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Connect the World
New Round of Talks Between Israel and Lebanon in Rome; France Marks National Holiday with Coalition of the Willing; Second Immigrant Killed in I.C.E. Shooting in Less Than a Week; Trump Hosts Iraq's New Prime Minister at the White House; UK Increases Policing in Jewish Communities After Attacks. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired July 14, 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, this is Washington D.C., where Iraq's New Prime Minister expected to meet with President Trump at
the White House today. It is 09:00 a.m. There in the U.S. capital, 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, the U.S. prepares to reimpose a naval blockade on Iranian ports as the ceasefire collapses. U.S.
lawmakers in Maine are calling for an investigation after a man there was fatally shot by I.C.E. agents, and world leaders celebrate Bastille Day
with France.
The U.S. stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. Futures pointing to a mixed open holding up, seemingly ignoring the worrying
geopolitical escalation in this region today. Right now, we begin with a ceasefire in tatters after another night of air strikes between the U.S.
and Iran.
President Donald Trump says he'll resume the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. How not clear. That is just hours away. The U.S. says it is designed
to stop Iran's ability to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran meantime launched its own strikes at U.S. allies in this region.
Bahrain had a tough few hours -- says its military destroyed several drones and missiles this morning. As the clashes in the Gulf grow more determined,
Lebanon, talking with Israel in Rome, it's trying to get Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon. CNN's Oren Liebermann watching those talks
in Rome and what is going on in the Gulf.
Let's start here. A third night of air strikes, and in just hours, a renewed U.S. blockade expected in the Strait of Hormuz. So, let's just get
our viewers up to speed on what happened overnight and how and when that blockade is expected to be reimposed?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Becky, U.S. Central Command says they carried out a new wave of strikes targeting a number of
different cities, a number of different targets, over a five-hour period. As you pointed out, the third consecutive night of strikes, the targets,
according to Central Command, which governs U.S. military operations in the Middle East, coastal defense systems, missiles, drones, as well as maritime
targets there.
So, the U.S. continues to pound Iran's military in an effort here to try to not only weaken the military, but we'll see where this goes. Frankly, in
the third night of strikes, the ceasefire has effectively completely fallen apart at this point, and it doesn't seem like there is any path forward on
the diplomatic side.
So, we'll see what it takes for mediators to get that back on track. Meanwhile, Iran has carried out its own strikes on Bahrain, on Jordan, as
well as on maritime targets, the UAE's Ministry of Defense says two of their tankers were targeted, killing one of the crew members.
And the UK maritime agency says another ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz was also targeted. That effectively means the Strait of Hormuz, one
of the world's most critical waterways, is once again closed, and we have seen that with oil prices spiking already, one of the largest spikes now
we've seen in weeks.
Meanwhile, the EU's aviation agency has warned carriers to stay away from many of the Gulf countries because of the very serious escalation we're
seeing here with no clear off-ramp. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has suggested that the U.S. might target Pickaxe Mountain, a very heavily
fortified underground nuclear facility there.
Iran has said they'll have a devastating response if the U.S. tries to target Pickaxe Mountain. Trump also suggested the U.S. might impose 20
percent fees on for protecting ships that are traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, first, it's not clear that this is actually feasible. This is
not a historic mission of the navy.
Beyond that, one of the navy's key purposes is to guarantee freedom of navigation around the world. This completely undermines one of the central
purposes of the navy. If it's the U.S. that would now start charging tolls for protection money effectively through the Strait of Hormuz.
On the other side of that, it also seems to justify Iran's charging of tolls as they had tried to do. And in fact, Iran even put out a message, I
believe it was the Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that pointed at that and said, well, if the U.S. can do that, then Iran can as well.
[09:05:00]
Becky, from where we sit now, it's unclear that this escalation is ending anytime soon, as it -- as the ceasefire really looks like it has fallen
apart.
ANDERSON: Yeah, he also said he thought 20 percent was rather a large number, and that the Iranians would be quote, fairer. Some trolling going
on there. We're also watching the talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome. These are important. Who's attending, and what are the two sides hoping to
achieve in this round?
LIEBERMANN: These are crucially U.S. brokered talks. We had seen these take place previously in Washington itself. Now they're taking place in Rome.
Lebanon is looking for Israel to carry out one of the first parts of the agreement. That is the withdrawal from what are two pilot zones right along
the Yellow Line, which is the border that demarcates Israeli occupied territory in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun had said Israel would have to withdraw from those territories if Lebanon were to attend here, Israel hasn't withdrawn
yet, but that's one of the key issues that will come up in negotiations Rome in these two days of talks around the specifics of that withdrawal.
And as Israel withdraws from those two areas, the Lebanese armed forces will step in and ensure security there. We got a statement yesterday from
the Israeli military who said they're preparing to withdraw, but negotiations around those details are still ongoing, which means
effectively they haven't gotten a political order to carry out that withdrawal yet.
So that's one of the key spots we're looking at. For Lebanon, the first withdrawal is a stepping stone to a greater withdrawal from southern
Lebanon at some point in the future. Israel, meanwhile, participating in these talks to see if there is a diplomatic way forward with Lebanon, also
because the U.S. is very much pressuring Israel here to try to get to a broader agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
ANDERSON: Yeah, this is fascinating, and we will watch those talks. Good to have you, Oren. Thank you. Well, in Paris, 500 soldiers, including 25 from
Ukraine, march down what is, of course, the famous Champs-Elysees, to mark France's Bastille Day this July the 14th.
The annual national parade comes a day after a number of leaders gathered in Paris for what's known as the Coalition of the Willing Summit. Western
allies of Ukraine announcing a new air defense coalition to help Kyiv thwart ballistic missile attacks from Russia. CNN's Clare Sebastian has
more from London.
A big show of force in Paris, coming just as Ukraine faces another overnight barrage from Russia. What's the latest?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Becky, that, there was that very overt show of force in Paris, as you see, a show of force in unity.
President Macron, of course, using the Bastille Day celebrations to showcase Europe's sort of increasing resolve to take charge of its own
defense, amid the U.S. of course stepping back.
But amid that, Ukraine facing what it said was its fifth assault by Russia involving ballistic missiles this month alone. So, the frequency of that
does seem to be going up. Now it was able to avert, shoot down, or suppress five out of the eight ballistic missiles used, according to the air force.
It has not been able to do so in some of the recent attacks. So, what we're in now is a race against time. Ukraine and its allies racing to beef up
Ukraine's defenses, as it's clear that Russia is in escalation mode. On Monday, they announced this coalition anti-ballistic missile coalition.
The core of that is to come together, Ukraine and its allies to build what would be a cheaper alternative, a cheaper European alternative to the
Patriot system. President Zelenskyy has also called for a winter air defense package involving some 300 Patriot interceptors.
That is a huge number, especially given that the effective collapse of the ceasefire with Iran will put even more strain on U.S. stockpiles. So, this
really is a race against time. And I think look, the sort of concentrating the minds around Ukraine, putting forward this package to you know, what it
says would be to survive what will be its fifth winter at war.
And all the while we see from Russia signals that it's not backing down from its maximalist goals and that it is in the mood to escalate here,
Becky.
ANDERSON: Yeah, Marco Rubio, I note at NATO, making it very clear, and one assumes he's speaking on behalf of the administration. He was asked to
speak in a press conference by Donald Trump after a question from one of the reporters about how the U.S. perceived Ukraine's stepping up of attacks
on Russia.
And Rubio said that what he effectively saw was a real change in the sort of paradigm.
[09:10:00]
The suggestion being that Ukraine really has got an upper hand, if not the upper hand, at this point. We've seen Ukraine stepping up again with
attacks on Russia. What's the Kremlin saying at this point?
SEBASTIAN: Yeah. So, as they said, the Kremlin is not giving any signal that it's willing to back down from its maximalist goals. We heard the
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov out today railing against sanctions. We hear repeated labeling of Ukraine as a terrorist state for its attacks on
Russian soil.
President Putin actually, in what seemed to be more off the cuff comments on Monday, said that Russia would continue to react to respond
proportionally to any Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil. And he said, and I quote, that the enemy, he said, I will continue to feel it going forward on
an ever-increasing scale.
So, there's more evidence, of course, of the whole idea that you that Russia is in this sort of escalatory mode. And of course, escalation on
both sides, we're seeing on many occasions, and last night being one of those, that the number of Ukrainian drones heading towards Russian
territory exceeds the number of Russian drones heading towards Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine is making an impact in terms of the oil industry. We now see an uptick in strikes on tankers in the Azov Sea. That is not only a key oil
route, but also a key route for Russian grain. So, it is having an impact, and that may be playing into this Russian mood of escalation.
They may be feeling that Ukrainian attacks are not only hitting their war budget. But also, potentially the public mood, shortening their window to
meet those goals militarily. If indeed they are able to do that, Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you. Really important stuff, Clare, thank you. Well, in the U.S. State of Maine, an immigrant has been killed in a shooting
involving I.C.E. agents. This is the second such death in the U.S. in less than a week. A neighbor identified the man as 26-year-old Joan Sebastian
Guerrero of Colombia.
We should warn you that this video showing the aftermath of the shooting may be disturbing to some viewers. It shows I.C.E. agents pulling him from
his vehicle after he was shot. An immigrants' rights group says he was legally authorized to work in the United States.
The shooting sparked protests in the small town of Biddeford, where Monday's incident occurred. Now, in a statement, the Department of Homeland
Security says, and I quote, here, illegal alien tried to flee during a vehicle stop, and an officer fired his weapon out of concern for public
safety.
CNN's Jason Carroll, following this for us from Biddeford. And we've seen the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's response to what happened. U.S.
Senator Angus King's office said Guerrero was not the target of the warrant. What's going on here? What more can you tell us?
And I don't think he can hear me. I don't think he's ignoring me. I don't think he has comms with me. All right, let's get back to him when we can.
Let's turn our focus to this region, which, of course, is grappling with renewed military tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
Iraq's New Prime Minister is in Washington, where he is set to meet with President Trump at the White House in the coming hours. This is Ali al-
Zaidi's first international trip since taking office in May, a position he secured with Mr. Trump's blessing after months of political deadlock in
Iraq.
He wrote this in "The Washington Post" op-ed ahead of his visit, quote, I carry to the United States a message of confidence that a sovereign Iraq
stands apart from regional alignments and conflicts and chooses instead the path of development with an open hand extended to its friends.
Well, Betsy Klein joining us live from the White House. How much of today's meeting is expected to focus on Iran? This is clearly a trip where the new
prime minister is hoping to build some business with the U.S. But the region, of course, front and center at this point, Iraq facing growing U.S.
pressure to bring Iran-backed armed factions in the country under state control.
How high is this on the agenda, do you believe?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I believe that this is going to be pretty much the crux of this meeting between President Trump and this
key regional leader, and it comes as we are seeing no signs of de- escalation between the U.S. and Iran.
The U.S. launching a fresh third consecutive night of strikes last night. And we are also seeing Iran respond in kind. And all of that is having a
major impact on Iraq's economy. At the heart of this conflict right now is the Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil thoroughfare.
Prior to this conflict, no country had full control over the Strait of Hormuz, and now Iran is using it as a major leverage point. Now Trump has
announced that the U.S. is going to resume its naval blockade for all ships going to and from Iranian ports.
[09:15:00]
At the same time that he says that the U.S. will impose this 20 percent fee on those merchant vessels. He says that this is because of the security
services that the U.S. is providing, but it's really unclear how this is going to happen, how it's going to work. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has
questioned whether this comports with international law.
And the president has previously said it's an international waterway that shouldn't have tolls. This will certainly be a key topic of discussion with
Iraq's leader today. But CENTCOM says that that blockade is officially going to begin at 04:00 p.m. Eastern Time, so just a few hours from now.
But as we think about a path forward to this conflict, which is certainly of interest to Iraq, I want to draw your attention to comments from
President Trump yesterday about that memorandum of understanding, which is, of course, that now defunct peace agreement signed about a month ago.
When he signed that agreement, he touted it as an agreement that achieves everything he set out to accomplish. He said that Iran would never have a
nuclear weapon, that the Strait of Hormuz would be open and that the conflict would end. Fast forward now about 30 some days.
This conflict has fully re-intensified. The president asked about that. He said he would have rather skipped the memorandum of understanding process
and gone straight to a deal. He said that a memorandum of understanding doesn't mean much. So, it's really unclear what the strategy is going to be
here going forward.
Certainly, Iraq's leader is going to try to get some more clarity on that. The president has also formally notified Congress that the U.S. plans to
resume its military action against Iran. A clear admission here that this peace deal is completely over, Becky.
ANDERSON: Before I let you go, the prime minister installed in May a relative newcomer to politics. He's a businessman backed by this
administration in Washington. He is expected to use this visit to court major U.S. energy investments. What's he likely to get out of it?
KLEIN: Well, I think there's certainly going to be a lot of interest in the U.S. side on that, and it all really with President Trump comes down to
what kind of a relationship that he can build with this U.S. leader. They have a lot in common. President Trump is going to fully appreciate his
business ties, so it'll be interesting to watch their dynamic there, Becky.
ANDERSON: OK, good stuff. Thank you. Right, I wanted to get to the U.S. State of Maine, where I.C.E. agents have shot dead and immigrants. CNN's
Jason Carroll joining us from Biddeford in Maine after that fatal shooting. U.S. Senator Angus King's office said that this guy Guerrero was not the
target of the warrant.
It does seem a very confused situation at this point. What more can you tell us about what happened and why?
JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, Becky, and it was confusing, you know, in the several hours following the shooting that
took place right out here at this intersection. And let me explain part of the reason for that, because initially, Senator King came out and said that
the person who was shot and killed was the target of the I.C.E. investigation.
That was the information that he was receiving from the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, who had told him that. And then several hours
later, Becky, we got an update from Senator King, who then said, nope, that's actually not the case. He said that the person who was killed was,
in fact, according to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, he was not the intended target of the investigation.
I mean, already you have a community that has a great deal of distrust of I.C.E. and the Department of Homeland Security, and this just in some ways
just added to that. I want you to listen, for example, to what a local congresswoman said, this is her district. I want you to listen to what her
take was on what happened out here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHELLIE PINGREE (D-ME): By all accounts, he was the wrong man, not the person that I.C.E. had been targeting. He was headed off to work, lived
very close nearby, and there was a nice operation going on, looking for someone else. But he was in the car. And by all accounts, certainly after
the shooting, his wife and three-year-old daughter, in her bluey pajamas with a pink backpack, were also on the scene. So, they witnessed seeing
their father's dead body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: So again, Guerrero, 26 years old, killed on his way to work, according to an immigrants' rights group. He had a social security number.
His mother releasing a parcel statement on social media. She's in Colombia. She said, quote, you went to search for the American dream, and that same
country ended your life, Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you. You're watching "Connect the World". Coming up, we'll take you on a police patrol in London, where officers have been dispatched
to protect Jewish communities after the UK has seen an unsettling spike in antisemitism.
[09:20:00]
And an outbreak of diarrhea in Michigan and Ohio has gotten more than 3,000 people sick. We'll have more on the food that might be a culprit. That up
next.
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ANDERSON: Troubling rise in antisemitism prompting the British government to boost policing in Jewish communities in the United Kingdom. More than
$330 million will now be invested in increasing patrols and security. This announcement follows a rise in antisemitic hate crimes over the past year.
My colleague Jomana Karadshe spent the day with one of London's specialized Met police units, observing their response tactics. Got to give you a
warning, the footage in this report is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- searching of suspect --
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're responding to a call about a male with a knife outside a school. We were really close by.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were down the road. All I know is there was one with a knife and one of them was indecent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how long ago did they go?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Less than a minute.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): This isn't an ordinary police patrol. We're out with the Met Police's proactive patrols, additional forces dedicated to
securing these predominantly Jewish areas of London. They spot men matching the description.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got any idea why they'd give a description that matches you, mate?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No --
KARADSHEH (voice-over): After a quick stop and search, they find no knife, so they let them go.
KARADSHEH: So, what we just saw now-that was an incident that wasn't. It didn't seem to be targeting the Jewish community, but you responded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our overriding aim as a police service is to protect life. So, when a call comes out where a knife is present and that could be
a direct threat to someone's life, no matter who it is, then it's our job to respond to that.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Following a string of attacks earlier this year, mostly targeting the Jewish community, the terrorism threat level in the UK
was raised to severe. And the Met Police is on high alert, especially in this part of North London.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The demand has been astronomical. It's definitely the highest demand I've ever seen. I think that's because of the incidents that
have happened in the area, and quite naturally, the communities that live within this area of London feeling unsafe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've also seen sort of physical assaults. So, we had one not that long ago where someone was making Nazi salutes and sort of
shouting hi, Hitler, and baby killers and people like that, and then walked into a cafe and punched a random member in the public in the face simply
because they were visibly Jewish.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): These officers have also had to deal with what they say has been a steep increase in all kinds of antisemitic abuse. Incidents
like this one, authorities say two young men traveled to a Jewish area to film themselves for social media going quote, fishing for Jews, with a bank
note on the end of a fishing rod.
[09:25:00]
They both pleaded guilty and were convicted of religiously aggravated harassment. For many in this community, the visible police presence is
welcome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's been a lot of patrol cars like driving up and down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, but I feel it's needed.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): Since the October 7th attacks and the war in Gaza, anti-Semitic offenses in London have hit record levels, according to
official figures, and have spiked again since the U.S. and Israel's conflict in Iran. The Met works closely with local Jewish security groups.
24-year-old Nathaniel Fahidi says the police presence helps, but he still feels nervous about revealing his faith in public.
KARADSHEH: If you were to explain what it's like being Jewish in the UK right now to people outside the country, what would you say?
NATHANIEL FAHIDI, JEWISH LONDON RESIDENT: Worrying. I mean, I'm not particularly religious, but I now refrain from being openly Jewish, and I
know lots of other families who are in my community who have now decided to move to different countries because being here just doesn't feel safe
anymore.
KARADSHEH (voice-over): With British Jews feeling the repercussions of what's happening thousands of miles away, an antisemitic hate on the rise.
What started as temporary patrols is now here to stay. Jomana Karadshe, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool has been
drained for repairs after President Trump claimed vandals gashed the pool's lining without providing evidence.
The pools $40 million renovation project has recently been complicated by algae buildup and chipping paint. Well U.S. health officials now say salad
greens may be behind a parasitic outbreak that has sickened thousands of people in the states. At least 31 states have recorded cases, although it's
not clear whether they are part of the same outbreak.
My colleague Jacqueline Howard from our health team reports.
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Health officials in Michigan say that they are zeroing in on lettuce or salad greens as a potential source
of the outbreak of cyclospora cases that they're seeing in their state. Now they also say that other foods cannot be completely ruled out, and their
investigation is ongoing.
They also mentioned that no specific grower or specific supplier has been identified yet, but this is significant progress in their investigation in
a state where more than 2,600 people have gotten sick with cyclospora infections, and among them, at least 44 people have been hospitalized.
And while this outbreak in Michigan is getting a lot of attention, separately, there have been separate cases of cyclospora that have been
reported across more than half of states in the U.S. 31 states total have reported cases so far recently this summer, and we do know the symptoms to
watch for include watery diarrhea.
That's the most common. Sometimes it's explosive diarrhea, cramping, bloating, loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue. For many people who do end up
hospitalized, it's usually because those symptoms have led to dehydration. Now, this infection can be treated with a combination antibiotic, but of
course, you want to avoid getting sick in the first place.
In the State of Michigan, health officials have recommended to reduce the risk you can purchase whole heads of lettuce and discard those outer
layers, thoroughly wash those inner layers, and they also say to prioritize cooking your greens if you can. Again, we do know that in some cases people
can become infected by ingesting contaminated food.
That's food that may be contaminated with feces. So thoroughly washing your fresh produce is significantly important to reduce your risk. Back to you.
ANDERSON: Right, still to come on "Connect the World", the opening bell and the start of trading on Wall Street. That is in that matter of seconds.
We'll look at the factors impacting the markets, including confusion between the U.S. and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
The fighting flares up. That's all causing the oil price to kick back up. The markets themselves still mostly flat on the futures and new inflation
data out of the U.S. better than expected. So why are we seeing relatively strong economic indicators despite all this uncertainty? Well, I'll talk to
an expert about that, up next.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching "Connect the World". The markets have opened 2.5 minutes into the trading
day. Let's have a look and see how things are getting on, and that is exactly as we had expected the markets to open.
The indications were for a mixed open on the futures market, and that is where things stand. Oil prices have been rising again today. Brent crude
just saw its sharpest increase since March of 2020 on Monday, and WTI crude at 80 spot 41. Brent crude at just over 86 bucks on the barrel.
That's after a 9 percent gain yesterday. That is when President Trump announced that the U.S. was quote taking over the Strait of Hormuz and
would be reinstating what he calls the Iranian blockade. He also said the U.S. quote, will be reimbursed at the rate of 20 percent on all cargo
shipped for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to the volatile section of the world.
Joining us now, Noureldeen Al Hammoury is the Chief Market Strategist for the Equiti Group Dubai Base, but coming to us today from Kansas City in
Missouri. It's good to have you on.
NOURELDEEN AL HAMMOURY, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST FOR THE EQUITI GROUP: Thank you for having me.
ANDERSON: I mean, we have to caveat what Donald Trump. What I've just read out by Donald Trump is completely unclear how he or the U.S. would impose a
20 percent guarding fee, as it were. And you know a lot of people calling this out, suggesting the sheer hypocrisy of this post, given that the U.S.
has been saying no tolls can be charged in what is international waterways.
I guess the U.S. would suggest that these would be a charge for services rendered. But be that as it may, this is the latest in the strait. And I
want to bring up the image, the Kpler tracking image. Practically nothing getting through, oil prices spiking again. Markets, though, seem to be
ignoring this escalation today, why?
[09:35:00]
HAMMOURY: I mean, there's a lot to uncover from what we're seeing, at least from the U.S. Administration comments and regarding how this is going to
how -- what's the end game and how this is going to basically going forward? But as we know, the Strait of Hormuz, and also in addition to
that, now the talks about the Bab-el-Mandeb, two of the world's most important marine time checkpoints.
But today's markets are much more sophisticated than they were in the previous geopolitical tensions or crises, including the one that we have
now. But investors are basically no longer buying oil or basically going short on equities or getting away with it simply because tensions are
basically rising.
They're asking one more of a question, has the flow of oil actually been disrupted? As long as the energy continues moving through these routes, at
least even partially, markets are likely to remain relatively resilient. And the lesson from the recent years and from the recent months that we've
seen is that geopolitical headlines alone are no longer enough to create a lasting market trend.
However, with what Donald Trump has said about the 20 percent it definitely raises a lot of uncertainty regarding what Iran was doing compared to what
Donald Trump is planning to do about the 20 percent and this would be, of course, will have an immediate effect, which is what we're seeing now on
shipping rates, insurance, and others.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and I want to talk about that because these transportation costs are going to go higher. It seems whatever happens at this point,
transportation and insurance costs, whether or not there's a 20 percent sort of guarding fee, or whether it's just because there is that is extra
risk insurance, that risk premium added that will create inflationary pressure.
We did just get better than expected inflation data out of the United States. We can see the month-on-month downward change in the consumer price
index on the chart that I'm just showing now. What do you make of those numbers and indeed the optimistic market action?
HAMMOURY: That is basically when you look at it, it's the month over month. Month over month is basically because of what happened last month when the
prices went down after the announcement of the MOU agreement, and this is basically not something that is surprising.
But if you look at the core CPI and the year over year data, we're still elevated now. The core CPI, at least, we're trading about 3.5 percent. The
year over year CPI is also remained heavily elevated, which is again, this is not something that the Federal Reserve will look at on a month over
month.
It will look more on the year over year over year basis, and this is basically will continue to put more weight on the Federal Reserve when it
comes to the next meeting. We don't expect this upcoming meeting to have a rate hike, at least from the Federal Reserve. But the bigger concern, I
guess, however, now isn't just a necessarily higher oil price.
It is, as you said, inflation. Even if enough oil reaches global markets, higher transportation costs eventually will feed into the prices of what
consumers pay.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
HAMMOURY: And this is what we've seen over the past couple months, or since the beginning of this war. And that means also, of course, central banks
could find themselves keeping interest rates higher for longer. And investors shouldn't basically just watch for only the crude oil.
They should also watch inflation expectations because that is where the broader economic impact may emerge.
ANDERSON: And to that end, and I do wonder whether those who are ignoring the oil price spike at present do so at their peril. Your regional
expertise important to us. What do you make then of the flare-up between the Saudis and the Houthis in the past 24 hours, also.
HAMMOURY: I guess this is not something that anybody would like to see. I mean, the region again. Remember the couple of couple of months ago, even
before the war started, we said that we need stability, we need more trust, we need more dialog. And unfortunately, with how many months passed, and so
far, things are becoming even more complicated.
And this is not in the interest of any of the countries in the region. That's why I still believe, despite the tensions that are rising right now,
that at some point we will definitely have to reach some sort of a de- escalation phase, whether if it's from Saudi, from the U.S. from all the parties involved, because at the end of the day, I mean, this region has
suffered a lot over the past couple of months.
It's no one's interest for this war to continue. In addition to that, of course, but not to forget that.
ANDERSON: Got it.
HAMMOURY: If the first impact that we saw from February to April, I think the impact from now until the end of the year would be even larger if the
war actually continued.
ANDERSON: Yeah, understood. Good to have you. Thank you for joining us out of Kansas City, Missouri today. Right, Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrated his
19th birthday on Monday.
[09:40:00]
Now the young star looking to extend those celebrations at the World Cup. More on that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: -- in store as France and Spain lock horns for a World Cup final spot -- Lamine Yamal, fresh off his birthday celebrations, looking to
shine. CNN's Patrick Snell joining us with more. They certainly looked in good form as the team and the squad gave him that birthday cake.
Bless him. What are you expecting from the match today?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Becky, I can't believe he's still a teenager. It seems like he's been at the highest levels of the sport for
many, many years already. When he burst onto the scene, didn't he? As a 16- year-old, I'm expecting fireworks. I can't wait for this clash, Becky.
You've got the star-studded match-up between Lamine Yamal and Spain's La Roja, and then some guy by the name of Kylian Mbappe already with eight
World Cup goals to his name, this tournament alone should be a star-studded match-up. I can't wait. Lamine Yamal says that Spain has nothing to fear
against the French. Back to you.
ANDERSON: Good. I think he's overstating things there. More coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:00:00]
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