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Iran Mourns Slain Hamas Political chief Ismail Haniyeh; Suspected 9/11 Mastermind Reaches Plea Deal in the U.S.; Trump Makes False Statements in Contentious Interview; Large Crowds Attend Memorial Services For Hamas Leader; Haniyeh Assassination Could Threaten Hostage Talks; Al Jazeera: Two Journalists Killed In Israel Airstrike; Maduro Files Appeal With Supreme Court To Certify Election; Tesla CEO Elon Musk Accepts Maduro's Challenge To Fight. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired August 01, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:19]
JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm John Vause, live from Studio H here in Atlanta. Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is nowhere that is too far for us to strike.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Including it seems a government guesthouse in the Iranian capital hit by a single missile, killing a senior Hamas leader.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: This is a major announcement from the Defense Department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: 2,965 people died on 9/11 but the mastermind behind the attack will not after striking a plea deal with prosecutors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RACHEL SCOTT, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, ABC NEWS: It's a direct question, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is a DEI hire?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Donald Trump's racially insensitive answer turned his appearance at a convention of black journalists into a political train wreck of his own making.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with John Vause. VAUSE: Memorial service is expected soon in Tehran for Ismail Haniyeh,
the Gaza based political leader of Hamas who was assassinated early Wednesday on what appears to be an Israeli targeted killing. According to a spokesman for Hamas, Haniyeh was killed in a direct airstrike on his room inside a government guesthouse in Iran's capital. He was there for the inauguration of Iran's new president.
And while Israel has not claimed responsibility, "The New York Times" quoting Iranian sources reports Iran's supreme leader has ordered a direct strike on Israel in retaliation. Haniyeh's assassination appears to be a stunning security failure by Iran and has triggered fears of greater turmoil across the region.
In the hours after his death, huge crowds marched in protests in the West Bank, Istanbul, Tunis and other cities, and his assassination could also derail efforts for a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza. Haniyeh was a key player in those talks led by Qatar and Egypt. Qatar's prime minister asked the question, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mention Haniyeh on Wednesday during a nationally televised address. He talked about Israel delivering a crushing blow to its enemies and said he won't give in to calls to end the war in Gaza.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Citizens of Israel, challenging days lie ahead. Since the strike in Beirut, there are threats sounding from all directions. We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat. Israel will exact a very heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following developments from London. Selma has reported extensively from the region and also Gaza.
So what do we know at this stage about what the Israelis are planning, what the Iranians are planning, who's claiming responsibility? What's the very latest?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, John, right now the narrative, the view, the images will all come out of Iran over the next 48 hours. Just imagine what's about to take place here. There's a funeral procession for Ismail Haniyeh that's going to take place in the capital in Tehran. They're going to march straight through that city. The supreme leader himself will lead those funeral prayers again just a short time from now.
And then the body of Haniyeh will be transferred to Qatar, where he will be buried. And you can imagine there'll be yet more images there. A Friday prayer will be held in one of the main mosques. There will be huge crowds. The point I'm trying to get at, John, is you have an Israel that has
neither confirmed or denied killing Haniyeh and an Iran that is very much deciding what revenge looks like at this time. What does it mean to retaliate for this attack and what will happen further because this tit-for-tat is what everyone is worried about, that continued escalation. And does the reaction have to come directly from Iran itself? I'm of course speaking of all of its proxy militias from Yemen to Iraq, to Syria, could those potentially be activated?
Could we potentially see responses outside of Israeli territory? This also puts a threat, puts a question mark over any American assets or Western assets in the region as well. This is very much a time in which everyone is waiting with bated breath and hopes of mediation are further than ever because, as you mentioned, Ismail Haniyeh, one of the key negotiators, if not the key negotiator, just assassinated.
I think it sends a very clear message to the region that peace is not on the table for now, that Prime Minister Netanyahu's calculation, his vow to destroy and eliminate Hamas is primary over these negotiations. So a very worrying 48 hours. We're going to see all the images, all this anger, all this outpouring across the Middle East, this funeral procession that's going to move from Iran to Qatar, and this wait for a response and a retaliation, and the question over how big will it be and will it trigger yet another tit-for-tat.
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VAUSE: Salma, it's not just the death of Haniyeh, which we're looking at here, too, though. There was another targeted killing just hours beforehand. This one in Beirut of a senior Hezbollah military commander. What role is that having to play in all of this?
ABDELAZIZ: I mean, that's what's so astounding, John. That was just hours before the killing of Haniyeh and events are moving in such a fast-paced manner that that already seems to have been put behind. Of course, the killing of Ismail Haniyeh. So yes, you have a Prime Minister Netanyahu again, who has neither confirmed nor denied that assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. They have claimed responsibility for the attack, for the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon.
You have an Israel now that is fighting on multiple fronts. You have Iran, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Hamas, all now directly involved in this tinderbox conflict. How much will Tehran activate its tentacles in the region, how contained or not contained will its response be and how does anyone bring down the temperature at a time like this?
VAUSE: Yes, good question. Salma, thank you. Salma Abdelaziz there, live for us in London with the very latest.
Well, the U.N. Security Council calls for de-escalation to try and prevent a wider war. Iran's U.N. envoy claims Tehran has long shown tremendous restraint, but it's now justified in striking back after the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, and he called on the U.N. to rein in Israel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMIR SAEID IRAVANI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: The Security Council must unequivocally condemn Israel for its horrible terrorist act as a more serious violation of international law and the charter of the United Nation as well as a grave breach of Iran's sovereignty and national security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Israel's deputy U.N. ambassador called Iran the engine driving the machinery of death. He urged the Security Council to increase sanctions on Iran for supporting Hamas, as well as Hezbollah.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JONATHAN MILLER, ISRAEL'S DEPUTY U.N. AMBASSADOR: We will defend ourselves and respond with great force against those who harm us. The state of Israel will not stand idly by. We will continue to defend ourselves and our citizens. The world must support Israel at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Hasan Alhasan is a senior fellow for Middle East Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and joins me this hour from Bahrain.
So thank you for being with us. Thank you for taking the time.
HASAN ALHASAN, SENIOR FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY, IISS: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: So the challenge for Israel before the strike was to respond to a weekend missile attack, which killed a dozen children without triggering an escalation in the current conflict. So with that in mind, and assuming Israel is responsible, Iran's supreme leader warned in a tweet following this bitter tragic event, which has taken place within the borders of the Islamic Republic, it is our duty to take revenge, while Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen also said the killing of Haniyeh would escalate the battle to a broader level and greater dimensions.
So is that just all talk for domestic audiences at this point or do you take them at their word? And so, what happens next?
ALHASSAN: Well, I think we need to take the possibility of an Iranian retaliation quite seriously. The Iranians have very publicly vowed retaliation. The supreme leader has very clearly called for it. So has the president and senior officials of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corp. And we've seen what a retaliation could look like when Israel or when Iran's territorial integrity as perceived by Iran as being -- as having been infringed upon by Israel.
So there's the template going back to the April 13th strikes where Iran launched a massive attack using hundreds of UAVs and missiles at once against Israel. So we could very well see a repeat of that. Now if that happens, then Iran runs two risks. One being the risk of failure and losing face if that attack is widely perceived as being ineffective. Or the risk of catastrophic success, which is penetrating Israel. The air defenses landing too many the casualties and incurring a wider counter-retaliation, counter-escalation by Israel.
Ultimately Iran is always having to walk this fine line of retaliating and responding because if it doesn't, not only does it lose its credibility and risk further emboldening additional Israeli action on its soil but if it retaliates too forcefully then obviously it risks prompting an all-out escalation and dragging the U.S. into the conflict, which is something Iran does not want.
VAUSE: If this is in fact the Israeli response to that weekend missile strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, it comes despite calls from United States for restraint. Here's White House National Security spokesman John Kirby. Listen to this.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: We don't want to see an escalation and everything we've been doing since the 7th of October have been trying to manage that risk. Those risks go up and down every day. They are certainly up right now. They don't make the task of de-escalation and deterrence and dissuasion, which is the goal, any less complicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At this point, is it possible to know if the White House had any moderating influence on Israel in this attack?
ALHASSAN: It's difficult to know. I think ultimately Israeli leaders are very clear-eyed about the fact that they can continue to cross U.S. red lines and (INAUDIBLE) continue to blink. We've seen that in Rafah. We've seen that on previous occasions where the Israelis have taken serious risks that could very well have led to a wider regional escalation. Ultimately, I think Israeli leaders are doing what they can at the moment with the knowledge that ultimately the United States will come to their defense.
And so this creates a real moral hazard where the United States I think is really incapable or unwilling to hold the U.S. -- hold Israel, pardon, to account and since Israeli leaders know this and they know that ultimately the U.S. would come to their aid, I think they feel very comfortable taking large risks such as the assassination of the Hamas top political leader in Tehran, knowing very well, by the way, that this would certainly quash the chances of reaching a ceasefire deal, something that the U.S. has been pushing for because essentially there is no clearer way of rejecting a ceasefire negotiation than killing the chief negotiator of the party you're supposedly negotiating with.
VAUSE: But then I want you to listen to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who's asked directly about the impact Haniyeh's death could have on those negotiations. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm not going to speculate on what impact any one event might have on that. We simply don't know. What I do know is the enduring imperative of getting the ceasefire. And what I do know is we'll continue to work at that every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: I mean, this isn't just any event. This is a pretty big event in the scheme of things. I mean, is Blinken sort of in denial here?
ALHASSAN: Well, I won't speculate as to his motivations, but I do think that it's highly unlikely that this event will pass completely unnoticed and that it will not result in any real impact on the negotiations. Ultimately, Haniyeh was the top chief negotiator on Hamas' side. His death is likely to embolden the hardline faction of Hamas, which rules out of Gaza and which may be even less likely to make concessions that could be conducive to this deal.
And I think it also sends a signal about Israel's intentions and is likely to convey the message to Hamas that Israel is not really serious about a ceasefire negotiated solution with the group and so I think that the killing of Haniyeh is unlikely for certain to have a positive impact. If anything, it's more likely than not to have a negative impact on the negotiations.
VAUSE: Hasan Alhasan there, sir, thank you for your time. We really appreciate your insights. Thank you.
ALHASSAN: My pleasure.
VAUSE: Well, the suspected mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States has reached a plea deal with prosecutors. Khalid Sheik Mohammed has been in U.S. custody for more than 20 years. But putting him on trial became a major legal challenge, partly because he was tortured in secret CIA prisons.
CNN's Oren Liebermann has details now reporting in from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIEBERMANN: This is a major announcement from the Defense Department that the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two of his co-defendants in planning and carrying out that attack have reached a plea deal with the United States.
Now, in announcing this pretrial agreement, the Defense Department doesn't say the details of what's in the agreement itself, but Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, more commonly known as KSM, and his two co-defendants have agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy and will serve a life sentence instead of the death penalty that the U.S. have been pursuing for years. And this is a case that stretches out over more than two decades. KSM was captured in Pakistan in 2003, along with several co-
defendants, and then held in CIA black sites, and then in Guantanamo Bay for years. He was arraigned and charged back in 2008 with a number of charges, including conspiracy, murder, in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, and much more. But from that point on, the case itself began to drag out. First, in a debate over whether it should be a military trial or in U.S. civilian courts.
[00:15:03]
And then questions about torture that Mohammed faced as he was held at those CIA secret prisons in the early 2000s and whether evidence obtained during that time would be admissible in court. All of that delayed the trial that was finally set to begin in 2021 before it was delayed once again with the resignation of two judges and then the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
And that brings us to where we are now. For two years now, the U.S. has been pursuing the possibility of a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his two co-defendants. That announcement coming now. The plea deal itself allows the U.S. to avoid what would have been a very long and complicated death penalty trial. And it makes sure that KSM will remain in prison for the rest of his life.
One open question is, where will he serve out that term along with his co-defendants? It has been a major point of the Biden administration to try to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. They've repatriated over the past several years a number of the detainees held there, but there are still dozens left and that process seems to be a long way out. So at least for now, it seems the possibility that KSM will remain at that facility, but long-term, that's certainly one question we'll look to have answered.
Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Coming up here, a swing and a miss. Donald Trump goes after Kamala Harris questioning her racial heritage at a convention for black journalists. Much laughter and outrage soon followed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VAUSE: Donald Trump's latest attempt to win over black voters didn't seem to go as planned, or maybe it did, who knows. At the national convention for black journalists, Trump falsely accused Kamala Harris of recently choosing to be black. During a Q&A, the National Association of Black Journalists, Trump called the Vice President Kamala Harris, quote, "was only promoting Indian heritage" and "happened to turn black a number of years ago."
Wrong. Harris attended a historically black university and has always championed her identity. The first black and Asian American vice president called Trump's comments, quote, "The same old show, the divisiveness and disrespect." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And let me just say, the American people deserve better. The American people deserve better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: So the first time the former president has made similar attacks against his political opponents.
CNN's Sara Sidner has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention, turning contentious right from the beginning.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, if I came on to a stage like this and I got treated so rudely as this woman treated me.
SCOTT: Oh, my goodness.
TRUMP: And I'm fine with it because she -- it doesn't -- she was very rude, sir. Very rude.
SIDNER: As the former president attempts to broaden his appeal with black voters speaking to a room full of black journalists in Chicago, Trump invoking Kamala Harris' race, falsely questioning the vice president's black heritage.
[00:20:04]
TRUMP: I didn't know she was black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn black and now she wants to be known as black. So I don't know. Is she Indian or is she black?
SCOTT: She has always identified as a black woman.
TRUMP: But you know what, I respect either one.
SCOTT: She went to a historically black college.
TRUMP: I respect either one but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way and then all of a sudden she made a turn and she went -- she became a black person.
SIDNER: With running mate J.D. Vance drawing scrutiny for past comments he made about childless women, Trump was asked about his decision to pick the Ohio senator and whether he would be ready to serve on day one.
TRUMP: But you're not voting that way. You're voting for the president. You're voting for me. If you like me, I'm going to win. If you don't like me, I'm not going to win. SIDNER: On policy Trump focusing his attacks on inflation and the
Biden administration's handling of the economy, a top concern for all voters.
TRUMP: What do I do? That, and I drill, baby, drill. I bring energy way down. I bring interest rates down, I bring inflation way down, so people can buy bacon again. So people can buy a ham sandwich again, so that people can go to a restaurant and afford it because right now people can't buy food.
SIDNER: The former president was also asked about his pledge to pardon rioters involved with the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
TRUMP: If they're innocent, I would pardon them.
SCOTT: They've been convicted.
TRUMP: And by the way, the Supreme Court just under --
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
TRUMP: Well, they were convicted by a very, very tough system.
SIDNER: And in a case that has touched the black community deeply, an Illinois mother shot and killed in her own home earlier this month by a sheriff's deputy after calling 911 for help, Trump saying he was unfamiliar with the specifics of the case.
TRUMP: I don't know the exact case, but I saw something and it didn't look -- it didn't look good to me. It didn't look good to me.
KADIA GOBA, POLITICS REPORTER, SEMAFOR: So why should he receive immunity?
TRUMP: Well, he might not. I mean, it depends. It depends on what happens. I'm talking about people that are much different cases than that. We need people to protect ourselves.
SIDNER: Sara Sidner, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Kadia Goba, a politics reporter for the news Web site Semafor was one of the moderators for Trump's appearance at the annual conference for the National Association of Black Journalists. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOBA: Would you consider taking a cognitive test?
TRUMP: I would love to do it.
GOBA: And make it public?
TRUMP: Well, I've already taken two of them, but I'll do it again. I suggest it.
HARRIS FAULKNER, FOX NEWS HOST: Mr. President, how do you intend to --
TRUMP: I suggested, Harris, that let's take one, I said Joe and I will go and take a cognitive test. Now I'd do it with her, too. I would do it with her also. You know what? She failed her law exam. She didn't pass her law exam so maybe she wouldn't pass a cognitive test.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: And Kadia Goba is with us now from Chicago.
Quite the day. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Did you expect it to be this much of a train wreck with Trump?
GOBA: Absolutely not. I had very high hopes that the former president was coming to Chicago to answer what he would expect would be tough questions, but also tell black journalists and just the American people what he's running on. That didn't happen.
VAUSE: And then in that clip we just played which was fairly tame compared to some other moments during that Q&A session. Even then he slipped in a very misleading statement about Harris failing her law exam, and yes, the vice president did fail her bar exam on the first attempt, which is not only a common, she later passed, but this is what Trump does. He's unlike other presidential candidates. Whenever he talks, it's a fire hydrant gushing forth with lies, half-truths, and misleading statements.
And really, as you found out, I guess, fact-checking in real time is impossible. So just that fact alone, was it mistake to invite him to appear in the first place?
GOBA: It is never a mistake to, you know, question a presidential candidate, like, whether it's a Republican or a Democrat, it has never a mistake. I am -- I was really pleased that, you know, NABJ, the National Association for Black Journalists, followed through and, you know, actually had him there. I mean, it is what it is. He is not changing for anyone. In fact, he is just himself. And if that is what he is, then the American people should actually see that.
But he also answered some questions. I got him on the record about taking the cognitive test, you know, in the future if he won the presidency and some other questions, most of them he did dodge, but we did get him on the record for some. So no, I never think it's a mistake to have a presidential candidate who is revered as much as him by his party, by his base to speak in front of journalists.
VAUSE: He was actually given a moment to actually denounce recent Republican attacks on Kamala Harris implying that she is where she is today because of her gender and race and not her ability, and here it is. This is what Trump was asked specifically about this DEI stuff. Here he is.
[00:25:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT: It's a direct question, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is a DEI hire, as some Republicans have said?
TRUMP: I really don't know. I mean, I really don't know. Could be. Could be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Yes, diversity, equity, inclusion, and from there, Trump went on to question Harris' race, something that he has done before, you know, saying she suddenly turned black. Harris later described those remarks as the same old show, the divisiveness and the disrespect.
So given the forum here, though, the gathering of journalists who are black, two groups which Trump has maligned for years, did it -- did you get a sense that Trump was going out of his way to be offensive and to stroke controversy?
GOBA: It's funny because when he made those remarks, I immediately thought, OK, this is going to be part of the campaign. We're going to hear this for the next hundred days or so. But no, I just think that's him. Like I just think that he probably had no intention, was probably properly prepped for that, and still, you know, had -- just can't help himself and he's going to say what's actually on his mind.
VAUSE: Yes, he also doubled down on another baseless claim which he's made repeatedly about immigrants taking jobs away from Americans. Here's that exchange. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happened to be taking black jobs. You had the best --
SCOTT: What exactly is a black job, sir?
TRUMP: A black job is anybody that has a job. That's what it is. Anybody that has a job.
FAULKNER: All right. Mr. President --
TRUMP: And they're taking the employment away from black people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: At least he was called out on the black job remark, which he's made before. But to your point about giving a Republican nominee for president the chance to speak is obviously always a good thing, but other concerns like Trump was given a platform yet again to lie and to demonize immigrants.
GOBA: Yes, you know what's interesting about that, I would imagine that the campaign would have prepped him for that or what have, you know, I mean, the black job things specifically. Right? This is something that was, you know, really widely spoken about during -- after the last debate between him and Joe Biden. And I can't believe that he made the same gesture or made the same remark is particularly interesting, but in terms of like, again, reminding people who this candidate is, I never think that that is a bad idea because, I mean, it's not like he doesn't have a chance to win.
I think it is important to remind people who he is, and I'll preface all of that by saying that is really -- those are really good remarks for his base. They eat stuff like that up. I would argue that this is going to be a very tight race and perhaps independent voters or people on the fence don't want to be reminded or when they are reminded about that chaos or the chaos coming from the former president probably would be a little turned off about it.
VAUSE: Well, as far as the Trump campaign to that point, as far as they're concerned, the former president did just great. A senior adviser saying, if you're running to unite the entire country, you have to back it up with action like President Trump did today.
Do you know what they're actually talking about?
GOBA: I'm not sure I can explain that, where that is coming from or the sentiment around it because it was not a successful interview for the president.
VAUSE: He certainly didn't leave anyone united there with the president as he left the forum, right?
GOBA: Yes, I would imagine that he upset a lot of journalists, but a lot of black people also and possibly some black people who might have been on the fence on whether or not they would support him.
VAUSE: Well, Kadia, thank you so much for being with us and, you know, thank you for sharing your thoughts and everything that happened during this Q&A with Donald Trump. We really appreciate your time.
GOBA: Thank you for having me.
VAUSE: Just ahead here on CNN, we'll head to Tehran where there are memorials on the street for the assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. There also protests and warnings of retaliation. We'll have the growing fallout from his death in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:31:39]
VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN Newsroom. Live to Tehran now, where memorial services are underway for Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, assassinated while in the Iranian capital in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Iran's supreme leader is expected to lead prayers, that's according to state media. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says it's Iran's duty to avenge Haniyeh's death because he was killed on Iranian soil. Haniyeh is expected to be buried in Doha, Qatar on Friday. This targeted strike on Haniyeh has caused tremendous outrage across the region, raising fears of greater turmoil with protests already on the West Bank, in Iraq, as well as Pakistan.
A spokesperson for Hamas says Haniyeh was hit directly by a single rocket which targeted his room in the government guesthouse where he was staying in Tehran. Hamas felt Israel would pay the price, calling it a heinous crime. Israel, though, has not directly claimed responsibility for the assassination, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu certainly alluded to it during a national televised address Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Since the beginning of the war, I have made clear that we are in a fight against Iran's axis of evil. This is a war of existence against the stranglehold of terrorist armies and missiles that Iran wants to tighten around our necks. In the last few days, we have dealt crushing blows to each of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: More now from CNN's Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A red flag of revenge flies over Iran, and a region teeters ever closer to the brink. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas' political leader, assassinated in Tehran, where he was meeting with the Iranian Supreme Leader. Hamas says a rocket struck Haniyeh in his room, killing him and his bodyguard.
Israel will neither confirm nor deny its involvement, but Iran and Hamas say Israel was behind the strike and are promising to respond. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowing, "it is our duty to take revenge." The Israeli Prime Minister answering hours later.
NETANYAHU (through translator): We are prepared for any scenario and we'll stand united and determined against any threat. Israel will exact a very heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Haniyeh's assassination came just hours after Israel carried out another strike in the Lebanese capital, killing Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah's senior most military commander. Back to back strikes on senior leaders of two Iranian proxies, now ratcheting up the risk of a regional war and the dangers of miscalculation.
Haniyeh, who openly celebrated Hamas's massacre of hundreds of Israeli civilians on October 7th, has been on Israel's kill list for months.
NETANYAHU (through translator): I instructed the Mossad to act against Hamas leaders, wherever they are.
DIAMOND (voice-over): But Haniyeh was also viewed as a key figure in ongoing ceasefire negotiations at a critical time, leading Qatar's prime minister to wonder "how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side?" SHARONE LIFSCHITZ, DAUGHTER OF TWO HOSTAGES TAKEN ON OCTOBER 7: I have no sympathy for Haniyeh. He was dancing on the 7th of October, but I have huge sympathy for all the people -- for all the hostages and their families and people caught in this nightmare, innocent civilians. And we -- it's hard to see how it will advance the deal.
[00:35:06]
DIAMOND (voice-over): In Gaza, Haniyeh's killing seen by some as confirmation that Israel wants to prolong the war.
AMJAD AL SHAWWA, POLITICAL ANALYST (through translator): It is clear that the occupation has a clear intention not to reach any calm, cease fire, or to stop the aggression. Rather, it continues to practice this aggression at all levels. And through this assassination, there is no doubt that it seeks to escalate this position and not move towards any calm.
DIAMOND (voice-over): That calm remains as elusive as ever.
Like other journalists around the world, Al Jazeera's Ismail al-Ghoul and Rami al-Rifi spent the day reporting on Haniyeh's assassination. From in front of Haniyeh's house, al-Ghoul spoke of the Israeli airstrike that destroyed the home months ago.
Moments after leaving the site, Al Jazeera says another Israeli airstrike hit a car leaving the scene. The two journalists were killed on the spot.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Haifa, Israel.
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VAUSE: Ukrainian air defenses appear to have held firm during one of Russia's largest drone attacks since the war began, with officials claiming all 89 Russian drones targeting Kyiv and the surrounding region were intercepted overnight Tuesday to Wednesday. Still falling debris damaged more than a dozen homes.
Elsewhere though, officials say two people were killed, eight wounded in separate attacks in eastern and southern Ukraine.
When we come back here on CNN, we'll head to Venezuela. Despite days of unrest and a widely disputed result, Nicolas Maduro moving quickly to certify his reelection and a third term in office. The very latest from Caracas in just a moment.
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VAUSE: The 17-year-old suspect in a deadly knife attack in England will be charged with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and is set to appear in court Thursday. The deaths of three young girls on Monday sparked days of sometimes violent protest from far-right groups. Police, though, say the suspect was born in Britain and the attack was not terror related.
More than 100 people have been arrested across the country amid clashes with police. More than 50 officers have been left injured.
The White House is calling on Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro to come clean on the disputed presidential election results and release the full tallies of Sunday's vote. Maduro, though, vowing to continue on asking the country's Supreme Court to certify his so-called victory.
Stefano Pozzebon has the very latest now reporting in from Caracas.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: On Wednesday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked the Supreme Court to investigate over the publication of the voting tallies from the machine that were used in the presidential election of July 28. This was one of the urgencies expressed by the international community to try clarify what really happened in that election.
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Maduro was proclaimed the winner with 51 percent of the vote by the government aligned electoral authorities, while the opposition say that it had collected about 80 percent of voting data and according to their own calculation, they had won with 71 percent.
By going to the Supreme Court, Maduro adds a new player in the dispute, but once again, the Supreme Court here in Venezuela is also being accused in the past of being stacked with government sympathizers. He then went on a press conference with international media attacking his own traditional foes, including the United States, Colombian narcotrafficking, the European Union, and any other country that demanded to see the tallies.
Here is what Maduro said about those countries that were interested in entering the Venezuelan dispute.
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NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If North American imperialism and fascist criminals force us, my pulse will not tremble to call the people to a new revolution with other characteristics. The people know it. They know it. I was not born on the day of the cowards.
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POZZEBON: But behind the fiery rhetoric, there has been real repression here in the streets of Caracas. On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said that they have received credible reports that up to 20 people have been killed in the protests that erupted after the proclamation of Maduro as the winner of the election early on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan attorney general said that his office has arrested more than a thousand people in the last three days in the same context of protest. Protest that the opposition has said will continue over the next few days.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Caracas. VAUSE: Seems Nicholas Maduro is in a bit of a fighting mood, challenging Elon Musk to put up or shut up or face a round of fisticuffs. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk accepted the challenge Wednesday, adding he believes Maduro will chicken out, which is notable considering it was Musk who backed out of a fight with Meta's Mark Zuckerberg after hyping it up for weeks.
Maduro has taken issue with Musk and called him out by name during a televised tirade on Monday after the -- well, at the moment, richest man in the world, criticized the integrity of Venezuela's presidential election. Notably, a lot of people have done that as well.
Maduro added, "I'm not afraid of you, Elon. Musk, let's go."
We'll just wait and see what happens.
I'm John Vause, back at the top of the hour with more CNN Newsroom, but first, stay with us. World Sports starts after a short break. See you right back here in 17 minutes or so.
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