Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Rubio Ends European Trip in Hungary, Praises Orban; Latest DOJ DOC Release Intensifies Pressure on UK Royals; Israel Moves to Designate Parts of West Bank as State Land; FBI Analyzes DNA from Glove Found 3 km from Guthrie's Home; Trump Hosting Inaugural Board of Peace Meeting in DC Thursday. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired February 16, 2026 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, the message from the White House, we prefer diplomacy when dealing with Iran. This is the Trump
Administration continues to beef up its military presence in the region. It is 09:00 a.m. there in Washington.
It is 06:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. From our Middle East programming headquarters, I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World". Also
coming up, the top U.S. diplomat brings President Trump's America First message overseas. We have details on how Marco Rubio's European trip
wrapped up.
And a new plea from Savannah Guthrie to her mother's kidnapper as the search enters a third week, do the right thing, she says. Well, the top
U.S. diplomat has ended his whirlwind trip to Europe with a visit to Hungary, meeting Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a hard right leader who has
drawn effusive praise from U.S. President Donald Trump, and who has close ties to Russia.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, voicing support for Mr. Orban, who faces a major election challenge in April.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Under President Trump, it is our expectation that every nation on earth is going to act in their national
interest. That nations are supposed to do if the Prime Minister of Hungary does not act in the national interest of Hungary, who won't be prime
minister for long, but who is going to act in the national interest of Hungary if their prime minister doesn't do it, if your government is not
acting in your national interest, and who will, by the way, we feel the same way about America.
So, in those instances in which our national interest and some other country's national interests are aligned, that is an opportunity for
extraordinary partnership, and we have many, many areas where our national interests are aligned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Rubio's visit to Budapest, coming after his speech at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, where he addressed European
leaders in somewhat of a conciliatory tone, while also saying governments across Europe must assume more responsibility for their security and
rethink their cultural values or risk losing U.S. support.
Melissa Bell connecting us from Paris. And Melissa as the dust settles on the security meeting, the very consequential security meeting in Munich and
Marco Rubio gets set to head back to Washington. How has his message landed in Europe?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think there was, Becky, that initial standing ovation, the almost audible sigh of relief,
because his tone had apparently been less confrontational than that of the vice president a year ago in the same security conference.
But when you look at the details of his speech, and this is what's been happening a lot of the newspapers here in Europe poring over that over the
last couple of days. It's pretty radical stuff. Essentially, what the Secretary of State told the Munich conference was that until the end of
World War Two.
The West had been expanding through its priests, through its explorers, that had then stopped, and the world that he was looking towards was one
where Europe because it was United States or a friend of it, or a child of Europe, he pointed out need to listen better to what Washington has to say
on this question of civilizational decline and the need for Europe to take things in hand.
And I think it's no coincidence that the Secretary of State then didn't meet with many of the more moderate European leaders. He went to Bratislava
to meet with Robert Fico, and then on to Budapest, where he is now with Viktor Orban. Have a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: The United States interest is to see the war end, and we want to do what we can to make it end. We're the only nation on earth that apparently
can get both sides to the table to talk. I'm not here to insult anybody, but the United Nations hasn't been able to do it. We think it's a war
that's incredibly damaging.
We think it's a war that's incredibly destructive. We think it's a war that never should have happened and should end as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: So, Marco Rubio went on to praise Viktor Orban.
[09:05:00]
You'll remember, as you mentioned a moment ago, Becky, that he's facing these very tough elections in April 12, in this shape of Peter Magyar, who
had been a member of his party, is now standing against him and stands the best chance that any opponent of Viktor Orban has in Hungarian
parliamentary elections that are coming up and in the face of this tough channel, challenge, rather.
The endorsement of President Trump a few days ago on Truth Social was crucial, as were the words of Marco Rubio, who stood alongside him,
pointing out that it wasn't simply because Hungary and the United States were aligned politically, but also because of the fact that there was this
very close relationship, personal relationship between the American President and the Hungarian Prime Minister that Hungary had been able to
benefit from a lot of American investments.
No fewer than 17 American investments in Hungary since 2025 and the inauguration of President Trump. And that he was explaining to the press
conference is what a close personal relationship with President Trump can deliver, and the reason why Hungarians should be choosing Viktor Orbon on
April 12th.
So quite a remarkable shift in the American approach to standing in a foreign country and speaking to what needs to come next in a national vote,
Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Melissa. Thank you very much indeed. Well, the latest release of Jeffrey Epstein related files by the U.S. Justice
Department has turned a harsh spotlight on some members of the British monarchy. The documents are giving a clearer picture of the depth of the
relationship between Former Duchess Sarah Ferguson and the convicted sex offender.
Meanwhile, her ex-husband, the Former Prince Andrew, is now facing mounting pressure to answer more questions about his involvement with Epstein and
their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, must cope with the embarrassment of being mentioned hundreds of times in the newly publicized files, including
multiple emails to and from Epstein.
Though it is important to note there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on their part. CNN, Salma Abdelaziz covering the very latest from London,
Salma.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, and it is splashed all over the papers, and has been for a couple of weeks now, but there is some
sympathy, of course, for Beatrice and Eugenie, who seem to be very much caught up in their parents' scandal.
In the past, the focus has been on the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. But in this latest trove, we see that there
are clear allegations, signs of a deep friendship, deep affection, between Sarah Ferguson and Jeffrey Epstein. One of the incidences that allegedly
took place, according to these emails, is a lunch in Miami that occurred just five days, just five days after Epstein was released from jail for
soliciting sex from a minor.
In the emails, it appears to show that Sarah Ferguson went to Miami to visit him with both her daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice, and that even
possibly, Epstein paid for their flights that cost about $14,000. Now again, Ms. Ferguson has denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
These are allegations in these emails. They are not verified. But there were more emails in there, in that trove, that again, showed that depth of
relationship, one where Sarah Ferguson signs off marry me xxx, kisses to Jeffrey Epstein. So, you get a sense of just how close they are, the
potential that the girls, Beatrice and Eugenie may have been drawn into that world.
And now, of course, this is splattered all over the papers for the world to see. And in the meanwhile, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor situation gets more
and more complex. He's been pushed out of the royal residence. He is now staying in a separate location in the state that belongs to his brother,
King Charles.
Of course, the police are looking into claims and may potentially launch a formal investigation into him for allegations of wrongdoing and misconduct
when he was an official trade envoy for the country. And of course, we can't forget those growing calls, those growing demands for Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor to testify against Mr. Epstein, something so far, of course, he has shown no willingness to do.
ANDERSON: Salma is in London, where the time is eight minutes past two. Salma, thank you. Sorry. Apologies for that. Thank you, Salma. Israel is
moving to designate large parts of the West Bank as state land that Palestinians are calling de facto annexation. Israel's Foreign Ministry
defends the land registry as and I quote here an administrative measure.
Several government ministers made clear the intent was to increase settlement and Israel's grip on the territory. Israel began establishing
Jewish settlements in the West Bank since its capture in 1967, they're considered illegal under international law.
[09:10:00]
I want to get more on this. CNN's Jeremy Diamond standing by. Just explain what we know at this point, Jeremy.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a decision by the Israeli government that's going to create a mechanism in order for the
Israeli government to register large swathes of land in the West Bank to the Israeli state. And what this will effectively do is it will allow the
state to designate land as state land, making it easier in order to expand or establish new settlements in parts of the West Bank.
And also make it easier for Israeli settlers to privately purchase land in the West Bank. And this is why we are hearing the Palestinian presidency
calling this de facto annexation of Palestinian territory. Peace now, an anti-occupation group that tracks these kinds of moves in the West Bank
says that this is a massive land grab in the West Bank.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry, for its part, has tried to kind of tamp down some of the controversy here by claiming that this is simply an
administrative measure, which they say would bring order to land registration in the West Bank. But the ministers who are actually deeply
involved in this decision are making no illusions about what their true designs are here.
And they include the Far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who says that this is an effort to continue the settlement and governance
revolution. Yariv Levin, a right-wing Justice Minister, says that this is about Israel's commitment to strengthening its hold over all parts of
Israeli land, and in that he is indeed including the West Bank.
This is primarily aimed at Area C which, under the Oslo Accords, is the area where Israel has civilian and security control. However, there is, are
also an estimated 180 to 300,000 Palestinians who live in this area. And under this new mechanism, many of those Palestinians who hold private land
in these areas may find it very difficult to prove their property rights here.
And indeed, this mechanism seems aimed at allowing the Israeli state to take ownership of some of that land, and that is where you can see that
this is a process that will likely lead to Palestinians being dispossessed of land that they have privately owned for generations.
Now, it is very clear that this is a process that's going to take some time. They're talking first about registering 15 percent of this land in
Area C within the next five years, but registering all of this land could take decades, really. But it is just the latest effort by this far right
government, the furthest right government in Israel's history.
Its attempts to increase settlement in the West Bank and to quite literally, prevent the future establishment of a Palestinian state,
something that everyone from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu down to several of his right-wing ministers have made very clear, is their goal
when they make moves just like this one that we've seen just yesterday, Becky.
ANDERSON: Very significant story. Jeremy, thank you for that. Jeremy Diamond is with us today out of Jerusalem. Well, the search for 84-year-old
Nancy Guthrie has now entered its third week. And it comes amid another public plea for her return. On Sunday, her daughter, the NBC Anchor
Savannah Guthrie addressed her mother's abductor directly, posting this on social media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, DAUGHTER OF NANCY GUTHRIE: We still have hope and we still believe. And I wanted to say to whoever has her or knows where she
is, but it's never too late, and you're not lost or alone, and it is never too late to do the right thing, and we are here. We believe. And we believe
in the essential goodness of every human being.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The message comes as authorities wait for DNA results from a glove recovered from a field about three kilometers from Nancy Guthrie's
Arizona home. The FBI says it appears to match the glove being worn by the person seen in the video from Guthrie's doorbell camera the night that she
vanished.
[09:15:00]
Well CNN's Leigh Waldman is following this story for us. The days go past, and of course, his family continues to suffer with no real indication at
this point as to where their 84-year-old mom is. What more then can you tell us about this glove, very specifically, that's being tested?
And what more do we know at this point about the investigation surrounding the entire case?
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, this glove could be fairly significant. The FBI has said, at least visibly, it matches the glove that
was worn by that person we saw armed and masked on the doorbell camera video outside of Nancy Guthrie's home the day she was apparently abducted,
taken from her home there so visibly it matches.
And they've also shared that it does have DNA on it. It was found not very far from this home here. At this point, it's been sent off to a private lab
in Florida by the sheriff's office to begin that DNA testing. And once the FBI does kind of a quality control and confirms the DNA there, they'll
start running it through their criminal database, the CODIS to test it against millions of previous offenders who they have DNA for.
They're hoping to get some kind of a match there. We also know it will likely go through third party DNA testing. We know that there is familial
DNA that people submit off to get their family lineage. They're going to likely test it against those systems as well to see if that gives us a
match, to see who this person is.
That's not the only DNA that we have. The sheriff over the weekend confirming that there was also DNA found at Nancy Guthrie's property, not
telling us exactly where it was found, but we know it doesn't match Nancy. We know it doesn't match anyone close to her. It's just the big
overwhelming question, well, who does it belong to?
And that's what they're working to determine right now. We know that there's an initial profile for this suspect. It's a man with a medium bill
between 5'9" and 5'10". If this glove does come back to match the DNA that was found at this property, that will help the FBI and the other law
enforcement agencies really zero in on their search and really focus in on where exactly that glove was found to see if they can find any other
lingering evidence nearby.
Let's talk about this growing tribute to Nancy Guthrie. Behind us, you can see beautiful yellow flowers laid outside of her mailbox. Here we spoke to
the owner of the flower shop. He says the yellow flowers symbolize hope and support. That's what her neighbors, who we spoke to all weekend long, are
saying they're trying to give to the Guthrie family.
One woman I spoke to, she lives about a half a mile from where we are here at Nancy's home, she says her mom plays Mahjong with Nancy Guthrie every
single week. They have known the family for decades. She said this couldn't have happened to a better family. Their heart is broken for this family.
And you can see the desperation on her daughter, Savannah Guthrie's face as she pleads with the parent abductors in this case, saying, hey, it's not
too late to do the right thing. They desperately want their mother back home safely while we're still waiting for answers here on who is behind
this, we really do need to focus on Nancy herself.
She's an 84-year-old woman who has been described as in fragile health. We know she has a pacemaker and she relies on daily medication, medication
that she hasn't likely had any access to since she was taken from her home 16 days ago, Becky, that's why this is such a desperate search at this
point to try and find her and bring her back home safely.
ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. Leigh, thank you. Leigh Waldman is on the ground there in Tucson, Arizona. Well, coming up ahead of President Trump's
inaugural meeting with his board of peace in Washington on Thursday. I sat down with the diplomat charged with turning ideas for Gaza's future into
action.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:00]
ANDERSON: Well, this is shaping up to be a pivotal week for Donald Trump's peace efforts in the Middle East. On Thursday, the U.S. President set to
unveil a reconstruction package for Gaza at the first formal meeting of his board of peace. Founding members signed the charter of course in Davos last
month.
Trump previewed yesterday that the group will pledge more than $5 billion for the enclave and commit thousands of troops to the international
stabilization force meant to maintain security there. No further detail, though. Well as a reminder, nearly 30 countries have joined the board of
peace, many of the Muslim nations and countries led by close Trump allies, most European nations have not joined.
Skepticism remains about whether President Trump wants to expand the group's mandate beyond Gaza to even possibly supplant the United Nations.
Well, I sat down with a man charged with leading the operational arm of the Board of Peace and the next steps in the reconstruction of Gaza, Nickolay
Mladenov.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICKOLAY MLADENOV, HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR GAZA, BOARD OF PEACE: Say that this is an enormous task, is a bit of an understatement. We have different
tracks that we need to pursue pretty much simultaneously here. The first track is to make sure that the National Committee for the administration of
Gaza, the Palestinian committee is able to go into the Gaza Strip and take over the civilian's governance there.
Now, unfortunately, some people believe that this is a bit like changing a government after an election. It's far more complicated than that. We need
to be able to verify and to confirm that the transfer of authority by Hamas to the International Committee, happens in a meaningful way.
Secondly, we need to make sure that what we are seeing today, the violations of the ceasefire that are occurring very often, stop, because we
should not put the new committee that goes into Gaza in a position in which you have Hamas and Israel firing at each other or provoking each other at
different points of time.
Thirdly, the committee needs to actually be able to deliver for people rather quickly. And the priority in that is obviously not reconstruction,
because we're very far from that, but it's to bring in humanitarian aid, to start removing the rubble and to start giving people at least some
temporary housing and hope for the future.
So, this is one track. The second track extremely important, is to begin the process of decommissioning of weapons in Gaza. And I think we should
all agree, and I was just in a panel at the Munich Security Conference talking about this. We should all agree that there is no future political
solution to the question of Palestine, unless Gaza is -- the civilian governance of Gaza is handed over to the transitional committee.
And weapons are taken out of the control of the various factions and militants that exist in the Gaza Strip, because that is the condition, in
fact, that would allow Israeli forces to withdraw, back to the fence, and for us to be able to really move forward with what the 20 point plan of
President Trump and the U.N. Security Council resolution requires, which is the rebuilding of Gaza and really uniting them with the Palestinian
Authority in the West Bank.
ANDERSON: What I hear here is that the biggest challenge is getting Israel and Hamas to cooperate and to agree on the next steps, I have to ask you,
do you have that?
MLADENOV: I wouldn't put it that way. I would say that we need to reach agreements with all sides in this situation. And it is obviously the
factors inside Gaza are led by Hamas, and they need to understand very clearly what are the options ahead of us. Certainly, also the dialog with
Israeli government needs to continue very much on issues related to humanitarian deliveries, to access to Gaza, but we can't do this as well
without our partners in the region.
[09:25:00]
And Egypt plays here a critical role as well as Turkiye and Qatar, the United States and the broader Middle East, because we need everybody to be
aligned on the messaging of this. And if I may, I think we need to make very clear to everyone that there are only three pathways forward. One
pathway leads to a resumption of war, and that is certainly something that we want to avoid.
The second pathway, perhaps even more dangerous than the resumption of war, is cementing the situation which you have now. 50 percent of Gaza's
territory, with 90 percent of the population under Hamas' control, the other 50 percent under Israel's control. This division of Gaza, cemented
over a long period of time, is going to be a tragedy, not just for the people of Gaza, but for everyone on the ground.
And the third pathway, which requires, you know, Hamas, to give up civilian control of Gaza, to decommission all weapons inside the Gaza Strip, and to
have a new governance model that allows for reconstruction to happen, because no country around the world would actually put real money into
rebuilding the Gaza Strip under the current conditions, until we have a new governance system and no weapons underground or overground.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: We have a lot more from my interview with Nickolay Mladenov in the next hour. Do Stand by for that. Let's get you up to speed on some
other stories that are on our radar right now. And Ukraine's Former Energy Minister has been detained while trying to leave the country, according to
anti-corruption authorities there.
He suspended from his post last year after allegations emerged that contractors working on government energy projects paid kickbacks. Well, the
President of Guatemala says so called state of siege that he declared in January has allowed security forces to regain control of prison arrest 83
high risk gang members and seized tons of cocaine.
President Bernardo Arevalo invoked emergency powers as part of a campaign against criminal gangs, saying the 30-day state of siege will be followed
by what he called a state of prevention. Well in Georgia, opening statements are expected to start in the trial of the father of a suspect in
a high school shooting.
Prosecutors say Colin Gray gave his son the gun used in 2024 attack that left four people dead, and have charged him with second degree murder,
amongst other offenses, he has pleaded not guilty. Well, following that for you and more as we get it coming up.
The Iranians are in Geneva for the next round of nuclear talks with the United States. I'll speak to an analyst about what we might expect next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:30:00]
ANDERSON: Right. Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Time here just after or just before half past six in the evening. You're watching
"Connect the World". These are your headlines this hour. U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio ended his trip to Europe in Hungary, where he met --
right -- Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Rubio praised Mr. Orban, who faces a tough election challenge in April. He also said the U.S. will do what it can to end the Russia-Ukraine war as
soon as possible. Israel moved to designate large swathes of the West Bank as state land, saying it's an administrative measure to bring order to land
registration.
But several government ministers have made clear the intent was to increase settlement and Israel's grip on the territory. Palestinians are calling it
a de facto annexation. Right now, authorities are waiting for DNA results from a glove recovered from a field about three kilometers from Nancy
Guthrie's home in Arizona.
The FBI says it appears to match those worn by a masked person outside the 84-year old's front door the night that she vanished from her Arizona home.
The suspect's identity and motive in this case, is still unknown. Well, high tensions in Washington this week as lawmakers clash over funding
proposals for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Little movement, though could come this week, since both chambers are in recess. Among the demands from the Democrats for agreeing to funding are
mandatory body cameras for immigration agents and rules to prevent agents from wearing masks. Democrats also want to require immigration agents to
use judicial warrants instead of the easier to obtain administrative warrants that they have been using, and to put an end to roving agent
patrols.
Well, despite the partial shutdown, many DHS employees will still be required to work, but won't be paid. That includes agencies like FEMA, the
U.S. Coast Guard, TSA, and even the Secret Service. Camila DeChalus has more details on the shutdown from Washington.
CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, in the last few hours, we're hearing more from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers that they
want to see this partial government shutdown end, but they're still trying to figure out a deal that both sides can agree on in order to make that
happen.
Now the big issue here is that the Department of Homeland Security has really come under intense criticism in the last few weeks over the fatal
shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents. And that's why you hear more Democratic lawmakers calling for reforms around immigration
enforcement, in exchange for them supporting a spending bill to fund DHS.
Now, recently, we had the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries tell CNN that Democrats are kind of working on a counter proposal to send back to
the White House. And we are hearing more from lawmakers on both sides that bipartisan talks are underway to try to strike some type of a deal, but
those details really haven't been ironed out yet. Take a listen to what both sides had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): I.C.E. in the Border Patrol is funded through the one big, beautiful bill up until 2028. And so, the only thing to have
shut down is the federal agencies that I name, like FEMA and the Coast Guard and TSA, so they're shutting down thousands of workers for nothing
but a talking point.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): The outcry from Americans has caused the White House to be willing to negotiate with us on reasonable standards of
conduct. That's a positive. We need to see that get into statute before we vote on this last piece of federal funding. This isn't a big government
shutdown.
It is a hopefully temporary disagreement over the standards of conduct of the officers who operate under the Department of Homeland Security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DECHALUS: Now, as a partial government shutdown continues with the loss of funding for the Department of Homeland Security, that really does mean that
critical federal agencies that have nothing to do with immigration enforcement, like the Coast Guard, FEMA and TSA, they will also be
impacted.
And the significance of this really is the fact that hundreds and thousands of federal employees under DHS will have to stay on the job, but many of
them will go without pay, and so what you're hearing now is more urgency from lawmakers to get something done.
But where things stand right now is that both the House and the Senate side, they're not expected to return back to Capitol Hill until February
23rd. but GOP leaders tell us that they could still call back members of Congress if a deal has been reached, and so that's something that we're
actively monitoring. Camila DeChalus, CNN, Washington.
ANDERSON: Well, Iran's Foreign Minister is in Geneva ahead of what are the next round of nuclear talks with the United States, which are expected to
take place on Tuesday. Both U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son in law, are expected to attend.
Over the weekend, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated the position.
[09:35:00]
President Trump prefers, he said, diplomacy, even as U.S. builds up its military presence in the region. Well, my next guest is Iran Analyst
Alireza Nader. Joins us now live from Washington. I want to just begin Alireza by playing what we heard from Secretary of State Marco Rubio on
Sunday. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: We're dealing with people who make geopolitical decisions on the basis of pure theology, and it's a complicated thing. I mean, no one's ever
been able to do a successful deal with Iran, but we're going to try.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, what do you make of how the U.S., or certainly this very specifically, this Trump Administration, is positioning itself ahead of
this next round of talks?
ALIREZA NADER, PRESIDENT OF NADER RESEARCH GROUP: I think Secretary Rubio is exactly right. This is a very difficult regime to come to an agreement
with. Ayatollah Khamenei, the Dictator of Iran is a very ideologically set -- man. He hates America. He wants nuclear weapons.
He wants to drive America out of the Middle East. Having said that, that doesn't mean that the regime is not willing to compromise. Iranian
officials have said that they're willing to make concessions for an agreement, but there are certain principles they're not going to violate,
and I think those principles come from Khamenei himself.
ANDERSON: What do you expect the Iranians to do as far as any concessions are concerned then?
NADER: Well, I don't think they're going to concede on uranium enrichment. Giving up uranium enrichment as a whole, I think is going to be very
difficult for Iran to do. The United States has also made demands on the missile program. The Israeli government is very concerned that Iran is
reconstituting its missile program and will be able to hit Israel with thousands of missiles.
Iran will not give up its missile program, but I think it will make some concessions on missiles as well. I think if the United States comes along
and says, we want you to dismantle your entire nuclear program, we want you to stop enrichment completely forever. Ali Khamenei will not back down
because he wants to stick with ideological agenda.
ANDERSON: Right. I've just got 60 seconds, that Tehran says it is open to ideas about business going forward, resources, critical minerals and rare
earths. What do you make of that Tehran positioning?
NADER: The regime is trying to entice President Trump with financial promises, so they put this offer up. I think President Trump should
consider that investing in Iran will be much more rewarding when the regime is gone and the people of Iran, when the Islamic Republic gone, and the
United States should wait until the regime is gone before investing in Iran.
Nuclear negotiations are one thing, but we have to remember tens of thousands of Iranians just died in the streets because President Trump
asked them to come and take over the government buildings and President Trump -- deliver an answer to the Iranian people where is the help he
promised them?
ANDERSON: Yeah. And those who survived those protests, I'm told by people who speak regularly to their relatives in Iran those who survive, there's a
real sense of hopelessness. And as we talk the politics, let's remember those who are, of course, in Iran and living through this.
Thank you. You're watching "Connect the World". There is a lot more ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
ANDERSON: Well, a new look. NBA All-Star game took place this weekend in LA with the U.S. taking on the rest of the world. CNN's Andy Scholes was
watching, and he joins us now.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
ANDERSON: Andy, how did the fans warm up to this new format?
SCHOLES: Well, Becky, you know, fans are skeptical heading into this of whether or not it would work, because the All-Star game, the format, the
competitiveness, it's been lacking really bad the last few years. But this was a great success, and in large part to the way they did, you know, the
Olympics are going on right now.
So, they did the U.S. versus the world. There were two U.S. teams versus an international team. And credit to Victor Wembanyama, you know, the French
phenom, seven foot five, he from the get go, said, I'm going out there to compete and I'm going to make this a game.
And he did just that, and I think his competitive spirit rubbed off on everybody else. We had three fantastic games. It was a round robin format,
and then in the end, the championship wasn't a very competitive one, but I think it was a great success. I think the fans really liked it.
I think it's a format that's going to continue moving forward. And Becky, it's a credit to just how good the world has become at the game of
basketball, because the international team is one that can be fielded now of NBA All-Star. So, you know, all in all, a great success.
ANDERSON: Yeah. That's fascinating. Look, you know, you're never going to get the purists on side for new formats, pretty much ever for anything.
SCHOLES: Yeah.
ANDERSON: I loved it so. And you're right. I mean, it's really good see those international players really staking their claim to sort of
greatness. So good to have you, mate. And you are back with "World Sport" after this short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:00:00]
END
