Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
U.S.-Israel War with Iran; Trump Extends Ceasefire, Keeps Blockade in Place; Interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Tucker Carlson's Trump Regrets; How Gulf Nations Are Handling War, Planning Futures; Iranian LEGO-Style Videos Promote Propaganda; Gun Attack Shakes Mexico ahead of World Cup. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired April 22, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to our second hour of the show. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, where the time is 6:00 in the
evening.
Looking at the live movements in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran says it has seized two ships. We're going to bring you my interview with the Greek
foreign minister about a third ship that evaded capture.
And we'll get you to the White House. Sources tell CNN U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to give the Iranians a limited timeframe to come
up with, as he calls it, a unified proposal to get negotiations back on track.
Plus, CNN's Christiane Amanpour sits down with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. She'll join us live later this hour.
I want to begin, though, with Iran, where the country's Revolutionary Guard Corps says it has seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, taking them to
Iranian waters.
Now you can see their movement today on the ship tracking site, MarineTraffic.
The IRGC accuses the ships of repeatedly violating regulations, saying they, quote, "covertly" tried to exit the strait and endangered maritime
safety.
Well, we know now that a third vessel, a Greek-owned ship, was attacked in the area. Iran says it was disabled off Iran's coast. The military activity
in the strait happening while peace talks, of course, with the U.S. are now on hold.
Sources say president Donald Trump plans to give the Iranians a limited timeframe to come up with a unified proposal to get these negotiations back
on track.
Iranian officials, for their part, have said that the U.S. Naval blockade must be lifted before talks can begin.
All right. Last hour, I spoke to the Greek foreign minister to get more details on that Greek ship apparently targeted by Iran today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIORGOS GERAPETRITIS, GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER: I can confirm that there was an attack against the Greek-owned cargo ship but I cannot confirm that this
has been seized by the Iranians. So there are extensive damages but, at the moment, it's not been detained.
ANDERSON: Has your office or any Greek government office that you know of heard from the crew or anyone directly involved with the Greek-owned ship
since it was targeted?
GERAPETRITIS: We have already spoken to the owner of the cargo ship and the company, which is actually monitoring the ship. All seafarers are good
in their health. There have been extremely wide damages but, at the moment, there is no risk of having any further damage or the cargo ship to be sunk.
ANDERSON: This was, as I understand it, Greek-owned, Liberian-flagged; a vessel heading to India as we understand it.
Can you give us any more details about the circumstances of that vessel?
GERAPETRITIS: Indeed, it was a Liberian-flagged and Greek-owned ship. It was trying to get out of the Strait of Hormuz. It was a cargo ship and it
was heading to a destination that I cannot confirm unfortunately.
The situation on the field is quite disturbing. It's not an easy and relaxed situation, obviously. So we have sent an overall notice to all
Greek-owned ships to be very mindful, to exercise maximum self-restraint and to avoid crossing the strait.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: All right. That is the Greek foreign minister speaking to me last hour. And more from that interview on my social platforms. Let's get
more from Washington and indeed from Dubai. Kevin Liptak and Eleni Giokos back with us this hour.
Let's start with you, Eleni. You've been keeping a keen eye over the past two months on that Strait of Hormuz.
What do you see when you look at the very latest tracking?
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really interesting hearing the Greek foreign minister confirming that attack on that Greek
vessel.
Keeping in mind that there's a lot of information flow, firstly, from the UKMTO that says there were two incidents just hours after United States had
extended the ceasefire.
And then we heard from the IRGC and Iranian state media saying that they seized two vessels. I want to show you Kpler data where you're seeing three
vessels moving and really interesting points.
[10:05:00]
So the one is the Euphoria that moves down. That is anticipated to also have been struck today. That keeps on moving. And then you see two vessels,
the MSC Francesca as well as the Epaminondas, which is the Greek-flagged -- pardon me; the Greek-owned vessel that is Liberian-flagged.
They're sitting very close to each other. And frankly, in Iranian territorial waters, which kind of squares up with what the IRGC is saying.
Now the foreign minister didn't confirm that the vessel had been seized but did confirm the attack. So that is significant news that we're hearing.
But also, Becky, if you take a wider view of this and seeing just the confrontations in the seas, in the waterways, frankly, since Saturday,
where there were Iranian gunships targeting tankers transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.
Fast forward to what we see today with the IRGC clearly confronting vessels saying that they had evaded Iranian authority and Iranian rules to transit
through the Strait of Hormuz.
And then if I juxtapose that against what we see with the U.S. Central Command also intercepting vessels, trying to pass that naval blockade, it
is very clear that the fight now is in the seas.
And this is, you know, a maritime escalation that is now pretty much evident as Iran is trying to assert its control over the strait.
AND the United States, you know, acting with the enforcement of its naval blockade to try and squeeze Iran even further as they hopefully, you know,
decide on whether they're going to have a conversation and engage in some kind of talks.
But importantly, this Greek vessel that you were discussing with the foreign minister, this is now disabled. It is off the coast of Iran. It is
a cargo vessel. It was coming from Khalifa port. In fact, it arrived at Khalifa port just before the war started on the 27th of February. It was
meant to arrive in India on the 24th of April.
And I think it's pretty much an indication of just how many vessels are trapped, that were trapped just before the war and now trying to figure out
how to get out of the Strait of Hormuz as, you know, things really tighten in this critical waterway.
ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you for that.
So that's the insight from the strait.
Kevin, any reaction from the White House yet?
And where does this leave Trump's decision on what was posted as an indefinite ceasefire?
Go on.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There's nothing yet from the president or advisors about what this specific action will portend for
the ceasefire or for the president's attempts to get these negotiations back on track.
But I do think it just underscores that, without a deal in place, the strait is going to continue to be a site of very high-risk maneuvers. It
leads to the fears that you hear, certainly among American officials, of some unintended conflict between the U.S. Navy and Iranian vessels.
And I think it's becoming now a test of wills of which side is able and willing to withstand the economic pain that the continued closure of the
strait will pose to each of their economies. Both sides feel that they have the leverage in all of this. And it doesn't seem as if any is willing to
bend at the moment.
And now the president, in that extension of the ceasefire -- at least on paper, it was open-ended -- he said that it would be in place until the
negotiations come to some kind of conclusion.
But just in talking to officials today, I do think it's clear that the president, at least in his own mind, does have a timeframe that he wants to
put in place here. He doesn't view this as an endless time period where he will allow the negotiations to continue.
He wants to see a response from the Iranians relatively quickly and the fear among his advisors is that there is a divide in Tehran. They don't
feel like the negotiating team that was sent to Islamabad has full capability to sign off on a deal.
And they're essentially waiting for the supreme leader to say what the negotiating parameters actually are, what the negotiating position actually
is in terms of what a deal can look like when they come back to the negotiating table.
And until they see that from the Iranian side, they're not going to dispatch JD Vance back to Islamabad for negotiations. And so it is still, I
think, a period of heightened uncertainty.
The belief is that the president wants a diplomatic solution. There's not a real appetite on his part to go back to bombing, despite all of his
bellicose rhetoric. You know, it's an unpopular war. He wants it to be over with. He wants a deal. But at this point, it's still uncertain about what
that deal actually will look like.
ANDERSON: Good to have you.
Thank you both.
For more on this, let's bring in Trita Parsi, an executive vice president with Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Quincy is a think tank
that promotes a U.S. foreign policy centered on diplomatic engagement and military restraint.
I wonder at this stage, as we consider where we are at, is this a new stage to your mind?
[10:10:00]
TRITA PARSI, QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: It is.
But it is not a stable stage. It is a scenario in which, essentially, Trump has achieved the key thing that he wants, which is he's out of this war.
The tweet yesterday, as was pointed out by reporters as well, did not put a time limitation on how long he would wait for the Iranians to, as he said
it, come with a proposal.
And I think that was reflective of the fact that this kind of status quo is somewhat comfortable for him. He's out of the war. He still reflects
strength. Oil prices will come down if the Iranians open up the strait in terms of actually allowing ships to transit through, even though they will
charge them.
And in that scenario, he feels stronger than the Iranians because the Iranians have not achieved the key thing that they want, which is sanctions
relief. And they can only get that through an actual deal.
But it is not a stable situation, because we see that the Iranians will challenge the illegal naval blockade. It is an act of war according to
international law. So I don't see it as being a scenario that can last for that long. At some point, they're going to have to get back to the table.
But I don't think the problem is that the Iranians don't have a unified position. I think the problem is that Trump, frankly, does not know exactly
how to negotiate. He keeps on shifting his positions. He doesn't reciprocate when de-escalatory steps are taken.
Instead, he declares victory and sabotages his own diplomacy. So there's going to have to be far stronger discipline on the American side to
actually get this through, across the finishing line.
ANDERSON: Well, he would beg to differ with you on the Iranian leadership.
He seems genuinely believe that they are, quote, "seriously fractured."
So what is your assessment of how the U.S. might next deliver on some solution here?
How do they cope with this leadership?
PARSI: Well, I have to be very frank, we've seen absolutely no evidence that the fractures that clearly do exist inside of the Iranian government,
as much as they do exist inside of the Trump White House when it comes to negotiating tactic, has risen to the level that that is the obstacle to
actually getting a deal.
I think far clearer obstacles are that Trump is still asking for unachievable objectives. in terms of what he's demanding of the Iranian
side, there's also a fear on the American side, knowing very well that, if they're going to get a deal, they're going to have to lift sanctions in a
massive manner.
And that will bring about a major fight between the White House and the Israeli government. The Israelis have opposed every deal that the United
States has contemplated with Iran. That has entailed sanctions relief and they have fought tooth and nail to sabotage those talks.
And even when they have been achieved, they have fought to undo them, which they succeeded with, getting Trump to walk out of the JCPOA. So there's
some real challenges that Trump will have to face if he agrees to a deal.
So I think the two sides are far apart from each other on this issue. I've seen no evidence that the problem is that the Iranians are fractured. That
is a very convenient narrative for the White House to put out to essentially win the blame game. That is natural in all of these different
types of negotiations that collapse or go the wrong way.
But to see actual evidence for that, we simply have not seen that yet.
ANDERSON: Donald Trump, alongside posting about some serious fractures in leadership, he also posted the following quote.
"Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately - starving for cash! Losing $500 million a day. Military and
Police complaining that they are not getting paid."
Then he says S-O-S or SOS. I can't work out quite what he -- what he means there. And three exclamation marks.
Can you speak to the two sides of this?
What is your understanding of whether Donald Trump's blockade can actually force Iran to the table?
This is a massive upping of the ante economically on Iran and on the humanitarian front.
You know just how big a toll is all of this on the Iranian people?
PARSI: I'm kind of baffled by this, to be frank with you, Becky, because why would the United States need to get the Iranians or force them to the
table?
They were at the table. It's the blockade that has pushed them away from the table. So if the objective is to actually get them to the table and
negotiate with them, that was quite feasible. It happened in the first round.
Then the United States continues the blockade after the Iranians had promised to lift their siege or their closure of the Strait of Hormuz and
did not reciprocate. And that's why we are where we are today.
So if the objective is to actually get to the table, that is not that difficult. It's just about lifting the blockade and not creating these
unnecessary obstacles to a deal. So I again, I don't think that is the problem here.
[10:15:00]
And I think reading his tweets, it is quite clear that, from the American standpoint, there is a hope that this blockade will be some sort of a
silver bullet that will squeeze the Iranians so much that they will accept Trump's, essentially, capitulation offer.
And we've been here several times before. The Iranians are not going to capitulate, particularly not after having, in their view, defeated the
United States strategically in this war. So the real problem is still getting these unrealistic demands from either side that are too maximalist.
That is not leading to an actual deal.
Rather than thinking that there's divisions on this side or on that side, it is really in the essence of the negotiations themselves that the problem
lies here.
ANDERSON: Two questions. I need a brief answer on both. Firstly, a very simple one.
Does the fact that Mojtaba Khamenei is MIA matter?
And secondly, we've been asking all our friends of the show this today, who do you consider the winners and losers in all of this as things stand right
now?
PARSI: So on the first one, we have seen that even with the supreme leader killed, even with the next supreme leader in an unknown state, whether he's
awake, whether he's in a coma, whether he's functional, we have seen that the state, the Islamic system, that the theocracy has continued to be able
to wage a war.
Has continued to be able to negotiate. This is a system. And I think as long as there is a perception to think that this is like any other
dictatorship in the Middle East that is run by one person or one family, we are completely misreading what is going on in Iran.
It's a system that has shown itself to be far more tenacious than anyone expected, precisely because it's a system. It is not based on one figure or
one family.
On the question of who has won and who has lost, there's really a long list of losers here. Very few list of winners.
And even if the Iranians believe that they have strategically defeated the United States -- and I think there's some truth in it -- that victory leads
to nothing unless they manage to translate that into a new status quo through negotiations.
And that they have not succeeded with. Frankly, Trump is in a better position to just walk away from these negotiations than the Iranians are,
because Trump has achieved his key objective, which is to get out of the war he shouldn't -- he never should have started.
Whereas the Iranians have not achieved their key objective, which is to actually get sanctions lifted.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. It's always good to have you, Trita. Thank you very much indeed for your perspective there.
Trita Parsi.
Well, ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, he is Ukraine's wartime president, he is battling Russia's full-scale invasion of his country and now Volodymyr
Zelenskyy has a new problem on his hands. CNN's Christiane Amanpour has been speaking to him about that. The details are up next.
Plus disillusionment inside Donald Trump's base. Why some one-time supporters, frustrated by the U.S. president's handling of this Iran war,
are now pushing conspiracy theories about him.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:20:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Well, money and survival: Ukraine's wartime president has been talking to my colleague, Christiane Amanpour, about both. Volodymyr
Zelenskyy is expressing his country's gratitude for the E.U.'s billions in added funding. He's also been talking about the war in Iran and its wider
impact.
And, Christiane, CNN's chief international anchor, joining me now live from London.
How worried is president Zelenskyy about seeing Ukraine sidelined by this conflict in the Middle East, Christiane?
Let's start there.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, worried indeed. As you noted, he was very pleased that the fall of Viktor Orban at
the polls means that that 90 billion euro loan from the E.U. has now been provisionally approved, with the new prime minister in Hungary. And there's
no more jamming up the works.
And as Zelenskyy said, it's a matter of life and death for the country and for continuing to defend a war that's now well into its fifth year in this
current full-scale invasion period.
On the other issue of how they are going to compete for attention from the United States and elsewhere for the very necessary defensive and other
weapons they need with the current war in Iran and even as the ceasefire is extended, this is what he said to me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We support ceasefire. We're in this case now. America, they shifted to the Middle East and they are deeply
in the Iranian question.
And I know that we have communication on the tactical level with the negotiation group and my group and they have talks and they had, for
example, yesterday, some phone calls and et cetera.
But, we hope that we can organize the meeting. I don't see now the, you know, the opportunity to meet today or tomorrow until the question, the
case of Iran will not be closed or some fundamental ceasefire or something like this.
AMANPOUR: Well, that's having to really rely on another war until you end yours. You have said that president Trump does not want to irritate Putin
and is trying to act like a negotiator rather than, you know, to take sides.
Tell me, you know, what you think now about the United States, the reliability of the Trump administration.
Who are you depending most on now?
ZELENSKYY: First of all, I think that it's another -- it's big risks when you think that you have to close one war and then, you know, mediate
another. I think that it's -- it doesn't work this way because it's -- I mean, this, you have to think about security. We don't have too much
negotiation group from the United States.
And in this case, I think it's a challenge that the same group is trying to manage both. And I think what is important, not to forget about Ukraine,
because we have really full-scale invasion and big war on the land.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: So there you have it, Becky. He was being diplomatic but absolutely blunt about how it's impossible for just, as he said, one group,
a very limited number of U.S. negotiators -- it's just one group.
As you know, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, by and large, to try to organize and solve and mediate and resolve all these wars that they are
assigned to do. So yes, Zelenskyy does feel that he's having to compete with the United States, their biggest backer, their biggest, strongest
power in the world to try to end their war.
And he says it's time for the United States and the rest of the negotiators to tell Putin that he's wrong, that he's the aggressor. We're the defenders
and we need to come up with a ceasefire. And he was very clear. We need to have a policed, patrolled line of contact so that we have security
guarantees.
ANDERSON: It's funny, as we were just listening to him and now just listening to you. And I was thinking back, it was only, what, eight, nine
weeks ago that we were watching that revolving door of meetings in Geneva, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner sort of, you know, peeling between talks
with the Iranians -- in direct talks with the Iranians.
And also looking at these talks between Ukraine and Russia. You know, the world is a very different place eight weeks later, of course.
[10:25:00]
Good to have you, Christiane. Always a pleasure.
And that interview is on "AMANPOUR" later here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just admit you staged it in Butler.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We still don't know what happened in Butler.
ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, some of Donald Trump's ex-allies using his same style of politics against him. Former supporters like Tucker Carlson,
for example, raising new questions about the U.S. president, often without evidence, it has to be said.
It's a strikingly similar strategy to the one that Donald Trump himself used to build support with his base centered on conspiracy-driven claims.
Let's discuss this with Brian Stelter, CNN chief media analyst and author of "Network of Lies."
And let's remind ourselves, he often used these same conservative ofttimes podcasters to, you know, to propagate those narratives and conspiracies.
How much is that Butler conspiracy?
Remind us what we're talking about here.
But how much of that is part of a broader ecosystem online?
And how representative is it of this broader discontent amongst Trump's erstwhile supporters?
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: I would say it's an example of the snake eating its own tail, one of many examples that we've seen of this
conspiracy thinking, this conspiracy mindset that Trump very oftentimes exploited, now sometimes coming back to bite him, to be used against him.
We've seen that also with regards to the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the conspiracy theories that have been festering around that crime. This
has happened over and over again.
And, you know, you look at it with a certain kind of schadenfreude because Trump did encourage so much of this conspiracy thinking and. in some cases,
still continues to do so. But what I've seen many times in MAGA media and in the online influencer world is this idea that Trump cannot fail.
He can only be failed, that people around him are failing him or that people are out to get him. And so increasingly, there's these theories,
whether it's about the war in Iran or about Trump's domestic agenda, the people around him are either leading him astray or misinforming him or
giving him bad ideas or giving him a bad direction.
We're seeing that kind of conspiracy thinking over and over again in order to, in some ways, kind of give Trump the benefit of the doubt but blame all
the people around him.
And when it comes to Butler and the assassination attempt there, we've seen figures like Marjorie Taylor Greene accuse the government of a coverup,
saying that people inside the government are failing to give Trump the truth about what happened to him.
So it's all of a piece. It's an attempt to make Trump innocent but say everybody around him is guilty. And it's coming at a time when his support
in the U.S. continues to erode.
Did you see that poll yesterday showing him at 33 percent approval in the U.S.?
That's an AP Nord (ph) poll. And it's not the first poll showing Trump at an extraordinarily low level of public approval in the U.S.
ANDERSON: And Trump himself, of course, continues to push the conspiracy theory that that he won the 2020 election.
Tucker Carlson, once a close Trump adviser who has now completely fallen out with the president, is now apologizing for ever supporting him. If our
viewers haven't heard this, I just want to play this clip for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, PODCAST HOST: You wrote speeches for him, I campaigned for him. I mean, we're implicated in this, for sure. Yes, it's not enough to
say, well, I changed my mind or like, oh, this is bad. I'm out.
It's like, in very small ways but in real ways, you and me and millions of people like us are the reason this is happening right now. Yes.
So I do think it's like a moment to wrestle with our own consciences. you know, we'll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be and I want to say
I'm sorry for misleading people in. It was not intentional. That's all I'll say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, how much sway does Tucker Carlson have among the MAGA faithful and the more libertarian or independent young men in particular,
Brian?
STELTER: Carlson did have a lot of sway. I would say that in the past tense. It's a lot harder to say now in the present tense that he still has
as much influence.
We've seen in polling recently that MAGA Republicans are souring on Carlson and, in some cases, siding with Trump. But his comments there are still
really extraordinary, really powerful.
This is a figure who was dominant on FOX News for years, who privately, after the 2020 election, said he hated Trump and was happy to see the Trump
era end but then made inroads with Trump again.
[10:30:00]
Found a way back to MAGA media land, became once again really prominent in 2024-2025. And here he is saying he regrets it all and he's so sorry. So
here's what I think is happening.
I think Tucker Carlson sees the Trump era ending. He believes the Trump era is over. He sees Trump as a lame duck. He believes the Democrats are going
to win in the midterms. He's thinking about 2028 and beyond.
So he has his finger up in the wind. You know, he's looking at these polls showing Trump with only 33 percent approval, two big polls in a row showing
Trump at an extraordinarily low level overall.
If you look at CNN's Poll of Polls, Trump is at 37 percent nationwide. Even that figure, with all the polls taken together, really, really low for the
president. So I think Tucker Carlson might be trying to reposition himself for the future, a post-Trump version of the Republican Party.
That's why I'm not entirely taking him at his word that he's all that sorry for what he's helped build up. I think he's thinking more about 2028 and
beyond and he does still have some influence, even though it might be waning among Trump loyalists.
Because Carlson does have a, you know, very prominent platform on X, on YouTube, et cetera. And he gets a lot of attention for these monologues,
regardless of how sincere they actually are. Becky.
ANDERSON: It's fascinating. Always good to see you, Brian. Thank you.
Brian Stelter in the house.
Right. Ahead on this show, as we follow the latest on Iranian seizures of ships in the Strait of Hormuz, we'll get you live to Kuwait for a look at
how that nation and others here in the Gulf are navigating what is going on and planning their postwar futures.
Yes, there is a day-after conversation going on and we're going to have that as part of our discussion coming up.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Here are your headlines this hour.
Greece's foreign minister has confirmed to me that a Greek-owned ship was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz but it was unclear if it was seized by
Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said earlier it had seized two other vessels in the strait for violating regulations.
President Trump plans to give Iran a limited timeframe to come up with what he describes as a unified proposal to restart diplomatic negotiations.
That's according to sources who say the administration doesn't want to indefinitely extend the ceasefire or give Tehran time to drag talks out
further.
Well, the U.K. and France are convening a coalition of military planners from more than 30 nations in London today. That's to talk about reopening
the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively forced its closure for nearly two months.
[10:35:04]
The U.K.'s defense ministry says discussions over the next two days will include capabilities and how to deploy forces to the region. After a,
quote, "sustainable ceasefire deal."
ANDERSON: Well, the U.S. military has used a lot of its stockpile of key missiles during the war with Iran. In fact, the U.S. is at risk of running
out of missiles if another war were to break out.
This is reporting from CNN's Zachary Cohen and Natasha Bertrand. And the numbers they have sourced are pretty staggering.
There you see, the U.S. has gone through about half of its THAAD interceptors since this war with Iran broke out, along with nearly 50
percent of its half of its precision strike standard missiles are down by 20 percent. Well, CNN reached out to the Pentagon for this report and a
spokesman said the U.S. military has everything it needs.
Well, U.S. regional allies have also had to expend an enormous amount of military hardware in their own self-defense. I want to bring in Bader Al-
Saif. He's professor at Kuwait University, fellow at Chatham House, expert on the region and a good friend of this show.
You and I have spoken throughout this conflict and before about where the region stands. All of this underscores. Of course, crucial concern for the
Gulf, where we are about long term security from Iranian threats. The Gulf security needs have been largely absent from the diplomatic conversation so
far, Bader.
Why?
BADER AL-SAIF, FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE: Rightly so, Becky. And this is something that needs to be front and center, not only for the Gulf's
partners but also for the regional states, because security is indivisible and it needs to be targeted in a holistic manner if we want a good deal
forward.
And that's what we should focus on. Many have spun the current phase into a negotiation on the negotiation. And some have seen the extensions as a bad
omen. But let me tell you, having a good comprehensive, clear deal is better than having a half-job done.
And that's why we need to focus on this. We know that the two sides are talking about their different asks. But I encourage the Gulf states and the
partners in the Gulf to accommodate our needs in there.
And our needs, Becky, are not limited to the nuclear file. This is a neighbor that has been, for the past 47 years, meddling into our own
internal affairs. Those need to be unpacked. We've seen sleeper cells uncovered not only in the UAE but in Kuwait and Bahrain and in Qatar. And
these are the things that we need to think about.
And I don't know -- and I think, you know, I'm being pessimistic here when I see that the flow of discussions is not fully accommodating that threat.
The threat perceptions are not the same.
And it seems to me that, with the spinning of the conflict into one of maritime navigation and safety of corridors. has made us forget the actual
issue, which is about Iranian action and aggression in here.
ANDERSON: So the president of the Emirates Policy Center wrote on this point, quote, "Any understanding that does not sufficiently reflect Gulf
concerns or interests may result in a shift in which part of the burden of managing regional balances falls upon the Gulf itself."
It's an interesting point and I'm thinking back to, you know, the Biden administration; nay, Trump and Obama before him, talking about how the
region needs to deal with its own back yard, sort out the region, should, you know, do more to secure its own security effectively.
How does the Gulf, where each nation has its own interests, navigate this?
AL-SAIF: And that is also part of the challenge. Becky, as you rightly stated, each Gulf state, what we need is a unified response. We need some
collective action and we need clarity, clarity, which has been unfortunately missing from some quarters in the Gulf.
Now whether you like the position of the UAE or not, they've been clear and transparent on where they stand. And this is the clarity that we need to
see from the other Gulf states and then translate it into concrete policy actions.
We're not going to agree on everything in the Gulf and that's been a work in progress in the last few decades itself. So it's not going to resolve
itself in a day or two.
But I think if we are laser focused on a few files, center of which is defense and our defense needs. And we need to understand the topography
that we're in. We are quite anchored into an asymmetric warfare.
[10:40:00]
If and when the Iranian state decides to go back to that. And that's the kind of collective threat that we need to look into in the Gulf.
The U.S. has done its share here and it hasn't helped our lot by going into a war that didn't take into account its partners. And that could happen
again. That's why we need to have our own agency insulated from all the actions around us.
And we need to clarify where we stand and how we want to handle our neighbors, namely Iran and also Israel, by the way. It shouldn't be missing
from that conversation.
ANDERSON: So let's talk Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, these states quite boxed in, of course, by this strait with limited alternatives, UAE, Saudi Arabia
and Oman do have some natural bypasses. We've got the U.S. blockading the waters, Iran seizing ships.
How long can the Gulf region sustain this level of chokehold?
And what are you bracing for when you assess how much longer this might go on?
AL-SAIF: Two wrongs don't make a right. The blockade of the strait is illegal, wrong action by the Iranians and the blockade of the Iranian ports
as a response is only entrenching illegal activity.
And that's not going to last long, because either party will exhaust itself and move back into its own other priorities. And we'll be handling the
damage from our end in the Gulf. And that's why we need to have alternative plans.
Those are the same plans that we've been discussing during the Iran-Iraq War. You know, alternative pipelines, new corridors and those have been on
display in the past few years alone.
We need to speed up these plans and we need to think of alternative ways to safeguard our economies, to avoid this chokehold being used again. In that
sense, this is very crucial.
And more important, Becky, is thinking of ways of intertwining and integrating our interests with Iran. Iran, no matter how difficult of a
neighbor it is, we need to find a way of coexistence. And the current status is not in our favor nor in their favor. So we need to think
collectively about this.
ANDERSON: You and I have talked about this idea of navigating a new Middle East. We talked about it before this conflict. We will talk about it during
and after this conflict, as we begin to look at what a day after might look like. Perhaps that might feel very premature today.
But your, you know, your points about new corridors to navigate what this new region, what this region might look like going forward is a really
important one and one that we will continue to promote. It's good to have you, sir. Always a pleasure. Thank you.
Well, after the break, who's behind the Iranian LEGO-style videos that are going viral?
CNN finds out.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: LEGO bricks turn politics, thanks to a group of creators flooding the internet with Iranian LEGO-style videos like this one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey Orange Pig, America First. Oops. Oh, boy. That was the slogan you sold. But Bibi's pulling strings and your voters getting
cold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, a producer on my CNN Abu Dhabi team, Leila Gharagozlou, spoke with the team behind this seemingly new propaganda playbook. Have a
listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): If you're on the internet, you've likely seen these highly popular Iranian LEGO-style videos.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Run back to your crib. You ain't safe on these blocks. Get lost, Goldilocks.
GHARAGOZLOU (voice-over): Published almost daily, these detailed videos with American and Western cultural references have taken the world by
storm. The group that makes these publishes across social media platforms but recently had their YouTube account shut down for showing violent
content.
But who is behind these videos?
Is it Iranian government propaganda?
Are they in Iran or are they outside Iran?
I spoke to the creators behind the viral Iranian LEGO-style videos. I reached out to the team on X, introduced myself and requested an interview.
They promptly responded back and asked where I was from. As an Iranian journalist, I did expect this and from there the conversation switched to
Persian.
Before agreeing to interview with me, they asked if I was in support of the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. This was my response.
"As a professional and impartial journalist, my duty is to report events as objectively as possible without the interference of my personal opinions.
As an Iranian, I would never welcome the destruction of my country."
After another round of questions, these in English, we agreed to the group's first interview with an Iranian journalist and agreed to do the
interview in Persian.
Turns out Explosive Media is a small team of Gen Z creators, 18 to 25 years old. They say they all reside in Iran and most have never left the country.
Their spokesperson, who requested anonymity, said the initial goal of these videos was to show the outside world what Iranians are like -- educated,
culturally relevant and funny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We know that the West has a bad perception of us. They don't know us at all. We wanted to break down this
wall of censorship. We wanted to say that we're funny, funnier than you even.
We understand culture and the arts and we are incredibly educated. We know and understand your American culture well. You don't, unfortunately, know
as much about our culture. We hope that you learn more about ours.
GHARAGOZLOU: While the Explosive Media team is clear that they support the government, they told me that their videos reflect their own independent
political views.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are committed to the Islamic Republic. That's our belief, our point of view. No one has to tell us that.
Before the war, we made critical videos of the government, just like other media companies that criticize our governments. But once there is a war,
internal fights no longer matter.
GHARAGOZLOU: There has been some question as to whether they work for the Iranian government or have them as a client.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We did not say we work with the IRGC. We're like any other media company in the world. When they create
something, the rights for distribution can be bought. The rights for distribution of some of our videos in Iran have sometimes been bought by
state media.
GHARAGOZLOU: Since the very first LEGO-style videos came out, there's been a lot of discussion as to whether these videos constitute as disinformation
or propaganda. Marc Owen Jones, an expert in social media and disinformation, says the answer is a bit more complicated.
MARC OWEN JONES, SOCIAL MEDIA AND DISINFORMATION EXPERT: If I was to simplify it, I would see this as political satire, creative political
satire and a form of creative resistance against U.S. imperialism.
The fact that it's leveraged by the Iranian regime, of course, that's just what they're going to do if it's effective and successful. And I think to
try and frame it as either pro- or anti-government or government propaganda is a bit complicated.
GHARAGOZLOU: Whether satire or propaganda, these videos speak to a moment in social media and geopolitics, one that the Iranian government has
adapted to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I think the regime have become very savvy about the importance of social media, certainly domestically, I think,
internationally, they've been savvy about that.
GHARAGOZLOU: And it's not just social media trends that have led pro- government Iranians to making these videos. The 2.5-year Gaza war has fundamentally changed the landscape in media and people's perceptions of
the U.S. and Israel.
JONES: But I really do think that the Gaza war has unleashed or has created a level of criticism of Israel in U.S. politics and European
politics that we have not seen before.
[10:50:07]
And I think the creators of these videos and the Iranian regime in general know that. And they are using that to kind of emphasize that this war is
not in the interest of Americans but the interest in Israel. I think these are themes that resonate very profoundly amongst not just the Left but also
the Right or certain aspects of the Right.
GHARAGOZLOU: The rise of Explosive Media and Iran's new social media strategy has coincided with an internet and communications blackout in
Iran, a blackout that has left millions of Iranians cut off from the rest of the world.
So how do these videos manage to make it out?
Iran has set up an internal intranet system for local companies and banks and for people who can afford it. They buy VPNs and even Starlink. But
Explosive Media doesn't use any of those.
The group applied for an internet license as a news media company. The license allows news outlets to connect to the global internet. The process
is long and the criteria unclear. As we wait for a possible deal to end this war, Explosive Media says they, too, hope for peace. And in the
meantime, they say, they'll keep making these videos.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, there's just five weeks until the men's FIFA World Cup. One of the host nations is on edge right now over security concerns. We'll
get you a live report on that after this.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Well, a shooting in Mexico's historic Pyramid of the Moon, which killed one Canadian tourist and injured at least seven others, has renewed
security concerns just weeks ahead of what is the FIFA World Cup, of course.
Authorities have said the attack was premeditated and that the 27-year-old shooter acted alone.
Well. Mexico is expected to host millions of football fans for the men's flagship tournament this summer. President Claudia Sheinbaum has insisted
her country is safe for tourists and says authorities will reinforce security. CNN's Valeria Leon has been following this story from Mexico City
and she joins us now.
This attack at Teotihuacan comes just months after the capture, for example, of El Mencho, another security incident that has, quite frankly,
put into question how prepared Mexico is for this World Cup. They are, of course, co-hosting it.
What security measures is the country taking to keep tourists safe at this point?
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Becky, well, I think first we have to understand just how significant this site is, because Teotihuacan is one of
the most iconic archeological sites in the country, a must-visit for almost anyone traveling to Mexico.
I was there yesterday, speaking with local residents and many told me security checks are practically nonexistent there, something authorities
have now confirmed. Even president Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged there had never been a need to secure this kind of tourist sites until now.
And this is an unprecedented attack and one that's sending shock waves, especially with just about 50 days to go before the World Cup kicks off
here in Mexico with the opening match on June 11th. And the government insists the country is a safe place for tourists.
[10:55:00]
But for visitors who were at Teotihuacan on Monday, that sense of security collapsed within seconds. Visitors came here expecting history. Instead,
many ran for their lives. And let's take a listen to this witness that was there when the shooting started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG MAGADINI, EYEWITNESS: At that point, when I kind of looked around, there was all this commotion. People were screaming, people were ducking,
people were running for the big staircase to try to get off the platform.
And then in that moment, it clicked in my mind that we were in a situation with an active shooter. And my first instinct was to jump off the side of
the pyramid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEON: Now Mexican authorities are describing this shooting as a rare event. And in many ways it is. Authorities say the attacker had no ties to
criminal groups or drug cartels, which are typically behind the most violent incidents in Mexico.
Instead, investigators say he acted alone. And what may explain his motive or at least offer a clue is what they found inside his backpack, images and
notes linked to the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.
The attack here happened on the 27th anniversary of that massacre. And President Sheinbaum also confirmed the attacker was able to enter with a
firearm because archeological sites like this do not have security checkpoints.
Now that that is expected to change. Authorities say security will be reinforced not just here but across archeological zones, especially as the
country prepares for the World Cup -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.
And that is it for this show, CONNECT THE WORLD. You've been with us for two hours. Stay with CNN, "ONE WORLD" is up next.
END
