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SpaceX Makes Debut on Nasdaq After Largest IPO Ever; Trump Rages at Iran amid Peace Talks; Marco Rubio Compares UFC to Space Race; Grieving Family Searches for Answer After Baby Shot by IDF; British Defense Secretary and Minister Resign Over Military Spending; Iraq to Play in Second Ever World Cup. Aired 10a-11a ET

Aired June 12, 2026 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:46]

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi.

I'm Becky Anderson. Time here is just after 6:00 in the evening.

We are following three fast-moving stories of major consequence.

SpaceX has just gone public in the largest IPO ever turning Elon Musk in to the world's first trillionaire. I'm going to get you the very latest from

the Nasdaq.

And after Donald Trump said a deal with Iran was about to be signed, but now he's sparring a new very verbal broadside at Tehran saying the Iranians

leaked phony information to the media. We'll take you to the White House to see whether we can break all of that down for you.

And today is the day the USA and Canada kick off their World Cup campaigns. We'll take you to Los Angeles where Team USA play Paraguay later today.

I do want to begin with breaking news. Today SpaceX set to make its Nasdaq trading debut following a record-breaking IPO on Thursday. With this

launch, SpaceX boss, Elon Musk, already the world's richest man, becomes its first ever trillionaire. That's 12 zeroes.

Here's what he had to say about SpaceX hitting the public market.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, SPACEX CEO: Let me tell you, if people had told me this was going to happen, I was like, man, you must be smoking some really good

crack because I think this company's going to fail. I mean, I gave -- I gave SpaceX less than a 10 percent chance of succeeding at all. To be

clear. In fact, I told people this. I said, look, we're probably going to fail, but, you know, we should give it a try because if we don't, if

there's not a new company that enters space, we will never be a truly spacefaring civilization.

You know, while the other aerospace companies, they build good rockets and everything, they were simply not pursuing the technology that was necessary

to make life multi-planetary to. To make -- to make "Star Trek," to make the exciting science fiction futures that we've read about real. And that's

what SpaceX is all about, is to take the fiction out of science fiction and create an exciting, inspiring future for everyone.

We want to be able to take anyone who wants to go to the moon, anyone who wants to go to Mars, or anyone in the solar system, and maybe beyond the

solar system at some point. We want to be able to take you there. Not just -- not just a few astronauts. I mean, you, literally you. If you watch --

whoever you are watching this SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the moon, take you to Mars, and ultimately beyond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: SpaceX says it sold 556 million shares of common stock, raising about $75 billion in the process. And to put that number in perspective for

you, it is more than the annual GDP of many countries. Well, just as jaw- dropping, according to Axios, the company's $1.77 trillion valuation would equal nearly the combined value of the 29 biggest U.S. IPOs since the year

2000.

CNN's Hadas Gold is live at the Nasdaq market site in New York for you.

Taking the fiction out of science fiction, that is a top line for the CEO of a company that is not just, of course, a rocket company. It has changed

the way we fight wars, gain information, talk to one another, fly. Just lay out for us all that the company does and what its value proposition is,

Hadas.

[10:05:04]

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Becky, here outside of Nasdaq, there's been a lot of excitement, a lot of fans of SpaceX, fans of Elon Musk, as

well as we've seen a few protesters, especially yesterday. But cheers out here on the street outside of the Nasdaq when that bell was rung, Elon Musk

was actually at Starbase in Texas. The SpaceX president, Gwynne Shotwell, she was here inside the Nasdaq, just behind me, ringing the bell.

And what SpaceX has turned into is really a giant company valuation at around $1.757 trillion, according to the IPO share price. And what it's

really building, if you listen to the people who hype up what SpaceX could be, on the one hand, it's a space company. It sends rockets into space.

It's sending people into space. The whole idea of being able to build, to bring humans to Mars, to build a lunar colony.

But it's also, according to some investors who are very, you know, bullish on the company, one of the only fully vertical A.I. companies. Because

right now when you look at all the different parts of SpaceX, you have everything that an A.I. company needs from the model all the way up through

to the data centers and to the eventual future where you're going to have data centers in space, we're going to be able to have unlimited space,

unlimited cooling, unlimited energy to be able, and the communications to be able to send that back and forth.

Because when you build it up, you have xAI and Grok. That's the model. Then when you're trying to get to the data centers and send that communications

back and forth, you have the SpaceX rockets who will bring those Starlink satellites up, who will bring those data centers up into space, and then

you have Starlink, which is their satellite, the internet connection that will be able to communicate between the data centers back down to earth and

back down to those to those models.

And so if you have bought into that idea, that is why SpaceX is valued at as much as it is. And that's why people are so excited about it.

ANDERSON: Yes. $135 a share, this would trade at roughly 94 times revenue. I think Amazon trades at about four times its revenue. And none of the

other big tech companies are anywhere close to this. There is a space company. I think its rocket lab which trades at about 115 times revenue. So

there are those sort of outliers. But I do wonder how much of this SpaceX valuation is about the cult of personality around Elon Musk.

GOLD: I think a lot of it is about the cult of personality of Elon Musk because when you look at the numbers, OK, they are burning through cash.

They lost $4.9 billion in 2025, $4.3 billion in the first few months of this year. They're spending $12.7 billion on A.I.. That's a lot of money

that they're burning through. And when you look at the comparison of SpaceX versus the other companies that are in its sort of sector in the realm, the

top ten most valuable companies in the United States, they don't have the same type of revenue.

So again, if you're buying into this company, you are buying into Elon Musk and you are buying into this future proposition. And this is something that

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell has said very flat out. She said, you are buying into the belief of what this company can do. And they point to the,

you know, back to the history of Tesla, back to the history of SpaceX. People doubted them. Rockets were blowing up, cars weren't working. And

they say, now look at what we've been able to do.

And you have to buy in to the cult of Elon Musk because Elon Musk has so much control of this company. He has more than 80 percent of the voting

shares. He is like the god of SpaceX. There is -- I don't know of any possibility when you look at how the control works out, that, you know,

anybody could kick him out. Anybody could change, you know, his control of the company. So if you're buying into this, you're buying to Elon Musk and

his vision of the future.

ANDERSON: Yes, a lot of people in Elon's orbit also benefiting from this, 4400 former and current SpaceX employees will become millionaires. 400 of

them will actually make more than $100 million. I know that there will be some gulf investment out there very specifically, you know, signaling that

because that's where we are reporting from, of course, reports suggesting that Saudis PIF sovereign wealth fund, Kuwait's investment authority, each

placing orders for some billions in shares. Qatar's wealth fund also in the mix.

The Abu Dhabi MGX investment vehicle already holds stakes in Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI. What about these retail investors, though? The sort of, you

know, mom and dad, you and me types, casual investors, pension holders. I just wonder where the possible risks are for those buying into not just

this, but the other forthcoming IPOs given what you've just laid out about sort of, you know, burning through cash as quickly as these companies are.

I mean, should there be a -- you know, is there a valid concern out there about just where these companies are headed at this point, given there's

been so much hype about getting involved in buying some of the action?

[10:10:07]

GOLD: Yes, I have actually heard some concern of people saying, you know, people who might not have any idea that their 401(k) is going to have a

part of this SpaceX, you know, of the SpaceX market share and that it's going to be buying shares, that there should be some concern, not only

around, you know, the volatility of this, the fact that they're burning through cash, but also when you look at the governance, what I just talked

about Elon Musk having complete control.

But you mentioned the retail investors and what's really interesting about this IPO is that they have set aside 30 percent of the shares for retail

investors. That is three times the normal amount of an IPO. And that is something that Elon Musk specifically wanted. He wanted those everyday

people, the non-institutional investors, you know, your mom and pop, whatever, because he has so many fans, because so many people want to buy

into this idea.

Now, of course, there are going to be some difficulties for people trying to get in, who are trying to get in, especially pre-IPO. But pretty soon

you're going to be able to buy SpaceX shares on your E-Trade, on your Robinhood, and be able to try and get in on this craze. Of course, we're

going to have to see what happens with this share price. Now when stocks are first listed on the market, when they have their IPOs, they're not

immediately listed.

So even though the bells are already rung, we don't see SPCX listed yet. People can't -- retail investors can't buy it. We will see it listed within

the next few hours. And then of course everyone is going to be paying attention. What happens to that $135 number? How far up and down does it

go? What happens to the valuation of course? And will this all turn out to have been overhyped, or is there just the market fully buy in and believe

what Musk is trying to sell?

ANDERSON: Yes, that secondary market of course is going to be really, really important. Just a note, the Nasdaq up by about an eighth of 1

percent today. Not reflecting as of yet, as you rightly point out, a secondary market in SpaceX shares. And if there is a significant lift today

that will end up being reflected in this Nasdaq market by the -- certainly by the close of play today. So we'll keep one eye on that. But at present,

this is the state of play on Wall Street. The Dow is up about a third of 1 percent, S&P up by around the same. And the Nasdaq trading about an eighth

of 1 percent higher.

Hadas, always good to have you. Thank you so much.

And of course, this is as we've been discussing the first in the A.I. IPO races in the weeks and months to come, Anthropic and OpenAI also set to go

public in offerings that are expected to reach nearly a trillion dollars, 12 zeroes each.

Anthropic, in particular, has made headlines recently for warning that its powerful A.I. models are advancing too quickly, and the world could need a

pause. Now, CEO Dario Amodei tells ABC he is skeptical that all the players involved in A.I. can actually come together to put guardrails on the

technology, raising questions about where this industry goes next. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARIO AMODEI, ANTHROPIC CEO: The pace of A.I. progress is very fast. You know, we've talked about the employment effects. You know, I think society

can adapt better if we slow things down a little bit. I also think we see risks around cyber, as we've discussed with our Mythos model and Glasswing,

we're soon, I think, going to see risks around misuse of biology and around the models being autonomous and behaving in ways that humans don't expect

them to behave.

So if we had more time, I think we could address all of these risks a little better. Now, you know, I think in reality, it's going to be really

hard to get a lot of players to work together to slow down progress. You know, it would have to be players like China in addition to the other A.I.

labs. So I'm somewhat skeptical that we can get really serious guardrails and that we can make it work. But my point is that we should be willing to

at least try.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: That's the Anthropic CEO for you.

And SpaceX has become a key player in modern geopolitics and the way that conflicts are fought. Its Starlink internet service has provided a digital

lifeline in Ukraine, keeping civilians, the government and the military connected when traditional networks were destroyed. Now, Iran's

semiofficial Fars News Agency reports that Tehran is considering adding Elon Musk linked interests across the region to its military target list,

accusing his companies of supporting U.S. and Israeli operations against them.

Well, now, an interim U.S.-Iran agreement in principle appears to be taking shape. A source telling CNN that the U.S. and Iran have agreed on the text

of an MOU framework agreement effectively, although it has yet to receive final sign off.

[10:15:00]

The diplomatic source said the agreement would extend the ceasefire, including in Lebanon, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and set the stage for

nuclear talks in the months to come.

However, Donald Trump is this morning blasting the Iranians, saying that they leaked details that have nothing to do with the deal, calling them on

social media in a missive this morning, very dishonorable people.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House. He has the latest there.

Where is Donald Trump's head this morning, do you think?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's clearly frustrated at what he sees are inaccurate descriptions of what exactly is

in the deal that he said just yesterday was nearly final. And I think just gives you a sense of how precarious all of this remains despite the

president's continued optimism and suggestion that a signing ceremony would occur in Europe over the next few days.

And I'll read you just a little bit more of what he wrote on Truth Social. He said that what the Iranians said bears no relation to the truth. He says

with them there is no such thing as dealing in good faith. He says ruefully amazing. And he says that their drone attacks last night on ships that have

been trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz is totally unacceptable.

Now, what he's responding to here is sort of a list of terms that Iranian state media put out over the last several hours, including that as part of

the deal, the Iranians would receive a $24 billion in frozen assets. Half of that would be given to them up front. It also -- they also claimed that

when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, that Iran would not commit to ceding management of the strait, both terms of this deal that President Trump had

spent the last several weeks saying that he would not accept.

And so now, this morning, a senior U.S. administration official is trying to frame this deal in U.S. terms. And they're saying that the nuclear

material would be removed and destroyed, referring to the highly enriched uranium that is inside of Iran, that Iran's nuclear program would be

dismantled, that none of their money would be released until they perform, essentially, until they meet their obligations as part of the plan.

And so already, even before this deal is signed and even before anyone has seen the text, you see both sides of this trying to frame it in their own

terms. You see completely sort of conflicting accounts of what is in this deal. And so it seems very, I think, loose what exactly has been agreed to

here and what exactly the president thinks is going to be signed over the next few days, clearly frustrated that even before it's agreed to, it seems

to be being cast as a bad deal for him and is a bad deal for the United States.

And so where this goes from here remains to be seen. We have been in a position like this before where the president said he was optimistic about

a deal being signed, only to see it all collapse. I don't think it's out of the question that that could happen again. But at this point, both sides

seem as if they're trying to frame this as a positive deal for their own domestic audiences, but not necessarily sounding as if they're on the same

page about what precisely will be in this agreement.

ANDERSON: So while it is unclear where this agreement in principle is headed, it is very clear where Donald Trump is headed himself this weekend.

He is headed to the UFC fight to celebrate his 80th birthday. The World Cup has already kicked off, of course. We -- and we have a whole series of

events coming up in the next three weeks.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised some eyebrows for how he described that fight coming up just behind the building where you are right now. That

fight is this weekend. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: When President Kennedy announced that we were going to put a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth, no

one thought that was possible. And we did it. We are a nation founded on doing what no one else dared to do, and no one else aspired to do. And at

some level, that's what this whole company, what UFC has been. We're excited about what this brand means about America's ability to expand and

reach out to different parts of the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Sorry, I was just pausing. It's the third or fourth time I've heard that statement, and I'm still trying to get my head around it. How

should we be thinking about this UFC fight, which seems to be growing more and more important to this administration, Kevin?

LIPTAK: Yes, I think it's best interpreted as sort of an homage to President Trump himself and Marco Rubio, for his extraordinary and kind of

ridiculous as that statement was, he is -- it is true that no one has built, you know, 150-foot claw on the South Lawn before and invited 100,000

people to watch half naked men wrestling.

[10:20:06]

And so that is accurate, I suppose. But it comes at such a precarious moment. Obviously, the president would have hoped that the Iran war would

be over by now. He would have hoped that gas prices would have come down by now. And so I think if you're just an average American who's nowhere near

the South Lawn for this event, you're wondering why so much money, $60 million, is being spent on something that is clearly just meant to delight

President Trump.

ANDERSON: It's always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Looks like a lovely day there in Washington. Good day here in Abu Dhabi as well.

Thank you so much.

All right. Well, a Palestinian family is left grieving, angry and missing their seven-month-old son after a fatal shooting in the West Bank. New

footage of what happened and why the parents say they cannot believe it was an accident is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson.

Israel says it is investigating a shooting in the West Bank last week when an Israeli soldier opened fire on a Palestinian family's car. Now the

bullet struck a seven-month-old baby boy inside the vehicle and killed him.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond spoke to the baby's family, who are desperately looking for answers about how this could have happened. We've got this

report for you now, and I have to warn you, some of you may find this rather difficult to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid shrieks and cries, a portrait of despair. A father cradling his bloodied baby, his hand

pressed to the seven-month-old's head as he looks around helplessly.

You were trying to do anything you could to save him?

FAHD ABU HAIKAL, SLAIN BABY'S FATHER: Yes. That's right. All things. I saw my son was severely injured in his face and I didn't just, I want to go out

and carry him to the hospital.

DANIA ABU HAIKAL, SLAIN BABY'S MOTHER: I started shouting, they shot my son. They shot my son.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Their son Sam was sitting in his mother's lap in the back seat of their car when an Israeli soldier opened fire, striking Sam in

the head. He is the 13th child to be killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank so far this year, according to the Israeli human rights

group B'Tselem.

So this is the place where the bullet that killed --

(Voice-over): the Israeli military claimed its soldiers, quote, "perceived a vehicle accelerating toward them." But this video, obtained by B'Tselem

paints a different picture, showing Fahd's car slowing to a stop. The video has no audio, but the person who filmed it told B'Tselem this soldier

opened fire just as the car was coming to a stop.

[10:25:08]

Both Fahd and his mother, who was in the passenger seat, identified the same soldier and moment of fire.

F. ABU HAIKAL: I raised my hand. He shoots. I set my hand on the steering wheel, this area, and he shoots us.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Blood still stains the car, which Fahd says was close enough for the soldier to see through the windshield.

F. ABU HAIKAL: When you see something in front of you and aim at him and shoot him, it's not by mistake because you see him. He has a family. He has

his two sons and his wife and his mother and shoot, there is no mistakes in this situation. There is one shoots to kill.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Sam's grandmother has returned for the first time to the street where her grandson's life was taken. She still can't make sense

of it all.

FERIAL ABU HAIKAL, SLAIN BABY'S GRANDMOTHER: We expect that they will say to us, go out. Return. You must return. Shoot in the air. But they didn't

do anything, only they shooting.

DIAMOND: The Israeli soldier who opened fire was standing right about here, only about 10 meters or 30 feet away from the vehicle carrying baby Sam.

But we have limited video of what actually happened because Israeli soldiers then came to this area and confiscated all of the surveillance

video from this street.

The Israeli military says it's opened a criminal investigation into the matter. They also said that they expressed, quote, "deep sorrow" for any

harm caused to uninvolved civilians.

(Voice-over): Amid her immeasurable grief, Sam's mother, Dania, is also recovering from her own painful wounds. Part of the bullet that killed her

son also went through her face, and pieces of shrapnel are still lodged in her chest. But she is also enduring another pain, one known only to mothers

whose babies have died.

D. ABU HAIKAL: When my chest is making milk for my son, it starts to hurt me and I start pumping the milk away from my body. I always cry. Because

it's a mother and son bonding. Yes. He was all my life.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Beyond that grief and pain, there is also anger here and a determination to fight for her baby boy.

D. ABU HAIKAL: The Israeli soldier that shooted us, he should be punished. He shouldn't get away like always.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy diamond, CNN, Hebron, the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:30:22]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, from our Middle East programing headquarters. These are your

headlines.

SpaceX set to make its public stock market debut today after the biggest initial public offering in history. The company says it sold 556 million

shares to investors, raising $75 billion. That value SpaceX at $1.7 trillion, which makes it the seventh largest public company.

President Trump claims to have ended the war with Iran and that an interim deal he says could be imminent. A source says the U.S. and Iran have agreed

on the text of an MOU, or framework understanding, but it has yet to receive final sign off. Iran hasn't confirmed whether it agrees.

Well, fans all over Mexico celebrating a win on the opening day of the 2026 World Cup. The co-host beat South Africa Thursday to get their campaign

underway. On the agenda today, opening ceremonies in Canada and the U.S., the other two hosts, before Canada take on Bosnia-Herzegovina and Team USA

face Paraguay.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scrambling to contain the fallout after two members, two more members of his government, quit in protest over

the PM's spending priorities. Secretary of Defense John Healey, the first to go on Thursday, he said the government was failing to invest enough in

Britain's armed forces. A few hours later, a more junior defense minister also resigned. It raises the pressure on Starmer to new levels, even as he

tries to face down unexpected challenge to his leadership.

I want to get some input on this from the journalist and commentator Andrew Neil. His new podcast, "The Andrew Neil Report," launched this week.

Excellent listen and watch. It's also on YouTube. And in a long and storied career in the media, he's been the editor of "The Sunday Times," chairman

of Sky TV, and an awful lot more.

Your pedigree is outstanding for this discussion, sir. Look, let's start with a damning resignation letter from John Healey criticizing Starmer's

U.K. defense budget in what he describes as a time of rising threats. What do you make of his points and the entire sort of, you know, what happened

yesterday?

ANDREW NEIL, HOST, "THE ANDREW NEIL SHOW": It's a devastating resignation. I mean, unprecedented because I can't ever remember in modern times when a

defense secretary has accused his prime minister of not doing enough to defend the nation. I mean, that is -- people resign for all manner of

things, scandals, they disagree on policy. But in the most fundamental core function of government, to defend the nation, his very own defense

secretary said, you're not doing enough. You're not spending enough.

And indeed, he also says in that resignation letter to the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, you're a hypocrite. You struck the world stage, bigging up

Britain's role, coalitions of the willing here, there and everywhere, saying how Britain will take the lead in many NATO exercises and you're not

spending the money to make it possible. And it comes at a time when Britain's international reputation on defense and security is already in

decline. And after this, it's probably in tatters.

ANDERSON: You said, quote, "Healey reveals the U.K. intelligence assessment is that Russia could attack a NATO country before 2030. If anything

illustrates, Starmer is unfit to be PM. It is that." Can he survive this?

NEIL: Oh, look, he was already holding on to his job by his fingernails. And I think this pretty much, to use a good old British word, pretty much

puts the kibosh on him all together. And I mean, I think the figures that you just showed, I mean, he keeps on saying how much Britain is spending in

defense, other NATO countries are. The Poles are doing it. The Baltic States are doing it. Scandinavia is doing it. Germany is stepping up to the

plate big time , too.

Britain is meant to be. We were after America, the second biggest spenders on defense in NATO. Now we're 12th and falling down fast. And for the

official figures to show that at a time, at the end of this decade when not just British intelligence, German, French, Polish and American intelligence

all say that is when the threat from Russia will really gather momentum, Keir Starmer proposes to increase defense spending between 2027 and 2030 by

0.08 percent.

[10:35:06]

Not even 0.1 percent, 0.08 percent. If it wasn't so serious, it would be a joke.

ANDERSON: That is going to land very badly for Donald Trump, of course, who has been pushing NATO countries to increase these defense budgets. Starmer

already has a sort of, you know, iffy relationship with the U.S. president. Where do you see that U.K.-U.S. relationship at this point? And if not

Starmer, then somebody else is going to need to pick that up and run with it at this point.

NEIL: Yes, we all know it's not easy to have a relationship with Donald Trump. Keir Starmer did his best. I'll give him credit for that. But in the

end, it fell apart. It fell apart over Trump's war in Iran because Britain said it wouldn't be part of it. We usually are. This time we're not.

Starmer, though, made a mistake in saying you can't even use your bases, and he had to resign from that, too. So it isn't easy. But Donald Trump

will certainly and quite rightly have quite a lot to say about this. There's a meeting of the G7 in here in France next week.

He'll have something to say about it then. And then there's a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on July 7th. And he'll have plenty to say that as well.

And by the way, you know, I have many disagreements and I've done many critical articles and broadcasts about Donald Trump, but he's right on

defense. Europe has to do a lot more. Other European countries, the ones I name just a few minutes ago, they get it. They're increasing the defense.

Britain should be taking the lead on this. We are aware until Mr. Starmer got a hold of it, the most important military power in Europe. But instead

of taking the lead, we just fall further and further behind. And the British people don't like that. But anybody who takes over Andy Burnham,

the king of the north, as he says, he's got this big by election coming up. He wants Keir Starmer's job. He knows as much about defense as I know about

brain surgery.

And, Becky, you will have gathered, I don't know, a lot about brain surgery

ANDERSON: You do not. I get it, I get it. Listen, two things very quickly. Donald Trump today calling the Iranians dishonorable, describing their

behavior as dishonorable after he says they leaked details which he says aren't true about whatever this MOU is that he says they are about to sign,

which might lead down the path, down the road to some sort of nuclear deal. What do you make of where we are at on this U.S.-Iran debacle?

NEIL: This is what I make of it. We -- I have spent hours and hours, days upon days following Donald Trump down the rabbit hole of being on the brink

of a peace deal. And it's never happened. Indeed, if I had a dollar for every time we were -- Trump had said we were on the brink of a peace deal,

I could retire now a rich man. And I'm fed up doing this. And I'm just now going to wait and see.

I saw the statement you referred to. I've seen that. Normally I'd be all over that like a rash. Becky, I'm not even going to bother now. I'm just

going to wait and see. Is it going to happen or not? The truth is Iran knows that Donald Trump started a war that he doesn't know how to end. They

know he wants out, particularly for domestic political reasons. And although they've been badly thumped, Iran is still standing, still able to

send missiles to the Gulf States and to Israel, still able to function as a state, still able to hold on to the enriched uranium.

And it believes its patience is far greater. Its pain threshold is far greater than Donald Trump's. And when you know the other side wants out,

what do you do? You play for time. You let them swing in the wind. And that's what Mr. Trump is experiencing right now. It's a sad situation, and

it's hard not to see any end to this war that will lead things in a better place than before he started it.

ANDERSON: And Iran also able to send a team to the World Cup, albeit to Mexico, where their base will be. They are only allowed, of course, to fly

into the states for their games.

Let's talk about the World Cup. You're a Scot. Scotland playing. How far do you think they can go?

NEIL: Oh, I hope they go very far, but I'm not sure. I'm not a great football fan. I was brought up with a ball which is more oval shaped for a

proper sport, which is called rugby.

[10:40:07]

And I was also brought up with another proper sport, which is called cricket. Rugby and cricket are the two great British contributions to world

sports, not football. So I'm not a great fan, but I will be supporting Scotland. They'll play their hearts out. Knowing Scotland, they'll probably

beat Brazil and lose to Haiti, or Haiti, as the Americans call it, I think.

I'll support Scotland if and when they get knocked out. I'll support England even when they get knocked out. I'll support France if and when

they get knocked out. I'll support America. These are the four countries I'm closest to and I have fingers crossed that one of them will win.

ANDERSON: All right. Well, if the USA get further than France through this, I'll support the USA as well. I'm not sure they're going to go that far.

It's always good to have you, though, Andrew. Thank you very much indeed. Always a pleasure.

NEIL: Always friendly. Thanks, Becky. Thanks, Becky. Good to talk to you.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. And that podcast is great, by the way. I listened to it yesterday. Always a pleasure. Good stuff. Thank you.

All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, co-hosts Canada and the U.S. playing their first games of the World Cup 2026 today. We can expect to see opening ceremonies in

Toronto and in Los Angeles before Canada take on Bosnia and Herzegovina and Team USA kick off their campaign against Paraguay. Mexico opened the

tournament with a two-zero victory over South Africa in Mexico City yesterday.

[10:45:04]

This year's World Cup has 16 more teams than back in 2022 in Qatar, so we've got a wealth of football in the weeks ahead. 102 games to go, in

fact. And Iraq set to play in the tournament. It is the second World Cup in their team's history. 40 years after the first. Their side also known as

the lions of Mesopotamia secured the final spot in the tournament after a 21-game qualifying journey. Their first match will be against Norway

Tuesday in Boston.

In an exclusive interview, Iraq's head coach Graham Arnold told me what this moment means for his team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRAHAM ARNOLD, HEAD COACH, IRAQ NATIONAL MEN'S FOOTBALL TEAM: It's great to be here in West Virginia. Beautiful hotel where it's very calm, and the

boys, we've had a very, very good pre-camp in Spain, and then we've come across to America. We've been here now for a week. So the time zone has set

in very well now. And we're really looking forward to this World Cup.

ANDERSON: Good. Well, you're in Group I, being described as the group of death. I'm sorry about that. Beasts of the game. France, Norway and

Senegal. How are you preparing the team? And, you know, how do you fancy your luck at this point?

ARNOLD: Well, look, I've got to be honest, every, you know, it's pretty much a way of saying back in Australia it was a group of death. But for me,

it's, you know, it's a group of excitement because, you know, we were the last team to qualify for a World Cup. Iraq haven't qualified for 40 years.

So, you know, we've got nothing to lose. We've got to go out there and show the world, you know, our qualities that we do have.

The biggest thing for me is the mentality. And the mentality needs to be brave, to go out there and be brave to play and put on a show that's going

to make 46 million Iraqis very, very proud. And, you know, it's 11 against one. We go out there and the one thing the Iraqis do have is a great

fighting spirit. And that's what we'll be doing.

ANDERSON: And anything can happen in the game of football when it comes to the World Cup.

ARNOLD: Yes.

ANDERSON: Look, Iraq had a grueling 21-game qualifying journey to secure the 48th and final spot. I think I'm right in saying that that is the

toughest and longest qualifying campaign of any nation. The spot sealed with arguably the most important goal in the country's history. Just take

us through that moment for you, the team and indeed for striker Ayman Hussein.

ARNOLD: Yes. Look, since the time I took over only a year ago, every game nearly has been a World Cup qualifier. So, you know, if there's one thing

the players have learned through that process is, you know, we've gone through, you know, six qualifying play -- qualification playing games where

we've had to win or we're out. So they know how to deal now with that type of pressure. And a lot of that pressure is obviously put on by the media

and social media. So at the end of the day, you know, we went to -- we played Bolivia in Monterrey.

And honestly, it was going right -- it was right in the middle of the war with things going on back in Iraq and the Middle East. Obviously, Iraq

wasn't involved in the war, but all the airspace got shut down. So the players and the backroom staff had trouble getting out of Iraq, but that's

the mentality that they showed when they came to Monterrey. It was, you know, we're not going to use the war as an excuse. We're going to use it as

motivation, and we're going to make sure that we're ready for this game. And it was truly an amazing night because obviously it's the first time

Iraq have qualified in 40 years.

And the celebrations all around the world was crazy. And, you know, so it was a great moment for Iraqi not only the football team, but for the nation

and the people because it's made everyone happy.

ANDERSON: Yes. And I think, and I think the region as well. I'm coming to you here from Abu Dhabi, in the UAE. And look, you know, around this

region, people will throw their support behind, you know, whichever team, you know, does its best, and really, as you say, you know, show some

bravery. I mean, after coaching the Socceroos and you've got some pedigree here. You did all right with them. You got the Australian team to Qatar in

2022.

You took on this Iraq job after a tough loss to Palestine. I understand that in your first meeting with the team, you wrote the word "believe" on

the board. What were you trying to tell your players and how have they responded to that?

ARNOLD: Yes. Obviously it was me adjusting to their culture and -- but I think it's one thing that maybe a lot of the nations in the Middle East

struggle with and that is believing in themselves and having belief in what they can do. Because of past negativity around, you know, the positions of

the countries that have been put in.

[10:50:01]

But, you know, one of the biggest things was, you know, I wouldn't have taken the job if I didn't honestly believe that they had the quality of

players. It -- I had an occasion in 2007 when I was interim coach for Australia, and we played Iraq in the Asian Cup and they beat us three one.

And I've been watching them closely for a long, long time because you always wonder, there's got to be some reason why they're not qualifying for

World Cups, because they've got the quality of players.

And you know, that was the biggest thing for me. Obviously, I wasn't just going to take the job for, you know, just for the money or anything. It was

more about qualifying a nation that hadn't been qualified for 40 years. And, you know, seeing and giving the players an opportunity to believe in

themselves. And that was the most important thing. Obviously, having to live, I lived in Baghdad for eight months learning their culture because

again, I didn't want -- I couldn't change them to be Australians.

And I think, you know, a lot of foreign coaches do go to the Middle East nations and coach a team, and they want them to do it their way and

whatever country they're from, instead of adapting and adjusting to, you know, the local culture. And that was very important for me to do that

because obviously I then had to change training session times because of obviously meal times, pray times and things like that to get the best out

of the players. And I do believe we've got that.

ANDERSON: Have you ever seen Ted Lasso with his "believe" sign? I mean, was that part of the inspiration?

ARNOLD: I've actually watched it. It is good. It is good. But, you know, he went from gridiron, didn't he? To football. Well, you know, I'm not going

from gridiron or rugby league to football, but I think it does make sense.

ANDERSON: Yes. Look, I mean, there have been reports that your team and staff have faced challenges, lengthy questioning at the airport and staff

visa rejection. I know you can't or you know, you don't really want to discuss specific incidents in detail, but just give me a sense of your

reception in the United States and how that is having an impact, if at all, on the players.

ARNOLD: Look, I think a lot of it can be made a big deal of, you know, there's obviously players that we've got in the team that have had

relationships or their parents or uncles or whatever, had relationships with whoever in the past. And it's just a way obviously of the U.S. is and,

you know, you come here and obviously they're very strict on their visas and everything. So, you know, we're not the only team that's had a few

questions about it at times.

You know, obviously other teams, but at least that was out the way and done. You know, a week ago to remove it all and the boys can now just focus

on the games and get themselves ready for the games. And everyone is fantastic and well, and here in America, it's beautiful. It's, you know,

the temperature is very, very warm. So I think that will have a significant thing, part to play in this World Cup.

ANDERSON: Yes. You talked about the near 50 million people back home in Iraq, willing this team on huge support back home. We are showing our

viewers images of this beautiful mural painted in Sadr City of the team. Are you feeling the love?

ARNOLD: Look, I have to say, from when I first went there, obviously everyone was coming over to me and questioning whether we could make the

World Cup. But, Coach, can we really make the World Cup? We don't think we can. And, you know, I was always saying we will. We will make the World

Cup. You've got to believe in us. You've got to help us. You've got to support us. You have to be our 12th man.

And from the game against the UAE in Basra, where the fans could -- when we went down one nil, where the fans could have easily turned the other way,

they were super supportive of our players and kept on encouraging them. And, you know, I went back to Baghdad only, you know, three weeks ago

before I came here and they are so grateful and so thanking. And so it makes you feel really, really proud to have done what I've done coaching

Iraq and getting them to the World Cup that, you know, everyone -- there's smiles on everyone's faces now and they're just, they're an football

obsessed nation. And to give them this opportunity to be part of the World Cup as fans is fantastic.

ANDERSON: Well, best of luck as far as you go all the way, if you can. We will be supporting you from the region. Thank you very much indeed for

joining us, Graham. Good luck.

ARNOLD: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And finally, your "Parting Shots" tonight from the sun-drenched swimming pools of Los Angeles. The rolling landscapes of North England's

Yorkshire.

[10:55:01]

Legendary British artist David Hockney made us look at the world in a new light. The British artist, known for his bold colors and his visual

innovation, has died at the age of 88, his publicist announced. He was indeed one of the most influential artists of the modern era.

And you can read all about David Hockney's life and amazing work and career, and watch some incredible CNN access. My colleague journalist Nick

Glass met Hockney in his studio when the artist turned 80. Find all of that on our digital site, CNN Style.

Well, that is it from the team working with me here in Abu Dhabi on CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay tuned, though. "ONE WORLD" is up next. See you same time,

same place tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END