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Israel Police: Munitions "Impacts" Reported Across Tel Aviv; Trump: U.S. Will "Hit and Obliterate" Iran's Power Plants; Iran: Hormuz Open to All But "Enemy-Linked" Ships; Trump Threatens to Send ICE Agents to U.S. Airports; Cuba Struggles Under Island Wide Blackout; WFP: Rist of "Record Hunger". Aired 4-5a ET

Aired March 22, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Becky Anderson, live from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, where it is midday on Sunday.

There have been new strikes in the U.S. and Israel, war with Iran. A man trapped in a vehicle was found dead a short time ago after a missile hit an Israeli community on the border with Lebanon. And in central Israel, police and bomb disposal experts are now working to secure and isolate, quote, "impact sites of munitions within the Tel Aviv district.

Now, this latest wave of attacks comes just hours after Iranian strikes on southern Israel, wounding dozens and prompting a mass casualty event declaration.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump threatening an enormous attack on Iran's energy infrastructure if Tehran doesn't allow free navigation through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Let's start this hour with CNN's Eleni Giokos. She joins us now live from Dubai. Eleni, good to have you. Donald Trump's threat to obliterate Iran's power plants if the Strait of Hormuz isn't opened within 48 hours marks a clear escalation in rhetoric. What's been the response from Iran?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a clear escalation in rhetoric. And I have to say, just shortly before that, we were hearing from President Trump, again, social media posts saying that they've already won and they are considering, you know, de-escalating and, you know, taking things down.

So, very different a few hours later. And because the Strait of Hormuz has been weaponized militarily, financially, we've seen what it's done to the oil price, supply disruption, and then destruction as well with the targeting of critical energy infrastructure across the region. Iran now saying this, that they are willing to cooperate with the International Maritime Organization to allow safe passage of some vessels through the Strait of Hormuz if they are not linked to what they say is the enemy. So, linked to U.S. and Israel.

Interestingly, we had an incident just outside of Sharjah this morning. And the U.K. MTO says that an unknown projectile caused a fire on one of the vessels. So, just the threat of this, Becky, is, of course, deterring vessels and ship owners to pass through the Strait. Iran says that coordination will need to happen, that they will need to negotiate with Iran directly.

In the meantime, in terms of that threat from President Trump, in terms of targeting infrastructure, specifically electricity in Iran, Iran says that they will retaliate if they are hit. And they're saying it's going to be based on U.S. assets, which we've been hearing since the start of this war, frankly. And they're going to target information technology, desalination infrastructure belonging or linked to the United States. And this will be across the region.

So, definitely an escalation in rhetoric this morning. Both sides exchanging very harsh words. The question is what will happen when those 48 hours expire and whether the U.S. is going to be pleased with, you know, the line of we're willing to cooperate, whether that cooperation will happen, whether we will see a collaboration of countries coming in to try and secure the Strait of Hormuz. Those questions still very much unanswered at this point.

ANDERSON: Yes. Eleni, thank you for that. Eleni is in Dubai. We're looking at images there from Israel this morning. And the U.S. and Israel are sending different messages about potential timelines for ending the war. Israel says it has thousands of targets in Iran left to strike and it plans for several more weeks of fighting.

But President Trump said Friday he is considering winding down operations because the U.S. is close to achieving its goals. He spoke as he sent more troops to the region, while sources say he may ask Congress for more funding for the war. An Iranian official says Tehran is not buying Mr. Trump's claims.

Well, I want to get you to Israel and to Jerusalem now. For more, we're joined by Yaakov Katz, a co-founder of Mead Policy Forum and a senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute. He's also authored multiple books on Israel's military, including, quote, ""While Israel Slept."

[04:05:00]

It's good to have you. Getting your sort of depth of knowledge and analysis this morning is really important because I want to start with what have been these latest strikes on Israel overnight on the cities of Arad and Dimona. What do you understand to be the extent of those strikes and the casualties at this point?

YAAKOV KATZ, AUTHOR, "WHILE ISRAEL SLEPT": Well, Becky, those were two strikes that hit those southern cities, Dimona and Arad. Those were very heavy warheads, about half a ton of explosives that scored direct hits on those buildings in the south of Israel. There's dozens of people who were wounded, a number that are in serious condition. So, far, thank God, no deaths from those attacks. It seems that most people were able to make it to the safe rooms or to the bomb shelters in those buildings. And that really does save lives.

But there are questions of what happened that those missiles got through. There were interception attempts by Israel's air defense systems. Those failed and those missiles were able to score those direct hits. I think it's just another example of how we're not -- this isn't a game, right? This is this is a war. This is real life. Lives are on the line. And you do have to listen to the civil defense in all the countries, whether it's the UAE, it's Israel, it's Bahrain, it's Saudi. And because these missiles can cause damage and they'll get through. There's no 100 percent. Israel so far has about 90 percent interception rate, but no 100 percent exists in any of this reality.

ANDERSON: Yes. And let's be quite clear, of course, Iranian civilians getting caught up in this as well. And it is unclear at this point just how many casualties have been there.

Iran says the attacks on Dimona, Yaakov, were in response to an Israeli strike on the Natanz nuclear facility. The same site, of course, that the U.S. bombed during the 12-day war in June. I know there hasn't been a response from Israel on that. But as we enter the fourth week of this conflict, what is your assessment of Israeli military thinking at this point?

KATZ: Well, you're right. Dimona is where Israel's nuclear reactor is located. And for that reason, even though it's a city in the periphery down in the south, it's heavily protected because, God forbid, we should see a missile strike anywhere inside the compound of the nuclear facility, even if it wouldn't cause damage. It would be a big symbolic victory for the Iranians that they're able to strike in the heart of a very strategic and sensitive facility here in Israel.

I think that for the Israelis, the strategy, Becky, remains continue to degrade and to weaken the Iranian capabilities to take out those targets. That was the first phase of this war was definitely the ballistic missiles and any capability that the Iranians have to launch against Israel. The second phase was to start to go after the repressive infrastructure, if we could call it that, the IRGC, the Basij, government institutions and facilities that were a part in cracking down on the Iranian people back in January when, you know, we don't know the exact number, but upwards of several tens of thousands of people were killed in their attempt to bring down the regime.

And I think the third phase, if we get to that stage, and that's questionable, it will depend on President Donald Trump, could be the Americans and the Israelis. On the one hand, Strait of Hormuz is definitely very important for the Americans, less for the Israelis. I think what Israel would like to see is the Iranian people start to try to take steps towards bringing down the regime. And Israel could, from the air, potentially provide air supports and air cover for those people on the streets of Iran.

ANDERSON: In a recent article, you described this moment as, quote, "an opportunity to dramatically alter the reality that has defined this region for generations. Yaakov, it is about, you said, the possibility that something foundational can change, not in a utopian sense and not immediately, but in a real way that will reshape the Middle East for years to come.

And look, you'll be hard pressed to find many in the region who don't share that long term goal for a new and more prosperous Middle East. We've talked about navigating a new Middle East for years now. I've been in region living here in Abu Dhabi for nearly 15 years and traveling in and out for nearly 30.

The question is, it's how you get there without one, a clear day after plan for Iran and Iranians. And I do wonder at this point what you believe the threshold of pain is from the region, as the Iranian regime clearly does have the ability to strike. And we've seen that both in Israel and around this region again overnight into what is the fourth week now of this war.

[04:10:00]

KATZ: No, I think you're right. And anyone who believed that this would be over within days and that Iran was a paper tiger and didn't have the ability to shrink back, the Iranians still have that missile capability. We see it here in Israel. You're seeing it in the UAE. Other countries in the region are seeing it in their territory.

The Iranians still have a significant arsenal and they're able to launch those attacks and paralyze, harm, undermine the sense of security in all these countries. It's definitely still in the cards. And therefore, the question will really be, how do you end this war? Is it in some sort of a new nuclear deal? Is it in a ceasefire that then again, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu declare victory like they did back in June?

You know, Becky, one of the problems that I think we have is back in June, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about a victory for generations. That's how he called it after the 12-day war. President Trump said the nuclear facilities had been obliterated, literally. That was his word. So, then if that was the case, why did we have to have this war again eight months later? And I think there were real reasons, but they weren't communicated in the right way possible.

So, if there's going to be just again, a declaration of victory without talking straight to the world and to the people of this region, it's not yet over. We might have to do this again. Until the regime falls, we'll have to keep going. If they rebuild, we'll have to start again.

All of this is important to communicate so people understand the full picture. It's when you mislead that you lead to this sense of misunderstanding of what's really going on.

ANDERSON: Yaakov, it's good to get your insight this morning. I really appreciate it. I know it's been a messy night there in Israel. Messy night for Iranians as well and around this region. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. KATZ: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Well, the impact of the war being keenly felt in Europe with the prospects of an energy crisis now a real danger. Let's bring in CNN's reporter Barbie Latza Nadeau. She joins us from Rome. And Barbie, while countries didn't sign up to this US-Israel war with Iran, critics are now accusing Europe of sleepwalking into this crisis. The question is, at this point, how do they how are they responding?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Becky, I mean, I think it's worth remembering that there is already a war going on here in Europe with Ukraine, with a full-scale invasion of Russia 2022, which caused an energy crisis here, caused a lot of changes. You know, the dependence on Russian energy has switched very much primarily to the dependence on U.S. and energy from Norway.

And, you know, European countries, twenty-seven member nations have a hard time agreeing and being on the same page when it comes to anything. So, this particular crisis has been very trying. It's pushed a lot of people to question their relationship with the United States. Certainly, here in Italy and in Hungary, they've got great leaders, have great relationships with the U.S. president. Not the same, obviously, in France.

So, it's not just about how each individual country, you know, deals with this impending energy crisis. It's how Europe as a whole is going to be dealing with it. And it's, you know, just been sort of meeting after meeting, trying to gain consensus. But I'm seeing here in the Italian papers this morning, you know, tips on how to deal with the energy crisis, talking about austerity moves dating back to the 1970s.

So, it is really a disjointed reaction, Becky. And, you know, if you look forward, it doesn't look like that they're going to get on the same page anytime soon in order to come up with a solution or a strategy or a way to deal with yet another energy crisis here in Europe. Becky.

ANDERSON: I can tell you a lot of frustration about the Europeans and their next sort of steps, particularly in supporting any coalition in this rate or form. As we have now seen, you know, a sort of coalition coming together, which does include some European countries. Obviously, Europeans have been in the air in support of these Gulf nations as they reserve the right to self-defense. But there has been a real sense of frustration. Barbie, thank you. Barbie Latza Nadeau is in Rome. Thank you.

And we will get a lot more from the Middle East coming up. For now, though, let's get you back to Kim in Atlanta. Kim.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks so much, Becky. President Trump has a plan for airports struggling with the partial government shutdown still ahead, while his new pitch to use ICE agents is raising more questions nationwide. That story and more coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [04:15:00]

BLACKWELL: President Trump is threatening to send ICE agents into airports as early as Monday if a funding deal to end the partial government shutdown isn't reached. Democrats are condemning Trump's threats as negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans over ending the shutdown continue. CNN's Julia Benbrook has more on President Trump's plans for ICE.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump says that if an agreement isn't reached to fund the Department of Homeland Security that he is sending immigration and customs enforcement agents to airports to, quote, "do security like no one has seen before."

Now, I want to pull up one of his posts on this where he looks to blame the lapse in funding fully on Democrats as Americans continue to feel the impact. He said this in part. If the Democrats do not allow for just and proper security at our airports and elsewhere throughout our country, ICE will do the job far better than ever done before. Adding, I look forward to moving ICE in on Monday and have already told them to, and then in all caps, get ready, no more waiting, no more games.

Now, it's unclear what function these ICE agents would play as they're not trained in airport security. It is possible that they could step into a more limited role like managing lines while TSA agents do the crucial airport screening. And this comes, it's important to note, as ICE agents in general have been a key part of this argument for funding. Democrats have been withholding their votes to fund DHS as they want to see reforms to immigration and customs enforcement.

[04:20:00]

Those negotiations are still ongoing, but Democrats have said that the White House has yet to make any real concessions. Now, we have reached out to DHS and the White House for more information on Trump's social media post.

Traveling with the president in Florida, Julia Benbrook, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Travelers faced long lines yet again on Saturday at airports across the U.S., from Newark to Atlanta and from Phoenix to Orlando. There was no getting around the TSA shortage. Here's what a few passengers in Newark had to say about the expanded wait times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK BRUNNER, TRAVELER: It seems that the people that are, you know, working here, they come in for free, which we greatly appreciate, but I hope that, you know, it must be very difficult for their personal situation, and I think we all have to thank them to come in under these circumstances. ARMAAN BAINS, TRAVELER: I mean, I want these guys to get paid for their, for doing work, and, I mean, if I wasn't getting paid for my job, I wouldn't show up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN that if the shutdown doesn't end soon, the current problems at airports will look like child's play.

Emergency crews and Hawaii's National Guard have been carrying out hundreds of rescues across the island of Oahu after a powerful storm dumped up to three months of rain in just 24 hours. Hawaii's governor says it's the most significant flooding the state has seen in decades. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH GREEN, HAWAII GOVERNOR: You know, we've had 40 to 50 inches of rains, the largest flood that we've had in 20 years, but we've had no loss of life. People have pitched in incredible work by our, you know, our first responders. We have the National Guard called up, over 200 people have helped us on that side.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, some stranded people had to be helicoptered from rooftops as flooding cut off roads and engulfed homes. More than 70 people, including a number of children, were airlifted from a youth camp after they were trapped by rising water.

A rare heat wave is breaking records for the month of March across the western U.S., and it's not done yet. CNN's Meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Dozens of records have been set across much of the western portion of the country. All of these dots indicate one of those records, but it's not just daily records. These are all-time March records for these locations, and more of them could be broken as we head through the rest of the day on Sunday. They're also going to start to spread eastward. So, all of these dots you see here across the central U.S., portions of the Mississippi Valley and southeast, those are daily records that could be broken not just Sunday, but some of the cases even Monday and Tuesday.

Here's a look at the forecast. Again, you'll start to notice more of that orange and red and yellow color spread eastward. Really, the only cool spot on the map is going to be portions of the northeast and into the Great Lakes region. Down to the south, this is where the warmer temperatures are going to be. So, Lubbock, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Jackson, all looking at those temperatures at least 10 to 15 degrees above average. Some of them do drop back a little bit on Monday, but many of them rebound right back up again on Tuesday. Take a look at Dallas, for example, 94 for that high temperature. The average is 70. And when you look at the rest of the week for Dallas, you'll notice every single one of the next seven days is expected to be at or above and sometimes significantly above that average temperature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Cuba's experiencing its second nationwide power outage in less than a week, leaving more than 10 million people in the dark. The power grid collapsed Saturday following Monday's island-wide blackout. The U.S. began blocking fuel shipments to Cuba three months ago, and the island had been heavily reliant on oil from Venezuela. The Cuban foreign minister has said his nation is open to talks to end the fuel embargo. But on Friday, the Cuban president said the country is preparing for a potential attack, comments that follow President Trump's threats of, quote, "taking Cuba."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, CUBAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are not sitting with our arms crossed. First of all, we recognize that there could be an aggression against Cuba, and we have unleashed a preparation plan to raise our people's readiness for defense in the interest of the war of all the people, which is our defense concept and which is a defensive conception, not aggressive, and to defend the country with the preparation and the preparation of all the people in defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, we'll bring you the latest updates on the war with Iran after the break. Still ahead, we speak with a former Royal Navy commander about the military operations in the Middle East. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:00]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson, live from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi, wherever you are watching in the world, you are more than welcome.

We're following the latest developments in the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. At least one person is dead after a direct missile hit on an Israeli community on the border with Lebanon. And in central Israel, police and bomb disposal experts are working to secure what they call impact sites of munitions within Tel Aviv.

Today's strikes come just hours after Tehran launched back-to-back strikes on southern Israel. The country's national security minister visited one of the attack sites.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ITAMAR BEN-GVIR, ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER (through translator): I came to strengthen. I came to embrace the residents over here. I came to strengthen them. The people of Israel, thank God, are strong. They are trying to harm us. But we remember one thing. We are at war. This is a war in which we must continue to crush to achieve victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Well, Iranian media citing a military official says that Tehran will retaliate against U.S. infrastructure in the region if President Trump carries out his threat to obliterate its power plants should Iran not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline.

Well, despite President Trump's recent assertion that the U.S. has, quote, "won its war with Iran," thousands of Marines and sailors are still en route to the Middle East. The White House downplaying the likelihood of putting U.S. boots on the ground to end this conflict, but has not ruled out any military options yet.

Well, for more on this, let's bring in retired Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe, live from Guildford in England. He's a communications consultant with Corvus, as well as a columnist with The Daily Telegraph. Good to have you, Tom. Thank you.

Donald Trump threatening an enormous attack on Iran's energy infrastructure if the Strait isn't open within 48 hours. Iran threatening further strikes across the region in response. Your assessment of where we are at as we enter week four of this war?

[04:30:00]

TOM SHARPE, ROYAL NAVY COMMANDER (RET.) AND COLUMNIST, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Right now, Iran is achieving their end state, namely regime survival and control of the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. and Israel are not.

So, I think it's fairly straightforward. We're in a sort of deadlock at the moment, where the U.S. are playing what I'm calling whack-a- mole against various Iranian mobile targets. But Iran retains the ability to fire from those mobile launches and therefore control the Strait and increasingly actually allow ships of their choosing in and out. So, I mean, it really is total control. And the war of the words and the rhetoric about how this is going to escalate obviously forms part of that tit-for-tat.

ANDERSON: The U.K., along with more than 20 other countries, have said that they are developing or they're certainly working to develop a viable plan to safeguard international shipping in those waters. I just wonder, from your experience, what would that plan look like and how long would it take to action, Tom?

SHARPE: Yes, it's really hard to sort of pick a route through this. For there to be enough non-U.S. warships to conduct escorting operations in the Straits of Hormuz, if that's what we're talking about here, you'd need a lot of ships. We had them in the Red Sea, in ASPIDES, which was the E.U. part of clearing the chokepoint at the -- in the southern Red Sea. And threat levels would have to be almost so low that you wouldn't really need to escort anymore.

So, there's this sort of strange conundrum where we're trying to drive down the U.S., we're trying to drive down the threat levels in the air, surface, and subsurface domains there. They're not doing so successfully, which is why they are unable to force their way in and commence escorting operations. The risk is still deemed too high. But the Coalition of the Willing, if that's what we're going to call it, will firstly need to be absolutely certain that this is a fight that they want to get involved in. And right now, lots of people are not.

The person asking for help, alternating between asking for help and then calling us all cowards and idiots isn't helping with that metric either. So, there's a fair way to go, even physically, before we have ships in position to do this, by which stage the threat levels will be clearer and the safety, therefore, of being able to do these escorts will be clearer.

And it's not just warship safety. You've got to drive down the threat to the point where the commercial shipping goes. Actually, we now think it's safe to go in.

ANDERSON: Tom, almost 40 years ago, U.S. Navy warships were facing the same enemy that they are facing now, the Revolutionary Guard Corps. And these were the so-called Tango Wars of the 1980s. We saw some of the same weapons and problems that a U.S. or international escort force would now face. But on top of that, and this is where this sort of asymmetric sort of war that we hear about now comes in, there are new weapons, aren't there?

I mean, you know, we're talking about seabound drones, other exercises that the Iranians can use, you know, mining. What's your assessment of the extent of Iran's sort of capability to keep that strait, close whatever this international coalition looks like? And what would that coalition need at this point?

ANDERSON: Yes, the Tango Wars were interesting on a number of levels. I mean, firstly, it took 30-plus U.S. warships during Operation Earnest Will to really get the bulk of tankers through, so far, more ships than they have now. And that was a much simpler threat back then.

As you say, there were mines, there was the old fast attack craft, but really, they still had a conventional force. And in 1988, in Operation Praying Mantis, that force got absolutely obliterated. And it's from that moment on, Iran went, right, we need to fight differently. We can't go toe-to-toe. So, we need to disperse and create more mobile, more agile weapon systems. And that's where we are today.

So, it's a vastly more complex threat picture. We're trying to get far more ships in and out. And critically, the reluctance of ships to go through, their risk tolerance, appears to be much lower than it was in the Tango Wars, which is why they've effectively stopped.

Now, we have better kit for dealing with these threats, no doubt. Lots and lots of weapon systems have been developed over the last few years to try and in the game of eternal warfare, cat and mouse, to try and write these threats down. But what we're seeing now, today, is that they are not 100 percent effective. And the problem is, there is almost no such thing as 100 percent effective when it comes to warfare.

So, it only takes one mobile missile launcher 100 miles inland in the vast mountainous areas of inland Iran to fire once or twice a day or once or twice a week, like the Houthis did. And that is the Strait remaining closed.

[04:35:00]

And getting that threat down to virtually zero by military means, I think, is virtually impossible. It needs something else to change for this to stop and for the Strait to become safe again.

ANDERSON: Tom, it's good to have you. I was talking to a shipping expert in this region last night. We're talking about some 700 tankers alone stuck in those waters at present, either side of the Strait of Hormuz. That's just tankers alone at this point. And of course, you know, we're reminding people again and again, this is not just about the movement of oil through those straits.

I mean, understandably, the U.S. president is concerned about the threat for the continued increase in the price of oil as a result of the chokehold there. But we're talking about food, fertilizer, medicines, et cetera, that clearly any, you know, international coalition would want to help move through that Strait of Hormuz as well. Tom, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Well, economists have a name for the economic fallout from the war. They call it a black swan event, something that no one can see coming, but that affects everyone. That kind of calamity is playing out in countries around the world right now because of that spike in energy price caused by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Some Asian countries are resorting to emergency measures to try to save energy. Pakistan has closed schools for two weeks. India is rationing gas supplies. South Korea has imposed its first fuel price cap in decades. The Philippines mandating a four-day working week. As my colleague Ben Hunt now reports, the energy crisis alone is upending lives across the continent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): It's a shock to the system in Asia. The chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz blocking most fuel and energy imports from the Middle East to Asia. Normally, more than 80 percent of the tankers in the waterway carrying crude oil and liquefied natural gas would be bound for Asia.

But barely anything is moving now. Some countries like China, Japan and South Korea have sizable oil stockpiles to help offset shortages. But other Asian nations only have a month or two of fuel in reserve. And for them, it's crisis mode. There are long lines for gas, particularly across Southeast Asia, where there has been panic buying and a surge in gas prices. The cost of petrol jumping more than 20 percent in Vietnam on Friday.

In Pakistan, a similar price hike at a time when many people were traveling for Eid al-Fitr. Some people say they can barely afford increasing bus fares.

JAHAN ZEB, PAKISTANI LABORER (through translator): Look, I'm a poor laborer. Apart from this expense, I have to go further. I have to buy clothes, et cetera, for the children. So, much money has been spent on bus fare. I don't understand what to do next.

HUNTE (voice-over): High costs also forcing some migrant workers in India to head home. These workers in Gujarat, India's textile hub, say they don't know when they'll return because cooking gas isn't affordable, if it can even be found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We are returning to our village. For five days, we didn't have gas. The company we work for is also about to be shut down. So, what can we do? We are starving to death.

HUNTE (voice-over): Other countries are limiting some official operations to cut energy costs. Sri Lanka says it's closing its government institutions on Wednesdays, but says ports and hospitals will still function normally. The Philippines has switched many of its government offices to a four-day work week. And Bangladesh has closed universities to conserve electricity and fuel. Airlines, too, are feeling the pinch. The price of jet fuel is skyrocketing, taking ticket prices with it. And with fewer routes available as airlines avoid war zones, tourism could suffer. Thailand's tourism ministry estimates it could lose over a billion dollars if airspace closures last eight weeks.

As the war stretches on, economic hardship will expand. Because what happens in Asia will certainly impact the rest of the world.

Ben Hunte, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: But as I said, oil, not the only thing being blocked in the Strait of Hormuz. Just ahead, the World Food Programme's dire warning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:00]

BLACKWELL: The World Food Programme is warning that conflict in the Middle East could cause, quote, "record levels of hunger."Officials say the growing violence is leading to a surge in prices and disrupting food shipping routes. Escalating attacks near the Strait of Hormuz have halted ship transits, skyrocketing oil prices internationally. But it's not just oil. Critical food fertilizers are also being blocked. The agency estimates the conflict could lead to an additional 45 million people in the world into acute hunger.

And joining us now is Carl Skau, the World Food Programme's Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer. Thank you so much for joining us on this very important topic here.

CARL SKAU, WFP, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So, explain to us how a war in the Middle East actually ends up hitting a family in West Africa, for example, just trying to get dinner on the table.

SKAU: Well, first of all, just to say, I mean, the hit is really twofold. First and foremost, of course, is the humanitarian impact on those directly hit by the conflict. And the epicenter there is really Lebanon.

But then, like you rightly say, the ripple effects are also global. I mean, what we see is that there is a correlation between energy prices and food prices. And on top of that, now there are constraints around fertilizers. And so, we're seeing food prices really spike. And in countries that are really poor, many of them in sub-Saharan Africa, people are already spending all their money, available income, on food. And so, when prices spike, they eat less and hunger is coming up. We estimate that by June, if this conflict continues, some 45 million more people will go hungry.

BLACKWELL: Yes, that's such a huge number. You just mentioned sub- Saharan Africa. I mean, what regions or countries are you most worried about right now?

SKAU: I mean, it's always the poorest of the poor. They don't have any margin. And it's the countries also that don't have their own resources that they can invest in crises like that. I mean, the last time we saw something similar was in 2022 during the COVID and Ukraine conflict. And that's when we saw hunger also spike.

[04:45:00]

We are now, though, in a different situation because the levels of hunger are already record high. We are counting some 318 million people who are acutely food-secure, mainly driven by the conflicts over the past couple of years in Gaza, Sudan, but also beyond that. And so, you know, this new load, if you will, are adding on to that record high level of hunger where we also have a famine in Sudan ongoing.

BLACKWELL: Explain the fertilizer piece of this puzzle. About a third of the world's fertilizer passes through the Strait of Hormuz. So, if the farmers can't get what they need, I mean, what happens to the next harvest?

SKAU: I mean, what's happening now is this is really planting season in sub-Saharan Africa. And without fertilizer, productivity comes down, and so less food will be available. So, prices of food coming from outside is now rising, and food produced inside is going to be less. And so, that's really what is happening here.

And, I mean, the main input to fertilizer, also outside the Gulf, is natural gas, and with prices of natural gas going up, understandably also the price of fertilizer is coming up. So, again, we haven't seen a disruption to food system like this since 2022, and it's extremely worrying because it happens also on top of what was already a perfect storm when it comes to hunger.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Let's talk about that. I mean, the existing problems are so acute. I mean, you were already spread thin with some close to 320 million people to feed, and then your budget got slashed after USAID was shut down. I mean, what does that look like on the ground? Are you having to turn people away?

SKAU: I mean, definitely so. You know, record level of hunger, 320 million, as you said. Last year we lost some 40 percent of our budget. We had to lay off some 5,000 people here at WFP. But also, it's the most dangerous time to be a humanitarian. We've never seen more humanitarian killed in the line of duty. So, it was already a perfect storm, and we're really, really stretched.

And in places like Afghanistan, for example, we've had to go from assisting some 8 million people to around 1.5 million people coming into this winter, and there is really a malnutrition crisis in Afghanistan. We know the children are dying. We know the children are dying in South Sudan because we can't reach them because it's so costly to reach those hard-to-reach areas. And I think, you know, in the 60 years of history of this organization, we have never been unable to reach people who are starving, and that's really what's happening now.

BLACKWELL: Yes, forcing you to make really tough choices. I mean, we just have a minute left, but if this war does drag on, what do you need from the U.S. and the rest of the world so that we don't see a total catastrophe here?

SKAU: Well, obviously, first and foremost, we want a political solution, an end to this conflict. I think that's the only really recipe to do and mitigate this crisis. But the second is, of course, funding. I mean, anecdotally, we talk about a billion dollars being spent on the war every day, and if you compare the costs of dealing with the humanitarian consequence, I mean, that's a very, very small cost.

So, we hope that donors will step up and fund our program so that we can not only deal with the immediate crisis in the Middle East, but also try to manage these ripple effects across the globe. You know, anything short of that. We are moving towards a situation that will be very difficult to control.

BLACKWELL: Yes, you're right to highlight the cost of the war, not just the financial cost, but of course the humanitarian cost as well. Carl Skau, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

SKAU: Thank you so much. BLACKWELL: The family of kidnapping victim Nancy Guthrie is thanking her community in Tucson, Arizona, as the search for the mother of three adult children stretches into the seventh week. They're also pleading for renewed attention to the case, saying, we continue to believe it is people in Tucson and the greater southern Arizona community that hold the key to finding resolution in this case. Someone knows something. We desperately ask this community for renewed attention to our mom's case. Please consult camera footage, journal notes, text messages, observations or conversations that in retrospect may hold significance. No detail is too small. It may be the key.

The 84-year-old mother of Today Show anchor Savannah Guthrie was last seen on January 31st before she disappeared from her Arizona home without her phone and critical medications.

We'll be right back here on CNN Newsroom. Stay with us.

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BLACKWELL: Fans on their feet and ecstatic about the return of K-pop supergroup BTS. Have a look. The band took the stage together for the first time in nearly four years. The free concert drew massive crowds to Seoul's main square with as many as 260,000 fans in attendance. Other fans are called the army and they began lining up early to watch what's widely regarded as the biggest boy band on the planet. It's all part of a massive promotion for the release of the group's fifth album before their world tour begins next month. And for some, the BTS album Listening Party is like drawing bees to honey.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We came because we love BTS.

LALA ALDRIDGE, FOUNDER, ADULT ARMY EVENTS: We are here at Palatine Row in Colony Square celebrating BTS's "Arirang" comeback. They haven't had an album in four years, so we're here to celebrate their new album and kind of come together as a group and a collective to celebrate them getting out of the military.

I love it. No skips. And if you come inside, you'll love it too.

Not everybody speaks Korean, but we still love music, right? So, for you guys who are not familiar, we are fans of BTS. They just all got out of the military and they just dropped the album. They just all got out of the military and they just dropped the album.

[04:55:00]

This allows us to get together, listen to the album together and celebrate the album.

ANA QUINTERO, BTS FAN: The album, I feel like definitely was just BTS. It was unique, true to what I think is a new era to them. ALDRIDGE: So, all of the vendors on the inside have BTS themed food items. Then we have a bubble tea vendor where I provided cup sleeves with BTS's album on it.

JAYLA MACK, BTS FAN: They're doing a cup sleeve event along with a comeback. When you buy a themed drink, it comes with this really cool cup sleeve that's usually designed by a fan. They're like a little collector's item and it's just really fun.

ALDRIDGE: We're going to have a K-pop random dance play. If you know all the BTS choreography, you will get a (INAUDIBLE).

TATE BARBER, BTS FAN: I'm here to celebrate the BTS comeback. I've been super excited for it for a long time. I have a bunch of friends through ARMY, the fan base. So, yes, I just wanted to come out and have fun, be with my friends and celebrate the new album.

ALDRIDGE: Do not stop at the language when it comes to K-pop. It doesn't matter. Once you look up the lyrics and you listen to the beat, you'll understand that it's just like American music. So, go beyond the language and join us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, Toronto has become a cosplayer paradise this weekend as thousands descended on the city for Comicon. The three-day event is a celebration of comics, anime, gaming and pop culture. You can see some of the impressive costumes there with fans bringing their favorite characters to life.

Well, that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Becky Anderson and I will be back with more news in just a moment.

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