Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes After Trump Says Ceasefire is Over; Trump Used Old Air Force One Over Security Concerns; ICE Officer Kills Man During Traffic Stop in Houston. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired July 09, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR:

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: -- on the breaking news coverage of renewed attacks between the U.S. and Iran. This is new video just coming into the Situation Room from Southern Iran, U.S. Military Central Command, saying it has struck 90 targets along Iran's coast to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping. And they include air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military infrastructure.

Iran responded by targeting U.S. military bases in Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain. And Iran's army says it went after a U.S. military site in Qatar, the first time Tehran has acknowledged targeting that Gulf Arab nation.

CNN's Alayna Treene is over at the White House for us. Elena, what is the president now saying about this new, very dramatic escalation in this war?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I think there are a lot of questions, Wolf, and I'm continuing to even get this, picking this up from my sources here at the White House, about what this exchange of attacks, after the second round of attacks yesterday from the U.S. on these different Iranian targets along the coastline around the Strait of Hormuz, what this means for the fate of the ceasefire and the memorandum of understanding that was struck just a couple weeks ago between Washington and Tehran.

And one of the things I'm picking up is that it's not even clear if the president has yet made up his mind. And I think if you can look at some of the comments that the president made in Turkey in recent days when he was there for the NATO summit, you could hear that.

You know, in one breath he was saying that he believed the ceasefire was over. He was talking a lot about how he couldn't really trust the Iranians to honor the commitments they have made in that agreement. However, he also argued that the key negotiators, those like Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, the vice president, those have been interacting regularly with mediators and the Iranians themselves, it's up to them in many ways to decide how they want to proceed.

But what I can tell you is I spoke with one U.S. official who has been very familiar with some of the discussions happening behind the scenes while the president was abroad. And they told me, one, Trump has been increasingly frustrated that the Strait of Hormuz has not been open to pre-war levels. He wants to see open and free traffic in the Strait, something that was laid out in that memorandum of understanding. So, that's partly why you're seeing some of that anger that he has really become palpable and spill out into public view in some of his comments.

I was also told he was irked specifically by Iran striking vessels in the Strait while he was abroad for this NATO summit, speaking with foreign leaders on a foreign stage. And, of course, he's also been frustrated, Wolf, I'm told, with the pace of nuclear talks and Iran seeming to slow walk the U.S. here. So, all of that adding to this perfect storm of where we are now. But a lot of questions about what the path forward looks like.

BLITZER: And as you know, Alayna, the president returned to Washington from the NATO summit with a late switch. He departed Turkey aboard the old Air Force One, not the new one that he arrived in, the one that he received as a gift from Qatar. You have some new reporting about the reason why. What can you tell us?

TREENE: Yes. Look, some of my colleagues and I dug into the reasoning around this, because I should be clear, the President took the former, the older Air Force One plane, not the new luxury Qatari jet that he just began flying last week. He took the older plane from Ankara to a U.S. base for refueling in the United Kingdom.

Now, the president argued that was so that he could send the Qatari jet ahead of time to that base so that service members could get on board and could tour it. However, in conversations that my colleagues and I have been having, some U.S. officials are arguing that, no, this was in part largely due to security concerns. And that has been a key topic of conversation and has led to some controversy around this new jet that was donated from the Qataris to the president himself, about whether or not it would be up to par with the same type of outfitting that the former Air Force One planes would have to protect the president.

And I'd remind you, the older Air Force One planes, of course, were made from scratch with the safety of the commander-in-chief in mind. This new Qatari jet had to be completely reworked on a very, very fast timeline because the president wanted to fly it as soon as possible to try and get it so that it had the same level of security.

Now, again, the president himself trying not to argue this, but a lot of different indicators from our sources. We also know that the White House asked that reporters traveling on the Qatari jet put down their blinds, another signal there. So, a lot of questions about what this means for the future of that plane and what the real reasoning behind it was.

BLITZER: We'll find out, I'm sure. All right. Thanks very much, Alayna, for that update.

Also happening now, the impact of the renewed attacks in the Middle East already being felt here in the United States. AAA now reports average gas prices jumped 5 cents today. It's the largest single-day increase since early May. And oil prices have surged since the President said the ceasefire agreement with Iran is, at his word, over.

[11:35:00]

Here's where those prices stand right now. Take a look at this. We'll put it up on the screen. I want to go to CNN senior business reporter David Goldman. David, what's the latest on all of this?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Wolf, I mean, this is a little bit of a respite from where we were yesterday. Remember, oil prices shot higher about 6 percent. Now, we're back down about 1.5 percent.

But I want to take a look at where we are right now because if we're at 77 right now, you know, we were close to 73 before the war started. So, we're actually still pretty close to back to square one. Remember, it was $112 at one point in May when we thought that this Strait wasn't going to reopen any time soon.

And the Strait is partially open right now. There is tanker traffic getting through. But while those oil prices are getting a little bit higher, right, also gas is getting a little bit higher. Futures were up a lot yesterday, and that rose -- that raised the retail price of gas just a little bit.

Now, here's the thing, is that the Strait of Hormuz is active, and it's actually very active for one particular country, and that is Iran. Yesterday, 10 million barrels of oil escaped the Strait on Iranian ships. To put that into perspective, over the previous three weeks, 60 million barrels of Iranian oil escaped the Strait, and most of this is going to China. And this suggests, Wolf, that Iran is getting a little bit concerned about the situation in the Strait, and now we're looking at potentially another U.S. naval blockade, as the president said they want to get all of their oil out as quickly as they can.

BLITZER: Walk us through, David, what is happening with the U.S. strategic oil reserves.

GOLDMAN: Yes. This is a key factor because what we need right now is enough emergency oil to keep us afloat, and we've got 300 and nearly 320 million barrels of oil in the strategic petroleum reserve. That sounds like a lot, but it is actually down almost a quarter since the beginning of the war. And we need this for if there's an emergency like a hurricane or if this war continues because we've been using this oil for making gasoline, making diesel and things like that, and if this continues to fall, then we have less cushion if there is another true emergency at home and if this war continues. Wolf.

GOLDMAN: All right. David Goldman, as usual, thank you very, very much. And just ahead, a man is killed in Houston during an interaction with ICE agents. Homeland Security now says it was an act of self- defense, but his family is disputing that account. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:00]

BLITZER: Right now, investigations are underway in Memphis after two fatal shootings involving Federal Crime Fighting Task Force members in recent days. The Memphis Task Force was created as part of President Trump's nationwide crime crackdown targeting mostly blue cities. Officials say one man was killed Tuesday after DEA agents tried serving a drug warrant. Officials say 20-year-old Tyrin Johnson was killed on Sunday after pointing a gun at officers during a chase. There have been four deaths involving the Memphis unit since it was deployed back in September.

And also happening now, we're learning more about a deadly shooting involving an ICE agent in Houston. 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot during a targeted immigration enforcement operation. ICE officials claim he ignored commands to stop his car and tried to ram an agent's vehicle. That agent then fired his weapon in self-defense. Salgado Araujo later died at the hospital. His family is now disputing that account. CNN has obtained disturbing new video that captures moments before he was transferred to the hospital. I want to warn our viewers, the video is disturbing. There you see it.

These moments captured by a resident who happened to be driving right after the shooting. The video shows the officers holding onto the wounded victim, and he can also be heard calling for help. You can also see several other men being detained in the background.

Let's go live right now to CNN's senior national correspondent, Ed Lavandera, who's in Dallas for us. So, Ed, what more are you learning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, Wolf, this shooting took place more than 48 hours ago. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have not released any more details beyond the initial statement that they released, saying that it was Salgado Araujo who used his vehicle, weaponized his vehicle, in the words of the ICE officials, to go after the ICE agents and that the ICE agents fired at him in self-defense.

There were three other men in the truck with Salgado Araujo. One of them was his brother. All three of those men were also taken into custody. But family members and Latino civil rights leaders say they do not believe ICE's version of events in this situation. They point to the shootings, the two deadly shootings that took place earlier this year in Minneapolis, where the details and the initial description that was given by ICE officials did not match what eventually emerged on video captured at the scene.

[11:45:00]

Those activists and family members are calling for anyone who has video of this scenario to come forward and share that with them. They are hoping that they can get a fuller, broader picture of how all of this transpired, because right now the only video that has emerged so far is the videos that were captured shortly after, in the aftermath of the shooting.

The family and activists are calling for a full independent investigation, but the Houston-Harris County prosecutors as well as city officials there in Houston say that simply right now it's federal agents that have all of the information, all of the evidence in this case, and that an independent investigation by some other agency at this point does not seem likely. Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Ed Lavandera, thank you very much for that update. And we'll be right back. But before we head to break, "Chasing Life" with CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's talking about the importance of bone density and how to maintain it. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of CNN's Chasing Life podcast.

Bones play an important role in your body's framework, and they need to be kept strong, obviously, especially as you get older. Because most people's bone density peaks around the age of 30 and then declines over time, it's something we all need to pay attention to. Now, too much decline can lead to osteoporosis.

Here are a few things you can do to keep your bones strong. First of all, focus on a diet that's rich in minerals that promote bone health, talking about calcium and vitamin D. Also, make sure you're getting enough protein. One study found that older adults who increased their intake of calcium and protein-rich foods had 33 percent fewer fractures overall.

Then, make sure you exercise. And when you exercise, your muscles will release a hormone called irisin that stimulates bone-building cells. Strength training is especially important because when you create that muscle tension, it pulls on your bones, and then that stress can stimulate growth.

And you can hear more about how to optimize your health and chase life wherever you get your podcasts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

BLITZER: What happens when a small English town becomes the center of an international incident? An all-new CNN film explores the story behind the attempted assassination of a former Russian spy and the investigation that uncovered a deadly chemical weapon. Here's a preview of "The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Initially at Cobra, we didn't know what it was. But two people had gone into a coma.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the past, while carrying out assassinations, the Russians have used a range of different poisons. And so, we had a high degree of suspicion that the public was at risk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The atmosphere in Cobra was tense. Cabinet ministers had different views about how fast we should go in terms of attributing and responding to Russia.

THERESA MAY: When you're faced with something like this, sometimes in today's world, the temptation is to say something immediately. Actually, you just have to take a deep breath and step back and be very clear that there's a longer-term aim here, which is making sure we absolutely hold them to account. You just have to be a bit careful and wait until you've absolutely got the evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And joining us now is journalist Mark Urban. He's the author of "The Skripal Files" and is also featured in this new film. Mark, I know you had a chance to interview Skripal a year before the assassination attempt. Police later used that interview to piece together what happened in Salisbury. What initially drew you to speak to him?

MARK URBAN, AUTHOR, "THE SKRIPAL FILES": Well, it's great to join you, Wolf. I had this idea about writing a book about espionage and the fact that Russia and agencies like the CIA and Britain's MI6 were still hard at it, spying on one another, despite the fact there was a generally better climate of relations.

So, I started looking at various things, including that swap that happened in 2010 in Vienna, where the illegals, those people who were pretending to be Americans who were caught in the U.S., were swapped with some spies who the Russians were holding.

Now, Sergei Skripal was one of those spies, and I decided to do a book around those events. And, of course, because he was living in England, I thought, well, this is a good place to start. So, by some methods, I managed to track him down. He was actually down on our electoral rolls. So, it wasn't that hard to find him in Salisbury, not so easy to get him to talk. And I went and saw him a few times in the summer of 2017. And the last time I spoke to him, which was on the phone, it was about six months before the poisoning.

So, I was in his home, the place that was subsequently sealed off and decontaminated, and I got a good chance to meet him and his son on a couple of occasions.

BLITZER: What was the most shocking thing you learned from that interview?

URBAN: Oh, now that's an interesting one. I think the degree to which the people he'd been working for, which is the Russian Military Intelligence Agency, which is called the GRU, were just carrying on with spying as if nothing had happened, as if the Cold War hadn't ended. He was in Madrid, which is actually where MI6 recruited him to spy for Britain. They turned him.

[11:55:00]

And I said, what were you doing in Madrid? And, you know, he didn't exactly want to tell me. And eventually it sort of came out that one of his jobs was to make sure that explosives and weaponry and radios and all this kind of stuff for sabotage groups, which the GRU had hidden in various caches across Spain, were all there and were all in good working order.

And I thought to myself, well, you're planning these sabotage operations, even though the average person on the street, either in Spain or Britain, thinks relations with Russia are so much better now. I mean, that was a shock to me, that they still saw things in terms of the outbreak of war and how could they mount commando operations in NATO countries.

BLITZER: Yes. Good point. Tell us more, Mark, about how the public responded to the news about the poisonings.

URBAN: Well, you know, when it happened, there was a lot of shock and a lot of people, I think, were angry when the finger of blame started to be pointed at Russia. Very cautiously, as you heard in those clips from Theresa May, our prime minister at the time, they were very deliberate and calculated in the way that they started to firm up the case against Russia. And some people, especially people down there, it's quite a conservative town, were very angry and then when Dawn Sturgess, the woman who accidentally put some of this on her wrist six weeks later, died, that anger really crystallized.

But there were also people who were quite skeptical and I would say a significant proportion of the population, you know, maybe a quarter, a third of people, they would say things like, but why would Putin do this? You know, why did this happen? And little by little, those voices got fewer and fewer and interestingly, I think almost a decisive moment in fixing the guilt of Russia in this was when they put those two guys, the prime suspects, on the Russian TV channel to protest their innocence with a story that most people just found ridiculous and these were the people, of course, who'd already been named as prime suspects by the police in the U.K. based on their investigation.

And once they attempted to deny it in such kind of ludicrous terms, I think then the large mass of public opinion, I think, shared in that anger that Russia would do such a thing in Britain.

BLITZER: Mark Urban, thanks very much for your expertise. Appreciate it very much. And to our viewers, don't miss the brand-new CNN film, "The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door," Sunday, 8:00 p.m. Eastern and the next day on the CNN app.

And finally, this morning, the singer Bonnie Tyler, known for her hits "Holding Out for a Hero" and "The Total Eclipse of the Heart," has died sadly at the age of 75.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MUSIC PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A statement on her website said she unexpectedly passed away last night in a hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for. That's from the statement. Tyler was planning to return to the stage later this year. I loved her. I loved her songs. "Total Eclipse of the Heart," one of my favorites. May her memory be a blessing.

And thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media, @wolfblitzer and @pamelabrowncnn. I'll see you back here tomorrow morning, 10 a.m. Eastern. And Pamela will be back with us tomorrow with live reports from aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as the war with Iran continues to escalate.

Our coverage continues now with our good friend and colleague, Dana Bash. Inside Politics start right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:00]