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Shipping Through Strait of Hormuz Remains Severely Curtailed; UAE Insists a Ceasefire in Iran Must Address Regional Security; Trump to Hold Briefing on U.S. Airman's Rescue Today; Trump Warns Iran to Reopen Hormuz or Face Dire Consequences; Syrian-Lebanese Crossing Closure Blocks Key Route for Aid. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired April 06, 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]
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, these are live pictures of Artemis II as the crew of NASA's pioneering moon mission prepare to make
history. Four Artemis astronauts will spend seven hours flying by the moon today, seeing lunar sites never before seen by human eyes.
And this hour, we will be reporting live on the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. We are live in Tel Aviv. This war now in its sixth week, and Iran's
retaliatory strike showing no signs of easing. It is 04:00 p.m. there in Tel Aviv, it is 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson, you are
watching "Connect the World".
It is just after 09:00 a.m. in New York. The stock market there opens about 30 minutes from now, as you can see there on the futures, which are an
indication of how these markets will open in half an hour's time. It is a mixed picture ahead of an appearance by Donald Trump scheduled for hours
from now.
Well, Iran has rejected a temporary ceasefire and its war with the U.S. and Israel, following negotiations with mediators over the weekend. According
to reports in Iranian state media, Tehran is demanding a permanent ceasefire and guarantees against future attacks.
As it views temporary pauses in the war as a chance for the U.S. and Israel to regroup. We're going to hear how President Donald Trump responds to Iran
later when he addresses the media, 01:00 p.m. Eastern Time at the White House. Well over the weekend, he threatened Tehran with a profanity laced
message in a Truth Social post that you see here.
He said Iran must open the Strait of Hormuz, or they will be, quote, living in hell. The President threatened to drop bombs on power plants and other
infrastructure if Tehran doesn't lift the blockade by Tuesday, 08:00 p.m. Eastern Time. But before that self-imposed deadline, as I say, we will hear
from the president today.
And CNN will bring you that live when it happens about four hours from now. Let's start with CNN's Matthew Chance. He joins me today from Doha in
Carter, so ahead of an appearance by Donald Trump, and it is unclear at this point what he will say. What's the latest we know on any ceasefire
proposals, Matt?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Becky, well, look, there are frantic efforts underway, basically to try and make a last-
ditch attempt to kind of wind down this conflict, or to get a ceasefire before the latest President Trump deadline expires at 08:00 p.m. Eastern
Time on Tuesday.
There are a couple of initiatives that are sort of being worked through. Main one is this Pakistani led idea of a 45-day ceasefire that has three
parts. It involves a ceasefire. It involves an opening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and it involves a two- or three-week period of
negotiations, which would hopefully bring the conflict to an end.
Now the United States has said that it's President Trump has not made his mind up yet on that issue. Maybe we'll hear from him later on this evening.
And the Iranians haven't commented on it directly, but they've said they're uncomfortable with the idea of a temporary ceasefire.
They want a permanent one, for the reasons you mentioned, they don't want, you know, countries like Israel to re arm, countries like the United States
to reposition their forces in that period. And so that's the sort of state of play right now. The problem is, even though those in this that
initiative and the other initiatives that are being worked out aren't perfect, the alternative is escalation.
And you know, that will mean more risk for the region, more risk to the global economy and things like that, and so that's potentially something
that hopefully President Trump wants to avoid.
ANDERSON: I spoke to the UAE Top Diplomatic Adviser Anwar Gargash over the weekend, who insists that a ceasefire in Iran must address war regional
security.
[09:05:00]
He very specifically addressed the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and said, quote, we, the UAE not ready to act as a maritime force, but we will
join any American led effort or international effort to secure navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. We are ready to play our part.
Now the UAE supporting Bahrain today again in its renewed push for a U.N. Security Council resolution on the strait. I just wonder whether those that
insistence that any ultimate deal here needs to address regional security, and this is coming from the UAE's top diplomatic advisor is reflected
around the Gulf.
I think it's useful for our viewers to really understand what the sort of narrative here is in the Gulf, as let's remind ourselves these countries,
certainly the UAE, Kuwait overnight, Saudi overnight continue to be attacked with what are reckless and unprovoked strikes, as far as they are
concerned, by Iran at this point.
CHANCE: Well, Becky, I mean, I think there's no question that all of the countries in the Persian Gulf region want to have a deal in which Iran no
longer represents a threat in the future, either a nuclear threat or a ballistic missile threat or a threat to its shipping through the Strait of
Hormuz.
The question is, how best to get to that point? And there is a real difference of opinion within the Gulf states about what should happen next
in this conflict. You know, there are those countries like the UAE, for instance, or like Saudi Arabia, like Bahrain, were much more kind of full
on in calling for the threat to be removed from Iran through military force by one means or another, before any ceasefire is declared or announced
before, basically America exits the theater.
But there are other countries, like Qatar, like Oman, who are much more conciliatory. I think that you know that's the division in this region
right now. I think what's also very interesting is that this deadline that President Trump has imposed on himself of Tuesday. Well, that's the fifth
time that he's pushed back that sort of self-imposed ultimation, that self- imposed deadline, which gives the impression that he himself is looking for a way out of this crisis.
And so, look, I mean, we'll see what happens in the hours ahead, but clearly, I think what everybody really wants is for this to end in the best
possible way. It's whether that can be achieved and what position Iran will be left in at the end of it.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Matt. Thank you. Let's get you then, folks to Washington. Alayna Treene joins me now from the White House. So, what do we
expect to hear from President Trump when he meets with the media this afternoon? What are your sources telling you?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, it's hard to know, because we've heard so many different types of versions of how things
are going with this war from the president. I think by and large, you're going to hear a big victory lap, of course, around the rescue of those
pilots who were in the fighter jet, the F-15 fighter jet that was shot down over Iran on Friday.
A huge success, of course, for the Trump Administration when they rescued the second crew member early Sunday morning. But I think a bigger question,
of course, is how he's going to respond to what we've heard about this ceasefire proposal that was drafted by crucial negotiators in the region,
countries like Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt.
Now, we have heard the president say in a series of different media interviews over the last 24 hours or so that he believes the Trump
Administration is in what he said was deep negotiations with Iran about a potential deal, and he has remained optimistic for that even, of course, as
we are hearing the Iranians say that they reject any idea of a temporary ceasefire, that they are instead looking for a more formal, fuller end to
this war and any type of negotiation that may happen.
I will say as well, we did talk to the White House this morning about this idea of the 45-day ceasefire that was brought forth to the United States
and the Iranians late Sunday. They said that this proposal is just one of many different ideas that the president is considering, and in the
meantime, they are continuing a pace with their military operation.
But there are, of course, so many questions, because I think we really saw a huge escalation in this war of words between the United States and Iran
over the weekend, you saw that expletive laden post yesterday from the president essentially threatening a much further and aggressive escalation
against Iran on their civilian infrastructure and energy sites.
[09:10:00]
Should they refuse to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by that new deadline he set as 08:00 p.m. on Tuesday. And there are, I think, a lot of questions
about whether or not that's actually something that would go forward, even if a deal is not in place. We know that the Trump Administration has been
hesitant to go to certain lengths be given that we know that the Iranians have promised to retaliate against U.S. allies in the region on different
Gulf partners, of course.
And so, I think a lot of this is really and particularly the ceasefire talks we're hearing about today are really an attempt to try and stave off
that type of attack and that type of retaliation as well. And I think key questions, of course, of the president is going to be what he will say on
any of these negotiations, if he is firmly in the belief that peace and diplomacy could still be an option before further escalations in this war,
and then also any context on the timeline of this.
I mean, just last week, we heard the president say he expected the war to be wrapped up in another two to three weeks. Unclear if that has changed,
given everything we've seen over the last several days, Becky.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Alayna, thank you so much. Right. Let's get you to Mohammad Ali Shabani now. He's in London. He's the Editor of
Amwaj.media and a Middle East Scholar, very well sourced on what is going on in Iran and with the thinking there, given what we've just been
discussing in these this self-imposed deadline by Donald Trump to open the Strait of Hormuz by 08:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, or else dot, dot,
dot, it was.
Iran's Foreign Minister, the spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei a saying quote, we are calling for an end to the war and for preventing its recurrence. I
just wonder, when you consider the two positions at present. They do appear to be fundamentally incompatible, or do you see there being a step in the
right direction at this point?
MOHAMMAD ALI SHABANI, EDITOR OF AMWAJ.MEDIA: So, Becky, I think Iran has a number of priorities which have not really changed compared to the
negotiations prior to this war. Number one is that they will not discuss their missile program, which has proven to be the most valuable defensive
capability, particularly in the middle of a war that's unlikely to happen.
The second thing is that they're not going to talk about the regional policies in the way that the Trump Administration wants. I think what's on
the table is some kind of modality to make sure that the nuclear program will not be weaponized. And I think what Iran is willing to put on the
table is quite similar to what they're ready to offer in Geneva.
That's number one. The second thing, I think, is that Iran is already negotiations with Oman about having some kind of arrangement for transit
through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. And of course, that issue didn't exist prior to this war.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
SHABANI: So, there can be some kind of modality on that. And the good news is that Trump has said, either make a deal or open the strait. He didn't
say both.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
SHABANI: So that's quite interesting, that he has left some kind of leeway for himself to avoid going ahead with this.
ANDERSON: I noted that, and that was a change in positioning. It felt like a slight adjustment, certainly on the goals from the original 10-day window
that he'd set, which was supposed to close, of course, today, which said, make a deal or else. So, it's right that you point out that change in
narrative, at least in principle on social media.
I spoke to the advisor to the UAE President, Anwar Gargash. I'm here, of course, in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. I spoke to him over the weekend. The UAE
wants to see this stop now, he said, but Gargash insists that any ceasefire must also address wider regional security, and this is about a deal going
forward from Iran's missiles and drones to its broader posture towards its neighbors.
And certainly, the long-term sort of deal that kind of narrative is supported around this region, regional security is what the Gulf wants. I
just wonder whether that significantly raises the bar for any deal at this point?
SHABANI: No, I think that actually kind of dovetails with Iran's position. I think Iran has a number of priorities right now. Number one is to make
sure that if there is a cessation of hostilities, that he will not be a temporary ceasefire. They were much opposed to that.
They would like this what end, and they would like steps to be taken definitively to avoid repetition of this scenario. I think the second
important aspect of the Iranian position is that they would like a cessation of hostilities and enter this war to not just cover Iran and
Israel, Iran and the U.S., but also Iran's allies.
So, they'd like to see a broader kind of scenario which hostilities throughout the region are seized.
[09:15:00]
And also, I think they would like to see more security military cooperation with their neighbors. So, I think this notion of the UAE is coming out and
wanting to see a broader cessation of hostilities, kind of new security collaboration, et cetera. It doesn't really clash with Iran's position from
what I'm --
ANDERSON: U.S. President now openly threatening to strike power plants and bridges. I mean, these, of course, will be considered civilian
infrastructure. And many experts will say these are war crimes. Is this a real military option on the table, do you believe? Or is this dangerous
rhetoric that risks, as I say, breaching international law?
SHABANI: So, Israel has actually, today and yesterday, hit the ancillary services of Iran's main petrochemical facilities, and they claim to have,
in this way, taken out the majority of Iranian petrochemical exports. So, this idea of hitting energy infrastructure, it's already happening.
It's not new. The interesting part about Iran's electricity network is that no single power plant is responsible for more than a few percent of power
generation. And this grid is set up in a way so that if you take out one power plant, it's not going to take down the entire national grid.
The kind of the engineers of this system have already thought about these kinds of scenarios in the past. So, I think there is a possibility that he
may hit regional power plants in certain areas, and try to justify that by saying, for instance, that these facilities in that region generate money
for the military or some kind of weapons factory, et cetera.
So, I think we have to look at this scope of these attacks that Trump has threatened. Is he going to attack 30, 40 power plants at the same time? Is
it going to hit certain regions? I think this is a very important thing to distinguish. Of course, this goes beyond the discussion about the legality
and whether this actually constitutes a war crime.
ANDERSON: Finally, we've heard, and that's important, you raise a very important point. We've heard very little from Mojtaba Khamenei since his
appointment. We haven't actually seen him. Who is driving decision making in Tehran right now? And how opaque is that inner circle?
SHABANI: Well prior to the war, and I think even now, the top decision- making Council in Iran is called the supreme National Security Council which has a Supreme Defense Council operating under it, and this gather the
civilian and military leadership of the country.
Under wartime conditions, we can expect the military figures, or at least political figures, will have military background, to have more prominence
in decision making. And this includes figures like, for instance, the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is a Former IRGC
Commander, but presently he's the speaker of parliament.
Mojtaba Khamenei himself depending on the sourcing I heard anything from him being fully in charge, directing things, even day to day, to him still
being injured. We don't know his exact condition. You don't hear all kinds of rumors and speculations. As you point out, no one's even seen an image
of him.
And obviously, there's a reason for this kind of security arrangement, because he came to power after his father was assassinated. I think what's
certain is that Iran's decision making is likely in the hands of the military leadership, at least under current condition.
ANDERSON: Always good to have you. Mohammad, thank you very much indeed. Mohammad Ali Shabani in the house for you today.
SHABANI: Thanks for having me.
ANDERSON: Still ahead deadly overnight strikes in Lebanon, and now there is growing pressure inside Israel to go even harder. What is being proposed,
is after this.
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ANDERSON: Well at least 10 people were reported killed in strikes across Lebanon overnight, including a teenager in Southern Beirut. Israel says its
targeting Hezbollah weapon sites embedded in civilian areas. The conflict has displaced more than 15 percent of the population, with entire towns
emptied and the death toll rising.
And on Sunday, 18 far right Israeli lawmakers, including some members of the ruling Likud party, called for an expanded offensive along the border.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us with more from Tel Aviv, Jeremy.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, the debate in Israel isn't really about whether to go deeper with ground troops into
Southern Lebanon. It's not about whether to occupy Southern Lebanese territory or whether to destroy civilian infrastructure in Southern
Lebanon.
It's all a question of how far and how much that is the debate that is really happening inside the Israeli government, inside the Israeli
military, as we have now seen this new letter from these 18 far right lawmakers, including some members of Netanyahu's only coup party, who are
calling for a security zone inside of Southern Lebanon all the way to the Litani River and beyond it in some point, some 20 miles north of the
Israel-Lebanon border.
They're calling for the Israeli military to be positioned all the way up to that border and to effectively create a buffer zone in that area. What
we've heard from the Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz is similar, but he's not necessarily talking as of yet about sending troops all the way up
to the Litani River.
But certainly, the Israeli military telling people to leave their homes in those areas and having operational control. The Israeli military, for its
part, has presented a proposal to the Israeli government that would see two to three kilometers into Lebanese territory. That area be completely
demolished, effectively in order to establish that buffer zone.
So, as you can see, it's a matter of a variety of perspectives on how deep and how much is necessary in terms of the destruction there. But clearly
there will be a deepening of this Israeli military operation in Lebanon, and there already has been in recent weeks, as Israeli troops are now
operating as far as some 10 kilometers into Lebanese territory.
And we are, of course, seeing the impact that all of that is having on Lebanon civilian population. About a fifth of Lebanon's population has been
displaced, both from Southern Lebanon as well as from the southern suburbs of Beirut. We are seeing these strikes continuing and intensifying on some
days, including those that you just mentioned that took place in Southern Lebanon.
The Israeli government's rationale for all of this, they say that they need to distance Israel's northern residents from the threat that Hezbollah
could pose to them, including their use of anti-tank missile fire towards Israeli civilian communities in the northern part of the country.
But the bottom line is that there's an understanding, even from these far- right lawmakers, that all of this is intended to be used as leverage, leverage with the Lebanese government, leverage with Hezbollah, so that
Hezbollah can ultimately be disarmed in the entirety of Lebanon.
But those negotiations are not happening yet. We know that the Lebanese government is interested in direct talks with Israel about the future of
Hezbollah in its country, but so far, the Israeli government has not engaged directly in those discussions, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Jeremy, thank you. Well, over the weekend, I toured the W.H.O.'s logistics hub here in the UAE, which is a key launching
pad for aid into Lebanon. And officials there told me that the mask now border crossing between Syria and Lebanon had been a vital lifeline for
relief convoys, but that crossing is now closed.
So earlier today, I asked the organization's executive director for emergency programs what this means for their efforts to get lifesaving aid,
particularly medical aid, to those who need it most and if there are any alternatives right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. CHIKWE IHEKWEAZU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF W.H.O. HEALTH EMERGENCIES PROGRAMME: What you just mentioned was the alternative. So previously, of
course, air transport, what we use to transport most of the equipment, medicine supplies that we moved out of our global logistics hub based in
Dubai.
[09:25:00]
Of course, air travel is very limited at the moment only. We can only arrange that through special arrangements. So, we had to organize supplies
from Dubai, the hub in Dubai to Lebanon. It took 10 days of trucks traveling through several countries, day and night to get to Lebanon to
provide them supplies.
10 days, this is not a system we can sustain without lots of difficulties. So, the crossing being blocked is actually the last source of reprieve for
moving commodities from our hub in Dubai to Lebanon, so we've got to get the airspace reopen. We've got to get the crosses reopen.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
IHEKWEAZU: In order to save lives -- even in times of war.
ANDERSON: Understood.
IHEKWEAZU: It must be space --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: That was the W.H.O. Executive Director of Emergency Response. And it's not just Lebanon, and as I saw at the W.H.O. facility in Dubai, aid to
Gaza to Chad, Sudan and even Cuba hangs in the balance while the conflict in this region disrupts delivery roots. And do stay tuned for my full
report on tomorrow's show.
Well, I want to turn to something totally different, but another hugely important story that we are following history in the making. We are only
hours from seeing humans go farther into space than they have ever been before. The highly anticipated lunar flyby of the Artemis II mission will
take four astronauts on a pioneering survey of the moon.
The astronauts are already experiencing what mission control calls Moon joy. CNN's -- Randi Kaye joining us, live from the Johnson Space Center in
Houston, Texas. Today is a particularly important day on this mission. Just explain why, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think we're all experiencing a little bit of Moon joy, Becky, certainly here at Johnson Space Center. This
is a history making day, and we have a photo as the crew went to bed last night. They got a beautiful view of the moon, and when they do their flyby
today, this historic flyby the moon is going to look as if they were holding a basketball at arm's length.
That's how close they're going to be. But times in eastern for you, as I just run down what the day looks like for them, at 01:56 p.m. Eastern Time,
they're going to pass the Apollo 13 distance record. And then at 02:45 p.m. that's when the lunar flyby actually begins.
And at 06:45 p.m., or so, that is when they have this predicted loss of communication with mission control, certainly a little nerve racking, but
expected. It's when the earth will set behind the moon. So, they'll lose communication for a bit, for about 40 minutes, and then when it rises
again, they'll be back in touch.
07:02 p.m. that will be their closest approach to the moon, about 4070 miles. And then at 07:07 p.m. they will hit their maximum distance from
Earth, more than 252,000 miles away from Earth, Becky.
ANDERSON: Wow.
KAYE: And then at 09:20 p.m., the lunar flyby will be concluded.
ANDERSON: That is remarkable just how risky is this mission, and briefly, what is NASA learning from it?
KAYE: Well, they have about 35 lunar targets that they are looking for. We just got the full list, but one of them that they're really hoping to see
is this oriental basin. It's this massive multi ring basin that sort of looks like a bull's eye. They want to see that. They want to look at the
colors and the textures on the surface of the moon.
They're looking for new craters. They're looking for places to land, and they are also looking for the South Pole on the moon. But it is risky,
Becky. I mean, there's certainly the risk of getting hit by space junk while they're out there. There can be a loss of compression in the in the
capsule itself, the life support system could go. And then, of course, they're going to slingshot back to Earth, being pulled in by the Earth's
gravity.
So, there are some risks involved with that as they make their reentry.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Randi. Moon, joy. You enjoy it. Thank you. Oil prices remain elevated despite a dip. As the week began, we're going to
gage investor reaction to the developments around the world as we watch what is going on with this U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
We have heard in the past hours that Tehran has rejected a temporary ceasefire. Donald Trump has set an 08:00 p.m. Tuesday Eastern Time deadline
for a deal or opening the Strait of Hormuz, very specifically, he wants to see that open.
[09:30:00]
That is somewhat a change in his position since last week that, of course, the partial closure of that strait really having an impact on the global
economy. Charles River ringing in the trading day today, shortened working week last week. It is a full week today. Donald Trump will speak four hours
from now.
The bell is rung. Investors will get at it. Let's see whether there is much move. Certainly, the indications where these markets would be mixed on the
open out of hearing from Donald Trump later today. A lot of anticipation and a lot of concern in these markets obviously, at present. More on that
after this.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You are watching "Connect the World" just after 09:30 in the morning in New York. Let's see
how stocks are getting on at the open. We expected a mixed start, and that is what we have got, with the DOW down, the S&P and the NASDAQ up, but only
marginally.
Oil prices have dipped as we begin the week, but they do remain high overall. President Trump has threatened to attack Iranian electricity
plants if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by what is now his deadline of Tuesday evening, 08:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Iran has counted that issuing its own threats in return, and has now, just in the past few hours, rejected a temporary ceasefire. Let's get more on
what we can expect to be moving these markets this hour, Noureldeen Al Hammoury Chief Market Strategist at Equiti Group. And I do note that as you
and I have been talking, we do see the oil price up again.
It does remain elevated, despite some sort of movement lower in the sort of Sunday into Monday trading day. There's also volatility, Noureldeen in the
bond markets. What are you seeing is driving investors right now?
NOURELDEEN AL HAMMOURY, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST AT EQUITI GROUP: Currently, the most important things are basically the continuation of the uncertainty
from one side and the not clear messages that continues from the White House. Now, everybody is hoping that the deadline, or before the deadline,
will be able to come up with some sort of like a solution or a de- escalation.
But unfortunately, the messages that coming in from the White House that even the U.S. President is still did not sign off on any kind of deal with
or the 45 days deal.
[09:35:00]
So currently, it's a headline driven market, unfortunately, despite the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is being partially open, like we have about
eight tankers throughout the past couple of days. But still, markets are still hoping on the on hopes that there could be de-escalation.
ANDERSON: I just want to quote, something that has been posted by Senator Chris Murphy. He's a Democrat, of course, in the States. A source
confirming CNN has been a proposal during the rounds for a 45-day ceasefire that has now been, as we understand it, rejected by Tehran.
But Murphy, summing this up, saying the following, these are the oh crap, the market is opening in a few hours, and we have to pretend. We have our
stuff together, is what he said. He's talking about effectively here. Let's be quite honest about the Trump Administration.
Donald Trump himself pumping these markets. And we have seen a playbook. Is that your reading, effectively what's happening now?
HAMMOURY: -- number, we have to give them that point, because each time, if you look also at the bond market, specifically, this is what we've been
watching over the past couple of weeks is that whenever we see real interest rates goes up, or the real yield to go up, especially the 10 year
yields, whenever we approach about for 40 or -- 45, we get these kind of comments from the administration that there is back channels.
There is some sort of going back and forth, a possible deal, or maybe possibly de-escalation, and then we see the yields goes back down. So, this
is not something actually new, but they were successful in holding the markets stable. Somehow, we haven't seen any kind of panic, at least for
the time being, but I think this is where things might get dangerous.
Is everybody is still working on that hope? And if that hope basically goes away with another escalation, I think the markets will be hit hard.
ANDERSON: It's interesting that you say we haven't seen any panic as of yet. There is a real narrative out there that says, why is it that these
markets really haven't reacted that, that way that you might expect them to. I mean, we are at a point where we have to consider medium, long-term
impact, economic impact, of this conflict, whether or not it ends tomorrow, correct?
HAMMOURY: Absolutely. I mean, the verbal interventions we've seen it before, whether if it's war or even because of or through central banks, if
they're talking about none, even non crisis, for example, just like the Japanese yen, every time we hit the 160 on the dollar yen, the Bank of
Japan, or the finance minister comes out and start kind of talking about, we are about to intervene.
Same thing goes into this conflict every single time we see some sort of like a sharp decline or the bond market is unstable, we get the same thing.
We get a verbal intervention, but the verbal intervention will always help, only on the short term, up until we reach a point where this is no longer
valid.
And at this stage, what could be no longer valid if there is actually no deal, and the deadline passes, and then we see any more, we possibly could
be another escalation. And if this happens, I think this is where could be the tipping point where we see a possible panic in market.
ANDERSON: Yeah. Good to have you sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. It is 38 minutes past 5 here it is the best time of the year
for golf fans. It is master's week and Rory McIlroy looking to become the first repeat winner since Tiger Woods over two decades ago. We're going to
talk Rory up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:40:00]
ANDERSON: It is the beginning of April, which means golf fans will be keeping a close eye on Augusta, Georgia, where Rory McIlroy will look to
defend his master's title and -- that green jacket yet again on Sunday. Well, for more, I'm joined by Patrick Snell. And Pat, you know that I had a
chance to spend some time with Rory at the beginning of the year, which feels a lifetime ago, frankly, living as I do in the UAE, this past month.
We got together after his spectacular 2025 which of course included that green jacket. The talk now no longer can Rory win Augusta. It is who can
stop him.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Oh, Becky, yeah, you got some great access with him congrats. A remarkable interview which we're going to be bringing
our viewers on the forthcoming edition of "World Sport". Just terrific out say, I, you know, from the times I've spoken to Rory over the years, I
always find him really engaging.
He gives really smart, insightful answers, as you found out. And you just got amazing access with me on the practice grade the driving range is next
to you and you'll be signed --
ANDERSON: Yeah, you are very lucky, great guy.
SNELL: Yeah, and great insights as well. Putting the goals, his career goals for the year on the back of his boarding pass, there just remarkable
stuff. I will say this though, Becky, he's done a win. It seems really strange to say, but his last win was actually the masters 12 months ago
now.
So, he would really like to get back in the winner's circle. And he just comes alive, doesn't he, as Augusta National. So, it's going to be really,
really good to see people going at him. He's the man to beat now. And why was last year's triumph so significant historically was because he became
just the sixth man in history to win the Career Grand Slam.
That's when a golfer wins all four men's majors. So much to look forward to. Back to you for now, Becky.
ANDERSON: Sport has the power to change the world, and to provide a real distraction for that, I am very, personally, very grateful. We will join
you for "World Sport", and our viewers will get the second hour of "Connect the World" after that.
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