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Starmer Regrets Appointing Mandelson Following Revelations; New Questions in U.K. after Latest DOJ Release; Former Prince Andrew Has Moved out of Windsor; Homan Draws Down 700 DHS Personnel from Minnesota, Effective Immediately; UAE to Kick off Work on Underground Tunnel Network; Interview with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire; Fifty Delegations in U.S. for Global Critical Minerals Talks; Navigating the Ever-Evolving Media Landscape. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired February 04, 2026 - 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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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of the show from Dubai where we are tracking fast-moving diplomacy in this region.

[10:00:02]

An hour away from here in Abu Dhabi, Russian, Ukrainian and American delegations meeting for peace talks. Some of that U.S. delegation will then

move along to Oman on Friday for talks between Iran and the United States.

As the message with those I speak to here at the World Governments Summit is clear, the Middle East cannot afford a regional war.

At the same time, some of this diplomacy is being overshadowed by the growing political fallout in the U.K., U.S. and beyond over the Epstein

files. In the U.K., a once-in-a-generation scandal shaken the very heart of the British establishment.

Peter Mandelson, a former British ambassador to the United States, a man once seen as the savior of the now ruling Labour Party, is facing a

criminal investigation for his ties with Jeffrey Epstein.

Take a listen to what U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer said about him just a short time ago in Parliament.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: (INAUDIBLE) have betrayed our country, our Parliament and my party. Mr. Speaker, he lied repeatedly to my team but

asked about this relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador.

I regret appointing him. If I knew the what I know now, he would have never been anywhere near government.

And that is why, Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the cabinet secretary, with my support, took the decision to refer material to the police, where there is

now a criminal investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, this comes as CNN understands that Andrew Mountbatten- Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, has moved out of what is his full and long-time winter home following his inclusion in the latest release of

files.

More names of several high-profile men reemerged in the latest drop of Epstein files by the DOJ further documents detailing Bill Gates' links to

the convicted sex offender were released on Friday.

In an interview with CNN affiliate 9News, the Microsoft co-founder said Epstein seemed to be offering help with Gates' global health initiatives.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL GATES, BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION: Yes, I met Geoffrey in 2011. The focus was always he knew a lot of very rich people and he was

saying he could get them to give money to global health.

You know, in retrospect, that was a dead end. And I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Let's dig deeper now with CNN Politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson.

He writes in his latest analysis that Epstein's associates have, quote, "governed us and have built an economy that enriches them and sidelines

many of us. They've appeared on our TV screens, owned sports teams or sold us consumer goods.

"They've written software, operating systems that power modern life and are imposing a future dominated by artificial intelligence."

He goes on to say this, "While the beau monde partied with Epstein in the Gilded Age when the 20th century flipped to the 21st, many Americans not in

the club were dying in foreign wars or struggling to stay solvent through the ravages of the Great Recession."

And Stephen joins us now.

And your words will resonate with the British public, I'm sure. This evening, Stephen, you went on to question whether those in Epstein's circle

were willfully blind to his proclivities. And if so, quote, "What debt do they now owe to the victims whose lives were forever altered?"

It's an unbelievably important question and one that it's difficult to know how we begin to answer at this point.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. And I think in Europe, to some extent, some of those questions are being asked in the

United States. Despite the push to get these files out in Congress, I think we're hitting a dead end in terms of accountability. Todd Blanche, the

deputy attorney general, who used to be Donald Trump's personal lawyer, said this weekend that there would be no new charges.

And he said that the American people need to understand that it wasn't a crime for people to party with Jeffrey Epstein. The problem with that is, I

mean, that may be correct legally. And it's true. There may not be prosecutable crimes, you know, from other people in Epstein's orbit.

But at the same time, it asks the question of why did so many of these sophisticated people, the tops in their fields, who were willing to join

Epstein's network, who basically took money or sought money for their projects from Epstein, welcomed into their circles.

[10:05:00]

Surely some of them must have had some idea about what was going on. It doesn't seem credible that it was all some big secret that just came out.

And I think that is increasingly in focus as the story now moves to what were these people thinking and what did they know?

Because it seems, at least for now, that with the Trump administration in place, there's going to be no new justice for those Epstein victims.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Stephen.

I want to stay on this with former Conservative member of Parliament and a former U.K. defense minister, Tobias Ellwood.

You are formerly or certainly representative of the Conservative Party, of course. I want to discuss the political consequences of all of this. But

just your first, I just want your reaction to what is going on here and this, this moment in time, Tobias.

TOBIAS ELLWOOD, FORMER BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: It's been a shock and its dominating in one sense. It's an international soap opera, especially

linked with Andrew, formerly Prince Andrew, but also Peter Mandelson as well. It's a daily diet of news that comes out at the forefront.

We must think of think of the victims but it's also dominating absolutely all the headlines and it means everything else gets pushed to the side.

We're not talking about either domestic issues or indeed international issues. This is absolutely dominating. Indeed, there's even a debate in

Parliament about this in London today.

ANDERSON: I mean, Keir Starmer, the prime minister, he's a Labour Party prime minister; Peter Mandelson was a veteran Labour Party member, a

significant body in the -- in the government of Tony Blair back in 1997. He's been around for years.

And Keir Starmer tried to own this today, certainly made an attempt at owning this in Parliament today. But the decision to appoint Mandelson by

Keir Starmer as U.S. ambassador is clearly one that is concerning. And you've called for that to be investigated.

ELLWOOD: Yes. I mean, it's just worth underlining what you've just said is who this individual was. Many people may not have heard him. But he was and

remains a giant in the Labour Party. He's now been thrown out or he's retired from the party. They don't want him anymore.

But he was the key architect. You've got to remember that, in the '90s, the Labour Party were not getting elected. They were losing again and again and

again. And he was the visionary that tied up with Tony Blair and others to create new Labour.

And it's because of this persona, it's because of his gravitas that potentially people thought he could walk on water. He was untouchable.

People didn't ask him those difficult questions when they should have done.

And you're right, there's one question now to deal with what advice was given, what judgments were made when that appointment was confirmed of

Peter Mandelson going over to America, to be the ambassador.

And that came out today, quite shockingly, that the prime minister was aware that Peter Mandelson was still in contact -- in contact -- with

Epstein.

And that's got everybody asking more questions to say, well, if you knew that and you knew his character, then why did you make this appointment?

Bearing in mind also that Mendelson had quit twice before as a cabinet member. So there was always going to be questions around this individual.

ANDERSON: How much trouble could this spell for the Labour Party?

What do you see as the broader impact for British politics here at this point?

ELLWOOD: Well, firstly, as I say, it will continue to dominate the headlines. The fact that sensitive, market sensitive information was

handled by Peter Mandelson to Epstein means that he will now face prosecution. That's a criminal offense there and the police are already

involved. So that's going to dominate the headlines as well.

And despite the fact that he's resigned from the Labour Party, he's absolutely, for the reasons I've just mentioned, very much entwined and

seen as the Labour Party. And therefore, this is going to be difficult for the party as a whole.

And many members of Parliament, indeed, prime ministers, former prime ministers themselves, have gone at lengths to say how horrified they are,

how disappointed they are in this individual.

But your other question was about the current prime minister. And there, some big questions do remain and they need to be teased out.

It could be that more information about the vetting process will now come to light. If it's seen that the prime minister knew more than perhaps he's

sharing at the moment, then, yes, there's difficult times ahead.

[10:10:07]

ANDERSON: Last question to you. We've been talking about a not insignificant -- seriously, you know, this is, as you describe it -- and

this is a huge figure in politics in Britain over the last 30 years.

So politics, though, aside, this fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files has gone all the way to the palace. There were already allegations about the

former prince Andrew's involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and victims.

What do you make of the latest trove of emails?

And what do you believe may need to happen next?

ELLWOOD: There's a feeling here now that everybody's had enough of the lies. They've had enough of the betrayal. They've had enough of the deceit

by individuals that claim that they can't remember or weren't involved or have no recollection.

And the idea that Andrew would have to go to America, that was once something that people wouldn't consider or wouldn't entertain. Now

everybody simply wants the truth. They want this absolutely exposed. They're tired of the deceit and they want the victims -- for the victims

more than anything else, they want to find out the truth.

So it's been a horrifying legacy that's unfolded here but it's clearly not over. And there's clearly injustice out there. And for that to be

rectified, we do require even people like the former prince now facing their time, being questioned to see whether there's more that they can

reveal, to let us understand the full picture in its entirety.

ANDERSON: Tobias, thank you for joining us.

Well, the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein are sharing their deep sense of betrayal from the system that was meant to protect them. Some are furious

with the Justice Department for its failure to properly retract the millions of pages released last week. CNN's MJ Lee spoke to four survivors.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The worst of it is, I think, like, well, I don't know if it's the worst of it but it has my full name, my birthday, my address,

the thing that is redacted is "Danny" in that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her nickname.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm not the only one.

Like, how is any of this acceptable?

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein are furious with the Justice Department for its failure to properly

redact the millions of Epstein files that it released on Friday, including some information about the alleged victims.

They're also accusing the DOJ of over-redacting information that some victims have shared about Epstein and those around him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Publishing images of victims while shielding predators is just a failure of complete justice. And it's like there's this

deep sense of betrayal when the system's meant to protect you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a victim statement. It was seven pages long. In a victim's statement, it tells what happened, who did it; it basically

outlines everything that this person experienced and shared with the FBI.

It was seven pages long and four of them looked like this. This is clearly strategic. Clearly, incompetence is a strategy. It is the strategy to

intimidate us, I believe, to make us feel like we shouldn't keep going.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The redactions could have been done by a 5-year old. You might as well just go ahead and give them to a grade 3 class. They

could do much better than these lawyers.

Who are these lawyers?

Who are these volunteers?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who are these people?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. They don't know how to read.

LEE: A DOJ spokesperson says they are working around the clock to fix any redaction issues and that only 0.1 percent of the files released so far

contain unredacted information about the victims.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is about survivors everywhere. This is about anyone who has ever been sexually victimized and has, you know, felt like

they can't tell anyone or talk to anyone about it, who has felt fearful of, you know, approaching law enforcement.

We're sending a really strong message that, you know, it's easier to remain silent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump's border czar says that the Department of Homeland Security will be withdrawing 700 personnel from

Minneapolis, effective immediately.

Tom Homan spoke at a news conference in Minneapolis a short time ago. And he went on, went to the city in the wake of outrage sparked by the fatal

shootings of two protesters by ICE agents. Homan says a complete drawdown is contingent on the end of the illegal and threatening activities against

ICE agents in Minneapolis.

[10:15:07]

Excuse me.

Whitney Wild, joining us now.

And tell us more about what Homan said and what the consequences and the implications are.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is a peeling back of some of that major, major footprint. And just to give everybody the context here,

before this surge, there were 150 or so immigration agents working in the state of Minneapolis.

Then over the last nine weeks, that number had surged to between 3,000 and, actually, during one court hearing, it was suggested that there could have

been up to 4,000 immigration agents in the state of Minnesota.

So now, border czar Homan says that he is peeling back some of those agents, drawing down 700 of them, effective immediately. He says that is

going to leave about 2,000 agents on the ground.

And here are the strategies for those agents who are left. It is a single chain of command; that's different from what we've seen before, where these

agencies seem to be working basically on the same mission but not necessarily under the same operational plan or operational strategy.

So there's now one chain of command. That is going to include Border Patrol and ICE agents. Moving forward, border czar Homan said that the priority

here is going to be national security and public safety.

But he did not say that, if you are in the country and in Minnesota illegally, that you are going to be ignored or dismissed. He said everybody

is a potential target. He's just laying out the priorities and the strategy for how they are going about trying to, again, continue these mass

deportations.

He pointed to an unprecedented level of cooperation with local jails. And what that means is that it's giving ICE agents a better opportunity to get

into jails, to get people who are here illegally, who have been charged or convicted of a crime, into ICE custody, instead of going back onto the

street.

In some jurisdictions, where there is sanctuary city policies or sanctuary state policies, jails and ICE can't communicate. So the ICE doesn't -- or

the jail doesn't always tell ICE when someone who may have a deportation order even is going to be released.

And that is something that we have heard ICE really complaining about for several years now. There is a shift in Minnesota, which is not a sanctuary

state, although there are some sanctuary laws limited to Hennepin County in Minneapolis.

And border czar Homan said that that cooperation, allowing them to get into the jails, which is something they've wanted to do and is an effective

strategy, is working. And so that's going to allow them to take away some of these agents, although it is still an absolutely enormous footprint.

Let's hear more from border czar Homan so you can hear him describe why this is happening in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, TRUMP BORDER CZAR: Complete drawdown is going to depend on cooperation, continued cooperation of local and state law enforcement and

the decrease of the violence, the rhetoric and the attacks against ICE and Border Patrol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: Homan said that this is not less law enforcement; it is smart law enforcement. And then, interestingly, he praised over and over Governor

Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, the mayor of Minneapolis, for their help.

He said that they're in pretty much constant communication about how to move forward. And we even heard Governor Walz say yesterday that he was

still working with federal officials to figure out a path forward here -- back to you.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

Your breaking news this hour here on CNN.

Well, I'm in Dubai and this is a city that is pushing the accelerator on future transportation. Just ahead, well dig into a new cutting-edge project

taking shape right here on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit. More on that is after this.

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ANDERSON: Well, for those who are not familiar with Dubai, locals will tell you one thing, the traffic can be horrendous.

So right here on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit, Dubai's roads and transport authority is taking a stab at fixing that in a peak

(ph) Dubai way. They have agreed to kick off work on what's known as the Dubai loop, with Elon Musk's the pouring company (ph).

An underground network of high-speed tunnels designed to carry passengers to key locations in the city, using only driverless electric vehicles.

Now the first phase includes construction of 6.4 kilometers of pilot route, linking the Dubai International Financial Center and Dubai Mall, with plans

to expand to a 22-kilometer network that would include 19 stations.

Earlier I spoke to Khalfan Belhoul, who is the CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, about the timing of this project and its significance for

Dubai.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KHALFAN BELHOUL, CEO, DUBAI FUTURE FOUNDATION: To answer your question, why now, I'd say why not? We're just continuing the UAE DNA of doing

things. And this just happened to be the thing to test and explore at that time.

It required courage. It required risk taking. It required financial resources, of course. But more importantly, it required strategic backing

from leadership and belief, which I think is a formula that we have in abundance here in the UAE, which makes it easy for us to --

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Just explain what you mean by that.

BELHOUL: OK. So as you know, going into an endeavor like this or many other innovative endeavors and projects --

ANDERSON: Forward looking --

(CROSSTALK)

BELHOUL: -- you might find people that criticize it. It might be risky. People sometimes stuck into their comfort zone, which is completely the

opposite of the nature of where we work.

The benchmark is always set. The idea of UAE being a lab for the world has been repeated to us almost every other day. I wake up and think of this

every single time, because I work in a future foundation which is driven by those ideas.

So it's even worse in a good way for me. I feel it every day. I'm constantly being reminded that we are a lab. And I'll tell you, maybe the

thing that people don't see, we are backed by leadership, whether this sees the light or not.

And that's the beauty of innovation. Now this one thankfully saw the light and we've talked last year and now we're -- now it's reality and it's

happening. But I'm telling you, there are projects that we've also -- we're very bullish about that maybe have not seen the same light. And that's

natural. We still get the backing.

Why?

Because if you want to be an innovator and a forward thinker and you can't -- you can ask this question to any venture capitalist who usually invests

on the riskier side of things, their portfolios, 80 percent of them go bust.

But it's that winning bet. And today the Loop is a winning bet.

ANDERSON: I want to talk to you about how you've regulated for safety here, because I think this balance, when we talk about the Dubai loop,

because -- and this balance between regulation and innovation, there will be times when Dubai has deliberately slowed down for safety, I assume, and

where you've accelerated for speed.

Can you just provide me some context?

BELHOUL: Yes, I mean, this is a key point and I'll tell you -- and I said this maybe in the past, maybe in your interview and I'll reiterate it

again.

If anyone tells you, Becky, that you can catch up with innovation, I'll tell you they're in Wonderland. I mean, there's no chance that you would

catch up, let alone in those days when even speed of AI being involved, whatever is new today is old tomorrow.

So that's how fast things are changing. So you would never be at par with innovation but it's how fast you are in testing. But at the same time,

creating a sandbox kind of mindset, where you have a lab environment testing those ideas.

[10:25:03]

So to your point, with the Loop, the idea has been tested. We flew over there, we saw it, we validated it. We created spaces of testing with drone

delivery. It's the same. We didn't just fly drones all over the city without even assessing the safety and the security of things.

But at the same time, we didn't stay quiet. We had to create the environment where the operator, the private sector -- the private sector

underlined three times because they're needed in this -- the regulators, any legislations that are related, government officials all sitting in one

room.

And discussing what if this happens, what do we do and how do we mitigate it?

And we move really fast in a in a contained area, contained physically if it was something like a drone delivery and then contained digitally, if

it's like leveraging on blockchain to do transactions.

People thought that this is a crazy idea and now it's actually happening. So -- but we didn't open it up for the world. But we've invited those, the

Binances of the world and people to have conversations here. And it became a reality.

ANDERSON: Elon Musk suits the Dubai future-facing vision, doesn't he?

It also means that he gets to work with you on something like this through the boring company; gets the cars because this is going to be -- these are

going to be Tesla cars, as I understand it, running through this --

BELHOUL: It would have to be a --

ANDERSON: Of course.

Is there a made in the UAE element to this?

This is a partnership.

Do you also get to build or do you just buy in?

BELHOUL: I think this will be a combination of both. And to your point about Elon Musk, clearly, given the partnership, there's -- in that aspect,

so much like mindedness and the thinking.

And you've seen maybe His Highness Sheikh Hamdan's (ph) tweet and excitement about the project, the meeting that has been had -- held as well

with Elon Musk. We were very excited about the conversations and the -- and the outcome.

So to your point, there's so much like-mindedness in the thinking. Hence the connection from both sides. The ultimate vision for Dubai, not only in

the UAE and not only through this project, is really to create product and talent within our ecosystem.

And this is one project. But at Dubai Future Foundation, we are investing significantly into R&D efforts and incentive schemes to really ensure that

products not only get imported but exported from UAE to the world. And this is something we're very excited about.

ANDERSON: And that investment in talent goes beyond the manufacturing of things here made in the UAE. It also extends to the community and to the

sporting space.

Now you are a champion as far as sports in Dubai are concerned. You're vice chairman of the Dubai Sports Council. You've got a vision for homegrown

sporting culture here.

Can you just explain?

BELHOUL: Yes. I mean, we're super excited. You need to give me another half an hour now for sports. But I'll be very quick. But we're very excited

about sports because of the exact reason that you have mentioned.

I mean, we believe, we truly believe that sports goes way beyond sports. It's a relationship builder. It's a connector of the world. It's a soft

power tool. But at the same time, it's a talent attractor.

And for us, in order to create this, you need to have the right community pillar. You need to have the right events and you need to have the right

talent pathways.

Whenever we attract all those investors and entrepreneurs to the city, the first thing they ask is, where can my son play tennis and pursue a

professional career or any other sport?

So events, community, talent pathway, convenings like the sports summit, which we would love to have you next year; we had an amazing inaugural

edition where top athletes have joined us last December. For us there's a correlation between all those pillars.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Khalfan Belhoul, speaking to me earlier here.

At the World Governments Summit, regional geopolitics in full display. Coming up after the break, you'll hear my interview with the prime minister

of Lebanon. His country trying to maintain a fragile ceasefire with Israel as Hezbollah threatens to act if the U.S. attacks Iran. More on that is

coming up.

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[10:30:00]

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.

Your headlines this hour: a second round of trilateral peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States, now underway in Abu Dhabi.

Negotiators face thorny issues over territory, with Russia demanding Ukraine cede all of the Donbas region.

Talks will follow what Ukraine says is the biggest missile and drone attack by Russia this year.

British prime minister Keir Starmer says he regrets appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the United States, saying Mandelson betrayed his

country, Parliament and the now-ruling Labour Party.

Mandelson is facing a criminal investigation for his ties with Jeffrey Epstein. He is quitting the House of Lords amid the controversy.

Confrontations at sea boosting tensions ahead of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. military says it shot down an Iranian drone that,

quote, "aggressively approached" the U.S. aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday.

Hours later, Iranian gunboats threatened to board a U.S.-flagged tanker in the region. No one was reported hurt in either incident.

ANDERSON: Well, this is a region on edge. We are getting more details, though, about the prospect of a diplomatic offramp. Nuclear talks between

the United States and Iran, Iranian semiofficial state news now reporting that the meetings will take place.

They'll take place on Friday and they will be in Oman, where previous rounds of talks took place before the U.S. bombing of Iran's nuclear sites

last June.

Now originally, these talks were set for Istanbul in Turkiye but Tehran wanted them relocated and for the scope of the discussions to be limited to

the country's nuclear program.

They also want the talks to be bilateral, excluding foreign ministers from regional countries. Iranian president Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian,

says he instructed the negotiators to move forward in a suitable environment, free from threats and unreasonable expectations. And here is

what the U.S. president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They had a chance to do something a while ago and it didn't work out. And we did. Midnight Hammer. I don't think they want that happening

again but they would like to negotiate. We are negotiating with them right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, I've been speaking to diplomats in this region. They've been very clear: the Middle East cannot take another war. Nowhere is that

as clear, for example, as in Gaza and in Lebanon, where tenuous ceasefires are in place with Israel. In Lebanon, Hezbollah says, if the United States

does attack Iran, it will not remain neutral.

Well, the Lebanese prime minister is here in Dubai at the World Governments Summit. He says his government has things under control. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NAWAF SALAM, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We will never allow anyone to drag the country into a new adventure. We've had enough of

adventures. We were drawn into what was called the Gaza support war and its cost on Lebanon was very, very high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:35:00]

ANDERSON: Well, that was the Lebanese prime minister earlier today here at the World Governments Summit.

Last hour, I spoke to the Lebanese prime minister and I asked him how he plans to stand by that statement and uphold his government's pledge on

neutrality in the face of these Hezbollah warnings. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALAM: It's not a matter of neutrality or not. But I have said and would like to repeat it now that the state is the only authority on matters of

war and peace. This is part of our ministerial declaration and we are going to hold to it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, that is his position but clearly not Hezbollah's. I just want to take a step back and look at the ceasefire deal that was agreed on

in November of 2024.

Hezbollah was to withdraw north of the Litani River and eventually disarm and Israel was to withdraw from Lebanon. The Lebanese army, the LAF, was to

regain sovereignty in the south.

It's worth mentioning that Israel still holds five outposts in Lebanese territory and carries out regular bombings in southern Lebanon.

Well, in early January, Lebanese armed forces officially declared phase one of the mission to disarm Hezbollah complete. But Israel called the steps

insufficient. Here's what the prime minister had to say about claims that Hezbollah is rearming in the south.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALAM: It's really unfortunate that Israel is not abiding by the announcement of the cessation of hostilities that was reached in November

2024. As you mentioned, it still occupies five points in southern Lebanon.

There are daily violations of Lebanon's sovereignty and it still detains a number of Lebanese civilians. And this, to say the least, perpetuates this

image of instability in southern Lebanon. This undermines the efforts of my government, too --

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Understood. And I understand that. The question here --

SALAM: -- (INAUDIBLE) also --

ANDERSON: -- rebuilding in the south. That was the question.

SALAM: No. In the south, as I told you, southern of Litani, the state now has full operational control. And this is for the first time since 1969

that the state has full operational control. This is a historic moment for us and challenging time and in a challenging environment.

ANDERSON: Will you still need an international force to uphold peace?

SALAM: Yes. Actually, as you know, the United Nations Interim Force known as UNIFIL, mandate and will end at the -- in December 2026. So then be no

more UNIFIL and no UNIFIL 2 or UNIFIL 3.

But we'll still be in need of some form of international presence in the south for a number of reasons.

One, we need a -- an international force to monitor what's going on in the ground, to report and to liaise with Israel. And you shouldn't forget that,

I mean, there is a history of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel. This is why I mean such international presence would still needed and will be

very useful.

ANDERSON: The focus now moves to disarming the phase two zone, Hezbollah areas, with highly sophisticated assets between the Litani and the Awali

Rivers.

What tangible gains are you reporting to Washington in your enforcement process?

This is now two weeks into that phase.

SALAM: OK. Well, first of -- first of all, I mean, that was a major achievement that you were able to achieve phase one on time. Now phase two

is part of a five-phase plan that the army had presented to the government in September. It was welcomed by the government, as you mentioned.

That's phase two between the Awali and the Litani River. Phase three would be greater Beirut. Phase four, the Bekaa. Phase five the rest of Lebanon.

We are now into phase two. Phase two means, I mean, that the -- at the end of this phase, the army should be able to declare that it has monopoly over

arms in this region.

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: I guess this begs the question.

[10:40:00]

(CROSSTALK)

ANDERSON: Does Washington have your back at this point?

Are you satisfied?

I mean, describe -- can you describe the relationship with this Trump administration?

SALAM: OK, definitely. I mean -- I mean, we are satisfied. I hope that Washington is satisfied, too. Our international, our other --

(CROSSTALK)

SALAM: -- I mean international partners have been satisfied with phase one. Now I mean, for phase two, phase three, phase four, we will

definitely, I mean, need the help of our regional and international partners. I'm not asking anyone to come to Lebanon and to do our job.

ANDERSON: Are you -- ?

SALAM: But we need -- I mean, we need -- I mean, to --

(CROSSTALK)

SALAM: -- support for the Lebanese army. This is why now a conference to support the Lebanese army or the Lebanese armed forces, because not only

the army, the Lebanese army and the Lebanese internal security forces is planned for March 5th and 6th, in Paris.

ANDERSON: So are you getting that support that you want from the international community?

I'll ask you again.

What's been the response?

(CROSSTALK)

SALAM: Actually, we are getting. But unfortunately, we need more because, I mean, we'll have, one, to replace the -- there's a vacuum that's going to

be created in the south. So we need to recruit more personnel in the army.

These people have to be trained. These people will need to be equipped and we will need also to recruit more to ensure that the state has full

monopoly of arms in the whole country.

ANDERSON: So how much pressure is being put on you, President Aoun to sign up to the Abraham Accords or some other accord with Israel at this point?

SALAM: I mean, I mean --

(CROSSTALK)

SALAM: -- no, no, I mean, many times, I mean, our objective is definitely -- I mean, to have peace in the region. This is why I continue reiterating

that we are part and parcel and still hold to the Arab Peace Initiative.

And again, it has always been called the Arab Peace Initiative. The goal is peace. It's not truth. It's not cessation of hostilities. It's not

(INAUDIBLE) ceasefire. It is peace. But I mean, there are the requirements of peace that have to be met.

And they are not yet met.

(CROSSTALK)

SALAM: I mean, how do you want me to talk about peace when Israel continues to occupy parts of Lebanon, that Israel --

(CROSSTALK)

SALAM: -- I mean, violating Lebanese sovereignty on a daily basis?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: My conversation with the Lebanese prime minister here a little earlier today.

Well, the U.S. is hosting dozens of delegations to discuss a key item in president Trump's foreign policy agenda, critical minerals. We will bring

you the very latest on what's being discussed after this.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: From Greenland to Ukraine to Venezuela, many of president Trump's foreign policy objectives have a shared common denominator since he

returned to office and that is critical minerals.

In a bid to catch up with China, the U.S. is prioritizing access to resources abroad in what it sees as a growing national security issue.

Now today, U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio is hosting delegations from over 50 countries for the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial. And this

follows the launch of the Project Vault initiative.

It's a new critical mineral stockpile unveiled by president Trump this week, which will receive $10 billion in financing from the U.S. Export-

Import Bank; $2 billion more will come from private sector funding.

Well, for more on the U.S. president's ambitions on this file and today's global conference, I'm joined by CNN State Department reporter Jennifer

Hansler.

And Jenny, there couldn't -- there couldn't be anything more important, it seems, to this administration than this file. Walk us through what's come

out of today's ministerial. And we see Marco Rubio speaking there now.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, this has been kind of a cornerstone of the U.S. national security policy, this

fixation almost on these critical minerals and countering China.

Now neither vice president Vance nor secretary of state Marco Rubio actually said China or Beijing in their remarks so far. But it is clear

that this is an effort to try to relax Beijing's grip on those critical minerals.

We heard from Rubio just a few minutes ago, saying that it's being heavily concentrated in the hands of one country, which lends itself to a worst-

case scenario of it being used as leverage; about potential disruptions in the supply chain of those critical minerals that are used in so many

different products.

Including things that are used in national security. So this just kicked off about an hour ago now. So we haven't seen a lot of agreements that have

been announced by the administration on this.

But they have said that they are looking to start a preferential trading bloc for the critical minerals. JD Vance announced that earlier today. And

it's also very clear here, Becky, that they are seeing this as a top priority.

He said there is nothing more real than critical minerals but he also seemed to compare it to the U.S.' quest for Venezuelan oil. He talked about

having a conversation -- he, Rubio -- and other national security leaders with president Trump after that operation that ousted Maduro.

And their fixation on Venezuela's oil as a key component of their policy. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the reasons why we're interested in Venezuela is because it has such a critical

importance in this all-important resource called oil.

As much as data centers and technology and all of these incredible things that we're all working on matter, fundamentally, you still have an economy

that runs on real things and there is no realer thing than oil.

And I would add to that, there's no realer thing than critical minerals. And I think a lot of us have learned the hard way in some ways over the

last year, how much our economies depend on these critical minerals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: Yes. And, Becky, of course, we have also seen a number of countries here. The -- Rubio said there's 54 plus the E.U. But we don't

really know how many are actually going to sign onto this coalition, this collective effort, especially in the face of the Trump administration's

continued threats against allies.

We saw, you know, just a month ago, them counter -- trying to take over Greenland, which is -- has a key number of critical minerals and

threatening, potentially, the use of force there before Trump finally backed up and said they just want to obtain it.

So that's going to raise a lot of questions, a lot of concerns about allies and the U.S.' reliability in joining any sort of coalition here. Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes. And a reminder that, just in November, when the Saudi crown prince was in Washington, critical minerals absolutely front and center.

And you and I discussed this at the time on -- in discussions there.

And we were -- I spent some time in Saudi recently. And there are significant reserves of critical minerals and rare earths there, of course,

Jennifer, as you know.

And already there is an initiative, you know, a deal between the U.S. and the Saudis to mine some of those. It will be interesting to see what comes

out, what comes out of today's meeting. Thanks for updating us on that.

We are back after this quick break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. We're at the World Governments Summit in Dubai. I'm Becky Anderson for you. It's just before 8:00 in the evening here. And

I've been spending some time with Tyler Brule, the chairman and editorial director for "Monocle."

Now his global media company focuses on political affairs, business culture, design and travel. "Monocle" also has cafes and retail shops. And

we spoke earlier on how he has navigated his company through an ever- changing media landscape and how he openly rejects, quote, "ephemeral digital shatter." Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TYLER BRULE, CHAIRMAN AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, MONOCLE: Just looking at last year's numbers, double-digit growth -- and double-digit growth, not

only driven by print and cafes and retail; of course, digital is important.

But at the same time, there is so much commoditization. I mean, you know, we're looking at screens all around us here. And everything -- because

you're confined to this, you know, this -- either this little vertical screen that's in our pocket.

But I think that there is a certain comfort. People want to show up. They want a presence. And we're in a world where people define themselves with

eyewear and their vehicles and how they get around.

You know, we can all have the same phone from one of, what, three companies largely, maybe one of two companies. But having a magazine under your arm,

it becomes also an intellectual accessory. It defines you.

ANDERSON: On the media landscape in 2026, looking ahead, what do you think the biggest opportunities for media are and where do you see the biggest

risks?

BRULE: I think the biggest opportunities, it's having a considered conversation. It is bringing people together. And that's not just the world

of events. I think there's something beyond just that.

And what we see, it's interesting; the part of our business which is growing the fastest is retail in cafes. It's actually people coming in for

their matcha, for their coffee, being part of a community, being part of an intellectual community.

And I think, listen, getting back to good -- I say journalism but good, old, honest reporting. So in this -- all the discussion around AI, which,

of course, is ongoing and ongoing, you know, I'm always of the view, I say to young journalists who come into our organization.

When you land in a city, when you land in Bahrain, when you get to Baghdad, when you arrive in Boston, if you're in the back of the car, get off your

phone and look up. Challenge what you see around you. Interrogate and absorb that place because you're going to have to go and write that story.

And maybe you have to think about the built environment around you in terms of risk. I think that there is -- listen, I fear there's two -- this race

to invest in AI and technology.

And then I worry like, who's going to be left in the newsroom as well?

At a time when everyone says, oh, you know, we need good stars and we, you know, we need the power of personality, et cetera. But I don't think it's

about sending someone with an iPhone and saying that they were on the scene, because I'm saying pretty much everyone can do that. I want the

depth of analysis.

ANDERSON: You've said that someone like this or particularly World Governments Summit creates space to -- well, I quote you here -- "slow down

and let dialogue unfold."

Why, in the face of this fractured world that we live in, does that kind of face-to-face, almost a Majlis-style diplomacy, which is how a place like

this runs, why does it still matter so much?

BRULE: We're in such a shouty environment, whether it is just on screen, whether it is, of course, on air. And I think that there is -- and there's

just this volume, this cacophony that's going on. And what I like about this and, you know, we've come off the back of Davos.

[10:55:00]

And I think there were some rather, you know, impolite things that were said to the host, Switzerland, to many other leaders. And I like -- it's

not just considerate, it's a polite conversation. You've been out here for a while. This is -- this is what this region can teach the world, how to be

polite and well-mannered.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: A legend in the world of media. Tyler Brule, here with me at the World Governments Summit.

And that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD tonight. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.

END