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The Situation Room

Grammy Award Winners; Iran Open to Nuclear Talks With U.S.?; Mother of Savannah Guthrie Missing. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired February 02, 2026 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:30:01]

QUESTION: Do you have any idea what time Nancy would have been taken from the home?

CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA, SHERIFF: There's a lot of things working there, and I just can't say that right now.

QUESTION: Has Savannah Guthrie, has she had any threats to herself at all?

NANOS: We have spoken to her. We will continue to work with that. She has a security team that's been in touch with us throughout the night, but we're not going to dismiss any angles for sure, but right now, immediately, we don't know of anything like that.

QUESTION: Is she in town or on the way here?

NANOS: She's here.

QUESTION: Can you give us any more? What should somebody be looking for? Because when I was out in the neighborhood, the neighbors are obviously incredibly concerned.

But is there anything, a tip? I mean, one neighbor stopped me and he was -- he didn't know if he should call you or not.

(CROSSTALK)

NANOS: Oh, my goodness. Call.

QUESTION: But so what should somebody be looking for?

NANOS: Well, first of all, I'd ask them, go through their cameras. Go through their Ring cameras, whatever cameras they may have. Don't dismiss it that, oh, well, we really can't see the house. They still might see something. Maybe it's somebody walking by. Maybe it's a vehicle driving by at that time of day.

But go through all your cameras in that neighborhood and tell us if you see something. Maybe somebody already -- we know this happens, right? Oh, I saw something suspicious, but I didn't think it was worth calling in, so I didn't call it in.

Well, now it's -- call in anything you have seen or heard. Maybe it's a neighbor telling you, I saw this or I heard that. Call us. Don't tell the neighbor to call us. Tell the neighbor to call us, but you call us as well. We will put it together.

We will get -- trust me, we're -- I'm sure we're going to get inundated with a lot of calls. We will handle that.

QUESTION: Did she live alone?

NANOS: I believe, yes, she did, yes.

QUESTION: Are there any caregivers that are normally associated with?

NANOS: Well, she has house staff that comes by, takes care of the yard, whatever, and her house and that, but those people, we will be talking with and have talked to some of them already.

QUESTION: But nobody's like (INAUDIBLE) or anything?

NANOS: Nobody actually lives with her, no. No.

Like I say, she's of great sound mind and she is mobile. It's just it's a challenge for her to get -- as the family says, she couldn't walk 50 yards by herself. So...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

NANOS: I'm sorry.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: Somebody asked about the FBI, if they're involved.

NANOS: We -- like I said, we work closely with all of our partners, whether they're the FBI, ATF, ICE, whoever. We know that they have certain capabilities and certain resources, just as we have certain capabilities and resources.

So, yes, we'll continue to work with them, and they've offered assistance to us. We accept that assistance, and we offer assistance. But just last week, that FBI called us to handle a shooting that involved Border Patrol. That's a -- you need to know that.

That's just day-to-day, routine work for the law enforcement in Pima County, in Tucson. We work very closely with our partners.

QUESTION: With the amount of time that's gone by, how wide are you casting the net? Statewide. National?

NANOS: Well, yes, national for sure. That's -- I'm hoping the national media has picked up on this. We have gotten a lot of reports, but statewide as well with Amber Alerts, things like that. We will -- all of those things, we use. Every tool we have, we will use.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it?

NANOS: You guys are too easy. Thank you so much. I apologize for being late. I apologize for my political rhetoric of the board of supervisors or the city council.

I just get so frustrated, and we just can't do this job without their support. We don't need political statements from the dais and mumbo jumbo. We need them to listen to their law enforcement leaders and really pay attention to the fact that we understand that there's a great potential for abuses in today's world with the technology that's available to us.

But you have to at some point in time have some faith and trust in your leadership in the law enforcement community to know and understand that we too were elected here to provide a service to our community.

I can't think of a community in this kind of -- that wouldn't tell you number one is public safety. Everybody just wants to be able to know that they can go outside and enjoy their community and come home and be safe at night in their rooms, sleep in bed. And this lady wasn't able to accomplish that. That's a sad statement.

[11:35:04]

We need to -- we need her back. We need to find her. And time is very critical. She is 84. She needs her meds. Her family needs her too.

Thank you so much for being here.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: All right, so there is the Pima County Sheriff, Chris Nanos, speaking from Tucson answering reporters' questions and making it clear this is in fact a crime scene. We do have a crime, a direct quote, he said.

"And we're asking the community for help in finding Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, who's been missing now and gone, and they believe she could not have left on her own. She was taking medication, desperately needed medication.

And if she doesn't get this specific medication, he didn't say what it was, within 24 hours, it could be a fatal development for this 84- year-old mom.

I want to bring in Josh Campbell.

Josh, he was pretty specific in saying this potentially is a crime, but he didn't want to elaborate on why they came to that conclusion. What were your thoughts?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, we have obviously been focusing on this as a missing person case.

That critical update we just got took this in a much more dire direction, because, as you mentioned, the sheriff now saying they believe that a crime was committed at the home there, which they are treating as a crime scene.

Of course, that raises the question, well, who did it, and where is Nancy Guthrie at these hour? This search obviously continuing as authorities try to appeal to the public to provide any tips to any information that they might have about what actually happened.

I will say that, in any investigation, authorities are always trying to balance what information do they keep close to the vests that they need to protect in order to ensure that the investigation can continue hopefully in a positive direction and what information do they need to push out to the public?

And that's that balancing act I think we're seeing there right now. The sheriff appears to have come to that calculation that whatever that evidence was of a crime is something that they don't want to push out yet. But, of course, they are appealing to the public to try to assist if they can providing this information.

The sheriff there saying that time is critical right now, based on, as you mentioned, Wolf, she needs medication, obviously very concerning. One thing that the sheriff was also mentioning is that they're wanting people in around this area, if you have these now-ubiquitous Ring door cameras and other types of security footage at a residence, they want people to proactively go through that footage, even if they don't think that they didn't have any information.

The sheriff also mentioned they're using license plate readers, the LPRs or things, technology we have seen in multiple cases where, if you have someone who comes in to an area, that will pop on a license plate, and they can try to determine if there's indeed a suspect vehicle that came to the home and then left and try to track that to its proper location.

So, there's a lot going on behind the scenes right now that's certainly very, very concerning and this has now taken a much more concerning direction, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, the sheriff making it clear, in his words, she did not leave on her own, which, of course, suggests, Josh, that someone came into that home and took her out and is -- now presumably has her at some place.

And they're asking the public for help and asking people if they have any indications at all, any word about where Nancy Guthrie, the 84- year-old mother of Savannah Guthrie, might be, to call 911 and provide that information as quickly as possible.

And he repeatedly pointed out that, as far as being alert, she was very much on top of it, no mental issues or loss of consciousness or anything along those lines. Physically, she would not have been able to walk out on her own. So he made that point as well.

So, clearly, the suggestion was, Josh, that she was kidnapped in some sort of way for whatever reason. Is that your conclusion?

CAMPBELL: It seems to be that, that she did not leave on her own accord.

In fact, the sheriff there saying that he didn't believe that she could even walk 50 yards with her current state. Again, he's saying that she's very -- very together mentally. And so he said that this isn't like a dementia issue where someone just wanders off.

So that does obviously point this in the direction. She left somehow, and if there was a crime there that was committed, it was done by someone. Now, authorities are obviously racing against the clock right now to try to determine where she is and who may be responsible for disappearance.

BLITZER: And let's hope they find her as quickly as possible.

Brian Stelter, CNN's Brian Stelter is with us as well.

What can you tell us about how "The Today Show" anchors Savannah Guthrie and the whole team over at NBC News are responding to this?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, first of all, Nancy has been a frequent visitor to "The Today Show" over the years, which is a testament to the close relationship between Savannah and Nancy.

Even just a couple of months ago, when Savannah went to visit her hometown, went to visit her old friends in Tucson, her mom was there, and then they shared a meal and that was shown on the broadcast. So that love of family, that relationship, it's front and center. And it's well-known among Savannah's fans and viewers.

[11:40:19]

I have personally known Savannah about 15 years. And I remember bonding with her years ago talking about her parents, because Savannah's dad passed away when she was young. She was entering senior year of high school. I was about the same age when my dad died so.

We talked about what it meant to have our moms there and how we became even closer, we held even tighter to our moms in high school, in college when you lose your other parent. And Savannah talked about how it was really hard to leave home and start a career, leaving her mother back home in Arizona.

But she knew Savannah's mom wanted her to follow her dreams, wanted her to go into broadcasting. And so that relationship through the decades has been so important for Savannah. And, as I said, she has shared it on "The Today Show" many times, having Nancy come and visit the show in New York, having her come on the program or visiting her home in Arizona.

I remember a quote from a couple of years ago from Savannah saying that her mom, Nancy, was -- quote -- "God's first, best and most important gift to me."

And we now know Nancy did not show up at church on Sunday and that was the first signal that something was amiss. That is why other family members called for help when she did not appear at church on Sunday morning.

BLITZER: Yes, so sad indeed. All right, Brian Stelter and Josh Campbell, to both of you, I know

you're going to be working your sources. We will stay on top of this story and we wish they find her and that she's OK as quickly as possible.

Savannah's a friend of mine as well, and we send our love and hopes and prayers for a speedy, speedy return.

All right, we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:46:27]

BLITZER: Happening now: rising tensions and fears of war with Iran.

As the U.S. builds up what President Trump is now calling a massive armada in the region, Iranian state media report that senior officials from both nations might actually meet in the coming days. Iran's foreign minister says his country is open to nuclear talks with the U.S. and is hopeful for a resolution.

Joining us now, CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk.

What do you think? The foreign minister of Iran told our team in Tehran that this was a fair and equitable deal that was on the works. He thought it was possible with the U.S. What do you think?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think, Wolf, who really speaks for Iran is the supreme leader, and he's out again today with a very defiant messaging.

I think I'd watch two things over the coming days, number one, the military deployment, very significant assets flowing to the region. These are what you call high-demand, low-density assets, particularly those air defense systems. You only deploy them if you're getting ready for something quite significant.

In terms of the talks, again, the Iranians are saying, we will only talk about the nuclear program. And I suspect there's a huge gap between what the president's diplomats and Steve Witkoff are going to be demanding and what the Iranians might be willing to offer.

So I think this has some ways to go over the coming week or so, but, right now,. it seems to be we're heading for a confrontation.

BLITZER: Looks like some serious talks about to take place between the U.S. and Israel as well, because the Iranians have warned repeatedly, not only would they go after U.S. military targets in the Persian Gulf area, the Central Command, as it's called, but would go after Israel as well.

MCGURK: The Iranians are threatening that, if the U.S. does anything, they will attack all throughout the region, it'll be a regional war. That's what their official messaging is saying. Remember, Wolf, it was one month ago today, on January 2, President

Trump said -- he drew a line. He said, if the Iranians crack down and kill these protesters, I will come to their rescue. He drew that line and the supreme leader of Iran decided to launch this massive, massive crackdown, killing thousands of Iranians, kind of shocked the conscience of the world.

So I think the president's going to have to follow through on that in some way. This is not just about the nuclear talks. But having been involved in these things in the past, you want to be in close coordination with the Israelis, other partners throughout the region.

There's a lot of concern in the region for where this is going. And I think -- right now, I think the president still has some decision space, but that might close rapidly as it turns out that the gap between the two sides in these talks, as I suspect, will be quite large.

BLITZER: "The Wall Street Journal," you saw that report, front page of "The Wall Street Journal," that just came out that American airstrikes against Iran are not imminent because the Pentagon is moving in additional air defenses to protect not only Israel, but Arab allies, American forces in the region, in the Persian Gulf, from retaliation by Iran.

And there could be a potential conflict, a real war going on if the U.S. launches these strikes. And there's concern, according to "The Wall Street Journal," that the U.S. air defense system in the region is not sufficient right now.

MCGURK: Well, it's -- Iran has a lot of missiles. They were damaged in the June conflict. They have only limited number of launchers. You will want to see how many launchers they have.

I'm sure all of this intelligence work is being done. There's a bit of missile math we talked about during that June conflict. But, look, this is that high-demand, low-density asset. Every combatant commander around the world wants these air defense systems, not just Patriots, but called THAADs. We only have seven or eight batteries deployed around the world.

They're now moving into the Middle East. I think it'll take a little bit of time to get those in place. Once those are in place, again, the president has a full panoply of options. And we will see how the diplomacy goes.

But the demands from the White House right now are not just nuclear. It is the missiles and also Iran's support for terrorism around the region. Something last week, Wolf, that speaks to this moment, the E.U., all 27 countries of the E.U. voted to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist group.

[11:50:12]

I actually never thought that that would happen. That's quite extraordinary. That was in response to this horrific crackdown against the Iranian people. So, the Iranians are trying to narrow this into just the nuclear bucket. It's much broader than that now.

And I think the White House will hold that line. And I -- look, we all hope there can be a diplomatic breakthrough. But, right now, based on what the supreme leader is saying -- and he speaks for the Iranian system, not the foreign minister, Araghchi. There seems to be a really wide gap there.

BLITZER: And very quickly, that Iron Dome that Israel has, that air defense missile system, is that sufficient right now to prevent Iran from attacking targets in Israel?

MCGURK: Well, we want to bolster Israelis' defenses. That's when you see missile destroyers moving into the Mediterranean region.

Again, we did that last year in this conflict. Those missile destroyers, U.S. destroyers, have anti-air systems. Together with Israel's systems, it's a strong, strong defense. But you've got to get it in place.

BLITZER: All right, Brett McGurk, as usual, thanks very much.

MCGURK: Thanks.

BLITZER: This story's not going away. Appreciate it very much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:55:43]

BLITZER: It was a very big night for Bad Bunny at the Grammys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Grammy goes two, one, two, three, Bad Bunny.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bad Bunny.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He won album of the year just a week before he is set to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show.

And Kendrick Lamar became the most awarded rapper in Grammy history. He picked up the trophy for best rap album and record of the year.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is in Los Angeles for us.

Stephanie, the night wasn't without its controversies, as you well know. Several artists, including Bad Bunny, called out ICE. What were they saying?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was very prevalent on the red carpet before the show even started, Wolf. I was on the carpet. I could see that several artists had on these

small white pins. And in black letters, capital letters, they just said "No ICE." And you saw that from Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber, all the way to the comments that were made on stage.

And just take a listen to what -- we have two SOTs for you, actually, two sound -- pieces of sound here for you of Bad Bunny as well as Billie Eilish, both on stage making their feelings known on the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAD BUNNY, MUSICIAN: Before I say, thanks to God, I'm going to say, ICE out.

(CHEERING)

BAD BUNNY: We're not savage. We're not animals. We're not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.

(CHEERING)

BILLIE EILISH, MUSICIAN: Sometimes, I feel I honestly don't feel like I need to say anything, but that no one is illegal on stolen land.

(CHEERING)

EILISH: Yes, it's just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now. And I just -- I feel really hopeful in this room. And I feel like we just need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. And our voices really do matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And Billie Eilish going on to say that no one is illegal on stolen land. She said that while she was on stage. She has been very outspoken about this issue and saying that artists need to stand up and make their thoughts known on this.

I have to also point out that this show really did do their in memoriam in a very different way. It started out with Reba McEntire. And you thought it was going to be a standard in memoriam. Then, at the end, they do Ozzy Osbourne, and they brought to stage a group of guys like Post Malone, Chad Smith, Slash, all there performing a song by Black Sabbath.

And then moving on to Lauryn Hill in her tribute to D'Angelo and Roberta Flack, and just brought out some heavy hitters there like John Legend, Chaka Khan. You saw so many people come out, Lalah Hathaway, October London. It was phenomenal and then ending, of course, with the Fugees' version of Roberta Flack's song "Killing Me Softly."

It was astounding and probably the best in memoriam I have ever seen, Wolf.

BLITZER: It was a very moving night indeed. I watched it.

Stephanie Elam, thanks very much for joining us.

And, to our viewers, thanks also for joining us this morning. "INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a quick break.