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Connect the World

Iran War Threatens to Overshadow Big Washington Events; Trump's Second Term Faces Mounting Political Headwinds; Iranian TV Shows Missile Launches After U.S., Iran Trade Fire; U.S., Iran Trade Renewed Fire as Trump Amends Proposed Deal; Rescuers Discover Vertical Shaft in Search for Missing Men; Koreans Head to the Clinic for Salmon Sperm Injections. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired June 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)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well live look at the skyline of Beirut today after the Israeli Prime Minister ordered the IDF to strike

the city's southern suburbs despite an ongoing ceasefire. It is 04:00 p.m. in Lebanon's capital. It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi.

From our Middle East programming headquarters, I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World". Also coming up, President Trump's busy

schedule in focus as his birthday, Flag Day, the White House, UFC fight and eventually Independence Day draw near.

Will the Iran conflict overshadow them all? Plus 10 days to the World Cup. As anticipation grows, we look at the buildup and some of the more far-

fetched predictions. Well talking predictions, the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. And futures suggesting a relatively

positive start to the trading day back in New York at 09:30 local time.

We are seeing new footage of missile launches broadcast from Iran today. CNN cannot confirm where or when this video was shot, but it was shown on

Iranian state media as both the U.S. and Iran reported new exchanges of fire over the weekend. And as U.S. President Donald Trump requests changes

to the proposed memorandum of understanding with Tehran, which is meant to build on the existing somewhat shaky ceasefire.

Let's get a read on where things stand this hour. Our International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson is with us for that. Nic, a very basic

question at this point. How long can this go on for?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, it's hard to know, because it did seem, and everyone knows this, that last weekend it

seemed to be close that the Pakistani mediators have spent days in Tehran. They've got everyone to a position of sort of a memorandum of

understanding, where the language was more or less locked in, and it was thought to be hours, maybe a couple of days away.

But now we do seem to be in this protracted situation where the president foreshadows a key meeting, and then what comes out of it are more word and

language changes, it appears, for the Iranians. The Iranians maintain their position of a complete lack of trust in the U.S. negotiations.

And both sides are on a hair trigger, it seems, for a possible escalation of military attacks. Those ballistic missiles that were fired at Kuwait,

that CENTCOM said they successfully intercepted a couple of ballistic missiles in the early part of the morning, a really, you know, I think a

slightly increased uptick over what we saw Iran's response when the U.S. had defensive measures against some of its military installations in the

Strait of Hormuz, close to Strait of Hormuz last week.

So, there's this sort of incrementalism, and there is a possibility here, so to answer, how long can he keep going? The sources I'm talking to at the

moment, when I suggest, is it a week, is it more than a week, seem to be suggesting that it would be less than a week, but I think to try to hold on

to specific words when this backwards and forwards, ping pong, as one source has described it to me, between the U.S. and Iran over the talks.

But it's that lack of trust, and I think we sort of got a sense of that from the main negotiator in Iran, Mohammed Ghalibaf, the Speaker of

Parliament. And also note how he is dressed, a politician here with an IRGC background, but dressed here in military fatigues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMAD BAGHER GHALIBAF, IRANIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER: The soldiers on the diplomatic front have absolutely no trust in the enemy's words and

promises. Our only criteria are to achieve tangible results before we fulfill our commitments in return until we are certain that the rights of

the Iranian people have been secured, we will not approve any agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: So, when you have a politician like that dressed in military fatigues, it's all part of the symbolic and positional messaging that's

going on here. And Iran's key lack of trust and faith in the United States is, will it follow through, and it wants these commitments to be stood up

more boldly, if you will.

It appears on war reparations, money for war damage, frozen funds to be released.

[09:05:00]

And they don't want to get dragged into public debate and put out publicly what's being said or not behind closed doors about Iran's position on its

highly enriched uranium and its position on enriching uranium going forward, and that's why I think there's so much secrecy around what's going

on.

The President Trump doesn't want these details out there, because he doesn't want to be seen to be giving Iran an easy time or a lot of money

associated with whatever deal comes through, and we're stuck in that, but so best estimate to your answer, I go back to what the source said a little

while ago, you know, maybe we're looking at a week or so.

ANDERSON: Nic, it's good to have you. Thank you. Well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has ordered Israel's military to carry out

strikes on Beirut's Southern Dahieh district, known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Now, in a joint statement with the Defense Minister, Israel

Katz, Mr. Netanyahu said the operation is in response to the repeated Iran- backed Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon, as well as attacks targeting Israeli cities and civilians.

CNN's Oren Liebermann, following this part of the story for us. And I guess it's important for us to explain what we understand about Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's order, at this point.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: So far from what we have seen, it is an order and a plan. We have not yet, at least as of the last few

minutes, seen Israeli Strikes on the Lebanese capital of Beirut, on the Dahieh suburb there, but we fully expect that will happen soon.

An Israeli source tells CNN this is in coordination with the United States. And that's important because it had been the United States, and

specifically the Trump Administration, that had prevented Israel from attacking Beirut largely ever since the ceasefire went into effect.

In fact, there have only been two Israeli attacks on Beirut, on March 6th and March 28th as Israel targeted senior Hezbollah commanders. Now, at

least from what the prime minister and the defense minister are signaling, this will be a much broader wave of strikes on Beirut, as Israel has seen

more Hezbollah attacks, an increase in rocket and drone fire.

And some Hezbollah rockets going deeper into Israel, reaching farther back from the Israel-Lebanon border. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been

under public pressure to take an act like this, and now it seems with U.S. coordination that's what we fully expect. Here's what Netanyahu had to say

earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Together with the minister of defense, I have instructed the IDF to strike terrorist targets in Beirut.

There will not be a situation in which Hezbollah attacks our cities and our citizens, and its terrorist headquarters in Beirut, in Dahieh, remains out

of bounds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: And this is all happening as Israel has pushed deeper into Lebanon. Despite this, there is supposed to be a U.S.-brokered ceasefire

that's in place, although with the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, that ceasefire becomes harder and harder to see.

Still, the U.S. is planning to host what would be a fourth round of talks between Israeli and Lebanese Ambassadors in D.C. in the coming days here.

And Lebanon's president said on social media that he is committed to negotiations he said, and this sounds like a rebuke of Hezbollah.

He said, negotiations are not surrender, it's the only way to achieve an end to the war. He condemned the rocket fire without naming Hezbollah, but

he condemned the rocket fire into Israel, and he also said Israel needs to uphold its own end of the ceasefire agreement, which calls for a withdrawal

of Israeli forces, not Israel seizing more and more land in Southern Lebanon, as we see a widening of the strikes the Israeli military is

carrying out, Becky.

ANDERSON: Oren, just to be clear, here the U.S. describes as a sort of twin track the U.S.-Iran talks and the Israel-Lebanon talks. Iran sees what is

going on in Lebanon with Hezbollah as absolutely sort of consequential to what happens with these U.S.-Iran talks. How, as far as you can tell, how

embedded is Lebanon in any future peace between the U.S. and Iran, at this point?

LIEBERMANN: That's a question that only one man can answer, and that's President Donald Trump. Iran has made clear that they want a Lebanon

ceasefire and almost certainly a withdrawal of Israeli forces as part of a broader ceasefire agreement. Israel, and specifically Netanyahu, have tried

to keep the wars separate.

There is a U.S.-Israel-Iran war on one side of the Middle East, and then there is an Israel-Hezbollah war on the Israel-Lebanon border. Israel has

tried to keep those separate, such that even if there is a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, that Israel can keep going after Hezbollah. That's not what Iran

wants.

[09:10:00]

In the end, it's up to Trump as he tries to get a broader ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Does he loop Lebanon into that? Does

he make Israel stop attacking Beirut or other areas? Does he make Israel withdraw? That's a key question that not only is Iran trying to get

answered, but so is Israel, and that's part of the reason, almost certainly, at least, that Trump had prevented Israel from striking Beirut.

He wanted this ceasefire to take hold, and now, as you look at it, and it is effectively falling apart, it is very possible that Iran is able to loop

the Israel-Hezbollah war into the ceasefire agreement. That's a key question here, and something we're watching very closely. Becky, on the

flip side of that, it also gives Israel tremendous leverage on how the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran go if the war on Israel's northern

border is able to derail those talks.

So, it's an incredibly complex dynamic, and it's one more difficulty in the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

ANDERSON: It's always good to have you, Oren. Thank you very much indeed. Well, President Trump himself was up late last night and posting on social

media a lot, expressing optimism about a deal with Iran, insisting quote it will all work out in the end, but as he urges Americans to stay calm, the

U.S. President himself is facing growing tests on multiple fronts, not just the ongoing conflict with Iran, but also signs of a widening rift within

his own Republican Party, raising new questions about his ability to advance key priorities.

Let's get the very latest, then, from CNN's Alayna Treene, she is live at the White House. Our correspondent there. Let's look at Trump's key dates

coming up, Alayna, even as President Trump gives more time to let the negotiations with Iran develop. Let's be quite clear, his clock is ticking,

much like he protected his trip to China.

He won't want his birthday and the Flag Day UFC fight overshadowed by one. He certainly won't want the great American state fair celebrations or the

Fourth of July marred by Iran. We've got the June the 11th kickoff for the World Cup, of course, as well to consider there.

So, how critical do you see it being for him to solve this Middle East conflict sooner rather than later?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's a fabulous question, Becky. One other date I would just add to that is right after that UFC

fight and the president's birthday, he then heads to France for the G7 summit, where he's going to be confronted by a number of leaders who

obviously he's been on the wrong side of it with, relating to their response to the war in the Strait of Hormuz.

And so just another factor I think that adds even more pressure to the president here. Look, anyone you talk to on any angle of, you know, this

entire war, those who believe the president needs to be harder, those who believe he needs to take more time to make sure he gets a great deal.

All of them would agree that solving this sooner rather than later is better for the president, not only politically, which, of course, is a

major part of all of this. I'd remind you, you know, the November midterm elections are coming up, just a couple months away.

Republicans who are on the ballot really wanting this to be solved by then, recognizing that this has been damaging to them, many of them politically,

but a lot of this is also in the president's mind, I should note. He is fixated on wanting to ensure that this is a strong deal, and I know he's

been talking to advisers seeking advice about ensuring that it's perceived as being a better deal than the JCPOA, the agreement that was struck during

the Obama era.

And so that's also weighing on him, and you could almost see that when he posted to social media, Becky, he did in the early hours of this morning,

he wrote, quote, Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the U.S.A. and those that are with us. In the middle, he went on to

say that it wasn't helpful from people who were chirping at him to move faster or slower.

He then finished it, saying, just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end, it always does. So clearly, he's trying to tamp down a lot

of the feedback he's been getting from a lot of different people. You could hear in what Oren was just saying, he has a lot of pressure from the

Israelis who want to see him be more aggressive to resume major combat operations.

He's also getting that from people like Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of his, but then there's others who recognize this needs to be ended

sooner rather than later. A lot is on the line here, and so Trump is weighing that as he makes this decision.

ANDERSON: Yeah, don't worry, be happy is ringing in my mind as I listen to you here.

[09:15:00]

Alayna, speaking of these big events, artists are pulling out the 250th anniversary concert. Young MC calling it a bait and switch. Other artists

saying it was not originally billed as a political event. Now it could be even more politically charged than ever it seems, right?

TREENE: Absolutely, I mean this was just handled. I have to admit, you know, somebody who's covered this White House and previous leaders before

this has been handled pretty poorly. I mean, for them to have come out, you heard them announce Freedom 250, I should note, which is the organization

that is really putting on this multi-day celebration of America's 250th birthday.

They had recently announced, just a couple days ago, last week, that there would be nine different musical acts that would be performing over a 16-day

exposition, you know, this fair that they're putting on in the nation's capital. Well, in the days since, at least five of those musicians have

dropped out.

All of them really saying that when they had committed to this and said that they would want to be a part of this celebration, they were told it

was going to be a non-partisan event. Now they're saying it's clear that this is more partisan than it was billed to them, and so they are dropping

out.

That includes you mentioned Young MC, but there's a group called the Commodores, rock musician Bret Michaels, country singer Martina McBride.

The list goes on of them arguing that they do not feel comfortable being in a partisan event. Obviously sparking a lot of backlashes from Republicans,

and of course President Donald Trump himself.

I do want to read for you what he's been posting on social media this weekend. One, he said the whole thing should just be canceled, but then he

went on to argue, quote, I am thinking about bringing the number one attraction anywhere in the world to this fair, he said, and the man who

some say is the greatest president in history, the GOAT, Donald J. Trump, to take the place of these highly paid third-rate artists and give a major

speech, rallying the country forward, like I have done ever since being president.

He went on to also argue that he believes he gets a much larger audience than that of Elvis Presley, back during his heyday, which some people were

quick to criticize. Look, this has become very political very quickly. And I do agree with you that these artists pulling out, and then you have the

president coming in and saying, forget them, we don't want them anyway.

I want to make this a political rally, a Make America Great Again rally, only adds to a lot of the controversy around this. And this was not

supposed to be America's 250 birthday celebration was never supposed to be a partisan event, but of course we've really seen the president in recent

weeks and months try to make this about almost an accomplishment of his own.

And so, all of that I think playing into some of the decisions that are being made around this, Becky.

ANDERSON: Alayna it's always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. From just outside the White House, there, Alayna Treene in the house for

you. Will CNN's Digital platforms feature a wealth of analysis on Trump's timeline and his foreign and domestic priorities.

It includes the latest think piece from CNN Politics Senior Reporter Stephen Collinson, who writes, quote, Trump's intense focus on wielding

unfettered power worked in the short term, but ultimately may have the unwanted effects of loosening his sway over his party, his country, and the

world.

Agree with him or not. You can read Stephen's comments and make your own mind up on how firm Trump's grip on power really is, at CNN Digital, and on

the app. And be sure to follow me on social, where I post links to unique content and analysis as well, that's BeckyCNN.

Well, when we come back, CNN speaks to the head of the W.H.O. on his trip to the DRC, as efforts speed up to contain the deadly Ebola outbreak there.

And an experimental drug giving new hope to patients battling one of the deadliest types of cancer. Details on that are just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

ANDERSON: Well, the Head of the World Health Organization is meeting with the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo to discuss the Ebola

outbreak there. Now he is in the country urging community responsibility and coordination to bring that spread under control.

While 42 people have died and 282 cases have been confirmed, there are reasons to be optimistic. Four nurses who were being treated for the virus

have recovered, according to the W.H.O., bringing the total number of people who have now recovered to five.

And pharmaceutical company Moderna announcing on Monday that it is developing a potential vaccine for this rare Bundibugyo strain, which has

caused the outbreak. Well, this is the 17th Ebola outbreak that the DRC has faced. With the speed of the spread, there are fears that it could evolve

into a crisis similar to a decade ago, when you may remember more than 11,000 people died across West Africa.

My colleague, CNN's Clarissa Ward has seen W.H.O. Chief if he is confident that the current outbreak can be contained.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you worried that this could spread to the level that we saw in 2014?

DR. TEDROS GHEBREYSUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It depends on how we respond. If we move fast, and we're asking the

international community to move fast in terms of funding and others, we can stop it, and the government can stop it. Communities can stop it. So, it

depends if we don't take it seriously, of course, it can outsmart us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: While in the DRC, Clarissa went inside an Ebola clinic and reports on the measures that healthcare workers have to take to treat

patients with the virus. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WARD: We are now getting ready to go into the so-called red zone of this hospital, that is the area where all suspected Ebola patients are put. And

there is a lot of protective gear, unsurprisingly, that one needs to wear to go inside. One of the things that makes this so challenging for these

health care workers is that it becomes unbearably hot to wear these for, honestly, even just 10 or 15 minutes.

It's actually quite hard to breathe normally in these things -- another pair of gloves.

WARD (voice-over): He tells me to pull the gloves over the sleeves of the suit.

WARD: Ebola is not actually airborne, it's contracted through fluids, but still healthcare workers have to take absolutely every precaution before

they can treat the patients, because, of course, to treat the patients, they need to touch them.

WARD (voice-over): The doctors write our names on our backs, so they can recognize us. And then it's time to go in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And we are keeping a close eye on Clarissa and teams reporting, and we will get the latest as she reports it out. Well, the search

continues for two men believed to be trapped inside a flooded cave network in Laos. Rescue teams saying they are firming up their plan of action.

Earlier today, the rescuers discovered what they described as a vertical cave shaft, which plunges really deep underground, which may provide a

safer entry to find the remaining men. A team of divers now waiting for scanning equipment that can produce a clear map of these caves.

This comes days after five other trapped men did make it out of these caves.

[09:25:00]

Josh Richards is a diver on the rescue operation who went into that vertical shaft. He joins us now from near the cave side in Laos. You went

down into what, as I understand, it's a newly discovered shaft. So, tell us about that, what you saw, what you heard there?

JOSH RICHARDS, DIVER ON RESCUE OPERATION: So, that shaft is deep in the jungle, it's probably about 200 meters further along from the mine entrance

itself. It is incredibly challenging to get up there. It's incredibly steep. We're still experiencing flooding here, so that has added additional

risks as well.

The entrance way into the cave essentially twists down just a little bit, about four or five meters, before it opens up into a small area that you

can stand in, and while you stand there, you essentially lean slightly to the west, and you can look down to quite a considerable distance.

So, I spent some time over the top of that. When we first found it, I found it and was essentially standing at the top of it with a hammer, hammering

the side of the walls sequentially, and then sitting there trying to listen. There has been a lot of reporting suggesting that we heard knocking

back.

That is absolutely not true. I had my ear to that hole as best I could, listening, and there was definitely something unusual that I couldn't

identify. Now, that could have been bats that could have been the wind coming in, and a lot of these caves have fishes through them as well.

There were very unusual sounds coming down from below. They didn't necessarily sound rhythmic, they didn't sound like they were echoes or

anything like that. But there has been a lot of reporting saying, oh, we heard knocking. That is absolutely not the case.

ANDERSON: How experienced a caver are you?

RICHARDS: Specifically, as a caver, I'd say I'm quite inexperienced, to be honest with you. I spend most of my time underwater. I really enjoyed cave

diving. In terms of dry caving, I actually find it deeply uncomfortable. I really don't enjoy it at all, and it is something that I am willing to do

in order to get to the water.

If I'm going to go cave diving somewhere, which I love, I will go and push through, but I would not call myself an experienced caver at all.

ANDERSON: I mean, it's clearly this is an extraordinary situation, and even for experienced cavers, this must be extremely tricky. I just want to go

back to those sounds, so you were just explaining this for our viewers, you were knocking, and then this, and you were getting sounds back, but not

sounds that you would describe, as I understand it, as those of somebody who would have been intentionally knocking back to alert you to their

whereabouts, as it were, or to the fact that they were alive.

RICHARDS: Honestly, it was very unclear what the sounds were at all. It wasn't consistent. I would knock and then hear nothing. I would knock other

times and potentially hear something, and then have a bat fly out and hear the bat and realize that it was a bat.

Other times, there was definitely some sort of scraping sound now that may have been one of the other nearby cavers moving around above, like there

was a million different things could have been going on. There certainly wasn't a situation at any point where I was knocking on the rock and then

hearing the same number of knocks come back. That was absolutely not what was happening.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

RICHARDS: It was me knocking and trying to hear something.

ANDERSON: Understood. Yeah. Josh understood. What's the status of the rescue plan now, then, for these remaining two people. How long do you

believe that will take? And I wonder if you can just tell us about the successful rescues. I mean, you were there for those, I guess that must

have been an absolute thrill.

RICHARDS: So, I'll start with that, because that's a lot more positive. Yeah, obviously there for the five men that were found by Mikko Paasi and

Benz earlier in the week, earlier last week, and absolutely remarkable to see them, in both cases it was completely unexpected.

So, Mikko and Benz pulling the first minor out on the Friday night, we were not expecting that. We got a message that they had pulled someone out, that

they managed to rescue someone very unexpectedly. And so, we're all very, very ready for this guy to reach the surface.

The four miners who came out the next day, that was completely out of the blue. We had moved some of the pumps around, or the caving teams had moved

some of the pumps around.

[09:30:00]

They placed a particularly high-powered pump at a spot that we'd been requesting for a few days and once they did it, as soon as you turn those

pumps on, you can't be in the cave itself. The pipes that actually pump the water out expand into the tunnel space, and that reduces it enough that it

should be impossible to get by.

So, while those pumps are running, you don't have people in the caves. We were just about to turn the pumps off. I was half dressed in my wetsuit. I

was going to be heading in to provide food, water, medicine, and to check on the status of the four remaining miners and potentially look at the

water level.

We were hoping that, that pump had brought the water level down enough to make diving a little safer, a little easier. We were just about to turn

those pumps off when suddenly these four mighty faces popped out of the mine, and we realized that these guys had seen the opportunity to get out

through the sump, had taken it, and then they crawled the 350 meters back out to the entrance to surprise all of us.

ANDERSON: Wow.

RICHARDS: So complete and utter shock, and then obviously huge jubilation to see these guys essentially self-rescue once the water level was low

enough.

ANDERSON: Amazing. And briefly, very briefly, what's the plan from now on in for these remaining two?

RICHARDS: So, this still remains a search. I will say, as of about half an hour ago, the decision was made that diving operations weren't going to

continue. The diving has been far too dangerous for everyone involved, and realistically, the diving teams that have been brought in, the individuals

that have been brought in to assist with this, our area of expertise has been and gone.

So, some of the divers are staying on in order to assist with the searches. Those are the folks who are qualified in single rope technique, at being

far more experienced cavers. In my case, personally, I'm making the decision to leave tomorrow. I am not experienced enough to assist in the --

in some of the environments that these guys are entering into, so.

I'm a cave diver, I'm very comfortable at pushing the limits underwater, however, we're pumping that water out. So, I'm stepping back to allow folks

who are better suited to continue that search.

ANDERSON: Josh. I'm sure everybody applauds your efforts today. And what remarkable images when those guys came out, and let's hope for the best

with these remaining two. And it's been fantastic having you on. Thank you so much. Well, forget Blue Monday. Wall Street looks like it is about to

kick off the week and June with, well, let's say mixed emotions.

The bell has just finished ringing, and this is what it looks like on the markets. We will dive into these numbers after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:00]

ANDERSON: And welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching "Connect the World". Time here just after half past five. It is

just after half past nine in New York. So, let's see how U.S. stocks are getting on at the start of the trading week, and that is the picture low

only just.

Wall Street's rally had been holding, and may even hold today, and we're only five minutes into the trading day, even with oil prices on the rise

again, as the U.S. and Iran, of course, exchange renewed strikes that happened over the weekend and into Monday morning, local time, here in

region.

I want to get to CNN's Hanna Ziady. It's good to have you, Hanna, today. I know you've been looking at the price of crude climbing again, albeit not

at the levels, you know, right in the middle of this conflict, when we reach 120, 125 but we are back up again by some 5 percent.

Talk to us about the rising threat of oil shortages and other things, of course. And why security in the Strait of Hormuz is changing?

HANNA ZIADY, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Becky, you've hit the nail on the head there, sort of suggesting that you know oil prices are rising and yet

remain well below some of the peaks we saw earlier on in the conflict, and below about $100 a barrel, despite the rising threat of these shortages

that we've already seen in Asia.

The severe scenarios of rationing, four-day work weeks, work from home directives in a country like India, shortages of LPG, which means people

don't -- are not able to heat food. And we're now inching closer to those kinds of adverse outcomes here in Europe, and yet oil traders seem to be

pricing peace, oil below $100 a barrel.

And that's also despite the fact that, as you mentioned, the security situation around the strait is changing. And the analysts that I've spoken

to have made this point very strongly, which is that regardless of what the United States and Iran agree to in a deal, the Strait of Hormuz is not

going back to the way that it was pre-war.

There is no going back for the strait, in the sense that Iran has demonstrated now that it can close the strait, that it can inflict this

kind of pain on the global economy, that it does hold this leverage, and so that geopolitical risk premium is going to be priced into oil going

forward.

So, we're not going to go back to the $60 a barrel oil that we saw at the beginning of this year, certainly not for the next year, and probably even

longer, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Yep, and whatever is signed between the U.S. and Iran, at the end of the day, it's the shipping industry that will decide what needs

to be paid, what insurance needs to be paid on these ships to get through what are very challenging waters. I think it's a I know you've been writing

about this for CNN.

It's important stuff. Check out CNN Business. Hanna, good to have you, back. You and I haven't spoken for some time, as I understand it. I think

we've got some breaking news. So -- OK, Iran is suspending talks with the United States in protest at Israel strikes on Lebanon.

That is according to Iranian media. I'm going to take a very short break at this point, just to see if we can get our sources in place to find out what

exactly is going on, perhaps get Nic Robertson up to comment on this as well, but that is important news, and we will be back with more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Well, this week we are exploring the global rise of K-Beauty as part of "K-Everything", a CNN original series with Daniel Dae Kim, South

Korea's cosmetics industry known for embracing advanced technology and rapid innovation. And today Daniel visits a clinic in Seoul to try a

trending K-Beauty procedure known as the salmon sperm facial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL DAE KIM, HOST OF "K-EVERYTHING" (voice-over): -- Daniel Dae Kim -- I'm at Mend Clinic, where I've started coming for regular skincare check-

ups. Thanks to advice from my wife. She introduced me to the esteemed Dr. Yoon Wonyoung, who's since become a friend.

DR. WONYOUNG YOON, DIRECTOR OF MEND CLINIC: Hi Daniel --

KIM: Hello.

YOON: Hi, nice to see you again.

KIM: Nice to see you. thanks for having us.

YOON: Yeah, please come inside my office.

KIM (voice-over): Thank you. Lately, I've been seeing a lot about a trending procedure, and I got to admit I'm curious, especially because of

its name, the salmon sperm facial.

YOON: We don't take the salmon sperm individually, but we do some enzymatic digestion to get the DNAs from the salmon or the traditional net, so PDRN

is good for, like, helping the damaged skin get more healthier and produce more collagen.

KIM: All right, I look forward to getting these injections. Let's see what happens.

YOON: Yeah. Sure.

KIM: First, numbing cream to help with the pain. I didn't know it was going to hurt.

YOON: Please lie down with this side. Yeah.

KIM: We tried this one.

YOON: Yeah. This way.

KIM: That's the machine.

YOON: Yes. Yes.

KIM: looks like a robot.

KIM (voice-over): It's actually a micro needling device.

YOON: You, OK?

KIM: Yeah, I didn't even feel it.

KIM (voice-over): Nine tiny needles inject the salmon DNA into the top layer of the skin, triggering the body's natural wound healing process that

stimulates skin rejuvenation.

KIM: -- cream works really well.

KIM (voice-over): It may not look like a lot now, but Dr. Yoon says, in a few short months, we'll see the full effect.

YOON: Korea has some extremely easy accessibility to the cosplay procedure. It's very affordable in Korea, compared to other countries.

KIM (voice-over): The salmon sperm facial is generally considered safe, though Dr. Yoon is quick to point out that there are some risks, including

allergic reactions.

YOON: Most of the beauty procedures we are doing in clinics, it has to be done only by doctors in Korea, and as the doctors have lots of experience,

they try to like study more and adopt new technologies faster. As here you can keep up with the trends as the market is developing very fast. Yeah.

KIM: We're done?

YOON: Yeah.

KIM: OK, that was completely painless.

YOON: Yes.

KIM: Oh, I look like I got a little sunburn and a little redder than usual, but I'm camera ready.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, you can also stream the full series in the U.S. on the CNN app and globally on HBO Max. I'm going to be straight back with more news

here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

ANDERSON: We are getting breaking news. Iranian state media reporting that Iran's negotiating team is suspending talks with the United States to

protest Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Iran calling for an immediate end to Israeli military action in Gaza and in Lebanon, for the Israeli army to

pull out of Lebanon.

I want to get you to Nic Robertson, who is following all of this from London. What do you make of what we are just hearing, Nic?

ROBERTSON: Becky, it's one of those points that I think a lot of people have been worried about, that in this sort of interregnum of trying to

narrow down and fine tune the wording of this memorandum of understanding, that military effects on the ground would sort of takeover, fill the

vacuum, and that's what appears to have happened here.

Israel has doubled down and reach deeper into Lebanon to go after Hezbollah. This is clearly something that Iran has held to be breaking, in

essence part of the agreement of the ceasefire that currently exists. They always wanted a Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon ceasefire to be in place as part

of the broader U.S., Israel, Iran ceasefire.

And it took a lot of effort from President Trump and a lot of pressure behind the scenes to get Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull back his

troops, but inch by inch, or maybe mile kilometer by kilometer, over the past few days, Israel has reached deeper and deeper into Lebanon.

And in many ways, it's surprising that Iran has waited so long to draw a line under this and say on this basis, this abrogation of what we

understood to be the ceasefire agreements and what we deem to be the ceasefire agreements, these talks can no longer continue.

Look, there's a lot of sorts of fine tuning that's been going on, and this, what's understood to be a 14-point memorandum of understanding, but key for

the Iranians has been to protect Hezbollah, to make sure that they are part of a broader ceasefire and not subject to Israel's targeting.

And Israel, as we've seen over the past couple of days, now reaching into Hezbollah targets on the outskirts of Beirut. Where this leaves the talks

going forward isn't clear. Is this a spike in tensions that can be fixed? President Trump, before, brought a lot of pressure to bear on Prime

Minister Netanyahu to get a track where the U.S. could get some kind of deal that would open the Strait of Hormuz and deal with the nuclear issue

with Iran.

Now, all of that, Becky, does seem in somewhat jeopardy.

ANDERSON: I want to bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann. He's following the story for us from Jerusalem. And Oren, we certainly saw the Prime Minister

of Israel post a couple of hours ago. What did he say, and what are -- what's the sort of received wisdom there and official line?

LIEBERMANN: Israel has made clear through Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz that Beirut is now on the target list.

[09:50:00]

And specifically, the Dahieh, the southern suburb of Beirut, that's considered a Hezbollah stronghold, although we haven't yet, at least not in

the last few minutes, seen Israeli strikes in Beirut, that's very much expected. And, according to an Israeli source familiar with the

discussions, it was done in coordination with the United States.

It had been the U.S. in the Trump Administration's attempt to hold together the ceasefire that had prevented Israel from attacking Beirut, even as we

saw an increased volume of Hezbollah rocket and drone fire, and some rockets reaching a bit deeper into Israel. President Donald Trump wanted

the ceasefire to hold together.

He wanted the diplomatic track between Israel and Lebanon to continue. And his administration understood that the war between Israel and Hezbollah

puts in danger, or at least puts at risk, the Iran-U.S. negotiations. And we're seeing that now play out in real time.

Even though we haven't seen strikes in Dahieh, we have seen this video of the residents of that neighborhood fleeing the neighborhood ahead of a

fully expected Israeli attack here. Now, Israel had known from the beginning that Iran wants a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of the broader

ceasefire agreement.

That's why Netanyahu had tried to keep Lebanon and the war there separate from whatever happens, and however the negotiations go between the U.S. and

Iran. Iran obviously wanted that the other way around, they wanted a much broader ceasefire as part of the U.S.-Iran agreement, and that gave Israel

a tremendous amount of influence or sway about how the U.S.-Iran negotiations could go.

Israel, and specifically Netanyahu, has made it very clear that this is an escalation. An escalation they see as a response to a Hezbollah escalation.

What you don't see here is any sort of evidence of a lasting ceasefire, even as there are supposed to be diplomatic talks between Israel and the

Lebanon ambassadors from those countries in the United States in the coming days here?

As this escalation is happening, it's a key dynamic in what's happening, and the discussions between the U.S. and Iran, and again, it's really only

President Donald Trump that can put his foot down and force Netanyahu to go one way or the other. Netanyahu had been under tremendous pressure from

certainly Northern Israel and from the opposition to escalate in Lebanon, to strike Beirut, to strike other areas.

Although he couldn't yet respond to that without Trump's sort of stamp of approval, which it appears he got. And the question is now, does that last,

or does Trump say enough? We need a broader ceasefire agreement, and force Israel and Netanyahu to change the plans here.

ANDERSON: Yeah, we know that it isn't just the U.S., Israel, and Iran involved in these discussions, perhaps the mediators talking specifically

to just the U.S. and Iran, but the Gulf very much involved, maybe not at the table necessarily in Islamabad or wherever else these talks are going

on, but squarely involved in these discussions.

I just want our viewers to hear what has just been released by Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs there says, and I quote, MOFA

expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strongest condemnation and denunciation of the repeated and malicious Iranian attacks against the

brotherly State of Kuwait.

Sorry, this is the condemnation of what is going on in Kuwait. They've also offered a condemnation, which I haven't got there on the screen, on the

Israeli incursion into Lebanon, very specifically, what we are speaking about here. And let me see if I can get that up for you.

Meantime, we have also, and I want to bring back Nic here. Nic, I'm just looking at a tweet from the Iranian Foreign Minister, following up on what

we've just heard on state media, that the talks have been suspended between the U.S. and Iran. The foreign minister in Iran says for immediate

attention, the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon, in a violation on one front

is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts.

The -- and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation, that of course the Iranian Foreign Minister. And what I was hoping to put

up on the screen, but don't have is that is condemnation of Israel's activity in Lebanon by the Saudis today as well.

And it'll be interesting to see whether we get more reaction on all of this from the Gulf, because, of course, you know the Gulf squarely in the cross

hairs of this conflict and pushing keenly to see an end to this.

[09:55:00]

What do you make of what we have just heard from, for example, the Iranian Foreign Minister, and this wider sort of Gulf response, certainly coming

out of Saudi in the first instance?

ROBERTSON: Yeah, I would expect more Gulf countries to express, perhaps not the UAE, but others to express similar sentiment to Saudi Arabia about

Israel strikes inside of Lebanon, or deep inside of Lebanon. And obviously all countries in the Gulf want to see peace and stability returned where

they can do normal business, where Iran is not threatening their oil wells, their oil refineries, their liquid natural gas disembarkation ports, if you

will.

And the whole process of getting their products to the international market, they're all suffering, and they recognize that if the war erupts

again, that they could suffer financially more, as well as the global economy, of course, but I think the key question to us right now, is Iran

says no negotiations while Israel continues to strike so deeply at Hezbollah.

The question is, does Iran return to the battlefield with strikes in the Gulf? That's where we're at the moment, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, this is important stuff. It's breaking news. We're going to get to this again in a couple of minutes time, I do need to take a very

short break at this point. CNN's Oren Liebermann standing by, Nic also standing by few folks. We will be right back with more of our breaking news

after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END