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Iran War And Hormuz Shutdown Leave Sailors Immobilized; Hezbollah Says It Targeted Israeli Troops In Drone Strikes; Iran Sends Latest Proposal To U.S. Via Pakistani Mediators; Shipping Bottleneck Keeps Global Markets Under Pressure; Formula 1 Returns With Miami Grand Prix This Weekend. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired May 01, 2026 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: A milestone in the war with Iran. Today marks 60 days since the conflict began, and there is still no
sign of a deal. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It's 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".
Let's check in on how the stock markets are doing. We -- 30 minutes away. These are the futures right now. It's a pretty much mixed bag as it stands.
We've got the S&P as well as the DOW sitting in positive territory, but only just and the NASDAQ down slightly. We've got a lot of corporate
earnings to digest.
But all eyes are, of course, on what's happening in oil markets, and that's been the biggest issue facing everyone right now, as we continue to see the
closure of the Strait of Hormuz impacting oil supply scenarios. We'll check in on those. OK, so we just have this in now, this coming into CNN.
And we start with the U.S.-Iran ceasefire hanging in balance. I -- OK, I've just heard that Iran has just sent a new proposal to Pakistani mediators,
and we're waiting for more news on that, that's coming from Iranian state media. So, we're hearing that Iran has now sent a revised proposal to
Pakistani mediators.
I want to go straight to Nic Robertson, who's live for us in Islamabad. Nic, really good to see you. Give me a sense of what this proposal entails,
how different it is. What do you know right now?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, this has quite literally just developed inside the last hour. And I think, of course, it
comes almost without saying, but it comes to some relief for the mediators here in Pakistan, who had been expecting Iran to come up with a reply
either Wednesday, either Thursday.
And that sort of sense that really Friday was the day that they really had to do it or potentially things could slip through everyone's fingers. It's
not quite clear what is included in that reply proposal, but it does seem to now give the space again, for a potential for some more talks, or is
this a complete understanding?
I mean, what I understand here from Iranians, Iranian officials, is that there is a complete breakdown of trust with President Trump. And a sense
that you know, if they get into a deal, who's going to guarantee it for them. Their view is that if they could get a simultaneous agreement and
implementation of both sides to lift their blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, then that would be a way forward to sort of continue conversations.
But, but of course, for President Trump, it's been very crucial that the issue of Iran's uranium enrichment, the issue of Iran's commitment not to
have a nuclear weapon, is key here. And for Iran, it is key that they have the right to have enrichment of some kind.
They would say, look at the countries in the region who have or will have the opportunities to have civilian nuclear facilities, and they believe
that they should have a similar right for that. Iran has made very clear in its position that if war was visited upon them, then they would respond
that essentially, if the United States ended the ceasefire, started bombing along with Israel, then Iran would respond.
But this does seem to be the moment mediators were really hoping for, that Iran would come forward with a proposal. There's an expectation that sides
were close, and that if Iran has come back with something here, that is workable, then we could be looking at a relatively short time frame to say
there's something here that can be sort of locked in place.
It is a little early to have that conversation, but that's definitely the aspiration from the mediator's perspective, that if you've got this
movement from Iran and it goes far enough, and they're not playing for time, then we could see serious momentum towards getting this locked in
place.
[09:05:00]
GIOKOS: Yeah, so Nic, I mean, you know, last weekend, we actually saw Abbas Araghchi, the Foreign Minister, embark on what you know, many are calling
sort of a diplomatic roadshow, going to Islamabad, visiting Oman, as well as going to Russia. And importantly, the messaging was there that the
Iranians wanted to talk about the Strait of Hormuz and then keep the nuclear issue for a later stage.
To what extent we believe that this new peace proposal deviates from the initial reporting around that sort of initial plan?
ROBERTSON: I think, in as much as if Iran has come back and responded to what the United States has said, then it's going to have to address that
issue of not parking the nuclear issue separately. And it's very interesting that President Trump said that is in his conversation with
President Vladimir Putin, whom the Iranian Foreign Minister had visited on Monday in St. Petersburg, that Putin had offered to help the U.S. on the
highly enriched uranium issue, on the nuclear issue.
And President Trump has said, no thanks, focus on Ukraine. So, it seems very much that this is a ball that the United States wants to keep control
of, an issue they want to keep control of. But how it does seem, from a U.S. perspective. It's going to need to be sequenced in, to these
conversations that may be about to begin again.
And it may not need require bringing the Iranians and the U.S. to the table here again. President Trump was pretty clear about this yesterday. It's not
having people travel 18 hours just to come and not get something or come to receive something that they know is not going to work.
Has spoken about being able to do a lot of it on the phone. But if we start to get indications that a U.S. delegation is going to come, and we don't
have that yet, but if we do get that, the implication from what President Trump has said, is that this is something on the table that he could work
with.
And I think the understanding here, at least, has been, if Iran doesn't put something on the table, that is palatable to the United States, you know,
the hopes of keeping a ceasefire in place really start to diminish.
GIOKOS: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much for staying on top of that for us. Nic Robertson, in Islamabad. And importantly, Iranian state
media saying that they've sent a new peace proposal to Pakistani mediators. Will be tracking that story as it develops right now.
OK, so for nearly two months, about 20,000 sailors have been stuck around the Strait of Hormuz, all due to a war which they've played no role. CNN's
Isobel Yeung spoke with a captain of a stranded ship near Hormuz, who shared the fears his crew is facing. She also spoke to a family of an
Indian sailor who was killed on an oil tanker last month, here's a report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISTIQUE ALAM, CAPTAIN, EMIRATI OIL TANKER: Ma'am, nobody is caring about seafarers. Ceasefire for not for seafarers, ceasefire for normal people.
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Strait of Hormuz has been pretty much shut down since the start of the Iran war, which means that about 20,000
seafarers are currently stranded. We're about to call one captain who's stuck on one of these cargo ships.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you, too, ma'am.
YEUNG (voice-over): Captain Istique Alam is on an Emirati oil tanker just off the Coast of Oman. He and his crew have been stuck there for over two
months, along with dozens of other ships.
ALAM: Everybody wants to go home, you know. At night time I shut my whole vessel light, because we don't know what happens.
YEUNG: It must be difficult to sleep.
ALAM: Yeah, of course, of course. You know I am master, so I don't want to show I'm scared.
YEUNG: But you are scared?
ALAM: I'm a human being ma'am, you know, what I'm saying? I'm not a warrior. I'm a seafarer.
YEUNG: How close to the war have you been?
ALAM: I saw one of your fighter jets attack one drone.
YEUNG: It must be scary.
ALAM: Yes, a lot of people are scared, ma'am. Every day, every day they are scared, because we don't trust these stupid leaders.
YEUNG (voice-over): They have good reason to be scared. At least 10 sailors have been killed since the outbreak of war, according to the United
Nations. 24-year-old Dalip Singh was on board an oil tanker when a missile hit the ship. A fellow sailor who managed to escape contacted Dalip's
family to let them know he hadn't survived. We spoke with Dalip's cousin, Devendra.
YEUNG: There have been these very dramatic videos of the ship that your cousin was on going up in flames after it was hit. That must have been
horrifying for you to see.
DAVENDRA, COUSIN OF SEAFARER WHO WAS KILLED: This was the first time I had ever seen such a tragedy. I had never seen something like this before
because of that I felt a lot of sadness and there was hopelessness in my heart. Why did something like this happen to my brother?
[09:10:00]
YEUNG (voice-over): With the U.S. and Iran at a gridlock and no sign of the strait reopening, sailors are often forgotten in a geopolitical crisis that
they never saw coming.
YEUNG: I mean, obviously, you know, there's a ceasefire at the moment, we don't know whether the fighting will break out again or what will happen
with this war. Do you have a message for the world powers who are leading this war?
These two countries are at war. But innocent civilians and people are becoming the target. It's not their fault.
YEUNG (voice-over): Isobel Yeung, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: All right, violence is again testing the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon. Lebanon's Health Ministry says Israel launched attacks in several
towns in Southern Lebanon, killing at least 16 people over the last few days, while Israel says one soldier was killed and several others were
injured in Hezbollah attacks on Thursday.
The IDF is continuing to target the group, saying it struck tunnels in Southern Lebanon, as violence escalates, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut is
urging direct talks between Lebanon and Israel. Oren Liebermann is following developments from Jerusalem for us. Oren, good to see you.
So, this ceasefire is consistently being tested. What is the latest we know about the attacks being reported by each side?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Eleni, at this point, I think it's hard to call it a ceasefire, given what we're seeing. Sure, there
might be no fighting between Israel and the Lebanese government, but the war between Israel and Iran, Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon is
very much continuing, and from what we're seeing intensifying.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Israeli strikes on Friday killed at least two people in the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, and it
is in the Nabatieh district in Southern Lebanon that an additional 14 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Thursday.
So, you see the effect Israeli strikes are having as the death toll in Southern Lebanon nears 2600 people over the course of the last two months,
according to the Ministry of Public Health there. Israel has continued to go after what it says are Hezbollah targets and militants who are about to
carry out strikes, and it will continue to do so.
It says, under the terms of the agreed upon ceasefire. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has continued to carry out drone attacks at least five today, according to
their statements that they've released in a number of interceptions of both drones and I believe, rockets throughout the course of the day, as the
fighting continues there.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut is urging a diplomatic path forward, though it is incredibly difficult to see a viable path here. This after
President Donald Trump said he wanted to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joseph Aoun in the White House for what would be a
landmark meeting.
The benefits of that meeting, according to the Embassy in Beirut, are as follows, a direct meeting between President Aoun and Prime Minister
Netanyahu, facilitated by President Trump, would give Lebanon the chance to secure concrete guarantees on full sovereignty, territorial integrity,
secure borders, humanitarian and reconstruction support and the complete restoration of Lebanese state authority over Every inch of its territory
guaranteed by the United States.
That is an incredible promise coming from the Embassy in Beirut, especially since it's not clear that Israel would agree to fully withdraw its forces
from Southern Lebanon. Still, the U.S. is trying to push a diplomatic track to build on the ceasefire, even as we see that ceasefire falling apart by
the day, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Oren Liebermann, appreciate that. Thank you. Well, prosecutors have released new video showing the frantic moments before last
weekend's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Before we get to that footage, just want to remind you that the suspect, 31-year-old Cole
Thomas Allen, was arrested before he made it to the press dinner attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Allen will remain in jail as he awaits trial. We have CNN's Katelyn Polantz who's been looking at the newly released footage and here to take us
through it. Katelyn, good to have you on. What do we see in this new footage? And give me a sense of the timing of the release.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Eleni, this comes as the Justice Department was ready to argue to keep Cole Allen behind bars
as he awaits trial. They didn't actually have to do that in court, because he said that he agreed to remain detained at this time, but they still
wanted to put this evidence out that they say that they have collected from security footage at the hotel the Capitol Hill in Washington Saturday and
in the days before, when Cole Allen was a guest there.
This new footage. It's filling in some of the detail of what happened in those moments. At the beginning of this footage, he's coming out of a
closet that he had just stepped into, followed by a dog, and then he comes out, runs through the magnetometers, and then that white circle indicates a
shot fired that the Justice Department says came from his shotgun.
The officer in the bottom left corner was ultimately hit with in his ballistic vest and fired five shots toward Cole Allen before Allen fell to
the floor.
[09:15:00]
We had not seen a clear video like this, or a slow down version of a video like this from the Justice Department, but the U.S. Attorney, Jeanine
Pirro, who is overseeing this case, and was also, I should note, an attendee of the dinner. She says that this shows Cole Allen was intending
to fire his rifle or his shotgun at that U.S. Secret Service Officer.
Now that gets us a little bit further than what the Justice Department had said in court previously, where they said that he was firing in the
direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom. Eleni, as this comes together, there is a long road ahead. A grand jury will need to see footage
like this and other evidence before we get an indictment, a formal indictment, those charges of Cole Allen.
Though he is already charged with discharging his weapon at a federal officer as well as attempting to assassinate the president. There are also
many hearings to come in this case, and a lot of questions still, is that video actually depicting him shooting at the very time that the Justice
Department says with those white circles, he did shoot.
There was also some other video that the Justice Department has released in this newest set of videos that they've obtained from the Capitol Hill and
showing him, casing is the word that the U.S. Attorney uses casing the hotel gym in the days before, and also walking down a hallway in a hotel.
He stayed there for a couple of days after taking the train from California with all of those guns and ammo and knives and daggers to come to the
Correspondents' Dinner and to try to allegedly assassinate the president, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. Well, Katelyn Polantz, good to see you. Thank you so much for that analysis. Right, oil and gas prices are rising further,
following a four year high on Brent crude. The latest on where it's all going right after this. Stick with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: -- Welcome back. Oil prices are higher again this Friday, a day after Brent crude surge to its highest level in four years. Brent crude,
that's the international benchmark for oil, hit $126 a barrel in intraday trading yesterday, before easing off. Let's check in on today's prices.
And keeping in mind, we're currently focusing on the July futures, which means that's Brent crude that's out for delivery in July. Let's check in on
those numbers right now. It's just at around $110 a barrel. WTI sitting at $103 a barrel. Now gasoline prices, on the back of all of this has been
climbing very fast across the United States.
I want to give you an understanding of just sort of what's happening on the average price front. A gallon of gas is up 47 percent since the start of
the war.
[09:20:00]
Gloria Pazmino joins us now from New York, to give us a sense of how this is affecting consumers, Pazmino, Gloria, pardon me, give me an
understanding. What are people telling you right now?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, 47 percent is just a such a significant increase over such a short period of time, and that's what
drivers here are very much feeling. I spoke to a man earlier this morning, who told me it's costing him $180 to fill up his tank, and sometimes he has
to do that more than twice a week because he relies on his car to get to work, to get around.
Many of the drivers who we spoke to told me they simply don't feel like they have a choice. I spoke to a woman who was going home this morning
after working her night shift as a nurse's assistant, and she told me she was going to fill up here, but just a little bit she wants to get over the
border to New Jersey, where gas prices are just a little bit cheaper, and it's going to make a difference for her.
So, drivers frustrated, but feeling like they don't have a choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know it's hard to run the country, but I was just and I pray. I just pray that things get better for us, for the American people.
PAZMINO: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull it up when it's a happy time.
PAZMINO: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I was paying like 25 now it goes up close to like 30, $35.
PAZMINO: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 5 to $10 more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally it costs about $65, this gas station apparently doesn't have super related but no doubt it'll be up over $100 if I were to
gas up today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God, 469, I mean, I know when I go home. I cried when I saw 422 last night, but I passed it straight. Now I'm going to
pay 469.
PAZMINO: So, you saw it at 422 last night
-- house. And I just, I was like, that's a lot.
PAZMINO: And now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 469, I'm literally going to put $10 until I get home.
PAZMINO: Just to make it home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, this is a lot. It's a lot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAZMINO: So that significant jump that we are seeing even just from yesterday, let's talk about where the numbers are at right now. We're
seeing the current average for U.S. gas prices is at $4.39 that means we're seeing an increase of 39 cents in just the last nine days, and a 47 percent
increase since the Middle East conflict started back at the end of February.
Let me show you the numbers right here in New York, which is one of the most expensive states across the United States, $4.69 for the regular tank.
And if you upgrade to that premium gas, it's $6.30 some of the highest prices that we are seeing across the nation.
California, across the coast, seeing much higher prices there as well. And so far, no sign that prices are going to start coming down anytime soon,
certainly as there appears to be no end in sight to the conflict in the Middle East. And experts warn that even if the conflict ends anytime soon,
it's going to take a while, likely months, for gas prices to come down and stabilize again.
GIOKOS: Yeah, exactly. Gloria, and in fact, I mean, we just don't know how long this is going to take. You know, it's sort of up in the air right now
in terms of the timetable. So, thank you so much for bringing us that report. Right, for the first time in nearly seven years, commercial flights
from the United States to Venezuela resumed on Thursday.
It is a significant step as the country begins restoring economic relations with the United States after the removal of its Former President Nicolas
Maduro. CNN's David Culver has more from Caracas after traveling abroad and a board rather that first flight from Miami.
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Our travel is getting here to Caracas in of themselves, historic that, according to the officials
U.S. and Venezuelan as well as representatives from American Airlines, who decided to resume after a nearly seven-year pause, a direct flight between
the U.S. and Venezuela leaving out of Miami.
Not surprising, given the vast majority of Venezuelans who live in the U.S. live in Miami-Dade County. And so, the idea is, in the days, months, years
to come, the demand for those folks who are in the U.S. to travel here to Venezuela and vice versa is going to increase.
That's the belief. As the dynamic between these two countries has changed drastically since the January 3rd capture of Nicolas Maduro. And so too has
the sentiment. I mean, candidly, you seem to find folks who are a bit more at ease in the sense of hoping that there is progress being made.
But the reality is, when you look at who's still leading this country, and it's Delcy Rodriguez, the Former Vice President of Maduro and a lot of the
ministers have remained the same. Leadership hasn't really changed all that much.
[09:25:00]
The system, in of itself, is still in place. And so, it puts things in the question of, well, then what needs to change first? And I think a lot of
folks will obviously want to see free and fair elections. That's certainly something that's come out of the U.S. as one of the demands that they want
to see eventually.
But there's not been a timeline necessarily put on that. Why? Well, most want to see the economic changes. The economy is dire. Basic needs are
increasingly hard to get. And so, they want that stabilized first before they feel like they can move forward as a country.
Being on that flight, though, you did get a sense of just how historic it was, and even before you board it, we entered Miami International Airport,
and they had a dedicated check in line for this resumption of direct service, and it had yellow, blue, red, the colors of Venezuela's flag.
You saw that everywhere. Even as I walked up to the TSA agent, they had to do a double take, and she said, Caracas realizing, oh, we're resuming
flights once again, boarding the plane. You had really a rollout of joy and music, food, coffee. They wanted people to feel the excitement that
certainly the administration in the U.S., the Trump Administration, particular, believes is in place.
They say now Venezuela is open for business. And if that is the case, and they're able to continue to flow forward with business reopening,
businesses, of course, have to feel confident that as they invest here, that stability will sustain, then they believe that will trickle down to
enhancing the economy here.
Thereby stabilizing some of the larger concerns when it comes to affording things, and then eventually leading into those elections. David Culver,
CNN, Caracas.
GIOKOS: Right. U.S. stocks are getting ready to open for the trading day. We're just a few minutes away. We'll see how early trading is going. Also -
- to talk about the current state of the oil market, with the UAE freed from OPEC constraints. Will that help? Will anything help? We'll dig into
that for answers, just after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos, live for you in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. Iran has
sent its latest peace proposal to the United States via Pakistani mediators, and that's according to sources familiar with the negotiation
process.
It comes as the U.S. and Iranian leaders have been publicly taunting each other's countries. Israel and Hezbollah are exchanging new strikes despite
an extension of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
[09:30:00]
The country's health ministry says Israeli attacks have killed at least 16 people over the past few days. Hezbollah says it carried out drone strikes
on Israeli soldiers. Right, we're a few seconds away from the start of trade in New York. And that's the sound of opening trade on the New York
strange floor.
All right, let's check in to see those opening numbers. And of course, we had consequential news, I guess, before, just a few minutes before the
opening of trade, and that there's a new peace proposal, the U.S. would need to review, as you can see, DOW JONES finding its footing in the first
second of trade.
And as you can see, up around four tenths of 8 percent, it looks like we're seeing green across the board as we head into the last trading day of the
week. And of course, it is the first trading day of the month of May. In the meantime, let's check in on oil prices. That has been, of course, one
of the biggest issues, a dragging sentiment lower across the board.
What will happen with the Strait of Hormuz? Are we going to see any resumption in traffic as we see a double blockade? Their Brent crude price
is sitting at $110 a barrel. It was down a lot further a few minutes ago. And it's moving based on some of the news that we're hearing out of the
region.
Right, so global crude prices have been rising as a whole since the start of the war, and of course, big question around negotiations, because they
have been stalled. The U.S. President has hinted that talks are moving ahead behind the scenes. And we are now hearing there's a new Iranian
proposal on the table, but there is no clear sign at the moment that a deal to end the war is imminent.
Meanwhile, the crucial Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut, severely restricting the world's oil supplies. My next guest has extensive knowledge
of the industry in this research, region rather. Iman Nasseri is the Managing Director of Middle East Research for the oil consultancy, FGE-
Nexant group.
He joins us now from Dubai. Really good to see you, Ian. I want you to give me sort of an overview of the possible scenarios that you're looking at
right now in terms of what happens next with the Strait of Hormuz, as we, you know, are basically in a deadlock scenario where the U.S. is blocking
through the naval blockade.
Iran has control over the straits, not allowing vessels to go through that don't negotiate directly with Iran. What are you pricing in right now?
IMAN NASSERI, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE EAST RESEARCH AT FGE-NEXANT: Yes, there are, in easy, simple words, there are basically two binary scenarios
in front of us, the Strait of Hormuz open immediately, within days or weeks, let's say, by the end of May.
And that brings the entire block, or closure of Strait of Hormuz to 12 weeks, which is one scenario that we have in front of us, and the other one
is a prolonged closure of Strait of Hormuz flows and a severe disruption, which is well into 2027 and by the end of this year.
These two scenarios are both rather extreme, and what we have built into our fundamental analysis and forward looking balances and price forecasting
is the risk view of the first as the base case, but risk downside for to incorporate, basically the possibilities of a prolonged conflict between
Iran and the U.S., and a prolonged blockade of the U.S. and closure of strait by Iranian and hence a severe disruption in flows in the next
several months.
And that is base case, which doesn't necessarily look good in terms of market tightness, and hence has concluded in a price elevation, as we saw,
basically with optimism about the talks in Islamabad, prices dropped below $100 and now for the past few days, above 100 and $110.
Our forecast remains elevated price of 120 to $150 for the next few months before it starts to drop towards back to 100, $120 that is, again, a
weighted average of those two scenarios both considered in our base case.
GIOKOS: So, 120 to $150 a barrel is, what you're pricing in right now, just to confirm those two numbers -- the next few months.
NASSERI: -- next few months of summer in front of us, yes.
GIOKOS: OK. All right, let me ask you this.
[09:35:00]
We also heard news that Iran has sent a revised peace proposal to Pakistani mediators. And importantly, we've actually seen a movement in oil price. I
always find it quite interesting. On a Friday, there's some kind of announcement that moves markets quite significantly.
How seriously are you taking this, given that we've seen, you know, both sides stalling in terms of seeing eye to eye in terms of what will get them
to the negotiating table.
NASSERI: With severe optimism from the American side in the first -- before their first trip to Islamabad, and perhaps days after, and with Iranian
delegation happily working in Islamabad, and a bigger delegation, after which we saw Mr. Ghalibaf, the Head of Parliament, being basically resign,
forced to resign from that.
Those did not go anywhere. This remote exchange of words, I do believe that has even less efficacy in terms of bringing them close and close. The huge
gap, in my opinion, between both parties' requests. I had a lot more faith and put a lot more possibility in getting a deal before the war in, let's
say, January discussion negotiations, or last year before the war broke.
This time, I see a much bigger gap. And I do not see anyone to really do a significant, meaningful compromising their asking to bring them into a
peace deal hence, I do not know, I do not see this as any serious attraction.
GIOKOS: Yeah. Iman, I want to talk about this operation economic fury, which is set to squeeze out Iran through economic pressure. What is your
understanding of whether it's going to be effective? And what the aim is, is that the -- is the aim to open up the Strait of Hormuz, is the aim a lot
wider than that?
NASSERI: I think, basically before anything, and primarily the first objective and aim for the U.S. is to open block -- the open Strait of
Hormuz. However, they have put their block it on top of this, and they have mentioned the Trump Administration a few times that Strait of Hormuz is not
necessarily our problem or priority.
It's more of a problem for Europe and Asia. Hence, they have to try to open it. And what I see now as the economic pressure coming back. Economic
theory is back into basically bringing either the regime down and regime change or implied regime change that bring them into table to accept the
terms that current regime has not been able to accept.
And hence looks like they are back into maximum economic pressure. And my opinion on that is that it is a tough mission, because the last eight years
have proven little chance of economic pressure to work in that direction. And right now, the blockade and closure of the Strait of Hormuz is not only
putting extra pressure on a fragile and half bankrupt economy in Iran.
GIOKOS: Yeah.
NASSERI: But it puts a lot of pressure on other economies within the Strait of -- within the Gulf, Persian Gulf, as well as perhaps economies in Asia
and lesser extent, Europe, who are dependent on flows of energy and non- energy commodities such as fertilizers to their economies.
GIOKOS: All right, Iman, really good to have you on. Thank you so much for those insights. Iman Nasseri at FGE-Nexant, thank you. All right, after
long break, racing is back as Formula 1 is in the United States for the Miami Grand Prix this weekend. I'll bring an update on that right after
this.
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[09:40:00]
GIOKOS: Now the stars are back out and the sun is shining for now in Miami, as Formula 1 returns from a five-week break for the Miami Grand Prix in the
sunshine state that's happening this weekend. We've got Amanda Davies joining us now. Good to see you. I mean, very good news.
Five weeks is long time to keep things on hold. What are we expecting?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, of course, that enforced break because of the cancelation the suspension of the races in the Middle East,
given the political conflict going on. It's been fascinating, catching up with the drivers via social media. Some have been on holiday, some putting
in the hours in the gym, but all desperate to get back on track this weekend.
There have been a few tweaks and changes to those new rules and regulations in a help, an attempt to try and help the racing, the pure driving that the
drivers want. So be really interesting to see what impact that has on the fact that it is the Mercedes pair of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli
leading the way after the first few races.
Kimi Antonelli the youngest F1 championship leader in history, at just 19 years of age, only his second season on the grid. And we've got an
interview coming up with him in just a couple of minutes in "World Sports" about going from being the hunter to the hunted, and he's very much hoping
that he can keep the rest at bay, but it'll be fantastic to see, Eleni.
GIOKOS: All right. I look forward to that update after the break. Amanda, and I'll be back at the top of the hour with more news. Stick with CNN.
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