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U.S. Strikes Iran in 13th Consecutive Night of Attacks; Trump Adds New Condition to Saudi Nuclear Agreement; Migrant Family in Limbo After Self-Deporting from U.S. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 24, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London.

At least four people have been killed in the latest wave of U.S. strikes. That's according to Iranian state media. Now, the U.S. military says that it has wrapped up the 13th consecutive night of strikes against Iran. It says that American forces hit military command centers, drone storage facilities and coastal surveillance sites, among other targets.

Tehran claims it responded by striking the headquarters for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the north. That's according to state media. Iran also claims that its forces responded, launching new attacks targeting U.S. assets in Bahrain and Jordan.

Iran's proxies in Yemen are now threatening to cut off a major bypass of the Strait of Hormuz with oil prices already surging. It couldn't come at a worse time. The Houthis have been either unwilling or unable to enforce this blockade of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which was announced earlier this week. But the threat alone has persuaded some ships to abandon their plans to exit the Red Sea heading south.

Now, if an effective Houthi blockade of the Strait could be imposed, it would open a dangerous new front in the war with Iran, drawing the U.S. deeper into the fight and potentially stretching its ability to safeguard vital shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz.

I want to bring in now Farea Al-Muslimi. He is a research fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House. Good morning to you, first of all. Thank you for joining us, because I think sometimes we cover the headlines, we cover the news, but we don't get the context.

So, let's start with the basics here. Who are the Houthis? What capabilities do they actually have to carry out this threat to block Bab al-Mandeb? And crucially, what is it that they want? What's their end game?

FAREA AL-MUSLIMI, RESEARCH FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Very good morning to you, Salma. I think first, I'm afraid to tell you that we have, I think, maximum two weeks from a resumal of full hostilities in Yemen, whether on the ground or further in the sea or actually in an air campaign in which Saudi Arabia gets involved again like 2015.

Now, the Houthis, by then, when Saudi Arabia have interfered, the Houthis remained the same group they are today, except today they're much more powerful and richer and more military equipped. But they're a Yemeni group that basically have launched various wars against the Yemeni government until it took power in Sana'a in 2014.

[04:35:00]

And it has become increasingly Iran's most valuable proxy probably right now at the region -- in the region, specifically after the killing of Hassan Nasrallah and the dismantling of Hezbollah.

So, it's a combination of a local rebellion group that have had made the use of the regional proxies, but also of Iran's military, economic and political support throughout the years.

How do they function as a group? They are not necessarily a state, let's say, like Iran, but -- or Iran's military, economic and political support or even socially responsible like Hezbollah. Instead, I think the Houthis are a combination of North Korea, of FARC in Colombia and of Shia Taliban. They're Shia Taliban because they have a pretty radical worldview about women, life and all of that. And they are like FARC because they engage in illicit drugs campaigns and illicit economies that involves everything you can imagine and cannot imagine.

But they're also isolationists, so they wanted to isolate the millions of Yemenis under their control, and their worldview is a pretty closed in various ways. And that's why, in fact, their interest into the sea is surprising how not just them but other groups in the world. And I think the Houthis are example of that, in which in the past they were a mountain group, they fight in the mountain, they fight in the land. They had no idea about the sea, but they have moved over the last five years to be very capable and they have developed their maritime capabilities of attacking, especially post-October 7th.

ABDELAZIZ: You describe the Houthis as one of Iran's most valuable proxy groups, especially now that Hezbollah is weakened. What can the United States do to counter them? Is there an off-ramp here for President Trump, whether that is diplomatically or militarily?

AL-MUSLIMI: President Trump went into a war like everyone else almost with the Houthis. He tried that for a few months. It was actually militarily very efficient in the sense it destroyed the group's internal communication, some of their own capabilities, and it took medium-level leadership. However, the U.S. approach to Yemen, whether with the Houthis or before that in the past during Al-Qaeda, it always has been a military approach.

And the United States is not alone in that. Unfortunately, I think everyone, if you look right now, the Europeans, the European Union, others have securitized the Red Sea. And I think that approach of sending bombs and ships basically is not necessarily the right approach or necessarily the comprehensive approach, especially because this Yemen conflict like Gaza one, like the one in Lebanon, does not happen out of a context. It's a part of a regionally interconnected conflict that goes to Palestine, goes to Iran, goes to internal GCC dynamics.

So, without a comprehensive approach, let's say, for example, the MOU with Iran, if it is not about the whole region, which includes obviously not just the nuclear, not just the ballistic missiles, but it's a destructive support for proxies in the region, then we're going to go back to game one. In fact, it will be even better for the Iranians because they will be able to, again, claim deniability.

So, a comprehensive approach, I think, of reaching into the region or like approaching the region's conflicts is the only way forward. And I don't see that happening yet, whether from the United States or from the Gulf and the region themselves. This is, unfortunately, also another moment in the region in which Yemen war is not the only war, and everyone is also part of the problem for the first time, I think, since the decades. And that's quite a serious issue that we have not seen in the past in the Middle East.

ABDELAZIZ: Farea Al-Muslimi there on Tehran activating what you described as one of its most dangerous proxies in an attempt to potentially blockade a very critical and narrow waterway. Thank you so much.

The White House is making a major about face. This is on a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia. On Thursday, President Donald Trump said the deal is off unless the kingdom normalizes diplomatic ties with Israel. Now, this announcement came just less than 24 hours after the agreement was signed without that condition. The White House said the change didn't come at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who strongly opposes any such deal. But here's the administration's explanation for why the new condition was not included in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why was that condition not mentioned yesterday when the energy secretary announced it?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, look, the president is always the final dealmaker, as you know, and this is something that he has mentioned on numerous occasions. The president just put out this statement a few hours ago. I don't believe he's had a call with MBS in the hours since.

However, this is something that he has raised in previous conversations and has also said many times in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Saudi Arabia has made it clear in the past that it would not recognize or normalize relations with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian State. So, how realistic then is this condition from the White House? [04:40:00]

Our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, weighs in from Jerusalem.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Look, to me, from all the conversations I've had with Saudi diplomats, the top tier and rungs down below over the past couple of years, the message, and I've kept pushing back on, well, can't you sort of do a normalization? Isn't that going to improve the situation? And, you know, there's, you know, a piece in Gaza now, which has been a big part of the problem, how Israel responded to Hamas's brutal attacks on October the 7th. 1,200 Israelis killed, 250 Israelis taken hostage, and more than 70,000 Palestinians killed in the aftermath.

The Saudis, the message I've got back every single time, and it's become stronger and clearer without equivocation, that unless Israel is willing to recognize a Palestinian State, a viable, non-reversible pathway to a Palestinian State, then there's no moving forward on normalization. And the frank assessment in Saudi Arabia is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn't the prime minister of Israel that can deliver that, because they don't believe that he sincerely wants to have a Palestinian State, and they've listened to it. They've listened to the times when he has uttered those words.

So, it does seem to me what the White House has introduced here, and look, let's face it, this was a pretty big about turn. It is a roadblock at the moment. There could be ways around it. Let's not preclude that. Don't expect the Saudis to go public with their anger and frustration. They're very good at keeping -- about keeping that in.

But I would say just look at where we are tonight, just to bring in the Houthis, and they're hitting Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and President Trump saying, if you do that again, I'll come in and hit you, Houthis, and I'll hit you, Iran, because you're behind it. And the Saudis, from the sources I've been talking to, have been saying that if the Houthis were to do this sort of action, then they would, the Saudis would have a military response against the Houthis. That could be a pretty big escalation.

To do that, they're going to want to know that they have the United States at their back. If you're in Riyadh right now, and you're trying to figure out what is your move against the Houthis, and where is President Trump behind you on that, what is said today, can you count on it tomorrow? This is sort of just a microcosm, a small slice, if you will, of the uncertainty that's going on in this region at the moment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: A migrant family ends up in limbo after self-deporting from the U.S., how their decision to leave the country on their own still keeps them away from home. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ABDELAZIZ: An immigrant family faced a difficult choice after their husband and father was arrested and deported from the U.S. His wife and two daughters made the very tough call that got them to a safer place, but they're still very far from home. Valeria Leon has that story from Mexico City.

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VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): ICE raids across the U.S. have not only resulted in deadly shootings, but in families being torn apart.

Venezuelan mother of two, Jessica Urriola, was left alone with her daughters in Houston, Texas after her husband was detained by ICE and deported to Venezuela in 2025.

JESSICA URRIOLA, VENEZUELA MIGRANT (through translator): He left for work and that day immigration officers stopped him. It was during the mass raids and immigration took him away.

LEON (voice-over): The family entered the U.S. through a CBP1 appointment in 2024, part of a Biden era program used by nearly 1 million people before the Trump administration shut it down. As U.S. immigration policy sharply shifted when President Trump retook office, Jessica feared she could face the same fate as her husband. She decided to self deport with her daughters.

URRIOLA (through translator): I didn't want the same thing that happened to my husband to happen to me. If they detained me, who would my daughters be left with?

LEON (voice-over): For more than a year now, they've been living in Mexico City where 16-year-old Yescarlys has been able to play soccer for the first time during an event organized by the European Union for refugee children. But her biggest wish is to reunite with her father.

YESCARLYS GARCIA, URRIOLA'S DAUGHTER (through translator): I'd like to go back to Venezuela. I want to see my dad.

LEON (voice-over): Without the money and documents to travel, they remain stranded in Mexico.

URRIOLA (through translator): We're waiting to see if we can get help with a humanitarian flight because we don't have the resources to return to Venezuela.

LEON (voice-over): Nearly 13,000 third country migrants have been deported from the US to Mexico since January 2025. Mexico denies the claims that serving as a U.S. safe third country for asylum seekers. President Claudia Sheinbaum says the country receives migrants for humanitarian reasons. CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are a humanitarian country and when people of other nationalities arrive, they are not turned away.

LEON (voice-over): Despite Mexico's goodwill, ICE raids continue to leave families split apart and spread out across nations wondering when they will be able to reunite.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: When we return, we take you inside NORAD to examine how U.S. and Canadian forces are working together in the air, despite the insults and politics on the ground.

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[04:50:00]

ABDELAZIZ: While President Trump escalates his trade war on Canada, CNN went to NORAD bases in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska. This is where U.S. and Canadian forces are joined at the hip in protecting both nations from threats and enemies. So, how do they view the ongoing spat between U.S. and Canadian leaders? Well, CNN's Jim Sciutto went to find out in this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (voice-over): While the U.S. and Canada trade tariffs and insults on the ground --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I'd like to see Canada become our 51st state.

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: But Canada doesn't live because of the United States.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): In the air, they still fly side by side. NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is the first line of defense for both the U.S. and Canada against aircraft and missiles from Russia, China, North Korea and beyond.

SCIUTTO: Tell me how important and how that partnership works.

COL. MICHAEL MULLEN, FORMER DEPARTMENT COMMANDER, U.S. AIR FORCE 354TH FIGHTER WING: That partnership is fantastic, right? So, if you look at it as we go to work in protecting the, really, Alaska, the Pacific region, really our Northern Hemisphere, you saw that map.

Again, if you look down the top of the world where the Arctic is and everything gets out there. So, we are working constantly together with our Canadian allies. We really can't do this homeland defense piece for the Arctic region without our two nations working in collaboration with each other. SCIUTTO (voice-over): Here, everything is a combined effort. Joint mission, joint commands and joint sorties, often scrambling to intercept Russian and Chinese aircraft testing North American airspace. And those flybys can be close and dangerous, like this one involving a Russian fighter jet in 2024.

LT. COL. NATHAN MONDUL, FORMER SQUADRON COMMANDER, U.S. AIR FORCE 18TH FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR SQUADRON: That was one of my pilots. I'd say that I don't know who that Russian pilot was, but I'm sure that they probably got some talking to and they got back to their base. I would hope they did.

SCIUTTO: Eielson Air Force Base is first to respond to any air incursions by Russian or Chinese aircraft. And it's home not just to F-16s, but also state-of-the-art F-35s.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Inside NORAD's operations center, the wall is decorated with stars marking each intercept of a Russian or Chinese aircraft. And that list is growing.

[04:55:00]

Since January 2025, U.S. fighter aircraft have conducted some two dozen intercepts in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, where U.S. and Canadian fighters respond to any threats in the air.

SCIUTTO: What is the operation tempo up here lately?

BRIGADIER GEN. MARK LACHAPELLE, CANADIAN AIR FORCE: Yes, the operation tempo has been pretty heavy. I've lost count, to be frank and honest. But we do it and it helps us demonstrate our ability to defend our theater and operate in the environment, which we know Alaska is challenging.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): It's a challenge U.S. and Canadian commanders still make clear they can only meet together.

LT. COL. JONATHAN BLENKUSH, ALASKA AIR NATIONAL GUARD: Absolutely essential here. Not just from Alaska being, you know, a lot of common interests with Canada, but from a mission partner perspective, showing that combined effort in defense of the homeland of North America, keeping integrated on that is absolutely essential for us.

SCIUTTO (on camera): Jim Sciutto, CNN, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Britain's King Charles and Queen Camilla appeared at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. The new prime minister, Andy Burnham, and his wife were there as well. The king shaking hands and touching the nose of a unicorn. That's the official mascot for this year's games. The royal couple arrived in Glasgow in spectacular fashion. They borrowed a blue police car from the TV show "Doctor Who," known as the TARDIS, which, as you know, of course, is a time traveling spacecraft. Thousands of athletes from dozens of countries will compete in the 10-day Commonwealth Games.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. CNN Headline Express is coming up after a quick break.

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