquidation. We've already seen Frontier and JetBlue make approaches to buy this company outright before several rounds of bankruptcy. So they will be bidders definitely. The majors will be bidders because, again, you're buying slots, you're buying market share, you're buying some planes that were barely, barely used. So that's there. And that's very fungible. And they'd rather do this kind of in parts in bankruptcy as opposed to taking on the entire thing, warts and all. That's understandable.

So I'd keep my eyes on Frontier. I'd look at Breeze Airlines, which was founded by the founder of JetBlue. Southwest obviously has been acquisitive. It has snapped up all manner of failed discount airlines over the past. So the show will go on. And I think that employees, especially in this bottleneck right now for flight attendants, for pilots and others, you're already hearing these other airlines, in addition to helping passengers who are stranded with that special $200 rate, they are fast tracking employee transfers. So you're seeing capitalism really in fast action.

WHITFIELD: OK, so with one less kind of discount carrier out there, what might that mean for ticket prices for those, you know, kind of gigantic airlines? I mean, will they kind of start being, I guess, re- incentivized to change prices as a result of this in any way, whether it's up or down, how do you see it? Any impact?

FARZAD: Yes, you're going to see prices go up. These planes are full right now and jet fuel prices are sky high. And there's definitely FOMO travel everywhere. So this is a positive for a JetBlue. This is a positive for the majors who they have, you know, whatever seats they have to kind of hold their nose and sell off to compete with discount carriers at cut rate levels, they much rather sell to the higher class, you know, business class, first class lounge, top flight credit card thing. So there's going to be a duel, a battle for market share among the

smaller members of the industry right now. Southwest is not what it used to be. Used to take a free bag for granted. Frontier is struggling there. It's not an easy time to start an airline, but you kind of get the impression that this company got so much forbearance for so long that it was finally inevitable.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Fascinating. All right, Roben Farzad, great to have you. Thanks so much.

FARZAD: Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, it's been more than two months now since the war with Iran began. And President Trump still doesn't have approval from U.S. Congress. Coming up, I'll talk with Republican Congressman Marlin Stutzman about why that is. Plus, summer is almost here. Higher fuel prices could make that getaway a lot more expensive this summer, even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens soon, don't expect instant relief at the pump. How long it could take before prices actually come down.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that the prices are a little high. I think that eventually we're going to get through this. Unfortunately, you know, we're left to pay for what's going on over there in Iran. And that's unfortunate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WHITFIELD: All right. Today, a senior Iranian military leader is warning that President Trump's rejection of Tehran's latest peace plan could lead to renewed conflict with the U.S. On Friday, Trump said he wasn't satisfied with Iran's new proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Frankly, maybe we're better off not making a deal at all. Do you want to know the truth? Because we can't let this thing go on.

Iran wants to make a deal because they have no military left, essentially, and they want to make a deal. But I'm not satisfied. They've made strides, but I'm not sure if they ever get there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Polls show the war is very unpopular with a majority of the American people. According to the latest ABC News-"Washington Post"- Ipsos poll, 61 percent of Americans believe it was a mistake to use military force against Iran, with just 36 percent saying it was the right decision. Joining us right now to discuss these developments is Republican

Congressman Marlin Stutzman of Indiana.

Congressman, great to see you.

[15:20:04]

REP. MARLIN STUTZMAN (R-IN): Fredricka, great to see you. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So the war with Iran right now in its third month and peace talks appear to be at a standstill again. Are you confident the administration has a strategy for reaching peace and ending the war with Iran?

STUTZMAN: I really do. And, you know, it's going to take a little bit of time. You know, thankfully, you know, even this last week, President Trump sent a letter to Congress saying that the military operations are pretty much ceased. And so now it's entering into this phase of negotiations. And the hard part is, you know, really dealing with who is in charge in Iran. You know, we know the ayatollah was -- Khamenei was killed in the strikes at the very beginning.

And, you know, we don't know if the son is alive for sure. We hear messages from him. I'm sure there's a power vacuum in the IRGC right now on who's in charge. So negotiating is the hard part right now with who. I think the right decision is to, you know, to cut off the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and just not let Iran decide who gets to go in and out. You know, they've lost about $8 billion since the strait has been closed by us.

WHITFIELD: Well, is the who, as you mentioned, really the obstacle? Because there was a delegation that had already gone to Islamabad meeting up with the delegation from the U.S. as well. It could have happened a second time, but for a variety of reasons, that was called off. But is that really the obstacle, who the U.S. is talking with? Because we are hearing feedback from Iranian leaders that they're not satisfied with the blockade and that is an obstacle in moving negotiations forward.

STUTZMAN: Yes. I'm sure they're not happy with the block of the strait because, I mean, that's their cash flow. I mean, that's how they make their operations work with the cash that they can, you know, make from shipping gas and oil out of Iran. And so that's what's squeezing them. And, you know, I think they're so good at propaganda that that's just something that we're not going to fall for whatever they say in threats. And, you know, the fact that they're going to somehow, you know, re-attack us, they -- we know from the intelligence that we have that we put so much damage on their assets, their military assets during those strikes.

And so by just simply holding up the strait right now, it's having an effect on us, too. There's no doubt about that because it affects global supply because there's nothing coming out of the straits right now with supply that usually goes to China and goes to Europe. And so it is having an impact here at home. But I, you know, was at a couple of breakfasts this morning and different events. And I hear mixed because people don't like the high gas prices at home right now. But they also understand that we have to have a change in Iran, and that we can't have a regime there that wants a nuclear weapon.

WHITFIELD: Do you want to be among those members of Congress who want to give congressional approval for this White House to move forward, given that the War Powers Act, you know, has certain stipulations after 60 days?

STUTZMAN: Well, I would vote to give authorization, but I don't believe that the president needs it since the operations have ceased. I mean, we really are in a diplomacy era now rather than any sort of attack on Iran. I mean, the ceasefire has held. We have actually, you know, we kept our end of the bargain. And also we're waiting for the Iranian leadership to come up with some sort of a plan going forward.

But, again, part of the hard problem here is their ideology is so difficult to negotiate with. And, you know, we have known Iran to be the leading state sponsor of terrorism for 40 plus years. And so, you know, for us to think that we're going to get this over with in 40 days or, you know, it's going to take a little longer than that. But I do think that we're on the right path and that, you know, the Iranians are going to try to drag this out as long as they can because they want to maintain power.

They are going to do everything they can to survive. And hopefully, my hope is, is that they have an internal struggle and that there's some common sense folks within that circle that at some point say, look, this is not the way that we're going to move ahead. We are, you know, we've been decimated militarily and that if we make some good changes, that we can be, you know, participating in the global markets and of course not be a threat to the region anymore.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's shift gears a little bit, because the U.S. Supreme Court justices just invalidated Louisiana's congressional map, calling it an unconstitutional gerrymander.

[15:25:04]

And that move, you know, weakened the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Louisiana Republicans are now delaying the May 16th primaries for U.S. House races to redraw the map in that state. People have already mailed in their ballots, et cetera, and are probably very disappointed because things are now changing. And in fact, more states might follow.

What are your concerns that this ruling could, A, hurt minority representation in Congress and ultimately undermine the very rights that voters have come to expect?

STUTZMAN: Well, we do already in Indiana, and I can speak to Indiana much better than I can some of the other states. But in Indiana, you know, we already have, you know, some good guidance on how the maps should be drawn. And, you know, I would argue that, you know, Marion County, which is Indianapolis, has one representative when in fact, you know, if there were multiple representatives from Indianapolis, that there would be more representation and also balanced representation.

And so, you know, I think that, you know, while we want to be sure that every American has a good, strong representation, I think the bigger problem is the way that the states are kind of running to their corners. Blue states are wiping out all the red districts, red states are wiping out all the blue districts. And I don't think that's healthy --

WHITFIELD: So you think it's OK to redraw maps in the middle of people sending in their ballots and just days away from elections?

STUTZMAN: No, no, I don't like that. I think that that's the problem that we've run into with all of this redistricting that's gone across the country. You know, I have supported it in Indiana. Well, that's because, you know, California did it and, you know, Texas did it. Virginia has done it and it's a partisan food fight right now. And I don't think it's good for the American people. And I think that, you know, just like Massachusetts, it's nine Democrats in Massachusetts. No Republicans.

Massachusetts is as Democrat as Indiana is Republican. We should follow some sort of baseline when drawing maps and considering that there are both Republicans and Democrats in in our states, you know. In Indiana right now, we're seven to two, we're going to maintain that. But Virginia just is a 50-50 state. And now they're going to be 10 to one Democrat. And I just don't think that serves the American people well.

WHITFIELD: Yes. We'll leave it there for now.

Congressman Marlin Stutzman, thanks so much.

STUTZMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up next, the world's oil supply remains strained because of the ongoing blockade around the Strait of Hormuz. We'll look at how that is driving fuel prices across the board.

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[15:32:14]

WHITFIELD: All right. The rising cost of jet fuel since the start of the war is putting a strain on airlines around the world. Gas prices have also soared during the conflict with this week seeing the biggest one-day jump since the ceasefire was announced. Drivers are now paying $4.43 per gallon on average around the country.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're taking the brunt of this war. We're feeling it. And United States, I don't see what they're getting out of this, but I know it's hurting our pockets. It's hard to travel now. I still got to get around. So this is going to be a lot. When you compare things to what you were?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's almost double.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you felt that increased, rapid increase?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, absolutely. And it's not just the gas, it's everything. I'm going to return the car. I have a subscription and I'm not going to drive for another month. You know, we'd normally be traveling a lot during the summer.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Lots of changes. Joining me right now to talk about prices at the pumps, Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics and a professor of Energy Diplomacy at Georgetown University.

Great to see you.

MATTHEW MCMANUS, PROFESSOR OF ENERGY DIPLOMACY, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me on the show.

Wonderful. So, Professor, you know how much of the gas price spike is driven by supply disruption at the Strait of Hormuz versus market fears?

MCMANUS: That's a really great question. And as my students like to explain during final exams, right, you have supply. We're down about 10 percent in global oil supplies. The Strait of Hormuz is 20 percent of world supplies. But we have the Saudis have an outlet to the Red Sea for the East West pipeline. You have UAE exporting to the Gulf of Oman. So we're really only down about 10 percent.

And then you have inventories, right? You have the International Energy Agency. You have a really great response not only by the United States, but with our allies of the drawdown of strategic oil stocks, our Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And then you have demand. Demand is ebbing a bit in Asia. This is really being felt most acutely in Asia and the United States we are insulated. Of course, it is a global oil market. But remember, we get a lot of our oil from Canada. It's landlocked. We're paying about $10 a barrel less for Alberta select.

So we're insulated. And we're also a net oil exporter. So as the crisis is resolved, I think we will see prices come down fairly rapidly.

WHITFIELD: OK. But until that time, you know, with the global oil supply already facing huge disruptions, what do you see potentially or what should people be bracing for if this conflict continues?

[15:35:04]

MCMANUS: Well, I think we still have time in our emergency response. And remember, China also has huge strategic oil reserves, maybe 1.4 billion barrels. And again, Asia is really the first market affected. So the infrastructure of global energy security I think is working. We have the IEA. We have a big robust Strategic Petroleum Reserve. I do think we need to refill it when the conflict is over so we'll always have it there. But we have it. We can go another round. And again, you know, the Strait of Hormuz is closed and we're at only $101 a barrel. That isn't terrible for the worst possible oil disruption that I've seen in my career.

WHITFIELD: So how is this energy crisis different from the kind of shortages that were seen in the 1970s? In some cases, you had lines, very long lines of vehicles, and then you had gas stations that had signs up, no gas.

MCMANUS: That's a great question, and I can admit that I'm old enough to remember odd-even days as a young, a very young folk. And we were exporting, we were a net, you know, dependent on foreign shores. Now we're a net exporter and a lot of the money from higher oil prices is flowing into our own economy. It's flowing into our own stock market. And so I don't think it's going to lead to the economic crisis that the '70s oil shocks led to.

It is a transfer of wealth from consumers to oil producers, and perhaps to the stock market. But that money is not going abroad. So I think we're much better off.

WHITFIELD: All right. I like your hopeful point of view, Professor Matthew McManus. We all need that. Thank you so much.

MCMANUS: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right.

All right. Following a stabbing attack, Jewish people in London are being warned if you look identifiably Jewish, you're not safe. We'll hear from the former U.S. ambassador to Israel on how antisemitic incidents around the world have Jewish communities on edge.

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[15:41:45]

WHITFIELD: Police in the United Kingdom are holding a suspect who is charged with attempted murder after two Jewish men were stabbed in London this week. Authorities are calling it an act of terrorism, and British officials have now raised the U.K.'s domestic terror threat level. London's Jewish community was already on edge following a string of antisemitic attacks, including the burning of ambulances belonging to a Jewish health service.

With us now is Daniel Shapiro. He is the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Great to see you, Ambassador. After this week's stabbing, the chief rabbi of the U.K. said, if you are -- I'm quoting now, if you are, quote, "visibly Jewish, you are not safe," end quote, in Britain. How does that rest with you and Jewish people here in America? DANIEL SHAPIRO, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: Thanks for having

me. It's a completely unacceptable situation that many Jewish people, those who are visibly Jewish or those who are participating in organized Jewish life, now fear for their physical safety. Obviously, we saw that in London. It's true in other parts of Europe. And I'm sorry to say it's also true in New York and Washington, parts of the United States.

I went to my synagogue this morning, and we always have security outside. And for the last decade or so, we've had to go through metal detectors just to walk inside our synagogue to pray, as you do at the airport. So this is really unacceptable situation. And it requires very dedicated leadership. You know, yesterday after the attack, Prime Minister Starmer gave a speech where he talked about some of what's required.

You know, I identified a couple of things. There might be Iranian inspired attacks. This is part of maybe Iran's asymmetric response to the war, and that requires intelligence to detect a disruptive attack -- those attacks. Then there's homegrown extremism, where you have to have law enforcement able to protect the community and punish and prosecute those who carry out these attacks.

But then you also have to have political leadership that calls it out. And he did that when he said, you know, there are people calling to globalize the intifada. And it's one thing to protest if you want to protest about Israel or Gaza, people have free speech. But the intifada was a campaign of suicide bombings in cafes and busses that killed 1,000 Israelis a couple of decades ago. If you globalize that and you call for that, you're calling for violence against Jews everywhere.

WHITFIELD: The U.K. has raised its domestic terrorism threat level to severe from substantial in response to this week's attack. Does something similar to that need to happen here in the U.S.?

SHAPIRO: Well, it obviously depends on what intelligence and law enforcement information knows about the degree of the threat. Certainly, Iran has demonstrated its ability and willingness to try to attack what it considers soft targets in countries outside the Middle East when it feels it needs to settle scores, as it may at the moment during the war. But again, we also have homegrown extremism here in the United States. And so I count on law enforcement. I count on political leadership to call out those types of attitudes, to put in place the necessary protections, and obviously to vigorously prosecute and punish those who try to carry that out. But this is a bit of a crisis. More than a bit.

[15:45:02]

This is a crisis that's now spread to multiple countries, multiple continents, and it requires very dedicated political leadership, not just from the Jewish community, from all political and all society leaders to try to stamp it out.

WHITFIELD: I also want to ask you about the Iraq war, you know, and what we are witnessing there. We've seen more Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon in the past two days, even though, you know, there is technically a ceasefire in place. Do you think Israel will wait for the outcome of any new talks between the U.S. and Iran? What kind of, I guess, cooperation or coordination do you think is happening?

SHAPIRO: The Lebanon case is a shaky ceasefire. There are still Israeli troops in Southern Lebanon, still finding Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure. And there are still Hezbollah attacks against those troops and sometimes against Israeli territory. They're a lot less intense on both sides than they were at the height of the fighting. So hopefully that ceasefire will still stay in place enough to allow for some of the diplomatic discussions between the Israeli and Lebanese governments toward some kind of future peace and disarming of Hezbollah.

As for Iran, I think Israel has in mind to continue military strikes to try to further weaken the regime, maybe even seek to overthrow it and further weaken its ballistic missile and its nuclear programs. But I think in this situation, they really have to take their lead from the United States. President Trump more or less can tell Prime Minister Netanyahu, the United States is not resuming, and therefore Israel will not resume on its own, or the other possibility is that the president might decide that the current stalemate of mutual blockades in the Strait of Hormuz has run its course.

He's not getting what he wants out of negotiations with Iran, and then he's going to initiate resuming military action against Iran. And then I suspect the Israelis would participate.

WHITFIELD: And, Mr. Ambassador, I'm wondering, you know, President Trump said this week that one of the challenges for a peace deal with Iran is that it isn't clear who is in charge in Tehran right now. But it is the same regime if there are, you know, different players at the table. Is that your sense that it's difficult to know who is in charge? And I mean, is that a reasonable explanation for having difficulties in carrying on negotiations?

SHAPIRO: The president at times has said we've already changed the regime because there are some new players. But as you said, it really is the same regime, and it's actually the most hard line elements of the previous regime. It's really the IRGC, the generals, the ones who are extremely ideologically committed to their cause, committed to their hostility to the United States, to Israel, to their Arab neighbors, and the least likely to show flexibility in negotiations over their nuclear program.

There may be other officials, the president, the foreign minister, who are less influential in that system, who might show more flexibility. Were they the ones really to make those decisions? But they're not. So we kind of do know who's in charge, and we know they're the most hardline and extreme elements. And that's why the negotiations really haven't gone very far. We're stuck in an extended, mutual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is creating this global energy crisis and economic crisis.

And so there are only really two ways out of that. One is to escalate and to go back to fighting, which might only make the crisis worse and might not overthrow the regime, or to sort of back down to a very simple agreement of a reopening of the strait by both sides and then kick those other difficult negotiations over the nuclear program, the missile program and other things down the road for later.

We can keep in place sanctions. We can keep deterrence and the ability to strike nuclear sites if we need to on the table as well, but to try to separate those so we can get out of the crisis that we're currently in.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now.

Ambassador Daniel Shapiro, great to have you. Thank you so much.

SHAPIRO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

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[15:53:46]

WHITFIELD: All right. This breaking news into CNN. The makers of the abortion pill mifepristone, is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to keep the drug available through mail. This emergency appeal comes only one day after a federal appeals court temporarily reinstated a nationwide requirement that abortion pills must be obtained in person. Attorneys for mifepristone maker Danco Laboratories urged the court to issue a stay, saying the lower court ruling, I'm quoting now, "injects confusion," end quote, about what is allowed and what is not.

The case is bringing the drug and the abortion issue back on the high court's docket less than two years after the justices rejected a similar challenge.

New today, the chairman of both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are condemning the Pentagon order to pull roughly 5,000 troops, American troops, from Germany. The German defense minister downplayed the U.S. decision, saying the move was anticipated and Europe needs to take greater responsibility for its own security. The drawdown comes after sharp criticism from Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the U.S. is being humiliated by Iran. President Trump countered by saying Merz doesn't know what he's talking about. There are currently about 35,000 U.S. troops stationed in Germany.

[15:55:06]

All right, journey across France with Eva Longoria as she discovers the rich history and influence of monks in Burgundy and Germans in -- on the CNN Original Series, "EVA LONGORIA SEARCHING FOR FRANCE." Two brand new episodes of "EVA LONGORIA SEARCHING FOR FRANCE," airing tomorrow, starting at 9:00 on CNN, and you can stream it the next day on the CNN app.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt is up next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)