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Connect the World
Small Island Off Yemen Becomes Strategic Prize in Iran War; Ceuta's Mass Border Crossing Ignites Debate Over Migration; Lacks of Beds and Food for Migrants Causes Chaos on Streets; Oil Prices Rise as Global Stockpiles Continue to Fall; Elena Rybakina Reaches Semifinals, Will Face Coco Gauff. Aired 9-9:45a ET
Aired September 10, 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: We're looking at Capitol Hill and the Republican Convention in Texas, where President Trump made a
midterm promise, $5,000 to every adult American if Republicans retain their majorities in the House and Senate in November.
Well, it's 09:00 a.m. in Washington, 08:00 a.m. there in Dallas, and it is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East
programming headquarters. You're watching "Connect the World". Also coming up this hour, Yemen's Houthi rebels moving closer to controlling the
critical Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Apple previewing its latest phones and prompting mixed reactions. And futures indicating a very much weaker open following three straight days of
losses. Both crude and the yield on 10-year treasuries higher. Key inflation data just released will be keenly watched by investors for any
further signs that interest rates in the U.S. may be headed higher.
U.S. President Donald Trump making a major push to keep Republicans in control of Congress this year. During the opening of the Republicans'
midterm convention in Dallas, Mr. Trump touting his record, attacked Democrats and highlighted his policies on broader security and cultural
issues.
And then he made a surprise pitch to voters. He promised a $5,000 dividend to every American adult if Republicans hold on to their majorities in both
the House and Senate in November's election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So, if the Republicans win, you win with us, and you get $5,000. It will be called the
Trump dividend. We'll call it the Trump dividend. Congratulations. Now all we have to do, now all we have to do is win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Kevin Liptak, following the Republican midterm convention, and this is a first, as far as these conventions are concerned.
Our viewers will be much more aware of, you know, obviously what happens in a presidential year, but this is happening now.
And let's start with that five grand dividend then. We heard what Donald Trump promised. Any indication on how he intends to pay for it?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: None whatsoever, and we asked the White House about that earlier. They didn't give us any
indication. We did hear shortly after the president was speaking from the Vice President J.D. Vance. He also was sort of vague about the specifics of
what this would entail because this would be an enormous amount of money.
There are around 270 million adults in the United States. So, if you gave each of them a $5,000 check, that would be about $1.3 trillion. So, where
that money is coming from, unclear at this point. And obviously, the U.S. is already in $40 trillion of debt.
And so, there are some real questions about the finances of all of this, but what J.D. Vance suggested is that this money perhaps could come from
tariff revenues. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're taking in an extraordinary amount of revenue because the President of the United
States is actually standing up to both foreign companies, but also foreign countries who've been taking advantage of America's workers for pretty much
my entire life.
Those penalties have generated a lot of revenues. They've helped us pay down debt. What the president is just saying is, if you keep it going to
the American people, if you keep us in power and allow us to continue to do these things, then you're going to share in some of the benefit of this
incredible wealth that we're creating in the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: Now, the revenues that the U.S. has taken in from tariffs don't come anywhere close to 1.3 trillion dollars. And remember, the U.S. has
actually had to refund some of that money after the Supreme Court deemed the tariffs illegal. Now the other aspect of this dividend plan that the
president mentioned was that it would have to be spent in the United States.
He says he doesn't want to see it spent in Canada. He doesn't want to see it spent in Germany. How the federal government would actually track that
spending also very unclear. And I do think it's worth pointing out that this is not the first time that the president has promised to send checks
to the American public.
[09:05:00]
He said he would do that with the tariff revenue. He said he would also do it with the savings that the federal government got from the DOGE program
that Elon Musk was carrying out at the beginning of the administration. Those checks never went to the American people.
ANDERSON: Kevin, good to have you. Thank you, sir. Kevin is in Washington. Time there just after nine in the morning, of course. Now to this region,
Iran-backed Houthi rebels, moving closer to controlling what is a waterway that is critical to the global economy.
Reuters cites Yemeni government military sources who say that the Houthis, the Iran-backed rebel group, have gained control of the port city of Mocha,
increasing their leverage over that critical Bab al-Mandab Strait. This follows Houthi attacks on oil and other infrastructure in southwestern
Saudi Arabia that injured dozens.
The kingdom responding by launching dozens of airstrikes on Houthi targets. Well, CNN's Nic Robertson and his team were in Yemen just recently and
gained exclusive access to an island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait that has become a flashpoint in what is this escalating regional conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Yemen's navy is taking us to Perim Island, the heart of a little-known local war
that's getting pulled into America's war with Iran.
ROBERTSON: So, what happens here next could affect us more than the Iran war already has. These islands, this vital waterway, the price of oil-it is
all vulnerable right now, and what happens here could impact President Trump's political fortunes.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): In recent weeks, Iran-backed Houthis have hit several Saudi oil tankers on these waters. They're a bypass to the Strait
of Hormuz. As we find out, Houthis are a constant threat here.
ROBERTSON: Suddenly, we just had to turn around. We're told it's because drones have been reported in the air. This is a hot war, and this is one of
the epicenters of that war.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Our second attempt getting closer.
ROBERTSON: This here that you're looking at out across the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrowest point on that Red Sea.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Those ships out there, that's what this is all about commercial shipping, critical for the global economy. Eventually, we
make it, greeted by Yemeni government forces, keeping the vital waterway open. Not many outsiders make it here, with the first international
journalists they've seen in years.
But we're not going to have long. The Houthi drone is still a threat.
ROBERTSON: And it looks for all the world like the place that time forgot. It is really stuck out here in the middle of the ocean, looking at across
the ocean this way. Yeah, Bab al-Mandab. Bab al-Mandab. And looking across out there, you can see Africa across there. Djibouti, literally just across
the sea there.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Perim is at the strait's narrowest point, just 12 miles from Africa. Since Iran blocked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,
Saudi diverted its oil exports through the Red Sea, helping keep global oil prices down. 10 percent of global oil used to flow through here.
ROBERTSON: It's down to about less than half of that, or about half of that now. And if the Houthis get control of the Red Sea, if the Iranian proxies
or Houthis get control of the Red Sea, they can shut the oil flows here down, down to almost nothing.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): What we don't see on our short visit is a military force that measures up to the scale of what's at stake for the rest of the
world. For the commander in charge of this region, that's a worry.
ROBERTSON: Because the Houthis would try to kill you, right? The Iranians would love to have you dead.
TARIK SALEH, VICE PRESIDENT OF YEMEN PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL: -- so many times.
ROBERTSON: So many times, I know.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Vice President Tarik Saleh is a rarity at the moment, a political leader still in Yemen and still fighting the Houthis.
SALEH: We told the world that this is an Iranian plan, but no one listened to Yemenis back then. That this is a battle that would not only affect
Yemenis but the region and international community.
ROBERTSON: This is Iran trying to put pressure on President Trump.
SALEH: Exactly.
ROBERTSON: Are you getting any support from the United States?
SALEH: Just talk.
ROBERTSON: Just talk. How do you feel about that?
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Disappointed, he says.
[09:10:00]
Even so, Saleh is bullish about his troops, claiming gains on the battlefield with new equipment and new tactics, hitting Houthi hideouts
with quadcopter drone attacks similar to those used in Ukraine. But it won't be easy. After years of fighting, the Houthis are well dug in,
control the capital, the north west of Yemen, including much of the Red Sea coast.
The government has the east and the south, with the Houthi attacks pressing towards the last stretch of Red Sea coast under government control. What
Saleh's troops organize for us next is a hard reality check about what they're up against.
ROBERTSON: So right now, we've just got into a big armored vehicle. Interestingly, it's all blacked out. The windows are blacked out, so we
don't know where we're going.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's here, to a highly secret and secure stash of Iranian-made Houthi weapons snatched. The Yemeni military says, from
smugglers at sea. This sophisticated anti-ship missile, capable of hitting tankers from hundreds of miles away, cutting-edge anti-aircraft missiles,
ultra-high spec optic radar.
They readily admit more gets through to the Houthis than they can catch.
ROBERTSON: What's Iran's strategy with the Houthis?
ABDEL NASSER EL-MAMLOUTH, DIRECTOR OF NRF MEDIA: The U.S. siege on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz has made Iran look at its options and activate the
strongest one, the Houthis, to close Bab al-Mandab. They're saying if our economy collapses in Iran, so will the world economy.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): In recent weeks, the Houthis have been stepping up attacks on Saleh's forces in Mocha. It's a vital trade port, a regular
Houthi target hit multiple times. So much so, the harbor walls are littered with sunk and sinking ships.
ROBERTSON: And here, this is a piece, the tail fin from one of those Houthi missiles. See it heavy, ripped into the ground, splattered across here in
the port, all across this boat here. So many missiles landed, the port authorities had to shut the whole port down.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): 16 people lost their lives. The port director tells me, and 1500 employees are now without work. The Houthis, he says, are
trying to kill their economy as well as the people. More than 10 years of civil war have all but broken Yemen. Humanitarian groups say more than half
the population need their help, but now Iran's war with the U.S. threatens to push Yemen over the edge.
Saleh has a salutary warning for Trump. Yemen's losses could be his economic pain.
SALEH: We see the high cost paid by international community to secure the passages of few ships through the Strait of Hormuz. If the Yemeni forces
were supported right now, they will make more achievements with a much lower cost than the Strait of Hormuz.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Trump's Iran legacy is getting more complicated. Nic Robertson, CNN, in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, you're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. Still to
come, a foldable phone, a new chief exec, and price rises. Apple holds its most significant event in years.
And later in the show, anger and frustration over Ceuta's migration crisis drives more protestors to the streets, and new released -- newly released
Spanish government messages threaten to worsen tensions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
ANDERSON: Well, in the small Spanish enclave of Ceuta, resident protests cease to let up. Now, this is six weeks, of course, after 70,000 migrants
cross the border from Morocco. Citizens claim the government have abandoned the region, and 10,000 migrants remain in the city, many with no access to
shelter.
Well, the Spanish government has denied all accusations around mis dealings of this crisis, but new declassified WhatsApp messages released on
Wednesday reveal Spanish intelligence services warned Madrid and Moroccan officials a day prior to that crossing. Well CNN's Clarissa Ward reports
from Ceuta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the streets of Ceuta, anger, desperation, and a warning for Europe, as
residents of the Spanish enclave of 84,000 demand their city back.
WARD: You can see just thousands of people have taken to the streets tonight to say they've had enough that they want more -- to resolve this
crisis.
WARD (voice-over): It's been over a month since more than 70,000 migrants poured across the border from Morocco, dozens drowning along the way. The
Spanish government says that 90 percent returned within 72 hours, but an estimated 5 to 10,000 remain, overwhelming this small Spanish territory at
the tip of North Africa and igniting a furious debate about immigration. The political right has seized on Ceuta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like an invasion,
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Muslim invasion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an act of war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a battle for the future of our civilization.
WARD (voice-over): And on the streets of this religiously and culturally diverse city, the language has hardened. As we speak with teacher Juan
Manuel, we hear a striking chant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Invaders, expel them.
JUAN MANUEL, CEUTA RESIDENT: The point is, are they invaders, or are they victims? We are all victims here. They, we are all victims here. But what
we cannot put up with is these left radical things that they say. They have more empathy with the immigrants than with us.
WARD: Do you think most people here tonight agree with you? Share --
MANUEL: All of them, or they wouldn't be here.
WARD (voice-over): As the light comes up the next day, the scale of Spain's crisis emerges. Residents wake up to find migrants sleeping rough in front
of their homes. Outside one of the government-run camps, a large group is waiting. They've heard rumors that there are free beds and food, but
authorities say the camp is full.
It is a routine playing out every day, and everyone's patience is wearing thin.
WARD: The police are trying to clear this area outside the main camp, and you can see very quickly just how tense and disorderly it's becoming.
WARD (voice-over): Many of the migrants were lured here by false promises on social media that they would make it to mainland Europe. Spanish
authorities have vowed that will not happen. Just a mile away, the situation is even worse.
[09:20:00]
This is El Trampolin Beach. Most of the migrants have ended up here. A handful of showers have been hastily erected. Everything else is makeshift.
The majority of the migrants are Moroccan men seeking a better life, but there are also hundreds of women and more than 1000 miners scattered across
the peninsula, as well as Sudanese, Syrians, Yemenis, and Palestinians.
No one has assessed who among them has a claim to protection.
NOLTE BAUER, CHAIRMAN OF MISSION LIFELINE INTERNATIONAL: Everything is going super, super slow. Like the registration, just to be acknowledged to
be here, to have a chance then to ask for asylum, is maybe 30, 40 people per day.
WARD (voice-over): At that rate, it would take months just to write down their names. As German NGO Mission Lifeline waits for a permit to give
medical assistance, it has improvised other services to help the migrants.
BAUER: We use our solar system to charge people's phones so they can get in contact with their families and loved ones.
WARD (voice-over): Further down the beach, we see a man taking photographs of the migrants, talking on a two-way radio. We ask him what he is doing.
WARD: Are you, security or police?
EMILIO, CEUTA RESIDENT: No.
WARD: No.
EMILIO: It's for the security of my apartment block.
WARD: Ah, OK.
EMILIO: Because they've tried to enter.
WARD: Ah, so you are filming.
EMILIO: So, the people can see, so the government can see the reality and not what they want to show on the television. They show as if nothing is
happening.
WARD: -- You want to show people to reality it was going on?
WARD (voice-over): He tells us he can no longer walk home with his nine- year-old son. He says the migrants are up late every night drinking and fighting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been a month, I haven't slept.
WARD: The government has abandoned the migrants and they've abandoned the people of your town.
WARD (voice-over): The emergency in Ceuta is the biggest challenge Spain's socialist leader, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, has faced, with many here
blaming it on his lenient immigration policies. Early this month, the government approved 359 million dollars for Ceuta, but there is no clear
plan for what happens to the people on this beach.
As night falls, a fight breaks out. Spanish soldiers watch from the hill above. They do not intervene. One week earlier, angry locals set fire to
some tents on the beach. Everyone here must fend for themselves. Some are more vulnerable than others.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Abdul Ali (ph).
WARD: Abdul Ali (ph). He's deaf. He's just shared this black hole that he carries with him to let people know that he's not able to hear and fight
for the will to communicate.
WARD (voice-over): Abdul Ali (ph) tells us he was beaten too, but not by a migrant.
WARD: So, he's telling us that this is a photograph taken after the police beat him, see the marks on his back. Obviously, you can't verify what
happened, but this is where this is.
WARD (voice-over): Spain's national police told CNN they have received no reports of police violence against the migrants. Talking to Abdul Ali (ph)
and the others, one thing is clear, almost no one here is willing to go back, and for now, no one here is moving forward. Clarissa Ward, CNN,
Ceuta, Spain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, Apple's new chief executive has unveiled the company's first ever foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo. Now, it'll cost $2,000 when it
goes on sale next month, and it is the biggest change to the iPhone design seen in years. Though other companies have been making affordable phones
for years, many of you may have them.
Well, Apple's launch events are always a bit of a significant moment for the direction of the company, and this one was no exception, as it was the
first under new CEO John Ternus. CNN's Business Tech Editor, Lisa Eadicicco, joining me now live from New York. So, it's a new foldable
phone.
Great, got it. What did we find out about it?
LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Yeah. So yesterday, Apple really laid out its vision for why it thinks foldable phones should exist, why it
thinks they're useful to consumers, and I got to actually try it for a few moments as well. And the real thing that Apple is trying to hammer home
here with the iPhone Duo is that it doesn't see this as being just a bigger iPhone or two phones kind of smushed together.
[09:25:00]
It wants this to be a new type of device, and one thing that it emphasized is the way the software works on the iPhone Duo. How if you're doing
something on the front screen when the device is closed, when you open it, it should seamlessly transition. And when I tried this myself, I did notice
that it was very smooth.
It did work very seamlessly, and the hardware, of course, is also a really big part of this. The whole reason why people would spend this type of
money on a phone like this is because of the screens. So, the screens are very, very important, and one thing that Apple is doing here that's a bit
different from a lot of the other foldable phones that I've tried.
And believe me, I've reviewed and tested a lot of them over the years from Samsung and Google and other companies. And the screen on the iPhone Duo
has this matte texture to it that really reduces glare and makes it hard to see the crease. And I do think while that does sound like a minor thing,
again, if this is a screen that you're going to be looking at for long periods of time.
You want it to look nice, so I do think that's key. But the big thing that I'm looking for, and I think a lot of people are going to be looking for,
is a really compelling reason to buy a device like this. It based on what I've seen, it works really well. It looks nice. It's very fluid, very
smooth.
But I really am waiting to see more use cases because I do think for the vast majority of people, they might be fine just using their iPhone and
buying an iPad Mini or something, and that's going to be cheaper than this device. So, I think you know Apple is known for not necessarily being first
to the party, but being a little later and being more thoughtful about the execution, we've seen that in the past with smart watches, with tablets.
So, I think as more developers create apps for this device, as Apple develops more software features for it, I'm really going to be looking for
that big kind of selling point, which I think you know might still be a work in progress at the moment.
ANDERSON: Yeah, and it's really interesting, isn't it? Because they got a new CEO, and I want to ask you how you felt he did. I mean, you know, think
back to the original launches that Steve Jobs had. And these were iconic sort of storytelling marketing moments.
Did it feel like that with this new phone and the new CEO? I mean, how were they both received?
EADICICCO: So, it's hard to compare to Steve Jobs, of course, but I do think there were some hints of that energy. There was a lot of anticipation
around this launch during the keynote, John Ternus, when he was introducing the iPhone Duo. And also, just in his opening remarks at the beginning of
the event, he was kind of teeing up this idea of an AI personal intelligence hub.
What you would want it to do? You'd want it to be with you all the time. You'd want it to know things like your schedule and your personal contacts,
and you'd want it to have battery life. It kind of reminded me of the Steve Jobs classic iPhone unveiling, where he talked about the three devices in
one, the internet communicator, the phone, the iPod.
You know, it wasn't quite the same as that, but it felt kind of in that trajectory of listing out all these things you'd want this computer to do
for you. And so yes, I would say that was like a big theme of yesterday's event was Apple laying out its case for why it doesn't need a new type of
device to win the AI race.
ANDERSON: And I know that Tim Cook was there, but it does feel the outgoing CEO. It feels like as we sort of watch that new phone, and you can sort of
open it up. It feels to a degree, and certainly this is what we're seeing, is you know Apple turning a page on its management and looking very much to
the future.
Question is, has it nailed? You know, that story for the future, and are we going to be prepared to pay for it at this point, right?
EADICICCO: Yeah, Becky. I think what yesterday's event really did was it kind of set the stage for what that story is going to be. You know, it was
very much a handoff moment from Tim Cook to John Ternus. We even saw that in the opening video. It was a fun little passing of the torch moment.
There was there was an appearance from Tim Cook, and then it pivots over to John Ternus. So, but I do think the big takeaway that I saw from this event
yesterday was that it was very much setting up Apple and laying out its vision for AI and how that relates to its devices and what that story is
going to be moving forward.
ANDERSON: Yeah.
EADICICCO: And as you mentioned, we might not have all those answers today, but I think this was very much kind of a new beginning. I think, and it
felt that way. And you definitely felt that energy on the ground as well. There was a standing ovation when John Ternus came out on stage.
ANDERSON: Got it.
EADICICCO: There was definitely a lot of excitement and anticipation around what his vision is going to be and where he sees things going.
[09:30:00]
ANDERSON: Always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. And we are - - well I'm going to take you to Wall Street because we are about to get the opening bell on Wall Street. Three straight losing sessions and futures
indicating a weaker start to the trading day.
The Paysafe crew gathered to ring the bell. I'm sure we'll be hoping that the markets take off, but I'm afraid we will be very surprised if that is
the case. We are expecting to see a weaker open. We have some inflation data. We'll talk to you about that and why that may be dragging on these
markets, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World". I'm Becky Anderson. And the time here just after half past seven. Roy, as half past
seven, half past five in the afternoon in Abu Dhabi. Reuters cites Yemeni government military sources who say Houthi rebels have captured the port
city of Mocha, increasing their leverage as they battle to control the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key waterway, of course, for transporting oil out of
the Middle East.
This follows Houthi attacks in oil and other infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Your headlines, U.S. President Donald Trump is going all out in his
quest to help Republicans hold onto power in Congress on the first day of his midterm convention in Dallas. Mr. Trump promising $5,000 dividends to
every single American adult if Republicans manage to keep control of both the House and Senate in November's elections.
Apple has launched its first foldable iPhone at the company's annual event in California. The device called the iPhone Duo has a starting price of
2,000 bucks. It's the biggest chance to change to the iPhone since it was launched almost 20 years ago. Doesn't time fly well?
Markets are lower this Thursday. They've been open for about 3.5 minutes. Stock market status just about an hour after the latest data showing
inflation accelerated last month, the producer price index, which tracks price changes received by U.S. producers and manufacturers, increased 5.4
percent in the 12 months that ended in August.
It could strengthen the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, of course, which these investors will be watching. The NASDAQ down
nearly a percent, the DOW and the S&P slightly less than that. Six months into the Iran War, and global oil supplies and stockpiles continue to fall.
[09:35:00]
Inventories have plummeted by about 400 million barrels so far this year, while the cost of oil keeps rising. This week, topping 100 bucks on the
barrel for the first time since July. Now, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, yep, is hiking its price forecast for this year and the
next, saying that they expect a nearly 5 percent increase from the previous forecast.
My next guest is the Head of Middle East Energy and OPEC + Research at Kpler. Amena Baker, Bakr, sorry, leads the analysis on oil markets, OPEC
policy, and political trends in the region. In a recent post on X, she said, quote, the U.S. war on Iran is generating so much noise that it's
clouding judgment.
It's confusing signals, and creating the kind of market that can burn even the best traders. Well, Amena joining us now live from Singapore today.
Good to have you as we look at the oil price market and the U.S. stock markets in the first few minutes of their trading day.
Just explain what you mean by that line, a kind of market that can burn investors or traders.
AMENA BAKR, HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST ENERGY AND OPEC+ INSIGHTS AT KPLER: Well, being in Singapore this week, Becky, it's a gathering where a lot of the
markets' traders come to and share their views, and there's a lot of concern over what's happening in the Middle East at the moment because no
one really understands when this conflict is going to end.
The recent headline by Trump is that he hopes that by the midterms that this war will end. But we've heard this before, and it doesn't seem like
it's really de-escalating. It's quite the opposite. We're seeing escalation, and as you rightfully said, now with the Houthis trying to
control Bab al-Mandab, we are at risk of losing even more supply.
So, this is not a natural environment where traders would thrive under a level of volatility. It's quite the opposite. I mean, they don't know how
to trade.
ANDERSON: So, it's really fascinating that that you're in Singapore, that you're talking so many people there, and that you're really sort of getting
a sense of how traders feel. I mean, I understand the sort of top line there. I mean, how long do traders believe this might go on?
I mean, we keep hearing sort of you know the kind of stakeholders talking about this, and even when this war sort of officially ends, whether that
were tomorrow, clearly that's not going to happen, or not. I mean, you know things take time to work through the oil markets as far as sort of supplies
are concerned.
So, what's -- you know what are you hearing there? Just talk to us a little bit more about the sort of granular detail.
BAKR: Sure. I mean, there is a lot of views around what balances are going to look like for this year and also going into next year, given the fact
that nobody can really pinpoint when this conflict would end. But I would say that there is general consensus that this conflict is going to drag.
It's not something that is going to be resolved very easily. I think at this point, most traders understand a little bit that you know it's not
economic pressure and it's not military action against Iran that would bring an end or an easy end to this regime or a conflict, and more like a
political resolution.
But saying that, I mean, I think everyone is in agreement that we're looking easily, easily, maybe until the end of 2027, if not even beyond
that. And you said it right.
ANDERSON: Yeah, fascinating.
BAKR: I mean, it's not a matter of the conflict ending today. It's going to, you know, take some time to restore those supplies.
ANDERSON: Yeah, it is. Meantime, massive focus on oil. We keep hearing Donald Trump talking about the Strait of Hormuz and getting the oil kind of
moving through that strait. Qatar, meantime, posting its widest quarterly budget deficit since 2016. LNG exports, of course, which make up the bulk
of its revenues, taking a massive hit with the closure of the strait.
And that has a huge impact, of course, on European and Asian customers. For the Europeans, we're beginning to approach the sort of you know the winter
months, there are signs that things may be easing. What are you seeing in terms of LNG tankers and shipments, Amena?
[09:40:00]
BAKR: In general, in this strait, Becky, we have been seeing a kind of gradual improvement in flows. However, we are still not at pre-war levels.
For example, last month we can say the range of crude that made it out of the strait is something between 8 to 10 million barrels a day.
So, yes, it is an improvement, but that fluctuates very rapidly, and on a daily basis, ships and vessels are still threatened, and in terms of LNG
cargos, those are even more risky to pass through the strait. So, Qatar is one of the countries that is very much affected. They have no way out but
through the strait.
And yeah, despite I mean what you've mentioned there about their deficit, this is just for one quarter they could withstand it, but it just goes back
to the question of how will this conflict end and when will it end.
ANDERSON: Yep, Amena, always good to have you on. Thank you very much indeed for making time from Singapore for us today. Thank you. You're
watching "Connect the World" more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, we are down to the final four in the women's singles at the U.S. Open. Elena Rybakina, the Australian Open champion, of course, has
advanced after her win on Wednesday. She is expected now to move to the number one spot in the women's rankings.
Rybakina will next face off against the American Coco Gauff for a chance to reach the finals. More on that on "World Sport", which is up after this
short break. I'm back with "Connect the World" in 15 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
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