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Iran's Anti-Government Protests Reaches One Month, U.S. and Iran Issues Stark Warnings; Former South Korean First Lady Sentenced to More Than a Year for Bribery. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired January 28, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, Just ahead.

The U.S. military will hold air exercises in the Middle East as Iran warns if the U.S. attacks it will retaliate in a massive way. It was an assassination in full view in the middle of the streets.

An eyewitness to the shooting death of Alex Pretti comes forward to tell what she saw that day in the streets of Minneapolis.

And police in Japan are warning of an increase in public gropings of female students during the current exam season, how they're fighting back.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: We begin with new threats and warnings between U.S. and Iranian leaders one month after the latest anti-government demonstrations erupted inside Iran. The demonstrations were met with a brittle crackdown. A U.S.-based human rights group estimates more than 5800 people have been killed since the start of the unrest.

President Trump, during a speech in Iowa on Tuesday, issued a veiled warning to the Iranian regime.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: By the way, there's another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran right now.

So we'll see. I hope they make a deal. I hope they make a deal.

They should have made a deal the first time they'd have a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: He's referring there to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which has already arrived in the region, according to U.S. Central Command. American forces are scheduled to hold multi-day exercises. However, Iran says it's not intimidated by this threat of U.S. military action.

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ESMAEIL BAGHEI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): The movement of a warship will not affect Iran's will or determination. We possess both the resolve and the full capability to defend Iran.

It is very clear how we will respond. As we have shown before, in the face of any aggression or any threat, we will respond decisively, with full strength, and in a comprehensive manner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran with more on Iran's message to the West.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iran's leadership is sending a very strong and defiant message to the United States, and specifically, of course, to the Trump administration. You could see it here on this gigantic poster on Revolution Square in central Tehran. The message on this massive poster is, if you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind.

Obviously meaning, if the United States attacks Iran, Iran will retaliate in a massive way, which could of course lead to a major military confrontation between the United States and Iran. And that's also something that's on the minds of many of the people that we've been speaking to here as well.

UNKNOWN (through translator): I'm not sure what to say. I think they're all collaborating with one another against the interest of the Iranian people.

UNKNOWN (through translator): I don't think Trump dares to attack. He's more bluffing.

PLEITGEN: All this, of course, comes as President Trump weighs his options on what to do next. The U.S. has pulled together a substantial military force here in this region, but the Iranians also say they've replenished their stockpiles of ballistic missiles and are ready to hit back hard anytime.

Now, of course, all this comes in the wake of those large protests that happened here in Iran in the early part of January. And when you're out on the streets here, you can see that there are people who are still traumatized by what happened then.

UNKNOWN (through translator): There were a lot of people out there in the streets when I had to leave home. I don't know what to say, but the situation was very bad. Now that the internet connection is restored, we only now know that so many were killed. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Maziar Bahari is a journalist and the founder of IranWire, a platform for Iranian citizen journalists. And he joins me now from London. I appreciate you talking with us.

MAZIAR BAHARI, IRANWIRE JOURNALIST, AND FILMMAKER: Nice to be here.

CHURCH: So what are your contacts inside Iran telling you about what's happening right now on the streets of Iran and also, too, along with the threats from U.S. President Donald Trump?

BAHARI: Well, as Fred said, everybody's in a state of shock.

[03:05:03]

People did not expect the government to kill so many people, because in the past protests, especially during the Women Like Freedom movement, the security forces shot at people in order to either injure them, blind them or maim them. They were using shotguns and pellets. But this time around, especially on January 7 and January 8, they were shooting at people in order to kill them.

So many people, thousands of people, maybe tens of thousands of people are dead now. And their families, some of them, they don't know where the bodies are. Some of them, they don't know what happened to their loved ones and everyone in the country is in a state of shock.

And it's not only in like maybe 10 or 12 cities. It's all around 31 provinces of the country.

And as a result, people want some sort of change. People want to take a step forward. Step forward can be towards a better situation, or it can be towards a worse situation.

But the situation is not tenable. And the main obstacle to that, to any step forward is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. So many people in Iran, unfortunately, they think that foreign forces, most probably the United States has to do something with Khamenei and his cronies.

CHURCH: Right. And I wanted to ask you what people in Iran are saying that they want the U.S. to do if it decides to intervene, and how would that help or hinder their cause?

BAHARI: Unfortunately, it is not clear what people want to do. Different people want different things.

But people are just desperate. People are just tired of 47 years of the Islamic Republic.

And unfortunately, we do not have a strong cohesive opposition with a strong leader such as Nelson Mandela and someone who has a group of people around him, like Mandela had.

And in that desperate situation, people are calling the name of Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince of Iran. He is the spiritual leader of Iran, but he does not have the organization behind him. He does not have the contacts inside the country, like Ayatollah Khamenei did back in 1979.

So as a result, people are desperate. They are calling for Reza Pahlavi. And many people, I can say millions of people are also asking America to help.

What kind of help they need, it is not clear. Some people, they just want America, like last time during the 12-Day War, to get rid of Iran's military bases, get rid of some of the members of the leadership, some of the Revolutionary Guards commanders. And some people, they want a new government to be installed by America.

But it is not clear. The majority of Iranians are not in unity in terms of knowing what they want, because they do not have a leader such as Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

CHURCH: Right. And the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group is now in the Middle East as tensions with Iran increase.

If the U.S. does decide to strike Iran, the hardline leadership there is threatening to strike back with such massive force, it would destabilize the whole region. That's what they're threatening. How much concern is there in Iran about that possibility and across the region?

BAHARI: Well, they think that they are in an existential situation. They think that they have to do anything they can in order to save themselves. So it will be unpredictable.

And also, even if the U.S. is successful in terms of getting rid of the leadership in Tehran, or even overthrowing the government, the situation after the overthrow, it's not clear because since the 12-Day War back in June, different sections of the Revolutionary Guards in different provinces, they have been given the autonomy in order to act on their own.

So even if out of the 31 provinces, the U.S. forces or other forces or even the opposition managed to take over 16 or 17 provinces, then some of the Revolutionary Guards in different those 14 provinces might be able to survive and resist and try to protect the Islamic Republic.

The situation, unfortunately, Rosemary is very desperate and Iranians my heart goes to them and I cry every day when our citizen journalists call us from Iran with the new pictures of dead protesters.

[03:09:54]

We have so many voices of mothers, sisters, aunts, uncles crying and asking to get the bodies of their young ones back and we cannot really help them. It's a very sad situation.

CHURCH: It is tragic. Maziar Bahari, thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.

BAHARI: Thank you. CHURCH: Well, President Donald Trump is threatening to pull U.S.

support from Iraq if it reinstates former leader Nouri al-Maliki. President Trump warns that the U.S. would, quote, "no longer help Iraq because of Maliki's insane," he's saying this, his words, "insane policies and ideologies." He wrote on Truth Social that the last time al-Maliki was in power, the country descended into poverty and total chaos.

Al-Maliki, who served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2014, is on the verge of returning to power after being nominated by Iraq's parliamentary majority.

Still to come, one woman's cell phone video captured the key moment when federal agents shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti. We will hear more from the witness in part two of our exclusive interview. That's next.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

A man is now charged with third degree assault after spraying an unknown substance at Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar during a town hall in Minneapolis.

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Omar had just finished calling for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem when the suspect approached the podium and sprayed the congresswoman Tuesday night. Security quickly tackled the man and escorted him out. Omar says she's OK and that she won't be intimidated.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he plans to de-escalate the tensions a little bit, his words, over his immigration crackdown in Minnesota. His Border Czar Tom Homan is now in the state. He met with state officials and says their discussions were a productive starting point, though they don't agree on everything.

The White House is trying to distance itself from the controversy over the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents during the Minnesota operation. And here's what President Trump told Fox News.

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TRUMP: We have Tom Homan there now, we put him in there. He's great. And they met with the governor, the mayor, everybody else.

And we'll -- we're going to de-escalate a little bit.

I don't think it's a pullback. It's a little bit of a change. Everybody in this room that has a business, you know, you make little

changes. You know, Bovino is very good, but he's a pretty out there kind of a guy. And in some cases, that's good.

Maybe it wasn't good here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Top border official Greg Bovino and some of his agents were expected to leave Minneapolis on Tuesday and return to their respective sectors following the shooting of Alex Pretti by an ICE agent. The President is calling for an honorable and honest investigation into Pretti's killing.

And last hour, we heard from Stella Carlson. She's known as the woman in the pink coat. She captured the crucial video showing exactly what happened when federal officers shot and killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.

A warning, though, the video you're about to see is graphic.

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CNN's Anderson Cooper asked Carlson about that moment in this exclusive interview.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: When the shots are fired, you begin to scream what the F did you just do? Do you remember that moment? You remember screaming that?

STELLA CARLSON, WITNESS TO SHOOTING OF ALEX PRETTI: I remember the feeling inside my body. I mean, of course, I wish I wasn't saying that word so often. But at the same time, that's how angry and like, I don't know if anger is the right mortified.

That's just how mortified I have been feeling and helpless. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Like what? What?

And I knew he was gone because I watched it. And then they come over to try to perform some type of medical aid by ripping his clothes open with scissors and then maneuvering his body around like a rag doll only to discover that it could be because they wanted to count the bullet wounds to see how many they got like he's a deer.

I watched that and that is what it felt like they were doing. And that is part of why I was like, what are you guys doing? Why would you jostle his body around like that?

You're not even doing anything to help him. But I knew he was gone.

COOPER: You knew he was gone.

CARLSON: I knew he was gone. There was no way with the way his body was moving. And I only knew that because of the way they were manipulating his dead body, just playing with it. Like they're in a video game. They were looking at us and laughing--

COOPER: After the shooting?

CARLSON: Yes.

I mean, the reason of escalation was due to the mockery. We understand why the MPD is unable to intervene on a level we would like. But you would like to think that their kindness, compassion, looking us in the eyes would occur in these moments when we're being attacked in the streets.

And the MPD just felt like they were part of that team at that moment. And maybe that I'm not talking about the whole department.

COOPER: Were Minneapolis Police Department people on the scene?

[03:20:02]

CARLSON: Once the yellow tape was up, there were MPD officers who were standing in line, five of them, I think. And they wouldn't talk, look at us. Everyone just kept saying, just look at us.

You're our representatives. You work for us. Why won't you look at us?

Like one of our -- a part of our community just was murdered in the street. Like you're our Minneapolis Police Department. Why won't you even just look at us to give us solidarity?

You know, when we walk around with the whistles around our neck, it's not that we have, like we, we know we can't do much. But what we do know is that we can let our community at large know when we're walking around, like I see you. And if you're stuck in your apartment, I want you to see me.

I'm another person walking around who is here to protect you as best I can with my whistle and my phone, which really feels not great.

COOPER: And yet you stood there with a phone and you documented this. You didn't run away.

CARLSON: I am not one to run when I'm afraid. I just, no way was I going to leave Alex by himself undocumented. Like that wasn't an option.

I mean, obviously somebody was just executed in the street. I knew I was in danger. We all were, but I wasn't going to leave if we weren't all cleared out.

And if it wasn't for the collective actions over the past three weeks, I don't know if I would have been able to stay that long, but I knew that this was a moment and we all have to be brave and we all have to take risks and we're all going to be given moments to make that decision.

And I guess in my default mind of crisis there, that's where mine fell. And I'm grateful to myself and I'm grateful to anybody who was supportive to me after to make sure I could get to safety and get that video uploaded to the right people.

COOPER: The federal government says that they are investigating what happened. Have you been contacted by anyone from the federal government? FBI?

CARLSON: No, I have not.

COOPER: Border Patrol, Homeland security?

CARLSON: I do have a legal team now who are fielding much of that and I am no longer accessible in those ways.

COOPER: I talked to your attorney this morning. She said she had not received any outreach from the FBI or anybody from the federal government.

CARLSON: I do not think they have my name yet. Obviously they will.

COOPER: You've given testimony to state investigators.

CARLSON: Yes.

COOPER: Do you have confidence in a federal investigation?

CARSLON: No, I do not. I have faith in various representatives throughout our country who are trying to do the right thing and make sure that justice is served. I have faith in our local government in Minnesota, I think they are wanting to make sure to protect us and, and investigate it thoroughly, but they are trying to block that from happening.

They wouldn't even let the investigative team come to the crime scene. I mean, their goal is to protect themselves and to spin stories.

COOPER: It's incredible to me though, that four days after this shooting, you have not been contacted by anybody from the FBI or the federal government. What does that tell you?

CARLSON: That they're protecting themselves and they don't care about the truth of what happened. They're looking for their way to create the truth that protects them and allows them to move forward with whatever it is, which we all have various ideas of what that looks like, but whatever it is that their long game is in creating this violence in our streets.

These are people from all over the country who have not been trained to intervene, kick down doors, break away families, leave children stranded in the street without their parents, having communities throughout Minnesota trying to come together to figure out who can foster all of these children who have been abandoned in apartments that have been kicked down with now no family around.

I mean, how can you justify that? There's enough evidence for what they've been doing before it ever came to murder.

COOPER: To you, this is murder. CARLSON: Yes, I know it is. It was an assassination in full view in

the middle of the streets of somebody who has served our country and continues to at the veterans hospital.

Like nobody should have to worry about being assassinated in their streets, especially in America, which nowhere, it should be that way. I think people are feeling like there's nobody here to help us.

There's nobody who can step in to protect us. And I think people are at a loss and, like, what do we do? What can we do? What is in our constitutional rights that don't seem to matter?

The constitution doesn't seem to matter. There's many people who have died, but we don't know what that looks like. People from being detained and having a medical crisis without intervention.

[03:25:09]

I've heard of many stories where people are sick and they don't have their medications. Like all of those human rights violations, those stories aren't being told yet.

So this is only the beginning of a very long road. When this does end, we're all ready to move forward with productive ways to make this better.

But how do we do that when our local officials in the state of Minnesota also have their hands tied?

So that's, it broke down to, then it's us. We only have each other. Nobody's here for us, nobody's going to help us right now because their hands are tied.

So this is what we can do. I can document in case somebody gets detained, which is what I was filming, right? In case someone gets detained.

Did I think I was going to be filming a murder? No.

An assassination? No.

COOPER: Do you worry about you becoming a target because you've spoken out?

CARLSON: Yes, absolutely. Yes.

But yes, I hope that me coming forward and doing this allows others to do it with me. I think there's safety in more of us taking those risks, but I understand we cannot all do that.

This is just, you know, one more moment to tell the truth. One more moment to -- I'm just here to represent all the work we're doing, and I'm here to represent the truth. I'm not here to represent me, I'm here to represent we.

I care about my community, I care about my state and my country. And this is one small thing I can do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we can't overstate how critical Stella Carlson's video footage has proved to be in showing what happened on that tragic day, even as some officials try to tell a very different story.

Just ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," South Korea's former first lady has just been sentenced in the first of three criminal trials. Details in a live report next.

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[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

U.S. Central Command says it will conduct a multi-day air exercise in the Middle East amid tensions with Iran. President Trump has threatened possible military action against Tehran. An Iranian official says any aggression from Washington would be met with a regretful response.

Ukraine's President is condemning a Russian strike on a passenger train that killed five people. At least two carriages went up in flames in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Ukraine is calling for more pressure on Moscow, saying recent attacks undermine ongoing peace negotiations.

A South Korean court has sentenced former first lady Kim Keon-hee to just under two years in jail. She was found guilty of accepting bribes from the controversial Unification Church in exchange for political favors. She has denied all the charges and her legal team may appeal.

So let's go live now to Hong Kong and CNN's Kristie Lu Stout. Good to see you, Kristie. So how did an apparent love of luxury bring down South Korea's former first lady?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, that appears to be the case here today. A court in South Korea has sentenced the former first lady, this is the wife of the disgraced ex-president, Yoon Suk- yeol, to 20 months in prison.

She was found guilty of receiving bribes. These were bribes that she accepted from the Unification Church, including a Chanel bag, including a diamond graft necklace. These are luxury items that are worth tens of thousands of dollars.

In addition, she was found today not guilty on additional charges of stock manipulation, as well as election meddling. Now, all this follows the year-long investigation into what her husband did in late 2024, bringing about and declaring martial law. He has been facing ramifications from that, an event that has sent

shockwaves throughout the country. He's facing a number of separate trials, including a possible death sentence.

But in the last year, we're learning a lot more about the first lady or the former first lady herself, Kim Keon-hee. She is a wealthy businesswoman who had organized art exhibitions. She was the driving force behind the political rise of her husband.

And she was also not your typical first lady. I want to share with you this interesting analysis from a political observer in South Korea who said this, quote: "she's been a career woman who succeeded in acquiring status and accumulating wealth through socioeconomic activities. She's not the 'quiet housewife' style."

Now, Kim has also been at the center of a number of high-profile scandals, including one in which she received this grayish blue Lady Dior purse from a Korean-American pastor. But when she was indicted last year, Kim Keon-hee, she, through her lawyers, released a very interestingly worded statement.

I want to share this with you, because she uses almost poetic language. You know, she wrote this saying, quote, "just as moonlight shines brightly in the darkest night, I, too, will endure this time looking to my truth and heart," unquote.

Kim Keon-hee has denied any wrongdoing. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Kristie Lu Stout bringing us that live report from Hong Kong. I appreciate it.

Well, Japanese police are warning about an increase in groping incidents, particularly targeting students during exam season. CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more details on how Tokyo is addressing the crime.

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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why are Japanese police warning about so-called groping day? And why are students riding trains in danger? If you've ever visited Tokyo, you've seen the ones warning you about gropers, or chikang, who might be lurking right behind you. Or the social media videos of civilians catching gropers in the act.

[03:35:09]

Government data shows that these crimes are rising. And here in Tokyo, about one in two women have experienced groping at some point in their lives.

Victims who shared their experiences with us said how they were so terrified they couldn't speak up.

Most of these crimes happen on trains during the rush hour where millions of people ride the Metro every day. But there's another disturbing pattern that's happening right now.

Gropers targeting students during exam season in January. The thinking is students can't afford to be late on such an important day, so they'll be less inclined to speak up.

On Japanese social media, some posts even call exam day groping day and exam season a molester's festival.

To combat this issue, police are increasing patrols at stations during exam season, running awareness campaigns on trains, and even responding directly to posts online, saying offenders will be apprehended.

They're also encouraging bystanders to speak up, and promoting tools like safety apps that can alert authorities quickly.

And of course, reminding perpetrators of the very simple fact that what they're doing is a crime.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, the "Kpop Demon Hunters'" craze is here to stay. We will tell you about the new merchandise about to hit shelves after the break.

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[03:40:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Let's check the business headlines now.

Britain's Prime Minister is turning toward China and away from the U.S. to help boost his country's economy. Keir Starmer is leading a delegation of executives from dozens of corporations to Beijing, where he will hold talks with the Chinese President. They're expected to sign deals to deepen their country's economic cooperation.

President Trump says the U.S. economy is booming. During a speech in rural Iowa, he claimed incomes are rising, investment is soaring, and that inflation has been defeated. However, a new report shows consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since 2014, largely due to persistent inflation.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to speak about potential changes to interest rates in the coming hours. Bond investors are bracing for news of an extended pause in cuts. The Fed will announce their decision after their meetings conclude on Wednesday.

A new line-up of "K-pop Demon Hunters" merchandise is now being unveiled. Toy maker Mattel is showing off its new dolls and collectibles based on the hit Netflix film. Toys are set to release globally later this year, about one year after the original release of the streaming film, the dolls will initially have two looks, with some who sing their hit song "Golden."

I want to thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "World Sport" is coming up next.

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