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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Trump to Decide on Action in Iran Within Two Weeks; Shia Military Vows to Attack U.S. Bases if Washington Enters Israel- Iran Conflict; Israeli Hospital Extensively Damaged by Iranian Missile; SpaceX Rocket Explodes; Hurricane Erick Makes Landfall on Mexico; President Xi and Putin Calls for De-Escalation; World Three Years Away from Climate Threshold. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired June 19, 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]
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much for joining me today on "The Brief." I'm Erica Hill in New York, in today for Jim Sciutto.
We do begin this hour on "The Brief" talking about what is coming up. President Trump says he will decide within two weeks whether to strike Iran
scientists. Meantime, a warning we're just three years away from breaching a key climate threshold. And more problems for SpaceX, and it's a giant
Starship rocket which blew up during a ground test. All that and more coming up on "The Brief."
We begin this hour with the latest in Israel's conflict with Iran, and a major development out of Washington. President Donald Trump now saying he's
going to decide whether the U.S. will attack Iran in two weeks. The White House stressing in making that announcement that Mr. Trump still wants a
peaceful solution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president is always interested in a diplomatic solution to the problems and the global
conflicts in this world. Again, he is a peacemaker in chief. He is the peace through strength president. And so, if there's a chance for
diplomacy, the president's always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength as well, I will add.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli defense minister said, Iran's supreme leader cannot, quote, "continue to exist." Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu responding to those comments in an interview with Israeli State Media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I instructed that no one in Iran should have immunity. Beyond that, I don't
think it's appropriate or necessary for me to add anything. I believe actions should speak much louder than words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Kevin Liptak joins me now with more. So, in terms of where things stand out. Let's start off with what we heard, of course, the White House
briefing today, Karoline Leavitt saying -- reading that statement from the president, basically, we now have this two-week window. What happens at the
end of that two weeks?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It's not entirely clear, and it's not entirely clear whether these two weeks actually means two
weeks, or whether it means the kind of two weeks that President Trump has talked about before in his term, which is essentially just meaning later.
And so, I think, you know, he's clearly trying to give some more time for diplomacy to work here, to put some more time on the clock. And really, I
think the gamble that he's making is that Iran, which is now under constant bombardment from Israel, which has seen its missile arsenal degraded, will
now see the offer that had been on the table as more attractive than before.
They rejected the previous sort of attempts at diplomacy that the president has been making. But the bet that Trump seems to be making is that now
after almost a week of these attacks, that Iran might be taking a different view. How exactly this diplomacy will be carried out, I think remains to be
seen.
We do know that the president's foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been in communication with the Iranians. But at this point, it doesn't appear as if
any talks, either direct or indirect are on the books. We do know that European foreign ministers will be going to Geneva tomorrow to be -- to
meet with their Iranian representatives. We know that the foreign ministers have been briefed on the American proposal that had been on the table, but
it's not necessarily clear that any of this is going to result in immediate sign off by the Iranians, no nuclear enrichment, which is the red line that
the president and that the White House are laying out. The Iranians had previously said that, no, they would not agree to not enriched uranium on
your Iranian soil.
And so, you can see the differences that they will still have to work through here. I think the other important backdrop to this new two-week
deadline that the president has said are the questions that the president himself was raising, that many of his most loyal supporters were raising
about what a U.S. strike would mean for U.S. involvement in a conflict, whether this would result in sort of a prolonged war that the president, at
the end of the day, promised his voters on the campaign trail last year, he would not engage in.
And I think that the answers to those questions were not necessarily satisfactory. You know, there's no official in the White House, no official
at the Pentagon that could tell the president for certain that this would not result in a prolonged conflict. And so, I think now the president is
trying, one, to allow this diplomacy to take place. But two, to sort of come to a reckoning in his own mind about what he is willing to do and what
he's willing to risk in terms of a greater U.S. role in this conflict going forward.
[18:05:00]
HILL: Is there -- in terms of, you know, Kevin, as you mentioned, we have heard this two-week window from the president before on multiple issues. In
fact, I think we have -- I just want to play, for folks at home who may not be as familiar, the number of times we have seen this as a timeline that's
been given.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I will let you know in about two weeks. Within two weeks. I could answer that question better in two weeks. And
I'll do this at some point over the next two weeks. I'll announce it over the next two weeks. You'll know in about two weeks. It'll be out at about
less than two weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: I bring this up, Kevin, not to be flippant, but because this is what we have seen from this president over and over again. And correct me if I'm
wrong here, but he was asked at the briefing earlier -- or Karoline Leavitt, rather, was asked why he chose two weeks. Why are we at two weeks?
Why is that the magic number? There wasn't really an answer. Is there a clear understanding of how the president got to this timeline that he put
forth today?
LIPTAK: Not as of now. I mean, I think that there potentially could be some logistical considerations as American military assets make their way
to the Middle East. These two weeks could potentially allow them more time to get into position. But I think probably more likely is that two weeks is
the president's way of saying, I can't make up my mind. And the president's way of saying, I'll make this decision later. Oftentimes those examples
that you played did not result in any particular change in stance after the Fortnite, which the president said them. It's often just a way for the
president to put off, making either a statement or a decision or a policy.
I think, in this case, it will be more difficult. We're going to know whether or not the president drops a bomb on Fordow in two weeks, or
whether he decides not to. It's not something that's necessarily going to sort of dissipate into the ether. And so, I think it could potentially be
more complicated for the president in this instance to sort of blow off the deadline that he set for himself. But it is, I think, just another example
of the president using this timeline to essentially give him more time to make a decision.
HILL: Yes, absolutely. Kicking the can down the road, frankly. Kevin Liptak, appreciate it. Thank you. Well, life meantime in Iran and Tehran
specifically at a standstill amid Israeli strikes. Many shops there are closed, the roads nearly empty of traffic. CNN's Fred Pleitgen and his
producer are the first Western journalists to enter Iran since the conflict started and they got a rare glimpse inside one of Israel's targets. Here's
report now from Tehran
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Iran and Israel continue to trade salvos of bombs and missiles, in Tehran,
the cleanup is in full swing in residential areas that were struck. We went to several impact sites, buildings partially collapsed and some completely
destroyed in others.
PLEITGEN: The authorities here say this building was flattened in the first wave of strikes against targets in Tehran, but in other parts of Iran
as well. And they say in this site alone, six people were killed and two bodies are still buried under the rubble.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): As tensions between Iran and Israel continue to escalate, many residents have left Tehran. The streets empty, some shops
closed. But defiance remains.
Billboards across Tehran showing those killed by the Israeli aerial attack and vowing revenge. This one addressing Israel directly saying, you have
started it, we will finish it. As Tehran's leadership says, it won't back down.
If the Zionist regimes hostile actions persist, our answers will be even more decisive and severe, the president says. And Iran saying the Israelis
are also targeting civilian installations. Taking us to the state TV channel, IRIB, recently bombed by two Israeli airstrikes.
An anchor had been reading the news as the building was hit. This is that studio now, burned out with only a skeleton of the charred anchor desk
left. Authorities say three state TV employees were killed here.
PLEITGEN: You can see how much heat must have been admitted by the impact and by the explosion. The phones that they had here are molten. Here also,
the keys molten. This screen. And there's actually someone's lunch still at their desk standing here, which probably they would've been wanting to eat
until they had to evacuate the building. You can see there's a spoon here that's also been melted away by this explosion. And the devastation here is
massive, at the Iranian state broadcaster.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Iran's leadership vows to persevere, saying it will continue to target Israel if the Israeli aerial campaign doesn't stop.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:10:00]
HILL: Now. Meantime, in Israel, a major hospital in the south damaged earlier today in Iranian missile strikes. The hospital says about 80 people
suffered mild or stress related injuries in that attack. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is live in Tel Aviv. You're able to make your way to some of that
damage around Tel Aviv as well pretty quickly, Jeremy. What more can you tell us about where things stand in terms of the damage right now?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. In addition to the missile strike on that hospital in Southern Israel, there
were also three other impact sites as a result of Iranian ballistic missiles. And we arrived on the scene of one of those strikes just on the
outskirts of Tel Aviv, minutes after that missile struck.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: So, we just arrived on the scene of this ballistic missile strike.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The scale of the damage is stark. A single missile has shaved off the side of this building, partially crushed another,
wrecking cars and shattering windows for blocks.
Colonel Landsberg and his team immediately pushed into the building, going floor by floor, apartment by apartment, searching for casualties and
evacuating survivors.
Inside the building that was struck, it's easy to see how deadly this attack could have been.
DIAMOND: Destruction here is just enormous. I mean, it's hard to describe if you weren't to see these pictures. Everything is covered in dust and
soot. And this right here is the building's gym or what once was the gym.
DIAMOND (voice-over): But while the people evacuating this building are shaken, they are alive.
GOLAN LANDSBERG, IDF SEARCH AND RESCUE: Five minutes ago, we finished up scanning the entire building from bottom to top.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAMOND (on camera): And Lieutenant Colonel Landsberg from that IDF Search and Rescue Unit told me that once they completed their scans, there were
only about 10 people who had minor injuries as a result of that strike. And the reason why it wasn't a major casualty incident with any fatalities is
because he said of those bomb shelters and people following the instructions, going into those shelters as those air raids are sounding.
But nonetheless, what we saw today was a pretty stark reminder of the destructive abilities that Iran still has in terms of its ballistic missile
capability. This was one of the first significant barrages that we've seen from Iran in several days. And indeed, with four of those missiles getting
through Israel's air defense systems, this could have been a far deadlier day, Erica.
HILL: Absolutely. We also have, not too long ago, this warning from Iran for Israel's Channel 14 News offices to evacuate, perhaps a retaliatory
strike based on what we just saw, of course, from our colleague Fred Pleitgen in Tehran.
In terms of what we heard from President Trump today, this two-week timeline that he has now given himself, how is that being received in
Israel? What are we hearing from the prime minister, from officials there?
DIAMOND: Well, there's no official comment yet from the prime minister or any other ministers in the government at this stage, although we have
reached out for comments. I can tell you that privately in recent days, Israeli officials have been -- had been quite optimistic about the
possibility of the United States joining in and delivering what many Israeli officials here view as kind of the final blow to Iran's nuclear
program with a U.S. strike on that Fordow nuclear facility.
But at the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been very cautious not to push President Trump too hard, not to try and corner him on this issue,
and hoping that President Trump ultimately arrives at the same place that Netanyahu would like him to just by presenting his case, by showing that
Israeli strikes have been incredibly successful over the course of the last week in terms of, you know, degrading Iran's ballistic missile capabilities
going after some of their nuclear sites and hoping that President Trump sees an opportunity here to have a major win with -- in one in one fell
swoop with a strike on Fordow.
But at the same time, question now is, is that the right strategy for him as President Trump is clearly choosing to allow diplomacy, to have more
time over the course of the next two weeks? And the possibility of a U.S. strike on Fordow now seems very, very unclear, Erica.
HILL: Yes, absolutely. Jeremy, really appreciate it. Thank you. For a closer look at where things stand frankly, where all this could go, we're
joined by CNN military analyst retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Colonel Leighton, always good to have you with us.
But you know, picking up on where Jeremy just left off there, this question of where things stand. There was this push, this sense of urgency it felt
like about attacking Fordow. We're now going to wait potentially as long as two weeks before the president makes that decision. Does that then call
into question just how urgent it is to in fact go into that facility?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Yes, it actually does, as far as I'm concerned, Erica, because it
seemed as if the president may have had some intelligence or heard something that made him think that the best thing he could do was to go and
attack the site at Fordow.
[18:15:00]
But now that we hear what -- you know, that this is perhaps a two-week pause that we're implementing here, it does seem as if it is not as urgent
and that there is perhaps more chance for deliberations, perhaps there's an off-ramp diplomatically. There's something that, you know, has clearly
given the president pause. And it is, you know, I think a matter of -- you know, of importance, but maybe not of urgency at this point.
HILL: When you look at how things are playing out, the attacks that we saw overnight, you know, I just mentioned one of the latest warnings from Iran
telling channel 14 News in Israel that they should evacuate, signaling there may be an attack -- attacking this hospital, right? And we see, of
course, Israel launching into Iran over what nearly a week now. Is there a concern at all that these two weeks could also lead to an increase in the
exchange of these missiles?
LEIGHTON: Oh, it definitely could be the case where there is an increase in the exchange of missiles between Israel and Iran. In fact, the Iranians
are more likely to send missiles across to Israel. They, you know, have a very large inventory, even though it's been decimated by the Israelis, they
still have something in their arsenal that can cause great damage, as we saw with the hospital in Be'er Sheva and the threat, you know, to the
Israeli television network.
So, there are so many different aspects where it does seem that this conflict is not contained except for the fact that it may be the case that
U.S. involvement has at least been delayed, if not, perhaps taken off the table to some extent.
HILL: You know, when we talk about the existing arsenals, if you will, and the capabilities for both Iran and Israel, there's been such a focus on,
and we've heard from Israeli officials talking about what they have been able to do, what they view as a success, taking out, according to Israeli
officials, some 40 percent of the ballistic missile launchers in Iran, touting the fact that some of the barrages of missiles that were being sent
in were actually smaller than what we had seen in the early days of this conflict. There are also questions though about how Israel is depleting the
weapons that it has and the interceptors that it needs to use.
Is there something to be said about both of these actors here and how long they can continue to keep this up based on what they have available?
LEIGHTON: Yes, definitely. I think it's always the case in a conflict of this type where, you know, clearly, they're loving hardware, in this case,
missiles against each other. It's very possible that they can run out. Now, each side has the possibility to manufacture at least some components of
what they have. A lot of what the Israelis have is dependent on U.S. supplies, and the U.S. getting things to them. And you do have -- you
always have a finite inventory, if you will, of these weapon systems.
And although the Israelis are using air power to a large extent, they are - - there's still some limits to what they can do. The arm is the missiles that -- you know, like the side winder missiles, for example. They do come
from the United States. So, there is going to be a limit to what the Israelis can do. They have to wait for stocks to be replenished.
Same thing for the Iranians. The Iranians are perhaps in more of a bind because they don't have a fixed wing air force of manned aircraft that they
can send against Israel, and their drone force, their UAV force basically somewhat limited because of the losses in this conflict. And then, of
course, their missiles are of a limited inventory. So, yes, each side basically has a limited stock and it really depends how quickly it can be
replenished and how quickly it can then -- you know, from that supply stock then be used in the active inventory.
And it seems to me that, in this particular case, probably the Iranians are at more of a disadvantage than the Israelis. But it does -- that does
depend on several different factors, including the ability of the United States and other nations to resupply what the Israelis need, as well as the
Israelis to manufacture what they need.
HILL: Yes, absolutely. Colonel Leighton, always appreciate your insight. Thank you.
LEIGHTON: You bet, Erica.
HILL: Still to come here after the break, a spectacular end to a SpaceX Starship before it even left the launchpad. So, what could have caused this
fiery blast? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:00]
HILL: Not exactly the outcome SpaceX was planning for. Take a look at what happened in South Texas. That massive explosion, well, that's what SpaceX
calls a major anomaly, one that created a major mushroom cloud, as you can see there. The exact cause of that explosion, the extent of the damage,
that's still unclear at this hour, as Ed Lavandera reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The shockwave from this explosion registered as a small earthquake. The blinding glow of the
massive fireball lit up the night sky. It wasn't a rocket launch, but the unexpected eruption of SpaceX Starship, Elon Musk dismissed the
catastrophic scene as quote, "just a scratch." Renee Madrano (ph) described it as Armageddon.
RENEE MADRANO (PH): It felt like a bomb went off like a big bomb went off.
LAVANDERA: What do you call this place?
MADRANO (PH): (INAUDIBLE).
LAVANDERA (voice-over): In April, Madrano (ph) showed us around his home, which sits about 10 miles from the SpaceX Starbase facility.
LAVANDERA: And from here you can see the rocket launches.
MADRANO (PH): We can, if you get right over here --
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Madrano (ph) and other South Texas residents have become increasingly critical of SpaceX. He says Wednesday night's explosion
rattled his home.
MADRANO (PH): It really is disturbing. It's messing up our backyard is what it is. And then, for this to happen, I mean, how can that -- how can
someone not be frustrated.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The explosion looked like a storm captured on weather radar. That plume you see emerging is smoke and debris emanating
from the test site. SpaceX says a pressurized tank on the spacecraft experienced a, quote, "sudden energetic event" igniting several fires. The
company said there were no injuries and no hazards to nearby residents.
CNN's Senior Space and Science Reporter Jackie Wattles says Musk and SpaceX do not see this as a major setback.
JACKIE WATTLES, SENIOR WRITER, CNN SPACE AND SCIENCE: SpaceX has always kind of taken this approach of setbacks come, engineers work around it,
identify the issue, and then they get a new rocketing on the pad and keep working towards that goal.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): In fact, Musk recently highlighted SpaceX's ability to quickly build Starship rockets and continue testing.
ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX: We can produce a ship roughly every two or three weeks. We're aiming for the ability to produce a thousand ships a year. So,
three ships a day.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The last three Starship rocket test launches have ended in explosive failures. A few broke apart just minutes after
launching. In January, a Starship rocket broke apart over the Caribbean Sea. Musk often jokes that success is uncertain, but entertainment is
guaranteed.
WATTLES: Starship is the vehicle that's supposed to carry the astronauts down to the lunar surface in 2027. So, I do think at this point there is a
lot of gut checking going on behind the scenes about whether or not you can reach, you know, that timeline.
[18:25:00]
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The mishaps do raise questions though about when the Starship rocket will be able to move cargo and astronauts into space
safely.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Extreme weather intensifying with a record-breaking storm in the Pacific. Hurricane Erick making landfall in Southern Mexico on Thursday as
a dangerous category 3 storm. That makes it the strongest storm to make landfall in Mexico this early in the year. Erick is already the fifth named
storm of the East Pacific hurricane season.
It did quickly lose strength after making landfall, but the threat isn't over yet. CNN's Allison Chinchar has more from the CNN Weather Center.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: As you can see, there's not much left to Erick, and that's what you like to see on this map because the less
convection you have, the less potential there is for additional flooding with this storm.
Now, still possible for some of these areas to get an additional 50 to 100 millimeters of rain. Now, that's going to be on top of likely the 100 to
150 millimeters that they've already had the last 24 to 36 hours. So, there is still some concern for some isolated flooding and perhaps some mudslides
with this particular system.
Here's a look at the history of the storm. You can see all these bright colors here, basically creating a rainbow, and this shows the intensity of
the storm as it continued to rapidly intensify over the last 24 to 36 hours. And it did so because of these very warm waters right here near the
southern coast. More importantly, you can see the rapid intensification undergone here through these bars, showing the increase in the wind speed.
Now, in order to have rapid intensification, you have to have an increase of 55 kilometers per hour winds in 24 hours or less, and we certainly hit
that point with Erick. Now, also noting too that we are already at the fifth named storm so far this season, and it even made it up to a major
hurricane. We wouldn't normally get to a major hurricane in the Eastern Pacific until the middle of July.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Still to come here, outrage in Israel after Iranian rocket attack on a key hospital facility. Also, a new timeline from President Trump. Where
does the conflict go from here? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
HILL: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Erica Hill. Here are some of the headlines we're watching today.
The White House says President Trump will decide whether to launch a U.S. strike on Iran within the next two weeks. The president says he wants to
allow diplomatic efforts to precede before making a final decision. It's been nearly one week since Israel launched strikes against Iran.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents denied entry to Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. A Customs and Border Protection officials said
there were no ICE operations related to the club, and that CBP vehicles were using a nearby lot, and that one broke down. L.A. of course has been a
hot bit of demonstrations in recent weeks over ICE operations in the city.
TikTok now has a little more time to sell its U.S. operations to a non- Chinese owner. President Trump says he will wait to enforce a law that would ban the app on national security grounds. That decision, good news
for TikTok's 170 million American users.
Well, Israel and Iran ramping up their strikes. Israeli forces to say they struck a nuclear research reactor under construction Southwest of Tehran.
Israel, for its part, says that that facility could have been used as a nuclear weapons development site.
Meantime, Iran striking numerous targets across Israel, including a hospital in the southern city of Be'er Sheva, which took a direct hit. No
one was killed in that attack. There were a number of injuries. Israel is calling this a war crime and has vowed to retaliate forcefully. Israeli
defense minister Israel Katz saying after the attack that Iran's supreme leader cannot quote, "continue to exist."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): I want to say that a dictator like Khamenei who leads a country like Iran and has
engraved on his flag the annihilation of the State of Israel, his terrible goal of destroying Israel cannot continue to exist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: Iran says its principal target in today's attack was a nearby intelligence and command center, denying that it had targeted the hospital
directly. Nic Robertson visited the Soroka Medical Center that is Southern Israel's main Hospital earlier today, and he filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The Soroka medical center. That's where we're at. Just look around me. Sanjiv's (ph) got a
wide-angle lens on here. You can just see, looking here, the damage to this building.
And Sanjiv (ph), if you can just pan up there to the higher floors, the medical center director here told me it was a fifth-floor direct impact on
the cancer and urology ward. He said very fortunately, the 25 patients, bedbound patients that they had there until yesterday had been taken to the
basement for their safety. That had been a precautionary measure.
This direct impact on the hospital, he said, has caused extensive damage. 40 casualties here, most of them with light injuries from broken glass.
Most people taking shelter inside the hospital. But to give you a sense of this place, the children's ward is over in that direction. There is a
maternity ward in this hospital. I've seen pregnant ladies outside the hospital, having to leave with other patients already today.
This is the biggest medical facility in the South of Israel. It serves a million people. I can hear water raining down. It looks like the fire crews
are still up there above us. So, just dousing. They're dousing the building.
We know that the fire crews, I just saw them going back inside the building. There. The recovery mission, the search mission for people who
might be injured or trapped inside the hospital. That is over. But now there's a complete mechanical, structural assessment going on here.
And as I was saying, 1,200 beds in this hospital. The community it serves, both Arab and Jewish. There are a million people in the community here that
use this hospital on a regular basis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Guys, we've got to get out.
ROBERTSON: The fire guys up here are telling us we've just got to move back a bit, so we're -- we're going to stay. Keep talking to you. We're
just going to move back a bit here.
You get a sense of the destruction. Look at all this twisted debris around here. Fire trucks backed up as far as you can see. This has really raised
the temperature on this conflict. The politicians have been coming here, have been talking very clearly: this was an intentional strike on the
hospital by Iran and the prime minister, very clearly calling for an uptick in strikes on Iran.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Be'er Sheva, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:35:00]
HILL: I am joined now by Seth Jones. He's the director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and
International Study. Seth, it's good to have you with me. When we look at where things stand in this moment, so at the White House press briefing a
short time ago, the press secretary reading out this statement from President Trump that essentially, we're talking about a two-week pause
here. He will make a decision on whether or not the U.S. could join a strike in Iran in two weeks. There was no detail given on why that
timeline. We know this is sort of a favorite timeline, arbitrary timeline, quite frankly, of the president to use. What is your sense of what could
happen in this two-week window? What does it actually change?
SETH JONES, DIRECTOR, CSIS INTERNATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAM: Well, Erica it's a great question. I think from an Israeli standpoint, and I suspect
having talked to a number of Israeli defense officials over the last few weeks, they're probably not happy with that that decision. I think they
have wanted the U.S. to use its B-2s and GBU-57s, those bunker busting bombs against Fordow, to go after that nuclear facility underground.
I suspect what Israel will do over the next two weeks is continue to target Iran's missile capabilities, continue to strike some of the nuclear targets
as well as try to decimate and degrade Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its military more broadly and prepare for if the U.S. declines to get involved,
special operations raid against the Fordow facility.
On the U.S. side, I think they've got to start looking at planning an operation if they decide to go, and the secondary impact of that. We heard
Kata'ib Hezbollah from Iraq declaring that all U.S. forces in the region were a direct threat. So, the U.S. will have to protect its forces in the
Gulf. So, I think all of those things are going to happen over the course of this next two weeks.
HILL: We have talked so much in the last several days about this facility at Fordow, right, which was the discussion of a potential U.S. strike going
in there with those bunker busting bombs. If in fact, whether it is by Israel alone or Israel and the United States, Fordow is taken out, let's
say, does that actually end the nuclear program in Iran?
JONES: I think the combination of targeting Isfahan, Natanz, Fordow does serious damage to Iran's nuclear program for the foreseeable future. It
doesn't end it. In fact, I suspect the Iranians are going to want it even more than they have had in the past. It also doesn't mean that all of the
uranium will be destroyed in some capacity. So, it doesn't end the threat, but I think it does seriously degrade it for at least the short-term.
HILL: When we look at the impact that these next couple of weeks could have, I was struck by some comments from Laura Holgate. She's the former
U.S. ambassador to the IAEA under both the Obama and Biden administrations. And she was speaking with my colleague Brianna Keilar earlier, talking
about what could happen in this moment where Iran could go, noting direct surrender, in her words, probably not on the table, nor is the total
abandonment of enrichment capacity.
And she also raised some concerns about, you know, the fact that right now Iran has this comprehensive safeguard agreement. There are inspectors who
can keep an eye on things. If things really do go south, does that end? Do they kick the inspectors out? What could the impact be?
JONES: Yes, that's definitely possible that Iran kicks the inspectors out. We don't have inspectors really in North Korea. They've got nuclear
weapons. What that would likely mean though is probably more conflict because without inspectors then it's really up to a number of intelligence
agencies, frankly, including the Israelis who will continue to strike targets anywhere that they see the Iranians trying to manufacture missile
(ph) material or build weapons that can carry that.
HILL: Yes. It is a lot to keep an eye on. Seth Jones, really appreciate you being with us. Thank you.
JONES: Thanks Erica.
HILL: China's President Xi and Russia's President Putin are urging for the de-escalation of this conflict between Israel and Iran. In a phone call
between the two, they called on the, quote, "major powers" to help achieve the goal, although they didn't specifically name the U.S. in that plea.
CNN's Clare Sebastian now has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a previously unscheduled call between Presidents Xi and Putin, and on the one
hand it shows the global geopolitical divide hardening around the Iran- Israel conflict. Russia and China, of course, two allies of Iran, both, according to a Kremlin aid who briefed on the call, roundly condemning
Israel. China calling on, quote, "major powers" to de-escalate the situation, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.
Clearly, a thinly veiled reference there to the United States.
Well, both countries have not only a shared desire to counter U.S. influence globally, but they have economic skin in the game. China is by
far the biggest buyer of Iranian oil and Russia built Iran's only nuclear power plant at Bushehr and is currently building new reactors there.
[18:40:00]
Putin saying on Wednesday, Israel had agreed to ensure the safety of the Russian staff at the plant. But both Russia and China have also offered to
mediate in this conflict. And for Russia, especially, which still maintains open lines of communication with Israel, this is a crucial opportunity to
appear as an indispensable regional power broker, and of course, to keep the door open to resetting relations with the United States, Israel's
biggest backer, or President Trump, though, who had signaled openness to the idea of Russia mediating toughened his stance on that on Wednesday,
saying that he told Putin, quote, "Let's mediate Russia first." A reference of course to the faltering U.S. efforts to bring an end to Russia's war in
Ukraine.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Much more ahead here on "The Brief." Stay with us. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: My next guess is the world is now just three years away from a key climate trigger, which could lead to more frequent and extreme heat waves,
rises in sea levels, and deeper damage to already fragile ecosystems. He is warning that without immediate large-scale cuts to carbon emissions, global
temperatures are on course to exceed that critical 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold. His report warns were not just inching toward this danger, we're
actually accelerating toward it. Despite the known stakes.
Research scientist Nathan Gillett co-authored the paper at the Canadian Center for Climate Modeling and Analysis Environment and Climate Change.
It's good to have you with us. It is dire to put it mildly that we hear yet another warning about how close we are to hitting that critical 1.5
degrees. Was any of this surprising to you?
NATHAN GILLETT, CANADIAN CENTRE FOR CLIMATE MODELLING AND ANALYSIS, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Thanks for the question. It's consistent
with what we predicted in previous years. So, I wouldn't say it was surprising. But indeed, we saw global average temperatures for the first
time exceeding 1.5 degrees last year. And most of that increase was human induced.
HILL: And when we look at what we're seeing in terms of the effect of this, some 90 percent, as I understand it, of the excess heat actually ends
up in the oceans. Can you just walk us through the impact of that? Because it's certainly not limited to what's in the sea.
[18:45:00]
GILLETT: That's right. So, this study shows that more than 90 percent of the heat has been taken up by the ocean. That causes marine heat waves,
that has impacts on ecosystems in the oceans. It also contributes to sea level rise. Another of the findings of this study was we have over 23
centimeters, or around 23 centimeters, that's about nine inches of sea level since 1901. And that's largely caused by -- well, it's caused by
warming of the ocean and also melting of glaciers and ice sheets.
HILL: There's a frustration, I think, on the part of a lot of people locally. I was doing a fair amount of reporting in Venice over the last
year about challenges that city is facing. One of those, of course, does include global sea level rise, and there's only so much that they can do on
the local level when we're talking about a global problem. How much is that impacting perhaps the way that people tackle this?
GILLETT: Climate change certainly is a global problem. It's the global emissions of greenhouse gases which drive global climate change. Of course,
adaptation is something that can happen on a local scale, perhaps like in Venice as you mentioned. But in terms of tackling the causes of climate
change, that's something that has to happen on a global scale.
HILL: What is -- I think the other thing that's tough for people is they look at this and maybe feel like they want to throw up their hands. We have
this agreement. It didn't seem to help. Things are still getting worse. Are there some glimmers of hope that you can point to or some active actions
that people can take to try to counter this acceleration that we seem to be on?
GILLETT: Well, I think in this study, we are seeing that greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing. But the rate of increase is actually slower
than it was. So, in terms of glimmers of hope, I think, you know, the decreasing price of renewable energy, increased adoption of solar, of wind
power, these factors are starting to slow the rate of increase of greenhouse gas emissions.
Now, to actually stabilize climate, we have to do a lot more than that. We have to actually get -- reduce emissions, get emissions down to zero. But
there are -- I would say there are some glimmers of hope.
HILL: All right. We're going to end on that --
GILLETT: And in terms of what people can do individually --
HILL: Yes, go ahead.
GILLETT: Certainly, anything that you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, reducing emissions from transport, using active transportation,
you know, reducing flights, using less fossil fuels to heat your homes, all these kinds of things will reduce -- well, they'll contribute to reducing
global climate change.
HILL: Yes, all the little things actually do add up. It's important to have that reminder. Nathan, we'll end on that positive note that there is
something that we can do here. Thanks so much for your time.
GILLETT: Thank you.
HILL: Just ahead here on "The Brief," the stage is set for a big cricket showdown between England and India, and we've got a preview right after
this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:50:00]
HILL: Welcome back to "The Brief." So, Global oil Prices trading Mix as investors monitor the latest in the Israel around conflict. As you see
there, Brent Crude up more than 2.5 percent, even as the White House said it's giving diplomacy a chance. U.S. crude prices have been climbing since
the conflict began last week. U.S. markets were closed today for the federal Juneteenth Holiday. European markets, however, up and running,
although, maybe more of a focus on running than up. You see there the major indices all finishing in the red along with Asian stocks.
The Bank of England kept interest rates steady at its latest policy meeting on Thursday. Did hint though at some future cuts.
It is a huge night for basketball here in the U.S. The Oklahoma City Thunder now just one win away from the NBA title. If you count that team's
time as the Seattle Supersonics, it would be their first title in 46 years. They're heading into tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers up 3-2- in
that best of seven series. But frankly, on the flip side, and this is where my heart is, people just so you know, this is it for the Pacers. It is win
or bust. And there is a lot of concern about the fitness of star Tyrese Haliburton. If it was a regular season game, probably zero chance he would
be in action tonight after that injury to his right calf in game five. Of course, this is game six of the NBA Finals and the Pacers would like to
push it to game seven.
England and India is set to face off in a five test cricket series. Starting Friday as a new season of the World Test championship gets
underway. CNN Sports Amanda Davies spoke to former England cricketer Graeme Swann for a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Just put into context for us, what is the rivalry like between England and India? How do you describe it?
GRAEME SWANN, FORMER ENGLAND CRICKETER: It is huge. I mean, England- Australia is the big one as far as England or Australia are concerned, but very close behind that these days is India. India are very, very strong in
India, in their home conditions. And England tend to be very strong in our home conditions as well. So, we've played very poorly in India the last
couple of times. We owe them a good pastry in England. So, we really need to do that, get a good victory under our belts. Because when you get to
Australia, it's all about momentum.
Australia have just lost the World Test Championship final to South Africa. So, it's a very good time to play them. They're down on their luck. They're
down on their confidence. And we should be riding high.
DAVIES: If you look at -- read too many of the previews, it's very much England's, they've won it and done it. It's an inexperience to Indian side
in terms of competing on English soil. there's obviously been the big name retirements in recent times, but is it as black and white and as simple as
that from where you are standing?
SWANN: Expecting to just turn up and roll over and beat an Indian team is a very dangerous place. What India do have is almost conveyor belt. When
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma finish, there's players of sort of equal ability just ready to fill their boots and step up and take their place.
What they don't have these younger players is the experience of English conditions that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have had.
And often Indian players, when they come to England, they struggle on their first tour to get used to the ball that's really swinging, the ball that's
nipping off the pitch. So, that's why everyone is so confident. So, confident, just writing off India.
I think it's a bit premature. India do have Jasprit Bumrah who is arguably the best balling world cricket at the moment. So, we have to contend with
him. But having said all that, I am quietly confident that England do have the advance.
DAVIES: What did you make of Virat Kohli's decision? I mean, is it the right time? Was it the right time? How much did it surprise you?
SWANN: He's played for so long. He's achieved so much in the game. I wasn't surprised at all. It's probably England could be the last place
you'd want to come, potentially have a difficult series with the balls moving. And I think Virat Kohli having won the IPL as well, it's a great
time for him to call time on it. He's bigger than the game. He's -- he can't have an ordinary life, can he, Virat, because he's such a megastar.
So, you know, I'll take this opportunity to congratulate him on an incredible international career.
DAVIES: And what for you is the most important thing you want to be seeing from England against India with a view to the Ashes?
SWANN: With the view to the Ashes, I want England to be posting huge totals, to be knocking Jasprit Bumrah around, not letting him take 30
wickets into five games. Harry Brook scoring big runs. Of course, Joe Root getting big runs. And then the openers as well, Crawley and Duckett. If
they can really get going, get England off to good starts, it allows the rest of the order to get some runs. Oh, and Jacob Bethell getting
(INAUDIBLE) as well. 500s for Jacob because he is a great player, great young lad. And I think he could be a huge player in the Ashes.
DAVIES: There's a lot of talk, a lot of hype about 21-year-old Jacob Bethell. What is it that is getting people so excited about him?
[18:55:00]
SWANN: I just think the way he plays his cricket, and the fact that he's been picked on almost a hundred percent potential. He's not got the record
behind him, not got any first, last hundreds. The fact he's got his spin as well, that adds an option for the team and his field in his second to none.
Now, I wasn't so young when I made my Ashes debut. But having four or five test matches before you play in the Ashes game is a massive feeling for any
player.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And our thanks again to Amanda Davies for that.
Well, South Korea's last and oldest circus is marking 100 years in business. Dongchoon Circus no longer features, animal acts or dangerous
stunts. The focus instead is on acrobatics. It's still attracting though hundreds of daily spectators during the week, thousands on the weekends.
Interestingly, all 35 current acrobats are Chinese nationals, as fewer South Koreans are now pursuing circus jobs.
Thanks so much for joining me here on "The Brief." I'm Erica Hill in New York. Stay tuned. Much more CNN ahead right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
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