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Iran Threatens to Prolong War Until End of U.S. President Trump's Term; Jared Kushner's Brother and Former Disney CEO Acquires Los Angeles Lakers for $12.5 Billion. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired August 13, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:07]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hi everybody, thank you so much for joining me. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, and this is CNN Newsroom.

A growing energy crisis in the Gulf, as both Iran and the U.S. claim to control the Strait of Hormuz. We're live in the region with the latest.

And a miraculous rescue from the earthquake rubble in Colombia, as the window for survival begins to close. What we know about the rescue efforts that are underway at this hour.

Plus, the U.S. Homeland Security Department putting a shocking new tool in the hands of its ICE agents. How electric shock gloves could be used during enforcement operations.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: Well, let's begin this hour in the Middle East, where there is a growing sense of urgency to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as the International Energy Agency is now warning that the world is rapidly burning through its oil stockpiles. Traffic through that critical waterway remains low, with just 14 vessels reported to have crossed the Strait on Tuesday. Still, President Trump claims that the Strait is open and that the U.S. controls it.

In the meantime, Iran now demanding compensation for pollution in waters in the Persian Gulf, as well as some of the surrounding areas. Some of this video geolocated by CNN showing oil washing up on a beach around an Iranian island near the Strait of Hormuz.

And Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, as well as Pakistan's foreign minister, sat down for talks in Islamabad. There, they discussed closer ties between the two countries, and also regional issues.

Now Pakistan, along with Qatar, has been playing a key role in mediating talks between the U.S. and Iran. Wednesday's meeting came one day after Pakistan's interior minister traveled to Tehran to meet with the Iranian President. CNN's Paula Hancocks is following developments from Abu Dhabi. So,

Paula, what are you learning about what's coming out of these latest meetings?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, we're seeing Pakistan really trying to push this process forward. We heard from Pakistan's foreign minister saying that the memorandum of understanding that was signed by the U.S. and Iran back in June is still the template of peace.

Of course, this memorandum has effectively collapsed just days after it was signed. But we do hear from Pakistani officials that they still believe that that is the framework upon which they are relying to try and get the two sides back to the negotiating table. We have heard, though, from one top advisor to the commander of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran, that potentially they could keep this war going until Trump is out of office, so on to the next U.S. presidency.

Now, I'll read you parts of this interview, which was with PBS saying, quote, "We have to attain deterrence so that the enemy never dares to attack us so that we can live with security," saying that "One way to prolong this war until we get to the next term of the presidency and cause attrition so that if anyone else wants to attack Iran, they will know there is a cost."

So a sign there that these two sides really are very far apart. Now, we have been looking at the personal cost of this war since February 28th. We've looked at the economic cost when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz still being closed, being affected, having the naval blockade by the U.S. in place.

And we are now also seeing environmental damage of what has been happening. We've heard from Iran that they have had an oil slick near Qeshm Island, which is near the Strait of Hormuz.

Videos geolocated by CNN showing a thick oil slick along that coastal area. Officials in Iran saying that there's about a kilometer that has been impacted at this point. It's also spread, according to state media, to nearby mangrove forests.

[03:04:52]

And we've heard from the foreign ministry spokesperson when talking about who bears responsibility for compensation, which Iran is asking for this damage, saying, would it be the nations that consume the inexpensive energy imported from our region, the shipping insurers, or the aggressors and their partners who have transformed the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman into a theater for military operations?

Now, oil tankers have repeatedly come under attack in the Strait of Hormuz. Worth pointing out that many of them have come under attack from Iranian drones if they have used a route which Tehran does not sanction. So certainly that could have something to do with that environmental impact.

Oman as well saying that an oil spill from a sanctioned tanker carrying Russian crude oil is affecting their coastline severely as well. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Well, environmental impacts. That's something that we hadn't really seen discussed since the start of the conflict. Thank you so much, Paula Hancocks, for that reporting.

Dramatic scenes now in the West Bank as Israeli troops crack down on settlers who had set up an outpost in front of a Palestinian home.

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Now these troops use tear gas, as you see there, to try to remove the settlers, but it's still unclear if they were fully dispersed. The military has come under increasing pressure to halt rogue land seizures by settlers. A Palestinian president describing what her family went through in recent days -- a resident, I should say.

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RUQAYA HASSAN ABU REEDA, HOUSE BESIEGED BY ISRAELI SETTLERS (through translator): The settlers established an outpost close to the house, around six meters. Since that day, we have been subjected to daily attacks by settlers, during the day and night, and harassment on the road. They tried to cut off water and electricity networks many times. We fix it, and they re-cut it again two days later, as well as attacking the workers who come to do the maintenance work.

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SANDOVAL: And the West Bank has seen a surge in settler violence since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

Colombia's President says that the death toll from Monday's earthquake has risen to at least 265 people. International teams currently leading their assistance, much like they did when two deadly earthquakes hit Venezuela back in June.

But the damage has been enough for the President to declare an economic emergency. That means that he can now pass recovery measures that would normally require the approval of Congress.

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ABELARDO DE LA ESPRIELLA, COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The emergency I am proposing will create a miracle fund, an entity that will channel national and international contributions toward the reconstruction of hospitals, educational centers, buildings, roads, and airports that were damaged by the earthquake.

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SANDOVAL: Thousands were injured in Monday's 7.4 magnitude quake. The president says the main efforts right focused on tracking down those hundreds who remain missing.

Ukraine's president is making a new plea for U.S. Patriot missile interceptors. Russian strikes have been ravaging Ukraine in recent months as Moscow tries to exploit Kyiv's shortage of those weapons. So much so that the U.N. says that July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians in more than four years.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with CNN's Nick Paton Walsh and said this.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Are you out of interceptors now? Do you have none left?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: No. I will explain to you how it works.

So this year we have two and a half times less interceptors than we had in 2025. First, Russia has two times more ballistic missiles per month than they had before. We pay 100 percent to Americans.

I have the package from the United States and then my personal involvement. It doesn't work the other way. It's my personal talks, meetings and phone calls each day with everybody, I try to exchange something to missiles.

This year I'm asking American partners to sell me five percent of missiles, what they have in their stocks. If they sell us five percent, we will go through the winter and save people's lives. If they can sell us ten percent, we will destroy all the Russians' ballistic missiles.

PATON WALSH: And has that request been answered yet? Have you had a clear indication of the weather yet?

ZELENSKYY: And the answer for today is next. I have one percent. This is in what I live each day.

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From one percent to five percent. I have some months and a million phone calls and anything else. What can I do?

I do some things which I can't even share. It doesn't mean that it's out of the law. No, but I can't speak about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And still ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," a tense encounter caught on camera. A federal immigration agent points his gun at a woman who shouted insults at him. Details on the different accounts of what led up to this incident.

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SANDOVAL: Now to conflicting accounts around a tense confrontation between U.S. immigration officers and a woman in the state of Virginia on Monday. That woman was driving when she saw ICE agents and shouted insults from her car window.

Well, that's when she says masked agents then pulled up to her vehicle and then jumped out. That's a split screen of both the forward-facing and rear-facing cameras on the woman's vehicle.

Well one of them allegedly threatened to arrest her and then pointed a gun at her face. You see there the Homeland Security Department accusing her of attempting to harm officers by weaponizing her vehicle.

But some of this dash cam footage, or at least what's been released by her so far, appears to be at odds with the government's account. And the woman says that she never tried to run anyone over.

And this is just the latest incident in recent months in which DHS has made claims that were later called into question, sometimes by video or other evidence, other times by police or judges. And the House Democrat who represents this district says that he is calling for ICE to be held accountable.

Well meanwhile, the Trump administration now plans to equip ICE agents with gloves that deliver electrical shocks. A notice published on Monday by Homeland Security says that ICE plans to spend between $10 and $20 million to purchase these devices.

However, it's still unclear how many will be bought or how much each pair would cost and also when officers would actually start to use them. But they are expected to be delivered by the end of March of next year. And the manufacturer says the gloves are intended to de- escalate encounters between agents and individuals.

A video shared by that manufacturer in 2023 demonstrates how they work.

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DAN DELA CRUZ, PRESIDENT, COMPLIANT TECHNOLOGIES: So if I was back here and I'm working with Wyatt and he started to struggle with me, I would say, Wyatt.

Now if you take a look at Wyatt, he's got no burn signatures, nothing happened to his skin. He's perfectly fine. But that fight ended in less than three seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And all this comes as DHS has been under pressure to put more body cams on agents after several officer-involved shootings where agents were not wearing some of those cameras. DHS and ICE are already under scrutiny over what critics say are aggressive and dangerous tactics. And the Trump administration is pressuring the agencies to make around 2000 immigration detentions a day.

Let's talk more about all of this and bring in Richard Kolko, he's a retired supervisory special agent with the FBI. Richard, it's always great to see you. Thank you much for joining us. RICHARD KOLKO, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Glad to be here,

Polo.

SANDOVAL: So Richard, given ICE's previous issues with the use of force, do you think that these gloves are the right tool for some of their agents?

KOLKO: Well, that's yet to be seen when they actually be put into action. But I think it is a useful tool. From the beginning of when you start law enforcement training, you learn about the force continuum.

Any agent, law enforcement officer carrying out an operation wants to use the least force possible to do what they want to do, which is conduct that arrest safely. So there are different tools that you have along the way, from verbal commands, soft physical controls, hard physical control, less lethal, all the way up to deadly force. And what I think these gloves do is it provides something at the lower level that can be used to help ensure compliance from somebody who just frankly doesn't want to get arrested.

SANDOVAL: One of the first questions that came to mind when I heard about this, too, Richard, was what other sort of law enforcement settings this kind of technology has been deployed in? I saw something about prison guards, for example, using it in the event of a riot.

Yes, it's a pain tool, it forces compliance. We think of this, you'll hear people trying to compare this to a taser. I don't think that's a good comparison.

A taser is more of almost a decapitation. It stops you from moving. We've seen people that are hit with tasers and they fall down and can't move.

This just causes pain, kind of de-escalation tool, gets you to comply with what the law enforcement officer wants and when conducting an arrest, when somebody gets that. The other thing we learned also in training was people can be compliant up until that point where you go to put the handcuffs on them. That's kind of that point where they make a decision, a change in their attitude.

Having these gloves may continue to encourage them to allow you to put on those handcuffs in a more peaceful manner. We'll have to wait and see. One of the things that concerns me, though, Polo, is we've seen so many of these protests outside of ICE facilities, people blocking cars, things like that.

I don't want to see these agents have to go out there and use these gloves just on protesters to get them to move. I don't know what the policy is going to be for ICE on that.

SANDOVAL: Well, per the manufacturer of this technology, no more than two gloves should be applied to a person at a time and they should not be used for more than 15 seconds in many instances.

[03:20:08] So bearing that in mind, what kind of training you think should be needed to ensure that these agents do use these gloves appropriately and they don't deploy them in one of those scenarios that you just outlined?

KOLKO: Well, a lot of that's going to come down to the training department at ICE. This is pretty standard. Anytime they get a new tool, whether it's how to use a gas or a baton or even how to put on handcuffs, they go through a training regimen.

So they'll have to write up a training policy and a training profile. They'll probably work with the company that makes the gloves. There'll be initial training.

There'll be training probably annual or biannual to make sure that they stay current using them. They'll probably have to document each time they use the gloves on somebody. With a taser, they have to typically offer medical care afterwards.

I'm not sure if they would have to do that with these gloves. It doesn't seem like they would have to. It seems like a much lower compliance issue.

In reality, when you're out there as a law enforcement officer in difficult, dangerous situations and leaving the politics aside, trying to get the job done and get that person arrested, this I think will provide a lower level tool that can help law enforcement de-escalate, be safer for them and be safer for the person that they're arresting.

So if it's carried out correctly, if the training is done right, I strongly encourage that rush to body worn cameras, which I know ICE is trying to do right now. At the end of the day, this may be a helpful tool for them so they don't have to go all the way to the taser or gas or a baton and be able to just use this glove to get people to get handcuffs on them.

SANDOVAL: But based on your vast law enforcement experience, Richard, do you think it would be wise for ICE to issue these gloves to agents who do not have body worn cameras?

KOLKO: I think no matter what happens, and just based on the way things are being conducted these days, so many of these arrested interactions between ICE and the subjects, the targets that they're arresting, are being risen up into the media, on social media, onto national media, that having those body worn cameras provides safety and security for both sides and it helps tell a more accurate story of what's occurring. We heard from the Secretary of DHS in the past that they wanted to get those body worn cameras out quickly. It hasn't happened probably as quickly as people wanted it to or should have happened.

They're pushing for it right now, but they're spending the money, they've got the finances, and you've got to remember body worn cameras requires a good deal of training. They've got thousands of officers and agents out there. They come back from every shift. All that information, that data, has to be downloaded, has to be

retained, has to be recoverable. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes. We see just the very tip when we see one of these arrests take place on a social media reel.

There's so much more that goes into it from the training, from how the information is handled at ICE, how it's retained, how lawyers can get to it, how prosecutors can get to it. There's a lot of things that are going on that it's just difficult to explain to the general public, and I think it's helpful when we do this here on the news and try and talk about some of those things that are going on.

At the end of the day, if used correctly, if the policy is in place, if the training is in place, this is a lower level de-escalation tool that I think has the potential to keep everybody safer.

SANDOVAL: Yes, those cameras certainly would help. I mean, this latest incident in Virginia, we've only seen just a few seconds. It would be extremely helpful to see not only more of the video from the civilian's perspective, but also something that the officers would potentially be wearing as well.

Richard Kolko, we have to leave it there. I cannot thank you enough for your analysis, as always. I really appreciate your time.

KOLKO: Happy to be here, Polo.

SANDOVAL: For a magical few minutes, the moon took center stage across Europe. Ahead on CNN, a look back at a total solar eclipse, and also a preview of what the skies are offering next.

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SANDOVAL: Hey everybody, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, and these are today's top stories.

Iran demanding compensation for pollution and waters in the Persian Gulf and surrounding areas. Video geolocated by CNN shows oil washing up on a beach around an Iranian island near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said that anyone benefiting from commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz carries, quote, "a legal and moral obligation to remediate environmental harm."

The Trump administration is planning to equip federal immigration agents with gloves that deliver electrical shocks. A notice from the Department of Homeland Security shows that the agency is planning to spend between $10 and $20 million on these devices. The gloves are intended to de-escalate encounters between ICE officers and individuals, according to the manufacturer, it's not clear when agents would begin using them.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is the latest member of the Trump administration who is leaving. President Trump wrote that she will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family. He said that Leavitt will still be serving as an outside adviser.

[03:30:08]

And people across Europe were treated to a rare sight on Wednesday as a total solar eclipse crossed over the continent for the first time in more than two decades.

The moon aligned perfectly with the sun, sending parts of the planet into varying degrees of darkness. The next total solar eclipse is forecast for next August, with totality expected to last more than six minutes. You should be able to see it from Spain all the way to the Middle East.

And for the next few hours, sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere get an additional treat as the Perseid meteor shower hits its peak. The display has been ramping up since early July. That's a view from NASA, you see a couple of those specks.

Joining me now is Alexei Pace. He's a former president of the Astronomical Society of Malta, who traveled from Malta to Valencia, Spain, to view the solar eclipse with his family.

Alexei, thank you so much for joining us. Welcome to CNN.

ALEXEI PACE, FORMER PRESIDENT, ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF MALTA: Good morning.

SANDOVAL: Good morning to you. So I understand that you decided to travel there, that this was your second total solar eclipse for you. What stood out about it this time?

PACE: Yes, that's correct. It was an incredible experience, because even though, from the point of view of science, we know exactly what's happening, the fact is that nothing prepares you for the actual experience. I mean, when you are there and suddenly you see the light changing, the environment cools down, you see even birds change their behavior, and you see the experience happening right in front of your eyes.

And you realize that we are on this speck in space, the planet Earth, aligned perfectly with the moon and the sun. And suddenly the shadow of the moon falls upon us. And the whole thing was very awe inspiring, much better than what I managed to describe to my children before we left.

SANDOVAL: The wonder of it all, and this idea of so much of humanity looking up at the sky at the same time, but then you got to experience that with your family. What was that like?

PACE: Yes, it was amazing. I mean, it was my second eclipse, but it was the first for the rest of my family. So I tried to explain as much as possible the actual experience and how it was going to be felt, but nothing could compare to the actual thing happening right in front of our eyes.

So we were on a beach just a few kilometers north of Valencia in Spain, where we are still right now. And the whole beach was filled up with people from all over the world, people from very different nationalities and localities, all joined together by astronomy, by space. And the whole thing was really incredible.

SANDOVAL: You mentioned that darkness. I'm curious if you could tell us what else makes standing in a solar eclipse path of totality so extraordinary? I mean, it's almost a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for so many.

PACE: Yes, in fact it is. And one thing which really stands out is that irrespective of how much we study eclipses, there are still things which are still unknown. For example, when the moon covers the sun completely, the corona stands out, the solar corona, which is still one of astronomy's bigger mysteries.

Why has this corona measured to be millions of degrees Celsius higher than the actual surface of the sun, which itself is thousands of degrees?

So this rare sight, this solar eclipse, helps even astronomers to try to unravel another mystery of space and the universe. And something which also was apparent was, as I mentioned before, the drop in temperature. And in fact, we measured a drop of several degrees, obviously, because you see the shadow of the moon approaching, which suddenly comes over us.

And during that period of time, since the rays of sunlight are cut out, then you feel a drop in temperature. So it's something which one has very little experience, and it's practically impossible to describe the three words I'm trying to do without actually trying it yourself.

The U.S. was lucky enough to experience two solar eclipses in recent years. Next year, there's going to be another eclipse, which will be visible from Southern Europe and North Africa. So people in those localities should make every effort to try to experience this at least once in their lifetimes.

SANDOVAL: What do you think, though? Do you think that you'll be -- our understanding is that the next solar eclipse is forecast for next August, with the totality expected to last a whole six minutes. Are you already making some travel plans?

[03:35:06]

PACE: Yes, we already did. I mean, it's less than a year from today. So we are already trying to scout the different locations which will be good for us to visit.

I mean, the path of the totality will cross from Gibraltar in Southern Spain all the way to Egypt and the Middle East. So there are plenty of locations to choose from. And the thing is that millions of people who actually live along that path will get to experience this total solar eclipse for themselves.

SANDOVAL: It is an incredible experience, Alexei Pace. And we're so glad that you got to experience that not just you got to see it, but you got to have your family there with you as well. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

PACE: Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.

SANDOVAL: Of course.

Well, for the L.A. Lakers, it's the end of a very brief era. After just one year, the team is about to get some famous new owners. Just exactly who is paying a record-breaking sum, we'll tell you.

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[03:40:00]

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Let's get to your business headlines.

President Trump is facing a new lawsuit over his social media platform. The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation claim that he's violating the Constitution by charging for instant access to his Truth Social posts. The White House did not respond for a request for comment.

Democratic lawmakers are stepping up their opposition to Paramount's buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of this network. They're accusing Paramount CEO David Ellison of colluding with President Trump and threatening CNN's journalistic independence. Paramount did not respond to a request for comment.

And the L.A. Lakers, they have been sold for a record-breaking sum. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner, who is the brother of President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, are paying $12.5 billion for the 17-time NBA champs. The league's Board of Governors still has to sign off on this deal.

Well someone in Illinois has won the 8th largest jackpot in Powerball history. They matched the winning numbers for Wednesday night's drawing for a prize of just over a billion dollars, the biggest jackpot since last December, actually. They will have the choice between taking the full amount or spread out over 29 years, or potentially a lump sum payment estimated at $433 million.

You have 433 million reasons to find a relative in Illinois. Thank you so much for watching this hour. "World Sport" is next and I'll be right back at the top of next hour with more "CNN Newsroom."

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