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Threats to Escalate the War with Iran; Iran Launches Counterassault After New U.S. Strikes; U.S. Sends Aid to Cuba; U.S. Announces 50 percent Tariffs on Certain Canadian Goods; Thousands in India Return to Protest After Police Crackdown; Change in Ukraine's Military Leadership. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 22, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, and this is CNN Newsroom.

President Trump threatening to bomb Iran's underground nuclear facility, a move that Tehran warns would further escalate the war. Plus, the U.S. sends humanitarian aid to Cuba as diplomatic relations with the island remain tense. And Ukraine's president replaces the country's military chief after days of protests and public outrage.

ANNOUNCER: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: We do want to begin with the war in Iran and the threat of it expanding across the region. U.S. Central Command announcing that the military completed its 11th consecutive night of strikes against Iran. And Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says that it responded with a counter-assault. President Donald Trump says that the U.S. will be hitting Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear site he said that's supposed to happen, quote, "pretty soon."

But Iran is warning that a U.S. attack on its nuclear facilities would expand the war across the region. The U.S. secretary of state says that Iran is not serious about talks to end the war. But here's what President Trump had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: They want to desperately meet. And until they're ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest. We're not finished at all. But if we left right now, it would take them a long time, years, years to rebuild.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: All right. Let's go to CNN's Nada Bashir, who joins us live from -- Nada. So, it's good to see you again, Nada. Tell us a little bit more about the scale of these counter-strikes from Iran.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is exactly what we have been seeing over recent days, this continued barrage of drone and missile attacks attempting to target Gulf nations, allies of the United States in areas where there are U.S. military assets on the ground.

And, of course, we've been hearing this threat now from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps of a potential expansion to an all-out regional war. And that really will stoke concern amongst those Gulf nations who have been calling for further efforts to mediate some sort of diplomatic resolution, particularly putting pressure on their allies in the United States to try to ramp up those diplomatic efforts as we continue to see Iran targeting this region.

Most recently, of course, we've been hearing from officials in Kuwait who have said that their air defenses are engaged, engaging hostile activity in their airspace. We saw on Tuesday officials in Jordan say that they had intercepted Iranian missiles attempting to target areas within their airspace as well. And this has been a repeated pattern now that we have seen over recent days as the U.S. continues its strikes on Iran. And, of course, we have been hearing from the Iranian regime saying that it will continue to retaliate.

The U.S. says it has now completed what it described as its 11th consecutive night of strikes on Iran. And we've been hearing reports from state media of damage sustained in parts of the country in the south and the west. And just this morning, state media reporting that there were air raid sirens going off in the capital, Tehran, although it's unclear at this stage what the extent of those attacks may have been and, of course, any potential damage there.

But we do know, of course, from the U.S. Central Command that the focus of these strikes, according to the Trump administration and the U.S. military, has been on trying to downgrade Iran's military capability, focused on targeting military assets on the ground and infrastructure on the ground, they say, in an attempt to limit and downgrade Iran's ability to target vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz to ensure that this is a safe shipping route. And, of course, that is and has been the crucial stumbling block in any sort of mediation attempts to try to bring about a diplomatic resolution.

But, again, we are hearing, again, that ramping up of rhetoric, particularly from the U.S. president, Donald Trump, who has now threatened, as you mentioned, to target and attack Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, which is where, of course, according to Israeli intelligence, it's believed that Iran has an underground nuclear facility. This would mark a significant escalation. And, again, Iran has threatened for an all-out regional escalation of this war if, indeed, such an attack would take place.

SANDOVAL: Nada Bashir, grateful for your reporting. And a U.S. official is telling CNN that President Trump is expected to attend a dignified transfer of servicemembers who were killed in the war with Iran.

[04:05:00]

Four servicemembers will be transferred to Dover Air Force Base today, but only two have been announced. First, Lieutenant Tyler James Frian and Private Isabella Gonzales. They were killed in Iranian strikes on an air base in Jordan. Sergeant Angel S. Rampersad is also believed to have been killed in that same attack. And Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton was killed in Iraq during a controlled detonation of a down Iranian drone. And President Trump seemingly trying to downplay the number of troop deaths by posting this comparison to previous U.S. conflicts.

The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are reporting the Trump administration has signed off on a civilian nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, and it could be announced as early as today. Any deal to give Saudi Arabia nuclear technology would be seen as controversial, particularly with Israel, since they've long opposed that idea. CNN previously reported that the U.S. tentatively agreed to let Saudi Arabia enrich uranium without safeguards intended to prevent nuclear weapons development.

On the first of several humanitarian aid flights from the U.S. has arrived in Cuba. The Trump administration has pledged $100 million in assistance to help residents deal with the worsening economic hardships on the island. CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Cuban government posted a picture on social media and made a statement confirming that the airplane sent by the State Department had landed in Havana and was being unloaded with the promised aid. Secretary of State Michael Rubio promised $100 million in aid to Cuba, a country in the middle of a very deep crisis, a lack of fuel, power outages, a very difficult situation for 11 million people.

Now, what's on the plane? According to the description by the State Department, it was 700 kits of food and hygiene products for the same number of families. 700 families will receive this aid. It's being distributed by entities linked to the Catholic Church. The State Department says this is a way of guaranteeing that this aid does not fall into the hands of government officials.

There was, in the beginning, there was disagreement, Washington saying they had offered the aid and Cuba hadn't responded, the Cuban foreign minister saying that aid hadn't been offered. But then, after these changes, they evidently reached the terms necessary for this plane to land, for this aid to be distributed. Now, bear in mind, 700 families will receive this aid in a country of 11 million people, with rolling blackouts, blackouts that can last over 21, 22, 23 hours a day, and the impact that has on daily life. Very little fuel available, growing sanctions by the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says this crisis is a product of the incompetence of corruption of the Cuban government. The Cuban government says it's a product of the decades-long embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba and what they describe as a policy of cruelty by the Trump administration.

Juan Carlos Lopez, CNN, Havana. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: I want to bring in Juan Carlos Albarran now. He's a senior lecturer of global and intercultural studies at the Miami University of Ohio. Juan Carlos, thank you so much for joining us.

JUAN CARLOS ALBARRAN, SENIOR LECTURER OF GLOBAL AND INTERCULTURAL STUDIES, MIAMI UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.

SANDOVAL: Of course. So, I wonder if we can get straight into some of your perspective here. And one of your latest pieces, you write, many Cubans in the diaspora of nearly 3 million in the U.S., including some of my own friends and family members, believe the days of the Cuban failed political system on the island are almost over. As a Cuban- American, I am curious and concerned about what the country's next chapter will be.

Juan Carlos, as somebody who grew up in Havana, can you tell us a little bit more about some of your current fears for Cuba as the U.S. government continues its pressure campaign?

ALBARRAN: Well, there are many angles to which I'm afraid. A lot of my fears, too, is the expectation that an immediate change is imminent and, you know, what happened in Venezuela could accelerate, that the United States could do the same in Cuba.

But Cuba is a little more of a complicated system. It's a government that has ruled for over 60 years. And the layers and the complexities of how they have been able to stay in power really makes it a little more difficult. And to make matters worse, the economy has collapsed. No electricity. I just recently heard of, like, there were 72 hours of no power in some parts of Cuba.

[04:10:00]

So, the levels of desperation are really, really accelerated in Cuba at a moment that the U.S. administration had really drastically imposed some sanctions to exacerbate, to push into a dialogue. But at the same time, it's not clear what that dialogue is going to bring. There's some humanitarian aspects of this relationship. And so, there's all these aerial soft and hard policies that are operating at the same time, and it's not clear at the same time what is the position of the Cuban government.

SANDOVAL: Let's actually talk about that shipment arriving in Cuba with food and hygiene items, some 700 kits for an island nation of 11 million people experiencing that deepening crisis. How do you think Cubans will respond to that action from the U.S. government?

ALBARRAN: Well, I think that there's some families, as you mentioned, over 700 families that will benefit from this, but it's not enough. I assume that the priority of this will be in the urban areas of Havana, but the need is deeper throughout the whole country.

SANDOVAL: Juan Carlos, the -- amid the rising tensions, the desperation, as you pointed out earlier, does it seem, you know, in your conversations with people there still on the island, is there a sense that this pressure campaign from the White House targeting the Cuban government is actually working?

I mean, we saw protests as early as just a few months ago, our colleagues there reporting that there are still some sporadic demonstrations. Is there any hint of any sort of desire to turn against the Cuban government among the citizens?

ALBARRAN: There's more and more cases of areas of Cuba that are really turning against their government. The pressure is there. The pressure is working. The Cuban government, however, has control of all means of communications, although social media is making it more vulnerable in that case, but not through the formal means of communications.

The sad part of this is also that the dialogues are still being done with members of the Cuban government, so that is not clear the direction of, like, do they want to step down? How many of them will step down? Is there any vision towards the future? And that's the part that is not also coming clear from the Cuban government, based on the demands of the United States government at this point.

SANDOVAL: Well, we'll continue to watch it together, Juan Carlos Albarran. Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your perspective.

ALBARRAN: A pleasure being with you today.

SANDOVAL: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says that he plans to intensify trade talks with the U.S. after President Trump announced 50 percent tariffs on some Canadian goods. Those levies are expected to take effect in less than 30 days. CNN's David Goldman breaks down their potential effects for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: So, these new tariffs that the president of the United States has imposed on Canada are something of a trial balloon. We haven't seen this kind of action for quite some time, if ever in some cases. The impacted goods, we're looking at things like furniture and alcohol, machinery, even hockey sticks coming from Canada to the United States.

Now, all of these goods are around $20 billion worth of goods. That sounds like a lot of stuff. But in reality, we are looking at only around 5 percent of Canadian exports to the United States. That makes up just a fraction of a percent of all U.S. imports. Now, even with those 50 percent tariffs on those items, it's still not going to amount to all that much. It will harm U.S. consumers, certainly also Canadians. But it's just something that I think the president is looking to try. Here's why. These tariffs that are in effect today, those 10 percent universal tariffs, they expire at the end of this week.

Now, the new tariffs that we just mentioned will go into effect on August 19th, but perhaps so will some of the new policies that the president is enacting on multiple countries.

[04:15:00]

So, this is all new territory after the Supreme Court said the president cannot use emergency powers to enact tariffs.

What can he use? Well, according to the president, they can use section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act. Not used for tariffs up to this point. We're going to see if this holds up in court. But in theory, it allows the president to charge up to 50 percent on certain items if they deem the country that they are targeting to have imposed unfair trade practices. Will this stand? We'll see. But if it does, the Trump administration has another weapon in its tariff arsenal, perhaps for the future. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Thanks a lot, David. Candidates endorsed by President Trump, they're winning big in the House and governor's primaries in the State of Arizona. CNN now projecting the Trump-backed Congress member, Andy Biggs, will win the GOP governor's primary. He will defeat moderate David Schweikert by a wide margin. Biggs will be taking on the incumbent Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, come November.

And the president's picks also prevailing in two key House primaries. CNN can now project that former NFL kicker, Jay Feely, will win the Republican contest in Arizona's first congressional district. And a former county sheriff, Mark Lamb, will be advancing to the general election in the conservative-leaning fifth congressional district.

A youth-led movement in India is showing no signs of slowing down, even after violent clashes against police. We'll have the latest reports in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back, protesters in India vowing to keep pushing for action despite a police crackdown. Thousands of supporters of the so-called Cockroach Janta Party, they were back out in New Delhi on Tuesday. They were demanding the resignation of India's education minister. The youth-led movement, it has grown amid anger over recent exam paper leaks.

But demonstrators stood at march on parliament fearing more clashes with police. Dozens were reportedly injured in the crackdown on Monday. CNN's Rhea Mogul live from Hong Kong with more. Rhea, so tell us, what is the latest on the protests that have been unfolding in New Delhi?

RHEA MOGUL, CNN SOUTH ASIA REPORTER: Well, the mood in Delhi right now is definitely one of anger, but it's also one of determination. Thousands of protesters have gathered and reclaimed their main protest site in the heart of New Delhi after police dismantled it earlier this week. And many of them say that they're not going to leave until India's education minister resigns.

Now, this defiance comes, as you just mentioned, after clashes between police and protesters that ended in a crackdown on protesters. And many protesters that we've spoken to on the ground in Delhi say that that crackdown has only intensified their resolve. And it's broadened their support as well.

Just yesterday, the political opposition in India capitalized on that anger, and they staged a sit-in protest outside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence. The leader of the opposition, Rahul Gandhi, said that he wanted Modi to resign, and he was briefly detained by police during that sit-in. What is really obvious is that this started off as an online movement, but it's really grown into something much broader and into a much bigger political story.

SANDOVAL: And facing those defiant crowds, I wonder if we could expand a little bit more on what you've seen from the Indian government. How are they responding?

MOGUL: Well, Prime Minister Modi hasn't directly responded to the protesters, but yesterday he did send a message via a senior official from his party. And that official said that Modi and his administration is determined to stop paper leaks from happening, and he reassured the Indian youth that they were important to his administration.

Now, it's very important to note that Modi is a leader who doesn't typically respond to criticism, and he doesn't typically respond to wide-scale protest movements. He's weathered a lot of, you know, storms during his 12 years in power, and that's just sort of his style.

But what analysts say, and they're watching this very closely, is that Modi can't, or any Indian government for that matter, can't afford to lose the support of the young people in India, because they're one of the largest young populations in the entire world, and they're such an important political force for the country.

SANDOVAL: An absolutely crucial voter demographic, as you point out, Rhea Moghul. Thank you so much for your reporting.

Let's move now to a scorching heat wave that is searing parts of Europe, and it's fueling some wildfires from Spain to Algeria. In southern France, for example, Provence, seeing its biggest wildfires of the summer, with more than 1,700 hectares burned in the past day. Hundreds of firefighters are working to keep the flames from spreading further.

And there's also an out-of-control wildfire that's now been burning in central Spain for a week. It scorched more than 29,000 hectares of land, and forced more than 1,200 people away from their homes. And with temperatures expected to top 40 degrees Celsius for the next few days, there's little relief in sight.

Well, flooding in Chile. That has killed at least 10 people and left more than 100,000 isolated. A powerful storm fronts its emerge, the coastal City of La Serena, after days of heavy rain. The floodwaters have destroyed or severely damaged many homes and roads, even cutting off some communities from life-saving resources. You see some of those there. Officials are trying to get some emergency aid into the region, especially those hard-hit areas. The government has declared a state of emergency in the affected region.

[04:25:00]

Now, to Tropical Storm Bertha. It is churning in the Gulf, and it's pushing tropical moisture north and also raising the flooding risk along the U.S. East Coast. Severe thunderstorms, they are sweeping through the Ohio Valley and into the mid-Atlantic, and that's causing life-threatening flash flooding emergencies in parts of West Virginia. Millions of people are currently under severe thunderstorm watches across 10 states, from southern Illinois all the way up to Delaware.

And in New York, two people had to be rescued from stranded cars. And tornadoes, they were the big problems in parts of Kentucky, Ohio, and New Jersey.

Still ahead on CNN Newsroom, President Trump's latest threat against Iran. It could risk expanding the war across the region. We'll bring you the very latest from the White House.

Plus, democracy in action at a time of war. The latest changes in Ukraine's military leadership, and why protesters have played a big part of it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says that they have launched a counter-assault to punish the United States. This comes after U.S. CENTCOM announced its forces completed an 11th consecutive night of strikes against the country. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on President Trump's latest threat against Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump seems to remain fixated on this idea of striking Pickaxe Mountain in Iran. This is a suspected nuclear facility. Back in 2020, it was declared to the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency as a future facility that could make this nuclear fuel.

[04:30:00]