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War With Iran; US-North Korea; Prince Harry And Family Back To UK. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 21, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:32]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the US and all around the world. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. Let's get into the headlines.

Iran responds to Donald Trump's threats of an economic D-day, but Tehran says it's ready to face that pressure. Plus, Iran, the sister of North Korea's leader, says she knows absolutely nothing about talks between Trump and Kim Jong-Un, where diplomatic relations stand between the two countries.

And CNN travels to southern Spain where issues of migration are top of mind. We're going to show you how migrants there are living. Some far right groups call for stricter laws.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Salma Abdelaziz.

ABDELAZIZ: Let's start in Tehran with the US war with Iran. US Vice President JD Vance says economic pressure is the most effective tool against the government, but he cautioned that it's a delicate dance. The vice president says economic pressure is the best way to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear capacity.

Vance's comments come as President Trump threatens to wage an economic war of attrition with Tehran. Iran's foreign ministry condemned Mr. Trump's threats of an elevated economic campaign as "unlawful." The IRGC warned that it could deploy more destructive weapons if the fighting restarts.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration imposed new sanctions on Hezbollah in Lebanon and redesignated the group as an Iranian proxy. The move is meant to signal that Hezbollah is acting on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And it comes as the White House works to broker peace talks between Israel and Lebanon.

I want to go live now to our Leila Gharagozlou in Abu Dhabi. Good morning, first of all to you, Leila. So yet another threat in all caps from President Trump, but Iran has long withstood sanctions as you know. It has shown an immense ability to adapt to economic pressure.

Will this threat of an economic D-day even work, Leila? LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Hi, Salma. Yes, it's very unlikely, according to many of the analysts and experts that I've spoken to, that Iran would capitulate to any sort of extra economic pressure. Firstly, it's unclear what that economic pressure would even be, given that Iran is sanctioned to the absolute gills at this point.

You know, everything from the petrochemical industry to the civilian aviation companies have been sanctioned. So it's unclear what is left to kind of sanction anyway. On top of that, obviously they have this economic blockade on their ports, really impacting trade. That being said, we have seen for decades now that Iran can withstand economic pressure, and they've designed the system and the economy to be able to do just that.

This is a policy that started just after, after the Iran-Iraq war and has continued forward over the last 30, 40 years. And when sanctions initially got really strong and very strict on them in 2006, they doubled down on that building what they call a resistance economy, an economy that can absolutely be self-sustaining and doesn't need the global economy to continue forward.

So they have a very high pain threshold. And despite all the sanctions that we've seen on them, they have continued to move forward and it hasn't done much to curb the government's behavior. What the sanctions and economic pressure has done both in the past and currently is really impact that civilian population.

And it's been absolutely devastating to Iranians. They're unable to get, you know, basic goods medication. People are forgoing very key medical treatment and things have become so expensive that it's just very difficult for people to live under this level of economic pressure.

But the government is essentially taking the chance that they can continue this on until November and they can last economically until November, until those midterms, so that they can put that pressure back onto the Trump administration and the US.

So we're going to have to see what happens with that. It's again very unclear how the US is going to put that economic pressure. Some people say they could pressure the Russians or the Chinese to cut off trade, but what leverage the US has over those two nations is unclear. Salma?

[04:05:10]

ABDELAZIZ: Leila Gharagozlou there with a very good point of what is left to sanction when it comes to Iran. Thank you so much.

Now to Israel, where the government is moving forward with a settlement plan in the occupied West Bank that could split the territory in two. The scheme would divide the West Bank into north and south, making a contiguous Palestinian state impossible, while also splitting East Jerusalem.

Israel's Housing Ministry is asking for bids to construct the more than 1,200 housing units near Jerusalem with the goal of creating a continuous block of Jewish settlements from East Jerusalem all the way to the West Bank. CNN's Jeremy Diamond breaks it down for us.

Jeremy Diamond: Well, the E1 settlement project is one that right wing Israeli politicians have sought to carry out for years now, but it's been delayed over repeated international criticism of the project and warnings to the Israeli government. But last year, the Israeli government finally approved the project and now the Israeli Housing Ministry has issued a notice inviting bids on the construction of more than 1,200 housing units as part of this project.

Now, the Israeli government wants to create this project in order to connect Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem to Jewish settlements in the West Bank. But from the Palestinian perspective, one of the reasons why this is so controversial is that this project would also cut off Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. And it would also sever the major artery between the northern half of the West Bank and the southern half of that same territory.

And in doing so, it would threaten the possibility of establishing a contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank with East Jerusalem as its capital. And that is exactly the goal of some far right Israeli politicians like the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who said that the Palestinian state is being erased from the table, not with slogans but with actions.

Now, this is already drawing fierce criticism from the international community, including from the British foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, who said, "this Israeli government's publication of a tender for the E1 settlement project is an unacceptable and destructive act. The Israeli government must halt E1 plans immediately, retract the tender and stop all settlement expansion."

Now, not only the United Kingdom but also a number of other European countries have threatened sanctions for any companies that would participate in the building of this project. And they've also threatened diplomatic action against Israel for moving forward with this project, one that, of course, we'll be keeping a very close eye on. Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv

ABDELAZIZ: Ukrainian intelligence says that Russia is going to ask for more help from North Korea with its ongoing invasion. Officials say that President Vladimir Putin is planning to ask for up to 50,000 troops when he meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un in September. Thousands of North Koreans have already been fighting for Moscow since 2024, and Ukraine says some of those recently deployed forces include about 400 drone operators. Their drones would be used to survey and attack targets inside Ukraine.

Meanwhile, air raid alert sirens sounded in Kyiv throughout the day on Thursday. This was following a massive wave of strikes that occurred the night before. Ukraine says at least 17 people were killed in those attacks and dozens more were wounded.

In the last hour, CNN spoke with Oleksiy Sorokin. He is the Deputy Chief Editor of the Kyiv Independent. And we asked him if Ukraine could realistically hold elections in wartime, as its former defense minister has recently called for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLEKSIY SOROKIN, DEPUTY CHIEF EDITOR, KYIV INDEPENDENT: Obviously this political crisis is self-inflicted. Currently in Ukraine, there is absolutely no capabilities that Ukraine has to hold elections. There's millions of people currently displaced. There's over 20 percent of the territory of Ukraine currently occupied.

There's also around a million, slightly less than a million of people on the front lines who also can't vote. People who are in the military are not allowed, according to law, to campaign and to seek office. We also have the martial law that prohibits any elections. Plus, the Central Election Commission doesn't have up-to-date lists of voters because many fled, many have been killed, voting booths were destroyed.

So there's technically no capabilities for Ukraine to hold elections. And I think this is really, really bad that currently this topic is being widely discussed in Ukraine because of personal ambitions of some politicians.

[04:10:10]

Unfortunately, the current crisis is self-inflicted and the president committed a government reshuffle for absolutely no reason. It turned into a political crisis with protests on the streets because of a popular defense minister was ousted. And then the popular defense minister, because he wasn't able to get his job back, went all in and became the main opposition figure for the president.

So it's unfortunately all self-inflicted, and it's probably going to get worse. For the past year, people around the president have been caught red-handed stealing money from the state, and there's multiple anti-corruption investigations ongoing in the country. So definitely Zelenskyy is feeling the pressure. But even those who support Mr. Fedorov who called for elections say that they don't support elections per se during wartime because they understand that it's impossible.

So I think here Mr. Fedorov rushed a bit and jumped the gun and he's not going to get support specifically for pressuring the state to hold elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: The annual US-South Korean war games will come to an end in the coming hours. This is five days ahead of the original schedule. President Trump scaled them back, saying he made a new outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

But despite this apparent goodwill gesture, no one in Pyongyang is confirming the two leaders are even in touch. Will Ripley has this report for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, a new suspected ballistic missile launch from North Korea, the third test South Korea and Japan tracked just this month. But North Korean state media is unusually silent as one of Pyongyang's most powerful voices pushes back on President Trump's latest claims about Kim Jong-Un.

The North Korean leader's younger sister, Kim Yo-Jong, says she knows absolutely nothing about any recent communication between her brother and Trump. Perhaps it is the only matter I do not know about in relation to our supreme leadership's foreign policy, she says.

The statement follows an extraordinary few days. Trump touting how great he gets along with Kim, posting this old picture. And even a meme of Kim on the phone saying, hey, Donald, we cool, right?

At Trump's direction, the US and South Korea are abruptly cutting their biggest summertime military exercise from 11 days to five. Trump calling the exercises costly and hostile, blaming Seoul for failing to help denuclearize Iran. Kim's sister seems unimpressed. Reducing the scale or duration of an exercise does not change the nature of military exercises that are provocative and aggressive, she says.

South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung posting on X he respects President Trump's effort to create conditions for dialogue and says he hopes it can restart talks with Pyongyang.

DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Yes, I will be.

RIPLEY: Trump telling reporters he plans to meet with Kim this year.

TRUMP: He has 57 very powerful nuclear weapons, should have never allowed it to happen. They should have never allowed it. If I were president, I wouldn't have allowed it.

RIPLEY: But experts say Kim's nuclear arsenal has only grown since Trump's historic diplomacy during his first term ended with no deal. And Kim is no longer nearly as isolated. His closest military partner now, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.

This weekend, as Trump was posting about Kim, Kim was publicly praising Putin and their anti-US alliance, invoking their shared struggle for justice. North Korea is supplying weapons and manpower for Putin's war in Ukraine, giving Kim's military modern combat experience. Kim's sister acknowledges her brother still has personally good memories and feelings toward Trump, but says nevertheless, the United States hostile policy has not changed.

In fact, earlier this year, the North Korean leader told his parliament, the Iran war proves he was right not to give up his nuclear weapons. The United States is now resorting to acts of state- sponsored terrorism and aggression, he said. The hostile forces wanted us to make a different choice, preaching a payment for our giving up of nuclear weapons. But the present situation clearly proves our nuclear possession is irreversible.

So if denuclearization is off the table, as North Korea insists it is, then the big question becomes, what do Trump and Kim actually have to talk about? As for the timing of a potential meeting, the Wall Street Journal is saying possibly November, when President Trump is scheduled to be here in this region.

But last year, President Trump floated the idea publicly of a meeting with North Korea, and they never responded. Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Talk about making up after a long and bitter feud, President Trump and his former lawyer share a friendly conversation. We're going to look at why they're ending their animosity now. Plus, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, and their kids are moving back to the UK. Just ahead, what we know about their decision to relocate.

[04:15:18]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABDELAZIZ: Michael Cohen and Donald Trump may just have buried the hatchet, and a new radio interview is shedding light on their current relationship. Cohen was, of course, the President's personal lawyer and fixer before becoming a very fierce foe. CNN's Alayna Treene looks at the likely reasons for their reconciliation.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN ANCHOR: President Donald Trump on Thursday sat down for an interview with a man he once called a rat and a liar. That man was his former fixer, Michael Cohen, someone who ultimately turned against President Donald Trump when he became the star witness in his 2024 Manhattan trial, something that Trump was ultimately convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to the hush money payments paid to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star.

Now, a key question, of course, is how did this reconciliation happen? Cohen actually did an interview on Thursday before some of his interview with the President aired and told Tapper essentially that he would describe his current relationship with Trump as being "resuscitated."

[04:20:09]

Now, we do know that Michael Cohen and Trump, they have met months ago. They sat down at Bedminster, and the President and him are working on smoothing out their relationship. But there's many questions as to why Trump would actually sit down for an interview with Cohen.

Now, one thing I think to keep in mind here is that Trump is actively appealing that 2024 conviction in his Manhattan trial. And some people, I should say some, not all, but some people in the President's orbit, some of his allies, and even some people in the White House think that perhaps by smoothing out the relationship with Cohen, it could ultimately help that appeal.

Cohen has said previously, he said that he has told this to Trump, that he feels that some of the prosecutors in New York, he's named New York Attorney General Letitia James as one, coerced him into testifying against the President. And so, questions of what that could mean for that relationship.

As for what is Cohen get out of this one. You've heard Cohen argue that he wants to forgive the President. He said as much in his interview with Tapper on Thursday. But he also mentioned something else to Tapper.

He talked about pardons. I want you to listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: We forgave, and not because the past didn't happen, not because the scars disappeared, not because every disagreement suddenly becomes irrelevant and certainly not because I have forgotten anything.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Right.

COHEN: I have not. But remember this, forgiveness does not require amnesia. It requires the courage to stop allowing yesterday to dictate tomorrow.

TAPPER: How would you describe your relationship with the President right now?

COHEN: It's being resuscitated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, look, Cohen is claiming that he has not directly asked Trump for a pardon, but he did admit, as you heard in that interview with Jake, that he tried to get a pardon during the Biden administration that was denied. He's now resubmitted that pardon application to the Trump administration. So we'll see what comes of that.

But it is an incredible turn of events, particularly for someone like Cohen, who I know many people in this White House, particularly many of the loyalists who surround Trump who were with him, surrounding him back in 2024 when he was facing this trial in court. They still have a lot of animosity toward Cohen.

So curious to see the full interview on Sunday, and whether or not the president, his vibe with Cohen has been much change given the long, fraught history that these two men have had. Alayna Treene, CNN, the White House.

ABDELAZIZ: Pakistan's former prime minister has been sent back to prison. This is after a medical exam at a private hospital in Islamabad. Imran Khan's sons told CNN last month that they were worried about his health. His family and lawyer say he's lost most of his vision in his right eye.

But Pakistan's information minister said doctors do consider him medically fit. Earlier this week, a Supreme Court panel ordered authorities to bring Khan to the hospital for a medical exam. The government says detainees get medical treatment in prison but can be sent to hospitals when necessary.

He has been in prison since his conviction for corruption and revealing state secrets. Supporters say the accusations are politically-motivated.

Royal watchers here in London and around the world are reacting to the news that Prince Harry and his family will move back to the UK later this month. Here is our royal correspondent, Max Foster, on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a move nobody saw coming. Prince Harry and Meghan returning to the UK six years after they stepped back from official royal duties and fell out with other members of the royal family. Both the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex have spoken out repeatedly about the unfair treatment they believe they received in the UK, including tabloid intrusion and racism in the British establishment.

In April, Meghan told young people during a visit to Australia.

MEGHAN MARKLE, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: For now 10 years, every day for 10 years, I have been bullied and attacked. And I was the most trolled person in the entire world. Man or woman, I'm still here.

FOSTER: Why the couple have decided to return now is unclear. A source close to the couple only remarked how much they enjoyed their visit to the UK last month. In July, King Charles hosted Harry, Meghan and their children at his private country residence in Gloucestershire. It was the first time in four years that the King had seen the whole family.

However, Harry has made several solo trips back to the UK since moving to California, including after King Charles cancer diagnosis. CNN understands that when the family moves over to the United Kingdom, they'll be staying in a private residence, not a royal residence. And they won't returning to their full time royal roles.

[04:25:04]

Where that residence will be is a mystery at this point, but the British media speculating it could be in the affluent Cotswolds, in the countryside in Oxfordshire. It could be near Althorp House, which is the Spencer family ancestral home where Princess Diana, Harry's mother, is buried. Or it could possibly be near friends that they've retained here in the United Kingdom.

The other big question is about security, how that will be afforded. Prince Harry recently lost a case against the government's decision to downgrade their taxpayer-funded security.

In a BBC interview last year, he said the decision made it impossible for him to return to the UK with his family, explaining. PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point, no matter how much private security I have around me. There's only so much that I can do and operate and function within the UK when it comes to supporting my charities, visiting my friends, all of these things.

FOSTER: However, the couple's children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, have now been enrolled at British schools. The new school year begins in September, meaning their move is likely to take place soon, possibly within a matter of days.

MARKLE: Are you feeling excited for your parents?

FOSTER: Once back, the couple are expected to carry on the kind of charity work they've been doing in California and outside the UK.

PRINCE HARRY: Welcome to Australia.

FOSTER: It's not yet clear how long they'll stay or how closely they'll coordinate with the royal household to avoid clashes in public engagements, and how they'd be folded into private royal family events. CNN understands the King was only told on Sunday about their decision to move back.

The Sussexes may have kept their secret until now, but how much privacy they can hold once they're back in the UK remains to be seen. Max Foster, CNN, Buckingham Palace, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Iran sentenced a photojournalist to 15 years in prison. She refuses to be silenced for taking pictures like these. We're going to hear from her about her case up next. Plus, an alleged ISIS-inspired bombing plot in the US has been stalked in its tracks. How the suspect was caught red handed buying supplies to build a fake bomb.