Return to Transcripts main page
Connect the World
Brent Crude Hits $100; Houthis Claim Attack on Two Saudi Oil Tankers in Red Sea; Support for Indian Student Demonstrations Goes Global; GOP Use Olive Garden to Defend Voter ID Law; U.S.-Israel War with Iran; "Super Shoes." Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 23, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm
Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, where the time is just after 6:00 in the evening.
Now growing concerns over U.S. and Iranian strikes escalating as Yemen's Houthis attack two Saudi tankers.
Protests in India continue as prime minister Modi promises to deal with widespread complaints about education.
And firefighters battle one of Spain's biggest ever wildfires amid a Mediterranean heat wave.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: As the U.S.-Iran war escalates in this region, top officials from both countries are hardening their rhetoric. Here's U.S. secretary of state
Marco Rubio, speaking earlier on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think I saw -- you know, guys, I saw Araghchi, their foreign minister, who the other day say something about
their policy is an eye for eye.
The president's policy is a head for an eye. I mean, honestly, that's what it's going to be. I mean, they will pay a very heavy price for the things
they're doing. They're already paying a very heavy price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: As you heard there from Rubio, his Iranian counterpart recently described his country's defense doctrine as an eye for an eye. On
Wednesday, president Trump posted on social media that the U.S. would bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant anytime Iran targets a ship in the
Strait of Hormuz.
And Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have seemingly made good on their threat to target Saudi ships in the Red Sea, with reports that two Saudi flagged
oil tankers were struck today. Satellite imagery from NASA appears to show one of the ships on fire.
Renewed fighting and heightened threats in this region have pushed oil back over an unwanted milestone. Global benchmark Brent crude topped $100 a
barrel today. Let's check in on those numbers right now.
As you can see, sitting $100.49 per barrel, that's up almost 7 percent. WTI up 5.6 percent at just below $92 a barrel. And as you can see, WTI, that
threshold passed for the first time since early June. So a lot happening here.
Oil markets reacting to those reports that Houthi militants attacked Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. CNN's Anna Stewart is covering the latest for
us from London.
I mean, seeing oil prices topping these important, you know, technical levels, the question is, how much of the uncertainty of the risk of the
threat has actually been priced in?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's really unclear at this stage. What was interesting, I thought from yesterday, was analysts'
warning that we could hit $100 a barrel or more if Houthi rebels make good on their threat, that they would create a complete blockade of the Red Sea.
And we're not there yet. Yes, they are claiming that they've attacked two Saudi vessels but there were still 43 transits through that very narrow
chokepoint at the bottom of the Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. There were still 43 transits.
And yet we are already seeing oil at over $100 a barrel today with the with -- the idea that it could, of course, go higher. What we're looking at here
is a double chokepoint for oil.
Yes, we are aware of the Strait of Hormuz practically being closed, effectively being closed with very few crossings -- I think there were just
15 crossings yesterday. So around a 10th of what we would have seen before the Iran war.
But now potentially we're going to see a chokepoint on the other side on the Strait of Hormuz. Now the reason that this is so important when it
comes to the oil price is this is something Saudi Arabia has been relying on so heavily.
They've managed to divert something around like 70 percent of their crude oil exports from the Strait of Hormuz, where they used to export all of it
right across the country through the East-West Pipeline, relying therefore on the Red Sea.
So now with this risk and with these, the claim that Houthi militants have actually attacked two vessels, now that's looking really uncertain,
potentially taking another 6-7 percent of global oil off the market.
In terms of where we go from here, I think we have to see how many U-turns we get. There were four U-turns the day before yesterday. There were then
11 yesterday. Now we've seen two ships actually being attacked. It's whether or not this latest situation means that strait is also effectively
closed, like the Strait of Hormuz.
[10:05:00]
In which case we could see oil prices ticking much, much higher, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Yes. OK. So what's interesting is ECB keeping rates unchanged today. Christine Lagarde saying that a mild scenario seemingly quite
unlikely because they just cannot really tell what's going to happen next because of the uncertainty.
And this is the issue. We just don't know where this is headed. And really a lot of it pertains to inflation and the numbers we're seeing on our
screen right now.
STEWART: Yes. And for these central banks, you know, they're always looking backwards, really at backwards-looking data. And Christine Lagarde
at the ECB was asked what she thought and whether it was discussed this choke point and the Red Sea. And that had not been taken into account.
That is something that, of course, they will talk about before the next meeting but they're always backwards-looking. And yes, the situation we're
seeing with oil right now, of course, feeds into the global inflation picture.
And it's hard for anyone to predict with any certainty where we're going, either in the Strait of Hormuz or now the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. So you
know, double chokepoint, double shipping crisis, with no real end in sight and a lot of rhetoric from all sides really escalating the situation.
GIOKOS: All right. Anna Stewart, thank you so much for that update. I want to bring in Betsy Klein, who joins us now from the White House.
Betsy, there's a lot of news coming through today from this region. I want to touch on something that president Trump just put out.
He said that the nuclear program deal with Saudi Arabia that was announced this week would be contingent on Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords;
in other words, normalization with Israel. This was a previous stipulation that Saudi Arabia had rejected.
Have we heard yet from the Saudis?
And what more do we know about this caveat from the White House?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, it's certain to pose a major roadblock to this deal. The ink isn't even dry. This was
signed just yesterday.
And it provided Saudi Arabia with a major win from the Trump administration. Under this deal, which president Trump personally signed
off on and announced yesterday, it provides Saudi Arabia with a civilian nuclear program and it could lead to the kingdom enriching its own fuel for
civilian reactors.
This is expected to last about 30 years. It is also estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars, as American companies go to Saudi Arabia to
provide their expertise and technology.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright signing that agreement yesterday evening with his Saudi counterpart. But the president now says that, if this is to
go forward, the country must agree to sign on to the Abraham Accords.
He said in that post to social media, it is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. Now Saudi Arabia
has historically been resistant to signing on to the Abraham Accords.
That is, of course, that first-term deal, secured during the president's first term in office and then expanded during his second term, to allow
Middle Eastern countries to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
This is something that Saudi Arabia's crown prince has publicly said he's not interested in doing unless Israel is open to the creation of a
Palestinian state. So a lot has to happen for that to move forward. And it seems extremely unlikely at this stage.
Now it's unclear what type of impact this social media missive is going to have on this agreement. I've asked the White House if it would potentially
pause it. We've asked Saudi Arabia for comment.
But we had already heard striking criticism of this nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia from Israel and Israeli officials yesterday. Today, prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu reacting very positively to the president's new social media post. He says it would be a historic leap forward for peace in the
Middle East.
Now there are also expected to be concerns on Capitol Hill on both sides of the aisle. This deal, it needs to be formally sent to Congress for a
review. And it is possible that the agreement faces a disapproval resolution that could block it from moving forward.
So we'll have to watch how all of this plays out. But certainly a lot of questions about its viability going forward.
GIOKOS: Yes. All right. I want to bring in Nic Robertson.
Nic, good to have you on. I mean, we're seeing a lot of movement in the Gulf. The involvement now of the Houthis seem to be signaling an
escalation. We saw that transpiring with those two vessels. What is interesting is that, according to Kpler, Chinese vessels have been able to
negotiate the passage.
What are you hearing from sources about the direction in which this conflict is going?
Because rhetoric from both sides, the headlines, is just escalatory.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Look, what it appears that the Chinese are able to do with their tankers coming out of the Red
Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
[10:10:04]
And then on to Asia, on to China appears to mirror what they were able to do with Iran coming out of the Strait of Hormuz, where the Chinese were
able to take the advice that the Iranians had given to go with their management system, go by the northern route and get their get their vessels
in and out of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis, coming on board to join the Iranians to drive up the price of oil, is exactly what the Iranians would want in this situation, which is to
accelerate the increase in the price of oil by stopping Saudi tankers getting Saudi oil out of the out of the Red Sea.
Of course, the Saudis pipe across Saudi Arabia, across the Arabian Peninsula, a lot of their oil, 7 million, 8 million barrels a day of oil
across the country, because they can't get it out of the Strait of Hormuz and export it through the Red Sea.
Now if the Red Sea is shut off, this really leaves them not quite high and dry; they can still get some out through the Suez Canal to the north,
coming out of the Red Sea, that way to the Mediterranean.
But it's really going to compound the problem of the price of oil and potentially draw Saudi Arabia, potentially the United States as well, into
attacks on the Houthis. This is -- this really is a decision that we can be quite sure the Saudis are considering at the moment.
GIOKOS: All right. Nic Robertson, Betsy Klein, thank you so much. Good to have you on.
Firefighters in central Spain are battling one of the country's biggest ever wildfires. After almost a week, it has devoured 32,000 hectares of
land and local people are calling it an ecological disaster.
It comes just two weeks after a fire in the south of the country killed 13 people. Repeated heat waves and drought conditions are fueling fires across
Europe, particularly in northern Spain and southwest France, where hundreds of firefighters have been deployed. Pau Mosquera is in Madrid.
Seeing these images, I know how hard it is to actually, you know, try and contain these wildfires once they start. It's really tough. I'm sure the
heat, the continued heat, is not helping firefighters on the ground. Tell me what's going on.
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN SPAIN CORRESPONDENT: That's it, Eleni, because the experts are saying that climate change is one of the main drivers for the
heat wave that we have seen over the last weeks.
And these very heat waves are responsible in some cases of the fires that we have seen all across Europe. And right now, as we speak, Eleni, hundreds
of emergency workers are actively working to extinguish the many different wildfires that are active across Europe.
In Spain, authorities concerned is focused into the fire that is burning in the surroundings of La Mierla, a town in Guadalajara, located central
Spain. This fire that was declared a week ago has already scorched around 32,000 hectares of forest.
This is why around 200 firefighters are still working on the area on the perimeter of this fire, as try to contain it as quickly as possible. But
this is not an easy task. And actually, the authorities are saying that this is one of the largest fires ever registered in the country.
And this situation is happening just days after the fire in Los Gallardos claimed the life of 13 people. But unfortunately, Eleni, this situation is
no stranger to our neighbors in France.
The authorities had to evacuate around 10,000 people overnight because of the wildfire burning in the commune of Samos. And many of these people were
in different campsites located in the area.
Now the experts, as we were saying at the very beginning, are worried that, as if the heat waves and extreme heat is to keep repeating in the
forthcoming years, the risk of wildfires like these ones is still going to be really high, Eleni.
GIOKOS: Pau Mosquera, thank you so much for that update.
Move to India now, where the capital saw another day of protest, again, with students demanding actions over an exam-rigging scandal. Prime
minister Narendra Modi is addressing the issue for the first time, promising swift and stringent punishment for those involved. CNN's Rhea
Mogul reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RHEA MOGUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The so-called Cockroaches first filled New Delhi's streets. Now they're showing up thousands of miles
away from New York to London.
[10:15:00]
Supporters of India's Cockroach protests are going global, amplifying movement in India. That's become one of the biggest challenges to prime
minister Narendra Modi's government.
And it's growing at home, too. Some of India's biggest celebrities have voiced solidarity. Bollywood superstar Salman Khan praised the students'
dedication and has called for a solution.
Support galvanized after a police crackdown on protesters earlier this week, when tens of thousands of mostly young people marched through New
Delhi. They're demanding the resignation of India's education minister and sweeping reforms to an examination system they say denies millions of
students a fair chance at success.
Police fired tear gas. Batons swung. Injuries were reported on both sides. But the protesters aren't backing down. They've reclaimed their main
protest site in the capital, vowing to stay for as long as it takes.
India's opposition has seized on the anger, calling for Modi's resignation and clashing with police.
MOGUL: On Thursday, while avoiding any direct reference to the protests, Modi said India's youth were, quote, "important" and pledged action against
exam paper leaks, a rare acknowledgment for a leader known for keeping a distance when the political pressure mounts.
MOGUL (voice-over): Modi has weathered major crises before, from year-long farmer protests against agricultural reforms to public anger during India's
COVID pandemic. But this challenge may be different.
Nearly two-thirds of the country's 1.4 billion people are under 35 and Modi can't afford to lose the support of India's youth, making them not just the
face of this movement but potentially one of the most powerful political forces in the country -- Rhea Mogul, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: And still to come, a former boss of Barclays is facing questions about his lengthy ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
And all-you-can-eat pasta has become a new Republican talking point. How a chain of restaurants is getting twirled into politics. That's coming up
next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: Happening right now on Capitol Hill, Joe Staley, the former CEO of British bank Barclays, is facing questions in a closed door hearing about
his relationship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It's a part of a House Oversight Committee investigation into Epstein. His ties to Epstein began in 2000, when Staley took charge of JPMorgan's
private bank; 69-year-old Staley previously admitted to having relations with a member of Epstein's staff but says he was unaware of the financier's
criminal activities.
Republican officials in the U.S. have latched on to a pop culture story to defend their controversial voter ID law and now it involves an Italian
American restaurant chain known for its all-you-can-eat pasta.
[10:20:00]
Some supporters argue it's easier to commit voter fraud than it is to use someone else's never-ending pasta pass at Olive Garden. CNN's Tom Foreman
serves up the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First round, get your go-to. Second, have what she's having.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An Olive Garden diner asks online if his whole family can share his never-ending pasta pass, which is
good for months. The restaurant chain says no, it's only for use by the pass holder, who must present a valid photo I'D.
And that prompts White House advisor Stephen Miller to serve up some piping hot politics.
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: We've reached the point of society where access to fettuccini at Olive Garden is vastly more secure than
deciding who is commander-in-chief of the country.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Some Republicans have bellied up to that table fast, asking their fellow lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act, please.
REP. BRYAN STEIL (R.-WI): We're protecting our breadsticks more than our ballots in jurisdictions across this country.
FOREMAN (voice-over): They've been pushing the measure for months to put strict new I'D requirements on anyone trying to vote.
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R.-LA): The only reason you can be against that is if you want voter fraud. It's a main course for President Donald Trump, who
implied he simply overpowered election fraud when he won in 2016.
TRUMP: Folks, the system is rigged.
FOREMAN (voice-over): That he was cheated when he lost in 2020.
TRUMP: It was a rigged election.
FOREMAN (voice-over): And even now, back in office, he relentlessly claims corruption is common when Americans go to the polls.
TRUMP: This cannot be allowed to continue.
FOREMAN (voice-over): The fly in the sauce: it's not true. Courts, election experts and researchers have found time and again that voter fraud
at any level is exceedingly rare and almost never decides the outcome of any election.
Still, the GOP keeps dishing distrust on the issue.
ABIGAIL JACKSON, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY: Olive Garden takes pasta past security more seriously than Democrats are taking election
security.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Even as many Democrats say, the SAVE America Act could discourage legal voters by stoking fears and raising onerous
requirements, such as proving citizenship or making a married woman prove she changed her name long ago, not for pasta but for a constitutional
right.
FOREMAN: Of course, we reached out to Olive Garden to see if the company had any comment. Nothing yet. This legislation has made it through the U.S.
House but it has stalled in the Senate, where it doesn't seem to have the votes. But the Republicans are still cooking on it -- Tom Foreman, CNN,
Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: All right. Mexico is conducting its own investigation into the lettuce believed to be the source of a cyclospora outbreak in the United
States.
The CDC has confirmed more than 4,000 cases and over 7,400 suspected cases undergoing additional lab testing. The lettuce linked to the outbreak was
grown in central Mexico, as CNN's Valeria Leon reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mexican authorities are conducting their own investigation into the cyclospora outbreak in the United States after
U.S. officials traced the lettuce supply to a company operating in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato.
The FDA initially reported that a lettuce sample had tested positive for the parasite but later withdrew that result, saying it was a false
positive. Despite that reversal and although there is currently no evidence confirming contamination, Mexico decided to continue with its own
investigation.
Mexico's health secretary, David Kershenobich, also confirmed three cases of cyclosporiasis in Mexico but said authorities have ruled out an outbreak
in the country. So far, officials have not linked those cases to the lettuce involved in the U.S. investigation.
Here's how Kershenobich explained Mexico's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID KERSHENOBICH, MEXICO SECRETARY OF HEALTH (through translator): A sample was taken that tested positive but the FDA later determined it was a
false positive.
Therefore, we currently have no evidence. However, we have traveled to Guanajuato and collected samples to conduct our own investigation in
coordination with the U.S. CDC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEON: The lettuce was traced to Taylor Farms in Mexico, which voluntarily removed iceberg lettuce from central Mexico from the U.S. market. And the
case is significant for Mexico because the U.S. is its largest agricultural export market. No broader restrictions on Mexican produce have been
announced.
But Mexican authorities, of course, want to determine whether contamination occurred at the source and prevent the investigation from affecting another
producers and exports -- Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, a new warning for Iran from the U.S. president.
[10:25:00]
Plus an expert to look at what the conflict could mean for Donald Trump's reputation. We'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos. These are your headlines.
The U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio is describing president Donald Trump's Iran policy as, quote, "a head for an eye" after the president
threatened to destroy Iranian bridges and power plants.
Rubio's comments come after his Iranian counterpart called his country's defense doctrine an eye for an eye.
Meantime, president Donald Trump says the U.S. will hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
The president's warning comes after the Houthis claimed responsibility for striking two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea. Satellite imagery from NASA
appears to show one of the tankers on fire.
Firefighters in central Spain are battling one of the country's biggest ever wildfires. The blaze has devoured 32,000 hectares of land and is
around 34 villages have been evacuated. Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to fight the flames.
GIOKOS: I want to come back now to that new warning from president Trump that he considers Tehran responsible for any Houthi attacks on ships in the
Red Sea and describing the Houthis as a surrogate or proxy for Iran.
Earlier today, U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio insisted Iran is begging for a peace agreement, while Tehran condemned what it called unlawful
threats from Washington.
Brett Bruen was on the staff of the U.S. National Security Council in the Obama White House. He's now president of the Global Situation Room and
joins us now from Washington.
Brett, really good to have you with us. I want to start ahead for an eye -- an eye for an eye, you know, retaliatory comments and then real retaliation
on the ground as well.
I mean, what do you make of this escalation that we're in right now and whether you are seeing some kind of offramp?
BRETT BRUEN, FORMER U.S. DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT: Well, I think losing your head is not a smart way of getting to peace. And that's the
problem that both Rubio and Trump confront, is we don't have a plan, a path forward.
And we've just lost four service members in the last week; over 100 in the last couple of weeks have been injured. And so with the casualties
mounting, with costs mounting, there are a lot of folks here in Washington -- you heard it yesterday on Capitol Hill who are demanding some answers.
And what are our objectives?
Because Trump told us at the outset it was getting rid of Iran's missiles, getting rid of their nuclear capabilities, as well as getting rid of the
regime.
[10:30:00]
That's, you know, not what we're hearing now. And it, quite frankly, is not clear what their end state is.
GIOKOS: Yes, exactly.
So I mean, what are the objectives, how long this is going to last?
The goalposts keep changing. And you know, there's so much happening in the region right now. It's really tough to tell where it's headed. But clearly
Iran wants to exert control in the Strait of Hormuz.
You're seeing the Houthis now, you know, restricting and blockading any vessels that have Saudi links.
How concerned are you about the leverage that Iran's still yields?
BRUNHUBER: Well, as you know, the Red Sea is a major transit point along with the Suez Canal for international commerce.
And so the fact that you've got not only these threats but you know, in recent years, the missiles that the Houthis have been launching toward
vessels in the Red Sea, is going to send chills down the spines of the shipping companies, the insurance companies, the banks.
And that is going to have a significantly larger effect on the global economy than we've even seen from the Strait of Hormuz. So it is important,
I think, that Trump account for this added risk, this added volatility and figure out quickly, how are we going to get back to the negotiating table,
back to a ceasefire.
GIOKOS: OK. So I want to check in on oil prices right now. Brent crude is sitting just above $100 a barrel, WTI at almost $92 a barrel. And what's
really interesting is that you've come out with this reputation risk index for the second quarter.
And I just want to put up the, you know, the overall results. Number one issue is major international disruption. Number two, AI. And number three,
president Trump. This is very different from the results that you had in the first quarter. Take me through what corporate America is thinking right
now.
BRUEN: Yes. What we're seeing is, in fact, that the cost of the war in Iran, whether it's on the price increases, whether it's on the supply
issues.
Whether it's on, quite frankly, some of the national brand blemishes that have been faced on top of just the uncertainty, which is making it very
difficult for companies to plan investments to shore up consumer confidence.
All of this has sent the war in Iran to the very top of this risk index. We've been doing it for 1.5 years. This is the first time that we have seen
a conflict come out on top as the major brand concern.
And I think it speaks to the impact that we are starting to appreciate of this war on all aspects of the economy, of how companies are operating. And
I think it is going to have a very chilling effect in terms of what American companies can do. But just companies more broadly have to navigate
this risk environment. And it is quite precarious.
GIOKOS: Yes, exactly. And, you know, looking at what Brent crude is doing, looking at what the oil markets are having to deal with, supply chain
disruptions, I mean, all of the issues that we're seeing, the confrontation that we're seeing.
Look, things could change dramatically in the next few months.
But is there a sense of just extreme uncertainty?
I think everyone is just saying, what happened?
Nobody knows what will happen next.
And what decision will ultimately shape the future of not only the Middle East but also dictates what happens in these key waterways?
BRUEN: Well, I think what we have seen in just the last couple of weeks is that investors, consumers, stakeholders' confidence has really been shaken
because we had a ceasefire deal. We seemed to be on the path toward something approximating peace. And then that was tossed overboard. And now
we're back into the conflict.
And so, you know, if you are sitting in the boardroom, if you're leading a company, you're trying to figure out, how do I maintain that consumer
confidence, despite obviously the significant increases in price pressure as well as obviously these supply disruptions. The Red Sea and the Houthi
threats are going to only exacerbate that.
But on top of which you don't know whether you can make investments to hire investments in new campaigns to try and build up that consumer confidence
in your brands and in your company.
So this is a really complex, difficult scenario for companies to navigate. And I think it's going to require some extra effort on trying to build up
those strategic reservoirs of goodwill, which are needed to get through this conflict.
GIOKOS: All right, Brett Bruen. Brett, great to have you with us.
[10:35:00]
Thank you so much.
OK. I want to take you to some breaking news now, just coming in to CNN. The U.S. House has just voted to restrict president Donald Trump's war
powers in a rebuke over the Iran war. Four Republicans joined Democrats to support the measure.
Still, even if the Senate were to pass it, it wouldn't compel the Trump administration to end the war. We'll give you an update on that story as it
develops.
In the meantime, still to come on the show, a new threat to a key global oil artery as Houthi rebels claim they've attacked Saudi tankers in the Red
Sea. We'll be breaking down the risks facing the critical shipping routes. That's coming up just ahead.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: Welcome back.
This hour, oil prices are climbing sharply amid fresh escalation in the Middle East conflict. Brent crude, the global benchmark, as you can see,
over $100 a barrel. That's the first time since May.
WTI, the U.S. benchmark, also rising up 5.7 percent, sitting just below $92 a barrel.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis claim they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea days after announcing a blockade targeting Saudi vessels.
President Trump now saying the U.S. will hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis.
I want to discuss this further with Dimitris Maniatis, the CEO of MARISKS, a maritime risk management company.
Dimitris, really good to have you with us. I mean, we're watching very closely what's happening in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea. You have
elevated the threat level in the Red Sea to critical.
We've seen two vessels struck. We've also heard some Chinese-lit (ph) vessels that have moved from Yanbu, which is a Saudi port. They have been
able to secure transit.
So what exactly is going on?
DIMITRIS MANIATIS, CEO, MARISKS: Well, our fears that the Houthis will get involved in this conflict have actually now materialized.
This is one of the worst case scenarios where you have both the Strait of Hormuz blocked and now the Bab-el-Mandeb under the tight control of the
Houthis, who have specifically targeted Saudi-owned and managed vessels.
The next level of escalation that we fear is that the targeting criteria of the Houthi will start including vessels of other nationalities or ownership
that perform trade calls in Saudi ports.
GIOKOS: OK, so give me a sense of why we've seen some Chinese vessels securing transits and, from what we understand, that they've been able to
negotiate transit even though they had links to a Saudi port.
MANIATIS: Well, just like we saw in the Strait of Hormuz, where Chinese- owned or managed or affiliated vessels were receiving approvals to transit that strait.
[10:40:03]
Similarly, we understand -- and this is nothing new, of course -- that Chinese-linked vessels have preferential treatment and easily receive
permission from the Houthis as well to transit the area safely and without any incident, even though they're carrying Saudi product or oil.
GIOKOS: Yes, I mean, is this an attempt to formalize transit through another strait, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait?
Keeping in mind that president Trump has categorically said any attack by the Houthis in the Red Sea in Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, they will view it as an
attack by Iran and they will retaliate on Iranian soil.
MANIATIS: Well, a lot of the crude that was to be exported through the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz was redirected to Yanbu, the Red Sea
terminal of Saudi Arabia, where vessels were loading and then carrying that cargo to their final disports, their discharge ports, their final
destinations.
So it was a bypass of the Strait of Hormuz. With the Houthis now clearly applying military control over the area, we're going to see a much similar
situation than the -- to the one that we were seeing when the Houthis had begun their maritime campaign against Israeli and U.S. vessels.
And then had widened the circle to include vessels that were not affiliated directly with those countries but were trading with Israeli ports, for
example. And we had very many vessels that were hit, sunk; we had casualties, fatalities.
We had the famous incident with the motor tanker Sounion that was burning afloat for two months. It's a very difficult situation.
GIOKOS: You know, I've heard quite a few people say, well, look, Saudi Arabia can just go through the Suez Canal. I know that you have said that a
fully-laden VLCC can't actually fit comfortably through the Suez Canal because of the depth of the water.
Explain what this means if, you know, you're seeing a choking off of Bab- el-Mandeb that basically carries 7 percent of the world's oil.
MANIATIS: Well, if you want to be very -- a very prudent shipowner right now and you've loaded in Yanbu, for example, you're not going to transit
the Bab-el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden.
You're going to want to go through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, around Gibraltar, around the Cape of Good Hope and then on to Asia, where
most disports are. A fully-laden VLCC indeed doesn't actually meet the criteria for transiting through the Suez Canal because of its draft, its
depth.
So it would have to lighten. It would have to transfer part of the cargo on another tanker, transit the Suez Canal, then reload that cargo and continue
its voyage. It not only adds days to the voyage, it also adds a lot of logistics and, of course, a very heavy cost.
GIOKOS: We know that there, you know, there's an E.U. maritime military operation called Aspides that's amid basically their role and their
mandate, is to secure specifically waterways and under their mandate includes Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, includes the Red Sea.
They put out a recommendation earlier this week for vessels not to transit.
Why can they not secure the strait?
Because we've seen very similar issues playing out in the Strait of Hormuz, where it's very difficult to offer military security.
MANIATIS: That's a good question. It has multiple answers. It's a complex environment. The European Union naval force Aspides was formed to protect
freedom of navigation against the Houthi threat.
The mandate of the force is entirely defensive. At the same time, each and every vessel that is part of the force -- and they're not that many and
this is the biggest issue.
They don't have enough ships to protect the entire volume of ships that want to go through the south Red Sea, the Bab-el-Mandeb and the Gulf of
Aden -- is pretty much the operations of each vessel are pretty much dictated by their national agency.
So a Greek vessel, for example, will receive an order from Aspides but will have to get the final clearance from the Hellenic ministry of defense.
Sometimes Aspides assets will protect the vessels that are affiliated with a country of the warship that is operating at that particular time. So a
French warship, for example, will most likely escort French vessels going through.
[10:45:00]
And so on and so forth. Despite the best intentions, the problem that Aspides is facing, I believe -- and I strongly believe that -- is that they
don't have enough vessels to fully fulfill the mandate that they have.
GIOKOS: Yes. All right. Well, Dimitris, another vulnerable waterway, a key waterway for the global economy and a lot of uncertainty. We really
appreciate your time. Dimitris Maniatis, CEO of MARISKS.
Right. An AI involved hack has industry researchers and experts sounding the alarm about cybersecurity.
OpenAI says one of its models escaped a testing environment and managed to hack into the servers of Hugging Face. It's another AI company without
human direction. CNN's AI correspondent Hadas Gold is following the story for us. She joins us now live from New York.
What a story. When I read this, I mean, it scared me.
What is going on?
What more do we know?
HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like the setting of a sci-fi movie, right?
It's like a virus escaping the lab and having a mind of its own. But that is something that we're dealing with here. And it's something that
cybersecurity and AI experts have been forecasting what's going to happen. And now we have a real-world example of an AI agent escaping its test
environment and actually going on to hack others.
So here's what happened. Around last week or the week before, OpenAI was testing some of its models, something that all AI companies were doing,
testing its agentic ability. So this is when an AI model is given a task, you know, like fill out this test, complete this test.
But it has independence and is able to complete multiple steps and make decisions on its own. So here's what happened.
This model was in what's known as a sandbox. It's kind of like -- think of like a biocontainment lab. It's supposed to be a protected space where this
agent cannot get out.
And then also some of its safety guardrails were taken down a notch so they could test its full capabilities. But again, it was in a sandbox. It's not
supposed to be able to get out.
What this agent was able to do was it found a way to hack OpenAI's own internal systems to gain access to the full, open internet, which it was
not supposed to have. And then it figured out that the best place to get the answer to the test that it was being tested on, the cybersecurity test,
was actually on Hugging Face.
Hugging Face is an AI company. It's a big repository of open source AI models and data sets, very popular in the AI community. The AI agent on its
own, figured out that Hugging Face was most likely to have the answer to this test and then hacked into Hugging Face systems to try and get that
answer.
Now actually, Hugging Face was the first one to notice this breach but announced it as just a regular -- not a regular but announced it as a hack.
It did note that it was, you know, being undertaken by what seemed to be a very advanced AI model.
And they actually notified law enforcement about this hack before they and OpenAI connected and they figured out what was going on.
But it is so notable because it is one of the first time real-world examples of an AI model escaping a test environment and doing something
that it hadn't been specifically instructed to do and going on to cause what could have been real world harm.
Because, Eleni, think about it, if this AI agent had been tested, you know, how good is it hacking a bank?
And it had actually gone out and hacked a real bank, what kind of chaos that could cause?
Now OpenAI said, has said in a statement that they consider this incident to be an unprecedented cyber incident involving state-of-the-art cyber
capabilities and that they are responding accordingly and sharing preliminary findings to help defenders understand and help calibrate on
what models are capable of.
But huge, huge warning sign for, you know, really all of our critical infrastructure out there
GIOKOS: All right. Hadas Gold, really great to have you on the story. Thank you so much.
And still to come, do record-breaking athletes have super powers or do they just have super shoes?
CNN's Matias Grez brings us a look at the fancy footwear turning heads in the running world.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: Now to a pair of shoes that are taking the running world by storm. So-called super shoes are being used by professional athletes and casual
joggers across the globe and have been on the feet of a number of record- breaking runners.
But what exactly is giving them an extra spring in their step?
"CNN CREATORS" Matias Grez has been finding out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATIAS GREZ, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): In the world of running, there's one item of footwear that's dominating the global conversation, so-called
super shoes.
In this bag is my first pair.
So I'm really excited to try these on. I've obviously seen the pro athletes wearing them at the major races, like the recent London Marathon but I've
never got to try a pair on for myself.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GREZ (voice-over): Oh, nice color. Wow. They are so light.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GREZ (voice-over): They're pushing me forward.
They're so bouncy.
(LAUGHTER)
GREZ (voice-over): First worn at the 2016 Rio Olympics, super shoes are now a staple among elite distance athletes. At this year's London Marathon,
they were also on the feet of the two men who broke the two-hour barrier for the first time and the woman who set a new world record.
SABASTIAN SAWE, LONDON MARATHON WINNER (voice-over): The shoe is very light, comfortable and so supportive.
GREZ (voice-over): New Balance have given us this pair to try out. Nike, Adidas, Asics all make their own version of super shoes, too, along with
most major manufacturers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shoulder back, nice relaxing arm movement, knees up to 90 degrees. Engage your foot. OK, so we're going to work through all the
way up to our usual point via that country (ph).
GREZ (voice-over): I've joined this run club for a short evening jog around a park in Doha. I couldn't help but notice quite a few runners here
are wearing super shoes.
Tell me a bit about your first time wearing them.
And what did you notice?
WALEED AL SHOULY, RUNNER (voice-over): Yes, yes, of course, of course. I noticed it instantly. You know, the speed, you can sense a difference.
You know what I mean?
The first time I wore it, it was kind of uncomfortable. I wasn't used to that feeling. Carbon plated, that's what makes it amazing. Mostly I use it
for races, so it wouldn't be for daily runs or whatnot. I can't walk in them after my race. I do take them off.
GREZ (voice-over): Yes.
SHOULY (voice-over): Straight away. Yes.
But they're fast. They give you a good improvement. You know, you can see the difference between the regular run and when you're racing.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GREZ (voice-over): Have you noticed any change in the shoe tech that people are wearing?
SARA TALIA, NEW BALANCE RUNNING COACH (voice-over): So I've seen definitely an upward trend in using kind of the super shoe or the carbon
plate shoe. You feel that bounce but it's not -- there are like shoes with cushioning, where you feel like it kind of absorbs your energy.
But this cushioning is kind of you feel like it's a rebound. OK, so you sense it when you go into your, especially your fast runs, you feel it
more, not just physically. I think mentally as well, it kind of sharpens you a bit. You feel that different feeling in a stride.
GREZ (voice-over): In April, I tried to run the average speed of the London Marathon winner, who was wearing super shoes, in my regular dumb
shoes, as some people call them. It didn't end well.
(LAUGHTER)
GREZ (voice-over): Liam James McManus is the head of podiatry at Sports Science Hospital in Doha. He explained how the advantages of the new shoe
tech work.
LIAM MCMANUS, HEAD OF PODIATRY, ASPETAR (voice-over): So traditionally speaking, if you've got a traditional shoe like this, you might be a heel
striker. But when you wear a super shoe or a carbon plate shoe with a geometry like this, you're really going to transition from that heel strike
to that mid to forefoot immediately.
A bit of a warning: you've got to be prepared for that as well. From a body point of view and from a muscle point of view as well, you've got to
be able to tolerate this. And that's where sometimes people fall short with their injuries.
GREZ (voice-over): One phrase that I've seen quite a lot recently is running economy. These super shoes say they save a certain amount of
percent of running economy with every step. I think I kind of get what that means.
But what exactly is running economy?
MCMANUS: It depends who you are and what level you're kind of practicing at. But yes, if you've got this high stack carbon plate and geometry here,
you're going to be a little bit more efficient, aren't you?
So the research suggests maybe 4 percent, 3 percent, all the way up to 7 percent, depending on what you're actually what level you're of practicing
at.
[10:55:07]
WILLIAM RUTO, PRESIDENT OF KENYA (voice-over): You have expanded the horizon of human potential. You have done what many believed could not be
done.
GREZ (voice-over): The question I was left asking is, how much shoe development is too much?
And as several sports have outlawed certain models of super shoes for exceeding sole size and stiffness regulations, are we at risk of blurring
athletic achievement with advancements in tech?
Back at the run club, it was time for a few laps to see how they felt in action. The difference is incredible. But the one thing I did notice was
having to change my running style.
As soon as I changed that to landing more on the front of my foot or the ball of my foot, I noticed how much more of a difference the super shoes
made, kind of springing me forward.
All in all, successful first run with the super shoes, I think. But I think I'm going to need a bit more training for a -- to complete a marathon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: Matias Grez there for us.
All right. To hear more about super shoes and what this means for the future of athletics, tune in to "CNN CREATORS" next hour. That is at 7 pm
here in Abu Dhabi.
That is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
END
