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The U.S. Retaliates; Fireballs Over Kyiv; England Beat France To Take Home Bronze. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired July 19, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte, in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show, the U.S. military carries out another round of strikes on Iran, as details of the deaths of two US service members are revealed.

Massive fireballs over Kyiv as Russia hits back at Ukraine after sustaining the deadliest attacks in two years.

And a day before the World Cup final, England have defeated France to take home the bronze in their best World Cup result in decades.

Welcome. Let's begin in the Middle East, where U.S. Central Command says it's completed the eighth consecutive night of strikes against Iran. Earlier, Iranian state media reported several explosions across the port city of Bandar Abbas and an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian official says at least 50 people have now been killed in the past three weeks.

CENTCOM says the latest strikes were carried out in retaliation for Iranian strikes that killed two U.S. service members in Jordan.

CNN's Julia Benbrook has more for us.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This comes after there had already been days of escalation. For seven consecutive nights, the U.S. carried out strikes, and there were waves of Iranian drones and missiles fired at a widening number of targets in countries with U.S. bases. It also comes after CENTCOM said that two U.S. service members had been killed in action in Jordan, and that one service member was still missing. They also said that four American service members were medically evacuated and taken to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. They are withholding some information at this time as they are working to notify next of kin.

Now, this comes just about a week after Iran had targeted ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump said that he believed that the ceasefire was over. It also comes about a month after there was hope for this diplomatic breakthrough. Both the United States and Iran had signed the memorandum of understanding to kick off a 60-day time period for more technical talks. Recently, though, Trump has said that, in his opinion, the memorandum of understanding is, quote, over as well.

So, what's next here? We do know, according to sources familiar with the matter, that Trump has been presented with options for expanding military operations in Iran. That came before the news that these two service members had been killed, and that there was a Situation Room meeting that centered around how to loosen Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway.

As far as how Americans are responding, a recent Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that just 29 percent approve of how Trump has handled the conflict in Iran.

Traveling with the president in New Jersey, Julia Benbrook, CNN.

HUNTE: All right. Joining us live from Berlin is Ali Fathollah-Nejad. He's the founder and director of the Center for Middle East and Global Order. It's good to see you, sir.

With those U.S. service members being killed, how much do you think their deaths could now change America's objectives in this conflict?

ALI FATHOLLAH-NEJAD, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST AND GLOBAL ORDER: Well, as we know from American history, the casualties of U.S. soldiers are always a heavy political cost for the administration. And so far during the war with Iran, we've seen about 16 soldiers being killed. The Iranian side also knows about the importance of such casualties. It has been widely portrayed in Iranian state T.V. that in Jordan this has led to casualties. Iranian attacks have led to casualties.

But then we can see much more escalation on that front when it comes to potential casualties if the U.S. goes along with potential plans to act as a kind of military guardian of the strait, which would involve a sustained month-long military campaign involving the control, if not occupation, of the Strait of Hormuz adjacent southern coast of Iran and also Iranian islands.

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So, this would potentially lead to much more, you know, U.S. casualties in fact, yes.

HUNTE: The U.S. has now carried out an eighth night of strikes. Are we now looking at a sustained military campaign against Iran?

FATHOLLAH-NEJAD: Well, it seems that the United States' aim is to block or cripple Iran's ability to disrupt this crucial waterway. Iran has resumed attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from last -- from late June -- since late June. and it's clear that the U.S. military campaign is meant to cripple, you know, Iran's military infrastructure near the straits, including key logistics hubs along the southern coast of Iran, but also the north -- the south- north corridor, damaging key bridges and railroads. So, this is what the U.S. campaign probably is meant to do, increasing the pressure on the Islamic Republic to stop its disruption. But I fear that this strategy also if we go into a military scenario that I explained earlier, is probably not -- is difficult to be as successful at the end of the day because it's very extremely difficult to militarily, you know, open up the Strait of Hormuz for the reasons already stated.

HUNTE: At the same time as that Iran has targeted U.S. allies across the region, do you think that Tehran is deliberately trying to widen this conflict?

FATHOLLAH-NEJAD: Well, it's very clear that Iran's response has been like in -- during the March war. It has retaliated not against -- you know, primarily against the United States but primarily Iran against the Arab Gulf states. Not only against the U.S. military facilities there, but also civilian infrastructure with the aim to push those Arab Gulf states that they increase their pressure upon the Trump administration so that the U.S. you know, stops the war.

But this is also unlikely to, you know, bring this aim -- to bring the fruition of this aim. It is -- Iran is acting on the infrastructure versus infrastructure model, which carries a lot of risks, obviously, for the GCC. But maybe the broader point is that there is -- I mean, there is, first of all, the Iranian ambition to control the strait, but there is also a kind of regime with more hardline elements that are pushing for this kind of control of the Strait of Hormuz by all means necessary.

They also favor war more than peace. Because in peacetime, they would fear that they're going to see a reemergence of a popular upheaval against Islamic Republic by the Iranian people, given that the structural crisis of the country are still very, very deep and there are no policy answers from the government to those crises, plus the fact that this hardline camp that seems to be dominating Iran's course of action right now is very much critical vis-a-vis, you know, the other camp within the regime, the hardline pragmatists who are leading the negotiations.

So, this is about jealousy of political standing. There is -- but it's also about the redistribution of power in post-Ali Khamenei Iran and the respective political and economic weight of those two factions. So, this is -- this kind of regional regime infighting in Tehran is complicating the picture and also the future of the conflict.

HUNTE: We've got about 30 seconds left, but looking at the next 24 hours as things keep changing so quickly, what do you think is the biggest risk of this conflict escalating further?

FATHOLLAH-NEJAD: Well, the biggest risk is that, you know, within this infrastructure versus infrastructure model, much more civilian infrastructure going to be affected on both sides of the Gulf in Iran, but also in the GCC, that is they're going to have very negative consequences for the populations of both sides.

[03:10:09] So, this is the very heavy risk.

And when it comes to the Iranian side, the Islamic Republic has not proven to be careful about what the impact on its own civilians going to be from any kind of war and confrontation.

HUNTE: Okay. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Videos coming in to CNN show huge fireballs over Kyiv as Russia launched new strikes on Ukraine's capital. Officials say at least three city districts came under fire just a few hours ago. The damage includes both residential buildings and a shopping center that was in flames.

The attack came on the heels of Ukraine's deadliest strikes on Russia in more than two years. Officials say Ukrainian drones took aim at two commercial warehouses, which Kyiv says are also used for military purposes. Russia says at least eight people were killed and more than 60 others were injured.

Barbie Latza Nadeau is here to tell us more live from Rome. So, Barbie, we have seen more huge attacks overnight. What do you think they tell us about where this war is heading next?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Well, you know, these attacks on the Ukrainian capital overnight really sparked a lot of fires in these residential areas and the shopping center. And this was, of course, in retaliation for those twin drone attacks in Russian territory on Saturday, killing eight people.

You know, those were some 700 kilometers from the frontline, that deep into Russian territory. You know, those billows of black smoke really hard to sort of hide from the Russian people, so that is, of course, rattling nerves there.

But it's a change in strategy in the sense that Ukraine has previously focused on energy and infrastructure and some maritime assets. So, to be going after these distribution centers that were involved, according to Ukraine, in the manufacturing of these drones really does sort of change the tactic in terms of taking the war into Russia. Ben?

HUNTE: And with everything that we've seen so far, everything that we've witnessed, do you think that either side can still claim to be genuinely serious about negotiations?

NADEAU: Well, certainly from the Ukraine side, the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says that he is serious about ending this war, and he places the blame strictly on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Let's listen to what he had to say.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Russia has long had the opportunity to turn to diplomacy and end its aggression. It is the Russian leadership's refusal and its desire to continue fighting that are the reasons this war goes on. This year alone, we have approached Russia dozens of times with proposals to stop the war. The response has always been rejection.

Our partners are working to help organize a meeting between the leaders, the United States, Turkey, other European countries, and Arab leaders. Putin has no desire to end the war.

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NADEAU: And so, Ben, it really would seem that, you know, if Russia's not going to go to the negotiating table, that Ukraine is going to increasingly take the war into Russian territory, and these latest attacks on Saturday really do prove that point.

So, it's really up in the air now what happens next if the, if Ukraine is going to be able to carry out another attack deep into Russian soil or not, but this war is not anywhere close to ending it would seem at this point. Ben?

HUNTE: Yes, indeed. It does seem that way.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you.

Hundreds of forest fires are burning in Canada as firefighters scramble to control whatever they can. U.S. President Donald Trump has blamed the northern neighbor for willful negligence, polluting the air in the U.S. through bad forestry practices, even threatening more tariffs.

Smoke from the outbreaks has blanketed parts of the Northeast, putting more than 100 million Americans in 18 states under air quality alert. But Doug Ford, as the premier of Ontario, where many of the fires are burning, has called Trump's threats unacceptable. He said, instead, neighbors should provide help, and he was even asked about that.

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DOUG FORD, ONTARIO, CANADA PREMIER: Oh, Governor Healey from Massachusetts called me, offered any assistance. I said, yes, we'll take whatever you can get. She couldn't provide the water bombers, but even fire personnel, so we're waiting to hear back. And I talked to Governor Walz, and they have their hands full. The fire, I think it's the second largest, if not the largest now, jumped from Minnesota over to Ontario.

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HUNTE: Meanwhile, after days of soaring temperatures, New York City was hit with heavy rain on Saturday when thunderstorms swept through the region.

Meanwhile, after days of soaring temperatures, New York City was hit with heavy rain on Saturday when thunderstorms swept through the region. Two to four inches of rain triggered significant flooding as the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for all five boroughs. This video you're seeing there shows a street in New York submerged as rain pelts down. It got so intense it caused the Yankees-Dodgers baseball game to be rescheduled.

Nearby New Jersey was also hit by the weather. It's where the World Cup final will be played later today. But blue skies are expected for that big game.

Some of the world's best soccer players will face off on Sunday as Spain and Argentina battle for the World Cup title. Meanwhile, England, who created some history of their own, they beat France six to four in the bronze match, bringing the country its best World Cup result in 60 years. Their early goals and tenacious offense set the tone for the exciting game.

Despite his team's loss, France's star forward is also making his way into the history books. Kylian Mbappe scored two goals in the second half. That gives him a two-goal lead against Lionel Messi in this year's Golden Boot race, and he currently beats Messi's all-time World Cup goal-scoring record.

Fans are pumped up for what they expect to be a thrilling World Cup final. CNN's Amanda Davies gives us a preview.

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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: We, the teams and the fans, have made it here to the Big Apple for the big one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Spain scores first that's probably good news for Argentina because they like to do comebacks. So, if they score first, then I think Argentina will take it.

DAVIES: How confident are you for the final?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I seem pretty confident, like I trust in my team to win.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 3-2, Spain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leo Messi, and then my wife, and then my family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

DAVIES: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes. She's the love of my life. Yes. It's the most important people in my --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You cheat on --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First Messi, then me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. DAVIES: The love of Messi might never change, but things at this tournament have been a bit different. With the introduction of hydration breaks, we're getting set for that first ever World Cup halftime show. And in another Americanization, it's been revealed the winners are set to receive a Super Bowl-esque celebratory ring.

And how about this, a first public pre-final presentation here at Fanatics Fest with both coaches and captains, and, yes, the biggest cheers for Leo Messi.

LIONEL SCALONI, ARGENTINA COACH: To have been able to reach a final as he has reached it at 39 years old, I think it is something incredible. We have to value what he does, and the history and the legend is him, and this whole group of players who have taken us to some wonderful years.

DAVIES: 16 years after they won the World Cup for the first and only time, it's 19-year-old Lamine Yamal who's the face of this new era for Spain, as they look to emulate the success of the players from 2010.

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RODRI, SPAIN MIDFIELDER: This team and this generation, we're going to give people something to talk about, and that the path toward reaching the greatest thing a soccer player can achieve, which is lifting the World Cup. And on Sunday, we have a very beautiful challenge ahead of us to make this unforgettable, I think, as you say, for a great generation.

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HUNTE: All right. We'll be right back.

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HUNTE: Flashfloods fed by days of heavy rains tore through a mountainous village in Northern Vietnam, killing at least four people. State media report four others are missing, and at least seven people were injured.

Vietnam is prone to this kind of severe weather, and government data shows that 489 people were killed last year, and that was due to natural disasters

A high-profile Cuban dissident is starting a new life in the United States, and that's after negotiations between Washington and Havana.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more on his story from the Cuban capital.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Prominent Cuban dissident and artist, Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, arrived in Miami on Saturday following five years in Cuban prison. He has been one of the most high-profile political prisoners on this island, according to human rights groups. Otero Alcantara, as an artist, sort of lived to annoy the Cuban government. The Cuban government did not like his performance art that involved the Cuban flag. They said it was violating the law.

But it was really his participation in the largest anti-government protest five years ago that we've ever seen on this island that landed Otero in jail here. It led to his five-year stint in prison. And for human rights groups, they said this was a clear sign of someone who was being jailed, being persecuted for their political beliefs and that he was a prisoner of conscience.

The Cuban government had denied that and said that he was someone who simply showed disrespect to authorities. Family members have told us that they were concerned that in July he finished his sentence, and that he should have been released from prison and he was not. But what we've learned over the last several days is there's been a constant back and forth between Cuban and U.S. authorities.

That's from a U.S. embassy official here in Havana who says that it was the U.S. and Cuba negotiating exile for Otero that would allow him to go to the United States. He has said previously that he wanted to go to the U.S. and be able to pursue his art career there.

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He felt that he would not be able to do that in Cuba under so much scrutiny from the government, under the current economic conditions that are so disastrous at this moment.

And so he's arriving to a hero's welcome in South Florida by the Cuban American community there that see him as a steadfast opponent of the government here. But, of course, according to human rights groups, there are more than a thousand other prisoners of conscience on this island, political prisoners. And so they will certainly be the focus of any further U.S.-Cuban negotiations.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

HUNTE: Well, those are some of the 300 protesters who turned out to meet U.S. Ambassador Tilman Fertitta as he arrived in Venice aboard his super yacht. This billionaire businessman's luxury yacht is called the Boardwalk. He's using it to tour the Italian peninsula as part of what he calls a Freedom 250 Coastal Diplomacy Tour. Protesters carried signs reading, Fertitta must go, and make America go away.

Today is the final day to see one of the most important private collections of Mexican art in Mexico before it begins a European tour. The exhibition features dozens of works by artists including Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Film producer Jacques Gelman and his wife, Natasha Gelman, assembled the collection. The exhibition has attracted more than 310,000 visitors since opening in February. The works had not been seen in Mexico for 20 years, and they are expected to return to Mexico in two years' time. All right, all very exciting stuff.

Thank you so much for joining me and the team. That is all I have left for you. I'm Ben Hunt in Atlanta. Quest's World of Wonder is next, and then, of course, I'll see you back here again tomorrow for more CNN Newsroom. See you tomorrow.

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