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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

Trump Meet With His National Security Team; Trump Demands Iran's "Unconditional Surrender"; Israel Intercepts Missiles Over Tel Aviv; Zelenskyy Meets G7 Leaders Minus Trump; Canada Announces New Aid To Ukraine; Middle East Tensions And Markets; Federal Reserve To Release Policy Statement; More Palestinians Killed Seeking Aid; Kraft Heinz To End Artificial Food Coloring. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 17, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Zain Asher in for my colleague Jim Sciutto. You

are of course, watching "The Brief."

Just ahead this hour, President Trump meet his national security team --

Just ahead this hour, President Trump meets his national security team after demanding Iran's unconditional surrender. Ukraine's President

Zelenskyy sits down with G7 leaders after Russia launches its deadliest attack on Kyiv in almost a year. And food giant Kraft Heinz says it will

remove artificial dyes from its U.S. products by the end of 2027.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ASHER: All right. In terms of breaking news, we are just getting video into CNN of rockets hitting Tel Aviv. Earlier, ehe public were advised to seek

shelter as air defense systems worked to intercept the projectors. We'll be live in Tel Aviv in just a moment.

Meantime, there is the growing possibility of U.S. military involvement in the conflict between Iran and Israel. Two officials familiar with the

discussions tell CNN that President Trump is growing increasingly warm to the idea of using American military firepower to strike Iranian nuclear

facilities while souring on a diplomatic solution.

Following President Trump's early exit from the G7 Summit in Canada, the president said he wants to see a real end to the conflict and not just a

temporary ceasefire. Then came a series of his social media posts, including this threatening post saying that he knows where the supreme

leader is. And although he is actually an easy target, he will not be killed, quote, "at least not for now."

He also called for Iran's unconditional surrender. In just the last few hours, the president ended a meeting with his national security team in the

White House Situation Room. Earlier on Air Force One, he was asked about his preferred outcome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What specifically is better than a ceasefire? What are you looking for here?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: An end. A real end, not a ceasefire, an end.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, something that would be permanent?

TRUMP: Yes, or giving up entirely. That's OK too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you closer? Is that even you possible? Is that possible in the next 24 --

TRUMP: Why not? Certainly possible. A complete give up. That's possible. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right. Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us. So, Kristen, just walk us through what the U.S. actually risks by getting involved in

this war in this particular way.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I do want to quickly touch on something, because we just learned that Trump and

Netanyahu -- President Donald Trump and the prime minister of Israel, Netanyahu, did speak on the phone before Donald Trump went into his meeting

with the Situation Room, which lasted around a one hour and 15 minutes. He was there with all his top advisers. We don't have any details of that

readout that comes from his -- an Israeli source. We've obviously reached out to the White House now to try and get more details of this

conversation.

Now, when it comes to Donald Trump, to the president, and whether or not he wants to be involved, he has been, and he still is wary of U.S.

involvement. We know, of course, that they -- the United States is helping with defense of missiles that are coming into Israel. But even then, we

were talking to administration officials, they were saying, this is about protecting U.S. military assets as well as American citizens who are on the

ground. But in recent days, we've seen him really start to warm to the idea of getting more involved.

Now, what exactly that looks like remains to be seen because there are still a lot of people around him who don't love the idea of the U.S. being

involved in another war. And one of the things that I was told about Donald Trump is that he has had a number of conversations in which he asks how

long this would take.

One of the things that he cares about, regardless of if the U.S. is in or not, is that this isn't long and drawn out. And so, he would have to make

sure -- he would have to be insured by his top advisers, that this wouldn't be an incredibly long, drawn out process. Remember, one of the things he

campaigned on was this idea that there wouldn't be any more wars. And now, of course, what we're seeing in the Middle East.

But does seem as though he's leaning a little bit further away from diplomacy and now leaning into this idea of potential U.S. involvement. And

you're seeing this also in his escalation of his public posts. I know that you read some of them, but there's also this one that says, we now have

complete and total control of the skies over Iran. And clearly, there the we is the striking terms, positioning himself with Israel, saying that we

have control over the skies of Iran.

[18:05:00]

And part of this seems to be, at least from sources, telling me that it seems less and less likely that Iran was going to come to the table to have

any kind of negotiation. But again, Donald Trump, he is watching all of this unfold closely. He's asking for the advice of everyone around him.

What's more complicated about this kind of administration than others is that you've got a lot of broad viewpoints here. A lot of people who

believe, like Senator Lindsey Graham, who's been an ally of Donald Trump, that they should be all in, protecting Israel.

You also have people who believe that Trump ran on an America first agenda and shouldn't get involved. He's taking in these viewpoints and we'll see,

of course, where he lands moving forward.

ASHER: Yes, it is important that you mentioned, you know, the fact that the president said we, we now have control of the skies over Iran. Clearly in

alignment with Israel there. Kristen Holmes, live was there. Thank you so much.

Let me bring in Jeremy Diamond joining us live now from Tel Aviv. Jeremy, as Kristen was just mentioning and we got word that Netanyahu -- Prime

Minister Netanyahu and Donald Trump did actually speak on the phone prior to the U.S. president entering into the Situation Room and sort of speaking

with his security team. Do we have any details about what specifically was discussed there?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: We don't at this moment, but we do know that the two men spoke at a very critical moment, obviously. And

as senior Israeli officials were telling me that they have been waiting now on pins and needles to see whether or not President Trump will indeed

authorize U.S. strikes on that underground facility in Fordow which is buried deep beneath a mountain and requires those U.S. bunker busting bombs

delivered by stealth B2 bombers. They're waiting to see whether or not President Trump will authorize that.

I'm told that the Israeli prime minister has been taking quite a cautious approach to his appeals to President Trump, not asking him or urging him

directly to authorize that strike, but rather hoping that the president arrives at that conclusion on his own, that it's in the U.S. interest to,

quote/unquote, "finish the job" as so many Israeli officials now are hoping that the United States does.

I also want to tell you what's happening right at this moment, because we just got another barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles and we're actually

here with Israel's elite search and rescue team. And we just watched as they convened to figure out whether or not they needed to head out to any

of these suspected fall sites. There were indeed several of these missiles that did make impact in Israel, but all of them seem to have fallen in open

areas. None of them hitting residential buildings or causing the kinds of deaths and injuries that we have seen, especially in the opening days of

this latest conflict.

So, for the moment this team right here behind us is back to bed. But of course, we know that these alerts have come several times often during the

night, and there's always the possibility of more.

ASHER: All right. Jeremy Diamond live for us there, thank you so much. All right. To dig deeper into this, let's bring in Mara Rudman. She's the

director of the Ripples of Hope Project at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. Mara, thank you so much for being with us.

Just in terms of this idea that the U.S., the U.S. president is considering getting involved in this war, they're warming to the idea of getting

involved in this war. What does the U.S. risk by getting involved, even if it's sort of just the focus is on these sort of bunker buster bombs,

targeting specifically the Fordow nuclear site?

MARA RUDMAN, DIRECTOR, RIPPLES OF HOPE PROJECT, MILLER CENTER AT UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: So, first, there's the immediate operation and the immediate

concern. It is a complex operation. It involves a significant amount of U.S. force and U.S. personnel to execute on it. And it is very difficult to

predict the number of consequences that may come from it, just in terms of the success of the action itself, what it affects in Iran, what Iran does

as a result of the increased U.S. involvement in terms of attacks, which they are probably poised to execute at this point on U.S. personnel, U.S.

military sites in the region, and that's part of why the United States has also increased the defensive posture of forces it's put into the region as

well.

Frankly, whether or not it goes forward with this decision to put in place the -- to use the bunker busters and the B-2s to bring them in.

ASHER: So, if you play the game of chess, let's assume that the U.S. does get involved targeting the Fordow nuclear site, Iran, then retaliates by

targeting U.S. military assets in the region. Then what does the U.S. do? I mean, President Trump campaigned on, you know, this sort of America first,

this sort of isolationist viewpoint where he didn't want to get involved in more wars. What would the U.S. then do then? What would be its options?

[18:10:00]

RUDMAN: So, Zain, first of all, it's difficult to predict both because of the act -- of the uncertainty of what will happen on the ground with Iran,

what Iran will do as a result. And certainly, that will play into reactions in the United States as well. It's also, frankly, difficult to predict

because of the chaotic nature of how all of the decision making from the Trump team and from President Trump seems to be proceeding in this

particular crisis, and in others we're facing around the world.

ASHER: So, President Trump has of course been calling on Iran to surrender unconditionally. He also tweeted this sort of very ominous post,

essentially saying, listen, we could take out the ayatollah if we wanted to but, you know, we're going to leave him be for now. He's safe where he is.

But if we wanted to kill him, we could. I mean, what do you make of that?

RUDMAN: I -- this goes to my concern about the chaotic nature of leadership in the United States at this point. Frankly, to have a president of the

United States communicating on an incredibly sensitive subject and putting U.S. forces or the potential, putting U.S. forces at peril and doing so by

social media tweets is in itself not the kind of firm and clear and decisive leadership that we are accustomed to seeing in the United States

and that best protects United States citizens and U.S. security.

ASHER: We don't necessarily know what Iran's missile suppliers. I mean, I've seen various estimates between 1,000 to 2,000 medium-range ballistic

missiles. It could be a lot less than that, who knows. But how long can they actually -- I mean, obviously, it's an impossible question to answer I

guess if we don't know what their stockpile is. But how long can they actually keep this going in terms of retaliating against such a formidable

foe like Israel and possibly also the United States?

RUDMAN: Sure. Well, I think it's -- you are right, Zain, that we don't -- when we don't know how many they have, it's a difficult question to answer,

but I think it's fair to assume that they have been proportioning out what they can do what -- in the anticipation, for example, that the United

States might get involved and that they may want to target U.S. sites as well as the targets in Israel.

Now, thus far, there -- the ballistic missiles they've put into play against Israel have had limited impact because of the nature of defensive

action that Israel has taken and frankly, the United States and others have helped with as well. Unclear how long that can continue in terms of the

kinds of equipment and force needed for those defensive actions. And also, because, as you note, it's uncertain just the extent of Iran's resources.

But I -- if I was in the decision-making position in the United States, I would be anticipating that they are holding some of what they have in

reserve for further actions.

ASHER: All right. Maya Rudman, live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right. Turning now to the war between Russian and

Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with G7 leaders Tuesday during the last day of their summit in Western Canada. The talks

coming after U.S. President Trump abruptly left the summit Monday to monitor the Israel-Iran conflict from Washington.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney saying G7 support for Ukraine is, quote, "unwavering" and pledged new Canadian aid to the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: We are dispersing the next tranche of the loan based on the frozen Russian assets over $2 billion as well. This

is our contribution. We'll be working with our European and other allies for their contributions to provide the support. And to be absolutely clear,

the support will be unwavering until we get a just peace for Ukraine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Tuesday's meeting coming just hours after Russia launched its deadliest drone and rocket attack against the Ukrainian capital in almost a

year. This apartment building in Kyiv, taking a direct hit, you see that blast there, at least 16 people were killed throughout the city, many

others injured. Ukraine is calling for an emergency urine security council meeting after the attack. Canadian officials say they have now dropped

plans to issue a strong G7 joint statement on the Ukraine war after the U.S. demanded watered down language.

Bill Taylor joins us live now. He's a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. He's also a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. So, Ambassador,

big picture here. You know, I just mentioned the fact that Kyiv witnessed its deadliest attacks so far this year, just in terms of Russia really

stepping up its aerial attacks, its drone attacks, rockets, attacks as well. So, it tells you -- you can sort of infer from that where Putin's

head is at, where it comes -- when it comes to sort of genuine negotiations for peace.

[18:15:00]

On top of that, Ukraine is in limbo. I mean, Zelenskyy was hoping to meet President Trump on the sidelines of the G7. Obviously, that didn't happen

because the president had to leave early. What are Ukraine's options now going forward?

BILL TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE AND DISTINGUISHED FELLOW, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: So, Zain, Ukraine is looking at the Europeans and the

Canadians. And the departure of President Trump from the meeting demonstrates that. The Europeans are stepping up. They're stepping up the

resources that they're putting to it. They're stepping up their thoughts about what kind of military force they could provide to Ukraine. The

Canadians, as you just showed, are ponying up additional funds as well to support Ukraine.

So, President Zelenskyy had the opportunity to talk to the six, the G6, plus the European Union, about continued support. That's where we are right

now.

ASHER: Your reaction to President Trump -- saying he was meeting with the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, at the start of the G7 Summit, and he

said, and I'm paraphrasing here, he said something to the effect of, you know, if Russia was still part of the G8 -- I mean, Russia shouldn't have

been kicked out of the G8, if they were still part of it, we wouldn't be seeing this war between Ukraine and Russia. What do you make of that kind

of language?

TAYLOR: Well, Zain, as we know, Russia was part of the G8 when this war started in 2014. And it was not Prime Minister Trudeau, by the way. So, the

Russians were in the G8 when they started this war. That was the reason. It was the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014 that prompted the G7 to kick

out the Russians from the GA8 to make it the G7.

ASHER: And then in terms of one of the things that President Zelenskyy has been pushing for is, of course, more sanctions on Russia. He's hoping to

get the remaining members of the G7 sort of on his side with that. President Trump has been very skeptical about that idea. I mean, what do

you make of the idea of additional sanctions on Russia? Is it going to have any kind of effect? And if not, what would have an effect on Vladimir Putin

terms of reigning him in?

TAYLOR: So, in terms of reigning Vladimir Putin in, some form of sanctions, some additional sanctions could be part of that, but that's not enough.

It's going to take weapons, it's going to take a commitment by the Europeans, by the Canadians. Ideally with the support of the Americans.

Demonstration of continued support, that is what's going to change Putin's mind. When he realizes that he can't outlast the Ukrainians or the

Europeans or the Americans, then he will have to judge other options.

But there are sanctions options that are still on the table. There are banks that are not sanctioned. There's a price cap on oil that could come

down. $300 billion in Russian Central Bank Reserves are in Western Europe. Those could be now given to the Ukrainians to allow them to purchase more

weapons from the United States.

ASHER: I understand that you recently got back from a trip to Kyiv. I mean, how would you assess how Ukrainian morale has changed, has fluctuated over

the past three years, do you think?

TAYLOR: So, yes. I've been there 10 times since the big war started three and a half years ago. And I was recently in Odessa and in -- earlier in

Kyiv. And you're right the effect of this war on morale is visible, is palpable. The Ukrainians are clearly tired. They want this to end. They

really want this to end. They don't want to end with surrender, which is what Putin is asking. What he's demanding. Putin is asking Ukrainians to

give up to capitulate and they won't do that. They're tired, but they will not give up. They are determined to continue to defend their country.

ASHER: All right. Former Ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor, thank you so much for coming on the program. We appreciate it.

TAYLOR: Thank you, Zain.

ASHER: All right. Still to come, tense times for global investors amid the growing conflict in the Middle East. We'll discuss the economic

ramifications of the hostilities and what the Fed should do during its policy meeting in Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "The Brief." Checking in on the action on the U.S. market. It's a weekday on Wall Street as investors monitor the

latest developments and the conflict between Iran and Israel and the possibility that the U.S. could get involved. Oil prices are soaring as

well on the uncertainty in the Middle East, both Brent and U.S. Crude currently up around 5 percent. All of those similar amid fresh signs of

economic weakness, rather, in the U.S. Retail sales fell almost 1 percent last month. The steepest dropped since January.

And the Federal Reserve playing close attention to all of this as it holds its policy meeting in Washington, the U.S. Central Bank, it's expected to

hold rates steady despite President Trump's demand that it cut rates immediately. A big question will be whether or not officials still see two

rate cuts later this year.

William Lee joins us live now. He is chief economist at the Milken Institute. William, thank you so much for being with us. I do want to talk

about oil prices, because we've seen this sort of seesawing in oil prices. On Friday oil prices were up significantly. Then on Monday, they were down,

which, you know, was a bit of a head scratcher given what's happening in the Middle East. But a lot of people were saying that it's because, you

know, supply hadn't yet been disrupted. So, that's how people were making sense of it. And then, obviously, today they're up significantly again, up

about 5 percent. So, just give us your take on where oil prices could head in the near-term, especially as the U.S. is weighing involvement in this

conflict.

WILLIAM LEE, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MILKEN INSTITUTE: I think the market has been taking all this fairly calmly. They see that the oil production facilities

in Iran have not been tampered with and they haven't been destroyed. So, I think that really has sent us the calming effect on the oil prices even

though they've risen, easily by $10 over the last five days or so.

If I were at the Federal Reserve and I used to be a staffer at the Federal Reserve, I can tell you that right now they are also anxious about what's

happening to inflation because not just tariffs, but also because of potentially the oil spike that could come about if the oil production

facilities in Iran were to be disrupted. But so far, so good. And I think markets so far have taken it quite well.

ASHER: I mean, when you think about it -- I'm glad you brought up inflation, because when you think about it, there are just so many

headwinds happening right now at once for the global economy. You think about, obviously, this war in the Middle East that is brewing and you think

about what that means for oil prices and then, you know, there's the trade war, and not just the fact that there's just so much uncertainty, but even

when you think about specific levies, like steel and aluminum, the fact that Donald Trump has actually doubled that to 50 percent tariffs on that,

even as, obviously, the tariffs against China have come down.

I mean, what do you make of all of this sort of different threats and how they're going to impact the global economy?

LEE: I think in a way there's more anxiety than there was really, in fact, a drag on the economy. The latest data showed, the economy's actually doing

quite well, even though the first quarter of GDP numbers came in fairly weak and today's retail sales came in fairly weak. That's mainly because of

anticipatory buying and importing of goods in front of the tariffs.

[18:25:00]

If you take away the tariff effects and the import effects, I think you'll see that what they call retail control, the groups of retail spending

categories that are not motor vehicles and major appliances and things that people are buying for a while there in the last several months because of

the fear of tariffs, that was actually risen by a half percentage point. And GDP itself, if you only look at the consumption investment components

and get rid of the surge imports, that too grew at about 2.5 percent.

So, as far as the U.S. economy's concerned, the hard data are showing that the U.S. economy is doing very well and inflation is very contained. Coming

down very slowly, but coming down toward the Fed's 2 percent target. Right now, it's about two and a two and half percent inflation. But I think the

gauges of sentiment, when you ask people are you nervous, are you afraid of things? People say, yes. You know, I don't know what's going on, all of

this uncertainty about policy.

But I think right now the real uncertainty about policy is whether the tax legislation's going to get through Congress and whether Trump is going to

get the chance to deregulate. But those are the big source of uncertainty, because that was what President Trump was elected, you know, with the

problems of doing, lower taxes, fewer regulation, and smaller government. So, far we haven't seen those three come in and all the talk about tariffs

has really based risen anxiety to the point where people just don't know what to do.

ASHER: It's interesting. I mean, I'm so glad you brought up the differences between what's happening in the soft data in terms of like consumer

confidence and then what's happening with the actual hard data. And even when it comes to the jobs report, we just have not seen all of the

uncertainty about tariffs really show up in the hard numbers and the hard data just yet. It doesn't mean that it won't. Soon enough, but it hasn't

just yet. William Lee, live for us there. Chief economist at the Milken Institute. We appreciate it. Thank you.

Amid the global trade tensions, President Trump has threatened 25 percent tariffs on tech giant Apple unless it begins building iPhones in the United

States. Smartphone makers like Apple are already in the process of moving a lot of their production out of China to diversify their manufacturing

footprint. But instead of moving to the U.S. they're actually heading to a fast-rising factory hotspot, India. Clare Sebastian reports from Northern

India.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For India's fast growing smartphone industry, every part matters.

SUNIL RAINA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, LAVA INTERNATIONAL: So, this is the battery of the phone. Now, earlier we used to import this, right? Now this is

totally localized.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The battery is part of an ambitious plan by Lava International, one of India's biggest domestic smartphone brands to build

the first 100 percent Indian phone within five years. Right now, they still source about 60 percent of their smartphone parts from overseas.

RAINA: We import this part from China.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And until 10 years ago, actually manufactured in China.

RAINA: India must come up and take a large share of the global bucket.

SEBASTIAN: Yes.

RAINA: And for that, some companies have to take the leap.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Now, the momentum is building.

SEBASTIAN: Well. India's smartphone ambitions were growing long before this latest tariff escalation from the U.S. This factory actually opened in

2015, just a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled ambitious plans to supercharge domestic manufacturing.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): You only have to drive around this city, Noida, just 30 kilometers south of Delhi to see the landscape shifting.

SEBASTIAN: There's this huge Samsung facility, which is actually one of the biggest mobile phone manufacturing plants in the whole of India.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): There's also Dixon Technologies, an Indian company that assembles Google Pixel phones as well as other big Indian names. And

now, as U.S.-China trade tensions simmer and Apple promises to shift its entire U.S. bound production line to India, iPhone manufacturer, Foxconn,

is also in talks to build a new semiconductor plant just south of here.

SEBASTIAN: And 20 years ago, what was here?

LOKESH M. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER NOIDA AUTHORITY: It's all agricultural land.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The CEO of the Noida Authority personally handles requests from foreign companies to come here.

LOKESH M.: And I do get lot of, you know, demand asking for huge chunk of land. So, we are trying to acquire as much as land possible, create land

bank and offer for all this multinational companies.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): While some of India's edge may hinge on securing tariff production from the U.S., the official view is that government

incentives as well as India's vast pool of talent and labor are a much bigger draw.

AJAY SAHAI, PRESIDENT, FEDERATION OF INDIAN EXPORTING ORGANIZATIONS: Apple is in India because of the strength of India, probably we are looking into

a kind of ecosystem where not only the Apple phone itself is exported, but probably the parts and components are also manufactured in the country.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And for Lava that makes their all Indian phone ambition seem that much closer.

RAINA: For us, it's a huge advantage because Apple is a very large player, right. When they start building phones in India, they also make sure that

ecosystem is also built in India, and that means that we don't have to do that much amount of hard work.

[18:30:00]

SEBASTIAN: Do you see this as a sort of inflection point for this industry in India? Do you think this is a pivotal moment?

RAINA: Yes. Yes, of course. For last six, seven years, you see a progress happening very slowly. You come to a point when things start to change

faster, right? So, this is what is happening now.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It's an opportunity, but also as for these phones in Lava's laboratory, a test of India's true manufacturing strength on a

global scale.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, in Noida, India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. Still to come here on "The Brief," another tragedy in Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry says that dozens of people in need of

aid have been killed by Israeli fire. The details on this latest incident after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "The Brief." I am Zain Asher. Here are more international headlines we are watching today.

Israeli air defenses have been attempting to intercept missiles launched from Iran. This after Israeli officials said they're striking significant

targets in Iran today, including missile sites and air defense batteries.

Meantime, Donald Trump has met with members of his national security team in the Situation Room. The U.S. president threatened Iran's supreme leader

on social media saying, we're not going to take him out, at least for now.

Russia has launched its deadliest strike on Kyiv in nearly a year, including 14 people -- killing 14 people, rather, and injuring more than a

hundred. Hundreds of drones and missiles struck the Ukrainian capital, destroying homes and apartment buildings. Search and rescue operations have

been going on throughout the day.

[18:35:00]

The jury in the Sean Diddy Combs trial spent a second day watching sexually explicit videos showing the so-called freak offs. It was part of the

defense cross-examination of a federal law enforcement agent. Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges, including sex trafficking.

All right. Returning now to our top story and the rocket fire crossing the Middle East. Israelis sheltering amid new missile strikes from Iran. A

senior Israeli official telling CNN their government is waiting to see whether the United States is going to be joining the fight.

Questions remain about how many missiles Iran has left. One thing's for sure, Iran's supply is certainly getting low. Nick Paton Walsh has this

report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): The loudest clock ticking is how long this intensity of conflict can go on.

Iran under greatest pressure, may reach a breaking point first. They're estimated to have had a stockpile of up to 3,000 missiles between two and

1,000 of them able to reach Israel.

BEHNAM BEN TALEBLU, SENIOR FELLOW, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: The best estimate we have is at best a back of the envelope calculation of

anywhere between 1,000 to 2,000 medium-range ballistic missiles.

WALSH (voice-over): But those stockpiles were challenged before this phase of the conflict. Iran fired about 120 at Israel on the 13th of April, 2024,

and then another 200 on the 1st of October that year. And in the last five days have fired an estimated 380. 700 used in a year, and at very best

1,300 left. Others less optimistic.

EYAL PINKO, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MIGRATION AND SECURITY RESEARCH: Take into consideration that they fired around 400, 500 in the

last four days, and Israel destroyed some of the arsenal of what they had, I believe they stayed now with 800, 700 more.

WALSH (voice-over): But Israel has claimed success in hitting the missile launchers, releasing this graphic of targets, including at least a third,

they say, of Iran's surface-to-surface launchers.

PINKO: Israel is trying now not only to hit or to defend the missiles in the air, to intercept them, but also to destroy the vehicles before

launching, because this is the -- this is the weakest part of the chain.

WALSH (voice-over): Israel has claimed Iran could make 300 ballistic missiles a month, like this Fattah-1, apparently used in the recent

attacks. But on October the 26th, three waves of retaliatory strikes by Israel hit Iran's air defense and missile production, in which the U.K.

defense chief said, only a hundred bombs took down nearly the entirety of Iran's air defense system. It has destroyed Iran's ability to produce

ballistic missiles for a year, he said.

TALEBLU: I don't even think they want to go below four digits. But it's certainly a bind that the regime finds themselves in. You know, for the

Islamic Republic quantity has a quality of its own. And having to expend these ballistic missiles during a time of war rather than a time of crisis

precisely puts it in this bind.

WALSH (voice-over): The mystery number of how many missiles Iran has left dictating its actions and the outcome of this defining conflict.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: And CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kim Dozier joins me live now. So, Kim, prior to today, at least, Donald Trump had been banking on the idea

that, you know, perhaps after a few days, maybe in a few -- maybe a few weeks of this sort of relentless bombing by Israel, that Iran would be

forced back to the negotiation table. I mean, obviously, diplomatic -- the diplomatic chances of this, just in terms of an off-ramp at this point in

time, do seem to be somewhat low. But what is the off-ramp for Iran do you think?

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It seems that Donald Trump is trying to leave an off-ramp to talks by leaving the supreme leader alive

and then signaling to the supreme leader with public comments that he's the one that kept Israel from striking him by saying, today, we know exactly

where he is.

It seems that this is some sort of a -- well, it was a good cop, bad cop where the U.S. is offering talks and a way out if Iran agrees to not enrich

uranium, but while the Israelis are carrying out a blistering attack. But from CNN's own reporting and from some reporting in the Wall Street Journal

and others, we're now seeing increasing noises that Trump is thinking about the military option. And the advice he will be getting is that never again

will the skies above Iran be so safe for U.S. bombers, B-52 B-2, or others to drop those penetrating bunker buster bombs on the Fordow nuclear

complex.

[18:40:00]

Now, the nuclear complex goes about 250, a bit more deep, according to nuclear experts. These bunker busting bombs that the U.S. has and Israel

doesn't, can go around 200 feet. So, while it wouldn't completely destroy the complex, it can pretty much pulverize much of that mountain where it's

located into dust and make it pretty hard to restart the nuclear program anytime soon.

But experts are saying, you know, you can pound all of the Iranian nuclear program into the dust, but if you've left them with a will to fight, they

have allies like Russia and North Korea that might help them catch up when the bombing's over.

ASHER: That's an interesting point. So, just in terms of the consequences. So, if the U.S. is assessing -- I mean, obviously, I'm sure that's what

President Trump was doing in the Situation Room, assessing the risks of using these bunker busting bombs to take out the Fordow nuclear site. What

are those risks? What are those risks just in terms of you point out that Iranian allies could get involved later down the line, or even just to the

risks to sort of U.S. military assets in the region?

DOZIER: Yes, the most immediate blowback would likely be to U.S. troops based throughout the Gulf and also the small number of U.S. troops based in

Iraq and Syria. There are a number of Iranian-backed militia groups in those areas. Some that are sort of part of the Iraqi government, but not

really under the Iraqi government's control, and they could cause a lot of mayhem. Also, the Houthis in Yemen still have ballistic missile capability.

They've been firing those missiles for the most part at Israel, but they could turn their fire on U.S. Gulf allies as well as U.S. Gulf troops, as

U.S. troops located in the Gulf.

And we also have the sea assets. You know, the Iranians have things like fast boats and also a very well-trained force that is good at sort of

terrorism on the water. Various harassing type attacks that can overwhelm larger U.S. ships. We could be looking at all of that ahead if the U.S.

decides to go ahead and join Israel and strike Iranian targets.

ASHER: Right. Kim Dozier, live for us there. Thank you so much. We'll have much more news after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:00]

ASHER: All right. Food Giant Kraft Heinz says it's getting rid of artificial food dyes in its products. Instead, it'll only use natural

coloring. The company makes products in every shade of the rainbow. Everything from Heinz ketchup, Kraft mac and cheese, to Jell-O and

Lunchables. Kraft Heinz says it plans to make the changes by the end of 2027.

Consumers are now taking a closer look at artificial food coloring. Some petroleum-based dyes have been linked to an increased risk of cancer and

other possible health problems. The FDA says it'll phase out the dyes, but most are still legal in the U.S.

Jonathan Reiner is a CNN medical analyst. He joins us live now. Doctor, thank you so much for being with us. Let's just start with the big picture

here, just in terms of, I think what a lot of people want to know is really the main health concerns when it comes to synthetic and artificial food

dyes, especially as it pertains to children.

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST AND PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Yes. So, Zain, the -- when you look at the

FDA's official statement, they still state that the food dyes that are used in -- you know, in current commercially produced foods are safe for adults

and children. And when you look at the science behind, you know, harm, it's a bit sketchy. There does seem to be some data that suggests that children

with ADHD may have an increase in hyperactive behavior if exposed to certain kinds of dyes or some children with ADHD may have increase in sort

of overactive, hyperactive behaviors. There's no suggestion that these dyes actually cause ADHD in children. And this was reviewed by the FDA in a

multidisciplinary panel about 15 years ago.

Having said that, I think it's fabulous that Kraft has made a decision just to remove artificial dyes from all their foods, although I think it's

somewhat symbolic because they are already 90 percent dye free. Even some of their iconic foods like mac and cheese, which has that curious orange

color has had natural flavoring for the last decade.

ASHER: I like that you said curious orange color. So, just in -- yes, you're right, 90 percent are already -- they don't have the synthetic dyes.

It's only about 10 percent of their products. But again, so it's -- you are right that it is symbolic. But you mentioned some dyes could potentially be

linked to, you know, certain behaviors in children possibly.

I mean, you mentioned that obviously the data is a little bit sketchy, but does that mean that some dyes could potentially be more harmful than

others? Can you expand on that?

REINER: So, the FDA, you know, licenses essentially several dozen of these artificial dyes. And when you look on packages of food, the label may say

something like F, D and C, yellow number something. And those are dyes that are permitted to be used in food. And the official statement of the FDA has

been that when used properly, those dyes are safe for consumption.

Now, having said that, you know, as -- it makes intuitive sense to try and limit the amount of dye in commercially prepared food. But the flip side of

that is if we're going to have policy about removing substances from a diet that really should be based on rigorous science.

And so, this is where I'm torn. There's not great science behind this. It makes intuitive sense to me as a physician. But if we're going to change

policy in -- or we're going to make policy about what can and cannot be in our foods, it would be great to have, I think, more rigorous data to

support that.

ASHER: All right. Dr. Jonathan Reiner, thank you so much. Appreciate it. All right. Still to come, the Panthers are one win away from the Stanley

Cup. Can they finish the job on home ice? Preview of game six, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:00]

ASHER: All right. The Florida Panthers are one win away from clinching the NHL Stanley Cup for second straight season. The Panthers lead the series 3-

2 with game six set to begin an hour. The Oilers are trying to force a game seven for a chance to end Canada's 32-year Stanley Cup drought. Mark

Lazarus is a senior NHL writer for The Athletic. He joins us live now.

So, Mark, who do you think is going to win game six? Your thoughts.

MARK LAZARUS, SENIOR NHL WRITER, THE ATHLETIC: If history's in any indication, we'll get an Oilers win tonight and a game seven Friday night

back up in Canada. But it's getting really hard to bet against the Florida Panthers, the way they've played, the way they've handled their business.

They just seem so unflappable. They're so tested. Edmonton's got a tough climate for them tonight.

ASHER: I mean, if the Panthers end up winning tonight, just how significant would it be for them just in terms of actually getting a second Stanley Cup

back-to-back? I mean, that would be huge.

LAZARUS: I have lost audio.

ASHER: Mark, can you hear me? Can you hear me? OK? It looks as though we have lost audio with Mark there. We were talking to him about the Stanley

Cup. Tonight, the Oilers taking on the Panthers and how significant it would be for the Panthers to actually get another win back-to-back, another

Stanley Cup essentially.

So, as I was mentioning, the Florida Panthers or rather -- the football world will be coming to North America in 2026 for the FIFA World Cup. And

as part of the hype and excitement, the City of Seattle, Washington has set a football world record. Brandon Thompson, a CNN affiliate, KIRO, has the

story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Second round, you're going to beat your score from the floor.

BRANDON THOMPSON, CNN AFFILIATE, KRRO (voice-over): The drill is simple.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want it to be part of the world record.

THOMPSON (voice-over): The record for largest soccer lesson ever, and the result --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With 1,038 people (INAUDIBLE) Guinness world record --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels amazing. Yes.

THOMPSON (voice-over): A Father's Day gift like no other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elated. It's a beautiful feeling. We're in the record books, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It'd be cool, you know, to see that in a book one day and look back and say, oh, I was there for that.

THOMPSON (voice-over): More than 1,000 people taking part.

MICHAEL EMPRIC, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS ADJUDICATOR: What I love about this is we're in an amazing venue, like we couldn't be in a more beautiful place

on a more perfect day.

THOMPSON (voice-over): It's the start of a year of footy fever leading up to the six matches Seattle will host for the FIFA World Cup next year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gosh, they love soccer and it's happening in our city. So, we're going to support and just feel the vibe and be here.

THOMPSON (voice-over): Those vibes, starting with the Club World Cup, where American soccer clubs, host clubs from throughout the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we were just so excited to be a part of this and bring this like once in a lifetime chance to our kids and for them to

experience this.

THOMPSON (voice-over): These fans ready for the teams to take the pitch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes. I already have tickets to the St. Germaine game. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to -- what is it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let to go to Madrid against Sounders, like -- and I think it's pretty special for them to come here and play in Seattle. So,

yes, it's pretty cool.

THOMPSON (voice-over): Putting Seattle on the world stage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I just hope that people see how amazing our city is. I'm so proud of where we live and where we're bringing up our children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:55:00]

ASHER: All right. Are two Pedro Pascals better than one? Well, if you ask this New Yorker, he'd say yes. He just won the Pedro Pascal lookalike

contest held at Brooklyn Eatery Son del North on Sunday. As a lightning designer for the Daily Show winner George Gountas is no stranger to

celebrities. And if you doubt his twin brother could be HBO's "Last Of Us" star Pascal, take a look at them both. Wow. Can you see it? Gountas told

the Hollywood reporter, his coworkers and his wife encouraged him to be in the contest, no word yet from Pascal on what he thinks about his

doppelganger.

And in today's Good Brief, General Motors are calling it America's true hyper car. And the acceleration of its quickest Corvette ever is insane.

The automaker says it can go from essentially zero to a hundred in literally two seconds and has a top speed of 375 kilometers per hour. I'd

say save that for the racetrack. The high-performance hybrid is called ZR1X. GM says it will announce the price later on this year when the new

Corvette actually arrives in the showrooms. And you can bet -- something tells me, I don't know, it's not going to be cheap. It does not look like a

cheap car.

Thank you so much for joining us this hour. I'm Zain Asher in New York. You've been watching "The Brief." Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:00:00]

END