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Trump Places New Condition on Signed Saudi Arabia Nuclear Deal; Houthis Claim to Have Struck Two Saudi Oil tankers in Red Sea; Member of V.P. Vance's Security Detail Suspected of Leaking Info. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired July 23, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, widening war. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claim responsibility for attacks on Saudi ships in the Red Sea. This is a major escalation, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio this morning says, President Trump's policy on Iran is, quote, a head for an eye, end quote. The White House is holding a briefing next hour. We'll bring that to you live.

Plus, criminal referral. The GOP chair of the House Judiciary Committee is now asking the U.S. Justice Department to consider prosecuting Jack Smith, one of the key targets of President Trump's retribution.

And later, protests over police shooting. Outrage boiling over in Wisconsin after a police officer fatally shoots a man officials say was armed with a knife and injured the officer. What we're now learning about that investigation.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is off today. You're in The Situation Room.

We begin this hour with the breaking news, major escalations in the Middle East on two fronts. First, President Trump just weighed in on the new agreement for U.S. companies to build and operate nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia. In a new social media post, the president appears to reveal a key condition. He says Saudi Arabia would have to first normalize relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords. The deal announced yesterday has sparked concerns of a nuclear arms race in the region.

The second major development, Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen say they have struck two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. This is a very significant expansion. This satellite imagery from NASA appears to show one of the ships right now on fire. The White House saying this morning it would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks and, quote, major military punishment if the group targets ships again. The latest flashpoint in the region has added to global fears over oil supply and is pushing prices to a two-month high. And in Iran, the U.S. military released this video of its 12th consecutive night of airstrikes. The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, says the U.S. is hammering Iran with punishing ferocity.

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MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think I saw -- you know, guys, I saw Araghchi, their foreign minister, who the other day say something about their policy is an eye for eye. The president's policy is a head for an eye. I mean, honestly, that's what it's going to be. I mean, they will pay a very heavy price for the things they're doing. They're already paying a very heavy price.

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BLITZER: All right, for more on all these major new developments, let's go to CNN's Kevin Liptak. He's over at the White House for us. And we'll also go to Jerusalem, our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is there.

Kevin, let me start with you. How significant is this news from President Trump that Saudi Arabia must first join the Abraham Accords before this nuclear enrichment program goes through?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: This could be a major roadblock for this deal, Wolf. The stipulation was mentioned nowhere when the deal was signed less than 24 hours ago. But now President Trump's saying that Saudi Arabia will need to signal a willingness to normalize relationships its diplomatic relations with Israel in order to see it go through.

This seems like it's going to be a non-starter. The very powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, for whom this nuclear deal was a major triumph, has stated very plainly that he will not normalize relations with Israel unless there's a viable pathway to Palestinian statehood. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected Palestinian statehood, saying that that would be untenable for Israel's security. And so how they bridge those two at this point doesn't seem clear.

You know, the idea of linking both of these things together is not a new one. The Biden administration tried securing a similar arrangement, but it fell apart after the October 7th, 2023 terrorist attacks.

Now, there's another stipulation that President Trump is also adding to this deal. He said in his post that there will, quote, be no enrichment of material, and that the United States is not opposed to civil non-enriched nuclear facilities.

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Now, the arrangement hasn't been made public, but what officials have said is that it would lay out this multi-year study period to see if it is viable for Saudi Arabia to enrich nuclear material. That is what caused so much outcry. In Israel, they worry that that could potentially lead Saudi Arabia to obtaining nuclear weapons and launch a regional arms race, something they very much want to avoid. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Kevin, stand by. I want to go to Nic in Jerusalem.

Nic, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, just responded to all this news that's emerging. What is he saying?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Wolf, it was quite significant that he hadn't responded to the, these news developments when the news first broke yesterday, very quick to respond today, and it does appear to be a very positive response and an endorsement of what President Trump is doing. He's said that the United States and Israel working together against Iran and Israel against Iran's proxies in the region, has developed the opportunity for a regional peace.

And he goes on to say this in the statement coming from his office, saying, as President Trump has said, Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords would be a historic leap forward for peace in the Middle East.

But as Kevin says, this is likely to be a too steep hurdle for the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. So, for the prime minister, for those -- all those concerned in Israel about the potential for Saudi Arabia to enrich its own uranium and not have full international standard oversight, that worry that Saudi Arabia could one day develop its own weapon, that really does seem to get stopped in its tracks at this moment. Wolf?

BLITZER: And, Nic, how significant is it that the Houthis are now claiming that it struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea?

ROBERTSON: Yes. The Houthis are, you know, one of the strongest partners in the region of the Iranians. They haven't been active in the early part of this U.S.-Iran war. They do seem to be joining now. They have threatened to block Saudi shipping and Saudi oil getting out of the Red Sea. That is a vital pathway to the international markets, particularly Asia, for Saudi oil. Saudi Arabia pumps its oil all the way across the Arabian Peninsula because it can't get it out through the Strait of Hormuz, and now the Houthis are threatening and are now effectively blocking that route.

It is quite possible that the Saudis may respond militarily. They haven't yet, but this really dries up the escalation. Quite simply put, the Iranians wanted to drive up the price of oil as quickly as possible. Closing the Strait of Hormuz was one part of it. They've accelerated that escalation in the, in the price of oil now by effectively shutting it to shutting the Red Sea route, Bab el-Mandab, to Saudi oil.

BLITZER: Yes, lots going on right now. We'll see how the U.S. responds to all that.

Nic Robertson, thank you very much. Kevin Liptak, thanks to you as well.

For more on all the breaking news, I want to bring in Republican Congressman Mike McCaul of Texas. He's the chairman emeritus of both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

REP. MIKE MCCAUL (R-TX): Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: President Trump posted on social media this morning that the new civilian nuclear deal reached between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is, quote, totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel.

And the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just broke his silence on the deal to applaud this latest development. Where do you stand on this nuclear deal with the Saudis and the conditions now imposed?

MCCAUL: Well, I think it's a, it's a carrot stick approach to incentivize Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords. I think the final end goal, or result should be normalization in the Middle East. That's where I think the administration wants this to end up at the end of the day.

You have a couple concerns, Wolf. One is that Israel doesn't want a two-state solution, so we're going to have to work that out with Mr. Netanyahu. Secondly, I don't have all the details on this nuclear plan. We're all for a peaceful nuclear energy program in the Middle East. We've talked to Iran about this for years. The UAE has one. I would say it should be modeled after what we've done with the UAE, and that is to not provide enriched uranium to the Saudi -- I mean, not to allow them to enrich their own uranium but rather provide that to them.

I think there's a big distinction there in the details because we don't want them to have the power to enrich their own uranium. That could give them the power to build a, you know, nuclear bomb, the same message we've been sending to Iran, if that makes sense.

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BLITZER: As you noticed, Congressman, Saudi Arabia has always previously demanded that Israel first recognize a Palestinian independent state, a two-state solution, as it's called, a new state of Palestine alongside Israel, in order to consider signing onto the Abraham Accords, which the Trump administration has in its first term worked out bringing several Middle East Arab countries into a peaceful relationship with Israel.

What has changed to make that at least a little bit more realistic at this point for the Saudis to follow the lead of some of these other Middle Eastern countries?

MCCAUL: Well, I think the Abraham Accords were a great start, provides the framework for this. If you have Saudi Arabia join, that is literally Mecca, you know, the headquarters of the Arab world joining with Israel. Symbolically, I can't overemphasize how big of a deal that is in the Middle East.

And, again, I think the question here is going to be, again, the two- state solution, whether Israel's able to agree to something like that, and where would the Palestinian State be? Would it be somewhere in Gaza? Would it be in what is known as Judea, Samaria that the Israelis find in the Bible as part of Israel?

You know, it sounds easy and simple from, you know, 30,000 feet above the clouds, but when you get down into the details of this, I can tell you in Israel it's a very complex thing to, to work out.

BLITZER: And there's Israeli elections coming up in October. We'll see what emerges from that if the prime minister, Netanyahu, gets reelected.

On the Iran war, Congressman, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, says that the country is, quote, begging us, Iran begging us to make a peace deal. But whenever we reach an agreement, Iran seems to break it, at least according to the Trump administration. Rubio keeps saying that President Trump's policy is, quote, a head for an eye. Is that the right approach right now? How does this conflict ever get resolved?

MCCAUL: Look, Wolf I'm all for negotiating of peace. I don't trust this regime. As long as this regime is in power, and, unfortunately, we did not take out the regime when we started this invasion, we're going to have a problem. I personally think the best approach here is to allow our CENTCOM commander to execute his military plan to take out their ability to hit tankers in the Straits of Hormuz you know, and also dismantle their nuclear facility.

Our military's capable if we end this start-and-stop approach of stopping to negotiate and then starting up a military campaign. We need to allow our military to do what they do best and then negotiate from the rubble. I think this back-and-forth approach is not the right one, and it will guarantee that this thing delays into the midterm elections, which is precisely what Iran is trying to do right now.

BLITZER: In his Truth Social post just a little while ago, Congressman, the president said that the Houthis are starting up again, his words, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night. Please let this Truth serve to represent that if they do this again, the United States will hold Iran responsible in that the Houthis are a surrogate and a proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis themselves.

So, it looks like this whole war situation could really escalate even a lot further, right?

MCCAUL: Well, of course. I mean, the Houthi rebels are an extension, a proxy of Iran in Yemen. You've got Hezbollah in Lebanon. You got Hamas into Gaza. You know, and, again, I don't -- this reactionary approach to war is not a path to victory, in my judgment. A path to victory is we define the objective for the military, and we achieve that military objective. We don't respond to Iran and the Houthis and Hezbollah and Hamas. We set forth what the objective is for victory. Now, that we've made this decision to go in, the Colin Powell doctrine asserts that we go all-in to win, and if you cannot achieve that objective, you get the heck out of there.

BLITZER: The House took the first step, as you know, toward funding President Trump's war with Iran by a very narrow margin just yesterday, but its eventual path in the Senate right now is unclear. Watch what one Senate Republican just told CNN. Listen to this.

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SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): I think the Iran war has not been a success. I've been opposed to the Iran war from the beginning.

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I think by any objective measure, we're worse off than we were before the war.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How do you think voters would react if the GOP Congress approved $70 billion or so for Iran before the midterms?

PAUL: I think people are mostly upset about how much things cost, you know, so when they go to see gas prices, but it's also really just the all across the board.

RAJU: Will there be backlash in November?

PAUL: Probably.

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BLITZER: So how do you respond to Republican Senator Rand Paul?

MCCAUL: Well, Rand Paul has never been for the military, and so I'll leave his comments to him. I think he is voicing a growing concern about gas prices and affordability. But I think the bigger issue, Wolf, as I see on the Hill, is a growing consensus of frustration that this is dragging out too long when we know that our CENTCOM commander can finish this job if given the orders to do so.

I would urge the president to not listen to the naysayers within our party, to finish the job he started, to allow his CENTCOM commander to do so, because we know they have the capability to do it. If we don't do that, and if we're reactive all the time in the Straits of Hormuz, the, then I- Iran is going to continue to create mischief, to strike tankers, to order its proxies like the Houthis to hit Saudi and, and the tankers in the straits, and this is not going to end anytime soon. It's within our grasp, but we got to go forward.

BLITZER: Let's see what happens. I know you're, amidst all of this, Congressman, pushing Congress to pass a bipartisan Russia, Russia sanctions bill in honor of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Some Senate Democrats are now raising concerns that the legislation could hand too much power to President Trump. When lawmakers have so little time left in this current session before the midterms in November, how does this actually get done? What are the risks for Ukraine right now if it doesn't?

MCCAUL: Oh, the risks are very high, and I was just in Ukraine with Zelenskyy, so was Lindsey Graham. This was his final parting wish before he left this, left Earth. He was a dear friend and a mentor to me. It's absolutely essential we get this peace done.

As they are winning the drone war on the border of in the occupied territories in the Donbas, which I firsthand witnessed, the final blow to Putin will be this sanctions bill which would bleed his economy and get him to the negotiating table.

Remember, you know, Zelenskyy's prepared for a ceasefire and to negotiate a peaceful resolution. It's Mr. Putin that's not willing to go for a ceasefire and a negotiated settlement. This, this sanctions bill is key for peace in that part of the world. And without it, we're going to -- this thing's going to go on for a long time.

BLITZER: Congressman Mike McCaul, thanks as usual for joining us. I appreciate it.

MCCAUL: Thanks, Wolf. Thanks for having me.

BLITZER: And still ahead, The Situation Room heads to space. I'll speak to some of the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. That's coming up.

And up next, the suspected Secret Service leak surrounding Vice President J.D. Vance. CNN's Betsy Klein is live at the White House.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Wolf, one source is telling me that this was negligence at the highest degree. More on that when we come back.

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BLITZER: Happening now, a U.S. Secret Service agent on the security detail for the Vice President J.D. Vance is now on leave and under internal review. This morning, a source familiar with the matter says the agent is suspected of leaking information for a news story that included details of Vice President Vance's travel, and that story focused on Vance's security detail dismayed by the purported burden of the vice president's personal travel schedule.

Let's go back to our Senior White House Reporter, Betsy Klein. What else are you learning this morning about this sensitive story?

KLEIN: Well, Wolf, last week our colleagues over at MS NOW had some really fascinating reporting about tensions within Vice President J.D. Vance's Secret Service detail. They report on these frustration from the agents assigned to the vice president about this burden of travel from both the vice president and members of his family. But notably, it included this detail about concerns about a planned trip aboard Marine Two to Joint Base Andrews for a golf lesson for the vice president's son.

Now, that trip was ultimately scrapped due to weather, but now CNN is learning that after the report raised alarms among the Secret Service, the White House, and officials at the FBI, there are very serious concerns about the operational details being reported in the press. And a Secret Service agent on Vance's security detail is now under this internal review for being suspected of disclosing the information for this story.

The Secret Service confirming that in a statement to CNN, a spokesperson telling us, quote, a member of the vice presidential protective division is the subject of an administrative investigation and potential criminal inquiry involving allegations of compromising operational and information security. Any conduct that potentially threatens the safety of a protectee will not be tolerated.

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Now, I spoke with one former agent who said that this really exposes vulnerability within the Secret Service. They say that not only did the person telegraph the movement of a protectee, but also a protectee who is a minor, and that they said is negligence at the highest degree. The story also remarkable because one of the hallmarks of the Secret Service is their discretion. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Betsy Klein with the latest. Thank you very, very much.

Coming up, a Wisconsin community is looking for answers after a deadly officer-involved shooting was caught on camera. CNN's Whitney Wild has more for us.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, four officers are on administrative leave. Two of those officers are injured. We'll have the latest details coming up.

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