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Israeli Airstrikes Hit More Hezbollah Targets Around Beirut; Gulf Fears Attack on Iran's Oil Facilities; Massacre in Burkina Faso Worse Than Feared; Iran's Supreme Leader Holds Sermon, Honors Hezbollah Leader; Two Dead, Four Missing After Factory Workers Swept Away in Tennessee; Fight for Latino Voters in Battleground State Pennsylvania. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired October 04, 2024 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:40]
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of the show. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, where the time is 6:00 in the
evening.
This hour in his first appearance leading Friday prayers since the assassination of the IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani, the supreme leader in
Iran delivers a fresh warning to Israel. Plus Israel carries out four strikes across Lebanon, including near the Syrian border, where thousands
are trying to flee. And CNN has new details of a jihadist massacre in West Africa, in which hundreds were killed in a matter of hours.
Well, we start with the Iranian Supreme Leader's pointed warning to Israel as the Israeli military ramps up its aerial bombardment in Lebanon.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leading Friday prayers in Tehran for the first time since 2020, dedicating much of his speech to honoring the slain Hezbollah
leader Hassan Nasrallah. Khamenei defending Iran's strikes on Israel as legitimate and saying Iran will attack Israel, quote, "again," if, quote,
"needs be."
Well, Khamenei spoke during another day of Israeli bombardment in Lebanon. The IDF saying one airstrike killed Hezbollah's communications leader,
another targeting a location that according to a source Israel believes housed Nasrallah's presumed successor. But Israel's military also bombed
what it says is an underground tunnel at the Lebanese border crossing into Syria. The road above that crossing now impassible.
Jomana Karadsheh back with us this hour from Beirut. Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv.
And Jomana, let's start with you. What more are we learning about the strike targeting one of the potential successors for Nasrallah? And what is
happening in Beirut today?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well in Beirut today, Becky, in the southern suburbs, we're seeing these Israeli strikes continuing in the past
couple of hours. And now as we're speaking, you can hear the drones buzzing overhead, which is usually an indication that more strikes are coming.
Now, last night also, we saw intense bombardments of the southern suburbs continuing. According to state news agency, you had 10 consecutive strikes
on one part of the southern suburbs that our teams here witnessed and according to an Israeli official telling Jeremy that the target of that
strike was Hashem Safieddine, a man who is seen as the potential or one of the potential successors for Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah who
was killed in that huge Israeli strike in the southern suburbs a week ago today.
And you know, Becky, in Beirut, in southern suburbs as well as in the south of the country, in the east, in the Beqaa region as well, you are seeing an
intensification in these Israeli strikes and look, there's no doubt that this -- Hezbollah has incurred some devastating losses and blows over the
past couple of weeks. Its top leadership, its command structure decimated by these Israeli strikes.
They've also targeted they say their weapons, storage facilities, production facilities but at the same time, this is taking its toll on the
civilians in this country. You mentioned that strike near the Lebanese- Syrian border. The Israeli military saying that it was targeting this underground tunnel crossing that is used to smuggle weapons from Iran to
Lebanon via Damascus. But at the same time, we're talking about a main road which people travel on to cross the border into Syria.
And now that is impassable because of those strikes. And people have had to move today on foot with the little that they can carry to try and reach
Syria. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, more than 160,000 people have fled Lebanon to Syria in search of safety. And the majority of
them Syrians, but also many Lebanese as well.
[10:05:02]
And this just since September 24th, and, you know, this is obviously a situation where you are continuing to see the dire humanitarian situation
growing even more dire by the day, more than a million people displaced, the death toll is continuing to rise by the day. The World Health
Organization is saying that the country's health institutions are under attack as well in the south, especially, we are seeing according to WHO 37
health facilities that have had to shut down. They have been taken out of service because of strikes around them.
Just in the last few hours we've heard from one of those health facilities saying that the parking lot of that hospital was hit in a strike, they have
to evacuate. They tried to hold on they say as much as they could, but they had no choice but to evacuate staff and patients, and, you know, the
country needs its health facilities more than ever right now, as it's dealing with the huge number of casualties in the thousands that they have
been treating. So that obviously is going to take its toll on the civilians as well.
ANDERSON: Jeremy, let me bring you in. You've been talking to your IDF sources. What are they telling you about who it is that they are targeting
at this point and how?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military says that since the launch of this ground operation earlier this week, that
they have killed 250 Hezbollah militants. And they note that of course at a time when the Israeli military itself has conceded that it has suffered
quite a few casualties over the course of the week. At least nine soldiers have been killed already in this Israeli military ground operation.
And so the point being that, yes, Israel has inflicted cost, but they also say that they are driving a heavy cost on Hezbollah itself. We know that
these -- this ground operation has intensified in southern Lebanon as the Israeli military is not only now having two divisions operating as part of
this operation, but additionally, they are also telling people as far as 18 miles away from the Lebanese border to begin evacuating those villages.
I spoke with the Israeli military's international spokesman, Nadav Shoshani, just a little bit ago. He told me that at the moment the Israeli
military's operation is focused on the border areas, but I do think the use of at the moment is quite notable given that we know these conflicts can be
quite open-ended and where a ground operation starts does not necessarily mean that that is where it will end.
On this strike on the border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, the Israeli military insisting that this is one of the most efficient routes
that Hezbollah uses to smuggle weapons in from Syria into Lebanon. They say, quote, "that an underground tunnel crossing at this border was hit,"
to, quote, "prevent weapons from being smuggled into Lebanese territory."
But as Jomana was saying, that's also having a severe impact on the tens of thousands of people who we have already seen crossing, fleeing from Lebanon
into Syria, and the many more who were expected to do so in the coming days. And so this is obviously having a severe impact, not only on
Hezbollah, but also on the civilian population of Lebanon. And it's not quite clear at this point exactly how far the Israeli military will go into
Lebanon, what its true objectives are.
For now, they insist that this is focused on removing the immediate threat of Hezbollah in those border areas in southern Lebanon closest to the
Israeli border. But there is also, as we see, these evacuation orders, very much the possibility and perhaps even the prospect of the Israeli military
moving in deeper into Lebanon as they are also of course intensifying their airstrikes in the capital of Beirut.
ANDERSON: Good to have you both. Thank you.
As the world waits to see how Israel responds to Iran's ballistic missile attack on Tuesday, the Gulf countries are particularly on edge. There are
fears that Iran could target oil facilities and other Gulf countries if Iran's oil infrastructure is intact and also is attacked.
The Gulf Cooperation Council, the GCC, is an organization comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates,
where I am based. Notably, it does not include Iran, and Reuters reports that this week Gulf countries tried to assure Iran of their neutrality in
the conflict between Iran and Israel.
Ali Shihabi is an author and commentator on Gulf politics and he says, quote, "The GCC message to the Iranians is, please de-escalate." Ali
Shahabi joins me now from London.
It is good to have you, sir. How can concerned are you? I mean, you speak to people in Gulf states a lot.
[10:10:02]
You have extremely good sources. How concerned are Gulf states about getting dragged into this Israeli-Iran conflict?
ALI SHIHABI, AUTHOR AND COMMENTATOR ON POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF SAUDI ARABIA: I think they're concerned to a certain extent. I mean, the Iranians
have unofficially dropped hints in their media that if their oil facilities get attacked, that they reserve the right to attack Gulf oil facilities.
That is unlikely and particularly because that will push up the price of oil and their ally China will suffer from it.
But it's not impossible. And so Gulf countries are concerned. They are trying to convince the Iranians to de-escalate and they're trying also to
convince the Americans to convince Israelis not to escalate. To they're a bit stuck in the middle here so it is an element of concern, obviously,
because if things go out of control the Gulf is stuck in the middle.
ANDERSON: So we have ministers from Gulf Arabs states in Doha this week, at the same time that Iran's president was there. Saudi Arabia's foreign
minister, for instance, reportedly said, and these are just reports, and we you know, we haven't got this ourselves, but, I mean, you and I should
discuss this. Quote, "We aim to permanently close the chapter on our differences and focus on resolving issues, developing relations as too
friendly and brotherly countries.
Now, we know that it was just some 18 months ago that Saudi and Iran, you know, sort of completed this sort of rapprochement as it were, mediated by
China, back in the time has never been quite clear what that rapprochement really looks like. But how important is it that you have ties these days
between not just Qatar, for example, and Amman in the past, but the UAE and Saudi Arabia with Tehran. And what is the message from Gulf states, very
specifically to Iran at this point?
SHIHABI: No, look, a country like Saudi Arabia wants to have excellent relationships, excellent relations with Iran. The problem is that Iran talk
sweetly but behaves differently. So Saudi Arabia approaches this with a certain amount of skepticism and looks at Iranian behavior particularly in
the way Iran behaves with the Houthi militants in Yemen, and not just on Iranian rhetoric or diplomatic language.
Again, it all depends on how Iran behaves because the desire to have good relations is there in the Gulf.
ANDERSON: Just how convinced do you believe Gulf Arab states are that the U.S. continues to have any influence over what Israel's next move might be?
SHIHABI: Certainly the last 11 months have been a disappointment. I think the Gulf countries and Arab countries and Saudi Arabia have been
disappointed with the limited influence that America has exerted over Israel. I think there's a feeling that America could have done much more.
It can do much more. For some reason it is unwilling to do so, even though it makes the appropriate noises. And that is a disappointment.
Now we're in an election year, the Israelis play that game very well. And that makes it a U.S. administration particularly a lame duck one yet with
its vice president running, you know, very, very sensitive to the political environment. So there is a deep disappointment really with American
attitudes and behavior towards what has been happening for the last 11 months.
ANDERSON: And we've just learned from Emirates News Agency that the UAE president and the U.S. National Security adviser have been discussing
relations. We know the UAE president was in Washington. It feels like weeks ago now, but it was only a couple of weeks ago, of course, for the UNGA. He
was in Washington, held a, you know, very visible meeting with the UAE -- with the U.S. president Joe Biden.
What do you believe the focus of the conversation would have been very specifically between the UAE president and the U.S. national adviser,
national security adviser?
SHIHABI: Well, I think the message that all the GCC has been trying to send to America, which is that, you know, to try to rein in the Israelis
because, you know, with a lot of what their behavior and the war crimes that have been committed it has created a lot of tension in the region and
it has allowed troublemakers to take advantage of that tension.
[10:15:04]
And the American administration has been, you know, very limited in its actual pressure on Israel which should have involved holding back military
material supplies to the Israelis because that is a serious lever that America has. But America has chosen not to use that and that's been a
disappointment.
ANDERSON: There are some quite clear options for Israelis at this point and their sort of counter retaliation as it were, counter response, to the
Iranian ballistic missile attack of Tuesday last week, one of those options could be oil installations, and it is very clear from the supreme leader
that he has warned Israel off from that option as an attack.
How likely do you think it would be that Iran or its proxies around the region might attack Gulf states or their oil operations should the
situation escalate?
SHIHABI: Well, as I said, the Iranians are letting that hang out in the background as a threat. Again it's unlikely because it will upset people
like the Chinese. But it'll certainly damaged the global economy and might impact U.S. elections. So they might be tempted. But at the same time, you
know, the Gulf countries and the country like Saudi Arabia will have to respond if its oil facilities are attacked. And I don't think that Saudi
Arabia will stay quiet if Iran attacks its oil facility. So things could go out of control, but it's not likely.
ANDERSON: Very briefly, the Reuters News Agency reporting sourced material from I think three officials suggesting that GCC countries ensured Iran of
their neutrality in this conflict. Is that something that sounds familiar to you, the term or the use of the term we are neutral or ensuring Iran of
their neutrality? What does that mean to you?
SHIHABI: Yes. I think they want to make sure that the Iranians understand that they are not a party to what Israel will do and that they will not
allow Israel to fly through their airspace. So that's a question that the Iranians always raised. And I think the Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia are
very clear that they will not allow Israel to fly through their airspace and will not be a party to an attack on Iran whether by the U.S. or by
Israel.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Ali. Thank you very much indeed, your insight and analysis of course extremely important as we continue to
monitor what is going on around the region. Thank you, sir.
Diplomatic adviser to the president of the UAE has weighed in on the conflict in the region saying, and I quote here, "In light of the wars and
crises that threaten Arab and regional security, we have no choice but to restore the concept of the nation state and respect its independence and
sovereignty, the era of militia with its sectarian and regional dimensions, has cost the Arabs dearly and burdened the region.
The future is for security peace, and prosperity with an independent Arab project that is reconciled with its surroundings." The words of Anwar
Gargash.
Well, after the break, on CONNECT THE WORLD, new findings reveal the actual number of victims from a militant attack in Burkina Faso is twice what was
originally thought. More on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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ANDERSON: Well, we now know up to 600 people were killed in a militant attack earlier this year in Burkina Faso. That is according to a French
security assessment which doubles previous estimates. Now, in August al Qaeda linked militants gunned down villages as they dug trenches to defend
their remote town. It's one of the deadliest single attacks in Africa in recent decades.
Nick Paton Walsh sent this report, and a warning it contains graphic content.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): You're driving to the site of one of the worst massacres in years, filmed
by one of the killers.
First report said jihadists shot dead 300 people here in rural Burkina Faso in August but CNN has obtained a French government security report that
says up to 600 were murdered slowly here, echoing survivor accounts. Civilians, women, and children, all told by the military to dig a trench
like this to protect their town Barsalogho from jihadists. And then shot dead for doing so by those same jihadists.
The shovels laid down, you can see here, as civilians then lay face down in the dirt themselves suggested they surrendered before being shot.
Al Qaeda linked JNIM a raging unchecked across this area of Africa, the Sahel, where the French military were kicked out after military coups.
Here before the attack local were filmed being told to take charge of their own security and dig the trench network. You can see on these satellite
images how vast it is. One survivor talk to CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I started to crawl into the trench to escape, but it seemed that the attackers were following the trenches so
I crawled out and came across the first bloodied victim. There was screaming everywhere. I got down on my stomach under a bush until later in
the afternoon, hiding.
How can you cry if there are no tears to shed? We, the survivors are no longer normal. I see my late friends when I'm asleep. It's more than 300
dead. Anyone who denies it should come and see me.
WALSH: The French president report as the president's coup leader Captain Ibrahim Traore is recently himself hard to spot in public. His personal
bodyguards supplied by the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, the report says, were shipped off to Russia to stop the Ukrainian advance in Kursk,
leaving him yet more isolated. Traore launched the trench digging program here in June.
CAPT. IBRAHIM TRAORE, BURKINA FASO JUNTA LEADER (through text translation): All the villagers need to dig the trenches. We don't have machines to do
that so everyone needs to work together.
WALSH: And the army, they fled the massacre, the report ads, suffering already a huge credibility gap after their soldiers were filmed, engaged in
cannibalism here apparently of a dead jihadist's body parts.
Across the region, horror is unimaginable, yet common place enough they sink into obscurity fast, deepening the spiral.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Nick, joins us now from London.
Nick, as you alluded to in your piece, this incident is emblematic of the insecurity spiraling out of control in the region. Will you step back for a
moment and try and get our viewers an understanding of how we got to where we are?
WALSH: Yes. I mean, look, we were dealing with a resurgence fast growing jihadist threat 10 years ago. And the French put their counter insurgency,
their counterterrorism mission in there to try and suppress it, along with the Americans. The French military were kind of kicked out after a series
of coup across that area known as the Sahel, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso.
[10:25:08]
And as a result, the Russians stepped in offering at times the Wagner private mercenary group to move in, but seemed to be more obsessed with the
personal security of the president's themselves or the coup leaders, I should say, and secure agreements for natural resources, allowing yet more
space for the jihadists to thrive. And indeed, the French security report we read suggests in fact that some of the Wagner soldiers protecting
Captain Ibrahim Traore, the coup leader in Burkina Faso, have been pulled to defend Kursk on the Russian border, leaving a potentially less qualified
or frankly even less Russians in their place. And so that's sort of fig leaf of security that was meant to replace the French has clearly left the
gulf that the jihadists thriving horrifically in.
The massacre of 600 people, Becky, in a matter of hours is something you and I might expect to spend days talking about as a leading story, yet in
the turmoil of the world now, it's taking a different position and I think it's important to remember that we're seeing this now potentially spread
into Togo. The French reports suggesting that jihadists have tried to hit border posts there. And while it seems like the al Qaeda linked groups
potentially have decided not to declare a caliphate for themselves and have some obstacles before they get there, this is indeed how the ISIS caliphate
started on NATO's border, on Turkey's southern border, over a decade ago now.
Groups from different jihadist areas in different countries coming together and deciding to create a region of their own. It's feasible here certainly
and as it currently stands, the resources in the West to try and push that idea back on there.
ANDERSON: Does the government there have any chance of reining in this threat? And ultimately, and I think you just underscored the next question,
just how big a security threat is this for countries there around the region, but also elsewhere at this point?
WALSH: Yes, I mean, you know, we were seeing certainly the signs of this spread into Togo at the moment, and that will be yet another domino to
fall. Look around that region, frail governments, huge open spaces, enormous poverty and instability, they're easily exploited frankly by
jihadists who don't have at times seemed to have much more of a mission than driving in their dozens on motorbikes and killing as many people as
they can in a shorter period as they can to prove the extent of their so- called power.
And so yes, I think there's a definite fear that we see governments more isolated towards population centers, unable to project any kind of
authority outside of that. But also, too, that this begins to snowball. And remember, too, this is a region with a significant impact upon Europe's
security. That's kind of why the French were also involved. They saw that the more instable a Sahel is, the greater the migrant trail north through
Libya towards Europe shores grows. And so we're in a key moment here I think where that jihadists' fast paced advance is pretty much unchecked and
dozens are killed in instance on a pretty horrifyingly regular basis that garners little attention.
I remember covering a similar story to this with about 100 dead or so two years ago. But the numbers appear to grow and just, you know, bear in mind,
Becky, these were people told to go out, dig a trench to essentially I think stop motorcycles attacking their village, yet found that the act of
digging that trench got the jihadists to come and slaughter them unarmed over a period of hours. That shows you the security failings, frankly, in
Burkina Faso themselves and how peaceful individuals are simply left to fail to defend themselves -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh on the story. Nick, it's good to have you. Thank you.
Well, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come. what we have learned from today's speech by Iran's supreme leader as people across the
Middle East brace for what comes next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:31:40]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. A half past 6:00 here in Abu Dhabi.
Israel's military says it has killed approximately 250 Hezbollah militants since launching a ground offensive in southern Lebanon earlier this week.
In a briefing on Friday, the IDF said 100 have been killed in the last 24 hours. And this comes as thousands gathered at Tehran's grand mosque on
Friday as Iran's supreme leader mourned the death of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah killed by Israel in Beirut a week ago.
Speaking to a vast crowd, Ali Khamenei said Iran, and I quote here, "would attack Israel again if necessary.' And notably, he gave half of his speech
in Arabic and he said to Muslims listening in Lebanon and Palestine. Meantime, Iran's foreign minister has landed in Beirut as Israel continues
military operations across Lebanon.
Let's pull these threads together. My next guest, Middle East scholar Vali Nasr wrote in "Foreign Policy" magazine, quote, "Leaders in Tehran believe
that Washington will restrain Israel in order to prevent a regional conflagration."
Well, Vali Nasr joins me now.
And Vali, let's just interrogate what you wrote. Why do you think Iran holds that belief and further, is it a safe bet from Iran that Washington
will restrain Israel at this point?
VALI NASR, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Well, Iran understands as do many Americans and many other leaders in the
region that the United States does not want a war in the Middle East, that it has been trying to move away from military entanglements in the Middle
East. So starting with that, it means that Iran believed that unlike Israel, which might be pursuing a military solution to the crisis that it's
in that the United States wants to avert that.
And secondly, because when Iran and Israel exchanged missiles in April and then when Israel killed the leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, both
times the United States lobbied with Iran intensely and not to respond at all as in the case of Haniyeh, or at least to temper its response as it did
in April. So at least looking at that record of the past number of months, every time that there's been a potential for a region-wide war, the United
States has stepped in.
ANDERSON: On October 1st in the wake of the barrage of ballistic missiles that were fired from Iran to Israel, you asked a couple of questions which
I think are really pertinent this point. You said, why did Iran's leaders choose to so brazenly confront Israel now, and how is Iran likely to act
going forward? Three days on, do we have a decent answer to either of those questions at this point?
NASR: Well, the killing of Hassan Nasrallah and also the killing of a large number of Hezbollah leaders and commanders and Israel's push into Lebanon
clearly was a big challenge to Iran. It was a major military victory for Israel. So Iran had to assert itself in a way that would, first of all, not
allow Israel to overread into this success and then want to, for instance, attack Iran.
[10:35:05]
It also wanted to give the Lebanese and particularly the battered Hezbollah commanders that are remaining a sense of support that Iran has not folded,
has not abandoned the field, particularly because many in the Arab world began to accuse Iran of not having defended Hezbollah so I think it was a
show of force by Iran to both tell the United States and Israel that it has the capability and will to escalate this conflict in ways that the U.S.
doesn't want but also to assert in the region with its allies as well as observers that the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon so far should not be
interpreted as Iran backing away from its positions in the region.
ANDERSON: So what stood out to you listening to the supreme leader earlier, given what we've just discussed?
NASR: I think these were all the themes that he put forward. He was very defiant. He asserted that Iran remains committed to supporting Hezbollah.
And in fact, by speaking in Arabic he basically was underscoring that he doesn't -- he sees a continuum between Iran's military posture and
Hezbollah's military posture, and that he's going to back Hezbollah, whatever it takes. He also was essentially sending a signal to the United
States and Israel that Iran continues to be willing to attack Israel or if it comes to it, the United States, if they pursue an aggressive policy,
particularly against Iran.
But he also told the Iranian people that Iran will act prudently and will engage militarily only if it's necessary. So he was trying to hit many
different buttons here, both with the Iranian population, with the United States and Israel, and also with the Lebanese and in the Arab world. Iran
stands firm, stands tall, is willing to act, fight. But to the Iranians he was saying that we're not going to push for a war that you don't want.
ANDERSON: Yes, it's fascinating, isn't it? I mean, you know, not only in Arabic did he very specifically speak to the Palestinians, the Lebanese, he
also named checked Iraq and Egypt and sort of co-opted the kind of Arab world in his narrative today, which I thought was fascinating. Ministers
from Gulf Arab states and Iran attended a meeting in Doha, in Qatar, this week, and I just want to get your sense of what was seen and said there.
Reuters reporting that the Gulf Arabs sought to reassure Iran of their, quote, "neutrality in this conflict." That was according to unnamed
officials. My sources around this region, and I'm sure you speak to many in the region who have said for months that they have real concerns about
wider escalation, which could ultimately obviously affect Gulf countries, their oil facilities. What's the strategic calculus that you see here with
these Gulf Arabs in speaking to, reaching out to the Iranians at present and certainly not making an enemy of Tehran at what is a very, very
important time for the region?
NASR: It's actually more than not making an enemy. They now really want to make friends. And this is actually a continuum of a policy that the Gulf
countries have been following now for a number of years since a rapprochement between UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. And the logic of it is
that they don't like Iran, they don't like its politics. They don't like Hezbollah, but they have come to the conclusion that, first of all, that
the United States may not defend them if it comes to war. That was what they learned when Iran attacked Saudi oil facilities in 2021.
And secondly, that any kind of a conflict in the Gulf would damage their economic models, would damage the division that they have for their
economies, for their futures, and what they are investing in. So they don't want to be the target of Iranian attacks. They also don't really want war
in the region. So in an ironic way, as tensions between Iran and the United States, Iran and Israel is going up, the friendship between Gulf countries
and Iran is going up in a commensurate way, which tells you that the Gulf countries don't want to sign up the strategy that Israel has with Iran and
its proxies, which is to take the fight to them and if it comes to wars, so be it.
And they want to see a de-escalation and at least they want to protect the Gulf from what might happen between Iran and Israel. It's a risky strategy,
but it's very clear that that's their goal.
ANDERSON: Yes. It really is and it's threading a needle here. I just want to take this one step further because what you've been describing is
fascinating.
[10:40:05]
This new architecture for the Middle East is much vaunted but I wonder what it actually looks like. We have seen moves of integration, not least with
the Abraham Accords, with the UAE, for example, and talk of normalization should there be a Palestinian state with Saudi Arabia, a huge prize for the
Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel.
Do you see a friendship with Iran and normalization with Israel being mutually exclusive at this point? Is one or the other for the Gulf Arabs?
NASR: Well, I think the priority for the Gulf Arabs right now is not normalization because normalization with Israel would not bring security to
the Gulf. It will not end Iran's hostility with Israel. It will not reduce war. It also does not dissipate the anger in the Arab street towards what's
happening in Gaza and Lebanon. In fact, to the contrary it will incur tremendous political cost from Gulf rulers if they were to approach Israel
at this point in time.
So I think they are basically trying to protect the Gulf by working with Iran, by becoming closer to Iran. I mean, in an ideal world, they would
like to have both good relations with Iran and they would like to have good relations with Israel. The Israeli vision that it is either or that we are
going to have an alliance with the Arabs against Iran is no longer in the cards. I think the Gulf countries have put that behind it.
They would at some point be willing to normalize with Israel, but they now believe Gulf security and their economic visions, their futures, requires
de-escalating tensions in the Gulf, which means some degree of friendship with Iran. So I think the Gulf and Israel, yes, on many things they are on
the same page, they may have relations, but their vision for the security of the Gulf and the security of the Middle East is now parting ways.
ANDERSON: Vali Nasr, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson.
Ahead on the show, a second investigation has been opened after workers at a plastic factory were swept away in floodwaters caused by Hurricane
Helene. We are stateside after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, the Republican nominee for U.S. president is headed back to the key swing state of Georgia a week after Hurricane Helene. Donald Trump
expected to get a briefing on the destruction in the wake of that storm alongside Georgia's Republican governor. Helene killed at least 33 people
in the state and the death toll across the whole of the southeastern United States has risen to 213.
[10:45:09]
Well, a second investigation is opened into a Tennessee plastics factory after 11 of its workers were swept away in floodwaters from the storm. Two
workers died according to the Associated Press and five were rescued but crews are still searching for four others. A surviving employee took this
video moments before he was rescued. The AP reports Impact Plastics wouldn't let employees leave work until it was too late.
This man's mother is one of the workers who died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUILLERMO MENDOZA, SON OF FACTORY WORKER KILLED IN TENNESSEE: I'm broken. My heart is broken. I lost my mother, my grandmother, my children. My
father lost his wife of 38 years of marriage. We are not OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Gustavo Valdes following the story and he joins us now from eastern Tennessee.
Gustavo, what's the company saying?
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the company finally spoke out through a video released last night. The CEO of the company denied the
accusation. We've heard not only from all the reports but the people on the ground that have told me that they felt like their supervisors would not
let them go. The CEO of the company says their investigation shows otherwise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERALD O'CONNOR, PRESIDENT AND CEO, IMPACT PLASTICS: Employees were told to leave the plant at least 45 minutes before the gigantic force of the flood
hit the industrial park. There was time to escape. Employees were not told at any time that they would be fired if they left the plant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALDES: They also released a timeline of what they say their investigation showed. They said that at 10:35 a.m. is when the water began to rise on the
parking lot. At 10:39, there was a power outage. At 10:40 the public warnings on the cell phones went off. At 10:50, employees were directed to
leave in English and Spanish. I'm told that about half the workforce is Hispanic. By 11:35, the final senior management left after they did a
walkthrough of the building.
This is the company's part of the story. I've heard from workers who told me that when they saw that the factory lost power they started to ask to be
allowed to leave and they were told that they couldn't until it was too late. The company also says that they have video showing that at least some
of the victims were still on the parking lot up to 45 minutes after they were told to leave and they were in the danger zone.
That is part of the investigation that is not only the internal one that the company is doing, but also, too, one of the state and another one at
the national level. So we have to wait for those results. Some of the victims have already hired lawyers and they are trying to get answers, but
the main focus of this small community is to find those four missing people. Last night there was a very emotional candlelight vigil with large
participation from the community.
The mayor said last night that Erwin, Tennessee, is a prime example of what Americans can do when they showed unity.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you.
Well, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. We will be right back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:32]
ANDERSON: Well, the U.S. economy may have dodged a bullet from the huge strike of port workers along its entire eastern Gulf Coast. Their union
reached a tentative deal yesterday with the employers or the employees offering a $4 an hour raise each year until 2030. Union members are
expected to be back at work today, even though they are yet to ratify the agreement. And this was a comment from President Joe Biden after the
announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The workers are going back to work. And in the next 90 days they're going to settle everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the strike which began this week threatened to upend U.S. exports and imports ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season. Sources
told us the White House pressed shipping companies to cut a deal with the union. One union leader explained what the agreement means to workers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT COWAN, PRESIDENT, ILA LOCAL 333: It means that they can provide for food on the table, pay their bills. They don't have to worry anymore of
possibly losing their cars or their homes or anything like that. You know, we're just coming back off a major catastrophe, maritime tragedy with the
bridge collapse. We were out of work for two months, now we're out of work for a few more days. We're very excited to be back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, just a month, 30 days to go until U.S. voters head to the polls. And both presidential contenders are refocusing their resources on
key battleground state. You heard me talk about this for weeks now, but it's really laser-focused at this point.
Donald Trump's vice presidential pick J.D. Vance will be joining him in Pennsylvania on Saturday. And next week, former president Barack Obama
kicks off four weeks of campaigning for Kamala Harris, where they rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Well, recent nationwide polling of Latino voters has been saying a majority back Kamala Harris, but inflation and worries about the economy have given
Donald Trump a way to potentially peel off some of that support.
CNN's Danny Freeman reports now on efforts to win the Latino vote in the battleground state Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fresh off his vice presidential debate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was in Redding,
Pennsylvania, stopping at a Puerto Rican owned restaurant to boost support among the city's majority Latino population.
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: This thing is going to come down to our blue wall states, come down to Pennsylvania, might come
right through this restaurant.
FREEMAN: At the same time, just four blocks away, the Trump campaign was holding its own phone bank specifically targeting Latinos in the Lehigh
Valley.
(Speaking in foreign language) President Trump? What are the three reasons you are supporting President Trump?
MARCIA HERAS, TRUMP SUPPORTER: OK. (Speaking in Foreign Language).
FREEMAN: Family.
HERAS: (Speaking in Foreign Language).
FREEMAN: Life.
HERAS: (Speaking in Foreign Language).
FREEMAN: And end of war.
(Voice-over): The dueling outreach just the latest sign both campaigns understand the importance of Latino voters in the Keystone State. In 2020,
President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania by about 80,000 votes. But with this race still extremely tight, the estimated
615,000 eligible Latino voters here could easily help decide the November outcome.
While recent national polls show Harris doing better than Biden was with Latino voters, they also show Trump outperforming past Republicans among
this group, which in recent elections has solidly backed Democrats.
At a Harris campaign event this week in Allentown, another deeply Latino city, there were plenty of voters excited about the vice president. This
man told me he feels Harris represents hope and will help small businesses, but there were warning signs, too.
You're not going to stay home. You're going to vote.
HECTOR SANTANA, UNDECIDED VOTER: (Speaking in Foreign Language).
FREEMAN: Today you have not made a decision who you're going to vote for.
SANTANA: No.
CARMEN DANCSECS, MORTGAGE LENDER: I think we have too many people that are kind of like on shaky waters. They don't know where they stand.
FREEMAN (voice-over): To energize this community in Pennsylvania, the Harris campaign is turning to volunteers like Yamelisa Taveras. The
campaign featuring the Allentown small business owner and mom in a new ad focused on healthcare this week.
YAMELISA TAVERAS, HARRIS SUPPORTER: I believe we have a great shot with Harris-Walz. However, the campaign can do more. There's still so many
people on the fence. And having those conversations and knowing that there truly are a lot of people that can benefit from so much more information.
[10:55:06]
FREEMAN: For their part, the Trump campaign is turning to men like Daniel Campo. The Venezuelan born pilot recently spoke at a Trump rally in
northeastern Pennsylvania. But Campo said his biggest challenge when canvassing Latino neighborhoods are people who feel the former president is
prejudiced against Latinos.
How do you convince them to vote for him?
DANIEL CAMPO, TRUMP SUPPORTER: So are you going to invite him to your wedding? Are you going to invite him to your birthday party or your kid's
birthday party? You have somebody that did the job and did a good job and you're hiring him again for that job. You're not inviting him to your
wedding.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREEMAN (on-camera): Now one thing several Democratic Latino voters told me over the course of the week is that they hope to see more popular Latino
celebrities come out and support of the Harris-Walz campaign, especially considering that a few reggaeton stars have already come out in support of
former president Donald Trump.
These Democrats say that star power and more for face-to-face interactions can help perhaps bridge some of that energy gap they're seeing on the
ground.
Danny Freeman, CNN, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
ANDERSON: Now that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. More news of course with "NEWSROOM" and "ISA SOARES TONIGHT" up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
