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Trump Lashes Out at Israel and Iran as He Heads to NATO Summit; Iranian Attack Killed Several in Israel before Ceasefire; Iran Gave Qatar Advance Notice of Missile Strikes; Gulf Arab States Caught Up in Iran's Retaliation; Israel Says It Achieved All Objectives in Iran "And Far Beyond"; Qatar Hopes for Ceasefire Talks in "Next Couple of Days"; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Says Russia "Trying to Save Iranian Nuclear Program"; Prosecutors Likely to Rest in Combs Case Today. Aired 10- 11a ET

Aired June 24, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN, Abu Dhabi. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Well, some very choice language from the U.S. president on Iran and Israel today, just hours after he

announces a ceasefire.

Welcome to our second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East broadcasting headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. Time here

is just after 6 pm.

And with a fragile ceasefire on the brink of collapse earlier, an angry Donald Trump demanded Israel and Iran stand down after both accused the

other of violations.

The U.S. president's frustration boiling over as he stopped to talk to reporters on the South Lawn before heading off to the NATO summit in the

Netherlands. Here is how that all went down. A reminder: this just a few hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm not happy that Israel is going out now. There was one rocket that I guess was fired overboard. It was after the

time limit and it missed its target. And now Israel is going out. These guys got to calm down. Ridiculous.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: I didn't like plenty of things I saw yesterday. I didn't like the fact that Israel unloaded right after we made the deal. They didn't have to

unload. And I didn't like the fact that the retaliation was very strong.

But, in all fairness, Israel unloaded a lot. And now I hear Israel just went out because they felt it was violated by one rocket that didn't land

anywhere. That's not what we want, I'll tell you. And I'm telling you, I'm not happy about that Israel, either.

I don't like the fact that Israel went out this morning at all and I'm going to see if I can stop it. They violated but Israel violated it, too.

QUESTION: Are you questioning if Israel is committed?

TRUMP: Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before. The biggest

load that we've seen. I'm not happy with Israel.

You know, when I say, OK, now you have 12 hours, you don't go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So I'm not happy with

them. I'm not happy with Iran, either. but I'm really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning because of one rocket that didn't land, that was

shot, perhaps by mistake, that didn't land.

I'm not happy about that. We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're

doing.

Do you understand that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, I promised you some choice language from the U.S. president. You got it there. We're joined now by CNN political and national

security analyst David Sanger. He is at The Hague in the Netherlands. That is where Donald Trump is headed now, where the NATO summit is taking place.

David, good to have you.

Alayna Treene, though, let me start with you, because you were on the South Lawn when Donald Trump made those comments earlier. Just describe the

atmosphere, if you will, set it, set those comments in context and just get your reaction to what happened.

OK. I don't think I've got Alayna at this point. Let me bring in David.

And ask you the same question.

You weren't on the South Lawn, David, because you're in The Hague. But your initial reaction to what we heard there.

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, if that's what the president sounded like with the cameras rolling, can you imagine

what the conversation a few minutes later on with prime minister Netanyahu was probably like, when he called him from Air Force One?

So yes, he really was -- unloaded on them. Look, in the early hours of ceasefire, we've seen this many times. It's not surprising to have

violations, either, from people who are still pretty hyped up from the battle or didn't get the memo or whatever.

The Israelis clearly were trying to make as many additional gains against targets that they had looked at in the hours before the ceasefire was

supposed to take effect. And I think the only thing that probably happened was that he got Netanyahu to turn that around from the airplane.

[10:05:05]

And I don't know what they said but, you know, here the president had just finally done for prime minister Netanyahu what other presidents had refused

to do, which was use American bunker busters against Iran's major nuclear sites. And I suspect the president, based on what his conversation there

was, felt that Netanyahu owed him one.

ANDERSON: Yes. David, Donald Trump, then posting immediately on Truth Social afterwards, saying, "Israel is not going to attack Iran. All planes

will turn around and head home while doing a friendly plane wave," he says, in inverted commas, "to Iran.

"Nobody will be hurt. The ceasefire is in effect."

Netanyahu's office now saying that they did hit a radar site after the ceasefire but will refrain from further strikes.

Look, do you think that ceasefire is likely to hold at this point?

Let's just have that discussion.

SANGER: Well, one can hope so. It's very hard to predict this. I mean, any untoward event could prompt both sides to go back. It's always riskiest in

the, in, you know, the first 24 or 48 hours of a -- of a ceasefire.

My instinct here is that the Iranians want this to stop because they were losing badly and that, while the Israelis said that they had achieved all

of their major objectives, probably prime minister Netanyahu thought he had not and is probably not entirely happy with having to shut this down.

Now he might have wanted to go do it a few days from now. But he's at the point right now where Israel so controls the skies over Iran that he has

free range to go do pretty much whatever he wants to go do. And then the president stepped in to force a ceasefire.

ANDERSON: David, stand by; Alayna Treene is available to us now. She was on the South Lawn earlier on. She's in Washington.

You were there when Donald Trump let loose on Iran and Israel, I mean, let rip on these two countries. Just describe the atmosphere, if you will, and

how those gathered responded.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, I mean, the president came out, he was clearly visibly very frustrated, angry, really. You could see

it not only in his expression but in the tone he was using.

He used the F-word to say that both countries didn't know what the eff they were doing and it was clear that he was very unhappy with how both Israel

and Iran were handling it. He actually had most of his ire was aimed at Israel, who, he argued, kind of took advantage of the timetable that the

president gave both countries.

Saying, you know, we're not going to have a ceasefire for a certain many hours until this time. It was supposed to be 12 am Eastern here on the East

Coast or in Washington, D.C.

And he criticized Israel for what he said was dropping a, quote, "load of bombs" on Iran. Really, up until the last minute, he said it was something

he'd never seen before. And so he didn't like that.

And he also didn't like that the Israeli defense minister this morning, after saying there were those Iranian missiles that were headed toward

Israel, that they would retaliate with full force. The president said he really hoped that they wouldn't do that.

And look, I mean, first of all, I think it's important to note that the president very rarely uses criticism like this toward Israel, one of the

United States' strongest allies and one that, you know, a country that the president often likes to tout as someone he is the best friend to than any

other president in modern history.

So to hear him have such sharp language for Israel this morning was very notable. But he also, of course, had a lot to say about Iran. And you could

tell that he was really frustrated with this.

And part of that is because I know, last night, when he had announced that they had come to the ceasefire agreement, that it was, you know, going to

start in a matter of hours, he was very, very pleased with himself, pleased with the result.

And you could see that he wanted to celebrate this. And that really was the plan for today, for him to come out, speak to reporters while he was

getting prepared to travel to the Netherlands for his NATO summit.

And he wanted to then, you know, log that that agreement there as well. And so the uncertainty this morning was really palpable in what the president

was saying. He said himself that he hoped the ceasefire deal would hold but that he wasn't entirely sure if they had violated it.

But then, I will say that the change, when he was talking to us, he said, you know, I'm going to see if I can stop it. He was referring to the

Israeli retaliation for some of what the Iranian strikes, you know, following the ceasefire.

[10:10:00]

He said, I'm going to go see if I can stop it, alluding that he was going to make some calls. And then we do know that once he got on Marine One, he

posted on Truth Social, on his social media website saying, "Israel, do not drop those bombs."

It was a warning to Israel. But then moments later he did get on the phone, I was told by a White House official, with Israeli prime minister Benjamin

Netanyahu and essentially -- the official told me that it was an exceptionally firm and direct call and that he explained to Netanyahu what

needed to happen to sustain the ceasefire.

The official said that the prime minister, quote, "understood the severity of the situation and the concerns that President Trump expressed."

Moments after that, Becky, you saw the president post again, this time saying that Israel is not going to attack Iran.

He said, quote, "All planes will turn around and head home."

So you can see that there -- they did seem to reach some agreement on that. The president now and the White House telling us that they believe the

ceasefire is, in fact, still in effect. But, of course, it's in a very precarious situation right now.

And we have to continue to monitor to see if any more of these types of missiles or attacks happens following this news.

ANDERSON: And following that post by Donald Trump, a post by Israel, the Israeli prime minister's office -- and I think it's important that we just

bring this up -- because you just explained the atmosphere of that call according to Donald Trump's staff, sources that you have.

Let's have a look at how it's being framed by the prime minister's office.

"Following a phone call between President Trump and prime minister Netanyahu, Israel refrained from carrying out additional strikes. During

the conversation, President Trump conveyed his deep appreciation for Israel, which he said had accomplished all of the war's objectives.

"The president also expressed confidence in the stability of the ceasefire."

Posting a photograph which I don't think we -- oh, you can see it there -- of the prime minister on what some might describe as the Bat Phone there.

It's the important phone, the old-style, important phone with the red cord.

So that is the framing from the Israeli prime minister's position.

David, let me bring you back in. There's been an awful lot of -- well, I guess Donald Trump is on Air Force One now. Got some time to post and he is

posting away.

I just want to get your sense on another post that we've seen today. It is not to do with the Middle East position. Specifically, I want to bring this

up. He's apparently posting a screen grab of what looks like a direct message from the NATO secretary general.

Now Mark Rutte, who has been, over the past 48 hours, very supportive of the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, when asked by a reporter

whether they violated international law, Mark Rutte said they didn't and that he supported the strike.

He said nobody wanted Iran with a nuclear weapons program. I just wonder what you make of what we have just seen there, if it is what we are led to

believe by Donald Trump on Truth Social, this is -- it seems to be a personal note from Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, to the U.S.

president.

SANGER: Yes, these are usually private communications. We're told this is genuine by NATO; that, in fact, it was sent earlier by Mark Rutte, the

secretary general of NATO, to the president.

If you look at it carefully, you'll see it was a Signal message. And it does look like a screen grab of it. And it's basically congratulating him

for the strike against the nuclear facilities. Then telling him, "You're flying into another great victory."

All the NATO countries have agreed to contribute 5 percent of their GDP to defense. He didn't say over what period of time. And he didn't mention that

1.5 percent of that is going toward roads, some cyber defenses, ports and so forth, make them an easier sell in each of the European countries.

But it was a very complimentary message, to put it mildly, to the president, probably to get him in a good mood before he arrives at the

dinner that opens the NATO conference this evening here in the Netherlands.

ANDERSON: We -- and you can argue the toss, David, about the substance and the apportionment of any extra defense spending.

[10:15:06]

But let's be quite clear about this. In Donald Trump's defense here, excuse the pun, when he was in his first term and he had such issues with NATO, at

the root of that, he said, was the fact that he just didn't think that other countries spent enough on defense.

And this is way before Ukraine, of course, in his -- in his first administration and wanted to see more. And he has been successful in

getting them to ramp up significantly, albeit there is now a war on Europe's doorstep.

SANGER: So I think there are two things to say about this.

First, this effort began earlier in the Obama administration. You'll remember that last speech that Bob Gates, the Defense Secretary, gave in

Europe, saying to the Europeans, people are not going to tolerate this for very long. And the Europeans ignored him.

And even in the first term, they did a bit more. There were commitments to get up to 2 percent that were mostly fulfilled by most, not all, of the

NATO countries, by the end of the Biden administration.

You'll remember at the NATO summit in Washington a year ago that was announced. I think there were 22 or 23 of the 32 countries at that time.

Now they've gotten this commitment for 5 percent.

And they've done it because Mr. Rutte and others have basically scared them into thinking that Vladimir Putin is not going to stop in Ukraine or may

not stop in Ukraine and the United States may not be there to back them up.

So that seems that -- and the jawboning from President Trump seems to have accomplished what previously seemed inconceivable, what even a few months

ago seemed inconceivable.

ANDERSON: Yes. It's good to have you, sir. You're in The Hague at the Netherlands. Donald Trump is on his way there and has suggested that he

thinks that this will be a calmer NATO meeting after the ceasefire, that he says he's brokered and he has confidence in between Iran and Israel. Good

to have you, David. Thank you.

Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is on the ground in the Iranian capital. He saw and heard the ceasefire strikes firsthand and sent

this update from Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: After the Israelis made that claim that Iranian missiles were flying toward Israeli

territory, I actually got in touch with a senior Iranian official, who flat-out denied that the Iranians had fired any missiles toward Israel

after the ceasefire went into effect.

In fact, they said that the moment, that the time had come for the ceasefire, that no missiles had been fired from the Iranian side. The

Iranians also now warning the Israelis against hitting Iranian territory, saying that that would open up Iranian retaliation once again.

And that everything within what they call the Occupied Territories, of course, meaning all of Israel, would then become a target for Iran. So some

tough language coming out of Tehran here as well.

Also, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which, of course, is that elite wing of Iran's military, claiming that there were several violations

of its soil, as they put it, by the Israelis, possibly meaning incursion by some aircraft in the hours after the ceasefire went into effect.

What we're seeing right now, actually, here in Tehran, is that things are fairly calm here. I was on the streets a little bit earlier today. There's

a lot of people who are out driving; some shops opening up.

But what the president said there about the Israelis unloading overnight after the ceasefire deal was announced, was definitely something that we

saw and we felt here from our vantage point as well.

I was up here on this roof and we, all of a sudden, heard Israeli air force planes strike -- what seemed to be Israeli air force planes streaking past.

And then extremely loud explosions rocking our building and then rocking also a lot of other places in central Tehran as well.

We saw a lot of outgoing anti-aircraft gunfire coming from the Iranians. The skies here over the city really were illuminated. That went on for the

better part of, I would say, about half an hour or 45 minutes, maybe up to an hour, where those loud bangs continue.

The Israelis, at some point even issued evacuation orders for certain districts here in around 2:30 in the morning, when obviously people in

those districts most probably would have been asleep. So, it's certainly was a night that saw a lot of kinetic activity.

And as of right now, the Iranians are saying that their forces are not firing back. The foreign minister of this country, Abbas Araghchi, he came

out and said that Iranian forces had fired until the moment that the ceasefire went into effect, which the Iranians consider to be 4 am in the

morning.

And that since then, no projectiles, they say, have been fired from Iran toward Israeli territory, guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:20:03]

ANDERSON: And CNN was also on the ground in Israel. Jeremy Diamond at the scene of that attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: This was the direct hit that took place early this morning in the final hours before that ceasefire went

into effect.

And you can see behind me, this building took a direct hit, partially collapsing. And I'm going to step out of the frame here so you can just get

a closer look at the power of this ballistic missile, you know, one of the final missiles that made impact in Israel before this ceasefire went into

effect.

We are told that four people were killed as a result of this strike. They were actually in one of the top floors there, inside the safe rooms,

according to the Israeli military. But because of the fact that it took a direct hit onto that safe room, we are told that four people who were

inside those safe rooms were indeed killed.

Other individuals, though, who were in other safe rooms further on floors that were further down, they did somehow survive the destructive power of

this ballistic missile.

But dozens of people were nonetheless injured. Some of them are being treated at a hospital here in Be'er Sheva, not far away. And this is, of

course, you know, the tragedy of the way that the ceasefire agreements tend to work in the Middle East, is that you have an announcement of a

ceasefire.

And then there is a period of time before that ceasefire actually goes into effect when you see both sides really, you know, using up as much firepower

as they can.

We saw, of course, those very heavy Israeli strikes in the final hours before the ceasefire agreement went into effect, which President Trump was

talking about, saying that he felt it was unnecessary.

And there was, of course, as well a barrage of more than 20 Iranian ballistic missiles that were fired toward Israel, one of which made impact

right behind me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. The time here at our Middle East programming headquarters, 6:20 in the UAE. We're

going to take a look at the role that Qatar played in brokering the Iran- Israel ceasefire. That is coming.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ANDERSON: Well, late last night, the state of Qatar found itself under fire as Iran took aim at a U.S. airbase there. A source tells CNN that Iran

gave Qatar some advance notice of these missile strikes.

The Qatari prime minister saying, however, that the act would impact Qatar's relationship with its neighbor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER: Basically that will definitely have its score on the relationship, what

happened today.

But I hope that, by the time that everyone learns the lesson, that this kind of neighborhood relationship should not be violated and should not be

undermined.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:25:07]

ANDERSON: Well, in the hours after Qatar had stepped in to a now familiar role as mediator, sources say Qatar helped broker this Israel-Iran

ceasefire, getting Tehran on board after the U.S. was able to get Israel to agree to a truce with Iran.

Paula Hancocks is in Ras Al-Khaimah today. That's an emirate here in the UAE, not far from the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant chunk

of the of Qatari LNG exports move.

Its closure by Iran considered very viable as an option in the past 72 hours ahead of that barrage of missiles on the U.S. base hosted by Qatar

that ended up being Iran's response to the U.S. getting involved in this fight.

Paula, how would you describe the regional response to this ceasefire and Qatar's role in mediating it?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, I think the region as a whole is going to be breathing a massive sigh of relief at this point. The

ceasefire is in its early hours, in its infancy. It is fragile. We have seen that just in the past few hours.

And yet we are in a much better position today than we were 24 hours ago. Now, of course, Qatar is the one country in the Gulf that was targeted by

Iran with those strikes against the U.S. military base.

And remarkably, Qatar was also the country which brokered the ceasefire, helped broker the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, a very unusual

position for it to be in, the fact that it is the country that has, as it said, had its sovereignty and its airspace violated by Iran.

But then turns around to Iran and tries to negotiate and broker that ceasefire, as of this point, successfully. So really a remarkable turn of

events. Qatar's trying to create itself and build itself into a mediator role in the neighborhood. That's for sure.

We have heard, as you said, from the Qatari prime minister as well, though really summing up how much of the region feels saying, we want a peaceful

region without nuclear weapons.

And that's really the feeling from many of these Gulf nations -- Saudi Arabia, the UAE here, for example. In recent months, we have seen more of

an outreach between those two countries and Iran. Saudi restoring diplomatic relations with Iran just a couple of years ago.

But none of these countries wanted to see Iran's nuclear program flourish. None of them wanted to see it have a nuclear program at all. And they did

not appreciate Iran's support of its military proxies in the region.

So while these countries would welcome a weakened Iran when it comes certainly to the proxies themselves and where they would welcome the lack

of a nuclear program, they certainly did not welcome the turmoil that this neighborhood has seen in recent days.

We know that the leaders had been calling the U.S. president, asking him not to get involved. We also know that fell on deaf ears.

But, of course, it was only last month that the U.S. president was here in the UAE, in Qatar, at the base that was targeted by Iran yesterday, and in

Saudi Arabia, getting the red carpet treatment, talking about business, talking about investment.

So it's just a reminder really how quickly things can change, Becky.

ANDERSON: The message promoting peace and prosperity around this region, not perpetual conflict. That is what you hear from leadership around this

Gulf area.

Let me bring in a friend of the show, Hasan Alhasan -- thank you, Paula -- who joins me from Bahrain.

With Trump's frustration, Hasan, over this, these perceived ceasefire violations in the early hours, signaling a notable shift. Netanyahu's

government, now facing pressure from both the U.S. and regional Arab states to keep to this ceasefire.

Do you see all the key challenges and potential fallout for Israel as it charts a path forward?

What's your -- what's your sense here?

HASAN ALHASAN, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST POLICY, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES: So my sense is that we've reached a number of red

lines that I think everyone in the region was hoping wouldn't get breached.

The U.S. attack on Iran and Iran's attack on Al Hudaydah, which is a Qatari facility that hosts U.S. military installations, and obviously U.S.

CENTCOM's forward HQ.

[10:30:00]

And so, I think, you know, when it comes to this ceasefire -- and Israel is going to be, I think, somewhat of a of a problematic actor because Trump's

record in ensuring Israel's compliance with ceasefires, with agreements and deals, hasn't been exactly robust.

But I think, you know, we will see a bit of ambiguity and a bit of uncertainty until things begin to stabilize. What I'm actually worried

about is the precedents that are being set here.

This is the first time that we've seen missiles rain on Doha in this way. And I suspect that there's going to be a lot of soul-searching in the Gulf

about the future of the Gulf states, relations with the United States and with Iran.

The U.S. and Israel has dragged the Gulf states, in this case more specifically, Qatar, exactly into the kind of confrontation with Iran that

they have been seeking and trying to avoid, seeking to avoid for quite some time.

A lot of diplomatic energy had been spent exactly to try and avert the kind of scenes that we saw from Doha last night. You know, the way I think about

the situation now, that this conflict seems as though it's going to be behind us, is that, in reality, Iran emerges in a very similar way to Iraq

post-1991.

Where you have a country that is weakened, that is still intact and very much vengeful. And what we saw Saddam Hussein try to do during the '90s was

conceal elements of his WMD program.

And now, keeping in mind that Iran still has the intention to continue rebuilding its nuclear program, to continue enriching domestically, it

still has the scientific and human capital to do so.

We may simply now see Iran trying to build a parallel a concealed, a secret program to learn lessons from this round of fighting and essentially

setting in place the ingredients for multiple future rounds of instability and conflict. This is the grim long-term scenario that I see.

And the fact that the sealing of these -- of this conflict has now been raised, that red lines have been breached and that precedents for direct

U.S.-Iranian attacks and Iranian attacks on the Gulf states have now been have now been set, I think this all portends for pretty grim future for the

region.

ANDERSON: Well, that's a pretty pessimistic outlook, I have to say. But I hear your arguments for it and they are -- they're grounded in a lot of

substance. I just wonder at this point what -- how you would explain or how you assess what has actually been achieved in what Donald Trump is now

describing as the 12-day war.

ALHASAN: I could totally see why Donald Trump would want the war to end at this point, because I think he realizes that, domestically, this wouldn't

be a popular war for him to be dragged into an open and protracted way.

He can claim that his objective of degrading Iran's nuclear program has been achieved. And so I think the element -- and he can declare a

diplomatic victory by pushing the -- Israel, at least, to accept a ceasefire and by choosing not to respond to Iran's attack on the U.S. base

in Qatar.

So I can see why Trump would want out. I can also see why Iran would want to do so. To my mind, the calculus of Netanyahu's government is a bit more

unclear to me at this stage.

But I think, in a sense, I think Donald Trump can claim to have effectively set back Iran's nuclear program for quite some time. He can also claim to

have degraded through Israel's -- through devices, Iran's ballistic missile capabilities as well.

But I think what he, certainly, can't claim is to have achieved necessarily a long-term strategic success, given the risk that I alluded to, that Iran

could now see the value of establishing a secret program of trying to actually gain nuclear immunity and dash for the bomb.

And that there is a precedent now for Iran directly attacking U.S. bases in the region with short-range ballistic and cruise missile capabilities and

UAVs that it still very much retains.

ANDERSON: Hasan, I want to close, finally, with some more sound from the Qatari prime minister, the ceasefire now between Israel and Iran.

[10:35:00]

Just in its early hours, of course, at this point, has prompted renewed calls for a deal with Hamas in Gaza. At this point, the main source of

optimism appears to be the Qatari prime minister, who expressed hope for progress when he spoke earlier. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL-THANI (through translator): We are still continuing in our efforts. And hopefully we will find an opportunity during the next couple of days so

that there will be an indirect talks between the two sides to reach a ceasefire agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: How realistic do you think that is at this point?

And just remind us, you know, just how important, when we step back from Iran and Israel in this conflict that we've been witnessing and, you know,

watching almost minute by minute, just how important it is that Gaza, that there is a solution for the conflict in Gaza?

ALHASAN: Gaza is extremely important on multiple levels. Obviously, at the humanitarian level, the images and scenes coming out of Gaza have been

extremely heartbreaking. I mean, the suffering there is absolutely immense and unthinkable.

But I think, even at the geopolitical level, I mean, let's remember that this very much started with Gaza. And I think, you know, without a

definitive resolution in Gaza, the Houthis aren't going to stop their confrontation with Israel.

It's difficult to see how Israeli society as well begins to shift away from the war footing on which it has been placed and which, I think, provides

further momentum for the kind of Israeli belligerence that we've seen, and support for Netanyahu's broader destabilizing actions in the region.

And I think, without a definitive resolution to Gaza, it's difficult to see how the Iranians could also deescalate their rhetoric. So I think defusing

the conflict in Gaza, bringing that to a stop, I think, will be an important ingredient in any medium to long-term stabilization plan for the

region.

ANDERSON: Hasan, it's always good to have you. I know that, you know, Bahrain and people of Bahrain have been on a heightened state of alert over

the past 72 hours. So I hope the friends and family are in good shape with what is, you know, somewhat of a pause in the heightened sense of alert

around the region.

And we will speak again soon. Thank you.

Word of possible movement toward talks on a Gaza ceasefire deal comes as desperation grows even further inside Gaza. The U.N. says there is acute

food insecurity in 100 percent of the enclave and a U.S. and Israeli-backed aid program reportedly erupting in deadly violence once again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON (voice-over): The video that we are about to show you is disturbing. It shows what -- appears to show at least people being

transported from a distribution site after Palestinian health officials say 21 people were killed by Israeli fire. CNN is awaiting confirmation from

the Israeli military on those reports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, live from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

After those angry comments, then demanding Israel and Iran keep their ceasefire, U.S. President Donald Trump now off to the NATO summit in The

Hague in the Netherlands, where the war in Ukraine will be front and center. That is just ahead.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): And welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me. Becky Anderson. Here are your headlines.

Well, U.S. President Donald Trump lashing out at Israel and Iran for repeated ceasefire violations. Earlier, before leaving for the NATO summit

in the Netherlands, he criticized both countries and said they need to calm down. In fact, he used some very choice language.

Later, he posted on social media that Israel was not going to further attack Iran.

Well, new signs of a push for diplomacy on the war in Gaza. The Qatari prime minister says he is hoping for indirect talks in the next couple of

days between Israel and Hamas. He says efforts are ongoing to find middle ground on the latest U.S. proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal.

Well, a critical NATO summit is underway at The Hague, with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East high on the agenda. The alliance is also

focused on meeting president Trump's defense spending goal of 5 percent of GDP, more than doubling the current 2 percent.

Well, CNN's Clare Sebastian live from The Hague.

And Donald Trump has described this meeting as likely to be a lot calmer, he says, now that he has brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. And

look, clearly, Ukraine is a massive talking point at this summit, as is defense spending.

But there will be many a conversation about the Middle East crisis and conflicts, multiple points of discussion.

Then what are you hearing at this point?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I think it's clear that Iran has added a layer of complexity over what was already a mammoth task

for NATO, to find unity and consensus. It was hard enough around that 5 percent defense spending goal, 5 percent of GDP, which, as you noted, would

almost double the current target.

That would include defense related spending that already exposed differences. Spain, for example, ahead of the summit, saying that it wasn't

going to hit that goal. Slovakia then jumped on that bandwagon. And with Iran, you know, we hear European leaders calling for diplomacy to be

restarted.

But I will say there's a concerted effort from the NATO secretary general. He said on Monday as he opened this summit, that he did not believe the

U.S. strikes were in violation of international law. And his biggest fear was that Iran would acquire a nuclear bomb.

But I think the most fulsome praise that we've heard so far of those U.S. strikes came from Ukraine's President Zelenskyy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Do you support what's happened?

Do you support what's happened now, the attacks?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Yes. The destruction of their capabilities, their capability to build weapons that

will kill people. So yes, I believe this is a powerful and correct move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So that was in an interview on the eve of this summit with the U.K.'s Sky News network.

"A powerful and correct move," he said.

And I think this is critical as a backdrop to what we expect will be a bilateral meeting between presidents Trump and Zelenskyy on the sidelines

of this summit. That will be a make-good after President Zelenskyy was essentially snubbed when Donald Trump left the G7 last week without

attending a scheduled meeting with Zelenskyy.

It will be a critical opportunity for him, given recent context we've seen between Trump and Putin, to reinforce his perspective, the level of Russian

aggression and the need in his eyes for Trump to get tough on Vladimir Putin, Becky.

ANDERSON: How likely is it that Zelenskyy will get to spend some quality time, let's say, with the U.S. president?

After all, he thought he was going to get a meeting a week or so ago in Canada. And then that being at the G7 meeting. And then, of course, Donald

Trump left early.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, look.

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I think it was always a question of whether he would attend this NATO summit. We didn't find out until quite recently. And I think many here,

even though we've now seen Trump departing, are of the opinion that they'll believe it when they see it, that President Trump even arrives.

So there's a lot of uncertainty and unpredictability around this. But you know, he's in the air. He's on Air Force One, Trump is. And we do expect

that meeting to go ahead. But I think certainly the sense that we've been getting from officials that we've been speaking to is that, yes, that is a

crucially important meeting.

But they are already, European leaders here, banking on a future with much less U.S. aid to Ukraine than we've seen in the past. We've already seen no

new aid under the Trump administration.

So we've seen Zelenskyy this morning meeting with the NATO secretary general and with European leaders as well. So it isn't just for that

meeting that it's critical for Zelenskyy to be here. Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, it's fascinating. It's good to have you there. Clare Sebastian, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed.

An important meeting, as focused as Europe is, on that war in Ukraine, you could argue that President Trump, has as much focus on China and upending

its axis with Russia and Iran. So let's watch this space. And we will report on what comes out of that meeting, an important one. We're going to

take a very short break. Back after this.

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ANDERSON: -- a tour of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala. Her first stop, Panama City for high level talks with President Molino. She'll

also visit U.S. Coast Guard cutter Escanaba and ongoing security and migration cooperation in the region.

The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's emergency request to quickly deport migrants to countries other than their own with minimal

notice. That includes South Sudan and places dealing with violent unrest.

The move, temporary, is a legal challenge plays out in the lower courts. But critics say the ruling strips away due process.

And construction is underway near the Florida Everglades on a migrant detention facility that's being dubbed Alligator Alcatraz. It will be built

on an old airstrip deep in the swampy Everglades and is surrounded by countless wildlife, including gators, crocodiles and panthers. We're told

it's scheduled to begin housing detainees in early July.

Well, the prosecution in the Sean Diddy Combs sex trafficking trial is likely to rest its case today. Its final witness is Homeland Security

special agent Joseph Cerciello. In court on Monday, Diddy's defense team indicated they will not call any witnesses and instead will offer evidence

that will be read into the record.

Also, a source telling CNN that it appears Combs has no plans to take the stand. CNN entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister has been

covering this from the beginning.

And it does look like the judge will get his wish, Elizabeth, that this case will go to jury before the July 4th holiday.

Correct?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That is right. So from the beginning, Becky, the judge has said that he hopes to wrap this up

by July 4th. And, of course, this is a very long trial.

At one point, it felt like that may not be possible because the defense had said at one point that they expected for their presentation to go up for

two weeks. But now the defense has indicated that they do not plan to call a single witness, with a source telling me that that means that Sean Combs

is not taking the stand in his trial.

Now, of course, in any criminal trial, any time that a defendant takes the stand, they open themselves up to a considerable amount of risk that cross-

examination from the prosecution could be grueling. But Combs will have no one defending him and he will not be defending himself.

Clearly, the defense believes that their case has been through their own cross-examination. So right now, Becky, right behind me in court, as you

said, we are hearing from the prosecution's final witness, who is a summary witness.

He is showing charts of exhibits that the prosecution has presented to the jury. He said that he reviewed thousands of pages of flight records, hotel

records, phone records, text messages would show, at least according to the prosecution, that Sean Combs was transporting male escorts and also women

like Jane.

That was one of the government's main witnesses. The prosecution says that he was transporting them across state lines for the sole purpose of sex.

Now Sean Combs is facing five different charges, two of those being transportation to engage in prostitution. So if these exhibits, these

flight records -- again, traveling across state lines -- if the jury believes that those flights were for the purpose of these male escorts to

have sex, that Sean Combs was paying for.

And by the way, the jury has seen payment that comes from Bad Boy Entertainment or Sean Combs. Well, if the jury believes that, then that

could be two charges right there, Becky. Now deliberations could start as soon as this Friday but most certainly by the beginning of next week.

ANDERSON: Now the defense not calling any witnesses is being interpreted, at least by some, that prosecutors did not prove their case of sex

trafficking and conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt.

And all along, the defense has said that the prosecution may prove that Combs is a domestic abuser and, as they describe it, a bad guy. But it

doesn't rise to the most serious charges.

Is -- that's certainly the interpretation that that some are making.

Is there some -- is there some substance in that, do you see, having covered this trial from the start?

[10:55:00]

WAGMEISTER: That is what the defense believes. I am hearing from my sources close to Combs' defense that they do not believe that the

prosecution has proved their case, has proved these charges.

Now we know from the beginning of the case, the defense has said that these so-called freak offs, these drug-fueled sex nights, where Combs was

allegedly coercing women into having sex with male escorts for the prosecution, those are at the center of their case.

They say that Sean Combs is a sex trafficker, is a racketeer and engaged in prostitution. But when you look at the defense, they say that's not true at

all. To your point, Becky, they say our client may have done some indefensible, horrific things.

And, of course, the jury saw that video footage that our team at CNN first broke of him violently beating Cassie. But the defense says that, despite

these things, that is not the charges that he is facing. These were consensual, former girlfriends and they were toxic relationships but not

criminal. So that is what the defense's perspective is.

ANDERSON: Yes, it's fascinating, isn't it?

All right. Well, look, you've been terrific across all of this. And thank you for getting us up to speed, bang up to date on what is an important

day. Thank you.

That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up.

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