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Middle Eastern Countries Report New Drone Strikes; Looking at Conditions in Iran Nearly Three Weeks into War; Kids Caught in Crossfire as IDF Ramps Up Lebanon Offensive; Israeli Holding Off on More Attacks on Iran's Gas Fields; Palestinian Man Says Israeli Settlers Sexually Assaulted Him; Iran's Attacks on Shipping Rekindle Tanker War Fears; Remembering Hollywood Action Hero Chuck Norris. Aired 10a-11a ET
Aired March 20, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:36]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu
Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson.
The time here is 6:00 in the evening and I am talking to you on a day that in most years would be one of unquestioned celebration here in the Middle
East.
It is Eid Al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan for Muslims. Eid festivities happening as this region endures repeated attacks with Iran striking back
after being bombarded by the U.S. and Israel, and Lebanon in Israel's crosshairs as it battles the Iran-backed Hezbollah. And in Iran, it's
Nowruz, the Persian new year. But this year, Iranians reeling from almost three weeks of war, doing the best they can to celebrate.
A message published today purportedly from Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei said security must be denied to all of Iran's enemies. It made
specific mention of Iran's intelligence minister killed in an Israeli strike this week. But Iran has made no announcement about who will replace
him or the vast majority of senior officials killed during the war. And today, we're hearing sobering assessments of how attacks on energy
infrastructure in the region will impact the global economy.
Qatar saying extensive damage to its natural gas production facilities will take years to fix. With these repeated attacks in the Strait of Hormuz
still effectively choked off U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs says oil prices could hit record levels and might stay high all this year and next.
Nic Robertson with us this hour from Riyadh, where he has been reporting all week.
Nic, drone interceptions have been reported today there where you are in Saudi Arabia as well as in Bahrain, in Kuwait, here in the UAE, where I am
as millions of course marked the end of Ramadan in the region. The consequences of hits to energy infrastructure are only growing at this
point.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, they really are. And I have to say, Becky, this morning sort of stepping onto this balcony
here and looking out across the capital Riyadh, it did feel very calm. It did feel very peaceful. Not much traffic on the roads and it did feel like
this is a special day as it is for everyone here to celebrate Eid. You look in the restaurants around here and they're full of families all obviously
dressed up in their finest clothes with bags of gifts to give each other.
But as you say, there's something far more sinister going on in the background. Just in the last few minutes, Saudi Arabia has reported more
drones coming into the eastern province. More than 20 so far today. Bahrain in the early hours of this morning, just as the holiday was beginning here,
that there was a warehouse set on fire. And indeed very poignant that when the Bahraini authorities wanted to fire in the air for the celebration of
Eid, as often they do, they gave the public in Bahrain very good advance warning they were going to do that so they didn't scare people.
And where you are, Qatar, I think we're looking -- Abu Dhabi rather in the UAE. I think we're looking at four ballistic missiles so far today, 16
drones incoming. And in the early hours of this morning, just after, just after daybreak, the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery in Kuwait was hit. Some of that
refinery taken offline. More drones incoming there around noon local time today. So Eid, yes. One of peace in this region clearly not, Becky.
ANDERSON: Nic, the question at this stage, three weeks into this conflict, is really what happens next? We are hearing some statements from the U.S.
president and Israel. Those two countries wanting to, at least in principle, and officially give the impression that they are completely
aligned. But what do you assess to be the extent of the list of objectives that they had and where this goes from here?
[10:05:01]
ROBERTSON: So absolutely, the U.S. and Israel both are sounding committed for at least several more weeks of strikes on Iran. Iran indicating that
it's not letting up in its response and its war, as its leadership are continually targeted. In fact, they're not saying now who's going to take
over key positions because they are a vulnerability and we heard Pete Hegseth, the U.S. secretary of war, making that statement. Temporary jobs
he called them yesterday.
So, look, both all sides here, Israel, U.S. on one side, Iran on the other, dug in. The Strait of Hormuz still closed. No plans that are workable in
the short term available to alleviate that situation. The states here, the Gulf States, really trapped and caught in a war, not of their choosing, but
a war necessarily they're suffering from. And I think the reality for them is to try again, as they have been, to sit on the sidelines and not get
drawn in and not escalate and hope that the situation begins to calm down.
And you can look at days like yesterday where the U.S. president said he'd told Israel not to strike the energy facilities in Iran and Prime Minister
Netanyahu said he would go along with that. And, you know, the oil markets, the sort of immediate price of oil sort of has dipped off the back of that.
But it doesn't, it doesn't, it doesn't, it doesn't change the reality of the situation that's ongoing.
It's just the war continues. And I think it's very, very difficult for them. They're just going to have to, in the region here, sit through this
at the moment, Becky, and hope it doesn't escalate. I think what I was trying to say there just before was that there is a sort of a moment where
there was this escalation of Iran responding hitting energy infrastructure. Does that look like an inflection point?
Really I don't think anyone thinks any sort of moment in this war is a leveling off or a change. Did it present it as a possibility? Maybe. But
this seems at the moment very open ended, Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes. No, Nic, I fundamentally agree with you. Thank you for that.
Nic Robertson is in Riyadh.
I want to bring in Ellie Geranmayeh now. She is the deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the European Council on Foreign
Relations.
Ellie, you and I have spoken for years now, and your insight and analysis has been so valuable across the hours that I've been anchoring during this
specific conflict. I want to start with your understanding of what is going on the ground inside Iran. It's Nowruz. Nowruz Mubarak to you. We've gotten
the first reports of public hangings of January protesters, for example.
What more can you fill in for us on the reality inside the country right now?
ELLIE GERANMAYEH, EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Thank you, Becky. And also Eid Mubarak to all of your viewers in the Arab world and beyond.
And also Nowruz Mubarak to those viewers who are celebrating the Persian new year. And it's a, you know, in my lifetime, this is the saddest moment
to be marking Nowruz. The country over the past year of the Persian calendar has probably gone through one of its bloodiest in terms of both
being struck by U.S. and Israel now twice, two nuclear armed powers, but also coming out of a real turmoil, internal turmoil after the killings in
January.
And I think what we are seeing happening at the moment as we go into the fourth week now almost of this conflict is a hardened securitized Islamic
Republic of Iran at home, showcasing that it is very much in command and control, and that it will not put up with internal strife or internal
protests. Making example through these hangings of the protesters from previous months but also showing signs that it is in no mood for a
ceasefire with the United States or Israel, and that it has a long way to go before this war ends.
ANDERSON: We noted earlier that Iran is not at least publicly signaling who is succeeding the various leaders now who have been assassinated in Israeli
decapitation strikes.
Have a listen to how the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu responded when asked who is in charge in Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I'm not sure who's running Iran right now. Mojtaba, the replacement ayatollah, has not shown his face. Have
you seen him? We haven't. And we can't vouch exactly what is happening there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, as best you can, what can you read into how Iran is being run right now?
[10:10:02]
GERANMAYEH: Look, I think these are clearly times of war and crisis for Iran. And they understand, I think, that they cannot match U.S. and Israeli
combined intelligence that has basically been capable of hunting down and assassinating now a string of senior leadership figures. So, for example,
Ali Larijani, one of the most significant senior leadership, political figures to have been assassinated this week, was just a week prior marching
on the Iranian streets marking a procession for Quds Day.
And many are now saying that it was that outing by Larijani that allowed him to be tagged by the Israelis. So the Iranian side now has every
incentive in closing ranks and keeping silent about leaders that are taking over, at least to the public. I have no doubt that internally there is a
command and control in place, primarily because we are still seeing a formidable force being shown in terms of the strikes against infrastructure
in the Gulf Arab world but also inside Israel directly.
So that chain of command is still there and being operated, even though it's being done in this mosaic decentralized way and also even the new
Khamenei who has taken over, Khamenei Junior, there are, you know, detailed reports even from Iranian officials that he is injured. He may be in
hospital still and so perhaps Benjamin Netanyahu's description of they don't know who's running the country is based on the fact that it may
actually be the networks and the figures around him that are running the country at the moment.
ANDERSON: So we did see a message posted online by the supreme leader. We didn't see him, but we saw this online as a post, memorializing a senior
intelligence minister killed by Israel, where he said, and I quote here, "Security may be denied to internal and external enemies." There is,
though, still virtually no sign of Mojtaba Khamenei otherwise.
So what do you make of that and how long could that go on? Or is what you are saying, and this has been the assessment by others, that this sort of
structure is so deep that it really doesn't matter whether we see him or not?
GERANMAYEH: Yes, I think it really doesn't matter at this point because there is, in my view now, a much deeper codependency between Iran's IRGC,
paramilitary forces, and the political system that is running the show. And so it doesn't at the moment, in my view, hugely matter if we see or don't
see the supreme leader. I envisage that at some point he will make a public appearance once he is out of this injury circumstances, and that actually
right now because as I mentioned, the intelligence superiority of Israel is so extensive, there's a lot of concern that as soon as one leader pops his
head, there will be, you know, the game of whack a mole, but obviously that kind of points to a more longer term issue for the Islamic Republic of
Iran.
And that's the, you know, this situation can continue during war time, but it can't continue forever. A country needs leaders that can be with the
people and be amongst the people, and so this points to the need that at some point, the Islamic Republic of Iran and its senior leadership need to
look at a ceasefire and the day after this war quite extensively and look at what conditions are required to put in place a more durable peace with
the United States.
ANDERSON: Ellie, always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. I want to say stronger, fitter going forward. I will say stronger, fitter
going forward. We just don't know how long this period will last at this point but thank you for joining us.
Still ahead, the mounting death toll in Lebanon. We're going to take you to areas where practically nothing is left standing. We talk to people who had
to run for their lives.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:16:30]
ANDERSON: The Lebanese government says that Israeli strikes this month have left more than a thousand people dead, and a humanitarian group says a
million have been displaced Syrians.
CNN's Isobel Yeung shows us the impact that is having on Lebanon's children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This mother is carrying the body of her 6-year-old daughter, Yasmina. Israeli bombs pierce her grief.
She's also burying her three other daughters, 9-year-old Malika, Zara, 12, and Zaynab, 13, along with their cousin, 11-year-old Sadiq.
Just absolutely heartbreaking scene. Just body after body after body. Tiny little bodies. These ones having to be carried on the bed because there's
just only parts and remnants and pieces of them left.
(Voice-over): These are just five of over 110 children killed this month. Since the war began anew in Lebanon on March 2nd.
Nine graves they've had to dig in the last 24 hours. Just so much pain in this one tiny little village.
(Voice-over): The site of the strike was the children's grandparents' house, where they were playing when the bomb hit. It came without warning
and wiped out almost the entire family.
You can see bits of blood across this rubble here, pieces of books and shoes.
(Voice-over): Mohammed is the father of the girls who he's just buried. They were a tightknit family.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what you're going through today. And what went through your mind when that airstrike hit?
MOHAMMED RIDA TAQI, FATHER OF STRIKE VICTIMS: (Speaking in foreign language).
YEUNG: When the Israelis say that Hezbollah is using children and using civilians as human shields, do you think there's any truth to that?
TAQI: (Speaking in foreign language).
YEUNG: Across the country, the Israeli military is rapidly ramping up its bombing campaign and expanding its ground invasion. CNN obtained permission
from Hezbollah to report in one of their strongholds, the southern city of Tyre. At a civil defense center outgoing rocket fire breaks the temporary
calm.
[10:20:01]
Soon after, the Israeli military called to warn nearby residents to leave their homes immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking in foreign language).
YEUNG (voice-over): But not everyone has somewhere to go.
It is just apocalyptic around here and to think that, I mean, just a couple of weeks ago, this was a buzzing, lively neighborhood with shops and these
were people's houses. And now it's just all been turned to rubble. It must be so eerie staying here and yet you still do see people. You see people in
their homes.
How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm drinking coffee.
YEUNG: What are you still doing here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stay here.
YEUNG: Why are you staying?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I go where? This is my house.
YEUNG: Are you the only person who stayed or is there other families who stayed as well?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I no get family. I no marry. You want to marry me? Huh?
YEUNG (voice-over): Whole families still remain, pitching up tents wherever they can, largely because they lacked the means or strength to find a new
home.
Do you guys get scared? Yes? What are you scared about? And what do you guys do when you hear these loud noises?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in foreign language).
YEUNG (voice-over): Soon after we leave, Israel pounds this area. We asked the Israeli military what they're doing to protect children in this war.
I went to the area of Sidon where there was a strike. Nine people were killed. Five of them were children. One of them was just a 6-year-old girl.
Why?
NADAV SHOSHANI, IDF INTERNATIONAL SPOKESMAN: We have a terror organization that their strategy is to put our civilians in the line of fire, their
civilians in the line of fire. We're doing everything we can to avoid that.
YEUNG: Right. But children are not terrorists.
SHOSHANI: They are not terrorists. And to say that we are targeting then or that's something that we are happy about is just not true, unacceptable and
even kind of disgusting. Hezbollah is almost the identical twin of Hamas in the way they operate.
YEUNG: Does that mean that Lebanon will soon look like Gaza?
SHOSHANI: I sure hope not.
YEUNG: But surely it's up to Israel for it not to.
SHOSHANI: We've seen it with Gaza in the conversation that there's a heavy price of war. It doesn't mean that one side or the stronger side is
conducting it in the wrong way.
YEUNG (voice-over): These words will be little comfort to the hundreds of thousands of families forced to leave their homes, their lives suddenly
upended.
These kids obviously have been out of school for the last two weeks since the beginning of the war, and this group now is trying to do some
activities with them, try to have some semblance of normality.
ANGIE, SHELTER RESIDENT: (Speaking in foreign language).
YEUNG: What are you scared could happen?
SANAA GHOSN, DISPLACED BY FIGHTING: (Speaking in foreign language).
YEUNG: What would you say to the people who have power over this war right now?
ANGIE: (Speaking in foreign language).
YEUNG (voiceover): It's a pain no child should know. A generation who should have their entire lives ahead of them. Now pulled into a war they
never chose and crushed beneath the violence that engulfs them.
Isobel Yeung, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Iranian attacks persist in the Gulf region. Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, here in the UAE, where I am, all report intercepting
projectiles in the early hours of Friday. These images show Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery, which was attacked by drones on Thursday and again
today. And that is just one incident of many.
Joining me now is Firas Maksad. He's managing director of the Middle East and North Africa for the Eurasia Group.
And on this Eid and Nowruz, let's start with the energy infrastructure damage across the region, Firas. How long can the economic and market
shockwaves from that destruction last even if this fighting stopped tomorrow? What's your assessment at this point?
FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, EURASIA GROUP: Yes, Becky. I don't honestly think that the markets have priced in
the reality of this conflict just yet, at least not accurately.
[10:25:05]
There seems to be a thinking that this will taper off by the end of the month. Perhaps we'll enter a period of de-escalation. I don't think that
the facts as we see it actually give credence to that. Quite the opposite. We're very much still in a -- in an escalatory cycle at a time when the
president is now deploying thousands of Marine expeditionary units to the region, as the "Wall Street Journal" is reporting.
This is still very much a conflict that is intensifying and the energy aspect of the war is central to how it's being conducted. Very clearly here
the U.S. side of this is trying to manage the conflict in a way that keeps energy prices within a certain threshold. I think when we -- U.S. military
planners are thinking about this there's the longevity of the war and then there's the intensity of the war.
And clearly after the Israelis attacked the Southern Pars gas field and we saw the retaliation against LNG facilities in Qatar, that is not something
that is in the interest of the United States. It's not how President Trump ought to be conducting this war. He needs lower or managed oil prices for a
longer period of time, as the U.S. and the Israelis continue to damage and degrade, degrade Iranian military capabilities.
ANDERSON: What do you make of his comments just yesterday that actually he's surprised that these prices haven't gone higher, and he seems to be
sort of quite sanguine about the prices, at least when asked out loud, you know, in public by a reporter?
MAKSAD: Yes. I think that he's right. I don't think the market is pricing in what's expected in the weeks ahead. But I do think that for President
Trump ultimately where the rubber meets the road is going to be the impact at home. The domestic political fallout for him. And so far oil gas prices
at the pump continue to be below $4 a barrel. They are quite elevated from what they used to be, but still within the manageable realm.
And we haven't seen a political fallout for him. Polls out say that majority of Republicans continue to support this war. None of the major
figures within the Republican Party, certainly senators, have not broken with President Trump. So as far as the domestic political picture is
concerned, Trump continues to do fairly well and continue to be in this war for several weeks from now. I don't see him talk going out or looking for
an exit ramp just yet.
ANDERSON: Navy veteran Mark Montgomery writes in a "New York Times" op-ed. quote, "Should the regime survive the war with the power to close Hormuz at
will, any declarations of victory by the United States will ring hollow."
I wonder, you know, given what you've just said, does that mean that Washington has little choice but to see this through? And what is your
sense of the coalition building efforts underway right now to provide some safety and security in what is this chokehold on the straits -- on the
strait?
MAKSAD: I do think that that is an accurate statement. There was a moment, some 10 days ago, Becky, last week, when it looked like the president was
looking for an exit. He was messaging that the war is way ahead of schedule, the Iranian Navy has been sunk, and their capabilities have been
degraded. It very much sounded like President Trump was looking for an outcome here or a way out.
And I think that was a function of the fact that the initial plan didn't pan out. This go, no go moment that he was presented with, the supreme
leader being in the bunker, the 20 some odd top leaders with him, and he decided to pull the trigger thinking that the regime wouldn't last for
long. Clearly the Iranian regime is much more resilient than the president thought it would be.
But now that he's here, he cannot afford to look for the exit. He cannot afford for a loss where Iran not only does the regime survive, but the
straits continue to be closed, the Iranians continue to fire until the very last shot, drones in the air and ballistic missiles. And what he's hearing
from every ally that he trusts in the region, not only just the Israelis, is that the U.S. cannot quit just now.
There needs to be further degradation of Iranian capabilities before the U.S. can have any semblance of credible victory here. And that's why we see
the president now having decided that, in my opinion, to double down with thousands of Marines on their way, probably some 10 days to two weeks
before they're in the region, and therefore the timeline for this war I think is going to be longer than markets and others have expected them to
be.
[10:30:05]
ANDERSON: And your sense of the thinking around this region certainly reflects what I am hearing from sources. At the same time, there are those
who see a diplomatic opening. This crisis, of course, could push Gulf powers particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia to coordinate more closely to
stabilize the region. Is this a genuine opportunity for regional leadership or simply sort of crisis management under fire at this point?
MAKSAD: Absolutely. And we've seen that some of the differences that had emerged in the weeks prior to the conflict, particularly between Saudi
Arabia and the UAE, those have very much now taken a backseat to the joint threat that they face from Iran.
Listen, in many ways, these GCC countries have become the punching bag of the conflict. They're not comfortable with where things are. Bibi
Netanyahu, maybe he had very much conceived it that way, but when he escalates against energy facilities in Iran, the Iranian response is
targeted against the GCC. And perhaps for somebody like Bibi to have both Iranian and Qatari energy facilities targeted, well, that's two birds with
one stone. That is not a place where the GCC is comfortable being and that's definitely drawing them closer to each other.
In terms of the options, though, Becky, here, very curious, very interesting that they have not chosen to go on the offensive just yet. Many
questions as to why that's the case. Everybody that I talked to that is a military expert tells you that there is very little upside to the GCC going
on the offensive against Iran. There's simply not much that they can do that the U.S. is not already doing despite their robust air force
capabilities.
What they can do, however, in the weeks ahead if these attacks continue, is to allow the U.S. more space to operate, to base out of these countries,
and to conduct offensive operations from within their skies. That is something that the -- in terms of a change in GCC posture that we could
very much look forward to.
ANDERSON: Always good to have you, Firas. Thank you very much indeed, out in Washington, D.C. where the time is half past 10:00 in the morning. It is
half past 6:00 here in Abu Dhabi.
Still to come, Israel's prime minister says he is following President Trump's lead and wants the Iran war to continue under U.S. leadership. A
closer look at that is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:35:02]
ANDERSON: Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Here are your headlines.
A major U.S. investment bank says global oil prices will remain elevated through 2027. Goldman Sachs cites the persistence of large supply shocks
brought on by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. It says oil prices could ease earlier if the Strait of Hormuz begins opening up soon.
Well, Iran keeps launching attacks on other countries in the Gulf region. Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE all report intercepting
projectiles in the early hours of Friday. Well, these images show Kuwait's Mina Al-Ahmadi oil refinery, which was attacked by drones on Thursday and
again on Friday.
And the Israeli military has ordered more evacuations in southern Lebanon. The IDF posted on social media that people living south of the Zahrani
River near Israel's border should leave their homes, warning the Israeli military is acting with, quote, "great force in the area," end quote.
I have some breaking news to bring you. A loss to the entertainment world. Veteran action star Chuck Norris has died. He reportedly had been
hospitalized after an undisclosed medical emergency in Hawaii. Norris was a renowned martial artist. He had an extensive career in film and TV,
stretching back to the late 1960s. His series "Walker, Texas Ranger" ran for almost a decade. Chuck Norris was 86 years old.
Well, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his nation acted alone in a strike on Iran's South Pars gas field on Wednesday causing
Tehran to retaliate on Qatar. President Donald Trump insists the U.S. knew nothing about that planned strike raising questions amongst critics about
the synchronicity of the two leaders. Well, Mr. Netanyahu insists he is on the same page as the U.S. and has agreed to hold off on any future attacks
after a request from President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NETANYAHU: I don't think any two leaders have been as coordinated as President Trump and I. He's the leader. I'm, you know, his ally. America is
the leader. Israel is, as the National Security Memorandum described us I think a month ago, six months and six weeks ago, I think something like
that, they called Israel the model ally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now from Tel Aviv.
It appears Mr. Netanyahu had one primary goal during his press conference to praise President Trump and to pretty much sort of regurgitate White
House messaging. You were at that press conference, of course, and asked a number of very pointed and important questions. Let's just get up to date
on what's happening there. What is the perspective and thinking there?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, today in Tel Aviv and across Israel, we have seen wave after wave of Iranian ballistic
missile attacks, at times joined by Hezbollah rocket fire striking deep into Israel as far as central Israel. We have seen a number of people who
suffered moderate injuries today, but no serious casualties as a result of that even as Iran continues to keep up this pace of firing, increasing that
pace of firing, it would seem, and using these cluster munitions to try and get through Israel's air defenses.
Israel, meanwhile, continuing to carry out strikes in Iran, including yet another targeted killing of a senior Iranian official. And I asked the
prime minister about that strategy of killing these senior Iranian officials and the fact that it seems that the Iranian regime is still no
closer to collapse. The prime minister told me that he's confident in his strategy. He says that he believes there are cracks that are starting to
emerge in the Iranian regime, both at the top levels as well as lower down.
And he also told me that as it relates to his relationship with President Trump, he stressed a very close coordination. But he did make clear that
President Trump is the leader. He described himself as the ally -- Becky.
ANDERSON: I want to also get to your important reporting from the West Bank. What did you uncover there, Jeremy?
DIAMOND: Well, listen, Becky, as you know, we have been covering the rise of settler violence in the West Bank since October 7th. Just, you know, one
incident after the next. But never in my reporting over the last two and a half years have I come across a case of settlers using sexual violence
against Palestinians in order to try and intimidate them. But that is exactly the story we uncovered.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (voice-over): His eyes still bloody and bruised, Qusai Abu al- Kebash is determined to tell his harrowing story. An Israeli settler attack unlike any other.
"I was standing here. The settlers came. They attacked me. They dragged me in here," he says.
[10:40:02]
"These are the zip ties they used to bind my hands. They cut my trousers and belts and here are my boxers. They took them off me."
Abu al-Kebash says the masked and armed settlers then sexually assaulted him.
"They zip-tied my genitals and squeeze tight on them while continuing to beat me. They dragged me from there and then poured water over me. And then
dirt. They were dragging me while I was undressed with my hands and legs bound, my genitals bound, all the way up the hill."
What was going through your mind when that was happening?
(Voice-over): "I thought they were going to kill me. Beat me to death."
Abu al-Kebash's relatives, who were present at the time, also corroborated his account. So did two foreign activists, volunteers with the
International Solidarity Movement, who told us they were beaten and violently dragged by the settlers. Abu al-Kebash said the settlers also
stole his livelihood. Hundreds of sheep that once filled these pens. He says the settlers also beat his father, wife and even his children,
threatening to return if the family doesn't leave their land.
"They said we're going to steal your sheep. We're going to steal your women, we're going to rape your women. We're going to take your girls."
There wasn't a single ill phrase that wasn't uttered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) hit her.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Israeli settler violence against Palestinians has skyrocketed since October 7th. But sexual assault appears to be a new
weapon in the settler arsenal of intimidation. The assault came days after prosecutors dropped charges against five soldiers accused of sexually
assaulting a Palestinian prisoner inside a notorious detention facility, drawing uproar from Israeli human rights organizations.
Israeli police are now investigating the attack on Abu al-Kebash and his family, telling CNN they've arrested seven suspects. Police said the case
is under a court issued gag order. But there is little faith here in Israeli investigations. Settler attacks in the West Bank are rarely
prosecuted and Abu al-Kebash's wait for justice is filled with fear.
"I'm worried they'll come back, that they'll kill us in the middle of the night, beat us to death, or burn our village like they said they would."
What will you do if they come back?
(Voice-over): "What can I do? We'll get beaten once again. What can we do," he asks. "They'll beat us and burn us, and finish us once and for all."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DIAMOND (on-camera): And Becky, while the Israeli police have arrested seven suspects in suspicion with this attack, we don't have any further
details on this investigation as of yet because it is under a court gag order. We also know that settlers who carried out this attack apparently
smashed surveillance cameras, further complicating the task of investigating this assault -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Jeremy Diamond, reporting from Israel, thank you.
Well, we are back after this quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:16]
ANDERSON: Well, Iran's attacks on commercial shipping are raising fears of a return to the so-called tanker war era. As U.S. scrambles to secure what
is this vital Strait of Hormuz, concerns are growing about how prepared Washington really is.
CNN's Ivan Watson now with a look at the threat and what it might take to keep global shipping moving.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Commercial shipping under attack. Iran suspected of targeting at least 20
ships in the Gulf and nearby Strait of Hormuz in the last two and a half weeks, creating a dangerous bottleneck that's driving up global energy
prices.
Tanker ships like this are longer than a football field. They are big, easy targets for Iranian missiles, drones and sea mines in a narrow channel like
the Strait of Hormuz. So protecting them from these threats won't be easy.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When the time comes, the U.S. Navy and its partners will escort tankers through the strait if needed.
WATSON (voice-over): Iran has a long history of targeting shipping in this oil rich region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Iranian speedboats began attacking shipping in the Persian Gulf Monday --
WATSON (voice-over): During the Tanker War of the 1980s, the U.S. and other allies escorted ships through the Gulf to protect them from Iranian and
Iraqi attacks. Veteran merchant mariner Frank Cole vividly remembers how a British warship protected his cargo ship during one confrontation.
FRANK COLE, VETERAN MERCHANT MARINER: We were challenged by the Iranians and it was dark. It was night. It was scary. We all got down on the deck
actually before Broadsword, you just heard Broadsword accelerate and come between us and the Iranians, and tell the Iranians that they were a British
warship. And the Iranians backed down.
WATSON (voice-over): The escort mission was dangerous. On April 14th, 1988, the USS Samuel B. Roberts hit an Iranian sea mine in the Gulf.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the blast hit, we had four people inside here, all received burns, cuts, bruises.
WATSON (voice-over): The mine severely wounded 10 sailors. More recently commercial shipping came under attack in the nearby Red Sea and Gulf of
Aden. Iranian backed Houthi fighters in Yemen staged several spectacular attacks, sinking at least four cargo ships.
JENNIFER PARKER, FORMER AUSTRALIAN NAVY OFFICER: I think Iran's targeting right now and the ships that have managed to hit is a lot more accurate
than the Houthis.
WATSON (voice-over): Jennifer Parker is a former Royal Australian Navy officer. In 2020, she worked with the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain as
part of an international mission to protect shipping from Iranian threats during a previous crisis. But in this war, she says the U.S. and Israel
will first have to completely destroy Iran's drone and attack boat capability before launching a policing operation in the Strait of Hormuz.
PARKER: You certainly need to have a fighter aircraft above the strait that can respond, that are your eyes and ears. You certainly need to have a
maritime patrol aircraft or airborne early warning aircraft, providing you a greater picture of what's happening. Then you need warships displaying
presence to reassure ships to go through.
WATSON (voice-over): But experts predict it could be weeks or months before navies will be in any position to reopen this vital shipping lane.
COLE: Anybody who realizes that history repeats itself, and we never seem to learn, will be not surprised. It's just disappointing it wasn't a part
of the thought process when it went down.
WATSON (voice-over): Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, President Trump says he is planning to ask Congress for $200 billion in new Pentagon funding to support this war with Iran. He
didn't give specifics on what the money would be used for. Key lawmakers, including some Republicans, I have to say, do appear skeptical about
approving that much money. The president says it would be a small price to pay to ensure that U.S. dominance, military dominance, and that the funding
would be more than what is needed to wage war with Iran.
Well, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. There is more ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:51:14]
ANDERSON: Well, returning to the news that we brought you earlier this hour, the Hollywood action star Chuck Norris has died.
For more on what we know about his death and his legacy, Lisa Respers joining us -- Respers France joining us now live.
It's good to have you. Talk to me first about his legacy. He had so many fans, of course.
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A massive amount of fans, Becky. And he was a true American hero because he was such a tough guy. I mean, he
wasn't just an actor. He also was a martial arts expert. And he showed that in the 1972 film fighting Bruce Lee in the "Way of the Dragon."
And from there, he was so prolific in the '70s and '80s playing these tough guy roles in films like "Delta Force" and later on in life he really leaned
into that tough guy image because he became a meme, and that brought him a whole new generation of fans, Becky, because people just love that he had
fun with his image, that he could laugh and joke about himself.
And he also, you know just recently, back in March 10th, he put up a video on social media in which he was boxing and he said, I don't age, I level
up. So I think he's just going to forever be remembered as one of the toughest action heroes and toughest stars that Hollywood ever produced. And
I really, I can't think of anyone who is viewed more patriotically than Chuck Norris unless maybe you think of like maybe a John Wayne. But for his
generation, he absolutely was beloved. Becky.
ANDERSON: What do we know about the cause of death?
RESPERS FRANCE: Well, what we do know is that it was reported yesterday that he was in a hospital in Hawaii, which is where he lived. He had a
beautiful estate there, and he loved living in Hawaii. So we don't know the cause of death, but we do know that the family has thanked fans for the
prayers that they offered for him, and also said that, you know, he was just a symbol of strength. But in addition to being a star, he was a
beloved husband, father, and also a devout Christian -- Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you so much.
RESPERS FRANCE: Thank you, Becky. Appreciate you.
ANDERSON: We -- before we leave you today, a message of hope and best wishes from my team here in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE. Today's Eid al-Fitr, the
holiday marking the end of Ramadan, when Muslims across the region and around the world gather with families and friends to celebrate the breaking
of a month of fasting.
It is also this year Nowruz, the Persian new year, falling on the spring equinox, a day that marks renewal, the rejuvenation of life, and the hope
that a new year brings.
Now, look, it's rare for these two occasions to fall on the same day, and this is not a normal year. Many here are marking both with a quiet
uncertainty about what the days and weeks ahead will bring.
But from me and my entire team, Eid Mubarak and Nowruz-etan Pirooz, may these two special occasions both rooted in the idea of renewal helped bring
an end to the violence, cycle of violence that has dominated these headlines. And may the new year bring with it the wisdom to find another
way.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
[10:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
