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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Administration Considering Tapping Oil Reserves; Israel Launches Fresh Round Of Strikes in Beirut; Iran's Government Projecting Strength As War Grinds On; Trump Hits The Road To Tout Economy Amid Rising Gas Prices, War In Iran; Oil-Laden Iran Called "Black Rain" Has Been Reported In Iran; Qatar Pushes For Diplomacy As A Means To End War; Longtime Epstein Accountant Testifies In Congressional Probe; One Member Of Iranian Football Team No Longer Seeks Asylum. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired March 11, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. You are watching the second hour of "One World."
It is day 12 of the war in Iran. Here is the very latest. Within the last hour, we learned that President Trump told "Axios" the conflict will end
soon, and that there is simply nothing left in the country to target Israel.
Meantime, his warning its military operation will proceed without any time limit. And Tehran continued its retaliatory strikes on Israel and U.S.
assets in the Gulf region, calling today its heaviest operation since the war started.
Sources say Iran has also begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Three commercial vessels came under attack in the key passageway.
And earlier, member nations of the International Energy Agency unanimously decided to launch the largest ever release of emergency oil stocks, while
the Trump administration is considering tapping U.S. oil reserves as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG BURGUM, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR: These are the kinds of moments that these reserves are used for, because what we have here is
not a -- a -- a -- a shortage of energy in the world. We've got a transit problem, which is temporary. And when you have a temporary transit problem
that we're resolving militarily and diplomatically, which we can resolve and will resolve, this is the perfect time to think about releasing some of
those, to take some pressure off of the global price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Nic Robertson joins us live now from Kuwait.
So on the one hand, you have the U.S. President saying that this war is likely going to end soon and that there's nothing left to target in the
country.
But on the other hand, you have the Americans really having to deal with this crisis in the Strait of Hormuz that doesn't seem to be getting any
better. You have a cautionary tale with this Thai vessel that did attempt to pass through the strait today and obviously was struck.
Just walk us through what options the Americans have at their disposal, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, yes. And I think it's also perhaps instructive to consider how much Iran was preparing for
this moment.
Iran -- one of Iran's go-to places to put pressure on the international community has always been the Strait of Hormuz. And they were aware that
this war could come and perhaps was coming.
And therefore, I think the expectation would be that they would have prepared ways of targeting the Strait of Hormuz before this began. Did that
mean hiding drones nearby? Did it mean preparing the small fishing type vessels that their military use sort of covertly to target as they have
done in the past, big tanker ships effectively using sort of magnetic limpet mines to target them?
What did Iran do in advance? Because that's going to be the thing that will perhaps most challenge the United States. Obviously, Iran's navy has been -
- as we've been hearing from President Trump, effectively sitting ducks for the much greater, stronger, coordinated, targeted firepower of t-- of he
United States, aircraft in the United States Navy of all those military assets.
But Iran has typically historically fought asymmetrically here. It's not going Navy versus Navy. It's doing sort of small guerrilla type tactics at
sea. We know that the Houthis, for example, who are proxy of Iran in the Red Sea, over the past couple of years, and even been using sort of
unmanned waterborne vehicles, much the same that Ukraine has used against Russian fleet in the Black Sea.
But the Houthis have been developing them for many, many years, perhaps more than half a decade. We've seen the Houthis doing that.
So all of this would be likely the tactics and techniques that Iran will try to use. And we know that they say that they've been putting mines in
intelligence. Sources say they've been putting mines. They released a video very early on in this war to say that they were perhaps put mines in the
Strait of Hormuz.
So all of this is in play. It doesn't mean the United States can't defeat it. But the question is how quickly and there will be challenges.
And standing here in Kuwait, as I was down at the waterside earlier today, of course, we're a long way up the Gulf here from the Strait of Hormuz. But
the fishermen who are out on the water here tell me they're seeing far few tankers moving. And obviously that's because there aren't gas tankers
leaving Kuwait as there would be normally because they can't get through the Strait of Hormuz.
[12:05:09]
Everyone, upstream of that point is being impacted. They can't get product to market. Everybody downstream, that 20 percent of the global oil supply
that distributes to the world, particularly Asia, as well that -- that relies on that -- those products, they're being effective. And it's because
Iran intended it that way.
So, how well has Iran prepared? I think that's going to be a big question. Obviously, the U.S. military will be looking at.
ASHER: All right. Nic Robertson, live for us. Thank you so much.
All right. Let's get a view from Israel. We have Jeremy Diamond joining us live now from Tel Aviv.
So the Israelis, Jeremy, have come out and said that this military operation, according to them, is going to continue without any time limit.
President Trump, on the other hand, saying that this war, in his view, is going to end soon. And it will end when he says it will end.
Just explain to us whether or not the Americans and the Israelis are still aligned on the main objectives of this war, including -- and not limited to
regime change.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, there certainly does seem to be some kind of growing daylight between the United States and
Israel on exactly what the endgame for this war actually is.
The Israelis are certainly not mincing words about the fact that they will not end this military campaign until they've achieved all of their
objectives. Those were the words of the Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, just today.
And he also made quite clear that those goals still do include regime change, talking about this fact that Israel is still trying to create the
conditions on the ground for the Iranian people to rise up and revolt and ultimately overthrow the current Iranian regime. He also made clear that
Israel is going to continue until all of these goals are achieved.
Now, as far as the United States is concerned, we've heard a variety of messages from President Trump. Sometimes it seems like he's a lot closer to
the Israeli position. And then at other times, as you just mentioned, he's indicating that the war will likely end soon.
And it seems like President Trump's words are largely aimed at trying to calm the markets and these rising oil prices that we have seen, as well, of
course, as popular sentiment in the United States.
I think the question ultimately here that Israeli officials are asking themselves is whether President Trump is as committed as his military seems
to be to continuing to carry out these strikes in Iran every single day.
We've seen no indication that U.S. military fire power is waning in Iran. In fact, the United States Central Command just talked about having
destroyed a ballistic missile facility by Iran, one used to produce those ballistic missiles.
And so it's clear that they're not only going after Iran's current capacities, but also trying to degrade them in the long run.
But we'll have to wait and see every single day, Israeli officials wake up and see what President Trump has had to say about this and whether they can
still count on the United States' support in this campaign, because it's important to note that while Israel has brought significant firepower to
bear in Iran, it is still the United States that is carrying out the majority of the strikes there. And so their participation remains
important, if not essential, to the Israeli war effort as well.
ASHER: All right. Jeremy Diamond, live for us there. Thank you so much.
Iran's new supreme leader has not been heard from or seen since the start of the war. And questions have been swirling over Mojtaba's Khamenei public
absence.
A source tells CNN that Khamenei actually suffered a fractured foot and facial lacerations on the first day of the war. But earlier, the son of
Iran's president said that Khamenei is safe and that there are no concerns.
On Wednesday, CNN's team on the ground had a close call as Tehran came under aerial bombardment on Tuesday. I want you to take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK. We're hearing jets overhead. It anti-aircraft going up. They told us we got to go
out of here as fast as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Absolutely terrifying. Overnight, Tehran was hammered by a fresh wave of strikes.
Let's get more now from our Fred Pleitgen, who is in Northern Iran. We should note that CNN actually only operates in Iran with the permission of
the Iranian government that has required under local regulations, but it does maintain full editorial control over what it reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: The U.S. and Israel's massive aerial campaign seems to be continuing in full swing. Overnight, in the position that we were, we heard
jets streaking overhead and then massive explosions in the distance.
It's unclear what exactly the target was of that aerial rate that we witnessed. But certainly, it wasn't the only one in the past 24 hours.
In Tehran, the Iranian capital, there were major airstrikes also overnight and into the morning hours. Some of the targets appeared to have been in
the east of the city, in east Tehran. That's an area that's gotten hit quite a lot over the past couple of days.
[12:10:02]
But then also once again, the area around Mehrabad Airport. That's sort of the second airport of the Iranian capital that is very much within the city
limits.
Also outside of Tehran, there's a satellite town called Karaj, which has been hit in the past couple of days quite frequently, and apparently was
now hit once again.
All this comes as the Iranian government is trying to project that it is in a strong position in its standoff with the U.S. and Israel, the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is, of course, the elite wing of Iran's military, sent out a text message to people here inside Iran, detailing the
costs to the United States of the ongoing war with Iran. The Iranians trying to say that they are the ones who are now in the driver's seat.
Meanwhile, politicians here in Iran continue to say that right now, the Iranians are not interested in negotiations with the United States and
instead are gearing up for what could be a very long war.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, in Northern Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Happening soon, President Trump is taking on affordability as he travels to Ohio and Kentucky today. He's expected to
talk about his efforts to lower prescription drug prices as well as the overall state of the economy and the path forward. This as gas prices are
soaring across the U.S. amid the war in Iran.
For more on all this, I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.
So I think, Ron, my first question to you is that it is well documented now that this is a president that campaigned on not starting any new wars.
And on top of that, in his sort of outgoing speech as U.S. president after the end of his first term, so we're talking about 2021, one of the things
he said is that he was most proud of being one of the few American presidents in his words who did not start any new wars.
What changed?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I -- I think Trump, in general, feels completely untethered in the second term. I mean, I think
what you're watching is a president who feels that there are essentially no constraints on him.
He said as much to "The New York Times" in January when he said, you know, the only limits on -- on his view, on his use of force was not
international law, but -- but his own morality.
And, you know, you -- you -- basically, between the combination of the Supreme Court decision on immunity from criminal prosecution, the kind of
collapse of the willingness of the Republican Congress to really check him in almost any respect, I think he kind of believes himself on completely
untethered, unbound.
And, you know, historically, presidents and leaders really have any country get in trouble when they think there are no political constraints and that
their -- that their judgment is so sound that they don't really want to hear descending voices.
And I think, you know, you're seeing here after Venezuela went very well, quick, in and out, accomplished what they want to.
Here, they are seeing that, you know, that the cards don't always fall the way that you expect and that this is proving much more complex at the least
than they anticipated.
ASHER: So if this war ends, I mean, obviously, President Trump has been telegraphing this idea that, you know, the war is going to end when I say
it's going to end. It's up to me to end this conflict.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
ASHER: Not necessarily saying anymore that this war is going to end when there's a change in the regime. I mean, obviously, he does realize that
that is probably a lot more difficult than he first anticipated.
But if -- you know, it's interesting that you bring up Venezuela because obviously that was a very clear and easy, took a lot of planning, but
relatively easy from the eyes of the public victory for the United States. This is very, very different.
And if this war ends, if Trump finds some off-ramp without any kind of regime change, which is what he telegraphed to the public first and also --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
ASHER: -- what he sort of promised to the Iranian people. One of the things he said was, this is your time. Dear Iranians, this is your time to sort of
rise up and take your country back.
If neither of those two things happen, how will Trump then explain the point of this war to the American people?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think -- look, I -- I think they've kind of settled on their -- their alternative explanation, which was to degrade Iran's
military capacity and its ability to project power in the region.
And I think most Americans will find that a reasonable goal for the use of American military force. There's no love loss for the Iranian regime
anywhere in the U.S.
The problem is, I'm not sure -- and I think all the evidence is to the contrary that most Americans would view that -- that as a benefit that
justifies the literal costs they are -- they are paying for this.
I mean, the backdrop for all of this is that Trump was elected above all because voters felt that he was going to get their cost of living under
control. And that voters, even before this war, felt that he had failed to do that.
I mean, you know, you had majority disapproval of his handling of the economy after that was a source of strength for him in his first term. You
had half or more of Americans saying his -- his policies have made their affordability issues worse, not better.
And you had two-thirds of Americans in a CNN poll in late January, as in other polls, saying he has not sufficiently prioritized what they sent him
there to do.
So now, he launches a war that most Americans oppose that compound the problem that they elected him to solve that they already felt he was
failing to make sufficient progress.
I mean, if you drew it up on a blackboard, you'd have a hard time creating a formula that would kind of more severely maximize your political danger
than the situation that he's in.
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ASHER: One of the things that, of course, Israel has talked a bit more about is just this idea that, you know, they believe that Iran sort of
posed an existential threat over the long-term, especially in terms of its nuclear capabilities.
You know, one of the other potential goals of the Trump administration was to really make sure that Iran could not go around in sort of, in the
future, get its hand on -- on a nuclear weapon.
Obviously, we saw a lot of bombing at Iran's nuclear sites last year during that 12-day war at Natanz, at Isfahan as well.
And then what we saw in the aftermath was despite Donald Trump saying, you know, their nuclear capabilities have been completely obliterated, Iran
worked very quietly and very hard to sort of rebuild those capabilities.
Surely now, after this attack on the Supreme Leader, on a lot of high-level Iranian officials, the one thing that Iranians probably would have learned
is that they really, really do need to, from their perspective, keep their country safe.
And from their perspective, they're probably going to be more determined to get their hands on nuclear weaponry after this.
So just in terms of Donald Trump's strategic goal to sort of degrade and completely destroy the Iranian's ability to possess a nuclear weapon. I
mean, if that fails, if after all is said and done, after the end of this war, Iran continues to sort of work towards that nuclear goal, then this
war would have been a complete waste.
I mean, how would the American public react to that?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, it's interesting because, as I said, there's no love lost anywhere in the American political spectrum for the Iranian
regime.
But I -- I noticed, it kind of struck me in polling only a couple of days ago from NPR/PBS, and the Marist, only 40 percent of Americans said they
view Iran as a major threat to the U.S. There's not the same sense of existential danger from Iran in the U.S. as there is in Israel.
And -- and I think that is one of the reasons why there is very -- the willingness to bear costs for this. I mean, you know, I -- the vast
majority of Republican voters support the war. And that translates into pretty much lockstep support from Republicans in Congress. So Trump doesn't
feel any kind of practical, immediate pressure to end it from his political base.
But, you know, he is someone who has shown the will. He has not shown a vast appetite over his career for a big political -- and big and
unpredictable political costs.
And, you know, clearly, when he talks about ending this war quickly, he's hoping to influence the markets, both in oil prices and stock prices. He
does seem to be looking over his shoulder and having a clear sense of how far he can -- he can take this before, you know, the damage becomes
unsustainable.
Political -- politically, I would say that the damage is already formidable if only because of the opportunity cost. You said he's going out today to
Ohio and Kentucky to drive a message on the economy. That's not going to be the main message that people are getting.
You know, the main -- the main message that he's getting is that he has launched this war. He has shifted his explanations for why and what it --
what moved the goalposts on what victory looks like.
And as I said, he begins all of this in his lowest point ever in voter assessments of how he is handling the economy.
So at the least, he is burning up weeks toward the November election without really making any material progress toward improving that. And that
is a real opportunity cost for him and his party.
ASHER: And although the one sort of political benefit for this president is that this Iran war does distract Americans from, of course, the Epstein
files, which we didn't get to talk about because we are out of time.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
ASHER: Ron Brownstein, live for us there. Thank you so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
ASHER: All right. Still to come, Iranians have more to worry about than bombs falling from the sky. Details of a growing environmental disaster as
a result of this war, after the break.
Plus, the longtime accountant for convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, is testifying on Capitol Hill today. We'll take a look at what to expect,
next.
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ASHER: All right. A new report by Greenpeace shows that war is not the only thing that Iranians have to worry about now. Here is the problem.
There are 16 billion liters of oil in the Persian Gulf right now. For perspective, that's how much Greece (ph) uses in a year. And it's not just
sitting in -- it's just sitting, rather, in 68 oil tankers. And Greenpeace says there is a risk of an oil spill happening in the Strait of Hormuz, and
that risk is serious. That's just one environmental effect of the war.
Here's another. When Iran's oil refineries were hit, they sent oil smoke into the air, which mixed with rain causing what is known as black rain.
When people breathe it in, respiratory problems are a common complaint. The World Health Organization is advising Iranians to stay indoors.
Has the damage already been done in Iran? Or can it be cleaned up? Let's get some perspective and all of the environmental hazards of -- of this war
from Nazanine Moshiri. She's the senior advisor for Climate and Peace Partnerships at the Berghof Foundation. Thank you so much, Nazanine.
You know, I'm not saying anything groundbreaking when I say that warfare is obviously terrible for the environment, but just in terms of what Iran's
environmental agency is saying and the Iranian Red Crescent Society, they've actually warned Tehran's residents to stay at home, warning that
the toxic chemicals spread by airstrikes on five fossil fuel installations around the city could actually lead to acid rain, also damage the skin and
lungs.
The head of the World Health Organization has also said that damage to petroleum facilities in Iran risks contaminating food, water, and air.
Hazards that have severe health impacts, especially, Nazanine, as you know, on children. Give us your take.
NAZANINE MOSHIRI, SENIOR ADVISOR FOR CLIMATE AND PEACE PARTNERSHIPS, BERGHOF FOUNDATION: Yes. I mean, usually -- and I've covered many wars,
usually, we focus on the humanitarian and in this particular war, the economic.
But the environmental damage from strikes can be most immediate and also long-lasting for -- for many people as well.
So as you mentioned there, Iran has many oil depots and fuel storage tankers, also military sites, and the environmental damage has been
immediate.
So we do know that from people who are observing this through satellite and remote sensing, of course, it's very difficult to get, you know, complete
on-the-ground information, but conflict and environment observatory have logged more than 300 such attacks and incidents, not just Iran -- in Iran,
but across the region.
So as you mentioned there, you've got burning oil, which releases soot and toxic hydrocarbons into the air. So it can fall back when it rains as black
rain.
I spoke to a top health specialist here in the U.K. and he said that, look, this pollution can trigger breathing problems of people who have asthma,
perhaps young people, elderly, but it can also have, you know, long lasting effects that contaminates the soil and groundwater. It could even lead to
things like heart disease and cancer.
And I've seen this kind of impact before. When I researched the war, the current war in Sudan on the border with South Sudan, you have oil pipelines
which have leaked into the ground there, into water sources in some places.
And -- and when you have flooding in particular, the contamination can spread across farmland, into drinking water supplies. So this is not
something that's new, but it's really interesting that we are finally focusing on some of the environmental impacts, which can be very, very long
lasting.
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ASHER: It's so important. When we talk about the sort of nuclear facilities that exist within Iran, the two that sort of come up the most are Natanz
and Isfahan.
And they're sort of very different because Isfahan is focused a lot more on nuclear research and fuel sort of processing facilities, whereas Natanz is
much more sort of all about Iranian enrichment. It's a sort of main site for Iranian enrichment in Iran.
Just explain to us the risks. You know, when you sort of hear that Natanz is being bombed consistently, not just obviously in this war, but also
during that 12-day war last June, what concerns you about that?
MOSHIRI: Yes, absolutely. I mean, there are links between, you know, heavy metals and uranium shells and contamination of the ground, contamination of
the air.
I actually visited Bushehr when I was a journalist. That's the plant that you're talking about, which is near Isfahan.
And as you mentioned there, it's kind of more sort of on-the-ground, whereas Natanz is more sort of underground and sort of harder -- harder to
reach.
And I -- and I believe during the last war as well in June, the -- the plant at Bushehr was damaged by the attacks there.
Obviously, it's a big, big worry for -- for the Iranians, but I think a bigger worry for the region in general is what's going to happen in
particular the straits, Strait of Hormuz. That's also a potential environmental disaster waiting to happen, where you have, you know, oil
platforms, gas platforms, tankers, pipelines, terminals, which could be damaged by mines.
You're talking about a relatively narrow waterway of around 33 kilometers wide. So any kind of oil spill could affect, you know, multiple coastlines.
And then you've got also a critical resource in the region, which is not just oil, but drinking water.
As anybody who's -- who's lived in the Gulf would know that people living in those cities rely heavily on desalination plants, because there's just
no real rivers or -- or drinking water and supplies or millions could be disrupted.
And unlike oil facilities, those plants can't really be easily be replaced or repaired quickly. And more broadly, I would say conflicts like this
really highlight how dependent we are as a global economy on fossil fuels.
So when this kind of infrastructure becomes target, it creates environmental damage. And it has climate change impacts with military
emissions. But the economic shocks and the geopolitical instability, all at once, really impacts us all.
ASHER: Yes. I mean, it really highlights the risks, not just to the environment, but just the broader risks of depending so heavily on fossil
fuels. I'm so glad you brought up the risk of oil spills. Obviously, that is a terrifying thought.
I guess the hope is that, you know, if this war ends soon, the hope is that there will be environmental sort of monitoring and remediation efforts,
especially if there is significantly contaminated water and soil as a result of the continued bombardment.
Nazanine Moshiri, thank you. Thank you for your perspective. That was -- that was really important. Thank you.
All right. Still to come here, much is at stake at the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints faces a dangerous
security crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: The only thing we can say with any degree of certainty is that as long as that waterway remains closed and
the price of oil just keeps rising.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.
As the U.S./Israeli war with Iran stretches on, Qatar is among the countries in the Middle East that is actively working to prevent a wider
regional war.
On Tuesday, Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson said that his country is using diplomatic means to try to get the combatants to de-escalate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJED BIN MOHAMMED AL-ANSARI, SPOKESMAN, QATARI MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: It's very clear from our position. Any party that targets civilian
infrastructure, we are urging them to stop that immediately because it will have repercussions.
And however difficult the situation right now is, the end of this conflict will be on the negotiation table. And therefore, the -- the quicker we get
to that negotiation table and the escalations, the better it is for the people of the -- of the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. His remarks come as CNN teams in Doha heard bombs over the city, loud enough to shake buildings earlier today.
CNN's Bijan Hosseini joins the slide now from Doha.
So, Bijan, Qatar has a lot to worry about, especially because it is a major exporter of natural gas. And when you have this massive disruption with the
production facilities being hit, it's forced Qatar to essentially declare force majeure and not fulfill some of its contracts because this war is
going on.
But on top of that, you have these fresh strikes that Qatar is continually being subjected to from Iran. Worth noting that Qatar and Iran do have a
complicated relationship, not necessarily enemies, but not necessarily close allies either.
Just walk us through what you're experiencing on the ground there in Doha.
BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Yes. Not -- not close allies, but a very pragmatic relationship. We know they conduct in trade. They share the
largest natural gas field in the world, actually.
And we know that Qatar operates and -- and produces 20 percent of the world's natural gas. They stop production at their biggest facility more
than a week ago. And this all comes today, as Iran said, they were launching their most intense operation.
Yet, teams on the ground here, we heard three different waves of missile attacks. The Ministry of Defense here confirming those three waves saying
that all were intercepted. You know, the first round, I could hear my building was shaking and I live in central Doha.
This comes two days after we had almost a 24-hour pause. A lot of people here were feeling hopeful. They thought things were moving in the right
direction. Clearly not the case today.
And we've seen those attacks kind of rippled throughout the Gulf today, but we've also seen them in the Strait of Hormuz, this vital passageway for a
fifth of the world's oil.
We know that Iran's IRGC, their Revolutionary Guard Corps, today confirmed attacking two vessels in the strait. The first one, a Thai flagged bulk
carrier called the Mayuree Naree. It was a Thai vessel.
Their ministry of transport said, it has a crew of 23 people. They were asked to abandon ship after a projectile hit their engine room. We know
that 20 of those crew members were rescued by the Omani Navy. Three are missing and unaccounted for. And the ministry confirming that those three
were indeed working in that engine room.
[12:35:02]
We also know a Liberian flagged vessel was also attacked.
Iran says that these attacks came after multiple warnings that were ignored. And Iran said that they were trying and insisting on crossing the
strait illegally.
All that happening, we've also heard just in the last two hours from the IEA, the International Energy Agency, saying that they will release 400
million barrels of strategic oil reserves.
It's their largest release in their history, hoping to offset some of the damage we've seen from this closure of this strait in the last 12 days.
Zain.
ASHER: All right. Bijan Hosseini, thank you so much for that update.
The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed, but at least six ships actually did manage to make it through in recent days. Some of them made it through
the dangerous waters after turning off their tracking signals while trying to conceal their real positions, that's according to maritime or marine,
rather, traffic data.
CNN's Richard Quest has a closer look at the critical waterway.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The geography is extremely well known and understood. And perhaps because of that, the risks currently being faced are so severe.
Take, for example, Maersk shipping, which has got at least 10 ships that it says stranded in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, and many more
on the outside that it can't get in or out because obviously the waterway is so difficult.
In addition, they are refusing to send now ships up through into the Red Sea because of the possibilities of the Houthis and the risks around Yemen.
As a result, something like Maersk is saying the current situation is absolutely uncharted and unprecedented.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VINCENT CLERC, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MAERSK: Some of the hubs on which global trade does -- does rely on are actually being affected, are being
closed by the situation right now.
It's true from Jebel Ali, it's true for Abu Dhabi, it's true for -- for a few of those -- of those hubs. And this is -- this is going to create
ripple effect, I think, for a -- for a while as we -- as we need to see how this is going to sort itself out.
In the short run, we can -- we can manage this, but if this was to endure, this would create, I think, serious congestion and serious issues across
the global supply chain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: What happens next is anybody's guess. The very idea that this area is being mined by the Iranians. Or indeed that the U.S. is going in and
starting to attack those various --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Just moments ago, President Trump stopped to speak with reporters. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What is it, Peter?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What more do you need to do militarily for this operation to end?
TRUMP: More the same, and we'll see how that all comes out. Right now, they are -- they've lost their Navy, they've lost their Air Force. They have no
anti-aircraft apparatus at all. They have no radar. Their leaders are gone. And we can do a lot worse.
We're leaving certain things that if we take them out or we could take them out by this afternoon, in fact within an hour, they literally would never
be able to build that country back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A new report shows -- a new report says that the military investigation has found that the United States struck this school
in Iran. As commander in chief, do you take responsibility for that?
TRUMP: That is what? The way you - -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As commander in chief, do you --
TRUMP: For what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- do you -- from the strike on the school in Iran. A -- a new report says, the military investigation has found it was the
United States that struck the school.
TRUMP: I don't know about it.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you talking to CEOs of various oil companies encouraging them to use the Strait of Hormuz right now?
TRUMP: Yes, I think they should. I think they should. I think they should use it.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: In my opinion, look, we took out just about all of their mine ships in one night. We're up to boat number 60. I didn't realize that that big a
Navy. I would say it was big and ineffective, but every one of their ships -- this about all of their Navy is gone. The bottom of this thing.
I hope you're impressed.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, are they laying any mines in the Strait of Hormuz?
TRUMP: We don't think so.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is Senator Thune -- is Senator Thune listening to you when you say you want to pass the SAVE America Act, he says there aren't
the votes to do it right now. What's your response?
TRUMP: Well, he's got to be a leader, you know. He's a leader. He's got to get him. It's the most popular bill I've ever seen put before Congress. And
his voter I.D. and as voter, you have to be able to be a citizen to vote. You've got -- it's called citizenship.
[12:40:59]
And we're also adding in no men playing in women's sports, no transgender mutilization of our children, and no male imbalance, fake male imbalance.
We have none of that except in the case of the military, et cetera.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: It is -- is is the SAVE America Act. It's the most popular bill I think I've ever put before.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you declare victory in this war if the supreme leader remains the Ayatollah's son?
TRUMP: I don't want to comment on that. I don't want to comment. But I will tell you, I just spoke with various countries and leaders of various
countries. You'll have a list. And they said they've never seen anything like it.
We have -- and I've built it during my first term, and I used it. I didn't realize I was going to use it this much, but we have the greatest military
in the world by far. Nobody close.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got a domestic (INAUDIBLE)?
TRUMP: No, no.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not invited to the (INAUDIBLE) of the Americas. Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia were not invited to the (INAUDIBLE) of the
Americas. Why was that? And do they come in the future to the event?
TRUMP: I think they were invited. Maybe they didn't come. I think they were -- I get along very well with all of them.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Iraqi parliament, few days, members slogan, death to America, death to Israel. What is your response to them? What is your
message for Iraqi government?
TRUMP: What did he say?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Iraqi parliament, slogan death of America, death of Israel, member of the parliament.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Death to America, death to Israel, what's your response?
TRUMP: That's not a nice question.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President (INAUDIBLE) after you told them that (INAUDIBLE) with them. Are they cooperating with the United States?
TRUMP: Who? Who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spain. Spain.
TRUMP: No, they're not. I think they're not cooperating at all. Spain? I think they've been very bad, very bad. Not good at all. We (INAUDIBLE) with
Spain.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) all trade -- all trade with them?
TRUMP: I don't know what Spain is doing. They've been very bad to NATO. They get protected. They don't want to pay their fair share. And they've
been that way for many years, actually.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Let me give you the good news. Let me give you the good news. The people of Spain are fantastic. The leadership, like you. The leadership,
not so good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Hezbollah and Lebanon -- Lebanon is under attack and Hezbollah is making dangerous (INAUDIBLE). What is your message for
Lebanon?
TRUMP: Well, we're -- we're working and it's very hard. We love Lebanon. We love the people of Lebanon. And we're working very hard. We got to get rid
of the Hezbollah. It's been a disaster for many years.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) what do you want Americans to know about that?
TRUMP: About what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About the new oil refinery going up in --
TRUMP: Oh, it'd be great. It's going to be the greatest anywhere in the world. There's never been anything like it. It's great that it's going up
in Texas.
You know, it's very hard to get refineries done. This will be like nothing else ever built. It's a great thing. Thank you for that question.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you (INAUDIBLE) mission accomplished?
TRUMP: Well, look, we've knocked out their navy. We've knocked out their air force. We've knocked out all of their anti-defense. We've taken out 60
mine boats, 50 mine boats, which nobody has ever seen anything like it.
We have the greatest military in the world by far, not even close.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: You know what, they've inflicted 47 years worth of damage to the world and now they're -- big price.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, are you willing to withdraw the U.S. from Iran even if they have not turned over and allow the U.S. to see the
remaining --
TRUMP: I'm not going to answer. I'm not going to answer. Yes. I'm not going to answer that.
But we have hit them harder than virtually any country in history has been hit. And we're not finished yet.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, Arizona, why did the FBI (INAUDIBLE)?
[12:45:12]
ASHER: Apologies. Our cameraman was trying to get access to the U.S. president there.
But President Trump speaking on his way to Ohio to discuss economic policy, taking questions from reporters. Obviously, a lot of the questions were, of
course, about Iran.
The president started off sort of touting and sort of laying out American achievements so far in this war, saying that the Americans had already
destroyed Iran's navy, their air force, their air defenses as well, but refused to say if America could ever declare true victory in Iran, if this
particular Ayatollah, Mojtaba Khamenei remained in power. He refused to answer questions about the fact that the U.S. is potentially responsible
for that attack on that Iranian girls school on the 29th of February right after this war had begun in Minab, Iran.
We know that 170 school girls and teachers were killed in that. He refused to answer the question about whether or not he, as the American president,
would be responsible for that.
Also saying that he believed that oil companies should continue to use the Strait of Hormuz despite knowing the risks. Obviously, we've been reporting
all morning about the fact that a Thai vessel was struck in the Strait of Hormuz and that three crew members are still missing.
The president saying that companies and vessels should continue to use that strait and that he didn't believe that Iran was actually laying down mines
in the Strait of Hormuz despite reports to the contrary.
OK. We'll have much more news after this short break. Again, the president there on his way to Ohio to tout American economic policy and talk about
lowering prescription drug prices.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Breaking news from the U.K., the British government has released documents related to the appointment of Peter Mandelson, the
former ambassador to the U.S. Mandelson resigned because of his ties to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
In the newly released documents, emails from Mandelson asked for more than half a million pounds as severance pay. He was granted 75,000 pounds.
The files also show that Prime Minister Keir Starmer was warned about hiring Mandelson but actually chose to do so anyway.
Mandelson was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but it was bailed out. He has denied any criminal wrongdoing.
[12:50:03]
And happening right now in Washington, Jeffrey Epstein's longtime accountant is testifying about the disgraced financier and convicted sex
offender before a congressional panel in a closed door deposition.
The House Oversight Committee is expected to press Kahn about how Epstein made his fortune and how and where he spent it. Khan has denied any
wrongdoing.
CNN's Lauren Fox is live for us on Capitol Hill. Lauren, what more can you tell us?
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, obviously, this is an incredibly informative witness for both Republicans and Democrats on
the House Oversight Committee.
James Comer, the chairman of this committee, made clear before this deposition began that the line of questioning that Republicans and
Democrats will undergo for the next several hours is going to really dig into Epstein's wealth, the network of businesses that he had, how he was
using the funds that he had to influence people both in the United States and around the world.
And the person who has intimate knowledge of that, of course, is his accountant, Richard Kahn, who had been acting in that role since 2005.
Here's what the chairman of the committee said in the moments before he went into that deposition room.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): We are deposing our seventh witness thus far for the Epstein investigation. Today is a -- is a big witness. This is Kahn,
the CPA. We have a lot of questions. I think everyone in America has questions about how Epstein was able to accumulate so much wealth.
I think it's also known, hopefully you all have reported this, that we've been getting bank records in for a long time, and we haven't talked
publicly about them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: Now, the other interesting dynamic that perhaps Kahn can shed some light on is that he was in charge of helping to make payments to various
people that Epstein was directing him to make payments to. That was something that became very clear as the Epstein files have been released to
the public.
He was never questioned during the course of the investigation into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell by federal investigators. That's another key point to
make. And his lawyers have said, as he has, that he never was involved in any wrongdoing.
I want to read you a statement from his lawyers to our team here at CNN in response to an investigation that was done by our team into Epstein's
orbit. His -- his lawyer said, quote, "Epstein's books and records gave Mr. Kahn no indication that Epstein was paying for sex or that any woman was
being sexually abused or trafficked. Mr. Kahn never witnessed any of Epstein's abuse, nor did any victim or anyone else ever report her abuse by
Epstein to him. No victim has ever made any allegations to the contrary."
Now, we should say that this deposition is still ongoing with the House Oversight Committee. We expect it could go on for minutes or even hours
further. Zain.
ASHER: All right. Lauren Fox, live for us on Capitol Hill. Thank you.
All right. One of the seven members of the Iranian women's football team granted refuge in Australia has actually changed her mind and now wants to
leave. That's according to Australia's Home Affairs' minister who says the woman contacted team members who had already left the country and respected
to -- requested, rather, to join them. Those team members arrived earlier in Kuala Lumpur.
CNN's Christina Macfarlane is following the story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A last-ditch attempt by protesters to stop Iran's soccer team leaving, as the country's
remaining members depart Australia, bound for a long journey to their war- torn home.
Earlier today, players were seen being taken by the wrist onto a bus, escorted by police from their Gold Coast hotel. A source says seven team
members who received humanitarian visas in the early hours of Tuesday morning were left behind.
TONY BURKE, AUSTRALIAN HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER: These women are tremendously popular in Australia, but we realize they are in a terribly difficult
situation with the decisions that they're making. But the opportunity will continue to be there for them to talk to Australian officials if they wish
to.
MACFARLANE (voice-over): With the families of all the players threatened in Iran by the regime, this was an agonizing decision not to go back, and a
reason why their teammates may have chosen not to join them.
Fear for the players' safety began last week ahead of their first match of the Asian Cup. As U.S. and Israeli bombs fell on Iran, the team did not
sing its national anthem. Soon after, Iranian state T.V. labeled them as wartime traitors, a crime punishable with prison time or even death under
the Iranian regime.
[12:55:01]
The players then sang and saluted before their other matches. As Iran's first vice president insisted the government would guarantee the players'
safety when they return, U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Australian government to grant the women asylum.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: President Trump rang me this morning, at just before 2:00 A.M. We had a very positive discussion. He was
concerned about the Iranian women in the soccer team and their welfare and their safety if they returned home.
MACFARLANE (voice-over): The Australian government says it has done all it can to support the Iranian players to make the toughest of choices. Seven
will remain in Australia. Their teammates return home to an uncertain fate in a country at war.
Christina Macfarlane, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. That does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
