Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Damage in Tel Aviv After Iranian Missile Attack; Trump Postpones Strike Threats, Says U.S. In Talks With Iran; Israel's Actions in Lebanon Spark U.N. Human Rights Concerns; Investigation Into Jewish Volunteer Ambulances Set on Fire in London; ICE Deploys to 14 U.S. Airports to Aid Understaffed TSA; Venezuelan Workers Protest in Caracas, Demand Better Pay; Denmark Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen Seeking Third Term; Only 14 Percent of Countries Met the WHO's Air Quality Guidelines in 202. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 24, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:39]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, everybody, great to have you with us here for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York.

And we want to begin in Iran, where new video posted by state media is claiming to show missiles being fired at Israeli cities and U.S. military bases in the region. And this comes after reports that Iran had special plans for Tel Aviv and regional allies.

However, it's still unclear from the video or posts when the footage was actually filmed. Footage geo located by CNN now shows projectiles above Tel Aviv earlier and this was after Israeli authorities warned about a launch from Iran towards southern Israel.

And this comes as President Donald Trump declares a five day pause on striking Iran's power plants, after he claims that the two countries have been talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have points, major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement. Perhaps that hasn't been conveyed. The communication, as you know, has been blown to pieces. They're unable to talk to each other.

We're doing a five-day period. We'll see how that goes, and if it goes well, we're going to end up with settling this. Otherwise, we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So, the president is touting agreements, but state media in Iran reporting that Iran's foreign minister says there has been no dialog. A senior adviser to the supreme leader says that the war will continue until Iran receives full compensation for damages. A Pakistani official tells CNN that Islamabad is ready to host talks involving Iran, the U.S. and Israel.

In a moment, I will be asking a former State Department official about possible mediators, but first, let's go to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who joins me live from Abu Dhabi. Paula, tell us about these reports of projectile sightings over Tel Aviv.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Polo. So, we're just getting some information in from authorities, from the police in the IDF in Israel saying that there have been points of impact in the Tel Aviv district. A police spokesperson saying that disposal experts are currently handling several impact sites of weapons within that district. We're also hearing from the Israeli military that their forces are on the way to several sites in central Israel as well, where there have been reports of impacts.

Now, what we have been seeing from Iran over recent days is that they are using cluster munitions against Israel, which is a munition that breaks up in the air into smaller bomblets, making it much harder to be able to try and intercept and then, of course, the impact of these weapons is spread over a much wider area, so potentially, that's what we're looking at there. We will keep you updated when we hear more from authorities there.

We had been hearing from Iran that they did have, as they said, something special planned for Israel and also for the countries supporting the United States in the region as well. This was when they were asked whether or not there are talks between the U.S. and Iran, as President Trump said there had been.

What we have heard from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the spokesperson, according to state media, is that there have been no direct talks. There have not been talks between the U.S. and Iran, but they did admit that there have been initiatives from regional countries to reduce tensions.

So, we did hear from President Trump saying that the two were talking and that Tehran wanted a deal. It's not what we're hearing from Tehran at this point. There is certainly a fair gap between the two sides when it comes to how far along this diplomacy is, or if, in fact, there is even any diplomacy. Tehran at this point only admitting that there are countries that are trying to negotiate, that are trying to help to make sure that this war comes to an end.

And what we're hearing from officials through state media is that they have not changed their posture. They are going to continue to strike Israel and to strike regions that are friendly with the United States around the region, Polo.

SANDOVAL: All right, that's CNN Paula Hancocks with that live report. As we look at some of these pictures coming out of Tel Aviv, where it's just past 8:00 a.m., you can see emergency responders there. And certainly, what appears to be -- appears to be the aftermath of some sort of strike, some sort of incident. Of course, as we -- as Paula mentioned, as we get more information, we'll certainly pass that along to you.

[02:05:14]

And then these discussions, these claims of discussions coming from the president, potentially having an impact also on the markets. In fact, we'll come back to some of these pictures too if we learn anything new.

But again, Israeli police there responding to what is a very evolving situation in Tel Aviv.

But back to that stock market, it appears to have rallied after President Trump said that he would postpone strikes on Iran's power plants. You can see across the board U.S. Futures at this point in the red down as we look at oil prices. Also you can see some changes there. If we're able to put up some Brent crude numbers right now, which is really the global benchmark.

Some reprieve, at least for now. Nonetheless, so, just over $100 a barrel at this point, after hearing from multiple experts over the weekend who believe that that number is likely to stay above 100 the rest of the year, potentially, so we're going to be watching that very closely as that number continues to creep up above $103.

But let's put all this into context now and head over to CNN's Eleni Giokos live from Dubai. As we see stocks soar after Trump's announcement on Monday. Just tell us a little bit more of the reaction that you've seen where you are.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, look, here's the thing, it's just been like a roller coaster ride. There's immense volatility, and we saw a bit of reprieve yesterday.

But I think what you're seeing on the Dow Futures and S&P Futures pointing to the downside, and also when I look at Brent crude prices that are actually up around four percent from what we saw in yesterday's closing session, now sitting at around $103 a barrel. It's very indicative of sort of the thinking within the overall market right now.

And the supply constraints are still there. Nothing has changed in the Strait of Hormuz. Nothing has changed in terms of the damage to critical energy infrastructure across the Gulf region.

And importantly, we also heard from the Kuwaitis this morning, and they say that they intercepted a missile and drones attack that we're heading towards their power lines.

And in fact, Kuwait -- parts of Kuwait, have experienced power outages this morning. And I think it's a really strong message from the Iranian side in terms of the pain they can inflict on the Gulf regions when it comes to power.

So, you're seeing this continued assault overall within the Gulf region, despite the fact that President Trump is saying they're engaged in conversations, it's day 25 the war has certainly not ended. And when I'm speaking to a lot of the experts, they're saying that even if this war ends today, expect much higher oil prices.

Aliko Dangote is the founder of Dangote Refineries. He's a African industrious -- the richest man in Africa. And, of course, emerging market contagion has been enormous, right? You've been seeing all emerging market countries really reeling from this high oil price. I want you to listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALIKO DANGOTE, FOUNDER, DANGOTE REFINERIES: If things stop now, most likely you must see oil down to about, you know, maybe about $80.00 but going now to look for oil where it was, you know, two months ago, up to about $67.00 it will take a very long time.

Because, you know, you have -- we have already disrupted the supply line, the supply -- the supply chain being disrupted, it means that it's going to take time before you fix things.

So, really, this year is going to be a year that will be very tough for everybody, you know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Pain for everybody. I mean, the International Energy Agency saying this supply shock is worse than what we saw in the 1973 and '79 oil crisis combined. The IEA is also saying that people shouldn't drive, shouldn't take flights, you know, try and pull down demand. This is going to cause demand destruction. We potentially talking about a stagflation re environment. We have high inflation and very low growth. The chain reaction of what we're seeing happening here at this juncture in the Middle East, President Trump is trying to ease the impact by saying we're going to hold back for five days. We're in discussions, which is interesting. Hopefully there is going to be some kind of deal, some kind of, you know, forward-looking decision on how this comes to an end.

But for now, the damage, Polo, in the oil markets has already been done.

SANDOVAL: Absolutely right. Eleni Giokos, thank you so much for that full report. Appreciate it.

Joel Rubin is a former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State. He's also the author of The Briefing Book on Substack. Joel, it's always great to have you. Thank you so much for joining us.

JOEL RUBIN, FORMER U.S. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Happy to be with you, Polo, thanks so much.

[02:10:00]

SANDOVAL: Joel, let's begin by getting your assessment of President Trump's apparent change in posture on Monday after threatening power plants in Iran before the weekend. Well, he's now touting talks with Iran. This is something that the Iranians are denying that it's actually happening. So, in your view and your assessment, what is likely happening right

now?

RUBIN: Yes, you know, Polo, I think there's really two arenas for this war. There's the first one on the ground, of course, where there's real activity, where bombs are dropping, where thousands of sorties have taken place by Israel and the United States. And then, of course, Iran shooting back ballistic missiles and drones.

And then there's the second arena, which is the global opinion arena, the questions about who our allies are on the United States side, how much pressure is building up from the energy equation. And all of that is really where we're playing right now in this discussion, which is that the p resident understands that prices for gas are going up and that a glut of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is building, and he needs to do something to try to slow that down. We've seen actions taken in the last couple of days.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if they're talking to somebody, but they may not be taking -- talking to anybody, quite frankly, and just be moving to try to signal to markets to calm down and not lose that second arena to the Iranians.

SANDOVAL: Yes, you answered what was going to be my next question, which is, if perhaps the President could just be trying to stabilize markets. And the answer is, we really just don't know, but it's certainly a suspicion.

Sources are also telling CNN that there are several countries that are looking to act basically as mediators between the U.S. and Iran. Just with your background, what would you hope to be some of the main points of an agreement? Is it the nuclear material, certainly the Strait of Hormuz a cease fire. What are your thoughts?

RUBIN: Well, first and foremost, I hope the mediators are going to be strong and sound. There were mediators in the past, Oman, Qatar, for example, and both of them have been on the receiving end of Iranian ballistic missiles. And Oman feels burned blaming the United States for ending the talks early.

So, if there are talks going forward, I think right now, the price is still going to be very high. There's a general checklist of issues, the nuclear issue, the missiles issue, support for proxies by Iran in the region, and, of course, how they treat their own people.

But I think for the president, he's looking at situation where he's going to demand the end to the nuclear infrastructure and also support for regional proxies as a minimum price.

And so, that's going to be hard to get at the negotiating table, certainly in the near term. So, then, the question is, will there be a cease fire and freeze the war in place, and right now that doesn't want to be in the cards, either.

So, those negotiators have a lot of work to do if they're going to get a deal like the first one that I mentioned. SANDOVAL: You mentioned something that we haven't heard a lot from the White House also right now, which is the -- what could be next for Iranian citizens and their basic human rights. If there are talks, how likely is it that Iran would give up what is really its biggest piece of leverage right now, which is control over the Strait of Hormuz.

RUBIN: Iran is playing a strong game right now on the Straits, and this was predictable that they would take out their ire if attacked on the global economy and on the energy flows.

But there's also a downside risk for them, which is that if they go further and they continue in the path they're on, they're only incentivizing Europe to get more involved, China to get more involved in other countries that have influence inside of Iran as well.

And so, there -- this is not a permanent dynamic that they can control. I think the administration, it's our earlier discussion, they probably bought themselves three to four weeks of more liquidity in the global oil markets by eliminating sanctions on Iranian oil floating out at sea.

But, you know, for the Iranians, this is a leverage point, but not a permanent policy. They're also going to need to try to find a way to leverage this to get an end to the war so they can stay in power. That's the real great game for the Iranians.

All they want to do in the Islamic Republic is just survive and live. That's really their goal right now.

SANDOVAL: I have a few more seconds left with you, Joel, perhaps a closing thought, what should be -- what are your expectations, especially the next five days, it seems President Trump has now given us to see, you know, a potential outcome?

RUBIN: Yes, I think the president, he is trying to assemble more international pressure. I think it was a good move, quite frankly, to delay and not to strike, and that gives him some opportunities to build on diplomatic momentum that he has obtained over the last several days from Europe, in particular, to try to pressure the Iranians to open up the straits.

[02:15:08]

But I don't see an end to this war in the near term and in the next week. And I do think that after these five days it's quite likely that we'll see heavier strikes from the president if the Iranians don't choose to end their nuclear program, and at least make a point of saying they're willing to give that up and discuss that in full.

SANDOVAL: Joel Rubin, thank you so much for coming on and sharing your thoughts. Really appreciate it.

RUBIN: Thanks, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Still ahead at this hour, new details on what caused the fatal runway collision at New York's LaGuardia Airport on Sunday. This is federal officials start their investigation.

And also on the way, we'll take you to Columbia for the latest on another deadly plane crash there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:18]

SANDOVAL: At least 66 people were killed when a Colombian Air Force plane crashed shortly after takeoff with more than 100 passengers and crew on board. Video circulating online shows the aircraft's wreckage. You can see it was engulfed in flames, and this black smoke was billowing from the scene in this rural field in southern Colombia. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Colombian soldiers were killed on Monday morning as an air force plane in Hercules C-130 crashed on Monday morning, just after taking off from the remote outpost of Puerto Leguizamo, which is remote town deep in the Colombian Amazon jungle next to the border with Peru.

According to The Joint Chief of Staff of staff of the Colombian military forces, 125 troops were on board of the plane en route to Puerto Sea, which is a logistical hub for the whole region of the Colombian Amazon.

Of these, 125 11 were crew members, and 114 were soldiers from the Colombian army. The Colombian President Gustavo Petro said at least 80 of these soldiers had been rescued and thanked the local community down in Porto Leguizamo for providing the first aid and arriving at the scene to try rescue as many people as possible. Several of them have already been taken to the Colombian capital Bogota.

Authorities are not speculating on what caused the accident, but have so far ruled out the possibility that this was the result of an attack from armed insurgents that are operating in the jungle.

GEN. CARLOS FERNANDO SILVA RUEDA, COLOMBIAN AIR FORCE COMMADER (through translator): At the moment, we have no details on what caused the plane to crash. Other than that, as soon as it took off, it experienced a problem and crashed a couple of kilometers from the airport.

POZZEBON: And the Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the soldiers were carrying ammunitions with them, and this is why in some of the videos, you can hear the explosions from some of the cartridges after the plane crashed and took fire.

This incident is likely to throw even further into the spotlight how dangerous it can be to travel in the Colombian Amazon region, where several of the civilian and military aircraft are old and no longer suitable for flying.

In a poster on X, Petro lamented that he had tried to upgrade the military fleet. However, he said the bureaucracy got in the way.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And federal investigators, they are on the ground now at New York's LaGuardia airport after a deadly runway collision Sunday night. 41 passengers and crew were transported to the hospital for their injuries, injuries sustained after this crash, many are still reconciling with the harrowing experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA LIQUORI, AIR CANADA PASSENGER: It was a rough landing, like when we landed. Everyone felt it. It just like the plane, like jolted and you heard the pilot try to break like he was trying to prevent the collision that occurred.

And as you heard the break, you just a couple seconds later, it was just a very loud boom, and everybody just jolted out of their seats. People hit their heads. People were bleeding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Authorities say that the pilot and co pilot were killed when the landing Air Canada jet struck a port authority fire and rescue truck that was trying to cross the runway while responding to a separate incident.

One of the pilots has been identified as Antoine Forest. His family members have expressed his love of flying, and FAA officials are describing both pilots as young men at the start of their careers.

After years of talks, Australia and the European Union have finally sealed a landmark trade deal. This agreement will be -- is expected to slash nearly all tariffs on European products exported to Australia, the two sides have also agreed to bolster defense and security ties. This is the latest in a string of deals hashed out by world and regional powers looking to diversify during a time of growing global uncertainty, much of it fueled in part by the U.S. president's trade wars and tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Today, we are telling an important story to a world that is deeply changing, a world where great powers are using tariffs as a leverage and supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited. In our story, open rules based trade delivers positive sum outcomes. Trust matters more than transactions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:25:11]

SANDOVAL: The Australian Prime Minister is hoping that the deal will amount to some $7 billion for the Australian economy.

Israel's expanding strikes on Hezbollah targets. They are taking an increasing toll on southern Lebanon. In a moment, we'll take a closer look at the country's growing humanitarian crisis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:30:00]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. We are following the latest wave of Iranian strikes on Israel. Israeli officials say that there are at least four impact sites across Tel Aviv with at least six people wounded so far. These are some pictures, actually some live images that we're seeing right now out of Tel Aviv where it's 8:30 this morning.

And police say that there are still search and rescue efforts on the ground that are happening at some of those impact sites as well as some bomb disposal experts that are there to evaluate the situation. We also know that the IDF had warned earlier this morning of possible missile launches from Iran, and now, you see here the aftermath.

Let's go now to Dubai and bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks who's following that developing situation. Paula, what else do we know?

HANCOCKS: Well, Polo, we are seeing footage of the damage on the ground from those Iranian projectiles. We know at this point that there has been damage to apartments it appears from those images.

You can see flames as well that emergency teams are trying to put out debris across the streets of the impact sites. As you mentioned, there have been, according to authorities, four impact sites. We understand from the Tel Aviv district in central Israel is what we are hearing.

Bomb disposal experts are on the scene. We know the Israeli military and the border police are also on the scene, trying to assess the damage and find out exactly what the casualties may be. Now, initial reports suggest that there have been six injured, but they don't appear to be serious injuries at this point.

Now, we have been seeing in recent days, if not weeks, that Iran has been using cluster munitions against targets in Israel. Now, what this means is that the warhead itself does explode into smaller bomblets which then detonate on impact. So it means that there is a much wider impact of these explosives across an area.

It makes it far more difficult to be able to shoot down as well. We saw just over the weekend, more than 150 people were injured in Israel in two different areas, Arad and Dimona, as missiles were not intercepted and got through. Now, it's not clear at this point whether this is a direct hit, whether this has resulted from debris from a successful interception.

We'll wait to hear those details. What we did hear from Tehran though, from officials, through state media, from Fars media, was saying that they were preparing plans for targeting Tel Aviv and also regional allies of the United States. This came on Monday night, this warning through the semi-official, Fars News Agency.

And it came really in response to whether or not there have been talks between the U.S. and Iran, which the U.S. president, Donald Trump, had suggested there had been, and that they were trying to work out a deal in response to that. We did hear from officials within Iran that they were targeting Tel Aviv. They were going to come up with what they called more surprises.

Now, whether this is what they were contemplating, what they were planning is unclear. But certainly, we do know that there has been impact in a number of different areas, four impact sites as of now in the Tel Aviv district in central Israel. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Yeah, these pictures, scenes that have been repeating themselves really since the start of this conflict. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for walking us through that and bringing us the very latest.

Elsewhere, Israeli strikes, they are also having a severe impact on civilians in southern Lebanon. The IDF has been ramping up attacks on homes and bridges along the Litani River to try to sever Hezbollah supply lines.

See this explosion from yesterday. It has displaced Lebanese, or the people who have been displaced have been fleeing the bombardment. They are now vowing to return to their villages despite roads being cut off.

Lebanese officials say that more than 1,000 people have been killed in the attacks, and over one million have been displaced. UNICEF estimating that 118 of those killed and 400,000 of those who were displaced are children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED CHAIBAN, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNICEF: Children in Lebanon deserve a chance to grow up in peace, to feel that sense of safety, to be in school, and to have a normal life like children all over the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Israel's targeting of civilian infrastructure and the use of mass evacuation orders in Lebanon had sparked human rights concerns among U.N. officials. The Lebanese president is calling Israel's latest strikes a "prelude to a ground invasion."

[02:35:00]

One organization on the ground that's helping to ease the ongoing humanitarian crisis is CARE International. Joining me to discuss now, live from Beirut, is CARE's communications Coordinator in Lebanon, Cyril Bassil.

Cyril, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.

CYRIL BASSIL, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, CARE INTERNATIONAL IN LEBANON: Thank you for having me.

SANDOVAL: You heard some of those figures right now, absolutely heartbreaking, especially when we are reminded that the most vulnerable, the children, are being impacted. What is the biggest priority right now for your organization in its humanitarian mission?

BASSIL: So the biggest priority for CARE is to continue supporting all the people in need. Since day one, we have been distributing water, we have been distributing hot meals, towels, shampoo, because as you mentioned, the people who were fleeing their houses in the south or even in southern Beirut were fleeing in a few seconds, so they left their houses with close to nothing. So it's very important for us to continue delivering aid on a daily basis.

SANDOVAL: And then you -- I'm sure you heard that previous reporting as well of Israeli forces intensifying their operations in southern Lebanon. What are your concerns about how that is impacting civilians, especially as the IDF forces target some of the civilian infrastructure, like bridges, cutting off communities?

BASSIL: So for us at CARE, it is very important to continue having access to support the people in need, and so access is key. Delivering humanitarian aid is a right, and so since we have been working on delivering the aid since day one, it is very important for us to be able to continue to do so, because as you mentioned, these civilians are women, they're children, they're elderly, they are in need of water, they're in need of hot meals.

And so for us at CARE, it's very important to continue doing that, and also to deliver psychological first aid, because in addition to the needs for people to eat, to drink water, and to be warm because it's currently very cold in Lebanon, so we also make sure to distribute mattresses and blankets, but it's also important to deliver psychological first aid because people, especially in the south, are extremely traumatized by the airstrikes and the escalation.

So it is very important for us at CARE, because at CARE, we do have a team of professional therapists, and so it's very important for us that the teams that are distributing basic needs, such as hot meals and water, have access, but also the teams that are delivering psychological first aid for the children, the mothers, the elderly that are deeply traumatized.

SANDOVAL: Yeah. For years, I've heard from volunteers and humanitarian groups who often say that it's those wounds that you can't see, those emotional wounds that often are the ones that are the most difficult to heal. Where do some of these displaced families go to seek temporary shelter? We were seeing some pictures just now of arenas or stadiums and other facilities having to serve as temporary homes.

BASSIL: That's true, so people are able to go to schools that have been turned into shelters, and then stadiums and other spaces. We do also acknowledge that there are still people that are sleeping on the sidewalk, sleeping on the street, and seeking shelter. So any public space basically is, you know, they're using to find shelter. Some people are still sleeping in their cars also, because as you've mentioned, it's a very big number, you know, 1.2 million people that are displaced is a very big number. And so this is why we continue working closely with the government to deliver aid where it's needed.

SANDOVAL: We've received these reports of displaced Lebanese people who say that they're determined to return to their villages, perhaps even as the bombardment continues. What would be your recommendation to some of those civilians who would consider that at this point in time?

BASSIL: So for us at CARE, what's very important is our commitment to delivering humanitarian aid. And as much as we can, we work very hard, closely with the government, to go where the need is. And so whether it's in South Lebanon, in Beirut, or in North Lebanon, we continue working closely at CARE with the government to deliver aid because, I mean, as I was saying earlier, the last 10 days, it's been very cold in Lebanon, very heavy rains, thunder, so people are, you know, exhausted.

If you're sleeping on a sidewalk, you need access to aid, and so it's very important for us at CARE to be able to do that on a daily basis.

SANDOVAL: Cyril Bassil, thank you so much for what you and all the volunteers are doing for the civilians in Southern Lebanon. Thank you for your time and for the update.

BASSIL: Thank you, thank you.

[02:40:00]

SANDOVAL: Authorities in London, they're looking for three suspects captured on security camera footage, setting several ambulances on fire. Those vehicles belong to a Jewish volunteer rescue group in a neighborhood that's home to London's largest Jewish community.

An Islamist group has already, at least allegedly, claimed responsibility for what authorities are calling an anti-semitic hate crime. Unfortunately, nobody was hurt, but the fires, they were set just outside of a synagogue. And counterterrorism police, they are leading the investigation, even though it has not yet been labeled a terrorist incident.

Residents in the suburb of Golders Green, they were awoken to -- by these flames and loud explosions, and some have even had to be evacuated as a precaution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADIQ KHAN, LONDON MAYOR: Jewish Londoners who volunteer to provide a service for all Londoners have been attacked for no other reason than because they are Jewish. This is an anti-semitic hate crime, and it's really important for all of us to show allyship to the Jewish community.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: That's a sentiment that's been echoed by the U.K. Prime Minister, who said that there is no place for anti-semitism in British society.

And still on the way here on "CNN Newsroom," the White House deploys ICE agents to more than a dozen airports across the U.S., but is there political motivation behind this latest ICE deployment? I'll speak with a Homeland Security expert about this and more. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:46:16]

SANDOVAL: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, they say are expected back at 14 different airports across the U.S. on Tuesday. The Department of Homeland Security declined to answer exactly how many agents have been mobilized.

They're supposed to help the understaffed TSA, which is currently experiencing a massive number of call-outs due to the partial government shutdown. But on Monday, President Trump suggested that they may have other motives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We put ICE, who are a very high-level, I mean they really are a high-level group of people, and they love it because they're able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country.

That's very fertile territory, but that's not why they're there. They're really there to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: This plan has been met with some mixed response, though. In fact, many Senate Democrats have openly opposed it. And while some travelers appreciate efforts to reduce waiting, they're more concerned with TSA officers still going unpaid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they should just fund the Department of Homeland Security, pay those workers. They're here for a reason, to protect us every day, and I don't think ICE agents should really be up there just filling in the hole.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What kind of security are they're going to provide? Is it the same type of security they're doing in Minneapolis, you know, where even U.S. citizens are going to be concerned about, you know, not having the right paperwork?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Back with me again is Juliette Kayyem. She's a CNN Senior National Security Analyst. She's also a former Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. Juliette, thanks again for joining us.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: So now that we've seen the first day of ICE presence at some of the country's airports, what's your assessment of the deployment? What are these officers doing exactly, in your view?

KAYYEM: Well, there's the question of whether the wait times have significantly changed. And it's anecdotal now, but there are still significant wait times at major airports, even ones where ICE was deployed. So just as sort of judging it on its effectiveness, it may be too early to tell, but it wasn't the sort of quick fix that I think the White House was hoping for.

I think the second issue is, there's plenty of stuff online, plenty of stuff that we've been reporting, of which the ICE deployment seems to be either redundant, excessive, or just not at all clear what they're doing. There's lots of ICE agents sitting around at the edges of what's going on. If anything, that could actually hinder the flow.

The final thing, though, that has been a little bit disturbing today is, I think yesterday, Tom Homan, the White House Czar for Immigration, was trying to sort of tone down the ICE aspect of this deployment. But some of his language today, he was on air a couple times, suggested that there would be immigration enforcement at these airports. I'm not sure how they intend on doing that.

But, you know, the last thing the airline industry needs now is having Americans afraid to go to travel.

SANDOVAL: Right on that point, actually, because of the potential for immigration enforcement at these facilities, do you see the potential for disruption, intimidation perhaps, to have some of these ICE agents being posted at civilian airports?

KAYYEM: Yeah, I mean, I said yesterday, you know, choosing ICE or picking ICE for this deployment is a choice. And the White House knows what that choice means to the American public.

ICE is disfavored at best. It's a wildly unpopular law enforcement agency, given its seemingly sort of untrained, untamed enforcement efforts throughout the United States, and most Americans do not like the masking, do not like the aggressive behavior of Trump's immigration sort of enforcement utilized through ICE.

[02:50:19]

So what we have to remember is that, you know, Trump, the White House announces this. They don't have plans for it. It takes another 24 hours to figure out what's going on. They didn't choose, say, FEMA or the Coast Guard or even FBI agents. They chose an agency that is quite aggressive, that people are afraid of, and that people might protest against.

I don't know why you would want to sort of introduce that to our aviation, our complex aviation system, that potential, unless you wanted disruptions for reasons that are political, either to try to get the Democrats to vote for paying for TSA agents, which was what got us here in the first place.

SANDOVAL: One of the things that I was also asking myself, too, Juliette, is, you know, given all the controversy around ICE deployments we've seen this year alone, i.e., Minneapolis, of course, I mean, I just wonder if these men and women had any idea what they were potentially in for. I mean, they were sent to Minneapolis and then hundreds of them were pulled out after we saw the actions and the deaths of two U.S. citizens.

Now they're being sent to airports. I do wonder perhaps what this might do for morale for some of these agents that thought perhaps they were simply going to be focusing on targeted immigration enforcement.

KAYYEM: That's right. I mean, look, ICE has had a lot of attrition for that reason, a lot of criticisms, both through their labor union and then sort of anecdotally, that we're seeing some reporting. And because it's just -- you know, it's clear that Trump is using ICE as his personal, I would say, like, you know, I can't solve public policy problems, so I'm just going to throw ICE in it. Right?

Like, look, the challenge of what's happening at the airports is a public policy problem. And we solve it through means that normally we would utilize, that you get either Congress to debate it and compromise and get the funding going. Instead, Trump in case after case is using ICE as his sort of his own personal law enforcement agency.

And so I do think the fears about ICE, both at the airport, certainly on American streets and as we head to the November elections, is real. I don't think I'm paranoid. I don't think others are paranoid, until the White House makes it clear that it will not deploy ICE during an election or to enforce immigration at an airport is -- it is hard to feel comfortable with this kind of use of a law enforcement agency.

SANDOVAL: Yeah, you're not the first voice I hear from that believes that these are political in nature. That's something that on Monday, the White House claims is not the case. But again, a lot of people believe that that, in fact, is happening.

Juliette Kayyem, as always, really appreciate your insight. Thank you.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Minnesotan workers are demanding better wages, public workers, teachers and union members. They marched to the streets of Caracas on Monday, calling for things like higher base pay and also for respect for collective bargaining agreements. Workers and pensioners say that they are struggling with hunger and can't afford basic necessities.

Police were eventually brought in to separate the protesters from a group of pro-government demonstrators who are calling for the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Venezuela. After the break, we'll dive into a newly released global air quality report and find out which cities rank among the most polluted on the planet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:56:20]

SANDOVAL: Polls open at the top of the hour in Denmark's general election. Center-left Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen is seeking her third term. Her strong backing of Ukraine has helped boost her support in recent opinion surveys. Denmark's defense minister and the leader of the center-right opposition party are among her main challengers. Some of the main issues include Denmark's cost of living crisis, inequality, and immigration.

Frederiksen is also hoping to capitalize on her handling of the showdown with U.S. President, Donald Trump, over Greenland.

A newly released global study from IQAir sounding the alarm on the global rise in air pollution. The annual report analyzes air pollution data from 9,500 cities in 143 countries and it ranks, there you see it there, only India as the most polluted city on the planet.

The study notes a significant jump in air pollution there just last year by nearly 23 percent and that's likely driven by dust storms, seasonal smog, industrial emissions, and crop burning. The report says air quality is declining in many parts around the world. Only about 14 percent of cities worldwide met the WHO's air quality guidelines last year. That's down from 17 percent the year before.

Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Your headlines continue with my colleague, Rosemary Church, in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:57:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00]