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U.S. and Saudi Arabia Strike Iranian Proxies in Iraq; Netanyahu Returns to White House after U.S.-Iran Conflict Deepens; Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Says It Launched Missiles at U.S. Targets in Jordan; Spain Battles Largest Blaze Ever Recorded; Christians Facing Open Attacks in Holy Land; Anthony Fauci Invokes 5th Amendment in Fresh Showdown with Rand Paul; Final Day of Lindsey Graham Funeral Services; Attorneys Say ICE Arrests on the Rise at U.S. Airports; No Update from Trump Administration on Probe into Iran School Strike; LVMH CEO Pushes Back against Claims of Family Feud. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired July 29, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Well, you're watching the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson in London this week, where

the time is today just after 3:00 in the afternoon.

President Trump says he'll hit Iran hard after a surprise attack on Jordan.

Wildfires continue to rage in France as Europe wilts under another heat wave.

And in the U.S., a second day of funeral commemorations for the late senator Lindsey Graham.

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ANDERSON: We start with the U.S. president's angry response to what the U.S. military is calling a surprise attack by Iran.

Donald Trump writing this in a text exchange with a FOX News anchor a short time ago. You can see the colorful language in that message on your screen.

The president, bottom line, vowing to hit Iran hard.

Well, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it targeted U.S. military facilities in Jordan. Jordan's military says it shot down five

missiles launched from Iran. U.S. CENTCOM, Central Command, did not provide details of locations targeted but did say its forces successfully

intercepted all missiles fired.

Well, look, this happening as the U.S. and Saudi Arabia combine forces to strike Iranian-backed militia in Iraq. The Popular Mobilization Forces, or

the PMF, says that that attack killed 20 of its members. Jeremy Diamond connecting us from Tel Aviv today.

And Jeremy, I think it's fair to say that we are seeing this conflict steadily expand and escalate. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin

Netanyahu, was just in the White House, despite the strained relationship between the two leaders. And let's just introduce Tel Aviv into this

narrative.

And where does Israel currently stand in what is going on with the U.S. and Iran and then in the wider regional escalation that we are seeing?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, Israeli officials have indicated publicly and privately that they would like to

join in on the U.S.' attacks on Iran, which, of course, have been paused for the last several days.

But appeared to be likely to gear up once again following president Trump's threat this morning to hit Iran hard and that he will deliver a, quote,

"beating" to the Iranians after they carried out what the United States is describing as this surprise attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan, which

is, of course, a country that is neighboring to Israel.

Now Israeli officials, again, have been eager to get back into this fight and to carry out strikes on a number of Iranian targets that they believe

still need to be hit. But so far, Israel has remained on the sidelines at the request of the United States.

And there's no indication as of yet that that is going to change anytime soon, barring really a major change in the calculus of the president of the

United States. Indeed, both the U.S. and Israel described yesterday's meeting between Trump and Netanyahu in positive terms.

That was not a guarantee, given some of the tensions that have been simmering in the background for months now between these two men.

Even just yesterday, before that meeting, president Trump seemed to publicly chastise the Israeli prime minister for trying to publicly

pressure him on this issue of Pickaxe Mountain in Iran, where Iran is believed to have moved some of its nuclear production materials.

But following the meeting between the two leaders, both Trump and Netanyahu's officials describing the meeting as positive. Netanyahu, for

his part, said that it was excellent and one of the best meetings we've ever had.

A notable statement, given that this was the eighth meeting between the two men since president Trump took office for his second term in 2025. Now the

real question is whether anything is actually going to change in the equation here.

For now, it seems that the United States is intent on continuing to carry out its attacks on Iran without the assistance of Israel. We have seen

joint U.S. and Saudi strikes that took place in Iraq over the last few days but no joint U.S.-Israeli strikes since there was a first ceasefire that

came together several months ago.

[10:05:00]

Now it's important to note that we are now five months in from this, the beginning of this conflict and it isn't showing any signs of reaching any

kind of conclusion. Iran still maintaining its belief that it should control the Strait of Hormuz. The United States trying to open that strait

up. But so far unsuccessful in those efforts.

And while president Trump insists that Iranian officials are dying to make a deal, the Iranian deputy foreign minister today saying that Iran has not

had any contact with the U.S. in the last couple of weeks. Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir. Thank you.

Jeremy is in Israel for you.

Hamidreza Azizi is a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. We have spoken a lot over the past five

or six months.

And I very much appreciated your insight and analysis, Hamidreza, thank you for joining me today from Berlin.

So what do you make of this surprise attack, as the U.S. are describing it, on U.S. forces in Jordan last night?

This is a preemptive attack on bases in Jordan. And you've written that this was the first time we've seen Iran initiate a strike.

Is this a new strategy that we're seeing from Tehran?

HAMIDREZA AZIZI, VISITING FELLOW, GERMAN INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL AND SECURITY AFFAIRS: A pleasure joining you, Becky.

And, yes, I do believe that something has fundamentally changed, not necessarily in the, you know, in how Iran has been thinking of. It's a

strategy, not at the doctrinal level, let's say, but at how Iran is now implementing the strategy that has been on the agenda for some time.

Because back in January, at the time, defense council, Iranian defense council, which was headed by Ali Shamkhani, which was later killed by

Israel, issued a statement saying that, from now on, Iran would, you know, shift to some sort of a preemptive strategy dealing with objective signs of

a threat, as they said, as an immediate threat.

But they didn't actually act on that, obviously out of the fear that it would lead to some sort of escalation. But now it seems that the war that,

you know, they have already experienced.

And the more assertive posture that they now have as a result of being able basically to maintain their position to survive this war, has prompted to

implement basically that strategy.

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ANDERSON: And we're seeing proxy around the region --

AZIZI: So that's the way I interpret it around the region.

ANDERSON: -- and we're seeing proxy around the region active as well. Of course, the war escalating and expanding U.S.-Saudi joint action in Iraq,

Ukraine, in the Caspian. The Houthis, of course, on Saudi as well.

How do you see the Iranian calculus and strategy with a conflict that has been dominated by unpredictability at this point?

AZIZI: At the core of Iranian strategy, I think, lies the desire and attempt to maintain pressure on global energy markets and, by extension, on

the U.S. economy so that president Trump would either simply abandon its campaign against Iran or agree to a weaker deal, let's say.

And that also explains why the Houthis joined the fighting at this time, despite them having their own incentives, of course, and the longstanding

conflict that existed already between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

And it also explains partly last night's strike by Iran because, you know, the Iranian calculation, the Iranian assessment, as far as I can see from

the Iranian sources, is that every time that the price of oil starts declining, it comes below $80 per barrel, Trump shifts toward a more

aggressive tone.

And then once it goes up, he becomes more kind of accommodative, at least in the rhetoric. So that that has led them to this calculation that they

need to keep this pressure up on the U.S. if they want to achieve anything concrete.

ANDERSON: What's your understanding of whether or not there are substantive talks or talks of any sort going on behind the scenes at this

point?

AZIZI: Well, it seems that there are indeed some talks but not directly between Iran and the United States.

Iranian officials, like yesterday, for example, the Iranian deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, confirmed that there are talks with Oman over

the arrangements and the regulation of the Strait of Hormuz, which can, of course, be considered as part of the broader diplomatic course between Iran

and the United States.

[10:10:03]

Because that is at the core of the conflict at this stage. But it doesn't seem to be -- there doesn't seem to be any concrete diplomacy beyond this

narrow issue of the strait. So nothing about the nuclear diplomacy, nothing about the broader region and everything is now concentrated somehow on the

future of the strait somehow.

ANDERSON: Understood. All right. So in the past hour or so, the president of the U.S. has threatened to hit Iran very hard in response to those

Iranian attacks last night.

Look, I mean, you know, we know that this is a president who is, you know, wont to headline a lot of what he says he wants to do. And it's not always,

you know, effectively what we see on the ground. But in the past, he has threatened to hit civilian infrastructure.

Were that to be the case, how would you expect Iran to respond in kind?

AZIZI: Well, I mean, that, I think is the main issue, the main problem for Trump, because at this stage, the path toward escalation would go through

either a war against infrastructure or even, in the kind of a broader scenario, the deployment of ground troops.

None of these seem to be very desirable options for Trump, you know, judging against the potential consequences because Iran has made it clear

that, in case its infrastructure is targeted, it is going to target similar infrastructure in the region.

So that brings us back to the issue of the Iranian strategy of increasing pressure on the energy market. So far, they have control over this

important waterway, through which, you know, most of -- not most maybe but one-fifth of the global energy goes.

And if they double down and start, you know, conducting like attacks on the Gulf infrastructure, energy infrastructure, that would make the situation

even worse for president Trump. So beyond a symbolic move, I don't think that a war on infrastructure is going to have any concrete sort of an

outcome for the United States.

ANDERSON: OK. Hamidreza, always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

And, of course, more on CNN as we get it.

Well, Spain and France battle and appear to stabilize blazes. The threat of wildfires is spreading across Europe. The E.U. warns that Italy now could

face wildfire risks as early as this week. Experts say the climate crisis is fueling blazes that, quote, "burn with the intensity of several atomic

bombs."

Well, crews in Spain are trying to contain the largest wildfire ever recorded there. Scorching flames have left some areas, frankly, looking

like war zones, Spain's prime minister said the situation is evolving favorably. Yet heat waves could worsen conditions. I spoke with CNN's Pau

Mosquera last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN SPAIN CORRESPONDENT: What I have here behind me is San Juan Reservoir. This is a 14-kilometer artificial lake that, over the last

few days, has been used by the emergency workers as to take some water and use it on the wildfires.

We have constantly seen helicopters getting close to here, collecting water and dropping on the active fire fronts.

But this wildfire, the one raging in western Madrid, was so fierce that even reached this area. As you can see here on your screen, over there, for

example, you can see the image of those kayaks and boats completely reduced to rubble.

Even from this short distance, you can get a very strong smell of burnt plastic. And even some of those kayaks are stuck together because of the

extremely high temperatures of the flames. Even you can see the facilities here around the pier are absolutely reduced to ashes, demonstrating how

powerful were those flames.

Now despite this situation that we're showing you, Becky, interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska just said that two of the wildfires that were

worrying them the most are now technically stabilized.

But the firefighters will need to continue working in the areas as to really take in 100 percent control of the flames. And this is a race

against the clock because the weather conditions keep changing during the day. And as the wind changes, this means that also the flames could get

into other directions. Becky.

[10:15:00]

ANDERSON: So Pau, what are conditions looking like for the next few days at this point?

MOSQUERA: Well, it seems that we're going to face extremely hot temperatures because this Wednesday has arrived to the Iberian Peninsula

(ph) the fourth heat wave of the summer, which means that temperatures are again climbing to the impossible.

Right now, we are at 37 degrees Celsius, which is around 99 degrees Fahrenheit but it's going to be worse over the next few days and until

Sunday. And, well, this poses a threat for wildfires, meaning that it could be more difficult to try to extinguish them or even that could be a risk

for new fires to ignite.

This is why the authorities are sharing a message to the population to be very careful during these days and not to get any kind of material that

could easily ignite in areas of forest, like, for example, this one around this artificial lake.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Pau Mosquera reporting for you there from Spain.

Well, ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, Christians from Jerusalem to the West Bank say their communities are facing increasing attacks. A special CNN

report is up next.

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ANDERSON: Christian communities in the Holy Land are facing a surge in intimidation and violence from extremist groups. My colleague, CNN's

Clarissa Ward, has been traveling from Jerusalem to the occupied West Bank to explore how these attacks threaten the survival of ancient communities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 2,000 years, Christians have been in the Holy Land. That presence now under

mounting pressure as attacks on Christians rise.

In Jerusalem, spitting at clergy, vandalizing holy sites, harassment and intimidation are almost daily occurrences. While in the occupied West Bank,

Israeli settler violence and economic pressure are pushing Palestinian Christians out.

April 2026: a nun is thrown to the pavement by an Israeli extremist just outside the site of the Last Supper. The Israeli government strongly

condemns the attack and the suspect is arrested.

ANTHONY GIAMBRONE, VICE DIRECTOR, ECOLE BIBLIQUE ET ARCHEDOGIQUE FRANCAISE DE JERUSALEM: This is where two of the corridors meet, Christian and

Jewish. And so it's always been a friction point.

WARD (voice-over): Father Anthony Giambrone teaches at the same school as the nun who was attacked. He has lived in Jerusalem for 10 years.

WARD: Does anyone have any sense of what the motivation was here?

I've heard some speculation that maybe he was a disturbed individual or...

GIAMBRONE: He could be disturbed. But he's filled with an ideology as well that I think doesn't want to accept her presence here.

[10:20:05]

WARD: Help us understand that a little bit better.

GIAMBRONE: Yes. Well, I mean, it's obviously a long history. It's very important to say that's, you know, that's an extreme view. I think there's

increasing concern that it's an extreme view that's getting mainstream.

It's a fundamentalist understanding of the possession of the land. The land was given to the Jews and that needs to mean all of it.

WARD (voice-over): According to the Religious Freedom Data Center, from April to June of this year, reports of incidents against Christians in

Jerusalem rose by 70 percent, compared to the three months before October 7th, though the spike may partly reflect more people coming forward to

report.

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WARD (voice-over): The fallout has embarrassed the Israeli government internationally.

In April, it appointed Arab-Israeli Christian diplomat George Deek as special envoy to the Christian world, the first such position in Israel's

history.

GEORGE DEEK, ISRAEL SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE CHRISTIAN WORLD: Attacks on Christians, on Jews, on Muslims or anyone based on their faith or their

ethnicity is immoral, illegal and unacceptable.

We should, however, be able to distinguish between serious incidents that require serious action and the false narrative that this is somehow

representative of the Israeli state, Israeli society or Christian life in Israel.

The reality in Israel is that Israel remains the only place in the region where the numbers, the Christian community in Israel, is actually growing.

WARD: There is a sense that these types of incidents and this type of bigotry and this ideology has been allowed to continue with relative

impunity.

DEEK: I acknowledge the fact that there is a rise in extremism in Israel, just like we see a rise in extremism I think across the world. We can do

more and we should do more. And it is my task to make sure that we will do more.

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WARD (voice-over): But just 20 miles away, the government is enabling Israeli settler extremism.

So we're driving now to a town called Taybeh in the occupied West Bank and it's been coming under attack from settlers for some years now. But those

attacks have really intensified in recent months.

Palestinians of all faiths are struggling but Christian Palestinians are leaving faster than most.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD (voice-over): It doesn't take long for us to come across Roland Basir (ph). His cement factory has come under attack this morning by settlers, as

it does most days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD (voice-over): He shows us videos he has compiled over months of settler extremists chasing him out of his factory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD (voice-over): Down at the damaged factory, the Israeli police and army finally arrive 4.5 hours after Basir (ph) says he first called them.

But minutes later, without even getting out of their vehicles, they turn around and start to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See you later. Bye-bye.

WARD: So they came, they ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

WARD: -- seem now to be leaving.

WARD (voice-over): As we drive out of Taybeh, we see a young settler grazing his sheep in the town's olive groves.

WARD: Hi. Hi, excuse me. My name is Clarissa Ward. I work for CNN.

Can I ask you some questions?

Do you speak any English?

(Speaking foreign language).

WARD (voice-over): He ignores our attempts to speak with him in Hebrew and begins to film us.

WARD: This is a Palestinian town, Taybeh. It's a Christian Palestinian town. I'm just wondering if you can explain why you're here or what you're

doing here.

This is not your land.

So you can see he took a video of the whole thing, did not say a single word to us. And we're right here, right outside of Taybeh.

[10:25:04]

WARD (voice-over): Reverend Munther Isaac says that, since October 7th, the situation has become untenable.

MUNTHER ISAAC, EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH: Christians are part of the Palestinian people. Whatever happened to all Palestinians happens to us.

The issue with Christians is that, because our numbers are small, we became a very vulnerable community. So every family that leaves, we feel its

impact.

WARD: Do you feel that the church is doing enough to protect Christians here?

ISAAC: Churches around the world are saying many good things. What we need is action to put pressure on Israel to stop the settlement activities and

to reach a settlement with the Palestinians.

WARD (voice-over): For now, that seems a distant prospect. Without decisive action, the erosion of Christian life in the Holy Land will

continue. The question is whether there is political will to change it -- Clarissa Ward, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, Dr. Anthony Fauci is currently on Capitol Hill and has pleaded his Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions on the COVID

pandemic.

Questions from longtime critic senator Rand Paul and now Republicans are using Fauci's own diary entries to try and pin the blame on him for what

they see as a botched government response to the pandemic. Take a listen to the moment Fauci pleaded the Fifth, protecting himself against self-

incrimination.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): Can you explain to the committee why you chose to fund this dangerous research in China?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.

PAUL: In the red folder on your table is a copy of Section 192 of Title II of the U.S. Code. Your counsel has been provided a copy as well. That

section makes it a crime for a witness appearing under subpoena to refuse to answer any questions pertinent to the question under inquiry.

Do you have that in front of you?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.

PAUL: Let the record record that the witness has refused to answer whether there's a folder in front of him based on his Fifth Amendment right. The

questions are very pertinent to your decision making as head of NIAID as well as a chief advisor to the president.

Do you still refuse to answer the questions on the advice of counsel?

FAUCI: On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, let's bring in CNN's medical expert, Meg Tirrell.

Meg. I just wonder how damaging this is to the public's trust in not just Fauci but medical officials on the whole to hear Anthony Fauci pleading the

Fifth like this.

Doesn't it make it seem as though he's not being transparent with Americans?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly it's optics I think even Dr. Fauci and his attorneys probably would rather not have. They

did, however, put out a statement.

His attorneys putting out a statement explaining why he's doing this, which he also explained in his opening statement, where he says that chairman

Rand Paul's, quote, "groundless but incessant calls" for Dr. Fauci's prosecution.

Also included repeated challenges to the validity of the pardon issued by President Biden in January 2025 to protect Dr. Fauci against what they call

the very kind of unjustified and politicized prosecutions that chairman Paul is calling for.

So they're saying there that is why he is doing this. This comes, of course, after chairman Paul, even just yesterday, posted on social media

that, quote, "If Anthony Fauci comes before my committee tomorrow and perjures himself, his preemptive pardon from Joe Biden will not protect

him."

So clearly there those are being perceived as threats for future potential legal action against Fauci. And you can see there now he is going on dozens

of times taking the Fifth Amendment. There's been debates over whether even legally he can do that within this Senate body.

ANDERSON: So Meg, the latest clash in what is now a years-long battle between Dr. Fauci and senator Paul feels more like political theater than

it does about the American public getting any accountability at this point.

Would that be a correct assessment of what we are seeing here?

TIRRELL: Certainly this is politically divided, based on politics. A lot of people's reactions to both these personal diary entries that were

released and to what Dr. Fauci has said in the past and his actions during the pandemic, they really do break down seemingly along political lines.

One break from that, interestingly, was Dr. Jerome Adams.

[10:30:02]

Who served with Dr. Fauci during Trump's first administration as the surgeon general at the time, who put in a social media post yesterday.

He said, "I 100 percent believe everything he" -- Dr. Fauci -- "said and did was driven by the best intentions for our country."

And you're hearing a lot of charges from the Left now of this resembling McCarthyism, that this is not a good faith effort to understand what

happened during the pandemic, to try to prevent one from happening again.

And you also hear charges that, to your point at the beginning about trust in science, this will drive scientists to not want to serve in government

if this is potentially what they could be in for.

ANDERSON: Good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

TIRRELL: Thanks.

ANDERSON: Well, still to come, final tributes for the late U.S. senator Lindsey Graham. Funeral services continue today in South Carolina, ending

with a private burial. I'll get you the very latest on that.

And as ICE comes under pressure to meet Trump's deportation agenda, it is now resorting to alternative tactics. I want to get you a decent

explanation on that after this.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson for you. Here are your headlines.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says it targeted U.S. military facilities in Jordan. Jordan's military says it shot down five missiles launched from

Iran. And U.S. Central Command says its forces successfully intercepted all missiles fired in what it is calling a surprise attack.

U.S. President Donald Trump responded today, vowing to hit Iran hard.

Well, as France battles days of wildfires, countries across Europe are stepping in to aid relief efforts. Belgium sending resources to France.

While some scorched areas in the Gironde region are critical, officials warning people about toxic fumes there and urging residents to wear face

masks.

Funeral services for Lindsey Graham continue today in Columbia, South Carolina. On Tuesday, family, friends and dignitaries gathered at

Washington's National Cathedral to honor the U.S. senator.

Today's events will conclude with a private burial in Pickens County in South Carolina. Well, CNN global affairs analyst Kimberly Dozier joining me

now.

Kimberly, your impression of Tuesday's funeral services in Washington and today in South Carolina, how has America been remembering this massive

political figure?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: What you've seen is this outpouring of bipartisan support for the man that was Lindsey Graham. And

that is very unusual in Washington.

[10:35:02]

He is somebody who, through jokes and cajoling and this basically relentlessly sunny nature and personality would win over both sides.

Now Graham took a lot of criticism over the years for being a critic of Donald Trump and then making nice with him. But I know that what Graham

would do with that political capital. I've spoken to people who Graham would fight for in those golfing sessions with president Trump.

He would use that open door with Trump to fight for the people and the policies that he believed in and he thought nobody else was giving enough

support to him.

ANDERSON: That's fascinating, Kim. Two world leaders, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, attended

yesterday's memorial in Washington.

I just wonder what that says about this senator's outsized impact on America's foreign policy. Those are two files, very specifically, that

senator Graham had a keen interest in.

DOZIER: Yes, it shows how Graham -- they understood that Graham was one of the people who had Trump's ear and would fight for them behind closed

doors.

In terms of every time President Putin got in president Trump's ear and tried to convince him that this war was Zelenskyy's fault, instead of a

Russian invasion and ongoing aggression, Graham would quietly step in and win Trump over to what he saw as the truth of the matter.

That this was a war of aggression and that Zelenskyy was actually turning things around, that Ukrainian forces were turning things around.

In terms of Israel, you know, Netanyahu has not been Israel's best friend in terms of he got Trump to agree to this joint attack on Iran. But he sold

Trump on a very quick victory.

When Israeli forces, Israeli officials inside Israel were saying, we don't know if this is going to work out this way, we don't know if this is what's

going to topple Iran, and that was ultimately damaging to the Israeli relationship with the U.S., Graham was there to step in and say, you know,

Israel is still a valiant ally.

You can't blame Bibi for what he was trying to do. And both men, Zelenskyy and Bibi Netanyahu, have now lost a major supporter. It's unclear who will

step in for them.

ANDERSON: No, very good point. Before I let you go, in terms of the active conflict, very specifically in the Gulf and wider Middle East region, we

have heard from president Trump over the past couple of hours suggesting and using some pretty colorful language, suggesting that he is going to hit

Iran very hard.

Again, this is in response to Tehran, of course, firing missiles at U.S. troops in Jordan.

What do you see and what are you hearing behind the scenes about what happens next?

DOZIER: Yes, the president's knee-jerk reaction to getting pushback is to threaten another attack. But it doesn't change the reality that, behind

closed doors, the U.S. military, U.S. intelligence are telling him you're not going to get any change in Iranian behavior by doing the same thing.

So you've either got to find a way out of this through negotiations or you're going to have to go all in with some boots on the ground, massive

invasion to change the Iranian leadership. President Trump doesn't want to do the second one. So he keeps vacillating back and forth. There are no

good solutions out there for this.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Always a pleasure, Kim. Thank you. It's a wide-ranging conversation and a really important one. Appreciate it.

Well, immigration attorneys in the United States are sounding the alarm. They say travelers with expired visas face a growing risk of being arrested

at the airport by ICE agents.

Now they are reporting a series of incidents where passengers have been swept up by agents as they are traveling. It comes as the Trump

administration maintains pressure on ICE to step up the pace of deportations, with the goal of 2,000 arrests a day. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez

has the latest on all of this from Washington.

And what more do we know about these incidents?

I mean, who is it, who's been arrested at this point?

[10:40:00]

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, this is certainly the latest enforcement tactic that ICE is using to ramp up those

immigration arrests and reach their numbers, which you just stated there, 2,000 a day.

Now the people that they are targeting or at least some of whom they are focused on are those with expired visas.

Now this is a bit of a gray area when it comes to immigration, because, from the conversations that I've had with attorneys, these are individuals

who legally entered the United States at some previous point in time, came here on a visa and then that visa expired.

And now they are in an immigration process to try to obtain some other type of relief to remain in the United States. And so that is how this part of

immigration law sometimes works. It's not a formal immigration status if you are an immigration process.

However, generally those are individuals that have been left to the side because they were trying to remain in the U.S., had legally entered the

U.S. and are making their way.

However, what we're seeing in airports is that those are exactly the people that ICE is now targeting. So we have some examples of that. Right now,

you're playing a video of a Ukrainian national who was detained by ICE agents at the San Francisco airport.

That was a video that was taken by a council member who was at the airport at the time. She had, as I mentioned, also entered the U.S. and overstayed

her visa, according to DHS, which expired in 2011.

There have also been other instances of a former au pair who was arrested at the jet bridge at the Denver airport.

I also spoke to an attorney who's had a client who was going -- visited Washington, D.C., from Texas. And then on the way back to Texas to gather

for her father's funeral, was detained at a D.C. area airport.

And his client is someone who was also going through the immigration process, despite previously overstaying a visa.

So all of this to say, Becky, that this is a population of people that are in a pretty -- are in limbo when it comes to their legal status in the

United States because, again, even if you are in a process, you don't have that status despite how you entered.

Now in a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, quote, "This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in

our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport."

I should also note, Becky, that these are individuals who are allowed to pass TSA, to go on a flight because they may have a passport, they may have

a real ID. So that is something that attorneys are also noting, that, in the past, even if you're going through this immigration process, you can

fly. You have been allowed to fly.

So now not being allowed to fly marks a massive shift in the way that these individuals have been able to navigate their life in the United States.

ANDERSON: Complicated stuff. It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

Coming up on CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, five months after the deadly attack on an elementary school in Minab in Iran, key questions

remain unanswered by the Pentagon. After the break, we remember the victims.

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[10:45:00]

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ANDERSON: Well, back on February the 28th this year, the first day of the Iran war, a U.S. missile struck an Iranian elementary school. Now more than

five months later, the Pentagon and the Trump administration have yet to update the public on the circumstances surrounding that attack.

At least 168 children and 14 adults were killed, according to Iranian state media. My colleague, CNN's Jake Tapper, now with more on the victims, the

victims who lost their lives that day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: This is Atena Sha Alinejad (ph), singing a Persian children's poem, smiling and making faces at the camera while her mother

fixes her hair. Her family shared these videos to remember her.

Atena (ph) was killed on February 28th, one of 168 children, according to Iranian state media, who lost their lives when a U.S. Tomahawk missile

struck the Shajareh Tayyiba Elementary School in Minab, Iran, on the very first day of the war five months ago.

In Iran, the parents, the families and the city of Minab still grieve for those who were killed. They call them the martyrs.

This is Madiz Nazari (ph). Madiz's (ph) body and one of her classmates were found in the embrace of their teacher beneath the rubble of the school,

according to the head of public relations from the Iranian ministry of health.

He wrote that the teacher held Madiz (ph) and her classmate, quote, "tightly in her arms, as if she had tried with her own fragile body to

become a shield against the onslaught of stone and iron."

Fourteen adults were also killed that day, according to Iranian state media. Faramarz Pagah (ph) lost both his daughter, Adrina (ph), and his

wife. He describes how it felt to receive both of their bodies, calling his wife his pillar and his daughter his hope and aspiration.

Adrina (ph) and her mother were together on the stairs of the school when they were killed, her teacher, who survived the strike, told the BBC.

In addition to what we gleaned from other news media, our own information sources are limited to the families whose social media posts we found

through anti-regime human rights activists and Iranian media.

That's because the Trump administration and the Pentagon have revealed nothing about the lives they took, apparently by accident. Critical and

costly mistakes happen in war. This tragedy happened five months ago.

But today the U.S. military and its top leaders and the commander in chief have yet to even acknowledge the errors that led to the deaths of nearly

200 children and adults in Iran on day one of this war.

CNN's Zach Cohen reported earlier this month that, according to three sources, senior U.S. military commanders bypassed warnings in critical

databases that intelligence about potential targets in Iran was severely out of date and approved some strikes, including the one that hit the

school in Minab.

Two of the sources said the decision by senior commanders to ignore the warnings was made for expediency in a rush to provide targets to start the

war. Messages indicated the targets for the strike list were based on intelligence that was more than 10 years old.

Three sources now tell CNN's Cohen that the investigation into this strike still sits with military command.

The first two stages of the review focused on answering basic questions, including whether the strike hit and damaged the intended target had been

completed, indicating that the U.S. was responsible for striking the Shajareh Tayyiba school in Minab, the sources said.

The third stage, a more holistic review of what took place and its impact on the overall mission, was not ordered. That review would almost always be

conducted in the immediate aftermath of a noteworthy strike, they said. But it had not begun as of early July.

We reached out to the Pentagon with questions about the status of the review. An official told us the investigation is ongoing and there are no

updates at this time. Meanwhile, president Trump's own downright refusal to acknowledge the U.S.' responsibility for the strike continues to evolve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are images from this site that show fragments that appear to be from U.S. Tomahawk missiles.

Is it possible that old intelligence or a mistake during a very active time in the war led to this event?

TRUMP: It is. But its also possible that those images that you have are AI generated, because a lot of what they do is AI generated. They're actually

very good at it. So I don't think that anybody -- you know, I know we're waiting for a conclusive report.

[10:50:00]

I don't think they can be a conclusive report.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you release the report when it is finished?

TRUMP: I guess so. I mean, I have to ask the military people. There might be a reason why they can't.

TAPPER (voice-over): In a statement to "THE LEAD" this afternoon, the White House said this investigation is ongoing. As we have said, the United

States does not target civilians.

For the families of Atena (ph), Madiz (ph), Adrina (ph) and the nearly 200 others, most of them children, who were killed five months ago, images from

before February 28th are now what they rely upon to keep their memories alive.

A photo of Atena (ph) and Madiz (ph) holding hands hangs here on a banner outdoors. It reads in Persian, "Heavenly angels, may your martyrdom be

honored."

As of now, the Pentagon and the Trump administration have not come even close to honoring the memories of the 168 children and 14 adults, that, by

all credible accounts, were accidentally killed by the Trump administration five months ago -- Jake Tapper, CNN, Washington.

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ANDERSON: Get you a quick look at the stock market, which has been open for about an hour and a quarter and change. We are awaiting the Federal

Reserve's decision on interest rates today.

But that is the picture.

It's a pretty messy one, isn't it?

Dow Jones industrials off 1.5 percent. The Nasdaq down more than 1 percent. And the S&P off as well. I, mean we are seeing investors dumping shares in

multiple sectors. The Nasdaq there off 1 percent continuing the selloff in AI and semiconductor stocks.

Investors had rotated out of those and into some of the stocks that are represented in the Dow Jones industrial average. It is only 2 percent

currently off where it was at its record high in July. But still, you know, not a good picture out there today.

And oil prices higher, not helping the picture at all, as people wait to see what the Fed's decision is on rates and what their statement is on

where they think inflation is now and going forward.

Well, the CEO of LVMH pushing back against a series of articles written about his family and business. Bernard Arnault owns a luxury empire that is

home to brands as diverse as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi, many more.

And a profile on the billionaire businessman suggests he uses money and fear to hold that entire empire together.

Well, the article has prompted a response from the CEO, saying -- and I quote him here -- "It seems I am the head of the last royal family of

France," end quote.

"I learned this reading 'Le Monde,'" he said, "between two cups of tea."

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne in Paris has the details for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PRODUCER: Bernard Arnault is pushing back against reports of a bitter succession battle among his five children, insisting

that his family is united. His comments have caused quite a stir here in France, partly because the chairman of LVMH is famously private and rarely

speaks publicly about his family.

But he broke that silence with a statement shared by LVMH, in which he responded to a major "Le Monde" investigation into Arnault's influence and

the future of the company.

In a rare display of his trademark irony, Arnault mocked the idea of a family feud, writing, "With the Arnaults, apparently there is no

discussion, only plotting; no deliberation, only rivalry.

[10:55:00]

"It's the stuff of novels."

Arnault appears to be saying that the real-life plot of the hit show "Succession" exists only in fiction, not inside the Arnault family.

Now the reason the speculation has been so intense is because this is not just a family story. It's about the future of one of the world's biggest

luxury empires, whose brands include Louis Vuitton, Dior and Tiffany.

All five of Arnault's children held senior roles within LVMH, fueling years of debate over who will eventually succeed the 77-year old. And yet,

Arnault insists there's no drama behind the scenes. He says his children run the group's brands and even call each other on Sundays.

For now, Arnault has shown no sign of stepping aside, saying earlier this year that the question should be asked again in seven or eight years when

he reaches the company's age limit to be chairman and CEO -- Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: And that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN, though. "ONE WORLD" is up next.

END