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U.S.-Israel War with Iran; U.S. and Saudi Arabia Lack Clear Plan to Defeat Houthis; Trump Claims U.S. Reached Deal to "Control" Greenland Security; Trump Bans CNN, "Politico," MS NOW from the White House; German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Faces Political Reckoning in Election; Officials Face Baboon Crisis in South Africa. Aired 3-3:30a ET

Aired September 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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IVAN WATSON, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome. I'm Ivan Watson in Hong Kong.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, the cost of the U.S. war with Iran tops $45 billion and the cost is in danger -- the conflict is in danger of widening as an Iran-backed group makes gains.

Donald Trump announces a security deal between the U.S., Greenland and Denmark. Exact details are not yet clear.

And the late Princess Diana's brother is doubling down on his claims of what then Prince Charles said to him after her death.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Hong Kong, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Ivan Watson.

WATSON: OK. We begin with the rising cost of the U.S. war with Iran. The Pentagon says the war has cost $45.1 billion and counting. And that price tag does not include the cost to repair bases or buildings damaged in the war.

Sources familiar with the matter say the Pentagon informed Congress on Friday of this latest estimate as of September 3rd. Now that number surpasses the latest estimate from the Congressional Budget Office, which had put the cost at around $38 billion through August 1st.

President Trump at the White House Friday claimed the war is going to, end quote, "soon."

But the war is threatening to spread, with the Iran-backed Houthi militants intensifying their attacks on Saudi Arabia and the kingdom launching strikes of its own. The Houthis claimed on Friday that Saudi Arabia carried out 300 airstrikes on Yemen this week, though the group offered no evidence to support that claim. However, that number contradicts the Houthis' previous claim on

Wednesday, when they said Saudi Arabia has carried out 450 airstrikes. The militant group retaliated to that wave of attacks by attacking an Aramco facility and a military air base in Saudi Arabia, as seen here in these satellite images.

Joining me now is CNN's Paula Hancocks, who is tracking developments in the region from Abu Dhabi.

Great to see you, Paula. You know, yesterday I was speaking, interviewing a former Israeli intelligence agent, Paula. And he basically argued that neither Saudi Arabia vis-a-vis Yemen and the Houthis nor the Trump administration with Iran have any really good options right now when it comes to these conflicts.

What does it look like from your vantage point when it comes to the Houthis?

Does it look like they have the initiative right now?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ivan, we have multiple sources telling CNN that neither the United States nor Saudi Arabia really appears to have a clear path at this point in order to try and beat back the Houthis.

We have seen a remarkable assault by this Iranian-backed, trained and funded militia group all along the west coast of Yemen, down to Perim Island, a key island, to be able to try and control the critical waterway of Bab-el-Mandeb Strait going into the Red Sea.

So at this point, it does appear that the Houthis certainly have the upper hand. And what we're hearing from the Trump administration is that they do not want to be directly involved in trying to halt this assault by the Houthi militia.

Now we do know from sources that some 100 U.S. personnel are in Saudi Arabia, that they have created this joint forces command, where they're giving intelligence sharing. They are helping with targeting for the Saudi Arabian military.

But they are not getting directly involved. They are not carrying out direct strikes against the Houthis. And we've heard from experts here in the Gulf that there is -- there are questions about whether or not Saudi Arabia would be able to prevent a continuation of this assault by the Houthis on their own.

We have heard from the U.S. president, Donald Trump, in fact, just last weekend when he was in Ireland, saying that the Houthis had called them.

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And said that they don't want the U.S. to be involved, also saying that they are letting most of the ships through.

There's just one country they have a problem with: Saudi Arabia. And they -- and Trump said that that they're trying to work something out, which is really remarkable. Remember, Saudi Arabia is a key U.S. ally. The Houthi rebels are a militia that the U.S. designated a foreign terrorist organization in March of last year.

But at this point, it really does seem as though the Trump administration is very reticent to get involved. So what we have seen also is that the that the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces -- of course, this is the internationally recognized government -- that they are in disarray.

They are not as strong as Saudi Arabia, for example, which has been training them for the past decade, had led Washington to believe. And we had one Western diplomat saying that only 20 percent of the fighting force was actually physically able to fight back against the Houthis.

So at this point, there is no doubt that the Houthis appear to have the upper hand. Ivan.

WATSON: It will be very important to watch what happens next there in Yemen, a country no stranger to terrible conflict. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thank you very, very much for this update and analysis.

Turning now to some new, exclusive and arguably disturbing reporting from CNN, a false AI-generated intelligence report circulated across the U.S. military, quote, "almost started a war" with China.

According to a source earlier this spring, armed U.S. military members were preparing to board a Chinese ship in the Middle East after the report indicated that the ship was transporting components of a nuclear weapons program.

Two people familiar with the matter tell CNN military planes were actually already in the air to carry out the mission until officials dug deeper and found that the report had been generated using an AI chatbot. That technology had apparently misidentified the cargo on the ship.

Now it is not the full annexation of Greenland that U.S. president Donald Trump originally wanted, a demand that triggered a diplomatic crisis with Europe and NATO partners. But on Friday, he announced the U.S. has struck a security deal with Denmark and Greenland after months of negotiations.

Trump said the agreement would give the U.S. permanent control over Greenland security and the U.S. would start building a large military presence on the semi-autonomous Danish territory in addition to the space base that it already has there.

The deal resembles a pact established way back in 1951. But it would forbid U.S. adversaries, such as China, from having a military presence there.

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WATSON (voice-over): Details of the deal are unclear. The Danish prime minister, on the left, did not repeat Trump's description but she called it "a great agreement" which recognizes Danish sovereignty.

And Greenland's leader, on the right, he said it recognizes the island's interests. The agreement still requires a Danish parliamentary approval and is expected to be signed next week at the U.N. General Assembly.

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WATSON: Now earlier, I spoke with CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. He's also author of the book, "New Cold Wars." And he described the key takeaways from the Greenland security deal.

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DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: We haven't seen the wording of the agreement yet. So what we have to go on is the president's description of it, which is not 100 percent reliable, and a very different description of it that we got from Denmark.

But here are the main things to know. First of all, the president went into this saying he wanted to annex Greenland, that it had to end up being part of the United States. He said to me in January, psychologically it was just important to him to actually own it, not to just be able to use the military bases as part of a treaty.

Well, what he's ended up with is not ownership. It is, in fact, an extension of the 1951 treaty and perhaps a broadening of that treaty. And that treaty has changed many times over the years.

The second thing to know about it is the president said that the United States would have veto rights over any foreign effort to put their own bases, meaning Chinese or Russian bases, in Greenland or foreign investment.

Well, the first wasn't very likely to happen, Ivan, because Denmark's obviously a member of NATO. They weren't exactly going to allow the Chinese to build bases. But the second part, the investment part, that Denmark is describing very differently.

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And saying, no, the U.S. does not have a veto. We'll know as soon as we see the wording.

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WATSON: Another development in Washington, President Trump signed a new sanctions bill on Friday, aimed at pressuring Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. It allows him to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on countries that buy oil or gas from Russia and that includes China and India.

The legislation is named after the late senator, Lindsey Graham, who championed it before his passing. But the Kremlin has said any new sanctions could backfire on Ukraine peace talks.

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WATSON (voice-over): Now we're just getting images of a dramatic rescue following Russia's overnight strikes in northern Ukraine. Officials say they show firefighters pulling someone from a damaged apartment building in the city of Sumy. You can see it here.

A regional governor says Russia hit the area with a glide bomb Friday night, killing two people and injuring seven others. Three of them are reportedly in serious condition.

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WATSON: Ukraine is accusing Russia of conducting a so-called double tap strike in its third largest city. Officials say at least 10 people are injured after the drone attack in the city of Odessa on Friday.

Emergency services say Russia launched two back-to-back strikes, with the second one injuring two rescue crew. Ukraine says they may have been deliberately targeted.

But as Ukraine takes a pounding, Russians are casting their ballots. Polls opened about two hours ago, on the second day of the country's parliamentary elections. President Vladimir Putin cast his ballot online on Friday in the first such election since the war in Ukraine began. Voting will run through Sunday.

Technically speaking, 450 seats in Russia's lower house of parliament or duma are up for grabs. But as Clare Sebastian reports, it would be a stretch to call this election fully democratic.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is not a democratic exercise in its true sense but that doesn't mean that the Kremlin doesn't still rely on public support or at the very least public acceptance or frankly apathy in some cases to their rule. And in particular, when it comes to the war.

So what we saw in the lead up to this election was the removal of real opponents before they actually went to the polls.

So Yabloko, which is the only anti-war party that remained on the ballot, was barred in a court case in August. There were other candidates labeled foreign agents and things like that and that meant that they could carry out this vote with the trappings of democracy, this theatrical show and then claim legitimacy for that.

And Putin laid out in his speech on Wednesday exactly what he wanted to get out of this vote. Take a listen.

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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Your choice and your will once again demonstrate that millions of people are behind our soldiers, that we are a united people bound together by shared values, historical memory and love for our homeland. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Well, I mean, of course, it will show that the people are behind Russia's soldiers because they have no option to not vote for a party that is behind the war. So I think you see the farcical nature of this but as we said, still matters to the Kremlin.

And look another way they are trying to legitimize their war through this vote is by holding voting in areas of occupied Ukraine that the Kremlin has claimed to annex.

I think we can show you some pictures there. This is -- there has been early voting in these regions. And the images that are emerging really show the true nature of these men in military fatigues and masks carrying ballot boxes into rural areas.

Ukraine is obviously very concerned about this. The foreign ministry has labeled it a farce and an illegal spectacle -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

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WATSON: Thank you, Clare.

President Trump says he's banning CNN from (sic) "Politico" and MS NOW from the White House, effective immediately. But so far there's no indication the White House has taken steps to enforce a ban. Legal scholars say any such effort would be unconstitutional. CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter has more.

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BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey, there. Yes, president Trump is really coming under a torrent of criticism after saying that he's banning CNN, "Politico" and MS NOW from the White House.

Trump posted on Truth Social that the ban was effective immediately but there was no follow-up. There was no implementation by the White House on Friday. If Trump does follow through, it would be unprecedented.

And legal experts say it would also be unconstitutional. It would be a gross abuse of power that would be struck down by the courts. But that doesn't mean Trump won't try anyway.

So he made this announcement on Truth Social and then he defended the idea during an Oval Office Q&A about an hour later. Meanwhile, though, CNN's teams continued to work at the White House on Friday, just like they do every day.

Perhaps that's because this was not really planned out ahead of time. CNN's Betsy Klein reports that some White House staffers were caught off guard by Trump's announcement of a ban. Citing a source familiar with the matter, Klein says some members of Trump's own press shop found out about this through the Truth Social post.

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So right now it's just words, not actions. But some Trump boosters, some loyalists are speculating that the White House will implement some sort of ban on Saturday or in the coming days.

And many Democratic lawmakers are denouncing this, with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer writing on social media, quote, "Donald Trump just did what dictators throughout history have done."

But Schumer writing to Trump here, "This is a democracy. You will not be able to manipulate the news or hide the truth."

We've certainly seen how Trump's criticism of certain news outlets, certain journalists, ends up drawing more attention, more curiosity.

People end up wondering, what is the president so mad about?

And maybe that will happen in this case, too. But clearly, in this case, there are some serious First Amendment issues at stake. Several of the top press freedom groups in the U.S. warned that Trump's attempts at intimidating the press are getting worse and worse.

And they said that if Trump does try to implement a ban, it would be unconstitutional and would be rejected by the courts if challenged.

Some Republicans are also arguing that this is bad politics for Trump, that it's not going to help him with his messaging heading into the -- into the midterm elections.

Former George W. Bush press secretary, Ari Fleischer, weighed in on Twitter saying this, "I agree with POTUS that several media outlets covering the WH are biased and unfair. Banning them from the WH is not the solution. Open the pool and the briefing room to conservatives. Challenge liberal reporters. Argue and defeat them.

"Don't ban them. Or one day they'll ban us."

As for CNN's White House reporters and "Politico"'s reporters and MS NOW reporters, they just want to keep doing their jobs, free of interference, free of all this noise -- Brian Stelter, CNN.

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WATSON: OK, CNN said in a statement, quote, "CNN stands fully behind our White House team in their fair and accurate reporting. We have a right under the U.S. Constitution to do that reporting without hindrance or interference from the government.

"Should the ban which President Trump threatened go ahead, it would be an illegal assault on that fundamental and constitutionally protected right."

Well, there is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. A war of words between Buckingham Palace and the brother of the late Princess Diana, details on the royal scandal are coming up next after this break.

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WATSON: Welcome back. In Germany, voters are preparing to head to the polls this weekend in two key constituencies. Chancellor Friedrich Merz is faced with the biggest political test of his leadership yet.

In Berlin, skyrocketing rents and a shortage of housing have emerged as top concerns for voters. A new survey found 32 percent of voters cited housing as their biggest issue, far outpacing immigration, crime and transport.

For the far-right AfD, Berlin's housing crisis has fed into its argument for restricting immigration. The party is hoping to score another election victory this weekend as it surges in the polls in the country's former Communist East.

It held a rally on Friday ahead of the vote. The AfD is capitalizing on economic anxiety and growing anger at Chancellor Merz and his center-right ruling party.

To the U.K. now. That's where the late Princess Diana's brother is standing by allegations he makes in his new book.

In an interview with the BBC, Earl Spencer described a telephone conversation he had with then Prince Charles, in which he claims Charles said Diana would soon be forgotten after her death.

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EARL SPENCER, PRINCESS DIANA'S BROTHER: Well, I'm not sure I can say exactly what went through my mind but I really was so stunned and I just, after a stunned silence, I said, I cannot believe you just said that. And I hung up on him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know that Buckingham Palace has already said with a degree of fury that that didn't happen.

SPENCER: I just haven't actually, Laura. They've sort of smudged that one, haven't they?

They said that recollections may vary.

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WATSON: In a rare rebuke, Buckingham Palace had responded to those allegations, saying, quote, "His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WATSON (voice-over): Activists in Kathmandu, Nepal, held a silent protest and candle vigil on Friday, depending -- demanding more action from the world on climate change. The nation is still reeling from the collapse of a glacier in late August that triggered catastrophic flooding. It killed more than 1,300 people and left thousands missing.

Activists honored those victims during Friday's rally.

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WATSON: Now troops of baboons are running amok in Cape Town, South Africa, wreaking havoc on the local community and causing residents to fear for their safety. CNN's Larry Madowo explains a controversial plan to address this thorny problem.

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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cape Town residents are taking notice of a growing controversy over baboons and what to do about them. Troops of baboons are roaming the streets, raiding homes and riling up residents.

These chacma baboons are Southern Africa's largest monkey species. And as the city expands conflict between baboons and residents has grown. And now the city has a plan to solve their primate problem: permanently cage around 60 of the animals as an alternative to culling.

GREGG OELOFSE, COASTAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER, CAPE TOWN: And then we're left with two very difficult decisions. We could either cull the troops, which is arguably the ecological solution, or we could find a space that we could set up an urban wildlife center and allow those animals in those troops to live out their lives in a high standard of care, with a quality of environment.

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MADOWO (voice-over): But that plan has sparked an outcry and fierce debate.

Should baboons, that have adapted to city life, be confined or should people find a way to co-exist with them?

Sue-Anne Norton says she regularly feeds fruit to baboons that visit her home.

SUE-ANNE NORTON, SIMON'S TOWN RESIDENT: They're not dangerous. They are -- they treat you as you treat them. If you treat them with anger and force, they come back at you with force. If you treat them like a pet, like a cat or a dog, like I treat them, then we live together in the, you know, in harmony.

MADOWO (voice-over): City officials say the baboons will be better off if they're confined.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are not wild baboons anymore. They live in an urban area. And what they are getting, whether we agree or disagree, they are going to live their lives better for 30 years.

MADOWO (voice-over): Animal welfare groups say the root of the problem isn't the baboons. It's urban encroachment. They argue residents need to do more to secure their homes, protect trash and eliminate easy access to food.

CHAD CUPIDO, BEAUTY WITHOUT CRUELTY SOUTH AFRICA: If you are living in an area where there is wildlife, then you need to live and co-exist with the wildlife.

MADOWO (voice-over): With the residents now taking to the streets in protest, the battle over Cape Town's baboons comes down to one question.

Can people and wildlife learn to share the city or will one have to make way for the other? -- Larry Madowo, CNN.

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WATSON: To Chile now, where the Chilean volcano erupted Friday, it sent rocks, ash and other volcanic material 380 meters above the crater. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the plume above the snow-covered mountain range. Authorities maintained a one-kilometer security perimeter around the active crater.

Thank you very much for watching. I'm Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. "ANSWERING TOMORROW" is next.