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Connect the World
Iran's Supreme Leader Vows To Keep Strait Of Hormuz Closed; U.N. Chief Arrives In Lebanon To Address Humanitarian Situation; Lebanon Hospital Says It May Not Function If War Goes On; Israel Expands Operations To Target Hezbollah In Lebanon; Michigan's Governor Speaks About Ramming Attack At Synagogue; British Warship En Route To Mediterranean To Protect Cyprus. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired March 13, 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: And you're looking at the skyline of Beirut this hour, where the U.N. Secretary General is paying a
visit of solidarity. Israel has said it is extending its military operations against Iran backed Hezbollah. The number of people displaced
there is predicted to reach a million.
It is 03:00 p.m. in Lebanon. It is just after 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson, you're
watching "Connect the World". Just after 09:00 a.m. in New York. The stock market there opens in about 30 minutes from now.
And you're looking at the futures markets, an indication of how Wall Street is likely to start this Friday, a slight retreat in oil prices from $100 on
the barrel, providing some calm for investors today. Well, we start in Washington this hour with U.S. Defense Secretary saying that the U.S. and
Israel are systematically destroying Iran's offensive capabilities.
Nearly two weeks into this war. Here's more of what Pete Hegseth told reporters at a Pentagon briefing last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: As of two days ago, Iran's entire ballistic missile production capacity, every company that builds every
component of those missiles, has been functionally defeated, destroyed, buildings, complexes and factory lines all across Iran destroyed.
So, we're shooting down and destroying what missiles they still have in stock, but more importantly, ensuring that they have no ability to make
more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well Hegseth's comments coming as U.S. Central Command says four of six crew members on a U.S. Air Force refueling plane were killed when
that plane went down in Iraq. A search is continuing for the other two. CENTCOM says the incident was not due to either enemy or friendly fire.
Meantime, Israel launching waves of heavy strikes in Iran and Lebanon and Iran continuing to fire back at Israel and its Gulf neighbors. More than
2000 deaths are reported in Iran and in Lebanon, with dozens more killed in other countries around the region. Well in Iran today, smoke seen rising in
the distance of an Al-Quds Day rally in Tehran as thousands marched in support of Palestinians.
Iranians held rallies in multiple cities, some burning Israeli or U.S. flags, some holding pictures of the new supreme leader and of his father,
who was killed at the start of his fighting. Oil continues to play a critical role in this war. At least 16 oil tankers and other vessels have
been attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz in the past two weeks.
Iranian media on Thursday read out what it said was Mojtaba Khamenei's first message as supreme leader, in which he vowed to continue choking off
the strait to disrupt global oil supplies. We're going to start this hour with Oren Liebermann, who is in Tel Aviv. Alayna Treene is at the White
House for you.
Paula Hancocks is in Abu Dhabi here in the UAE. Oren, let's start with you, the U.S. Pentagon, Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine, just in the past hour,
saying this will be the busiest day yet, the biggest day yet for U.S. action in and over Iran. What did we learn?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, all they would say about this being the biggest day of strikes was that it was 20 percent more than
other days of strikes here as we stand on day 14 of the war, in terms of what the U.S. is going after.
[09:05:00]
There's no specific targeting info for today, but they generally describe that is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine that they have
gone after Iran's Air Force, Iran's Navy, the regime itself, and other aspects of the Iranian military, in terms of what else they talked about
during their press briefing here again, on the 14th day of the war, there are a few notable questions that came up the question those answers there
weren't clear.
For example, in one of the key aspects of all of this the 400 plus kilograms of highly enriched uranium that Iran still has held. Hegseth was
asked, can you declare victory if this hasn't been removed from the country? And all he would say, there is, there are a lot of options on the
table.
But that's a key question here, because, at least ostensibly, one of the earliest reasons given for this war was Iran's nuclear program. So, if the
U.S. wants to declare victory, it stands to reason that the U.S. should be able to say it's been removed from the country. And yet that didn't get a
clear and precise answer.
Meanwhile, Hegseth and Caine were also asked about the strike and the girls' school in Minab in the earliest stages of the war that killed more
than 170 girls at that school. He asked effectively, what the U.S. was willing and ready to say at this point, and frankly, it wasn't much.
He said there is a command investigation led by a general officer, but he wouldn't get ahead of that as there is a growing body of evidence that it
was a U.S. Tomahawk strike that hit the school and killed the girls at that school. Meanwhile, obviously one of the other key areas of focus here was
the Strait of Hormuz.
And what steps the U.S. is taking to unblock the Strait of Hormuz after Iran has made clear, and we have seen from the flow of shipping or lack
thereof, that ships simply aren't willing to pass through that strait. President Donald Trump has tried to portrayed as safe.
And yet, when Hegseth and Caine were asked, are you willing to put escorts for tankers and commercial ships to pass through the strait, they said it
is a tactically complex environment, and they are going to do it sequentially, without putting a specific timeline on when or even if the
U.S. is willing to consider escorting vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to try to unblock a critical waterway through which 20 percent of the
world's oil travels.
This is part of Iran's asymmetric warfare. This is something the U.S. knew, or should have known, they were prepared to do, and yet, as we stand here
on day 14, there isn't a clear answer on what steps the U.S. is willing to take, even after they've said they destroy the air force, the navy, to
unblock that crucial waterway, Becky.
ANDERSON: And I note, Oren, number of times in answer to questions posed by reporters today, both Hegseth and Caine use the sort of following term, and
I paraphrase to a degree, we retain a range of options to address a range of scenarios. Paula, let me bring you in, at this point Hegseth saying
again that Iran is weak.
And there is no doubt, after 6000 strikes on targets, confirmed in that press conference today by the U.S., that clearly there has been a
significant degradation to whatever those targets are. And they include ballistic missile sites and the industrial base that goes into making those
missiles.
Of course, around the region where you and I are, around the Gulf and beyond, it is ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, to a lesser extent, that
has caused the sort of havoc here, and more often, it is drones. Now both those missiles and drones have been intercepted to very high degrees.
But there are interceptions that create debris, and that debris unfortunately creates problems on the ground, and indeed deaths. And this
region continues to endure attacks. What else did either the Joint Chiefs Chairman or the Secretary of War Defense say about this region?
So, Becky, we did have some figures from Hegseth claiming how the ability for Iran to fire these missiles and drones against Gulf nations and
neighboring countries has been diminished. They said that the number of missiles being fired was down 90 percent, the number of drones was down 95
percent.
Now, certainly, we're still seeing these incoming projectiles to the UAE, to the Gulf nations. In fact, Turkey just saw its third projectile fired,
in that direction, NATO having to shoot that down and intercept it. So, there is definitely the ability still by Iran to be able to threaten its
neighbors.
We also heard from Hegseth talking about the partnership with the Gulf nations and where that is. Let's just listen to what he said.
[09:10:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: The thing that is widening is our advantage. Now to mention our Gulf partners stepping up even more now going on the offense and have
always been with us on the defense, with collective and integrated air defenses. Watching our Gulf partners stepping up even more now going on the
offense, and have always been with us on the defense, with collective and integrated air defenses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now we have not heard from any of the Gulf nations that they are going on the offense. We've certainly heard that
they are intercepting missiles and drones here in the UAE, more than 90 percent of them. And certainly, that is not something that is publicly been
said, although all do say they reserve the right to retaliate.
Now elsewhere in this region, we have also seen more loss of life in Oman, which, remember, was the key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, before
these hostilities broke out, they say that two foreign residents have been killed as drones hit an industrial area in Oman.
Not clear whether that was debris from an interception or whether the drones actually hit directly, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you. I want to bring in Alayna at this point. Alayna, you're in Washington, at the White House. Hegseth and others
have continued to deflect questions to a degree about the timeline of this war. Tell us what you've learned about that?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think this is a key problem that the administration has really been struggling with for a
number of reasons. One is because I know from my conversations with people in that building behind me, Becky.
But also, I know a lot of people outside of the White House and the Trump Administration have been calling the president directly and telling him
that they want him to clearly communicate and articulate when and what the end of this war is going to look like.
But at the same time, and you actually heard Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth address this today, when asked about some of the conflicting timelines
we've heard about, why can't you clearly state what this is going to look like and how long Americans should expect this war to continue.
And what he said lines up exactly what with White House officials have been telling me is that they don't want to box themselves in. Part of the reason
they have not given a stated, you know, potential metric for when we could expect things to wrap up. Despite, I should say they did do that in the
beginning.
In the beginning, they said there should be four to six weeks, maybe eight weeks. Now they have leaned away from putting an exact timeline on this,
but they recognize that they don't want to box themselves in, in case this actually ends up taking a lot longer than they had maybe initially
anticipated.
And one of the big issues, I think, as well, why we've seen so many of the public faces who are out there defending this military operation, defending
the U.S. involvement in this war is because they recognize a lot of Americans are very wary about being drawn in to another prolonged conflict
in the Middle East.
And I've had a lot of conversations with people, both in the Trump Administration and outside of the Trump Administration, have told me that
this is a key concern for them, particularly as we look I know this is war, but the politics of this are obviously still very front of mind for a lot
of people, particularly people in Congress who are worried about the mid- term elections come November. And this is something that the president is very much aware of as well.
I know that his top advisers have shown him polling, polling that we have that shows that many Americans are not, you know, are concerned about what
is happening. And I think what we're seeing happen in the Strait of Hormuz, something again, Oren and Paula laid this out very well, something Hegseth
really struggled to kind of communicate about what the plan is there, about making sure it's reopened, and shapes can -- what chips can, once again,
safely pass through that key waterway.
They are struggling with answers on that. And so, it's something that is very much weighing on their minds, while also not wanting to box themselves
in on a specific timeline, because at the end of the day, it's not just up, you know, they keep saying it's up to the president for when this war is
going to end.
But we also have to consider, of course, and I know officials are thinking through this as well, about what Iran is doing. You know, the regional
partners that are being targeted, the neighboring countries of Iran, they're being targeted. And this and that also is playing into their
calculation.
And so, while I think they're trying to project this idea that this is going to be one quickly and decisively, again, that is the advice Trump has
been given to message on, and he's been trying to do that in recent days. They also cannot give a clear, definitive timeline for when this will end,
because they need to keep their options open.
ANDERSON: Yeah, Alayna, no, that's very good insight. Thank you. Let's bring in CNN's National Security Correspondent Natasha Bertrand. I want to
get back to what we heard just in the past hour from Pete Hegseth and Dan Caine the Joint Chiefs Staff. What else stood out from that press
conference to you?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: One of the biggest things actually came towards the end of the press conference, they were
given kind of a layup of a question, which is, how many Americans have been wounded or killed in this conflict so far, and where have they been wounded
or killed.
[09:15:00]
And neither Secretary Hegseth nor General Caine had a good answer to that. General Caine said that a bunch have already returned to duty, but it
almost seemed like they didn't know off the top of their head just how many casualties there were, or that they have been told not to message clearly
about it, because obviously this is not a point of the war that the administration wants to tout.
There have already been at least 11 service members killed in this conflict, including four just yesterday, who went down in that KC-135
tanker crash. And so that was very notable. And then you know also, what stuck out to me is that it seems that Secretary Hegseth is very, very
concerned about the optics of this war, about how the war is being perceived.
He spoke a lot about the media coverage before even getting to the fact that four service members were killed yesterday, he took a shot at CNN. He
spoke about David Ellison. So, this is clearly someone who is very much on the defense here. And they were particularly sensitive, as well as I know
my colleagues here touched upon the question of why they weren't better prepared for Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz.
There was another question during this press conference about why, if they have air superiority, if they have, you know, if they have taken steps to
obliterate Iran's Navy all of its capabilities, why Iran has still been able to close the straits. And Secretary Hegseth, again, did not have a
good answer for that, and said only that U.S. Navy escorts would begin once it was the appropriate time sequentially in the conflict and to send the
right signal to the world.
Things that really did not have a lot of substance, and that did not explain how the U.S. was going to account for the massive impact that this
has had on the global shipping and oil industry right now, Becky.
ANDERSON: Natasha, thank you. Natasha is in D.C., as is Alayna, who is at the White House. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, and we heard earlier from
Oren Liebermann of course --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right. You join me back here in Abu Dhabi with "Connect the World" from our Middle East programming headquarters. Here it is Friday the
13th, getting into day 14 now of this war. A war that has a number of fronts, including in Lebanon, where in the past few hours, the Head of the
U.N. has arrived to address the worsening humanitarian situation there.
The International Organization of Migration told me that the total number of displaced people there could reach more than a million in the next few
days. Mass evacuation orders have been issued as Israel expands its operations to target the Iran backed Hezbollah.
[09:20:00]
One hospital says it is not sure how long it will be able to function if the conflict goes on. Well, Dr. Shawky Amine Eddine is Humanitarian Affairs
Advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Lebanon, and joins us now with more. Sir, on exactly what the country is facing.
Your organization calling in an address in Lebanon to address the humanitarian situation. Just explain for us, if you will, exactly what your
concerns are.
DR. SHAWKY AMINE EDDINE, HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS ADVISOR FOR THE ICRC IN LEBANON: Good morning and thank you for having me. So, the humanitarian
situation in Lebanon is dire, the scenes that we've been seeing over the past few days are heartbreaking.
Over the past few days, we have seen over 820,000 people evacuate their houses, flee their houses, closing doors. They're not sure they're going to
be able to return to many of them are still seeking shelter. Some of them are seen at the seaside. You can see children, elderly, at times when
temperature is dropping below 10 degrees, at night, staying by the seaside, because most of the shelters are already operating at maximum capacities.
On top of this, this offering is increasing tremendously. We've seen in the past few days, over 1700 people being injured, and over 680 people have
lost their lives because of the ongoing hostilities.
ANDERSON: So, what are your concerns as Israel threatens to expand its operations in Lebanon to target Hezbollah.
EDDINE: Let me tell you how ICRC sees this. What we care about is the humanitarian consequences that result from any kind of hostilities, usually
in any escalation of conflict, in any kind of conflict, the people who suffer the most, the people who pay the highest price are the civilian
population and Lebanon these hostilities are coming on top of years of compounded crisis.
Many of these people that we are talking about are actually being evacuated and experiencing this evacuation for the second or even the third time.
What is of utmost importance for us is to remind all the parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law
to avoid the incurring additional suffering on the civilian population, who again pay the highest price in these situations.
ANDERSON: We're talking about the number of displaced in Lebanon, potentially reaching a million in the coming days, which seems unfathomable
at this point, but as you rightly point out, many, many, many of these people will have been displaced a number of times. At this point, what are
the longer-term ramifications of this?
Even if this war were to end soon, as President Trump seems to have suggested that is the war in and on Iran. I mean, this is a sort of a
second front, as it were. I'm wondering how concerned you are as we work through the days and weeks to come.
EDDINE: Look, we're very concerned. That's why we urge all actors to prioritize de escalation of violence as a matter of urgency in order to
further prevent the further loss of life among the civilians. We at the International Committee of the Red Cross, and in close collaboration and
cooperation with our partners in Lebanon, we are working on three main priorities currently.
Our first priority is to protect the population affected by conflict through engaging with the parties to the conflict and encouraging them and
reminding them to respect their obligations under the international humanitarian law. Our second priority is to actually support the affected
population, many of those who have been displaced, but also those who remains in areas affected by conflict, in order to get access to basic
services.
So, we're providing food, water, access to health care. We're providing medication, medical items, in order to ensure that these people could still
be able to sustain access to the essential services. And our third priority currently is actually supporting the access of the war wounded people to
medical and surgical care.
So, ICRC has actually deployed a team to hospitals in Southern Lebanon in order to ensure that these hospitals would still be able to provide the
lifesaving treatment for the population that are affected by the conflict, and we're also providing additional support to the hospital health care
providers.
[09:25:00]
ANDERSON: Can I ask you on point one, are you seeing Israel shirk international law at this point?
EDDINE: Sorry, can you come again?
ANDERSON: On your first point, reminding all actors to respect international law. Do you see that happening? Is there evidence that those
involved in this, Israel, and I will have to say the Iran backed Hezbollah are holding up international law, or are they breaking international law
with their actions at this point?
EDDINE: Look, that's a very interesting question. That's definitely something that the ICRC looks into. The way the ICRC works is by monitoring
the conduct of facilities and actually engaging in bilateral and confidential dialog with both parties to the conflict.
So, although I'm not in a place to comment specifically on how this dialog is going, what I can assure you is that ICRC is doing everything it can in
order to maintain the dialog in order to bring the attention again to the need to respect the international humanitarian law, which remains as
relevant and as important today, to respect as it has always been.
Because again, and I keep on repeating this, people who pay the highest price during any conflict are the civilian population, and that's who --
those are the people who we should be looking after.
ANDERSON: Dr. Shawky Amine Eddine from the International Committee of the Red Cross. I know you're busy. Very much appreciate your time today. Thank
you very much indeed. Well, massive crowds have taken to the streets across Iran for the annual Al-Quds Day, which are rallies in support of
Palestinians.
State media showed demonstrators burning American and Israeli flags and holding portraits of Iran's New Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Explosions were reported near the main rally in Central Tehran. An Iranian media reporter, at least one person was killed.
CNN's Nada Bashir, tracking the latest there you are monitoring that from London. Nada, who was in attendance today?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've seen a significant show of force by senior Iranian officials taking part in today's rally as part of
the Al-Quds Day march in Tehran. We have seen Iran's Foreign Minister, the judiciary chief, the chief of police, but we've also seen Iran's Chief of
Security, Ali Larijani taking part in this march, speaking to state media, sending a very clear message. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI LARIJANI, SECRETARY OF IRANIAN SUPREME NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Trump's problem is that he does not understand that the Iranian nation is
strong, determined and resilient. The more pressure the United States applies, the stronger the people's resolve becomes. The Israeli regime
attacks along the march route shows its desperation and fear.
Someone who is truly strong would not bomb the middle of a march.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Now, of course, this has been a huge show of force for the Iranian regime. This comes just a day after that purported statement from the New
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, which was read out by an anchor on State TV. And we have seen, in response to that, thousands taking to the streets
in support of the regime, in addition to, of course, marking could say, which typically takes place annually on the last Friday of the month of
Ramadan.
So, it was expected and planned for today, not only in Tehran, but across the country as well. This is an international rally, in fact. But what
we've also seen is the shocking videos of explosions, what appears to be strikes taking place near the vicinity of this march in Tehran.
At least one person said to have been killed so far, according to state media. And we know, of course, this follows a wave of Israeli attacks and
strikes, over the last 24 hours. The Israeli military says they struck some 200 targets over the last 24 hours. And of course, we did hear from the
Israeli military sending out a warning on X for civilians to evacuate this area where, of course, the rally was taking place.
It's important to underscore that for in terms of connectivity in Iran, many civilians, in fact, most civilians, will not have access to X. It is
blocked for the most part of the Iranian population, so they will likely not have seen or heard that warning. And again, we have seen the video
showing the explosions taking place very close to where these marches were happening in Tehran.
But despite that, the marches did continue. We've heard that quite angry chance against the United States, against Israel, as you mentioned, Becky,
those videos, as we've seen, typically in the past, of the flags of both the U.S. and Israel being burnt by protesters.
ANDERSON: Nada, always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Nada, keeping monitoring what is going on in Iran for you.
[09:30:00]
OK, we'll get you to the opening bell on Wall Street, which is due to ring in just about 10 seconds or so. Service now ringing the bell in for the
trading day today, now listed on the NYSE, oil prices retreating slightly from $100 on the global benchmark. Brent crude and investors breathing
somewhat of a sigh of relief, certainly on the futures markets, those were pointing higher.
That is oft times, of course, an indication of the way that these markets will open. We will get you back there after this short break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We really want to protect this guest. OK, here we go. I want to take you to Michigan now, where officials are giving an update on
yesterday's synagogue attack. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- We appreciative -- we are of everyone who has come out, who has shown their support for Temple Israel, for our Jewish
community. We are incredibly grateful for all of our local law enforcement, for our Temple Israel, security, our teachers, our staff, all of whom
safely were home last night with their families.
As we continue today to spend a lot of time thinking and processing and talking. We are here to have a little conversation and answer some
questions, but I'm going to pass it over to Governor Whitmer. Thank you.
GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER (D-MI): Thank you -- I can't tell you how much I appreciate your leadership yesterday, and how much my heart goes out to
everything that you and your family and all of the families involved and the Jewish community writ large are going through.
I wanted to come today for a briefing, which we just concluded, to get up to speed on where things stand. I want to thank our state and local law
enforcement, the first responders, our federal partners, for their swift work to keep people safe and to investigate. I want to thank Temple
Israel's security personnel.
They were selfless in their courage, and they saved lives. These heroes threw themselves in harm's way, engaging the suspect. And let's be very
clear, yes, this is a place of worship, but at the time that this attack was occurred. It was a school, 104 children, aged five and younger, here.
So, I want to thank all of Temple Israel staff who acted quickly to evacuate students and reunite families. State of Michigan will wrap our
arms around this community and support our local and federal partners every step of the way to keep people safe. I want to share prayers from my
colleague, Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
Josh called reached out yesterday to check in and see how people were doing. I want Michigan's Jewish community to know that we are with you.
Violence in our houses of worship and in our schools and in our daycare centers like this hit especially hard.
Temple Israel is a pillar of the community. It's one of the largest reform Jewish congregations in North America, with Friday night Shabbat services
attracting over 1000 people. People celebrate Bar and bat mitzvah, weddings and holidays here. Parents bring their children to day care and school, and
it's a place of peace, unity and life.
Yesterday's attack was antisemitism. It was hate, plain and simple. We will fight this ancient and rampant evil, we will stand together as we do it,
and we will call it out. We must lower the rhetoric in this state and in this country, especially at this moment where we have seen such a rise in
antisemitism and more attacks on the Jewish community, must keep each other close.
This community is on the edge. Very understandably, we've seen a rise in attacks, especially over the last decade, especially over the last 10
months. And so, it is important for us to stand up, to stand against it, and to thank the people who showed up to support the community.
But also call out where we see acts of antisemitism, where we see threats, where we see something, how important it is to say something and to
recognize that each of us has a responsibility.
[09:35:00]
People like the person that attacked this community yesterday get fomented by rhetoric that they see online and that they see on television and they
hear on the radio. It radicalizes people and it endangers our fellow Michiganders. We cannot let this continue. And so, each of us has a duty to
take action where and how we can.
And with that, I'll hand it over to Senator Slotkin, and then we'll take a couple of questions.
SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Thank you, governor. And just want to reiterate, I think it's clear that if it were not for the private security
and the staff at Temple Israel and then the first responders, first on the scene, local law enforcement, if they had not all done their jobs almost
perfectly.
We would be talking about an immense tragedy here today, with children gone. This could have been much, much worse. So, I give incredible credit
to law enforcement and the people who were in the room putting themselves and their own families at risk. I think, you know, the governor said it
very, very well on the way this community has responded.
It's been incredible to watch neighbors in the community here, both organizations and just regular old citizens, open up their homes literally
yesterday, to help care for people who were fleeing from this. And this is a place that I have a very personal connection to. I feel I've spent a lot
of my time growing up in and out of this temple.
And I feel just an immense amount of pain, as does the rest of the community that incidents like this even happen. And I think it's just
important to be clear, as the governor said, that whether antisemitism is coming from the left or the right, whether it's coming from some group that
you like or don't like, you have a responsibility to call it out.
Because when you don't, it gives permission for people to climb that escalation, that ladder of escalation that goes from saying hateful things
online to saying them in person to graffiti to ultimately violence. And the Jewish community suffers 10 times the number of hate crimes than any other
community in this country.
So, it is an epidemic, and until we push back on that permission, we're going to see incidents like this continue to proliferate. The Jewish
community spends over a billion dollars across the country securing their houses of worship, their schools, their institutions. No community in
America should be fearful of having their own kind congregate for things like education and worship.
So, I stand here proud of the community, angry that we even are put in this position. Thankful to law enforcement, but asking the average citizen out
there if you have a friend, a colleague, coworkers who are using antisemitism in their daily life and feel like it's just normal. Please
call that out wherever you see it. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
JONATHAN WARSHAY, SUPERVISOR OF TOWNSHIP FOR WEST BLOOMFIELD: Good morning. My name is Jonathan Warshay. I'm the Township Supervisor here in West
Bloomfield. For those of you unfamiliar with Township government in Michigan.
My positions like the mayor of a city elected by the voters, but I'll stop the civics lesson. I think it's fair to say that none of us went to bed
Wednesday expecting to wake up Thursday events, but thanks to the preparation and training of Temple Israel security team and the West
Bloomfield Police Department, the unexpected did not turn into tragedy.
Yesterday's incident at Temple Israel, is deeply concerning for everyone in West Bloomfield, Michigan, across the country, as well as Jews everywhere.
I live in West Bloomfield. My wife and I are members of Temple Israel. So, I have a keen understanding of the effects on the community.
We are thankful for the courage and professionalism of our first responders. And our partner agencies who move to protect lives and work
towards stabilizing -- Our thoughts are with all members of Temple Israel and their families. No community should ever feel unsafe gathering in a
house of worship or sending their children to school.
I want to thank all the officials, colleagues and members of the public who have reached out to me in solidarity. I would also like to thank the
Shenandoah Country Club for hosting the operations center and being the site where the preschoolers and parents were reunited.
Shenandoah is a wonderful community partner, and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. We'll continue to work closely with law enforcement and
community leaders as more information comes available. Thank you, and may God bless us all.
[09:40:00]
WHITMER: Happy to open it up for a few questions. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- is there any indication that the suspect may have expressed his intent or motive better, whether online or to a welcome --
yesterday?
WHITMER: I appreciate the importance of your question. I am not the appropriate person to answer that. We'll have to defer to the FBI, as
there's an ongoing investigation. Yeah --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- do you think this happened because of the conflict in --
WHITMER: I'm not putting my theories into the press is not going to help an investigation, so I'm going to refrain from that. I do know that we have
seen a rise in antisemitism. We have seen it over many years, predating the conflict, but certainly it is at a historic high, and I worry that, that
will continue.
And so, it's why I am calling on anyone with a platform to be very responsible with their rhetoric, not to identify or target the Jewish
community that is antisemitism writ large, and I don't think that any of us should permit or allow that to stand, and that's why I'm asking people to
turn down the rhetoric.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Right, CNN Juliette Kayyem following this for us. You've just been listening to that press conference, Juliette, and lawmaker there not
prepared to engage in any discussion about motive, perhaps rightly so, saying that she leaves that to the FBI and to the investigation. Your
thoughts on what you just heard?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I heard two important things. One was, it's just essential to acknowledge that the
Jewish community and religious institutions are targeted. I'm sorry, Jewish religious institutions are targeted and what it takes to protect them.
So, part of this was just acknowledging the tremendous work that had been done by the private security but also the community at large. The second
piece was a little bit more different, excuse me for that, a little bit more different than what we've seen in some of the other press conferences.
And that's essentially the governor took a very aggressive stance on sort of all hate speech, not simply antisemitism. For people who don't know,
Michigan is the home of the largest Arab, American both Christian and Muslim community in the United States. Dearborn is an area right outside of
Detroit.
It is a diverse state in terms of both its communities, their religious backgrounds, but also their ties to world events. And she clearly was
acknowledging that as a governor of the whole state, not -- and saying simply, we have to protect ourselves, obviously, but we also as a nation,
needs bring some of this rhetoric down.
ANDERSON: Point very well made. Juliette, thank you very much indeed. OK, you're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle
East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. There is a lot more news ahead. Busy times here. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
ANDERSON: Right as tensions from the Iran war spread, Britain is preparing a second ship in case it is needed to help defend Cyprus. A first vessel
from the Royal Navy is already on route to the eastern Mediterranean after deploying earlier this week, Britain, among several European allies,
boosting defenses for Cyprus following an Iranian drone attack on a British military base on the island earlier this month.
Cyprus is, of course, the EU nation closest in geography to the Middle East conflict. Well, we're joined now by Constantinos Kombos, who is the Foreign
Affairs Minister for the Republic of Cyprus. It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
How serious is the security threat to the island right now, especially after that recent drone attack?
CONSTANTINOS KOMBOS, FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER FOR THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS: Thank you for having me, Becky. Look the situation right now this in terms
of security, we are taking all the measures that we should to make sure that our people and our visitors and our residents are safe.
But let me clarify that the incident we had related to the British basis, and right now there is an increase in terms of capacity and capabilities in
place, according to the advice of our experts, to make sure that we have the protection that is needed. At the same time, I have to clarify also
that the situation on the island in terms of our citizens, of our visitors, is back to normal.
In terms of the flight disruption, there is no more flight disruption. Life goes on normally in terms of the private sector, the public sector, the
schools, everything is proceeding as normal.
ANDERSON: Good, and that's good to hear, and I'm glad that you've provided that measure of assurance for people. Several European countries have sent
ships and aircraft to help in support of Cyprus. I wonder. Do you believe the response from European partners has been strong enough to effectively
deter further attacks and guarantee the islands continued safety and security?
KOMBOS: I think I will have seen an expression of tangible solidarity from European partners on the basis of requests from my government. We have seen
a remarkable show of solidarity and support. At the same time, we are part of this geography, and at the same time also are not part of the conflict.
I want to make this absolutely clear. Of course, the European Union is affected by what's happening. There is this illusion of a regional
conflict, especially as regards our part of the world, if I may say so. This is rather a global region. Everything happening in the Middle East is
affecting markets, affecting everyone.
We are the EU member state closes geographically to what's happening around us. We are also the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. So,
for us, it's important that we have this expression of solidarity. But at the same time, it's important that the European Union is more present in
terms of the diplomatic efforts, for the escalation and for a diplomatic solution, an end to war.
ANDERSON: Yeah. And I wonder just where the EU will get more involved. There are those who say it gets there is a danger of the European Union
getting further dragged into this war, as you say. I mean, it has had sort of regional implications, not least in the part of the world where I am,
sir, here in the Gulf.
I mean, I wonder, can you explain what has the U.S. requested as far as use of the UK bases on your island?
KOMBOS: I'm not in a position to respond on behalf of the British, but the British have clearly stated that they are participating only in defensive
operations on specific bases they have around the world. So, they have clarified. They have clarified that. In relation now to the European Union,
it's not about getting dragged into the conflict.
We are already suffering from the consequences of the conflict in terms of maritime security, energy cause, the impact on the economy, disruption of
supply lanes. All this is already be happening.
[09:50:00]
Cyprus, when we are putting together our priorities for our Presidency of the Council of the EU, the main priority was to place the emphasis on this
region. And this has proven to be a very wise choice, if I may say so, because this region either you have a crisis or you have a huge
opportunity.
And right now, we are saying that we need to focus on this. It's affecting Europe, but we also need to make sure that we express our solidarity to the
GCC countries. I've just came back from UAE just this morning. I will be returning back to the region in the next few days.
For us, it's a deep, strong historical relation you have with these countries and the European Union as a whole, needs to be supporting at this
time of needs.
ANDERSON: Yeah, I know you were here with the UAE Foreign Minister in Abu Dhabi to reaffirm -- solidarity with Gulf partners. Good to see you here,
sir. We thank you very much indeed for joining us. Well Goldman Sachs forecasts that oil prices will be around 20 percent higher for 2026 due to
disruptions caused by the United States and Israel's war with Iran.
Brent crude prices have settled around $100 on the barrel for the first time since 2022 the sounds that you hear are the alerts going off here? I
can just assure you that we are in a safe place here. And Iran says it will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Oil prices are on the rise, and this is the result of Israel's and America's actions. They must
be held accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, countries are moving to release historic amounts of oil from their strategic reserves to try to calm the market. And the United
States now temporarily lifting sanctions on some Russian oil. The license applies only to crude and petroleum products already loaded on vessels.
It authorizes shipments through April the 11th. My next guest is Claudio Galimberti, the Chief Economist and Global Director of Market Analysis at
Rystad Energy. It's good to have you. How much of an impact will this specific measure by the United States, as well as the release of the
strategic reserves actually have, sir?
CLAUDIO GALIMBERTI, CHIEF ECONOMIST AT RYSTAD ENERGY: Thank you for having me, Becky. Very partial, I would say, because we always need to do a mass
balance exercise so to understand how much production has been shut in, which is a lot and how much of these measures are going to provide a relief
of?
And on the one side, you have almost 10 million barrels a day that are shut in due to the Strait of Hormuz this is a lot. This is 10 percent of global
supply. And on the other hand, you have these measures that do help, but only help a little bit with logistic efficiency. So of course, you're going
to have more product now, more crude from Russia being able to trade it more in Asia.
But this is not comparable to the amount of oil that's being shut in, in the Middle East as a result of Hormuz being closed. So, a partial relief,
but not really a solution.
ANDERSON: So, I just want to get a forecast from you then, price is sitting around 100 bucks on the global benchmark, Brent at this point.
GALIMBERTI: Yeah.
ANDERSON: I mean, we are having this, what feels like remarkable conversation at present about where we potentially see these spikes going.
We talked earlier on in the week about 150 which sounded remarkable until we had conversations, you know, towards the end of the week about the
potential for 200 bucks on the barrel. What are you looking at this point?
GALIMBERTI: Well, always very complicated to make this forecast in the middle of a conflict. Because, as you can see right now, the implied
volatility of oil, which is a measure of how much oil prices, variates are extremely high. 120 just to give you an idea. Normally it is this measure
is around 20 to 30.
So, with this in mind, let's look out at some scenarios. So, at Rystad Energy, we believe that this is our base case. The Strait of Hormuz may be
freed up over the next month. So, by early April, it's freed up. It's going to take another month to completely normalize that, and after that, prices
will start to come off and converge to the lead to the prewar level.
[09:55:00]
But if Hormuz remains not -- basically not transitable for a variety of reasons, because the strait of basically being hit is too high, then we are
looking at, in the long term, 10 million barrels per day of production being shut in. It cannot be compensated. And in those circumstances, you
have prices that are going very, very high, most likely, much higher than the historical peaks that we saw in 2008.
ANDERSON: I've just got about 60 seconds left. So, we have heard little real assurance, certainly from the U.S. today in a press conference that
there will be assistance for ships through the Strait of Hormuz at this point. What are the markets need to hear at this point to ensure that they
just don't get extremely jittery?
GALIMBERTI: More than words, we need to see, fact, we need to see VLCC, Very Large Crew Carriers and ships going through the straits, when that
happens, so, this morning, I give you just one example. This morning Indian ships made it through the strait. The market reacted with a dip in prices,
because that is a tangible signal that the strait can be basically transitable.
That is the most important thing. I said multiple times. There is no alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. You can partially offset the basically
what's happened there, but it cannot be substituted. So, the only thing that we need to see is basically ships going through the strait. That's
the, by far the most --
ANDERSON: Understood, Claudio. I've got to take a break. It's bang up against the top of the hour. It's good to have you. Thank you very much
indeed. I didn't want to cut you off. I think you finished your point there. Thank you. "Connect the World" does continue after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
