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No Achieved Goals for Gaza Peace Plan; Protests Escalating across Iran; Eurostar Suspends Channel Tunnel Service; Ukraine Denies Claim of Drone Attack on Putin Residence; Scotland Celebrates the New Year with Hogmanay. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired December 30, 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 CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos in Dubai, where the time

is just after 7 pm.

Coming up this hour, exclusive CNN reporting; the CIA carried out a drone strike directly against Venezuela. The first time the U.S. has hit a target

inside the country.

And a look at what's next for Gaza after U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with Israeli prime minister ended with little sign of progress for

the peace plan.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): Plus, protests rocked cities across Iran as the currency hits a record low.

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GIOKOS: Right. U.S. President Donald Trump says he's not concerned about Israel's actions in Gaza after his meeting with Israeli prime minister

Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida.

The two leaders heaped praise on each other during a joint news conference Monday amid increasing pressure on the prime minister to move into phase 2

of the Gaza ceasefire. The meeting ended with no signs of that happening.

Paula Hancocks is back with us this hour.

So I mean, no tangible mechanisms that are going to be put in place. We know that Israel needs to demilitarize and move out of certain parts of

Gaza. Hamas needs to disarm.

Where are we with that?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there was really nothing concrete that came out of this meeting, at least not publicly. We did hear from the

U.S. President initially that he had five major subjects he wanted to speak to the Israeli prime minister about.

He said that three of them were pretty much sorted out within the first five minutes, suggesting there is progress. But, of course, we don't know

exactly what those discussions were focused on.

We were hoping to hear a little more about the board of peace, about the stabilization force that will be the boots on the ground in Gaza once Hamas

disarms. But this is something that we have been hearing recently that there was frustration within the Trump administration.

We'd been hearing from sources, and also publicly, that Netanyahu was perceived to be slow-walking toward phase two. However, the U.S. president

did not say that at all. In fact, he had no concerns, he said, about the way Israel was carrying things out, saying they're behind this deal 100

percent. And he put the onus on Hamas. Let's listen.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We talked about Hamas and we talked about disarmament. And they're going to be given a very short period of time to

disarm. And we'll see how that works out.

Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be in charge of that from our side. But if they don't disarm, as they agreed to do, they agreed to it, then

there'll be hell to pay for them. And we don't want that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Israel has consistently said that they will not withdraw their military from Gaza until Hamas has given up its arms. And we have seen no

indication of that up until this point.

In fact, we did hear from a spokesperson from the Hamas military wing, just on Monday, saying that they would not give up their arms until the

occupation had left Gaza. So it is a very difficult way forward for this phase two.

There are two crucial elements that need to be achieved, one by Hamas, one by Israel. And frankly, neither side wants to carry out what they need to

in order to get toward this phase two.

It was always expected to be difficult but there really was nothing tangible that we can point to at this point that shows there was progress

made with these talks.

We did see some intense flattery on both sides from the Israeli prime minister to the U.S. president and vice versa. Certainly that will be

welcomed by the Israeli prime minister as he is heading into an election year. Eleni.

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GIOKOS: All right. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that update.

All right. I want to move to Iran now, where scenes of public discontent are flooding social media.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): This protest erupting in the Western city of Hamadan, Iranians voicing their anger as Iran's currency hits an all-time low and

inflation soars. And in Tehran, shopkeepers hit the currency -- hit by the currency are playing a major role in the demonstrations.

Take a look at this, which are the largest since Mahsa Amini died in police custody in 2022. Now elsewhere in the capital, footage is showing us a

standoff with police. The tension and smoke hanging thick in the air.

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GIOKOS: For perspective now, I want to bring in Abbas Aslani. He is a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies

based in Tehran.

Abbas, really good to have you with us. You're based in Tehran. I want you to give me a sense of, firstly, what you're seeing on the ground in terms

of these protests and, importantly, the inflationary impacts on average Iranians.

ABBAS ASLANI, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST STRATEGIC STUDIES, TEHRAN: Eleni, thank you for having me.

In order to understand the current pulse on the streets in Tehran, we need to appreciate the nuances of the situation. Let's identify the epicenter of

this.

This started and originated from the grand bazaar in Tehran, which is the heartbeat economy of the capital city. And so it happened, as a result of

the fluctuations in the currency as well as gold markets, which resulted in the increase -- increasing prices of other commodities.

And they say that when the market sneezes, the rest of the economy catches cold. Or this could create, let's say, economic hardship for the other

parts of the country.

But it is important to remember that these protests should not, let's say, make us to make a mistake, that a localized protest for a widespread, let's

say, uprising in the country.

In terms of the size and the scale of the protest, it seems to be remaining relatively small geographically. It has been tethered to the market

districts in the capital city. And there are factors which are impacting the situation, which is the security factor.

As a result of the June attacks against the country, it seems that these average citizens, they are wary of burning the whole house down to kill --

to kill a termite. And that's why they have not been, let's say, joining these masses in great numbers. And so this is somehow a friction rather

than a fracture.

GIOKOS: Yes. I mean, it's interesting you say that, because, look, inflation is up 42 percent. You've got food prices up 72 percent. These are

statistics and data out of Iran. And you have medical items up 50 percent. These are annual numbers.

So this is really -- I mean we're seeing a big impact on the way that people are living. And it interesting you mentioned that a lot of the

protests coming through from the grand bazaar.

And if we go back to 1979, we actually saw protests back then and you can give me a bit of information on this. It fueled the revolution. With people

getting back on the streets right now, I think a lot of people are asking the question, if we're going to see something similar playing out, that

this could be the start of perhaps a push for regime change.

ASLANI: Eleni, first, this is not the whole bazaar which is protesting. It is part of bazaar. And second, which is important, is that the average

citizens and ordinary public is not joining this protest because there is no bright and clear picture of the day after.

And there is no, let's say, credible alternative to this political system as well as those who have been preaching a revolution from abroad do not

hold that much -- that much of currency or credit on the streets of Tehran.

So that's why, you know, the security factor and the aggression, you know, initiated by Israel, they joined and backed by the United States. They

served as a, let's say, kind of a brutal clarity.

When Iranians look at what happened in the region, like in Syria, they tend to think that by those, let's say, aggressions or what the Israel and the

United States are seeking, it is not to overthrow the political system but to dismantle the territorial integrity of the nation.

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So that's why they are worried and about, you know, joining to the protests. And they somehow want to avoid the unintended consequences of

such kind of masses in the -- on the streets.

So that's why we can say that we are not seeing an existential threat to the political system. And we are -- we have been seeing reaction from the

government in order to manage this situation.

GIOKOS: Absolutely. The government has said that they want to engage with speaking to the organizers of the protests. So we'll be keeping a close

watch on this. Abbas Aslani, thank you so much for that insight. Really good to have you on the show.

I want to turn now to an exclusive. Sources telling CNN the CIA struck a port facility on the Venezuelan coast earlier this month. If true, it marks

the first known U.S. operation against a target inside the country and could dramatically escalate tensions with President Maduro's government.

This comes as President Trump said on Monday the U.S. had taken out a big facility in Venezuela. Have a listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs. So we hit all the

boats and now we hit the area. It's the implementation area, that's implement and that is no longer around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: I want to bring in Zachary Cohen, who's across these developments from Washington, D.C.

This is a CNN exclusive.

Getting information on the strike on this port facility, I mean, everyone's wondering, is this spelling further escalation between Caracas and

Washington?

And what comes next?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that really is the big question. And it appears that Donald Trump was referring to a drone

strike that we're told was carried out by the CIA earlier this month.

That's really the latest development in what has been a months-long U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

Now sources saying that this drone strike from the CIA targeted a remote port facility on the coast of Venezuela. It was a site that sources

described as one that was used by a Venezuelan gang to load and unload drugs onto ships, that would then be transported around the world,

including to the U.S.

Now sources also saying that this facility was vacant at the time that it was hit, meaning there were no casualties. One source describing the strike

as successful in the sense that it destroyed the facility and the boats that were present at the time.

But also at the same time characterizing this strike as mostly symbolic in that there are several ports and similar facilities around Venezuela that

drug traffickers can use to move their products.

So ultimately it remains to be seen what the next, you know, step and response here is. This strike appeared to get little to no attention inside

Venezuela when it happened. And really, the only person that has been discussing it publicly and, in fact, revealed that there was a strike

inside Venezuela was President Donald Trump.

As you played earlier, he's been pushed to explain some comments he made in a radio interview the other day when he first revealed that the U.S. may

have carried out a strike on land inside Venezuela.

Ultimately, we know that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told "Vanity Fair" in an interview recently as well, that Trump's ultimate goal,

both with the CIA covert operation as well as those strikes against alleged drug boats in international waters, is to ultimately push Nicolas Maduro

out of power.

This covert operation certainly seems like a signal of a more aggressive campaign in that direction.

GIOKOS: All right, Zachary Cohen, thank you so much for that update.

All right. In the eastern Pacific, the U.S. military has carried out yet another deadly strike on an alleged drug boat in international waters. U.S.

Southern Command says two men were killed in the attack on Monday.

The total death toll under Operation Southern Spear now rises to at least 107 as the U.S. continues to expand its campaign against alleged

narcotrafficking.

Eurostar has suspended its cross-channel train services during the busiest period for the winter travel. High-speed train operator is warning

passengers of severe delays because of a power supply problem.

This disruption affects one of Europe's busiest international rail corridors, connecting London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. CNN's

business and economics reporter Anna Cooban across the story for us from London.

And one only has to go to social media to see just how passengers are impacted by this. Some are stranded. Some are just waiting, trying to make

other arrangements. Break this down for us in terms of the impacts on travel.

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, Eurostar has come out to say recently, in the past hour or so, that the

service has partially resumed but to expect, for those trains that are running, severe delays, cancellations.

And that the issue that caused all of this, a power supply issue, remains an issue. And I was at Kings Cross about an hour ago, talking to people

who've had their plans really scuppered. This has come at really the worst time possible during the busy holiday travel period.

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One man told me that he was in a broken-down train just outside the Channel Tunnel, not yet under the water, for six hours earlier. And that another

woman, she's had potentially going to have to cancel her New Year's Eve plans for friends in Rotterdam.

So this really gives you a scale of the impact. Last year, nearly 20 million passengers were ferried between London and Paris. And so we're

still waiting for full operations to resume. But right now it's pretty chaotic.

GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, honestly, some of these images of passengers being disrupted and their plans, you know, this power supply issue is really

fascinating.

I mean, have they given information about the source of this issue and how quickly it can be rectified?

COOBAN: Well, there was -- what Eurostar came out to say was that an overhead power supply issue had caused a train to break down. The train is

called Le Shuttle. It's one of the Eurostar -- or the Eurotunnel trains that ferries specifically cars and trucks, usually with people inside them,

under that body of water.

Now we're having reports that that broken-down train has now been removed from the Channel Tunnel after hours of people waiting inside it.

But to give you a sense of the bottleneck that I'm talking about, you know, you've seen almost 20 million passengers ferried between London and Paris

last year. And that's just via two Eurotunnels. You've got two tunnels taking people and freight between the two cities.

GIOKOS: Wow. That is a -- that's a really big number, Anna. Well, it is New Year's Eve tomorrow. Hopefully everything gets rectified and people can

get on their way and continue on their plans. Anna Cooban for us in London, great to have you with us.

All right. Still to come, the Kremlin is claiming that Ukraine sent drones to target President Putin's residence. We will have more details on the

alleged attack that Ukraine is calling a complete fabrication. Stick with CNN.

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GIOKOS: Ukraine is disputing a claim made by the Kremlin that it attacked one of President Vladimir Putin's residents with drones. The alleged

incident took place in the Novgorod region, with no reported damage or casualties.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he learned of the claim in a call with Putin early on Monday. His reaction seemingly suggesting that he believed

Russia's allegations, although he did later concede that it may not have happened at all. Take a listen to what he initially said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It's another thing to attack his house. It's not the right time to do any of that. And can't do it. And I learned about it from President

Putin today. I was very angry about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. I want to bring in CNN's Fred Pleitgen for more on this.

I mean, firstly, what do we know about the attack?

Not much.

But importantly, how this could potentially impact peace negotiations, Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Well, the Russians say that it absolutely will impact the peace

negotiations. The spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, came out earlier today in a call with journalists.

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And he said that the negotiations are going to continue. The Russians say they're going to continue to be constructive and work together with the

United States but that they will take on a tougher negotiation point vis-a- vis the Ukrainians.

So they say that there will be a direct impact, even as the back-and-forth about whether or not this attack really took place and how it may have

taken place still continues.

One of the things that Peskov was also asked on that call is whether or not there was any evidence of this attack and he brushed that off. I want to

read you a little bit of what Dmitry Peskov said, then the Kremlin spokesman. I'm quoting here.

"I don't think there needs to be any kind of evidence here," he said, "given that such a massive drone attack raid took place and that, thanks to

the well-coordinated work of our air defenses, they were shot down and neutralized."

So that was the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, unequivocally saying that, yes, this drone raid did take place, despite the fact that, of

course, the Ukrainians, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has called this a fabrication.

Has essentially accused the Russians of trying to find a pretense for further attacks with drones and missiles against Ukraine.

One of the other things that Peskov also said, the Kremlin spokesman, as he said he believes that the Ukrainians were trying to undermine the peace

efforts by the Trump administration.

So you can see that, in any case, this is already having a fallout or an impact on the -- on the possible trajectory of those negotiations. At the

same time, the Europeans and the Ukrainians continue to try and calibrate their position.

There was a call today, initiated by the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in the so-called Berlin format, with some European nations and the

Ukrainians, where all those countries said that they were trying to coordinate their position and the best way forward.

GIOKOS: All right, Fred Pleitgen, great to have you with us. Thank you so much.

I want to get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): Saudi Arabia is accusing the UAE of highly dangerous actions in Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition struck Yemeni ports after accusing

two ships from the UAE of delivering weapons and combat vehicles to separatist forces.

Riyadh says actions by the UAE in Yemen pose a threat to the kingdom's national security. The UAE denies the ships carried weapons and says it was

surprised by the airstrike.

China has mobilized its army, navy, air and rocket units for a second day of military drills around Taiwan. This is the second largest number of

fighter jets deployed by China, with 130 warplanes and 22 ships. Taiwan's government has condemned the drills, accusing China of military

intimidation.

Bangladesh is mourning former prime minister Khaleda Zia, who passed at the age of 80. She was the first female leader of the country and served two

terms in office. But it was her rivalry with current pm, Sheikh Hasina, that defined Bangladeshi politics for a generation.

Zia was acquitted this year of corruption charges that she called politically motivated.

A powerful winter storm is tearing through the U.S. It's bringing blizzard conditions, damaging winds, icy rain and even tornadoes to some areas.

Strong winds and ice knocked out power to thousands of customers in the Great Lakes area.

The system is causing temperatures to plummet sharply, with some parts of the country seeing drops of up to 55 degrees in just 24 hours. Whiteout

conditions have shut down roads and caused major pileups on some highways.

The extreme weather comes during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, with more than 100 million Americans expected to be on the roads.

All right, we're going to a short break. I'll be back right after this.

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GIOKOS: The countdown is on for 2026. In Edinburgh, Scotland, residents gather for the traditional Hogmanay multi-day celebrations commemorating

the end of the year and featuring the river of fire Torchlight Procession. CNN's Max Foster got a chance to enjoy the festivities ahead of New Year's

Eve.

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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Edinburgh Castle, Hogmanay, as they call New Year here, has just kicked off, several days of it. They don't

hang about on this one. They do several days of celebrations right up until New Year's Day.

And, of course, the bagpipers are out. Let's go and speak to Mike, who's the drum leader.

Hi, Mike.

MIKE LINDSAY, DRUM MAJOR: Happy New Year.

How are you?

FOSTER: Very good.

LINDSAY: Pleased to meet you.

FOSTER: I followed you through the streets of Edinburgh tonight with a load of Vikings. Just explain what was happening there.

LINDSAY: Well, terrific. The Vikings have come down from Shetland and they've joined they've been in the (ph) parade for at least 20 years I can

remember.

FOSTER: Yes. These are real Vikings, right?

People don't believe me when I say that.

LINDSAY: No. What they are the locally in the Shetlands, they're called the Yarrow Squad.

FOSTER: Yes.

LINDSAY: And they celebrate the Viking traditions. Every year they have an Up Helly Aa, which is a burning of the boat in recognition of the years

gone by. And they're fantastic. They're great. And they add something to the Edinburgh festivities. I mean, obviously the pipe bands are the --

FOSTER: Yes.

Mike -- the Scottish part of it.

FOSTER: And I've heard a few people argue that this is the capital of New Year celebrations for the whole planet.

Would you agree?

LINDSAY: Of course it is. This is Edinburgh.

FOSTER: This is where it starts.

LINDSAY: Absolutely. This is what Hogmanay means. Hogmanay means "come to Edinburgh."

FOSTER: And what's your favorite tradition?

LINDSAY: My favorite tradition. My favorite tradition is a drum of whiskey, a bit of black bun and a piece of coal to go and welcome the New

Year in with your neighbor.

FOSTER: Yes. So this is taking coal on the New Year's Day, bringing warmth.

LINDSAY: Yes.

FOSTER: Wonderful.

LINDSAY: First footing, it's called, the first -- the first person to set foot inside your neighbor's house.

FOSTER: Gets a lump of coal.

(LAUGHTER)

LINDSAY: They don't get coal fire anymore but they still get the lump of coal.

FOSTER: Have a wonderful few days. I'll be here throughout.

And you'll be able to watch on CNN because we'll be having a special New Year's show coming from all parts of the world. But this is going to be the

best.

LINDSAY: Great. I'm sure it will be. And thank you very much indeed.

FOSTER: Max and Mike, CNN, Edinburgh.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: That was so much fun.

Well, happy Hogmanay to you or Happy New Year. I will be back in 2026. That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. From me, Eleni Giokos, have a fantastic

new year. Stay with CNN. END