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Iranian Media Reports Attacks On Multiple Sites In Southern Iran; Trump Orders Flags To Be Flown At Half-Staff To Honor Late Sen. Graham; New Safety Legislation Following Camp Mystic Tragedy. Aired 3- 4p ET

Aired July 12, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, thank you again for joining me this Sunday. I am Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, we begin this hour with a fresh escalation in the U.S. War with Iran. Iranian media is now reporting new attacks taking place today on multiple sites in Southern Iran. The reports did not identify who launched the strikes, referring only to an enemy attack.

The reported strikes come as U.S. Central Command shared new video of attacks it says were carried out on 140 Iranian targets. In all, CENTCOM says the U.S. has hit more than 300 military targets in Iran during the attack in recent days.

President Trump telling CNN, the latest round of strikes are in retaliation for an Iranian attack on a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I will say we hit them very hard last night. We had a deal with them yesterday. They were giving up everything. And then all of a sudden, two hours after that, they hit a ship with a drone and I said, these people, there is something wrong with them.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Iran says it responded to the U.S. attacks by firing drones and missiles at U.S. military targets in multiple Gulf nations.

CNN's Nadia Bashir is joining us right now.

Nada, what more are you learning about these latest attacks?

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, we are getting these updates now from Iranian state media. As you mentioned, reporting several strikes in parts of Southern Iran, as well as near Iran's Qeshm Island, which is, of course, near the Strait of Hormuz. Now, as you mentioned, has been the key stumbling block, of course, in this entire process to try and get mediation efforts to a success point.

But this also follows a round of attacks by the U.S. military, a third round just in recent days. And of course, while the U.S. Central Command has not confirmed that this latest round of attacks, as reported by Iranian state media, has been carried out by the U.S. military. Again, this does follow that confirmation by Central Command of those attacks in the early hours of Sunday.

They say around 140 targets were struck, predominantly military targets including ammunition storage points, including communications infrastructure, as well as naval surveillance points as well.

And this, according to the U.S. has come in response to the targeting of a vessel passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says this vessel was passing through an unauthorized route, so primarily not passing along the coastline corridor beside Iran's coast, but rather choosing to travel through the coastline alongside the coast of Oman.

But interestingly, this comes just a day after Iran's Foreign Minister met with Oman's Foreign Minister in Oman to try to discuss, according to officials familiar with those talks, some sort of mechanism for joint control over the Strait of Hormuz to allow for vessels to safely pass through that key shipping route.

Now, at this stage, it doesn't appear that we have seen any sort of firm conclusions from those talks, anything that would potentially shift the needle in terms of mediation efforts. And this latest round of strikes, including the strikes carried out and confirmed by the U.S. military, and, of course, the retaliatory strikes that we now have seen being carried out, including drone and missile attacks by Iran, by the IRGC targeting Gulf nations, including U.S. allies and U.S. military infrastructure in the Gulf region, really raises the question as to whether there can be any sort of progress over the coming days in those mediation efforts and real concern over the potential for this to really destabilize those mediation efforts.

WHITFIELD: Of course, those are the big questions.

Nada Bashir, thank you so much.

All right, joining me right now to talk more about this is retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. He is a CNN military analyst.

Colonel, great to see you.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you too, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I mean, this is the follow up to that very question that Nada is asking. I mean, do you think this latest round of intense U.S. strikes on Iran will force Tehran to the negotiating table, or is there a risk it could cause, you know, all the talks or any talks to fall apart?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think it is very risky and I think it is really possible that these attacks and these counterattacks could very well derail any kind of talks that are going on right now.

Now, that's in spite of the best efforts of countries like Oman and Qatar and Pakistan that are trying to mediate between both Iran and the United States. But the sheer volume of attacks is very interesting because, you know, you had, as you mentioned, the 140 in the last 24 hours. And, you know, over the weekend and last three days or so, you had about 300 attacks from the U.S. on Iranian installations. That coupled with the Iranian response, or at least an attempted Iranian response, that clearly points to a degree of escalation that we haven't seen since the signing of the MOU. And that, of course, is a significant issue, I would say.

WHITFIELD: Control of the Strait of Hormuz remains a major factor in these back and forth attacks.

Iran says it is closed. The U.S. says it is open. How do these contradictions impact strategies and the road ahead?

[15:05:10]

LEIGHTON: Yes, well, clearly both sides are really digging in on their respective positions. Now it is absolutely the U.S. position that there be freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, in other words, that the Strait is open. And when you look at the attack on the last container ship, the MV Galaxy, that was hit most recently, that attack occurred about nine nautical miles east of the Omani Coast. So that's definitely within the zone that the U.S. is using as its path for container ships and oil tankers and other commercial vessels to go through the Strait of Hormuz.

So what the Iranians want to do is they want to make sure that no vessels go through that zone, even though they've been talking to the Omanis who control that area in terms of their territorial waters. So it is a complex issue, but the Iranians clearly want to exercise control over the entire Strait, not just the area that's along their coastline.

WHITFIELD: All right, Iran has now been targeting or resumed targeting Gulf nations in response to the U.S. attacks. I mean, what is the potential impact here? And the response of those neighboring nations now being, you know, also in the crosshairs? How might what they say to the U.S. or what they say to Iran impact things?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it could very well have a huge impact. And, you know, depending on the specific nation and the specific targets and how effective those strikes were, it could also serve to derail any type of diplomatic efforts.

You know, mediators might get tired of mediating a country that is, you know, basically attacking them. The clear idea that the Iranians have is to attack both military and civilian economic infrastructure in those gulf states.

So they want to derail the economies of these Gulf states, but they also want to make sure that those Gulf states have a more limited military capability in case they themselves want to respond to Iranian actions. And those attacks are meeting with, at best, mixed results. But they are still dangerous, and they still have an impact on the people of the Gulf nations.

WHITFIELD: So this Friday, it will be the halfway mark for the 60-day window to negotiate final terms of, you know, this deal with Iran, given the latest hostilities, where is your level of optimism here?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it is below 30 percent right now, Fredricka, if I had to give a number to it, and I think this is something that we have to be very careful with because, you know, this has a very -- there is a very great risk that this will spiral out-of-control, so it is really in the interest of both sides to find a solution to this.

But the way in which this is going with both sides really digging in on their respective positions, it doesn't look like it is a likely course of action at this point.

WHITFIELD: All right, Colonel Cedric Leighton, always great having you. Thank you so much.

LEIGHTON: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Still to come, remembering U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. Ahead, we look at the circumstances surrounding his sudden death, his decades' long career in the senate, and his impact on American foreign policy and national security.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:13:08]

WHITFIELD: All right, today we are following reaction here in the U.S. and around the world after the unexpected death of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham.

President Trump says he is ordering all American flags across the country to be flown at half-staff. Already, flags at The White House and the U.S. Capitol have been lowered to honor the South Carolina Republican.

Emergency crews rushed to Graham's D.C. home last night after a report of a person suffering cardiac arrest. Graham's office says the 71- year-old died after what is being described as a brief and sudden illness.

Graham was a former political enemy turned staunch ally of President Trump. Today, Trump called the senator a "dear friend and a truly great man" and says he spoke to Graham shortly before his death.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TRUMP: It is devastating. I thought he was fine. He called me last night. He just got back from Ukraine. He was tired. He said, "I'm tired" because it is a long trip. But other than that, he was -- he was fine. And he called me, I guess, just moments before because he called me like at 6:30 or something. And the medical people got there a little bit later right after that.

What a -- what a terrible loss it is.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I want to bring in now CNN congressional correspondent, Lauren Fox.

Lauren, how will the senator best be remembered? And what are his colleagues saying about him?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, I think this is a real shock to his colleagues in the United States Senate and on Capitol Hill overall. You know, Senator Lindsey Graham was someone who forged his reputation as an interventionist, as someone who really went out and fought for America to have a role globally around the world.

He was someone who was extremely encouraging of President Donald Trump's decision to interfere in Iran. Just a couple of months ago, he was a staunch defender of that decision and was someone who went out and made the case to the American people, to his Republican colleagues and to the administration that America's role across the globe was really important for not just global security, but for national security.

[15:15:22]

And obviously, you saw that in the fact that he was in Ukraine just a couple of days ago and meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and that was a meeting that he has undertaken multiple times since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and he was someone who was extremely outspoken about the need for aid, for weapons to that country.

He also has been a staunch ally of Israel and America's role there. So, he is someone who obviously has been fighting on the global stage. It is important to point out that he was a mentee of former Senator John McCain, extremely close with the late Arizona senator, extremely close with his family.

But Lindsey Graham also played a major role in domestic issues, including on immigration. That's how I first got to know Senator Graham back in 2013, when he was working with the Gang of Eight to try to put forward this comprehensive immigration bill that included a path to citizenship for millions of undocumented immigrants. It also included, you know, hefty border security and funding for that security.

Obviously, over time, the Republican Party's position really hardened on the issue of immigration, but even a couple of years ago, he was still a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act and that really does show for some of his Democratic colleagues who have worked with him over the years that he was able to forge these relationships, not just with Republicans, but with Democrats as well.

WHITFIELD: And President Trump, I mean, he used some really beautiful words to describe Senator Graham today. He said -- I am quoting now -- "one of the greatest people and senators I have ever known." But of course, there was a time when they weren't always, you know, friends, but indeed foes and Lindsey Graham did not hold back in his criticism of the President.

FOX: Yes, I mean, in a lot of ways, Senator Graham embodied the evolution of the Republican Party with Donald Trump at large. Right? There was so much skepticism in the beginning, including with Senator Graham, who we should point out was running for the Republican nomination back in 2015 against Donald Trump and that was part of his explanation.

He said, you know, I was trying to win a campaign. I was trying to make a case for why my vision for the country was better than his vision for the country, but ultimately, the country decided that Donald Trump or Republican voters decided Donald Trump's vision is what they wanted to support. And ultimately, it was a strategic decision for him to get in line with the President, to forge a close relationship with him.

But take a listen to that evolution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC)/DECEMBER 13, 2015: Mr. Trump is threatening to leave the party if he is not treated fairly. Guess who determines whether or not he gets treated fairly? Here is my retort, quit threatening us.

GRAHAM/DECEMBER 15, 2025: You know how you make America great again, Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.

GRAHAM/JANUARY 14: Tell me I did nothing illegal except be Trump's friend, apparently.

GRAHAM/JUNE 9: And when it comes to President Trump, Mr. President, I am going to be your strongest ally in the United States Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And he really has, Fredricka, been a strong ally of the President, not just rhetorically in the hallways of Capitol Hill, but in his policy. He was the Budget Chairman and was beginning the process for moving forward with an effort to try to pass the President's Voting Bill using a very complex process with just Republican votes that honestly was going to face immense challenges, still will face immense challenges in the United States Senate.

But Lindsey Graham was going to make the effort for the President and it is an extremely time consuming effort at that. It is also just important to point out that the Senate is going to have to consider a defense supplemental, something that Senator Graham would have been fighting really hard for with the administration. And obviously, in his absence, that is going to be felt tremendously on Capitol Hill.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. All right, Lauren Fox, thank you so much.

All right, Lindsey Graham is also being remembered on the global stage as more world leaders share their condolences. Israeli leaders were among the first foreign officials to praise Lindsey Graham's legacy.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid tribute to him on NBC's "Meet the Press this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Lindsey was so vibrant. He was so full of life. He was so full of energy and dedication that it is hard to accept the fact that he is no more.

I think America has lost a great patriot. Israel has lost one of the great champions of the American-Israeli Alliance. And frankly, I've lost a beloved friend who I've had for many decades.

There is just no one like him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:20:09]

WHITFIELD: We are following the international reaction with CNN's Nic Robertson in London and Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem.

Oren, let's get started with you. What else is being said about Senator Graham's legacy and his impact on the global stage?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: It is not just Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is mourning the loss of Senator Lindsey Graham. We are seeing it from all across Israel's coalition, that is, the politicians who sit with Netanyahu, but also from the opposition.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is challenging Netanyahu, as well as former Prime Minister Yair Lapid. They put out statements calling Graham a great friend of Israel and a beloved advocate for the country itself, for the relationship between the U.S. and Israel, all of them are focusing on the relationship he had, not only at the professional and political level, but also on the personal level.

He visited here, frankly, very frequently, and not just in October 7th, 2023, but even before that. I've attended his press conferences here. I've gotten invites to some of his events. He would meet officials here. He would meet the media here.

He was very, very openly and publicly an advocate for Israel and that played out not only in his lobbying on Capitol Hill, but he pushed for more money for Israeli missile defense. Certainly Israel, Netanyahu, other politicians appreciated that.

But he also played a critical role when it came to Israel and President Donald Trump. We have seen in recent weeks and months somewhat of a divide between Netanyahu and Trump. Well, Netanyahu always knew that he had Lindsey Graham on his side, and he knew that he could go to Graham to make sure, at least that Graham delivered an Israeli message to The White House that Trump at least knew Israel's position, that The White House would take that into account.

Graham was certainly hawkish on Iran, he was hawkish on Russia and that was something Israelis appreciated. Graham openly questioned the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. and Iran and much like Israel, much like Netanyahu questioned whether Iran and the regime there were really negotiating in good faith and whether there was any chance of reaching a final agreement.

He called for or rather advocated for the need for continuing the military campaign there. The joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, seeing that as a path forward. Certainly, that's something Netanyahu has somewhat more quietly pushed for as well and it is these positions that made him incredibly pro-Israel, probably, realistically speaking, Israel's best friend in the Senate and one of its strongest advocates -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem, thank you so much.

Let's go to Nic Robertson now in London.

And Nic, I mean, Senator Graham had just gotten back from Kyiv. He was a staunch ally and defender of assisting Ukraine. So what does his absence now mean, potentially for this ongoing war?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it is really interesting because this -- of course, it is a time where President Trump is really straining his relationships with his NATO partners, I mean, you only have to look back to last week and that Summit in Ankara where the President came in angry, he left a little happier, but that has been strained.

And it is very interesting to hear from the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte; from the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz; from the British Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, all saying that he was a very strong supporter of the NATO Atlantic Alliance.

So that is something that the Europeans found value, particularly at this time of President Trump and that really was perhaps best embodied by his engagement, by Lindsey Graham's engagement in Ukraine. President Zelenskyy said that Lindsey Graham had been there 10 times since Russia's invasion in 2022. You know, that he was a great supporter of peace.

But he had other really strong words that I really think speak to what Senator Graham did when he was in Ukraine and that was connect not just with the political leadership, but with the people, because President Zelenskyy pointed out that he was really grateful for Lindsey Graham's kind and supportive words about the difficulties the Ukrainians were going through, remembering they've been through many winters, freezing winters and Lindsey Graham's visits there weren't just about trying to get more weapons for Ukraine so that they could fight back against Russia, they were about supporting the country and the people.

You know, I will miss our conversations, is what President Zelenskyy said. But this latest visit, perhaps the most important, if you will, visiting with the Ukrainian president, visiting Skyfall, that's one of Ukraine's top drone producing factories, really why they are getting an advantage in this war and it was that advantage coupled Lindsey Graham hoped with more sanctions on Russia, that gave him the belief that perhaps the war could be ended.

This is what he said about it when he was in Kyiv on just on Friday last.

[15:25:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM: We've reached an agreement with The White House on a version of the Russian Sanctions Bill that they will support. It means it is going to become law.

So when I get back to Washington, I am going to go with Senator Blumenthal to the Republican and Democratic leader to see if we can find time to move this Russian sanctions package that would give tools to President Trump to help end this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And that is what is going to be hard to replace here in Lindsey Graham, not just the advocate for Ukraine, but an advocate and a sympathetic supporter of the people winning President Zelenskyy's trust and being that vital conduit to The White House to try and influence President Trump, value to the Europeans as well.

WHITFIELD: Yes, potentially a real serious blow here.

Nic Robertson in London, thank you so much.

All right, straight ahead, it has been one year after the unimaginable flood disaster at Camp Mystic, leaving 28 dead. Ahead, the changes that have been made and what else might be needed to help prevent another tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:50]

WHITFIELD: July 4th marked the one-year anniversary of the devastating floods at Camp Mystic in Texas, where 28 people died, including 25 campers. Since then, local officials and grieving families have advocated for and initiated change to prevent similar tragedies. However, some of the new requirements are causing problems for camps across Texas.

Joining us now to discuss is Texas State Representative, Wes Virdell, who represents Kerr County, where Camp Mystic was located.

Representative, good to see you. I mean, what changes have been put in place that you're most proud of?

WES VIRDELL (R), TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Yes. Thanks for having me on. You know, I think it has brought a lot of focus that we do need to have the agency that overlooks youth camps, making sure that when they are investigating or checking licenses, that they are more thorough with that.

I think that's the biggest takeaway, but I also think we've made a lot of mistakes over this last year trying to course correct the problem.

WHITFIELD: What are some of those mistakes?

VIRDELL: We recently passed legislation called the Camp Safety Act and that bill ended up creating a lot of problems. It raised the licensing fee up to $20,000.00 for some of the camps per year and then it also has caused a lot of camps to financially suffer in ways that are not related to safety.

WHITFIELD: And in fact, that means, or at least reportedly, some 60 camps were not able to open because of some of those things, including the licensing fees.

So, what will be the course correct then? Because I mean, obviously people want a lot of those camps open, but they want them to be safe. So what will it take to do that?

VIRDELL: Yes. Great question. So we are going to need to make a couple of changes in the bill. I will be filing what I think are those corrections. And a couple of those things are that there was a fiber optic requirement that was going to cost several camps a million dollars each, and up to $3 million to get fiber optic. That will be fixed. We need to address that.

They don't take into consideration elevation of cabins from a floodway when they put a ban on where the cabins could be at, and then there are a few other things like lighting.

In West Texas, we have dark skies and the rules actually put them in conflict with the federal requirements.

WHITFIELD: So the Guadalupe River, I mean, it is part of the lifeblood and of course, the wonder, you know, of these camps alongside it. Yet, if you zero in on the communication, which of course was under the microscope in terms of, you know, why people weren't able to get out safely because of communication obstacles, what is it going to take?

Because, you know, a lot of these locations are very remote. You talk about the fiber optics, but what is being advocated to increase or improve communication that is realistic.

VIRDELL: Yes, in my mind, focusing on broadband, which is a very specific definition in the code of what it takes to meet a broadband communication requirement, things like Starlink or other satellite communications can meet that and I think that that makes a lot more sense than forcing a business and camps or any other business to spend millions of dollars to get something there that wasn't required when they built those businesses.

WHITFIELD: And then as it pertains to flood sirens, are more flood sirens in place? Are more needed, in the end, is it more helpful?

VIRDELL: Yes, that's a great question. So River Century, they went in and put a ton of ton of new notification systems around Camp Mystic and other areas in Guadalupe. The government has mandated that we have to have sirens in certain locations. I am personally of the opinion that I don't think sirens are as effective as some people believe they are, but they still have a place.

But the requirements, Kerr County alone is looking at having to spend around $40 million to put in some sirens in the state I think based on the mandate, needs to step up and help fund those better than they are currently are.

WHITFIELD: Representative Wes Virdell, thank you so much for being with us. I know the wounds are still very deep. This is still a very tender and delicate time for so many people involved, but we appreciate you taking the time out for us.

VIRDELL: Thanks for your time.

[15:35:09]

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead, the latest details on the re-escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran overnight and CNN gives you an inside look at the mission underway off the coast of Iran from on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:07]

WHITFIELD: All right, now, the stunning death of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is sending shockwaves across the country. Condolences from both Democrats and Republicans are pouring in for the lawmaker known in the Halls of Washington for working across the aisle.

Former President Biden, who served with Graham in the Senate, posted today on social media, writing that while the two disagreed often and sometimes loudly on matters, they worked closely and agreed on the profound importance of public service.

And two of Graham's closest republican allies, President Trump and fellow South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, spoke to CNN today about the void his death will leave in American politics. Here is what they told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: What a -- what a terrible loss it is. He is a great politician. He was a natural. There are very few of them. He was a natural politician, got along with everybody. When he didn't, he was very tough. You know, he was a tough cookie, too. But he got -- he got along with everybody. Well, he ran against me and he was, you know, formidable. He was tough. He was tough and smart and that's why I got to know him on the campaign. I didn't know him before then. I spoke to him maybe once in my life before then. But I got to know him. He was one of the 17 people that ran against me, and he was, you know, smart guy.

And it was a nasty campaign. He was tough and nasty, but I was nasty, too, and it worked out fine. And I got to know him by little drips and drabs and then we became friendly and there was no better advocate. He was a fantastic advocate in the Senate, and he could do things that other people -- he was -- he was able to and if I had a really big problem with a certain Democrat, he could work it out.

You know, that's something most Republicans can't do.

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): America has lost a true statesman. We don't have many left, but he was a true statesman. But I've lost a friend. It is a morning of mourning for me. It is a powerful reminder that life is fleeting, that we are not here very long.

If I were to tell stories about Lindsey Graham, one of the most important stories about Lindsey Graham is that when I was a new senator, he welcomed me in. He knew that my path was different. He understood the power of change in South Carolina and how much our state had changed.

But he was one of the first folks in the Senate to welcome me in with open arms. And I will say that I do a South Carolina Prayer Breakfast every year in D.C. and I called Lindsey the first time. And Lindsey says, "Tim, if this thing starts before 10:00 A.M., I am not coming because I am not going even if Jesus comes back before 10 A.M." And I just laughed out loud and of course, it started at 8:30 and he walked in the door at 8:31, Lindsey Graham, he was just the kind of committed person that you don't really appreciate how much -- how -- how committed he was to America.

I can't think of a more committed public servant to this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And we are following major new developments in the U.S. War with Iran.

Overnight, the U.S. Central Command shared new video of attacks it says were carried out on 140 Iranian targets. CENTCOM says the U.S. has hit more than 300 military targets in Iran during three days of strikes.

This latest round of strikes is in retaliation for an Iranian attack on a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says it responded to the U.S. attacks by firing drones and missiles at U.S. military targets in multiple Gulf nations.

This past week, CNN's Pamela Brown has been given exclusive access aboard the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and today, she is bringing us on to an advanced defense ship, the USS Frank Petersen, Jr.

It is the closest Navy ship to Iran, and it is one of 12 destroyers that has been traveling to protect and shield the aircraft carrier.

The Destroyer is equipped with tomahawk missiles and also has sea and air missile defensive capabilities.

Pamela brown spoke with the captain of the USS Frank Petersen, Jr. about a previous encounter with an Iranian ship, as well as the heightening tensions currently taking place with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST AND CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: When this warship went through the Strait of Hormuz --

CAPTAIN CASEY MAHON, COMMANDING OFFICER, USS FRANK PETERSON JR.: This is where all the action happened?

BROWN: Yes.

MAHON: Because that Strait is so constrained, normally I would be in combat and that's where I fight the ship in combat. But when we get closer to shore and it changes a bit and I have to worry about driving the ship in addition to fighting it with the weapons and the missiles and such, I'll actually sit up here. This is my chair that I have up here, right?

BROWN: Okay.

MAHON: I have my screens. I have my radios and a little command center up here.

BROWN: Command center.

MAHON: And so, we did that. And, you know, we had folks that were on the bridge to bridge that were talking and answering the Iranians. We had some gunners on the bridge wings. We had actually one of our pilots was up here as well with me because we had our helicopter up that was keeping watch around us and making sure we were safe and stuff, and it all happened right up here.

[15:45:11]

BROWN: And so, the Iranians were threatening?

MAHON: Correct, yes. Yes. They told us, hey, you have to turn around within 30 minutes or we'll put fire on you. We kept going, obviously. We went to the other side of the Strait of Hormuz. So, we were in the Gulf for a little bit. We turned on our -- we have a thing called AIS, an information system. It's kind of like IFF but for ships. We turned that on and said, hey, we're out here, this is where we're at, and then we came back.

Had to go through what was potentially a minefield to get there, which was, you know, not something I had in my bingo card for things I would do in my life, go through a minefield, but we did that. We have some systems on board that are able to look at mines and find what they think might be mines, so we would maneuver around them.

BROWN: Okay.

MAHON: Also had Intelligence --

BROWN: So, you were maneuvering around mines?

MAHON: We did. We were -- if we'd see something, we'd take a hard right, we'd see something and take a hard left, as the case might be. We had a lot of lookouts that were up on topside, including our command master chief, he was up around the bow of the ship, looking out to make sure that if we saw anything in our way, we could move out of the way quickly.

BROWN: That must have felt very dangerous and scary.

MAHON: Scary, yes, scary, yes.

BROWN: Yes.

MAHON: But you're trained to do it, you're ready to do it, and you had the systems to do it.

BROWN: Yes. And did they ever fire upon you?

MAHON: I can't get into the details, but we did have to take action a couple times. So, it was -- there was some excitement on the adventure.

BROWN: Are you seeing any change just over the last couple of days? Is this ceasefire, seems to be in tatters?

MAHON: I have not seen any changes, and I couldn't tell you the bigger picture, mostly because the ships that are here probably left weeks ago from their places where they were coming from, so you're kind of seeing the tail end of those voyages and such.

BROWN: I see. So, these ships that we're seeing, we don't know if they're going in or out, basically, right?

MAHON: Yes. I mean, they're there on the screens. We kind of have an idea where they're going, but they can turn around just as easily as they go one way or the other. So, you know, for all we know, they could be going up and then kind of coming back and forth.

BROWN: Okay. But basically, where we are now, around 20 commercial vessels, and we are the closest Navy ship to Iran right now.

MAHON: Correct. You're right on what we call the picket line, the firing line right now. So, if Iran were to attack, you know, the U.S. Naval Forces, we'd be the first ones they'd be attacking.

BROWN: Right here, where we are? MAHON: Right here where we are right now. But don't worry, our radars are working, our guns work, we have a lot of well-trained folks down below. I feel very safe at the moment. So, I wouldn't be here if I didn't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[15:52:00]

WHITFIELD: And then there were four, the World Cup Semifinals are set after a thrilling quarterfinal, which saw rivals England and Argentina advance along with Spain and France. Let's get right to CNN's Sports anchor, Don Riddell.

Don, good to see you.

This World Cup stuff is crazy madness, a lot of fun.

I saw a little bit of the Argentina game and then I just couldn't take it anymore. I mean! Oh my gosh! I can't imagine being in the stands. It takes too long.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: So you would not -- you would not be a very good Argentina fan because the theme is it is all about suffering.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

RIDDELL: Like they were taken to the wire by Cape Verde. They almost blew it against Egypt. They really struggled against Switzerland last night and as one of the fans said to me in Atlanta earlier this week, if we don't suffer, we don't win.

So they just have signed up to go through the wringer, but this was the goal that made the difference last night and it was absolutely extraordinary. I could watch this goal all day.

WHITFIELD: No!

RIDDELL: The game was in extra time. It was tied at one all and Julian Alvarez struck that just one of the best goals you will ever see and that broke the deadlock. That is why Argentina are now going through to the semifinals.

Remember, they are the reigning champions.

WHITFIELD: True.

RIDDELL: And they are going to run into England in the semi in Atlanta this coming Wednesday.

A tough game for England as well. They were up against Norway and Erling Haaland. Jude Bellingham has emerged as their breakout star in this tournament. He scored six goals. Now, two in this game. That was his first one.

WHITFIELD: Wow!

RIDDELL: Leveling the scores and then like that Argentina game, it also went to extra time. So all the teams went the distance yesterday.

WHITFIELD: Incredible!

RIDDELL: And that was Bellingham's winner surge.

WHITFIELD: I mean, not just the stamina of the players, but I am like the stamina of the fans in the crowd, I mean, in any of these stadiums.

RIDDELL: They played that in Miami --

WHITFIELD: Wow!

RIDDELL: -- where the real field was over a hundred degrees at kickoff.

WHITFIELD: Yes, yes. Very hot.

RIDDELL: You want to hear about the tennis?

WHITFIELD: Yes, I would say also hot, Wimbledon always. But this was something else.

RIDDELL: Right?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Great match and it was between the top two seeds in the Men's Draw. Jannik Sinner, the world number one defending champion, Alexander Zverev of Germany. It could have been a real mismatch because Sinner had won their last nine encounters.

Zverev actually pushed him. He won the first set on a tie break. He did push him all the way. But in the end, hiding behind the banner there is Sinner on the turf at center court.

WHITFIELD: So good.

RIDDELL: Having successfully defended his title and he had something really nice to say about it afterwards.

WHITFIELD: Nice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANNIK SINNER, TENNIS PLAYER: There is no better place, honestly, to play tennis. Standing here, you can feel the nerves on a Sunday morning when you wake up, you know that this is, you know, a very, very special day and you never know how many times you can come back on Sunday.

So I never take things for granted, playing in front of very, very special people throughout the whole couple of weeks, it has been amazing and yes, and thanks for the support. You are always amazing to me. And you gave me the most special feeling a tennis player can ever feel like.

So thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Isn't that beautiful?

WHITFIELD: That is so nice.

[15:55:06]

RIDDELL: That's Wimbledon for this year. Next up, U.S. Open and for me, next stop is the World Cup Semifinals this week.

Spain, France, Tuesday in Dallas. I am going to that.

WHITFIELD: Exciting!

RIDDELL: And then just to prime you, England-Argentina on Wednesday should be monumental. There is so much history between these sides. Have you heard about the Hand of God? Diego Maradona punching the ball into the net in 1986.

WHITFIELD: Tell me. What?

RIDDELL: England fans have never forgotten it. They played an extraordinary game in 1998 where David Beckham was sent off in that game and he was like a national villain as a result of that.

So whenever these two sides meet in the World Cup, it is always huge.

WHITFIELD: Electric week!

RIDDELL: So, we are careful with that game --

WHITFIELD: Okay, and we are looking for you there too as well.

RIDDELL: Right!

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

RIDDELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Don.

All right, more ahead on our breaking news, remembering the life and legacy of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham as CNN NEWSROOM continues.

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