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One World with Zain Asher
Strikes Rock Middle East With Iran War In The Third Week; Trump Speaks As War With Iran Enters Its Third Week; Israeli Continues To Target Hezbollah In Beirut And Southern Lebanon; Oil Prices Spike As War With Iran Enters 3rd Week; Trump Urges Allies To Help Secure Strait Of Hormuz; Hollywood Celebrates The Biggest Night In Film; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired March 16, 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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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Zain Asher. You are watching the second hour of "One World."
As the war in Iran stretches into its third week, one key question takes center stage, how exactly to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?
U.S. President Donald Trump looking for support from NATO allies as well as China.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I think we're getting a good response. If we do that's great. And if we don't, that's great too.
But remember, like, as an example in many cases in NATO countries, we're always there for NATO. We're helping them with Ukraine. It's got an ocean
in between us. Doesn't affect us, but we helped them. It'd be interesting to see what country wouldn't help us with a very small endeavor which is
just keeping the strait open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: If NATO allies do not help reopen the critical waterway Trump wants, they could face a quote very bad future. Right now, no countries have
committed to sending warships.
GOLODRYGA: This issue raising concerns about the president's upcoming trip to China. The White House now says that that trip could be delayed.
Meanwhile, the price of oil rises to its highest level since 2022. Of course, that was the larger scale invasion in February of that year of
Ukraine by Russia. The average cost of diesel in the U.S. just shy now of $5 per gallon.
And in Southern Lebanon, Israel says that it is expanding its ground offensive. Their defense minister says hundreds of thousands of people have
been or are currently evacuating.
ASHER: Our team is tracking all of these developments. We've got Alayna Treene standing by for us in Washington.
We want to begin though with our Nic Robertson who has the view from Kuwait. I mean, obviously, this war, Nic, is entering into its third week.
It shows no sign of abating, especially just considering what this means for Gulf nations who continue -- continue to be dragged into this.
You are in Kuwait. However, we do know that for the UAE, I mean, the Dubai airport was closed for several hours over the weekend. Just give us your
take on what's happening on the ground there.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMAT EDITOR: It does seem as if there have been fewer impacts in the Gulf countries today. And I should just give
a quick caveat on warning for our viewers. The rain is probably the clue here, but we're in the midst of a huge thunderstorm. So if you hear loud
bangs and see bright flashes, it is just that thunderstorm.
Kuwait, actually, today, has not that we're aware of had any intercepts or incoming missiles land. But as you say, in the UAE, in Dubai, the airport
there brought to a standstill when a fuel tank was hit.
Qatar, we know, has had several missile intercepts today.
And the Saudis, just in the past few minutes, have announced that they had 11 drones intercepted just south of the capital Riyadh, in an area where
their Prince Sultan Air Base is. And that air base is, we know, used by U.S. air forces. In fact, that's where a number of service personnel, or
one service personnel was killed in a strike in the early days of -- of the war.
So it appears that Iran's still going after those targets. And I think the perspective from here is, hearing what President Trump is saying,
understanding that this is looking like a protracted conflict, understanding that the Strait of Hormuz is close, understanding that
President Trump is reaching out to -- to Asian allies and partners, European partners and allies part of NATO, and also looking to the Gulf for
what they can do.
I think the general perception emerges from here is what precisely is the endgame, what precisely is the United States asking for? Because the sense
here is, as you were mentioning, that there's been so many mixed messages, and it still isn't clear to the leaders here, at least, precisely what the
United States is -- is offering in terms of opening the Strait of Hormuz.
And I think the other part of that picture, as they try to assess what the United States wants, is that they understand that Iran hasn't gone to the
maximum yet, even though it brought the airport in Dubai to a standstill today.
Countries like Bahrain, like Kuwait, are incredibly vulnerable to attacks on desalination plants, on power plants. And those kinds of key
infrastructure facilities haven't been targeted yet.
[12:05:01]
And Gulf leaders know that if Iran wanted to escalate and had the ability to escalate, as it appears to continue to demonstrate, then those -- then -
- then in those areas they could be vulnerable and things could get worse. I think that's the perception at the moment.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Nic Robertson, we'll try to get you out of the rain as soon as possible. Thank you for breaking things down from that part of
the world in the region.
Let's go to Washington. Alayna Treene is there for us. And, Alayna, I believe we're expecting to hear from President Trump at any moment now. Do
we know what this is about?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is going to be a bit unrelated to what's happening in Iran, although I can assure you that
the reporters in the room are going to be asking questions about this war.
He is currently at the Kennedy senator -- or excuse me, at the Kennedy Center for a press conference related to some of the changes he's going to
be making to the center and to the board there.
But look, just getting back to what Nic said, because I think what we have heard from the president this week and also from top Trump administration
officials really in the last several days, is an extreme amount of pressure that this White House is putting on United States allies to get involved in
this war and specifically involved in trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Now, you've heard the president and others talk about this idea of a coalition, of having U.S. allies kind of come together to send warships to
that key waterway and the Persian Gulf.
And when you talk to Trump administration officials, they seem relatively confident, Bianna and Zain, that essentially, they will be able to form
this coalition. But a key question, of course, is who is actually going to join that and what exactly would they be committing to?
And when you hear the president's argument, one of the things that he's been repeatedly trying to make the point of is that the United States is,
you know, unlike some other countries, not as reliant on the oil coming from the Strait of Hormuz, not as reliant on Iranian oil as some of these
countries that he's asking for help with. And so that's why he's saying he believes that, you know, they need to be involved in opening up that vital
waterway.
I will also note that a lot of this is interesting because what we're hearing from the president, these comments, just to put them into context,
are kind of the first time the president has really been eager or at least seemed eager to bring other countries into this war.
I'd remind you that when those strikes first began, the U.S. strikes, in addition to the Israeli strikes in Iran, I mean, a lot of countries did not
even know that was going to happen, hadn't been given a heads up. Many had said they had been surprised or were caught off guard when this had
officially broken out. So I'd keep that in mind.
Now, to give you a sense as well as what we're hearing from some of these other countries, you know, he's called on the U.K. specifically on Germany,
on Japan. None of them has so far committed to providing warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even Japan, whose prime minister is going to
be here at the White House later this week, is still being very cautious about that.
But what I found very ominous was what the president said yesterday went on Air Force One. He essentially had this warning to NATO allied countries
specifically, NATO members, saying that we will remember if you do not get involved in this.
He said he appreciates help, but he doesn't need the help once the war is over. He wants the help now. And so coming from a president who is, of
course, openly used about this idea of withdrawing support for NATO, it is something to take seriously.
But I think as we continue to look into what the next couple of days and weeks and months are going to look like what is happening in the Strait of
Hormuz is so vital to what the Trump administration is doing.
And if they cannot find a way to reopen it quickly and swiftly, that is going to be a major issue for them, of course, not only as it relates to
military operations, but also to support for this broader campaign back home in America, particularly as oil prices remain very volatile and are
rising. And Americans are still not fully bought into this idea of U.S. involvement in the Middle East to this magnitude.
ASHER: All right. Nic Robertson, Alayna Treene, thank you both so much.
GOLODRYGA: Our next guest is a senior research scholar at Columbia University. Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal joins us now from New York.
Nadav, it is good to see you.
And you say, at this point, the main focus of the war is less about regime change and less about even locating the 440 kilograms of highly enriched
uranium. It is all about reopening the pathway there for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
And you also report that according to Israeli officials, Washington told them to prepare for weeks more of fighting because of this very issue. Tell
us more about what you're learning.
NADAV EYAL, SENIOR RESEARCHER SCHOLAR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: So Israeli sources are saying that this has become, to a large extent, at least for
now, the war for Hormuz. They're saying that the U.S. and Israel are still committed for the goals in Iran. They're still striking in Iran. The
Israeli Air Force had several strikes only this morning across the country.
[12:10:05]
But the main issue, say, these Israeli officials is really opening the Strait of Hormuz. And what they fear, Bianna, is the possibility that if
this war ends without the strait being opened by the United States, that would mean that Iran has a base itself as a regional hegemon that can
basically strangle the global economy at will. And they fear that this would be a precedent that could influence the entire region for years to
come.
ASHER: Nadav, Iran has never fully, fully gone through with actually closing the Strait of Hormuz in this particular way, but it has made
several threats to do just this in previous conflicts.
My question to you is whether United States and the Israelis had they sort of foreseen that this could be a possibility, had they prepared at all,
that this might be one of the ways in which Iran might retaliate? And should they have, especially given that Iran has made this threat in the
past?
EYAL: Well, basically, this was always a possibility, say, intelligent sources. They say that this kind of scenario in which the Iranians will try
to close or limit the transportation in the Strait of Hormuz.
I think that there's a misperception there that the tankers that Iran wants to go through the Strait of Hormuz are still moving through the strait,
including, for instance, a Pakistani tanker, I think, just this morning, Middle Eastern time, with the authorization of Tehran.
Tehran is also welcoming, quote-unquote, countries that want to turn to it in order to get authorization to move through the strait. That means that
an open passage has now become a corridor controlled by Tehran.
And, yes, to the question, this was always a scenario. It was presented to decision-makers in Israel, as far as I know, is something that is extremely
plausible in this conflict.
GOLODRYGA: Nadav, President Trump also said as he had made his threats against NATO allies, if they don't participate in putting more pressure on
Iran to reopen the strait for all passageway, that Israel is currently helping the United States do just that.
Do you have any confirmation of that? And what, if anything, what is Israel be able to do on that front?
EYAL: The United States and Israel are very much coordinated in the line during this war and including in the planning as to the Strait of Hormuz.
And this goes to the sources, the officials I've speaking -- I've spoken with in the last 24 hours, they are speaking directly at that at what both
allies can do in order to open the strait. They don't see this as a U.S. problem. They see this as a joint problem or challenge, and they aim to
help.
Of course, the U.S. has much more of -- of firepower to do that. We have heard that the Pentagon is deploying 2,500 more Marines to -- to the
region.
And the question is, how do you manage to either pressure Iran to open it by itself with no military force or you need to -- to act? This is at least
how decision-makers in Jerusalem see it.
ASHER: And just in terms of what's happening with Lebanon, Israel has launched a ground operation in Lebanon. Obviously, the goal is destroying
terrorist infrastructure.
I mean, we've seen Hezbollah become remarkably resilient over the past couple of years, despite repeated attacks from the Israelis, despite the
Israelis sort of intent to really degrade this terror group.
They still somehow manage to rise up and -- and -- and become that much more stronger. They are clearly resilient. We know that Lebanon is
desperate, the state of Lebanon, rather, is desperate to sort of somehow negotiate directly with the Israelis, because they know that they are tired
of being dragged into conflict because of Hezbollah.
Just explain what Israel's long-term strategy is here, especially given how this group has just proven to be resilient over the past couple of years.
EYAL: Yes. Well, first of all, Iran has transferred about a billion dollars since Israel hammered at Hezbollah at the summer of 2024 in trying to
rebuild Hezbollah.
And actually, most of the money that was flowing into Lebanon, after the war, came from the Iranians. So it's no surprise that Hezbollah has managed
to rebuild. It also has grassroots support through some of the Shia community in Lebanon. And there's no -- no doubt as to that, too.
But they are a fraction of what they were before October of 2023, when they decided to join the war after Hamas attacked Israel. It's not the same
group. It doesn't have the same power.
[12:15:06]
And even the -- the launchers that we're seeing towards Israel that are substantial are, again, a fraction of any scenario that was presented prior
to the war.
Now, as to the goal, it's very simple. It's disarming Hezbollah. In that sense, it's the first time that both the Israeli government and the
Lebanese society, in general, not everyone, but the total majority of the political sphere in Lebanon, have a joint goal. And none of the sides wants
to see Hezbollah armed in the future. And it's the Lebanese government that has announced that it wants to outlaw the army of Hezbollah or the arm wing
of Hezbollah.
And now, there's a conversation about the possibility of direct peace talks. It's CNN's Barak Ravid that reported as to a French proposal of some
sort of mutual recognition and negotiations between Israel and Lebanon.
I suspect that what Israel is doing is creating leverage here, both through the Lebanese government and for itself, in order to pressure towards the
disarming of Hezbollah. There is no other solution for this instability other than that.
And it's only the Lebanese that can actually do that. The IDF can't disarm the entire group of Hezbollah without occupying the entire state of
Lebanon, and it's not going to do that.
GOLODRYGA: But does that require Israel then further degrading Hezbollah before the Lebanese army, which is much weaker than both parties, than both
Hezbollah and Israel, obviously, for them to intervene here, Nadav?
EYAL: Yes. That's -- that's highly probable. And that is what the IDF is trying to do. The IDF is penetrating deeper into Lebanon, but it's not a
full-blown invasion. It's an incursion and it's meant to clear out areas that are controlled by the Radwan Force, the elite force of Hezbollah, and
basically to push them away from the border with -- with Israel.
And this should give more leverage to the Lebanese army if they would want to. There is an inner conflict within Lebanon, with the general responsible
for the Lebanese army. By the way, getting assistance from the United States, this army is getting an assistance from the United States.
And for now, he's being accused that he -- he's not doing enough against Hezbollah. And we need to wait and see if these actions by both the United
States and Israel move the needle.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Nadav Eyal, we got through a lot there. Thank you so much. Looking forward to having you back again very soon.
Well, President Trump is speaking right now at the Kennedy Center. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Mostly commercial and military targets. We've achieved a 90 percent reduction in their ballistic missile launches, and a 95 percent reduction
in drone attacks. The missiles are trickling in now at very low levels, because they don't have too many missiles left.
We've also attacked the manufacturing plants with the places where they manufacture the missiles and the drones. And that's going on today. We just
hit three of them today. And it's getting very hard for them to manufacture.
More than 100 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk or destroyed over the last week and a half. That has to be some kind of a record. Additional
strikes continue to launch from all directions every single hour.
And as you know, we attacked Kharg Island and knocked it, knocked it literally. Destroyed everything in the island, except for the area where
the oil is. I call it the pipes. We left the pipes. We didn't want to do that, but we will do that. We can do that on five minutes notice. It'll be
over.
But for purposes of someday rebuilding that country, I guess we did the right thing. But it's a -- it may not stay that way. Just one simple word
and the pipes will be gone too, but it'll take a long time to rebuild that.
We are aggressively dismantling Iran's defense industrial base and ability to rebuild its missiles and drone capability is getting down to close to
zero. And we're hammering their capacity to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz with more than 30 mine laying ships destroyed. We hit,
to the best of our knowledge, all of their mine laying ships.
Now they can put them on other types of ships, I guess, and drop them in. But we don't know that any have even been dropped in. We're not sure that
any have been. That's a big negative for them if they do it. It's a form of suicide.
But we don't know that they have dropped any in, but we've -- we've hit all 30 of their ships and destroyed them. They're all at the bottom of the sea.
[12:20:08]
We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the strait far more than ours. You know, we get less than one percent of our oil from
the strait, and some countries get much more. Japan gets 95 percent. China gets 90 percent. Many of the Europeans get quite -- quite a bit. South
Korea gets 35 percent.
So we want them to come and help us with the strait. We have it in very good shape. The countries, I said, we've already taken care of Iran, but
now because of the fact that literally a -- a single terrorist can put something in the water or shoot something or shoot a missile, a small
missile. And it's fairly close range because it is a tight area. And which is one of the reasons they've always used that as a weapon. Iran has always
used that as an economic weapon. And it's not going to be able to use -- be used very long.
Numerous countries have told me they're on the way. Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some are and some are countries that we've
helped for many, many years. We've protected them from horrible outside sources.
And they weren't that enthusiastic. And the level enthu -- of enthusiasm matters to me. We have some countries where we have 45,000 soldiers, great
soldiers protecting them from harm's way. And we have done a great job.
And when we want to know, do you have any minesweepers? Well, we'd rather not get involved, sir. I said, for your mean, for 40 years we're protecting
you, and you don't want to get involved in something that is very minor? Very few shots going to be taken because they don't have many shots left.
But they said, we'd rather not get involved. I just want the fake news media and everybody else to remember that that was said, because when I've
been a big critic of all of the protecting of countries, because I know that we'll protect them.
And if ever needed, if we have needed help, they won't be there for us. I've just known that for a long period of time. Just like I knew about the
strait that it would be a weapon, which I predicted a long time ago, predicted all of this stuff. You guys were very generous in that. I
predicted all of it.
I predicted Osama bin Laden would knock out the World Trade Center. I made that prediction a year before he did it. I said, you better get him. He's a
bad guy. I watched him be interviewed one time. And I said, that's a bad guy. You better get him.
One year before exactly, I wrote it in a book. You can even check about a year before the World Trade Center then who came down. President Clinton
actually had a shot at him and he didn't take it, unfortunately. I'm not blaming him for that, but he didn't take it. And he ended up knocking down
the World Trade Center, but I predicted that too. I predicted a lot of things.
We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the strait for blood. I mean, you know, these -- these people literally needed 90, 95
percent of their energy or their oil comes out of the strait and they should be in here very happily helping us.
And we -- it's -- it's incredible. We have such great -- we're number one in oil by double. Now, we drill, baby drill. We're double, any other
nation. And it's going to be soon triple any other nation. And that doesn't include Venezuela, who's been great.
By the way, the relationship with Venezuela has been fantastic. Millions, literally millions of barrels of oil are being taken out and it's been of
great help. And it's been to their great benefit. The president has done a really good job. We get along with them really well.
But we've taken out millions of barrels of oil and brought to Houston and other places for -- to the refineries. We have refineries set up
specifically for that. And it's been a great -- it's been a great relationship. And more and more is happening.
It's a tremendous oil source. And we're getting -- we're -- we're stepping it up very rapidly. The big companies are going in and they will actually -
- numbers in a pretty short period of time -- numbers that they've never been able to do will be doing.
There's a lot of oil under that land. We strongly encourage the other nations to get involved with us and get involved quickly and with great
enthusiasm.
[12:25:03]
I have that from a number of them. And I'd like to say their names. But frankly, I don't know if they would want me to or not, because maybe they
don't want to be targeted.
But I say, wouldn't matter if you're targeted or not, because this is a paper tiger that we're dealing with now. It wasn't a paper tiger two weeks
ago. It's a paper tiger now.
So now, we're going to get down to the reason. We'll take a couple of questions in a moment, but we're going to get down to the reason we're here
today.
Actually, this was set up a long time ago. It's the Trump Kennedy Center. Over the past year, we've made incredible strides to restore the true
purpose and prestige of this revered institution. Together, we're going to ensure it remains the finest performing arts facility of its kind anywhere
in the world.
And I don't know that it ever really reached that stage, but it will, over a period of time, we're rebuilding it. It's in very, very bad condition.
It's been let -- it's been -- it's been somewhat of a disaster, to be honest with you.
It's been -- it's been let go to hell. That's what they've done. They did a poor job. They spent money in the wrong places. They built some theaters
underneath that nobody uses. Little ones.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. You've just been listening to the U.S. president speaking at the White House's East Room as the board prepares for a vote on Kennedy
Center renovations.
Obviously, he spent much of the time speaking about Iran. The U.S. president listed several attack targets in Iran, including Iranian naval
vessels. Also, the fact that the U.S. has attacked Kharg Island, which obviously raised alarm bells, because that is Iran's main oil hub, although
the president did reiterate and did explain that the U.S. did not target the oil infrastructure on Kharg Island.
Has also been reiterating this idea that he expects U.S. allies to come to America's aid as it pertains to assisting or accompanying naval vessels
that are passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
We've been mentioning it time and time again that 20 percent of the world's oil supply, one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes through the Strait
of Hormuz. And the fact that it is closed or allowing very few vessels to pass, only the vessels that Iran allows to pass are currently passing
through. And that has sent oil prices really skyrocketing.
Let's talk more about this with CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich. One of the things that, Vanessa, that the president continued to talk about is the fact that
the U.S. isn't really dependent on oil coming out of the Strait of Hormuz. He listed other countries like Japan that are far more dependent, but just
because the U.S. isn't that dependent on oil coming from that particular region, doesn't mean that the U.S. isn't affected by sky-high oil prices.
If we could pull up what Brent Crude is doing as well as WTI Brent Crude. That's the international benchmark. That is $101 a barrel. WTI, slightly
lower, but still approaching triple digits, $95 a barrel.
If this war lasts a while, and if you, based on what the Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been saying, these prices could be elevated for quite some
time, Vanessa.
VANESA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly, in investors, I'm just watching the markets along with you, not a lot of
movement, obviously. The president just speaking now on Iran and the situation with oil.
But there is a sense that investors do believe that this is going to be going on for quite some time, and that is why you see these elevated oil
prices between $90 a barrel and $100 a barrel.
And as you mentioned, the U.S. is an independent, large producer of oil. The president is right that we get less than one percent of our oil from
the Strait of Hormuz, but oil is traded on a global market.
So at the end of the day, we are very much just having to deal with what the oil markets are telling us in terms of prices, and that trickles down
immediately to gas prices.
Here in the United States, the national average is now 3.72 a gallon. That is a substantial increase from just a week ago. Look at that, 3.48. And
then from before the war even started, you're talking an over 70 cent jump in term of -- in terms of gas prices.
These are prices we haven't seen from almost three years. Yes, consumers have paid them in the past, but they've been really used to these sub $3 a
gallon prices.
And when I was speaking to folks just on Friday at a gas station in New Jersey, they were just so shocked by how prices were rising so quickly.
And don't forget about diesel. Diesel is actually rising at a faster pace than gas prices, than regular gas prices. Diesel, almost $5 a gallon.
A lot of folks here in the United States use their personal work trucks for work, not just for driving around. And they're paying these diesel prices.
[12:30:04]
And then, of course, think about all the trucks that are transversing across the country that are delivering key goods for everyday Americans. I
was actually hearing on Friday a lot of concern from folks who were saying, well, what does this mean for my grocery prices? What does this mean for
shipping costs?
And look at that on your screen. This is what is potentially to come. Higher prices for perishable items, so things that expire very quickly,
dairy, meat, produce. There's those shipping costs that are likely going to increase. And then the businesses have to decide, do we pass that down to
the consumer?
We know a lot of businesses have been absorbing the tariff costs that they had been seeing for the past year. So that's a decision they're going to
have to make.
And, of course, this also pertains to jet fuel prices, which have been on a dramatic increase. Airlines are also going to have to start having that
conversation of raising prices for consumers.
Where are we going in the next week or so, at least in terms of gas prices here in the United States? Well, according to GasBuddy, we are expecting an
up to 10 cent jump in gas prices. And then for diesel prices, perhaps another five to 10 cents here in the United States.
The president trying to kind of quell nerves, trying to get other countries involved in getting this oil moving through that Strait of Hormuz.
But at the end of the day, investors who very much control the oil markets are signaling that they don't believe that this is going to be wrapped up
anytime soon. And that is why you see those -- those oil prices still being elevated.
And that's why folks at GasBuddy can make those kinds of projections that we're expecting still gas prices to rise here in the United States.
Zain, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. That's why you heard the president there say that numerous countries have told him that they are on their way to help open up there
and defend the Strait of Hormuz, though he wouldn't name them. He said some are more enthusiastic than others about helping.
And then once again reiterating that all of the military action that was taken has really degraded Iran's ability to fire at these other ships from
neighboring countries or from allied countries, though he said a few missiles could still make their way through.
Vanessa Yurkevich, this is a president that knows how to communicate well with the public and is trying to calm nerves, but there are some issues,
including the price of oil and gas that are just out of his control at this point.
Thank you so much. You'll be following all this for us.
And still ahead, a standoff in Congress is leading to chaos at the airports, the new warning on arrival time. That up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:35:14]
GOLODRYGA: Dubai International Airport has resumed a limited flight schedule.
ASHER: Yes. This comes after a drone attack caused a fire at the airport, forcing a temporary suspension in one of the world's busiest travel hubs.
It's the latest setback facing UAE airlines as they try to restore schedules and ramp up capacity to return operations to normal amid the
U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
GOLODRYGA: The number of TSA agents quitting is expected to rise after workers missed their first paycheck last week. This as the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security says more than 300 TSA agents have resigned.
They're caught in the middle of the partial DHS shutdown caused by a standoff between Republicans and Democrats.
In the letter over the weekend, CEOs of major airlines urged Congress to restore DHS funding to make sure aviation workers are paid during
shutdowns.
ASHER: Yes. The reduced staffing is already affecting travelers. Airlines warned security wait times could stretch up to two hours. Passengers are
being advised to arrive at least three hours before their flight.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Coming up for us, Israel is expanding its ground operation in Southern Lebanon. We'll hear from an expert on what this means
for the war in the Middle East.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher.
Israel says it's expanding its ground offensive in Southern Lebanon. Israel's defense minister says the goal is to remove threats and protect
Israelis in the north of the country.
GOLODRYGA: Air strikes were carried out on Beirut's southern suburbs overnight and more attacks were reported in Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah
says it has launched five attacks so far on Monday.
And since the start of the conflict, at least 850 people, including 107 children, have been killed in Lebanon. That is according to the Lebanese
health ministry. Thousands more have been displaced.
[12:40:08]
ASHER: Time now for "The Exchange." Joining me is Firas Maksad, Middle East and North African managing director at the Eurasia Group.
So just in terms, Firas, of Israel launching this ground offensive into Southern Lebanon, what is or should be Israel's strategy when it comes to
permanently degrading Hezbollah's capabilities?
FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA, EURASIA GROUP: Yes. Well, that's a tough question, isn't it? The Israelis have come
at it in Lebanon time and again.
Only about a year and a half ago, a very powerful, disastrous, use whatever adjective you want, war for Lebanon in which Hezbollah was significantly
degraded.
Now, Israeli military plan is very much re-assessing what they thought their achievements were from that war. Hezbollah proving more capable than
they thought. And the results that they achieved, not as much, not as lasting at least.
This time around, Israel senses an opportunity to perhaps deal with Hezbollah conclusively, or at least much more conclusively, for a variety
of reasons.
One is the collapse of the Assad regime, which was Hezbollah's strategic depth, its ability to actually access supply lines through Iran much
further to the east. That's no longer there. They have a regime in Damascus that is not friendly to them.
Iran itself is reeling, although maybe the future of the regime in Iran is not as in doubt today as it was two weeks ago, but clearly very
significantly weakened.
And then lastly, Hezbollah in Lebanon nowhere near as popular as it had been in years past, even including in its own traditional community and
support base.
So for all these reasons right now, Israel is looking at the picture and thinking that perhaps a strategic shift can be accomplished in Lebanon
through this military operation.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. It is notable as you bring up the -- the change in dynamics in the region in such a short period of time, you have Al-Sharaa in Syria
condemning Hezbollah for joining in on this war with Iran and launching its initial attacks against Israel, then drawing Lebanon into this conflict.
You also note the unprecedented move by Lebanon to look to speak directly for negotiations with Israel and even put more pressure on their military
to fight back and disarm Hezbollah.
But at the same time, it doesn't appear that the Lebanese army is willing or capable of doing that just yet.
So, how much more degrading does Israel need to do while also not losing what opportunity and little window there is for negotiation with Lebanon?
MAKSAD: That -- that is a great question. And I -- I honestly do not think it's going to be an either or. It's not just going to be, you know,
pursuing the diplomatic track. This, you know, unprecedented opportunity from Lebanon to sit across for direct negotiations at a senior level with
the Israel as a country that they don't recognize and they consider to be an enemy state.
So I think that the Israelis are keen on seizing that opportunity, but it's not going to be along the conditions that the Lebanese have outlined, which
is a cessation of hostilities, or I should say, a ceasefire and into offensive Israeli operations in Lebanon and then off to the -- the
diplomatic track.
Now, I think the two are going to move in tandem. The Israelis are going to continue to push deeper. Clearly today from what we're seeing, the
commencement of a ground operation. That is only the beginning of Israeli military action in Lebanon.
I actually think that the president of the United States is going to give Israel a much freer hand in Lebanon and a longer timeframe to operate than
is the case against Iran.
So that will continue to move forward. But at the same time, the Israelis will continue to pursue diplomacy with the Lebanese state, which has
committed itself to dismantling Hezbollah, has, you know, in an unprecedented decision, condemned Hezbollah's decision to take the country
to a war, fire missiles at Israel in defense of Iran, and has deemed that its military and security apparatus are now no longer legal.
But the Lebanese army can't enforce that. I've sat across from the commander of the Lebanese army, at least three times in the past four
months. Force cohesion is something that he keeps bringing up.
They are -- there's a significant Shia portion of -- of that military. They're not beholden to Hezbollah, but they have family and relatives that
are supporters of the group.
And so I think that in terms of both, will and capability, the Lebanese army is not going to do the heavy lifting. And I think that's going to be
left to Israel.
ASHER: Yes. I mean, Hezbollah, the LAF, the Lebanese Armed Forces, is -- it's likely that they would be no match to Hezbollah. Hezbollah has one of
the sort of more or most powerful non-state military in the Middle East.
Just walk us through whether or not Lebanon, as a state, obviously, it can't take on Hezbollah militarily. That would be difficult. And, of
course, you don't want to plunge the country into a civil war.
[12:45:06]
But just walk us through how Lebanon can degrade Hezbollah politically, even though it is so entrenched in Lebanese society.
MAKSAD: Yes. I mean, arguably, Hezbollah is already being degraded politically. I mentioned that the -- the kind of public outright through --
outright, throughout Lebanon, for Hezbollah choosing to tie the country's fate yet again to regional developments.
A couple of years ago, they commenced fire in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. And there are many Lebanese who support the Palestinian plight and
their right to self-determination, but not at the expense of their country.
And similarly now, Hezbollah, again, choosing to -- to join another war in support of Iran this time. So even in their own community that -- a
community that has suffered a lot of -- of war and devastation, destruction, hasn't been able to rebuild their villages and their homes
from the last war, there is a popular backlash in Lebanon against Hezbollah's decision.
Militarily, you're absolutely right. Hezbollah is not only the most powerful non-state actor in the Middle East, it's the most powerful non-
state actor in the world.
And so Lebanon being a fragmented society, a weak central state, has very little that they could do at this point if they want to move against
Hezbollah militarily.
But Hezbollah continues to be degraded, militarily, and with strong international support. And back in the U.S., by the way, is the primary
backer of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The Lebanese state can get to a place where it hopes to assert its authority over the decisions of war and peace
in its territory.
ASHER: All right. Firas Maksad, thank you so much. Appreciate it.
We'll be right back with more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. We're learning new details about the suspect in Thursday's attack on a Michigan synagogue. The Israeli military is now
saying, Ayman Ghazali's brother was a Hezbollah commander in charge of managing weapons operations for one of the group's units.
The IDF says that Ibrahim Ghazali was killed on March 5th in an attack on a Hezbollah military building used to store weapons.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. U.S. authorities say Ayman Ghazali drove a vehicle into Temple Israel near Detroit before exchanging fire with security officers.
Security guard was injured. Authorities say Ayman Ghazali died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound.
[12:50:05]
Well, five members of the Iranian women's national football team have withdrawn their request for asylum in Australia. And all seven members of
the team known as The Lionesses, were granted refugee visas by Australia earlier this month after competing in the women's Asian Cup. That leaves
just two team members in Australia.
ASHER: Yes. The team had refused to sing Iran's national anthem in their opening match during backlash from Iranian hardliners, including some on
state media who called women traitors.
Australian officials have repeated their offer of asylum, but acknowledged the difficult circumstances that the women are facing.
We'll be right back with more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Hollywood has celebrated the biggest night in film at the Academy Awards. And as for the biggest prize of all, the Oscar goes to --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "One Battle After Another."
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: "One Battle After Another" took home six awards, including Best Picture.
ASHER: "Sinners" from four awards -- won four awards, rather, from its record-breaking 16 nominations, including Best Actor for Michael B. Jordan,
Lisa Respers France has more on all the big winners.
Lisa, do you think Bianna and I watched the Oscars or watched even the Oscar movies couple of months. What's your guess? What's your guess?
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: My guess is no.
GOLODRYGA: I watched a few minutes.
ASHER: You -- you are a smart cookie. Nothing gets passed to you about it.
FRANCE: Nothing at all. But, you know, there's still time to watch because now you can watch based on who won or you can watch based on who lost.
ASHER: Yes. It's true. It's true.
GOLODRYGA: Exactly.
FRANCE: You know, this is one of the things that made this year's Oscars so great because we had two films that had die-hard fan bases, right, with
"One Battle After Another" and "Sinners," like.
And so we knew that there was going to be, you know, like a battle between those two movies and that's exactly what we saw.
And also, we got to talk about the Chalamet of it all because he was, throughout most of awards season, expected to win Best Actor. So Michael B.
Jordan, winning Best Actor instead of Timothee Chalamet, became a thing. It's all social media wants to talk about this morning, it feels like.
ASHER: Yes, he -- I think it's because he tried -- I feel bad saying this, but he did try really hard. I mean, part of, when you're nominated for an
Oscar, you've got to go out there, you've got to hustle, you've got to do the interviews, you've got to just really create a ruckus just in terms of
generating attention. And he did all of that. I mean, he pulled out all the stops and still to walk home empty-handed, not just for the best, I mean,
there was nothing, right? Nothing.
[12:55:12]
GOLODRYGA: And that's the one movie I saw.
FRANCE: Oh, you saw "Marty Supreme." See.
GOLODRYGA: That's the one movie I saw. And look, I got nothing out of it.
FRANCE: And what -- I think the thing is that his campaign -- he may have overdone it, you know. It felt very much like a campaign that was geared
towards Gen Z and much younger people. And so I think it may have turned off the voters a little bit.
And Michael B. Jordan, we -- we got to keep it real, he is beloved in the industry. He's been in the industry much like a Chalamet since he was a
kid. He's done incredible work.
And his partnership with Ryan Coogler very much feels like, you know, the newer version of say, a Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, right? Two
greats that just bring out the absolute best in each other.
And so a lot of people were thrilled to see Michael B. Jordan win. You could tell he was thrilled too. He was there with his mom, which we love to
see. We love seeing him with Miss Donna. And he was so clearly moved. And his speech was very moving as well. So, you know, it was a great show.
ASHER: And you know what?
FRANCE: It was a great show.
ASHER: He is so cool.
FRANCE: Yes.
ASHER: He's just so cool.
FRANCE: He really is.
ASHER: He doesn't try too hard.
FRANCE: No, not at all.
ASHER: He doesn't try too hard at all.
GOLODRYGA: Well, what was the point of us watching?
ASHER: It's like effortless, like cool.
GOLODRYGA: We got a good night's sleep and we got to get the breakdown from you, so it's --
ASHER: Thank you Lisa.
FRANCE: You're very welcome.
GOLODRYGA: All right. That does it for "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
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