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Israeli Prime Minister Says Doha Strike Is Part of Mission to Defeat Hamas; Hamas Says "No One Is Talking" about Gaza after Doha Strike; Concern for Hostages after Qatar Strike; Strike Failed to Assassinate Negotiating Delegation; Poland States Drone Airspace Violation Is an "Act of Aggression"; Growing Condemnation over Israeli Strike on Hamas in Qatar; Trump "Very Unhappy" about Qatar Strike; Conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine are Expanding Despite Trump's Vow to End Wars; Doha Strike Puts American Credibility in Question; Drones Attack Boats in Flotilla en Route to Deliver Gaza Aid. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired September 10, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi. This is CONNECT THE
WORLD.
An already rocky diplomatic path forward in Gaza is now effectively shut down after Israel launched an airstrike into Qatar targeting Hamas
negotiators.
A senior Hamas official tells CNN that, quote, "No one is talking about a ceasefire in Gaza at the moment."
Qatar's prime minister says the Israeli strike makes continuing the process impossible for now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI, QATARI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The Israeli attack that took place today on Qatari
soil can only be called state terrorism.
This message says that there is a rogue player in this region. We believe that today we have reached a pivotal moment where there must be a response
from the entire region to such barbaric actions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Much of the region has expressed outrage but the Israeli prime minister says the strike was justified.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: At the beginning of the war, I promised that Israel would reach those who perpetrated this horror. And
today Israel and I have kept that promise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Sources say the Israeli officials are questioning the effectiveness of the attack. Hamas says Israel failed to hit its intended
targets; instead, killing five lower-ranking Hamas members.
Meanwhile, U.S. president Donald Trump has said he was very unhappy about the strike on the soil of Qatar, a staunch American ally. But Israeli
officials say Mr. Trump spoke twice with prime minister Netanyahu after the attack and the conversations were, quote, "very good."
We've got CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining us now live.
Jeremy, you have regional condemnation of this strike on Qatari soil. President Trump says he was very unhappy about this. And then, of course,
it brings into question what this means for negotiations.
Give me a sense of what the Israeli government is saying right now, given that sources are also saying that perhaps they didn't reach their intended
targets.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it does seem like the realization is setting in within the corners of the Israeli government and
its security establishment that this strike did not kill its intended targets.
After Hamas said that all of the senior Hamas leaders who were present at this meeting in order to discuss the latest American ceasefire proposal,
that all of them survived this strike by the Israeli military.
That was carried out using 10 fighter jets and was clearly intended to do enormous, enormous damage. And so in the wake of that, you know, we are not
hearing a lot today, officially from the Israeli prime minister himself, for example.
But privately, I'm told that there are damage control efforts underway. Some of that stems from two key senior Israeli officials; Ron Dermer, who
is prime minister Netanyahu's closest adviser, the minister for strategic affairs, who's been leading these ceasefire negotiations from the Israeli
side.
And David Barnea, the head of the Mossad, Israel's spy agency; both of them, I'm told, are downplaying in conversations with Americans and Qataris
the extent of their knowledge of the decision to carry out these strikes.
That's not very believable, given the seniority of both of these men and the involvement that they likely would have had in the days leading up to
this strike, in the preparations for it, the decision-making for it.
But what it signals is that there is an effort underway by both of them to salvage their relationship; on the one hand, for Dermer with the Americans
and, on the other hand, for Barnea, with the Qataris, in order to preserve -- or try to preserve -- a pathway for future negotiations.
But it certainly seems like, at least in the short term, this Israeli strike has completely derailed what seemed to be promising new American
efforts to revive ceasefire and hostage release deal negotiations.
[10:05:00]
And the question is, can they get back on track, once the dust from this strike has settled?
But it's certainly not -- has not for now. As we've heard, the Qatari prime minister yesterday, visibly upset, putting a question mark really over the
future of Qatar's role in mediating these negotiations going forward.
And, look, the Israelis knew what they were doing. They knew the moment at which they were striking. They knew that this was a critical moment in the
ceasefire negotiations.
And lastly, I would just note that it's not the first time that the Israelis have done this. When they took out Mohammed Sinwar in Gaza earlier
this year, that happened just one day after Hamas released the Israeli American, Edan Alexander.
What was viewed at the time as a goodwill gesture on Hamas' part, intended to spur on ceasefire negotiations and, instead the Israelis, one day later,
carried out this strike and that process was derailed then again as well.
GIOKOS: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for that.
Right. In the wake of the strikes, Israeli hostage families fear that a deal, which would see their loved ones returned home, is slipping further
away.
In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, "A grave fear now hangs over the price that the hostages may pay."
Meantime, the Israeli coordinator for hostage affairs defended the strikes, accusing Hamas of disrupting peace talks and reiterating the need to bring
the hostages home.
Joining us now is Moshe Lavi. His brother-in-law, Omri Miran, is being held as a hostage in Gaza.
Moshe, great to have you with us. Thank you so much for taking the time. As we said, your brother-in-law, Omri, is still trapped in Gaza. And we just
heard from Jeremy Diamond, who says the hope of a potential deal, a hostage release deal, perhaps is now slipping further away.
When you saw this strike on Qatar, what went through your mind?
MOSHE LAVI, OMRI MIRAN'S BROTHER-IN-LAW: Thank you for having me.
When I saw the strike on Hamas, not on Qatar -- it was within Qatar's territory but the target was Hamas leadership -- I was all naturally
concerned that we are heading toward an escalation, further escalation, rather than a resolution to the hostage crisis and to the war in Gaza.
I understand why the Israeli leadership, our leadership, would want to pursue and eliminate Hamas leadership that are responsible for the
suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians. The onus is on them and they have not negotiated in good faith.
However, conducting such strikes in the midst of negotiations, a day after president Trump outlined a new vision for a deal, a few weeks after Hamas
stated that they're supposedly agreeing to the Witkoff plan that Israel agreed to before, it's unclear what's the point of this strike and what is
going to progress us to a hostage deal.
GIOKOS: So let me ask you this.
Do you believe that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is, you know, ensuring that he's working in the best interest to release the hostages, to
work, to get that deal to release the hostages?
LAVI: I want to stress that the prime minister is the elected official, is the policy maker. He's the one who was entrusted by the Israeli public to
make decisions. I'm a mere citizen and a relative of a hostage who is concerned about his well-being and the well-being of all the hostages.
I met the prime minister more than a month ago in Washington, D.C., at the Blair House. He said that he is looking to find a way to sign a deal with
Hamas, a deal that will ensure the release of all the hostages and will ensure that Hamas does not grow to the threat it was on October the 7th.
Ever since that meeting in July, I have not sensed that the prime minister is truly pursuing a hostage deal but pursuing other avenues, the military
pressure avenue.
But my reading of the situation is that, while there is a truth to the notion that we need to get peace through strength, as president Trump says,
where is the peace element?
Where is the agreement element?
And where is the social contract element?
His responsibility for Israeli citizens who are held captive by a terrorist organization that right now is torturing them, depriving them of food,
water, sanitation and sunlight, prime minister Netanyahu has the responsibility to pursue a deal to bring them home.
GIOKOS: Are you concerned?
I mean, are you and your family concerned like many other hostage families, concerned about what the strike, as you say, on Hamas leadership in Qatar.
[10:10:00]
That it is going to have a detrimental impact on the safety of the hostages?
You know, give me a sense of how you're feeling.
LAVI: There is a Jewish parable that, states that, "we ate the rotten fish and were expelled from the city."
That's the sort of feelings we have today. It's unclear whether the strike was successful and -- but the condemnation came. And it is clear that this
is going to have an impact on the negotiations and on a potential deal.
Those were alarms that were raised by the Israeli security apparatus over the past month due to the increasing rhetoric of increasing military
pressure instead of pursuing a deal where the Witkoff plan were a comprehensive deal.
So we are naturally -- many families naturally are very concerned. And we're going to keep raising our concern on the streets in Israel but also
raise our concern to the international community, to countries as well like Qatar, which harbor terrorists for years, allowed them to grow, financed
them and then led to the October 7th massacre.
I hold Qatar accountable. I hold other Hamas sponsors accountable, like Turkiye, like Iran and all the entire international community accountable
for not pressuring Hamas from the -- from the first day of this terrible war.
But at the same time, I urge my prime minister to respect the social contract, to do what is right. And what is right right now is to take all
the victories we achieve in the battlefield and convert them to diplomatic achievements, which should include the return of the hostages and the
disarming of Hamas.
GIOKOS: Moshe, thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate your insights and sharing your stories with us.
Moshe Lavi there.
Well, let's get more now from CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, who is live in Doha for us this hour.
You know, Nic, we've been hearing the outrage and the condemnation from -- specifically from the Arab -- from Arab nations. And importantly here,
there's a big question about security guarantees from America. That relationship now coming into question, not only for the Qataris but for
regionally as well.
Give me a sense of what you're hearing right now.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, there is strong support at the moment for Qatar from its Gulf partners. Qatar, the host of a
massive U.S. air base, the Emirates' host to U.S. Naval base.
Saudi Arabia, a key ally and supporter of the United States, buys a lot of military equipment from the United States. All key partners in an economic,
military, diplomatic, political sense.
But they look to the leadership in the White House, to keep other allies like Israel within certain bounds.
And the concerns are now growing that the relationship that this White House has with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- and specifically
president Trump -- is one where it appears the Israeli prime minister, for a set of circumstances that he feels are conducive and allow him to do what
he thinks he needs to do, are not being held within historic guardrails by the U.S. president.
So I think that's where the perception is at the moment, that president Trump, his relationship with the Israeli prime minister, is one that is not
just threatening by immediate military actions of Israel on those allies or on the soil of those allies.
But the expectation would be that this should never get to this moment, because president Trump's relationship with prime minister Netanyahu and
the sorts of conversations they would be having would leave the Israeli prime minister with no doubt about the United States' feeling about Israel
doing something like this.
Rather than having a conversation afterwards, which has now become the modus operandi of the Israeli prime minister, to act and then go to the
United States, at least as far as we know, publicly, and get into deeper discussion about it.
GIOKOS: So Nic, we know the Qataris have been instrumental in mediating deals.
And now the question becomes, you know, is there a semblance of hope of trying to get a hostage release deal, a ceasefire deal?
Or has this strike completely derailed that hope?
ROBERTSON: I think there will be -- there will be the hope that the hope is still alive. I think what we're hearing from Hamas right now, no one's
talking about a ceasefire. But if you really drill down and analyze it, at a bare-bones level, Qatar, the intermediary, speaks to Hamas on Monday,
talks to Israelis overnight Monday into Tuesday.
[10:15:08]
It is known that Hamas are going to be meeting in their residence at a certain time. And then Israel hits that residence inside of Qatar.
Where does that leave Qatar in terms of its, you know, Hamas' view of it as being a -- an impartial intermediary?
In many ways that would be wrecked, not just the fact that Israel has done what it's done. So the trust will have broken down. But the hope that
something can happen to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza, look, frankly, it has to just push it further over the horizon.
The further you move that timeline out, the greater the length of time that Israel has for its current military operation in Gaza City. And that's the
last major stronghold, they say, of Hamas and the last key major city that hasn't had a major Israeli military ground operation run through it.
You get to a point where, what is there to negotiate about?
And the perception therefore grows, that Israel doesn't want to negotiate and is pushing for a plan that would see Palestinians leave Gaza. That's
the perception that grows in the absence of -- in the absence of ceasefire talks.
Because without those talks, as you say, what hope?
And that's where we are. But again, the hope of the hope, that talks can continue, does seem to be alive. But it -- but it has to be at its worst
ebb yet and hard to see how you build that trust back to make it happen.
GIOKOS: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much for that.
Nic Robertson for us in Doha.
All right. We have more news to come ahead on the show, including a look at how Israel's strike in Qatar could impact U.S.' relationship and that
Donald Trump has worked very hard to cultivate. We'll break that down for you.
Plus, Russia tests NATO with what Poland is calling an act of aggression. While the physical damage seems minimal, the political fallout is most
certainly not. A closer look on that story just ahead. Stay with CNN.
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GIOKOS: NATO says over a dozen Russian drones entered Poland's airspace on Tuesday, forcing the alliance to shoot them down. NATO officials called the
incident "a dangerous escalation" in Russia's war with neighboring Ukraine.
Polish prime minister Donald Tusk says the drones posed a real threat to the safety of Poland's citizens. Russia's defense ministry says there were
no targets in Poland, according to Russian state media. But Poland's leader apparently isn't convinced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TUSK, POLISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are most likely dealing with a large scale provocation but at the same time we are
in consultation with our allies. I am in constant contact with the NATO secretary general. This is so that we can respond to this type of threat as
effectively as we did tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:20:08]
GIOKOS: And CNN has just learned that U.S. president Donald Trump plans to speak with Polish president Karol Nawrocki today about the Russian drone
incursion.
I want to bring in retired U.S. Army Col. Robert E. Hamilton for his perspective. He's the president of the Delphi Global Research Center.
Colonel, great to have you with us. Thanks so much for taking the time.
Look, you're looking at this story playing out. We know that there's been a massive assault into Kyiv and into Ukraine and these drones now breach into
Polish airspace. It's either deliberate or it's a mistake.
Seeing some of the footage, hearing the story, what is your assessment?
COL. ROBERT E. HAMILTON, U.S. ARMY (RET.), PRESIDENT, DELPHI GLOBAL RESEARCH CENTER: My assessment is that it's deliberate. I mean, the Poles
are saying there were at least eight drones that that overflew Polish airspace.
That -- and many of them, most of them were shot down by either ground- based or air-based systems. And so it is very likely a Russian attempt to test NATO's resolve, to test Polish defenses, maybe to spur, to split the
U.S. from Europe in their approach to the conflict in Ukraine.
But it was almost certainly a deliberate attack or deliberate incident by the Russians.
GIOKOS: And it's interesting because Russian state media is saying there were no targets in Poland per se. But they, of course, didn't clarify. They
left it very vague in terms of whether they deliberately breached into Polish airspace.
What do you make of that statement, that there were no specific targets in Poland?
HAMILTON: Well, I mean, that's irrelevant; when you violate the airspace, you violate the sovereignty of a noncombatant country in a war. It doesn't
matter. I mean, of course, it would have been worse had they had they been targeting things in Poland.
But it's very likely that these drones were programmed to deliberately overfly Polish airspace, to test NATO's defenses, to test NATO's resolve.
I'd prefer Russia to gain information on how Poland would respond to a violation of its airspace that Russia can use, then, if the conflict does
escalate.
GIOKOS: So Poland shoots down these drones and able to intercept them. But it's interesting because you've now clarified this is also to test NATO's
resolve and Polish defenses.
What is your sense in terms of what NATO should do in retaliation, if at all?
Are you seeing this as Russia having crossed a red line?
HAMILTON: I just see it as another step forward, another escalation by Russia. You know, it's interesting; both U.S. administrations, both the
Biden administration and Trump administration, have been so concerned about what they're calling vertical escalation.
In other words, escalating the level of violence, potentially up to the use of nuclear weapons, which Russia threatens almost every week, or horizontal
escalation of the conflict, meaning the conflict would spill outside of its borders.
The conflict has continued to escalate from Russia's side, both horizontally -- both vertically and horizontally. In other words, it has
now violated Polish airspace. It's violated Romanian airspace in the past. It's moved nuclear weapons to Belarus and has continued to use more and
more capable weapons and more of them in the conflict.
So I mean, to me, it shows this is just one more piece of evidence that the U.S. approach to this conflict in, frankly, both administrations, has been
ineffective. And under the Trump administration, it's almost become farcical.
Because I think we need to remember the recent history of U.S. policy toward Ukraine. The U.S. voted against the U.N. General Assembly resolution
in February that condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine.
It voted -- it was one of only a few countries that voted against. Even China abstained. The U.S. cut off briefly, in March, military aid and
military intelligence sharing to Ukraine, which caused Ukrainians to die on the front lines.
Prior to the Alaska summit, president Trump threatened severe consequences unless Russia agreed to a ceasefire. They didn't. Since then, Russia has
continued to escalate their violence to essentially no reaction from the U.S.
GIOKOS: I also want to talk about this Israeli strike in Qatar, targeting very precise targets on what Israel says was a residential building,
residential house with, you know, Hamas leadership.
And what's interesting and some of the questions that are coming through right now is, firstly, how did the biggest U.S. airspace -- air base in the
region not pick this up?
There was no warning. It really shocked the Qataris. The U.S. president saying he's very unhappy about this. Give me a sense from a military
perspective and also detection how this could have flown under the radar.
Would the U.S. government, would the U.S. air base have known about this?
[10:25:00]
Or at least detected the strike?
HAMILTON: What I'm hearing and reading is that the Israelis did notify the U.S. But they notified the U.S. very close to the time of the actual
strike. The U.S. was able to notify Qatar but not in time for Qatari air defenses to be activated and to intercept the aircraft.
What I don't know -- and I'm not sure we know -- the Israelis at some point may say is what type of aircraft were involved, where they were. It's not -
- it's not necessary that they ever entered Qatari airspace for them to hit a building in Qatar.
In other words, Israel, like the U.S., like Russia, has systems, has missiles that can fly long distances and can be launched from outside the
airspace of a country that hit targets in that country. So that I don't think we know yet. I think we probably will know in the coming hours or
days.
The diplomatic response, though, should be interesting because, as you said, president Trump has said he's very unhappy with it. He said it
doesn't serve U.S. or Israeli interests. There's going to be a U.N. Security Council meeting tonight.
The U.S. vote in that resolution, how the U.S. reacts to whatever resolution is tabled tonight at the U.N., will be interesting, too.
GIOKOS: All right, Col. Robert E. Hamilton, great to have you with us. Thank you so much for your insights.
All right, happening right now, we're awaiting a possible verdict in the trial of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro. Already two of five
supreme court justices have voted to convict him. It could take just one more vote to secure a majority.
And right now, court is back underway. Bolsonaro is charged with plotting a coup to remain in power after losing his 2022 reelection bid.
And you may recall, back on January the 8th, 2023, supporters who refused to accept his defeat stormed congress, the supreme court and the
presidential palace in an attack reminiscent of the one on the U.S. Capitol two years earlier.
Americo Martins has been reporting on Brazils politics for years. He joins us now from London.
And we're waiting to hear from the third justice. We spoke in the last hour. And I really want to get into, depending on what this justice decides
to do, whether to vote in favor of a conviction or not.
What chances does Bolsonaro have of an appeal?
And what does that look like?
Because there's five justices that need to vote. And, of course, if they get a majority, that changes the calculus for the former president.
AMERICO MARTINS, CNN BRASIL INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Apparently the judge that is right now elaborate on his vote, because the votes in the
supreme court in Brazil take a very long time for them to detail everything.
Luis Fuchs, who is on the screen right now, he's speaking in Brasilia. He will most likely vote against the considering Bolsonaro guilty. In fact, he
called for the dismissal of the case, saying that the supreme court was not the court that had the power to judge such a case.
He said that that should be discussed in a lower court. So his most likely vote in favor of Bolsonaro, he's only -- the only judge that will vote
today. So that means that we are not going to have a unanimous decision.
That amplifies the chances for Mr. Bolsonaro to appeal against the decision, because, if you had a decision that was unanimous among all the
five judges, it would be much harder for him to appeal. Now this opens the door for him to try to appeal.
Also, that is most likely leading to a less harsh punishment against Mr. Bolsonaro if he is found guilty. We have two other judges that are likely
to vote only tomorrow, Thursday, and then we are going to have the sentence if he is found guilty on Friday.
The chances are that he's going to appeal exactly because the judge today is claiming that the supreme court does not have the right to judge
Bolsonaro right now. So that's a twist in the plot, if you like, and will open the chance for him to appeal.
The problem, of course, is that he's going to have to appeal against the supreme court again. So we are going to have, most likely, another possible
trial if they decide to receive that appeal from Mr. Bolsonaro.
GIOKOS: Americo Martins, great to have you with us. Thank you so much as we watch the story very closely and, of course, monitoring it over the next
few days as the supreme court justices decide on how to convict or not convict Jair Bolsonaro.
And coming up, America's security guarantees are central to its relationship in the Gulf.
So where does Israel's attack on Doha yesterday put those alliances?
We'll answer that question after this.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Eleni Giokos. Here are your headlines.
Negotiations on Gaza's ceasefire and hostage release appear to have completely shut down. That's after Israeli jets attacked Hamas targets in
Qatar on Tuesday. Hamas officials say no one is talking about Gaza right now. Qatar, which has been a key mediator, said it sees no value in
continuing the negotiations.
NATO planes shot down Russian drones in Poland's airspace on Tuesday, according to alliance officials. Poland's military says it happened as
Russia was attacking neighboring Ukraine. Russia's defense ministry says there were no targets in Poland and it wants to discuss the matter with
Polish officials, according to Russian media.
Nationwide unrest has broken out across France today as protesters block roads, set fire to trash cans outside schools and clashed with police. The
interior ministry says nearly 300 people have been detained so far. The preplanned demonstrations come the same day as the country's new prime
minister, Sebastien Lecornu, takes office.
The White House says U.S. president Donald Trump has assured the Qataris that another strike would not happen again on their soil following Israel's
bombing in Doha. But questions are swirling over just how much the Americans knew and when. Publicly, Mr. Trump is expressing frustration with
Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I was very unhappy about it, very unhappy about every aspect. And we've got to get the hostages back. But I was very unhappy about the way
that went down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Qatar is an extremely important ally to the United States, housing the biggest U.S. military base in the region and acting as a key negotiator
in a number of conflicts involving the Americans, not least the war in Gaza.
Mr. Trump picked Qatar as one of his first state visits back in May. Take a listen to what he had to say then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We have never had a relationship with Qatar as strong as it is now.
You know that better than anybody.
And they're very happy.
And we're going to protect you. We're going to protect you. That's the one thing you need maybe but I don't think you're going to need too much of
that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Well, CNN U.S. security correspondent Kylie Atwood is live in Washington, D.C., for us.
Kylie, look, this poses a serious credibility issue for the Trump administration.
How concerned are the Americans about this relationship and their standing in the Gulf right now?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I think they're certainly concerned about it. And we saw that quite swiftly after the news
of this attack broke yesterday, because one of their first lines of messaging was, as you said, that the Trump administration would not allow
any further strikes like this to happen on Qatari soil.
[10:35:00]
Now we haven't gotten confirmation that the Trump administration has actually aggressively shared that message with the Israelis. But that is an
area for us to watch.
What does the Trump administration do other than rhetoric, other than saying that they weren't happy about this strike?
President Trump saying it wasn't his decision, saying it was prime minister Netanyahu's decision.
Other than doubling down on those rhetorical commitments, what do they do to uphold their credibility?
This is going to be a key question that we watch in the coming days. President Trump said in a post yesterday that he is going to be ordering
the secretary of state and acting national security adviser to finalize a defense cooperation pact with Qatar. So that might be something that would
draw Qatar back to the table with the United States.
But it's very clear that Qatar is extremely frustrated with how this went down, not only because, of course, one person, Qatari, was killed in this
operation but also because they were asked by the United States to be involved in these negotiations to try and drive an end to the Gaza
conflict.
GIOKOS: All right, Kylie, thank you so much.
My next guest has covered the region for 15 years, currently as the Middle East correspondent for "The Economist."
And he writes that, "Upon reflection, whether Trump knew or not is irrelevant. If, yes, he approved a strike on a country under an American
security guarantee. If no, he couldn't prevent said strike.
"Either way, question for Gulf leaders is the same, what is the value of American security guarantees?"
Gregg Carlstrom joins us now live from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
It's really good to have you on at this important time. And you know, this strike really coming as a huge shock to the Qataris. We just heard that
sound bite a little earlier from president Trump saying, "We will protect you."
And it really speaks to your question, how credible are American security guarantees, not only for Qatar but for the region as a whole?
GREGG CARLSTROM, MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT, "THE ECONOMIST": And I think there are a lot of policymakers in the region who don't think they're that
credible right now. I think let's put this in a slightly broader context.
You had, in 2019, Iranian-sponsored attacks on Saudi oil facilities. That was in Trump's first term. You had, in 2022, a Iranian-sponsored drone
attack on Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, which killed three people. That was during Joe Biden's term.
In both cases, Gulf rulers felt the United States didn't do enough to protect them, to retaliate against their attackers, even just to reassure
them after the attack. So there were already some questions about how committed America was to being a protector of Gulf countries.
And now, since June, Qatar has been attacked twice; of course, first by the Iranians in June. That was in retaliation for American strikes on Iran's
nuclear facilities. And now by Israel yesterday. So they have been directly attacked once by an American ally.
And again, America either has not been able to or has not been willing to shield them from that. That's only going to, I think, reinforce these
concerns that they have in the region.
GIOKOS: Yes. And it's actually longstanding because you had the Aramco strike in 2019, the Abu Dhabi drone strike in 2022. And as you say, it's an
ongoing issue.
So you've got Gulf leaders now, some of them in Qatar, in solidarity, including the Saudi crown prince as well as the UAE president that is there
right now.
What does this mean regionally in terms of potential retaliation or response?
A big message to the United States and also, importantly to Israel.
CARLSTROM: I don't think anyone has an answer to that yet. I think the scenario of Israel attacking Qatar was, you know, unthinkable until just
over 24 hours ago.
I remember, back in late 2023, I was in Doha after October 7th; asked the Qatari prime minister if he was worried about exactly this thing happening.
And his response was basically a feeling that America was going to restrain Israel. Everybody thought that America was going to prevent something like
this from happening.
So I don't think there's a plan on the shelf in terms of retaliation.
But what might that look like?
It's not going to be a military response, obviously, because this region just doesn't have the military capability to do that. But what it does have
is economic heft.
You have countries like the UAE that have invested quite a lot in Israel in recent years and, of course, they have invested and are planning to invest
much larger sums in the United States. They promised Trump hundreds of billions of dollars in investment when he made his tour through the region
in May.
And so I think, as they're probably debating now how it is they want to respond, economics are going to play into it.
GIOKOS: You know, president Trump is very transactional, which we've come to know and understand.
[10:40:00]
And he's been signing these economic exchange deals with many countries around the world, specifically during his tour of the GCC earlier this
year, signing some of those with Saudi, with the UAE and, importantly, Qatar.
And not forgetting the $400 million plane that was gifted to president Trump by Qatar as well. You know, human nature, it's all about reciprocity;
it's an unsaid rule. And I'm just curious how you see this playing out and what it ultimately means.
Because some people have said, look, this is humiliating for president Trump, given that, you know, he made a very big deal about his presence
here in the region earlier this year.
CARLSTROM: It is humiliating. It's embarrassing, I think, both for him personally and for the United States as a whole, that that this happened. I
think one thing that we have seen throughout this second term is that he's very transactional when it comes to many countries.
But when it comes to Israel, he largely hasn't been. He has essentially deferred to Benjamin Netanyahu, to the Israeli government in Gaza and
elsewhere in the region, giving them essentially free rein to do whatever it is that they want.
So from an American perspective, you know, Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, when she stood at the podium in the White House yesterday and
said this wasn't in America's interests, I think she's right about that.
No American interest was advanced by allowing Israel, if not greenlighting Israel, then at least not vetoing this Israeli operation. But I think we've
seen with Gaza and now we've seen again in Qatar that Trump is willing to let Israel do things that don't serve American interests, that, in some
cases, are actively opposed to American interests.
GIOKOS: Gregg Carlstrom, thank you so much for your time. Good to have you on the show.
All right. Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, the U.S. president vowed to stop global wars once he returned to office. We'll look at the very different
reality happening right now.
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TRUMP: It will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage and exceptionalism. Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of
unity to a world that has been angry, violent and totally unpredictable.
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GIOKOS: Well, that's U.S. president Donald Trump, speaking at his inauguration in January, promising to end global wars and end them quickly.
The reality today: the wars in Gaza and Ukraine are both expanding.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): And you're seeing the aftermath of the Israeli strike in Doha Tuesday, while Israel scales up its offensive in Gaza. And Russian
drones shot down in Poland on the heels of massive attacks in Ukraine.
Qatar and Poland, both key U.S. allies. On the campaign trail, the president vowed the wars in Ukraine and Gaza would be over once he returned
to office.
[10:45:05]
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TRUMP: I will end the war in Ukraine, which would have never started if I was president. And I will stop the chaos in the Middle East.
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GIOKOS: Well, CNN Politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson is here.
Stephen, clearly a slew of broken promises.
And in your latest analysis, you write, "Assuming president Donald Trump's claim that he couldn't stop Israel's strike on Hamas officials in Qatar
residential district is true, he's just suffered another devastating blow to international credibility."
Tell us more, because it's a really interesting piece; as I said, a lot of broken promises. And clearly he can't live up to what his expectations were
to end these wars.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So if it's true that the Israelis didn't give the U.S. advance notice and the U.S. didn't
condone this raid, as the White House is arguing, then this is an attempt by Benjamin Netanyahu to take action, which absolutely flouts America's
foreign policy interests.
And a current goal of the president, which was to get Hamas to agree to his latest peace plan for Gaza, which was being negotiated in Qatar -- the
Hamas officials met the Qataris the day before this attack.
And it seems to be a clear attempt by the Netanyahu government to end those peace talks, because it's hard to think that Hamas would continue talking
after what happened. So this clearly is an attempt to countermand Trump's authority and credibility.
And I think you could argue that that's been happening across the globe. And the people that have been doing it, the Russians, the Chinese and
others, have really faced no price for doing so. And that is why Trump seems a weakened figure globally right now.
GIOKOS: Yes. And it's a really interesting notion here on him being a weakened figure. He has unsuccessfully tried to negotiate ceasefire and
peace agreements in both conflicts.
You've got Russian president Vladimir Putin, you know, a barrage of assaults on Ukraine, going into Polish airspace. You're seeing Benjamin
Netanyahu in the strike on Qatar, which is a staunch U.S. ally.
Importantly here -- and I'm just wondering, firstly, how this makes president Trump look but also whether this notion that he is the best
dealmaker is now in major question.
COLLINSON: Yes, I think this idea that you can do "art of the deal" diplomacy and quickly rack up wins was always facile.
You know, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute is not some building in New York. The Ukrainian war is not some golf club that Trump is trying to buy and
that someone is keen to offload.
These are conflicts that are deeply rooted in nationality, in land, in identity. And they're simply exceedingly complex.
If you look at the conflicts where the United States has been successful in brokering peace -- for example, the Bosnian peace accord in the 1990s or
even its involvement in the British-led push toward peace in Northern Ireland -- these are deeply painstaking negotiations that carried out at
much lower levels.
And the president is only called in at a key moment when he -- only he can be the most decisive force in pushing toward talks.
We've seen nothing of that. There's very little foreign policy expertise in the White House or elsewhere in the administration. There doesn't seem to
be really a deep understanding between the president and his envoy, Steve Witkoff, to both of these conflicts, even about what they are about and
what the key goals of all the partners are.
I mean, the White House, despite all the evidence, seems still to be laboring under the impression that Vladimir Putin wants peace and he wants
it soon.
GIOKOS: Yes. Really a good point. Stephen, let me ask you this because I think regionally, especially here, where I am the UAE, you've got Saudi
Arabia and other countries condemning the strike in Qatar, even though the target was meant and obviously aimed at Hamas, a very precise strike.
What is your sense in terms of the region growing cold toward the United States and also putting at risk the Abraham Accords and even the notion of
perhaps normalization with Saudi Arabia, which seems something that's gone even further away than what we had before October 7th?
COLLINSON: Yes. The White House said yesterday that this attack in Qatar was, you know, counterproductive to U.S. interests.
[10:50:06]
And I think that's right. Let's remember president Trump's first trip in his second term was a swing through Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and
Qatar. He said, at that point, that the path forward to the Middle East was through business and investment and it was time to turn away from war.
All of that has been undercut by the way that he's addressed a lot of these conflicts. Critics would say he's not done enough to rein in Benjamin
Netanyahu. It is a goal of the administration, as the president pursues a Nobel prize, to try and expand the Abraham Accords.
It seems, as you say, completely unrealistic, first of all, that that could happen while the current situation and deprivation in Gaza is ongoing.
Secondly, you know, the Gulf states, the other Gulf states now must be thinking, well, if the Israelis can strike in Qatar, the home to the
biggest U.S. military base in the region, you know, where is next?
And who is safe?
And this doesn't seem like a government in Israel that there are, you know, political opportunities for Gulf state leaders to engage with.
GIOKOS: So we also know that president Trump was, you know, campaigned and rallied on America First policy.
Do you believe that all the moves and everything that he's been doing is in America's best interest?
COLLINSON: I think that America First is sometimes not properly interpreted.
And this idea that, you know, the U.S. won't get sucked into endless wars on the same -- on the same way, because I think what Trump is saying is not
that America will not engage, will not use military force, as it did in Iran but it's not going to get sucked into endless land wars like
Afghanistan and Iraq.
So America will use its weight in the world and its military might. It just won't be in the more traditional terms that we've seen American presidents
in the past commit the United States to.
GIOKOS: All right. Stephen Collinson, good to have you on. Thank you so much.
And be sure to read Stephen's full analysis online.
He writes that, "While president Trump seems sincere in his desire to be a global peacemaker, Israel's attack in Qatar could be ruinous to his self-
image as a power-wielding strongman who is feared abroad."
You can go to our website for that and all the latest developments on the wars in Ukraine, as well as Gaza.
And still to come on the show, video shows the moment a suspected drone attacked a boat in a flotilla, hoping to deliver aid to Gaza by sea. We'll
have a firsthand account of what that feels like straight ahead.
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GIOKOS: Activists attempting to deliver aid to Gaza by sea have come under attack.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): This footage shows the moment a suspected drone attacked a boat in the Global Sumud Flotilla. Sirens went off before flames
ignited on the deck of the boat, which was docked in Tunisian waters Tuesday night.
Our Becky Anderson spoke to Yusuf Omar, who was on another boat, part of the same flotilla, when it was hit in a previous incident. And he explained
what happened on board.
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YUSUF OMAR, ACTIVIST, GLOBAL SUMUD FLOTILLA: I opened my eyes to a massive explosion. All I can describe to you, Becky, is like a ball of fire, which
had emanated from the bottom deck right up to the top deck.
I could feel the burning on my face. I could taste the engulfing of fumes, of smoke. I could barely see in front of me. But I instantly knew what had
happened, that we had been hit by a drone.
I got up to my feet. There were two other people on the vessel already on the top deck, who had seen a drone basically come right on top of the
vessel.
The vessel moved slightly to the front and dropped an explosive at the front of this vessel, right next to where the diesel is, right next to
where the fuel is for this entire ship. A massive fire emanated. Fortunately, the crew moved very quickly.
We had life jackets on; our rescue boats were there in a couple of minutes and they were able to put out this fire with fire extinguishers, meaning
that it was -- basically no major damage done to the vessel. But absolutely shocked and quite freaked out, to be honest with you.
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GIOKOS: All right. That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next. I'm Eleni Giokos, I'll see you next time.
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