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Quest Means Business
Israel And Iran Launch New Attacks As Conflict Intensifies; Free World Must Destroy Iranian Nuclear Program; Trump Organization Announces New Wireless Service; $5 Million Bail Set For Minnesota Shooting Suspect; Nvidia CEO: Forecasts Will Not Include Chinese Market. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired June 16, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:10]
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on wall street. A strong session for the Dow Jones Industrials.
Things have been -- I am going to the reasons why over the course. They're going to hit the gavel at some point. There we go. One, two, three. Trading
is over. Those are the markets, and as you can -- things did ease off a bit. Those are the markets. And these are the main events of the day.
Iranian state media reporting a new wave of Iranian missiles and drones is headed towards Israel.
The Trump Organization is launching its own wireless service, as well as a $500.00 smartphone.
And the chief executive of NVIDIA says his company will exclude China from its financial forecasts due to trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
We are live in London tonight, Monday, June the 16th. I am Richard Quest and I mean business.
Good evening.
A fresh wave of Iranian missiles and drones is headed towards Israel, even as we are speaking now. You're looking at live images of Tel Aviv. State
media says that Iran is targeting the city, along with the coastal city of Haifa.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country now controls the skies over Tehran, and the Prime Minister is urging people to evacuate
parts of the Iranian capital. The Israeli Defense Forces is warning others to stay away from what its calling the city's military infrastructure, and
is confirming that it hit the headquarters of Iran's state T.V. There you are. That's how it looked to viewers broadcasting when the building was
hit.
Iranian officials say Israeli strikes have killed at least 224 people since last week.
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian is vowing a proportional response. An oil refinery in Haifa was struck overnight. Israel says at least 24 people
have been killed by Iranian missiles and drones.
Clarissa Ward is in Tel Aviv.
Let's just do the -- you'll bring me up to date where you are. But what your understanding of the current situation and what is happening.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially, Richard, people here and across the region are bracing themselves for yet
another night of strikes, particularly after those very high profile Israeli attacks in Iran that we saw earlier, particularly the one on the
state broadcaster, which was actually during an anchor bulletin. You saw the anchor get up and run off the set as debris started crumbling.
And Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister today when he was speaking in an interview, did not rule out or did not really answer the question as
to whether the stated objective of this operation is regime change.
So people bracing themselves for another night of strikes. Iran has vowed that it will continue to retaliate, that it will not take a seat at the
negotiating table while it continues to be under attack. And no sign, of course, that the Israelis are dialing back on their attacks either.
And so, yes, this is the sort of new normal, if you will, Richard, the new rhythm that people are falling into relatively quiet during the day, but
during the evening here in Israel, it is a different story -- Richard.
QUEST: So who at the moment seems to be, if not exactly asking for a ceasefire, but at least is more willing to consider it? The Iranians have
certainly said if Israel stops firing their missiles, they will reciprocate, in their words.
WARD: Oh, sorry.
QUEST: Are you all right?
WARD: Sorry, we just tripped up a doctor over there. Sorry. Forgive me, Richard. We are at the Ichilov Hospital here at the emergency area. So
sorry to your question again, forgive me.
QUEST: Yes. Of course. Yes. I was just asking whether -- who is most keen on this stopping between Iran and Israel at the moment? Who really would
like to see it stopped?
WARD: Well, that's an interesting question. I spoke to a general earlier. He is a reservist, but still obviously very much in the loop and he
basically was saying that in his opinion, Israel has no intention of stopping at this stage until it achieves its objectives.
Now, the question mark there is what is the objective here? We heard Netanyahu say earlier that a significant amount of damage had been done to
Iran's nuclear program.
[16:06:14]
But what is the metric for success in the eyes of Israel in terms of meeting that stated objective? The Iranians have indicated that they would
talk, according to President Trump. He said they are ready to talk, but they should have talked earlier, but they really should talk. So some
ambiguity around what their position is. But they have also made it clear that they are not going to talk as long as this operation continues. And
for now, it appears that that operation will continue.
And people are talking about weeks as opposed to days, though weeks and not months.
QUEST: And just finally, the timing of missiles from Iran to Tel Aviv is roughly, I think, two to three hours or something in terms of that. So do
you have a guiding time of when you are expecting the first missiles to reach where you are?
WARD: So we had an alert earlier that there had been movement at missile launchers detected, and then after about half an hour, the all clear was
given.
Over the course of the last few nights, what we tend to see is that things heat up around midnight or so local time. But the worst strikes that we
have seen consistently, especially the last couple of nights, seem to be happening at about four in the morning. That's why we are here at this
hospital, because we understand that, you know, once, once those alerts start, it is very difficult to move around. So we are spending the evening
here to get a gauge of how they handle these types of situations when they have casualties, as you have seen, of course, a lot of these strikes are
hitting residential neighborhoods.
And so doctors here have built an entire facility completely underground, 600 patients are there in what was a parking lot and within a course of
seven hours, they have turned it into a hospital. And they have an entire protocol for how they deal with these casualty events, with these Iran
ballistic missile strikes -- Richard.
QUEST: Clarissa, you have a busy night ahead of you. Come back when there is more to report. Obviously, we will take you immediately.
Clarissa Ward, who is in Tel Aviv.
The two countries, Israel and Iran, are warning people on both sides to evacuate from the areas near military sites. The Israeli says it has
destroyed more than 120 of Iran's missile launchers. It is about a third of what is believed to be total.
The former Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, has told us the goal is to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. He says it will need to be a joint
effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOAV GALLANT, FORMER ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: The job has to be done by Israel, by the United States, by the free world. We don't see why Iran
needs a civilian nuclear energy. They possess 11 percent of the oil and gas reserves in the world. Why do they need any kind of nuclear energy? And the
reason is different.
They want to possess nuclear weapon in order to create harmony in the Middle East, to threaten everybody around them, including Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Former U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt is with me from Washington. General, it is good to see you, sir.
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET), U.S. ARMY: Good to see you.
QUEST: I am trying to gauge of the two sides who can keep this going longer. I've seen reports that say Iran has probably more missiles, but
that Israel can rearm if the U.S. chooses to do so, probably more quickly.
So if we are talking days and weeks, who can keep this going at this sort of pace?
KIMMITT: Well, I believe it is the Israelis by far. It is important to understand that it is not just ammunition that is needed by the Israelis,
their defense systems are, yes, systems such as Patriot and Iron Dome, but they've also developed a new laser system, the Iron Beam that can knock
drones out of the sky as well.
So I think when it comes to not only the capability, but the willingness to keep this going, I think the Israelis will take this on far longer than the
Iranians.
QUEST: Between these two, arguably competing goals, one of destruction of the nuclear facilities, or at least putting it back in time and regime
change in Iran, how do you balance those two goals off?
KIMMITT: Well, first of all, I think the second regime change is a rhetorical term that is being used by Bibi Netanyahu. I don't think there
is truly any scenario that would cause a continuation of the fight on that, of destroying the missiles and destroying the nuclear program.
[16:10:10]
He is smart enough to know that regime change not only is difficult, but you've got to be worried about the day after, particularly as you've taken
a look at the American experience over the past two decades. I think regime change is a rhetorical flourish that he is using, but he is dead serious
about eliminating the nuclear program.
QUEST: Now, this is where it gets interesting because they have had it. They've done this before where they are -- not as extensive as this, where
they've actually gone against the nuclear program with the centrifuges and all the malware and all of that.
But all it did was really put them back, the Iranians, and I can't help feeling that, you know, again, surely Israel's goal here is to so hobble
the nuclear ambition, not ambitions, the nuclear reality of Iran, that it is -- there is no opportunity to put this genie back in the bottle.
KIMMITT: Well, I think that's their goal and I believe that it may be a goal unattainable without a follow on system of inspection and
verification, without restraint.
I think that the military process can take care of the here and now, but it will take the negotiation process and a verification process to make sure
it never returns.
QUEST: Push comes to shove, does Donald Trump join in?
KIMMITT: I think if American soldiers or facilities or interests or allies get attacked by the Iranians, I think America is all in. I think if the
Iranians stay on the sideline and only conduct this as a fight between the Israelis and themselves, there is a good chance that Donald Trump will not
have a reason to resort to war as he continues to push for not only negotiations, but also economic sanctions.
QUEST: General, very grateful. There is a lot more we can talk about and will do in the days and weeks ahead. Thank you, sir.
And so to Canada, where the G7 Summit is underway, and there, President Trump said he believes Iran wants to come to the table.
The U.S. President says he has received signals that Tehran wants to de- escalate, and it was in their interests to reach a nuclear deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They have to make a deal, and it is painful for both parties. But I'd say Iran is not
winning this war and they should talk and they should talk immediately before it is too late.
REPORTER: And what would you say, in your opinion, what would it take for the U.S. to get involved in this conflict militarily?
TRUMP: I don't want to talk about --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The U.S. President also discussed the war in Ukraine, where he said it was a mistake to kick Russia out of what used to be the G8. That is why
it is back to the G7.
The White House says President Trump is set to meet with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine at the Summit.
Paula Newton is there, and lets deal first of all, with this -- with Israel and Iran. There is no agreement within the G7 on this, is there?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST AND CORRESPONDENT: I would say there is no agreement on a G6 plus one, namely President Donald Trump. There is
agreement among the six allies already that this needs to go towards de- escalation and soon.
Donald Trump, not willing so far to sign on to a statement. Canadian officials telling me though, Richard, that look, they hold out hope that
they are going to have a very frank discussion later this evening in the evening session with those leaders around the table to try and decide
whether or not a statement should go out and if the president will sign up to it.
But the bottom line is, Richard, statements aside, these leaders want to understand what are the guardrails as far as Donald Trump is concerned, in
terms of how far he will allow Israel to go if he believes he has leverage with Israel, and when and under what conditions he will use that leverage.
It is clear that Donald Trump, as you just pointed out, has voiced the fact that he believes this needs to come to an end and come to an end soon. On
the other hand, he has also articulated that Israel is, in his words, winning. So it will be interesting to see which voice is in his ear, who he
is listening to over the next few hours, and if there is any pronouncement on this at this Summit.
QUEST: Would you say the mood between them, although they are disagreeing on a six plus one, is at least cordial or amicable even versus the rancor
and bitterness the last time in 2018 where not only did the U.S. -- Donald Trump not sign up, he stormed out in Canada.
NEWTON: Stormed out and called the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the time weak and dishonest. Again, Donald Trump brought up Justin Trudeau,
that really seemed to have been a very personal spat, and he is happy to see it in the rear view mirror.
[16:15:08]
And I'll tell you what, Richard, it is undeniable now that the seven leaders there plus Ursula von der Leyen, the E.U. leader have a very good
rapport. They will be having frank discussions.
Canadian officials set up this meeting so that the delegations weren't extensive, so that it was in a secluded mountain location, so that not just
on issues like Iran or Ukraine, but on issues of tariffs and the global economy, that they could have these pull asides and they could talk one on
one without having a lot of interference.
And whether or not they agree with Donald Trump or not, the thing that is at issue right now is the fact that they will be having discussions. They
will not be acrimonious necessarily, they can have disagreements, but they will at least put these issues on the table and be able to discuss them.
And I can tell you from just the body language, 100 percent different from what we saw in 2018. Mark Carney and Donald Trump in their own bilateral,
think about it, Richard, went over time and for a portion of it, a significant portion, about 30 minutes, it was just the two men in the room
alone.
QUEST: Paula, I am grateful to you. Thank you very much indeed.
Paula is in Canada. Thank you.
Now, the Trump Organization is entering the wireless business. This latest venture includes 5G service and a $500.00 gold colored cell phone. Well,
whatever next?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The Trump Organization has announced a new wireless business with a Trump-themed mobile plan and gold-colored smartphone. The President's sons
unveiled this new business at the Trump Tower in New York. It is the latest venture for the organization, Trump Organization, which is in media,
crypto, and other licensing deals.
Eric Trump said the expansion reflects his father's America First message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC TRUMP, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S SON AND VICE PRESIDENT OF TRUMP ORGANIZATION: More and more, our company is evolving into various sectors
and, you know, but there is kind of a key to that and that is America, right? I mean, the fact that all your customer service will be done in
America, it is going to be done in St. Louis, Missouri, I hope I was allowed to give that out and making phones in America. It is about time we
bring products back to our great country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Allison is with me. Well, let's take this. Bear with me. Let's take -- let's dissect this bit by bit. Where are these phones made?
ALLISON MORROW, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR EDITOR: That is sort of the question of the hour, Richard.
[16:20:10]
We are trying to figure out what they are talking about when they talk about 100 percent USA made because as Apple and Samsung are very aware,
there aren't really smartphone making facilities in America. There might be one, but a lot of those parts for cellphones that are assembled here are
imported from places like China and India.
So there is a lot of speculation about how these are actually going to be a hundred percent USA made.
QUEST: Operating system? Android?
MORROW: That's the word. Yep.
QUEST: Yep and I mean, is this really just, you know what -- like with planes, a white tail job where you just take the product, you put your name
on it, but actually all the gubbins and all the plans and all the actual work is being done on an outsourced contractual basis.
MORROW: Absolutely. Kind of trademark Trump licensing deal where you slap the Trump name on it and market it in particular. This has been useful for
cryptocurrency and some of their more recent forays into digital assets is you market it to the trump supporters, to the voters and the right wing
supporters who are most interested in this, and Trump is making millions upon millions of dollars off of those supporters.
QUEST: Does anybody have an idea of how successful this might be?
MORROW: I think it is too soon to say. They are saying, you know, you can preorder the phone now and it will be out in September, but if it is
actually a made in USA phone, it is very unclear how that is going to work with supply chains.
And, you know, analysts out there who are much more tech savvy than I are saying, the specs on this thing don't match anything on the market
currently.
QUEST: Right. So let's leave tech to one side and skate to a thick piece of ice where we are both familiar. What are the conflicts of interest here?
MORROW: Well, clearly the Trump administration -- now Trump has his businesses run in, you know, by his son. So technically he is not directly
profiting. But, you know, that's a very porous line.
Trump oversees the FCC. And the FCC has already kind of flexed its muscle with Apple and other U.S. tech giants to cajole them into, you know,
producing more stuff on American soil. So there is an obvious conflict of interest, like so many of these Trump business endeavors.
QUEST: And, of course, it is regulated. And, you know, when you're when your father's regulator regulates your business, well, anyway, its -- we
will leave the dear viewer to come to their own.
Thank you, Allison. As always, grateful. Thank you.
MORROW: Thanks, Richard.
QUEST: China's factories are slowing down amid trade tensions with the United States.
If you look at the industrial output number, it was 5.8 percent last month, down from 6.1 in April. Outbound shipments to the U.S. are also falling.
Kristie Lu Stout has been to the port in Hong Kong to look at how goods are moving or not, as the case may be.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The race is on to try to meet looming deadlines on tariffs.
LU STOUT (on camera): As the trace truce holds, a shipping rush is underway to get the goods out of China and the clock is ticking.
LU STOUT (voice over): We are on board a vessel owned by Japan's Ocean Network Express, part of the massive operation to move goods out of China
into the U.S., a task made tougher by the constant whiplash on policy changes.
The current 90-day pause on higher tariffs on China expires on August the 12th, after which they could go back up to 145 percent.
ROBERTO GIANNETTA, CHAIRMAN, HONG KONG LINER SHIPPING ASSOCIATION: The indices for unpredictability and chaos are actually at an all-time high.
LU STOUT (voice over): At the front line of this chaos --
LU STOUT (on camera): All right, let's go to the top.
LU STOUT (voice over): We get a closer look at what's on board.
LU STOUT (on camera): There we go. We made it.
Now behind these metal doors is what global trade is all about. The goods. And on this ship, what they have on board includes clothing, furniture,
medical equipment and car parts, all mostly made in China. They will be sold over in the United States.
LU STOUT (voice over): This ship is loading up here in Hong Kong before making stops in China and South Korea, then heading through the Panama
Canal and on to Houston, Texas.
TRUMP: We made a great deal with China. We are very happy with it.
LU STOUT (voice over): The U.S. and China are hammering out details on a deal, but the shipping industry is not taking any chances, with Trump
previously shrugging off the potential impact of tariffs on U.S. consumers.
TRUMP: Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more.
[16:25:01]
LU STOUT (on camera): Is he right?
GIANNETTA: Probably, yes. There's probably not going to be 30 choices on the shelves.
LU STOUT: Wow.
GIANNETTA: And those choices that are on the shelf would cost more. So it comes down to priorities.
LU STOUT (voice over): The toy industry is being hit particularly hard by the trade war, as nearly 80 percent of all toys sold in the U.S. are made
in China. The impact on some companies is so devastating they are even suing the Trump administration.
RICK WOLDENBERG, CEO, LEARNING RESOURCES: Of course, we had to fight. I can't accept a knockout punch.
LU STOUT: Rick Woldenberg is the CEO of learning resources, a Chicago-based company selling educational children's toys, 60 percent of which are made
in China.
WOLDENBERG: We will run out of product and retailers will run out of product. That is absolutely, certainly going to happen.
LU STOUT (on camera): At one point is the tariffs slapped on the merchandise and who has to pay for it?
WOLDENBERG: You're looking at who has to pay for it. It has to be passed on for our companies to remain financeable. They can call it tariffs or
whatever they want, but it is a tax and they have turned our company into a tax collector.
LU STOUT (voice over): Those at the forefront of this supply chain chaos are clear that any financial pain will be passed on to the public.
GIANNETTA: Assuming that these tariffs remain in place, all of these charges actually get pushed down to the consumer.
LU STOUT (voice over): In the whirlwind of tariffs, it is higher prices and rough seas ahead.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN in the port of Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now we have much more to go through tonight. Tehran is accusing the Israeli Prime Minister of deliberately sabotaging the nuclear talks, saying
Iran and the U.S. were on the right path to achieve a deal. I will speak to former British Ambassador to Iran.
QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:29:55]
QUEST: Hello, I am Richard Quest. Together, we will go through a lot more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
The man accused of killing a Minnesota state lawmaker has made his first court appearance.
The chief executive of NVIDIA says he will exclude China from the chipmaker's financial forecast.
Only after the headlines, because this is CNN, and here are the news always comes first.
There's a growing death toll as the conflict between only after the headlines, because this is CNN and here, the news always comes fast.
There's a growing death toll as the conflict between Israel and Iran intensifies, looking at a studio for Iran state media was hit in an Israeli
attack while the television anchor was presenting live. It happened after Israel issued an evacuation warning for that part of Tehran.
The suspect in the shooting of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses has been charged with first degree murder. State Representative Melissa
Hortman and her husband were fatally shot at their home on Saturday. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were shot and wounded at their home.
The judge in the Sean Diddy Combs sex trafficking trial has dismissed the juror. The jury number six was let go due to inconsistent disclosures about
where he lives. The juror was 41-year-old man who works as a clerk at a correctional facility. The judge also indicated there may be another juror
issue, but unrelated to this one.
Iranian state media is reporting that a fresh wave of missiles and drones have now been launched at Israel and are on their way. These are live
pictures of Tel Aviv, one of the cities said to be targeted. It takes several hours for the drones to get from Iran to Israel.
Iran's president said earlier, its response to Israeli attacks would be proportional. The Israeli military has taken a major hit from Israel's
strikes. Yet, Tehran is vowing to keep retaliating. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reporting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Iranian fire trucks racing to the scene of yet another strike in central
Tehran. CNN exclusively attained this video authorities say shows the aftermath of a hit on a residential building leading to a partial collapse.
People on the ground trying to evacuate the area.
As Israel continues its aerial blitz hitting military targets, but also infrastructure, in Tehran, many shops remain closed, the streets nearly
empty. They're truly afraid. When they hear the sound of bombings, they get scared, the shopkeeper says. Just now, we had a customer who was really
frightened. She cried and quickly left the store in a hurry.
But Iran says, after initial setbacks with many top generals killed, the Revolutionary Guard has now regrouped. The assassinated IRGC Commander
Hossein Salami, replaced by Mohammad Pakpour, a veteran of the Iran Iraq war in the 1980s.
Iran now launching waves of missile strikes against Israel. A senior Iranian official telling CNN that Iran will make Israel pay if it hits
Iranian civilians. And a military spokesman even giving evacuation orders to Israelis.
We currently possess a complete database of all your sensitive and critical locations and vital points, he says. Therefore, we emphasize, do not allow
the criminal regime to use you as human shields.
While President Trump says, despite the aerial bombardments, he still wants a nuke deal with Iran, Tehran pouring cold water on that idea, at least for
now.
We cannot imagine that such an action by the Zionist regime could have taken place without coordination, cooperation and support from the United
States, he says. This has in effect, stripped the diplomatic process and negotiations of their meaning and substance.
And so, many Tehran residents are bracing for more strikes on the capital, as Iran says it will continue to hit back.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Now, critics of the regime in Iran have used the four days of conflict as an opportunity to argue that now is the time for change.
Israel, for its part, is urging Iranian people to uprise. Here's what Israel's President Isaac Herzog told Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT: The Iranian people have been oppressed for decades, and we all believe they're fed up, and it is their chance to rise
and change the regime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: The former British ambassador to Iran is Nicholas Hopton with me now and the -- what do you make of this idea of regime change? Is it a
realistic possibility, or is it wishful thinking?
NICHOLAS HOPTON, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO IRAN: Good evening. I think it's crept into the Israeli objectives slightly after the initial attacks of
Thursday night, but we've heard more, including from the president of Israel just now as you -- as you just reported, and from Prime Minister
Netanyahu, which suggests that this has become one of their objectives.
[16:35:07]
I think when you think about that, what does it mean? I mean, yes, in regime change terms, we know that Netanyahu would ideally like to take out
the supreme leader, and he's been told by Donald Trump, apparently, that he can't do that. That would be a form of regime change. I think it would,
however, not achieve the objective of creating a more Israel Western friendly government in Iran and a regime more favorable to deal with. I
think it's more likely in those circumstances that the outcome would be a hard line, possibly a military leadership.
So, at this point, it looks more like wishful thinking than reality.
QUEST: So, is there room, in your view, besides the -- you know, the there's always room for diplomacy? In reality, is there room for diplomacy
at the moment, or is it much alike, as Donald Trump says, sometimes you've just got to fight it out?
HOPTON: Well, I think diplomacy is taking place behind the scenes, not directly, necessarily between Israel and Iran, or even between the United
States and Iran, but there are many other countries who are positioned in a way that they can talk to both parties in the conflict and to the United
States, and they will be seeking to encourage de-escalation and talks and a return to the negotiating table.
QUEST: What about other regional players here? Syria, Jordan, all these others. Now, in many of the cases, there's no great love lost about Iran,
and to a certain extent, there's an argument that says Israel is doing other people's dirty work for them, and that arguably might be why there
hasn't been quite the chorus against it, as one might have expected elsewhere. Certainly, Saudi Arabia, for example, no love lost between Iran
and Saudi.
HOPTON: Well, I think it was interesting on the immediate aftermath of Thursday night's Israeli attacks, that Saudi Arabia did come out and
condemn the action as illegal and other Gulf countries as well.
You're right that Iran has been seen as a destabilizing force across the region for a long time. This regime has worked through proxies to
destabilize other countries, including in the Gulf.
Recently, we've seen Saudi Arabia in particular, but other Gulf countries looking for a more stable basis in the region, more security, more emphasis
on economic development, rather than punishing or pushing down on Iran.
So, at this point, I imagine those countries, including the Gulf countries, will be looking for de-escalation, and will be very clear eyed about the
possibilities of regime change.
QUEST: This de-escalation, who leads? Who takes the lead on it do you think?
HOPTON: Well, at this stage, I think it has to be at least strongly encouraged, if not led by the president of the United States. The influence
Donald Trump has over the Israeli government is paralleled, although he may, despite the rhetoric, have been slightly blindsided by the Israeli tax
and the timing of them on Thursday evening. I think, apart from the United States, the key player, obviously, in deescalating will be Prime Minister
Netanyahu.
QUEST: And finally, you know, in my just -- in conversations, just on the bus, or just with friends and family, everybody's looking at this and sort
of saying, asking, you know, how serious is this. Gage for me, you know, what is -- how close are we to something really awful happening?
So, in your view, what we are seeing here, is this a relatively self- contained battle between these two, where at some point it will fizzle out, or are we in really deep trouble?
HOPTON: I think this is a really pivotal, dangerous moment, and if, as seems likely, the Israelis pursue the campaign against Iran adding regime
change to their list of objectives, along with obviously stopping Iran ever having the possibility of a nuclear bomb, and also destroying their missile
capability.
If Iran -- if Israel continues that for the coming days and possibly weeks, Iran will continue to fight back. The regime will continue to fight back.
And they have -- they have resources. They have strength, not the same military might, and certainly they've lost control of the air to the
Israelis. But this could go on, and this could escalate, especially if the U.S. is dragged into the conflict.
[16:40:05]
QUEST: I'm grateful, sir, many thanks indeed for joining us. Thank you. I appreciate it.
HOPTON: Thank you very much.
QUEST: As we continue our conversation tonight, a judge has set the bail at $5 million as the suspect in the shooting of two Democratic lawmakers and
their spouses. The alleged is now in court. What we learned, in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: The man suspected of shooting two Minnesota state lawmakers has appeared in court a short while ago. The man remained in custody until his
next court hearing. The U.S. attorney says Vance Boelter allegedly went to the homes of four Democratic politicians with intent to kill them.
State Representative Melissa Hortman was shot dead at her home on Saturday, as was her husband. Meanwhile, State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were
shot and wounded.
Our law enforcement correspondent Whitney Wild has been following developments in Blaine, Minnesota. This is truly appalling. And you know,
obviously, in many cases, be playing much higher if there weren't so much else in the world taking place, which has taken the attention to some
extent. But today in court, what happened?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: It was a brief court hearing, Richard. It was what we would expect in a first appearance. He
came in in an orange jumpsuit. He did not have shackles on his wrist. He did not have shackles on his feet. He was flanked by three deputy U.S.
marshals. He sat with his defense attorney on the right side, on the left side, there were three representatives of the U.S. Attorney's office here
in Minnesota.
And the bulk of the hearing today, Richard, focused on whether or not Mr. Boelter can afford a private attorney. And it was an interesting moment,
because he walked through his finances, which, you know, during a manhunt, you're always wondering, well, how much -- how much does he have access to?
How many fine -- how much cash, how many resources does he have access to?
And what we learned today as the -- he, you know, could have had access to up to seven vehicles. There are seven vehicles in his name. His home is in
his name, and it is paid for, he said. He said that he doesn't make that much money, though. He said that he only has a part time job. He only makes
about $540 a week.
And so, as he was taking through some of these financial issues with the judge, the judge made very clear he does not think that he has enough money
to be able to afford a private attorney, so he is going to appoint a public defender, and then the public defender will again review his finances, and
then that will be the administrative part of it.
[16:45:05]
But Richard, it was remarkable to see him in person. This is the first time that we in the media have been able to see him. He was quiet, he was
respectful. He didn't ask any questions of the judge, but the man caught -- the calm, quiet man in court, you know, as described by the U.S. attorneys
in their court records, you know, there was a gap, based on what we saw. I mean, it was -- it was -- the U.S. attorney's documents are so chilling and
so detailed.
And so, and if you want -- so what we'll do just quickly, and then it sounds like you might have a question. So, let me just quickly go through
some of the details and have you listen to one of the key moments from the U.S. attorney.
He was saying that this rampage started at 2:00 a.m. Saturday at State Senator John Hoffman's home. He went -- he looked like a real police
officer, and when he banged on the door, this is what the U.S. attorney for Minnesota happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH H. THOMPSON, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA: When Boelter lowered his flashlight, which he had shined in their face, they
realized that he was not a police officer. They shouted out, you're not a cop. You're not a police officer.
Boelter then announced, this is a robbery and forced himself into their home. When Senator Hoffman attempted to push Boelter out and stop him from
entering his home, Boelter shot him repeatedly. Boelter then shot Miss Hoffman repeatedly. Boelter fled the scene, and the Hoffman's daughter
called 911.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILD: Richard, we learned today that he had actually tried to go to two other lawmaker's homes. One was not there. It's not clear if he ever got to
the front door of the other lawmaker. We know, sadly, the fourth house he tried Representative Melissa Hortman, that is where he shot and killed
Melissa Hortman and her husband. That is where he engaged in a shooting with police, and that is where he ran. It was the last time police saw him
before they took him into custody Sunday, Richard.
QUEST: I am surprised that bail is only five million, bearing in mind these facts and the -- I mean, the heinous nature of these allegations. I'm even
surprised that bail was set at all.
WILD: Yes, you know, that's a good question. I guess we can't know specifically what's in the judge's mind, but what I do know is that in
federal court, you know when you're on a charge like this, you're not getting out of custody. That never happens.
So, you know, it could have been that they felt like that was a fair number. Knowing that he was surely not getting out of at least federal
custody, and knowing that he's not able to pay, you know, even that, you know, whatever fraction of the bond that he might have to put up.
But it's been a remarkable 48 hours, Richard, and there's one detail I think is really interesting, if we have, you know, just a few more seconds.
QUEST: Sure.
WILD: When they took him into custody. You know, basically how they did it was they had aerial support from the Minnesota State Police, and then they
had, I think it was up to 20 SWAT teams that basically encircled him in this field that they had been combing for several hours.
And so, when they descended on him, they converged on him, they were able to negotiate with him. And so, I've asked, you know, a couple times now to
law enforcement, how did they convince him to come out? Because what we know Richard is he had a gun on him when law enforcement confronted him,
and they still convinced him to crawl to them, and they took him into custody without incident.
And what the head of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension here in Minnesota said was that the negotiation was short. He realized very quickly that his
fate was sealed, that he was going to be taken into custody one way or another. And so, he did crawl to law enforcement peacefully, but an
extremely remarkable moment, and really the result of cooperation between a very long list of law enforcement agencies all the way from, you know,
local police and they're here as all the way up to the federal law enforcement in this area, Richard.
QUEST: I'm grateful to you. Thank you for joining us (INAUDIBLE).
Trade tensions between the U.S. and China are set to impact Nvidia's financial forecasts. We're going to hear from the company's chief executive
in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:51:39]
QUEST: The chief executive of Nvidia says his company will exclude China from its financial forecast. Jensen Huang spoke to Anna Stewart about U.S.
export controls and the potential consequences. The CEO was in Europe to discuss the future of A.I. infrastructure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENSEN HUANG, CEO, NVIDIA: We have now discovered the technology for manufacturing intelligence. In the last industrial revolution, we
manufactured energy, manufactured power, now we manufacture intelligence.
It's a concept that's kind of hard to understand, but you know, soon it'll be very mundane, and we'll use this technology to manufacture intelligence
for every industry, health care and financial services, manufacturing, everything.
One of the great opportunities for Europe is that that this region has had deeply invested in manufacturing and mechatronics, technology and
industrials. It's deep in science. It's deep in manufacturing.
And finally, A.I. is able to understand the physical world, you know, has to understand things like inertia and gravity and cause and effect and, you
know, and those kind of sensibility that we have about the laws of physics and the physical world. A.I. is now starting to develop. And so we could
use the A.I. for manufacturing automation, robotics automation, and expand the workforce, expand the work capability, the labor capability of each
country and region.
And so, I think this is going to be just a fantastic opportunity.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Europe is lagging, so it's about time it catches up.
I'm going to pivot though to export controls. Do you think U.S.-China trade talks will result in export controls being lifted for some of your chips?
HUANG: Well, I'm not counting on it, but if it happens, then it'll be a great bonus. I've told all of our investors and shareholders that going
forward, our forecast will not include the market, the China market.
However, I believe that we want America to win. We want the American technology stack to win. And China has -- is the home of, you know, 50
percent of the world's A.I. researchers. And whatever technology stack A.I. researchers build on will be the technology stack that the world uses.
It's also important to realize that 6G is going to be built on A.I. And if we -- if the United States would want to have a capability to be part of
the communications infrastructure in the future. You know, today, nearly all of the world's telecommunications technology is built by other
countries. And I think it's important to for United States to have a leadership role in the future of 6G and I think we could do that if we
diffused A.I. technology as broadly and as quickly as possible.
STEWART: Do you think -- do you still think the export control policy is a failure?
HUANG: Well, the point that I was trying to make is that the goals of -- the goals of the export control are not being achieved. Whatever those
goals are that were being discussed initially, apparently not working.
[16:55:00]
And so, you know, I think with all export controls, the goals have to be well articulated and tested over time, just as all things that we do.
STEWART: President Macron yesterday said he would like chips to be made here in France.
HUANG: Nvidia's first chip was made here in France.
STEWART: Really?
HUANG: Nvidia's first chip was made by STM in the Crolles, fab at the foot of the Alps. It was the most amazing, the most beautiful fab, and we had
our first chip made here. At the time --
STEWART: Why aren't you making more chips in Europe at the moment then?
HUANG: Well, the reason for -- Europe kind of lost interest in building advanced chips. It wasn't because we stopped building it here. It's just
Europe for a long time, lost some interest in doing so, and it's quite a significant endeavor to go back to make these advanced chips.
And, you know, I think that the good news is that you have A.I. technology to invest in now, and I would invest in A.I. technology, you know, with
full force, because it's so consequential to all the industries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Ah, there we have the -- there we have it down, as you can see from the markets, as we head towards a break, it got up quite high during the
course of the session, and then gradually drifted down, but still a stonkingly good session overall. With the Dow up three quarters of points,
the NASDAQ had a better session overall.
Goldman Sachs in the lead. Amex is up more than two percent. It's making major updates to its platinum card. Chevron is up slightly. We'll take a
profitable moment after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Tonight's profitable moment, when I asked the ambassador earlier in the program about whether or not this moment with Iran and Israel was two
sides jousting, but we knew it would all come through. It would be OK in the end, or was it something deeply serious. I was really quite surprised
when he said, actually, it's incredibly serious and deeply grave.
Actually, I wasn't supposed to be surprised. It's what we all know, in a sense, that this is the one that's been around for a long time, and
everybody hoped was not going to happen.
But unfortunately, it has happened, and now everybody has got to try and work out the off ramp. Wherever we go at the moment, everybody I speak to,
they look, there is a new seriousness and gravity in people's eyes and looks as they are worried about what is likely to come next.
[17:00:16]
But the markets don't seem to be that concerned yet, and that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight. I'm Richard Quest.
Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. I'll see you on Wednesday.
END
