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Connect the World

U.S., Iran Trade First Strikes in a Month, Escalating Conflict; Trump Defends Ongoing War, Cites Economic Pressure on Iran; Dramatic Rescue Efforts Underway After Nepal-China Floods; Urgent Search Underway to Find Workers Missing in Tunnels; At Least 8 Dead After Ferry Capsizes Off Northern Cyprus. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired August 31, 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 rescue efforts continue in Nepal as thousands remain missing after catastrophic flooding. We'll

speak to a world-renowned rescue specialist and geologist. And we're standing by for a verdict in the Lindsay Clancy case.

A mother accused of murdering her three young children, the jury is back for deliberations. Well, the stock market in New York opens in about 30

minutes from now. It looks like a lower start as oil prices surge after U.S. and Iran trade attacks. But we start this hour with the latest

escalation in the U.S.-Iran war, the two countries trading attacks for the first time in a month.

U.S. Central Command says it struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Iran's Larak Island that were getting ready to deploy mines into the Strait of

Hormuz, CENTCOM says. Well, it describes the attack as quote, limited precise action. Iran responding by firing missiles at U.S. targets in

Jordan and said it launched drones towards the UAE.

The UAE says it intercepted a drone approaching from Iran over its territorial waters. Well, in an interview on Sunday, U.S. President Donald

Trump insisted that U.S. economic pressure against Iran will ultimately win the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're doing a great job. The blockade has been unbelievable. The financial hits that

we're giving them, we're hitting them very hard. Never -- nobody's ever been hit like this, and they're a failing nation right now.

And at the right point, we'll either win or they'll do something. But you know, I don't mind winning, just winning better. I don't need a signature

on a piece of paper.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: We've got Alayna Treene at the White House, and my colleague Nic Robertson is joining us today from Yemen, reporting exclusively from around

the Bab al-Mandab Strait, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden. That is another key shipping choke point that has come front and center during this

war.

Stand by, Nic. I'll get to you momentarily. Alayna, let's start with you in Washington, and what we know about these latest strikes, both from the U.S.

and in retaliation from Iran, and what is Donald Trump saying today?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, I think a key question as we look ahead after this exchange of fire, Becky, is one, of

course, this has the potential to really escalate the war in a way we haven't seen now in over a month. You mentioned it, but these are the first

strikes that we've seen since July 29th.

Really, with the president, the Trump Administration in recent weeks wanting to shift this war from a military one to an economic one. As for

what the president is saying, we just heard that he spoke with Fox News today, and he has told Fox News that the United States will respond to the

retaliation from Iran on Jordan and the UAE.

The president saying that we're going to hit them hard, referring to the Iranians, and that there will be a response. But just to break down exactly

what happened here? U.S. officials said that the U.S. military had struck Iranian military targets to prevent the deployment of sea mines in the

Strait of Hormuz.

We are told that essentially struck two Iranian launchers on Iran's Larak Island after IRGC forces were observed preparing to launch rockets carrying

sea mines. Now, Tasnim News Agency, which we know is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that a drone conducted the

strike and that two people were killed and two others were wounded.

Iran said that they fired missiles toward U.S. military targets in Jordan and the UAE in retaliation for those strikes. Both Jordan and the UAE

saying that they had intercepted those missiles. Something I think is notable here is clearly the goal of the U.S. with these strikes was really

to prevent them from further laying sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

I'd remind you was just a couple days ago that the president declared that the Strait of Hormuz had been free of mines. And he had said last week at

the time that Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed.

I will also note that the U.S. Central Command sent in a statement that this was limited and precise action against the IRGC for their mine laying

operations and what they were trying to do.

[09:05:00]

It's unclear, though, what the president means in this new Fox Inter News, he did say essentially that there will be a response to retaliation from

Iran, very much not in keeping with what the strategy from the U.S. has been in recent weeks. A chance to see more escalation here, but very much

unclear if that's actually what's going to happen, Becky.

ANDERSON: Nic, let me bring you in. We've been talking about the Strait of Hormuz, there the action that we saw overnight, the response from Iran.

Iran still using those waterways as strategic leverage. Of course, you are to the west of that, to the west of Saudi Arabia, another critical area for

shipping where you are, the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea.

Just explain its significance and why it is that you are there.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, we're in the village of Bab al-Mandab. Right behind me is the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

That's the Red Sea, as it you said before, it comes down from the north, all the way from the Suez Canal all the way to the Gulf of Aden, all the

way out into the oceans.

And this has been a bypass. This sea here has been an oil bypass for the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi has been pumping its oil to the Red Sea coast,

sending it out. This is how a lot of oil gets to Asia, but there's been a simmering civil war here. There's been a sort of a local war for over a

decade, and no one really pays so much attention to it.

But it's really getting front and center on the geopolitical stage. It's turned this waterway here into a potential political liability for

President Trump because, as you say, Iran uses the economic pressure of shutting off the Strait of Hormuz to oil, so the price of oil goes up, and

that puts political pressure on President Trump.

Well, Iran's most powerful proxy, the Houthis, here in Yemen, and when I say powerful, they control the capital. They're not a ragtag force. They've

got hypersonic missiles. They've been finding missiles more than 1000 miles into Iran. They have very sophisticated missiles that can hit shipping out

at sea.

Here, they've been targeting and hitting Saudi oil tankers recently. And there's been over recent weeks a significant increase in Houthi attacks

along this area in Yemen, and it appears to be a specific drive to get the Houthis in control of the Red Sea, of this bit of sea behind me, Bab al-

Mandab Strait.

I was on an island a couple of hours ago, just a few miles offshore here, and from that island, I could clearly see Eritrea, I could see Djibouti,

Africa. The African continent is barely 12 miles, less than 20 kilometers away, just across the sea over there, and that shows you really how narrow

and vulnerable the Bab al-Mandab Strait is.

Remembering, of course, that the Strait of Hormuz is at least twice as wide as that, but Iran has effectively shut it down. So, you get that sense that

there's a building local war that now has international geopolitical consequence all the way to the White House, and it's happening here.

The Houthis had drones up over the sea. We're told by the military today they were trying to make attacks further up the coast. We've witnessed the

aftermath of attacks on the port of Mokha just up the coast here. There were so many missiles came in, so much destruction.

Ships in the harbor sunk. A lot of destruction we saw there. And that was the Houthis' ability to project power on this coast, shaping operations, if

you were to try to take the coast line. And that port was closed. That's what's happening here.

ANDERSON: And the question is, is Saudi action against the Houthis inevitable at this point? I mean, the Houthis, of course, considered a

proxy or at least aligned with Iran. And one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, but is familiar with Saudi government thinking.

Told me about a month ago, Nic, that we are not going after you is the sort of message to the Houthis. But if you make us come after you, we will, and

you won't like what we do or what you see. So, you know, simmering tensions clearly a real concern there, in what is a strategic waterway.

Good to have you both, Alayna. Thank you from Washington and Nic there in just off the Coast of Yemen. Well, the death toll from catastrophic flash

floods at the Nepal-China border region has surged past 900, according to authorities there, and more than 4,200 people are now unaccounted for.

That is a sharp increase from Sunday, and the desperate search for survivors continues.

[09:10:00]

This video shows crews working to reach hundreds of people trapped inside hydroelectric power tunnels, or the tunnels that are associated with the

hydroelectric facilities. There, it's just one of many rescue efforts underway across the region. I want to bring in Arnold Dix.

He's a world-renowned rescue specialist. He's a geologist, an engineer. He is helping to coordinate these rescue efforts to find hundreds of hydro

power workers in Nepal. It's good to have you, sir. Thank you. You are, as I understand it, advising rescuers remotely.

So, what do you understand to be the situation, and what are you telling them about the safest and most effective way to get into these tunnels to

rescue what we understand to be hundreds of people trapped?

ARNOLD DIX, RESCUE SPECIALIST, GEOLOGIST & ENGINEER: That's exactly it. Well, the scale of this is so large, and it's distributed over so many

projects that to advise in any systematic way, I have to stand back. The country is crippled, and so what I'm doing, firstly, in the first miracle,

and you couldn't believe it just finding the projects because the devastation is so extreme.

The many of the power stations simply don't exist at the surface anymore, and so just finding where these tunnels are and where these powerhouses are

has been our first task. And then the second task has been trying to identify areas where people who might not have been killed in the initial

event, where they might be, and to try and get down to them and to rescue them.

So that tunnel that your viewers are seeing there at the moment, that's one of the ones where we can access them from the surface. But the majority of

them are actually buried underground deeply by big rocks and boulders and mud and what have you. So, we're at the stage now where we're actually

digging down, intercepting tunnels, using explosives to blow the roofs off where we can.

And then seeing if we can tunnel through the tunnels to try and get our way to the power stations. Hopefully, we've got people still alive in the power

stations themselves.

ANDERSON: I think our viewers will be surprised when you talk about the sort of extent, the scope of the hydro power sort of infrastructure, which

is you know below the ground in that region. Can you just help us explain just how many times we talk about and how many people would have been

involved in those projects?

DIX: Sure. Well, well, just on the hydro side, we're looking at shy of 1000 people that we're missing. Anybody who is at the surface, these are well,

these are very confined valleys, and the hydro power stations are down the valley. We've got something like 27 power stations damaged in some way, of

which I think 12 have been totally destroyed, and the ones that I'm taking particular control over and interest.

There's not there literally is nothing at the surface anymore. The scale is it's like nothing I've ever seen before, and so, in order to coordinate

that, you have to stand back, because it's not a single disaster. From a hydro tunnels point of view, we've got multiple disasters, and we're trying

to group people in different locations.

It's extraordinary. I haven't seen this sort of destruction before since I attended the World Trade Center after its collapse, and so a little bit

that's the only thing I can think of that's been similar. Where, when the towers fell, if you were in the tunnels below, you were like comparatively

safe.

It's the same here. If you were out there when this thing came through. Chances are you are going to die, and the only real chance is in these

power stations. And there's it's a myriad of them in the mountains, and that's what we're working on.

ANDERSON: My dad used to work in the industry, so I've actually been as a kid down into some of these sort of underground sort of infrastructure as

part of these hydro power constructs. So, I've got a sense of you know what is below the ground. I mean, and it's pretty substantive sort of once

you're below.

DIX: Yeah.

ANDERSON: So, as you say, you know, sort of safer below the ground, as it were, than you would be above the ground, but understandably very difficult

then to get to these guys. Arnold, you helped rescue dozens of workers trapped underground in India in 2023. How does this operation in Nepal

compare?

[09:15:00]

I mean, you just made a you know shocking comparison. In sort of 9/11, how does it compare to 2023? And you know, what are you what are you

prioritizing as you know what needs to be done in the next what sort of 72 hours or so?

DIX: Well, you've been underground. You understand how hostile it is, and although that's the area that I practice in, it's a hostile environment.

The issue that we're facing here is a little bit like the rescue we did in 2023. That was 41 people rescued after 17 days, and from frankly, that's

miracle country.

I mean, the fact that we got 41 people out of a tunnel after 17 days is just extraordinary. We're looking for more miracles here, and we're hoping

we're going to find them down there underground. As you say, when you know, when you're a girl, you went and saw these places.

There are service tunnels, there's access tunnels, there's ventilation tunnels. On my desk here, I've got all the engineering drawings, and we're

looking at where might a person be, how might they have taken refuge, and how can we get to them? How can we actually -- how can we tunnel through

the tunnels to find them down in there?

And it's a lot of people, and actually for Nepal, one of their greatest assets are their tunnel engineers. This is part of their national identity.

So, the loss for them intellectually as a nation is just extraordinary. It's just terrible. So, I'm a glass half full kind of guy, and I really

like when disasters like this happen, that people come together and we make miracles happen, and where that's what we're in the business of doing here

at the moment.

We've got great teams on the ground there. We're using from the highest high tech satellite imagery, data analytics, drones, all of that stuff, to

men on their knees with shovels, like we've got the full spectrum, and we're giving it our best.

ANDERSON: Well, good luck, and let's stay in touch. And on the sort of you know flip side of the potential loss of sort of knowledge, you know if not

everybody is rescued. On the flip side of that is, you know, is you know a search and rescue operation in country, which at least you know has a lot

of knowledge about what is going on, and they do seem to be doing, frankly, a sterling job considering what the authorities of Nepal are dealing with

at this point.

It's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. Well, a jury of nine women and three men is getting back to work in the

U.S. State of Massachusetts to decide a highly watched murder case. They are tasked with deciding whether 36-year-old Lindsay Clancy is criminally

responsible for fatally strangling her three children.

Clancy does not deny killing her three kids, but she pleaded not guilty, basically by reason of insanity. Well, CNN's Brynn Gingras following this

for us from New York. Brynn, you and I spoke last week as the jurors had retired to consider this case. They started those deliberations last week.

Any indication at this point which way they are leaning?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, really, there isn't. I mean, you never know what's happening inside that jury room, right? Let me

catch you up on today first. We just got word from our reporters that are in the courtroom that they came in.

The judge asked them the same questions that they ask -- he's asked every single day of the trial, which is essentially, have you discussed this case

with anybody? Have you done any research outside of this court room or anything? And they all said no. And so now they're back in the deliberation

room.

So, they have started for this day three. When they ended deliberations on Friday before they were sent home by the judge. They did ask for two pieces

of evidence. They wanted to view it, and it really doesn't give us any indication of which way they're swaying. But I will say that they, you

know, them asking for that so late in the afternoon does make me think they still have a lot of discussions to be had.

So, I don't anticipate anything very soon. I don't think it's one of those situations where they've come to a conclusion, and it's like, OK, let's get

a good night's rest before we announce it to the world. But we will certainly have to see. But like you said, Becky, they have a lot to

consider here.

It does seem like they're being methodical. They have five different charges that they have to consider here, so there is quite a lot to

discuss. But we are now going into our 11th hour of deliberations for this jury.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. Brynn, thank you.

GINGRAS: All right.

ANDERSON: Well, you caught up on that, and you are watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson.

[09:20:00]

Still to come, a frantic search underway in the Mediterranean after a passenger ferry capsized off the north coast of Cyprus. That was Sunday. We

will get you the very latest on that. And later, a devastating flash flood hits the Grand Canyon. More on how one of the most dangerous terrains in

the U.S. is complicating the search for missing hikers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, a rescue operation is underway in the Mediterranean after a ferry capsized off Northern Cyprus, killing at least eight people.

Authorities do say at least 241 passengers have been rescued live. 18 others are, though, still missing. One survivor told CNN Turk, passengers

alerted the crew of water seeping into the ferry, but said their concerns were dismissed.

The vessel's captain and seven crew members have been detained as police carry out an investigation. Well CNN's Nada Bashir joining me with the very

latest. To a degree, it does seem miraculous that so many people have survived this. We do, though, know that people have lost their lives and

that there is still a rescue operation ongoing.

What do we know at this point?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly is miraculous, Becky. Given the dramatic videos that we've been seeing emerging from the scene,

from the aftermath, showing some of those passengers clinging onto the side of this capsized ferry, many of them waiting to be rescued are wearing life

jackets.

But as we've been hearing from eyewitnesses, from survivors, there were many who also weren't able to get those life vests. We're jumping into the

sea without any sort of attempt to have them rescued immediately. And of course, there is a huge investigation now underway.

As we know, of course, this has been a deadly accident. At least eight people killed, according to authorities. But miraculously, some 241

rescued, but at this stage, it is understood that some 18 passengers are still believed to be missing, and this is, of course, an ongoing search and

rescue operation.

But the fear is that this will become a recovery operation for the search and rescue team that are currently now scoping out the Mediterranean Sea.

We have seen, of course, some of those rescues underway yesterday. Helicopters picking people up from this capsized ferry onto the nearby

port.

And we have been hearing with from authorities with regards to what exactly led or may have led to this accident, this disaster, blaming the bad

weather. But of course, that will be a central point of the investigation what led to the ferry capsizing. And as you mentioned, Becky, we have been

learning some further details from eyewitnesses, from survivors who were on board the ferry, saying that they began to see water rising within the

vessel, and that actually when these concerns were raised to crew members.

[09:25:00]

They weren't taken seriously, at least not immediately, and that will be hugely troubling for so many to hear. Particularly, of course, the families

and loved ones of those who did not survive.

ANDERSON: Nada, thank you. That's your update for the time being. More as we get it. One person has died, and some 15 others are missing after a

flash flood hit the Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. Now that flood is leaving a trail of destruction, forcing dozens of hikers to flee.

Park officials say the body of a 46-year-old man was found along the Colorado River. A flood watch is in effect until later this evening, as

potential thunderstorms could bring more dangerous conditions. Well, Former FEMA External Affairs Officer Jason Pack spoke with CNN earlier.

JASON PACK, FORMER FEMA EXTERNAL AFFAIRS OFFICER: This is one of the most difficult terrains in the United States, really, to conduct search and

rescue operations, and we know the park service and the Arizona Department of Public Safety are doing those air operations.

I think what's important, though, is unaccounted for. We heard that term used by officials today, and that doesn't necessarily mean the worst. And

at least that's certainly what we're hoping for. That could mean that hikers don't have communication, as we heard that the footpaths were mostly

washed out.

So hopefully, they will be able to locate those things with aircraft, with technology like thermal imaging, these types of things to be able to find

where these missing hikers are.

ANDERSON: Well, my colleague Ed Lavandera joining us live from the scene. And Ed, just explain what we understand to have happened. Just the sort of

extent of these floods and the sort of terrain that we're talking about here.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is some of the more rugged terrain you'll find anywhere in the United States,

especially down there at the depths of the Grand Canyon, where there are places where you just simply there are no level of phone communication or

anything like that.

So those kinds of issues can really obviously complicate things here as the search and rescue efforts are now underway. Now that the sun has come up

over the Grand Canyon, but this is really the worst of it happened throughout one Creek Canyon that led into the main Colorado River area.

This was an area that was very -- is very popular with hikers, either day hikers or people who are going down there to camp at the lowest levels of

the Grand Canyon. It was through those places where the witnesses described after over the last couple of days, after several rounds of very intense

rainfall, a wall of dark debris with trees and lumber and boulders, just this dark mass moving down river.

People describing how they were able to evacuate, get to higher ground, and the bridges that they were walking over these rivers, simply just being

wiped away moments after they were crossing. So, some very intense moments. Officials here have confirmed the death of one man, a 46-year-old man.

We don't know any other details beyond that, and they do say that there is at least 15 people still that they are unaccounted for, that they do not

know where they're at, and as you heard there from the interview, that could mean that perhaps they are just somewhere and without communication

and don't have any access because bridges have been knocked out, or it could mean the worst.

So those rescue efforts will continue today. The people who have -- many people who have been evacuated were taken out of the area by helicopter. So

that kind of speaks to the really difficult situations that a lot of these people are going to be in here as the search and rescue operations continue

here in the Grand Canyon today, Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir. Thank you. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. Iceland will not

be reopening talks to join the European Union. Voters there rejected the idea in a referendum over the weekend.

The Icelandic Prime Minister says it shows people are satisfied with the country's existing economic agreement with the EU. Well, police have

arrested a 43-year-old man after a deadly shooting at a rave in northern Switzerland, they say it now appears a single gunman is responsible, and

they continue to investigate a possible motive.

22-year-old Italian woman was killed in the attack early on Sunday, and five others were wounded. Well, today marks Tim Cook's final day as Apple

CEO. That closes a 15-year chapter at the tech giant for Mr. Cook on Tuesday. Hardware Engineering Chief John Ternus takes over.

Cook leaves behind a company that reached new heights under his leadership, with the iPhone becoming pretty much central to everyday life.

[09:30:00]

Well, ringing the opening bell on Wall Street today, investment group Vanguard, huge amount of money under management by that group, and that

bell will chime momentarily. There you go. We will let these markets settle a little bit. We were looking at a slightly weaker on the opening,

according to the futures markets.

Taking a very short break, back with the markets as they have settled out into this Monday trading day. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well U.S. stock markets have just opened for the first day of the trading week. Of course, let's see where the action is, and as we had

expected, and the futures had indicated. We are looking at a slightly weaker open. Oil traders getting somewhat jumpy again.

More on that in a moment. And we are also hearing a big omission from Iran, the country's president, admitting U.S. sanctions are hurting Iran's

economy, and that's coming from state media. We're also getting reports that oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are starting to recover.

That does mean pressure is now compounding on Iran, and the U.S. would argue less on it. But it does also mean Tehran -- but does it mean Tehran

is actually losing its grip on Hormuz. Well, oil prices jumped after the U.S. launched its first military strikes on Iranian territory in over a

month.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, up above $90 on the barrel again. Martin Kelly is the Maritime Leader and Head of Advisory for EOS Risk

Group. That's a global risk and crisis management firm. He joins us now from Manchester in England. You've got a background in maritime security,

which is why I wanted to get you on today.

I just wonder whether you see what we are witnessing in the Strait of Hormuz as a sort of pivot moment, as it were. And this war has been going

on for six months. Certainly, Washington would have us believe, CENTCOM would have us believe that the U.S. has sort of got control of what is

going on in that street, and there is a lot more traffic moving.

Is that what you are witnessing, and how do you perceive Tehran's sort of action there at present? Is it losing its hold?

MARTIN KELLY, HEAD OF ADVISORY, EOS RISK GROUP: Good morning, Becky. Good to speak to you again.

[09:35:00]

There's a lot to unpack there really, I think we are certainly seeing some positive signs of an increase in traffic volumes heading through the Strait

of Hormuz. I think two thirds is probably optimistic. I think we are certainly seeing some positive signs of an increase in traffic volumes

heading through the Strait of Hormuz.

I think two thirds is probably optimistic. We're probably seeing around a 30 percent increase compared to previous weeks, but that's still only just

a fraction of pre-conflict transit volumes, which is around 140 ships per day. Now, on the ANCA and the mechanisms for transit, there are essentially

two routes.

You can go through the Iran route inside Iranian territorial waters, where vessels must first obtain permission from Iran and from their Persian Gulf

Streit authority to transit through. In some cases, a toll must be paid to Iran, and the difficulty here is that because the PGSA is sanctioned by the

U.S. and the EU.

Then OFAC explicitly warns that companies, whether they are U.S. or not, that pay a total to Iran could face consequences a little bit further down

the line. Now, the alternative route and the industry recommended route, and this is where the oil is getting out from, is via the Oman route.

And vessels using this route can coordinate with the U.S. military that has been providing air support to ships that are using this route. And this

support involves a mixture of surveillance and combat aircraft, where some aircraft used to detect preparations for an attack against shipping, and

others provide the defensive capability to intercept these threats before they reach the shipping lanes.

But neither of these mechanisms guarantee safety of ships. Ships are still being attacked by Iran, despite U.S. air support, and ships are even being

refused transit by the Iranian routes because they have not paid these transit fees.

ANDERSON: Got it. What about insurance costs at this point? What do they look like? Because they are ultimately, you know, what you know -- what

sort of oils the wheels or the engines of this shipping industry. It'll be a reason why you know a carrier will move or not, depending on whether it's

too expensive.

KELLY: Yeah, so insurance has been available throughout the whole conflict, but I think insurance is on a case-by-case basis. If we look at the number

of successful attacks, then we're still very much in the same situation as at the beginning of the conflict. Unfortunately, it's not front-page news

because both oil and energy infrastructure is not being attacked.

But as I said, Iran is still attacking ships every day or every other day that are trying to get through the Omani route via the Strait of Hormuz.

Now the frequency of attacks is increasing. July and August accounted for the second and third highest number of attacks since the conflict began.

And the reason for the increase is because there is a handful of companies that are willing to transport Gulf origin cargo out through the strait, and

then they will transfer it to another ship for its onward voyage and then subsequent discharge. Now, Iran is privy to this, that they published a

list of 45 ships that Iran said would face consequences because they are conducting this trade.

Iran also said that vessels that are engaged in this ship to ship, so these are the ships that are waiting in the Gulf of Oman to receive the cargo.

Iran said that they would also be added to this list, and so for the near term, at least over the next week, attacks against ships are likely to

continue, and that is replicated or that is shown in insurance costs.

It really depends on which ship is transiting, which route it is taking, and which trade it is undertaking.

ANDERSON: Yeah, it's good to have you on. Thank you very much indeed. Important insight. Up next in sports, Novak Djokovic's quest for 25th major

title abruptly cut short in the U.S. Open first round. I'll get you the details on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Well, the U.S. Open began on Sunday. It is Monday, and we already have a major upset to talk about. Amanda Davies joining us now. Novak

Djokovic, Amanda suffering his first. It seems remarkable that this is his first career opening round defeat at Flushing Meadows. But it is. What

happened?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: First time in 20 years, Becky, that Novak Djokovic has gone out in the first rounds of a Grand Slam since he was 18

years of age. And yeah, there are results that make people kind of stop in their tracks, and this is one of them.

24-time Grand Slam winner up against the world number 49, who's never made it past the second round here at Flushing Meadows. And it was really

worrying for people to watch because this was not a Novak Djokovic who got to five sets and then started struggling with the heat or the physical

encounter.

This was a Novak Djokovic who, from the earliest stages, you could see was cramping, was physically really struggling. He vomited on the side of the

tennis court. He said it felt awful. He said he's struggling with some serious health issues. And he now needs to very much take a few moments to

try and work out just what is going on.

But as you can imagine, at 39 years of age, the last of the big three still standing. People saying, you know, what happens next? Will we see him at

the U.S. Open once again? He's said he's not been thinking about his retirement up to that this point. After everything he's won and done in his

career, he absolutely deserves to call time as and when he wants.

But yeah, it's a really fascinating moment in his career. And that's what we're going to be looking at in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport".

What happens for him and the tournament next, Becky?

ANDERSON: Yeah. Good. All right. Well, that's "World Sport" after this break. I'm back with more "Connect the World" in 15 minutes.

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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