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Connect the World
Hearts Singing in Liverpool; World Gets First Glimpse of Meghan and Harry's Newborn Son; Reds Reach Champions League Final After Dramatic Comeback; Mo Salah Shares Team on from Sidelines; Iran Reduces Commitments to Nuclear Deal Agreement; Iranian Foreign Minister Says Iran is Not Pulling Out; Trump Exerts Executive Privilege Over Mueller Report; Klopp Praises Players After Stunning Victory; Royal Baby Named Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired May 08, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00] BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Moments that transcend a single football match and perhaps even sport itself to lift the hearts above any
pitch.
Hello and welcome to CONNECT THE WORLD live from Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson for you. We're going to take you live to Anfield just moments
from now where Liverpool is still celebrating their miraculous win over Barcelona in the Champions League semifinal. And speaking of uplifting --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGHAN, DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: I have the two best guys in the world, so I'm really happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The first sighting of that Royal bundle of joy. Much more news ahead for you this hour folks. But we begin with this.
Even in the storied history of Liverpool Football Club, this Champions League semifinal match stood out. It is safe to say that entering Tuesday
night's game not many fancied Liverpool's chances of advancing to the final. Yes, they were playing at their legendary home ground of Anfield
but they came into the game down 3-0 from the first leg. They were missing two top players due to injury and they were playing Barcelona and won
Lionel Messi. But defined the odds Liverpool staged a stunning comeback.
And then Divock Origi who only started because of injuries. Slotted home the winning goal sending the mighty Reds into the June 1st final in Madrid.
Well after the match a spine-tingling moment as fans and players serenaded each other with Liverpool's famous anthem "You'll Never Walk Alone." Have
a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWD SINGING "YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE")
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Oh, the goosebumps. Amazing scenes. Amanda Davies joining us now from Liverpool. This comeback being described, Amanda, as the greatest
in European history. And you'd be hard-pressed to argue at that. But this was so much more than just a football match. Right?
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Wasn't it, Becky? I mean, that famous line from that anthem with hope in our hearts and Liverpool had hope with
bells on throughout that match last night. It was incredible. It was a match that really transcends football league allegiances. I'm famously not
a Liverpool fan, a big supporter of Manchester United, of course, but you can't help but be moved by what happened last night.
I was actually sitting watching at home on my sofa in London and I could hear the cheers, the renditions of that from a bar at the end of my road.
You normally don't hear sounds like that from anything other than the World Cup final really to hear it on the night of a Champions League semifinal is
incredible.
And here at Anfield today, the famous half/half scarves which caused so much controversy in the football league world, you don't want split
allegiances. They've been flying off the shelves here today. People wanting that bit of memorabilia to remember this night. Barcelona 2019,
when Liverpool defied the odds to book their place in the Champions League final.
ANDERSON: Amanda, you said you were watching at home and could hear fans in the booze it down the road. Fans that were watching around the world.
Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROWN SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Amanda, these were Liverpool supporters in Nashville, Tennessee, perhaps skipping work for the pub.
[11:05:00] The game there airing at 2:00 in the afternoon local time and wherever you were watching, Nashville, Tennessee, or Thailand. It was as
much, Amanda, I think you nailed this, the atmosphere in the stadium as it was the game that blew millions and millions of fans away around the world
and the crowd, the 12th man on the pitch last night, the crowd and the manager. Put those two together, you almost forget about the team.
DAVIES: Yes, we were actually speaking to an Australian fan a little bit earlier on. He extended his work trip here to the U.K. as a lifelong
Liverpool fan just to be part of this. He said he normally is up at 5:00 in the morning in Sydney watching Liverpool, but he couldn't not be here
for this occasion. And the corps as you mentioned, has seen some incredible European nights. It is legendary around world football for what
it inspires from its team.
Liverpool should not have won this game by any stretch of the imagination. But it was really summed up, wasn't it, by that phrase on Mo Salah's t-
shirt. He was sitting watching on. It said, "never give up." The fans didn't give up literally from the first whistle. And the team, every
single one of them were literally on their last legs and that full-time whistle. Boy, did they give everything on that pitch.
ANDERSON: Well, you're talking about Mo Salah. He's the team's top scorer. He wasn't even on the pitch, of course, last night. He was on the
sidelines in that shirt that said it all to his teammates who came into this match for the ages. Three goals down, of course. But it's a message
that resonates around the world, "never give up." And I was struck by it enough to tweet it out last night. I wrote, "no caption needed." A little
while later the man himself corrected me somewhat. Caption included was what he tweeted out. Can we expect him to play in the final?
DAVIES: I think in the final there is a very high chance he will be back playing, yes. He was ruled out because of concussion. And there's been
kind of some added scrutiny on the issue of concussion because of what happens in the Champions League semifinal last week. Salah was injured
this weekend so they didn't want to take any risks for him. There's a question mark whether or not he'll make it for their final Premier League
game of the season this weekend.
We've been inside the stadium and the preparations well under way, of course, for that. But the Premier League title now very much out of their
hands if Manchester City win their final game of the season. Then Liverpool, despite only losing that one game this season, they will miss
out on the Premier League trophy. But the big one as far as they're concerned, the Champions League, they're into the second Champions League
final in two years. That is very much within their grasp . And everybody you speak to here says whether they're playing Ajax or Spurs in Madrid on
June 1, Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp side will now very much be the favorites.
ANDERSON: Yes, amazing scenes last night. Another big match to go tonight, Spurs, Ajax in Amsterdam of course. That's going to be an
absolute killer as well. So we look forward to that and indeed to the final on June the 1st.
Folks, for those of you out there who aren't football fans, forgive us headlining this story. There are hundreds of millions of people out there
who are football fans and as we say, the point about last night was as much about the emotion of the fans around the world. This is called the
beautiful game, boy, does it transcend what happens on the pitch on nights like last night.
Well Britain's baby Sussex makes his world debut. The world got its first glimpse of Prince Harry and wife Meghan's newborn son earlier today at
Windsor Castle. The Royal couple say they are absolutely thrilled and were beaming as they showed off their little bundle of joy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meghan, can you tell us what it's like to be a new mom and baby Sussex, as we're calling him.
DUCHESS OF SUSSEX, UNITED KINGDOM: It's magic. It's pretty amazing. I mean, itch the two best guys in the world, so I'm really happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tell us a little bit about your son, what is he like? Is he sleeping well? A good baby?
DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: Yes. He has the sweetest temperament. He's really calm and --
PRINCE HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: I wonder where he gets that from?
DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: And he's just been a dream.
[11:10:00] So it's been a special couple days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who does he take after? Does he look like anyone?
DUCHESS OF SUSSEX: We're still trying to figure that out.
PRINCE HARRY: Everyone says babies change so much over two weeks. We're basically sort of monitoring how the changing process happens over the next
month really. But his looks are changing every single day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: The Royal baby born on Monday but so far, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have kept mum -- kept mum on his name. Still no word on when
that will be revealed. Our world correspondent, Max Foster, following it all from Windsor. And they made the world wait a couple days, but they
looked absolutely ecstatic when they finally showed that little fellow off to the world.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they looked ecstatic and exhausted. They're obviously being hands-on parents as they sort of said they would
do. Just mother helping down -- Meghan's mother there down in the cottage helping them. The first sort of venture outside was up the hill, up to the
castle where they're also meeting the Queen. So they're discussing names. They're discussing titles and then they're going to discuss it with us.
We're going to get the true identity, Becky, of baby Sussex revealed hopefully this hour.
ANDERSON: Well, we will be all over that with you when that happens. Thank you, sir. Max Foster in Windsor. We'll be back to him if we get a
name in the next hour. Loads of speculation about that.
All right. Let's move on. There was an interesting tweet actually from Kensington Palace last night, but it wasn't about baby Sussex. It could
indicate the Royal family's newest uncle is focused on other things unlike his brother. The official Twitter account that the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge tweeted.
Well done Liverpool. An incredible result. What a comeback. W.
Perhaps William was needling his brother Harry who probably didn't get a chance to watch. I can tell you I know that William is an Aston Villa fan.
Again, that game was so extraordinary. 90 extraordinary minutes of transcendental bliss to take away from it all. And the baby, a bouncing
little bundle of joy. The fact is though, we need a safe world to enjoy it all and don't we. Up next we explain the Iran nuclear deal using a game of
Jenga. Why not?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[11:15:00] BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran will not get its hands on a nuclear bomb.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Iran deal is a disaster. They're testing missiles. And what is that all about?
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: What you rightly call is the terrible nuclear deal with Iran.
HASSAN ROUHANI, PRESIDENT OF IRAN: Again, we have chosen the path of diplomacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Right now we are watching in real time one of the most remarkable foreign policy documents ever facing going caput. The JCPOA,
the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, we know it as the Iran nuclear deal. 30,000 painstakingly placed words, becoming, like, well, an
extremely precarious game of geo strategic Jenga.
Iran carefully disentangling itself from this this hour in highly calibrated language and remind you from parts. Only parts of it. They are
warning, though, that they'll do more if things don't get better in 60 days. Our game of Jenga.
Remember, this coming one year to the day America pulling out of the deal entirely. Point blank. Donald Trump not happy that it doesn't cover
things like missile launches. Leaving the Europeans a little up the creek without a paddle. Backing the deal but to Iran's eyes not doing enough to
keep up their end of the bargain.
In Washington loading on suffocating sanctions to choke off Iran from selling even a single drop of oil to anyone but that's still not enough.
New penalties looking to pick apart the rest of the Iranian economy now being worked up.
Then days ago, not directly, mind you, not directly related but tying in. A few hundred thousand of things aren't playing out so well between us.
Raw American power, an aircraft carrier strike group into the Gulf. Why? Well new intelligence, D.C. reckons of Iran moving missiles around.
Leaving everyone with a shaky if still on life support deal to round us out. Here's Iran's President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROUHANI (through translator): The JCPOA was a win-win agreement. We will not allow the United States of America to turn this win-win agreement into
a win-lose agreement for us. And the world must know the JCPOA will never turn into a win-lose agreement as the U.S. wishes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well we are everywhere that matters on this incredibly important story. Connecting everything together for you. Nic Robertson with the
view from ten miles up from London. Fred Pleitgen back in Moscow, a key capital. But he gets over to Iran a lot. On the ground in Tehran for us,
journalist, Ramin Mostaghim.
So first to you, Nic. Pompeo just speaking in London where you are. What we get?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: He thinks that what Iran is trying to do here in essence is shortened the pathway to making a
nuclear weapon. And he said this is going to be watched very closely and watch the European partners have a different view of what Iran is trying to
do overall. But this is obviously a very clear concern for him. And he was standing next to British Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt when he made
those comments.
The British Foreign Secretary said as long as Iran continues to comply with the Iran nuclear deal then the Europeans will as well. The reality is, he
said, however, this is a huge moment, essentially a fork in the road, for the Iranians. This is how he put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY HUNT, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: If they don't comply with the JCPOA there will be consequences and I'm sure that I'm speaking for my
European colleagues in that respect as well. This is a very big moment for Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And when he says consequences, what he really means is, that the Europeans, Britain, France, Germany, the EU may be forced if Iran
breaks the terms to go back to themselves as well putting sanctions on Iran. Exactly what Iran is trying to avoid right now.
Fred, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, just speaking where you are in Moscow. What's his position then?
[11:20:00] What does he believe is going on?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, I think he believes that -- and he said that he believes -- that Iran is
still very much compliant with the Iran nuclear agreement. However, it is only reducing its commitments under the deal.
Now essentially what the Iranians say they're doing is that they're raising the levels of the amount of low enriched uranium that they are going to
stockpile and also heavy water, of course, also very important, that they are going to stockpile as well. And they say the reason they're doing that
is because the U.S. simply isn't letting other countries buy this stuff from them. And therefore, the levels that they would have of this stuff
would get so high so quickly that they would then be in noncompliance if they didn't take the step right now.
Now the Iranians very much making clear that they believe by and large they are still very much committed to the deal and compliant with the deal.
Let's listen into what Javad Zarif said earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The decision the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken at the moment, is actually
to continue with our commitments to the nuclear agreement and not go against it. Unlike the USA which has pulled out of it. We have not pulled
out of the agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: However, Becky, there is of course also a very real threat involved there by the Iranians as well. On the one hand, course, they're
very angry by the fact the U.S. has deployed that carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf, the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, B-52 bombers as
well. So they are feeling a lot of heat from the U.S.
But I think all of this is also a very, very clear message to The Europeans in the JCPOA, that Iran means business and that Iran is willing to go
further. And possibly even get out of the deal if the Europeans don't do what the Iranians would want them to do. Which is making sure that Iran is
able to sell its oil and also that sanctions, for instance, in the banking sector somehow at least get loosened somewhat. The Europeans -- the
Iranians at least believe, were saying that they want to make up for some of the losses that the Iranians have since the U.S. pulled out of the deal.
They don't feel that the Europeans are doing enough. So a very clear threat there from the Iranians. Saying if this doesn't happen in 60 days,
the Iranians are going to resort to further and more drastic measures -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Robin, you are in Tehran. Experts we speak to say they are concerned that we may be hearing the drumbeat of war from the state or at
least a military strike. And a lot of people are talking about what the consequences of that would be. What is the atmosphere like where you are
and what's the narrative?
RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, CORRESPONDENT, LOS ANGELES TIMES: The narrative -- the official narrative when we hear the officials -- the problem is that they
don't hear the world drum and they suppose -- they assume that American administration is unable to wage all-out war against Iran and that
assumption is a basis for measured risk. And they suppose If they confront and sought peace, America is unable to just to start all-out war against
them.
Remember, that's why they suppose if they just step-by-step increase their potential for enrichment or going toward what they call it, industrial
level of enrichment, or industrial scale of enrichment of uranium. America cannot do any change, just accept. And they are following -- the officials
I mean -- and those (INAUDIBLE) policy. And they suppose if they increase the bargaining chips. What that means enrichment of uranium. Then America
will be forced to sit at the negotiation table. Because the assumption is that America is unable to -- under this circumstance to start a war against
Iran and that's why they suppose a software war. Which is the economy, is we are losing a war. But a hardware war -- which is military confrontation
-- we are a winner. So that's why they are following a (INAUDIBLE) policy to force America to seek negotiation.
ANDERSON: Ramin, analysis out of Tehran. We very much appreciate that. And to Nic and Fred, thank you. Going to be joined by "Washington Post"
writer Jason Rezaian later this hour. And Vali Nasr, Dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins joining us, so do stay with
us for that.
I want to get you to some extraordinary events unfolding right now in Washington. House lawmakers are set to vote holding Attorney General
William Barr in contempt over his refusal to give Congress a full unredacted Mueller report.
[11:25:00] That's not all. Just before the Judiciary Committee convened, President Donald Trump invoked executive privilege over the entire Mueller
report and over its underlying evidence. The head of that committee, Jerry Nadler, is blasting the Trump administration's defiance of Congressional
oversight. Saying it's clear the United States is now in a constitutional crisis. Nadler, of course, no fan of Donald Trump.
Let's bring in CNN senior Washington correspondent, Joe Johns, to pick apart what we are hearing and seeing as we speak, sir, on The Hill.
Explain.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We continue to watch the House Judiciary Committee. This is the committee that is handling this
issue of the Mueller report and the release of it. The attempt to get the unredacted report in their hands which they've been pushing for some time
now. So there will be a vote here very shortly and then we'll move on to the later rounds.
What is going on behind the scenes -- including here at the White House -- is that the President has invoked executive privilege. So what exactly
does that mean? It means essentially that the President is claiming there may be certain information in the documents that underline the Mueller
report or in the unredacted Mueller report itself which are privileged and, therefore, should not be released to the general public or the full United
States Congress.
And what they've invoked is something called protective executive privilege. Which essentially means, we're going to claim this over the
entire report and all of its underlying information. And then at a later date when we have time we can go through more or less line by line to find
the things that the President would not want released.
So it's a long process. And we expect for it to end up in the United States courthouse and that will be where the Congress and the Attorney
General likely fight it out unless they get some type of an agreement before that time -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Joe, let's just get a bottom line on this one. This will have no impact on Mueller testifying to Congress, correct?
JOHNS: We don't know that. That's a question that I posed to Sarah Sanders, the President's spokeswoman, just a little while ago. The simple
question is, will the President allow Mueller to testify before the United States Congress if he's already declared executive privilege over all of
the documents? And she said she wasn't aware of anything new on that. I've also asked the special counsel's office a similar question. Namely,
has his employment departure time been changed? The special counsel's office would not respond.
One key question that's important is whether he might be leaving sooner rather than later. Now he said his departure was imminent. But in the
light of all that, the question is whether they're going to want to keep him on. Because if they do keep him on it would be easier for the Attorney
General and then the President to determine whether or not they want him testifying and under what conditions.
ANDERSON: Your insight is incredibly important to us as we continue to watch the story unfold on The Hill. Joe, always a pleasure, thank you.
Well it's been called the "Miracle of Istanbul" -- the red side that is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's in. It's incredible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well that was the third of what were four goals last night. Four goals that took these fans and the team that plays in this stadium to
what was an unbelievable comeback against Barcelona. Take them into the final of the Champions League in June. We've been saying this is bigger
than what happened on the pitch. We get the view from the cup with the lifelong red coming up.
[11:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching CNN. This is CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. Welcome back. We are in Abu Dhabi but I'm going to get you to
Liverpool in England and back to our top story. Where fans are getting ready for Madrid after a magical victory over Barcelona in Tuesday's
Champions League semifinal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take it quickly. Oh, wonderful. Taking Origi -- brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well Divock Origi the unlikely hero starting because Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino were actually injured and scoring two goals including
this one that gave Liverpool the 4-3 win on aggregate. That moment immediately becoming etched into Liverpool lore. And bringing back
memories of another historic comeback when the club rallied to win the 2005 Champions League final.
As you might imagine Liverpool fans all over the world are completely over the moon. Let's talk to one Gareth Roberts. He is in Liverpool and he
joins us by Skype. And you're not just a fan. You are one of the voices on the "Anfield wrap", which is a podcast that we have come to know and
love. You are about as tight as it gets when it comes to Liverpool and being one of those who stand on the terraces as they used to be called at
the cup or the cup in Anfield. You were there last night. Just describe what happened.
GARETH ROBERTS, PRESENTER, ANFIELD WRAP PODCAST (via Skype): It was actually unbelievable. I mean, I went to the game. I was walking up to
the ground, walking up to my place on the cup. Thinking about as you do when you go into a big event like that. And I was thinking, can we really
do it again? Can we really defeat the odds again? And it just felt a little bit too much for me. I was out in Barcelona and I watched the field
there. We got beat 3-0. And I thought we were unlucky that day. The football gods were against us that day, if you like.
And I thought to turn over a 3-0 advantage with Barcelona would take almost a perfect performance from Liverpool.
[11:36:00] And as you say, had no Mo Salah, no Bobby Firmino. And you're out some of the support and cast stepping in and it felt a little bit like
(INAUDIBLE) in my mind anyway, a 1-0 win, a 2-0 win. I'll take that. We'll get a bit of pride back. I didn't think we would be talking about a
4-0 win. And it was absolutely amazing. It was one of those moments where football just takes to a place of another world. It's like a fairy tale.
And you know you lose it. (INAUDIBLE) it was wonderful and not top it any moments like. It was absolutely brilliant.
ANDERSON: Well, let's talk about the man many credit with taking this Liverpool team to the top ranks of global football there, charismatic
manager Jurgen Klopp. He spoke after the match. It's safe to say, well he was feeling the moment. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JURGEN KLOPP, LIVERPOOL MANAGER: I don't know how the boys did it. It was incredible how we defended. Most of the children are probably in bed but
these boys are (INAUDIBLE) giants. It's unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Forgive him. This girth is a club with a storied history and a list as long as your arm of legendary managers. What does this man mean to
the club?
ROBERTS: He's everything. I think Jurgen has been fantastic for Liverpool. I think Liverpool was in danger of losing what it was about.
You know, you've seen plenty of big clubs' sort of fall by the wayside and become a pale shadow of what they once were. I think Jurgen's taken this
job. He knew that -- he chose to come to Liverpool or the club. He could have gone to Manchester United. He could've maybe gone to Arsenal. I
think there was interest from Tottenham at one point as well.
But he wanted to come to Liverpool fans, Liverpool the city would embrace that and we have done. And the fact that we won't show to answer or bow
down to anyone, including now the mighty Barcelona. That's what we want in the city. Because Liverpool has always been a city that will fight for
what it's about. And Jurgen Klopp sides are the same. And he's a proper leader, Jurgen.
I think he motivates the crowd. He motivates the players and the very fact that we've got to another final after losing last year. The very fact that
we're at the very top of the Premier League and we've got a chance to win on Sunday is absolute testament of the man. Because I think what happened
last year in the way we lost that final against Real Madrid and Cardiff. You know, I think other sides, other managers may have fell off a bit of a
cliff psychologically after that. But Jurgen has lifted them over and over and over again. You can see (INAUDIBLE) that they really believe in the
manager and so do we as fans.
ANDERSON: I'm just looking at you as you speak. You do look quite tired. What time did you get to bed last night?
ROBERTS: It was a late one. It was a late one. I'm not an ally. We had a few pints afterwards. Even when I got back home it was very hard to
sleep. The adrenaline was absolutely pumping through me. I was watching the highlights back again. I watch them about 200 times now already.
(INAUDIBLE)
ANDERSON: Before you tell us and these viewers around the world for those who aren't football fans, what football means to you. I just want to talk
about Mo Salah. Who was out with a concussion, of course, cheering from the sidelines in a shirt that said it all. Never give up. That message,
of course, felt by fans around the Anfield Stadium. Last year I asked about the legend about the magic of Anfield in which Liverpool greats he
gets inspiration from. Have a listen to what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: So what was your feeling the first time you walked out onto this pitch?
MOHAMED SALAH, EGYPTIAN SOCCER PLAYER, LIVERPOOL: Crazy. The first time I played here was unbelievable. I feel like I have never played before.
ANDERSON: Do you have a favorite player from Liverpool past?
SALAH: I use to play with Gerrit in PlayStation. So this is one I remember, other time. Because if you shoot from far, He scored many goals.
ANDERSON: So it was only a PlayStation.
SALAH: He would shoot from everywhere in his court.
ANDERSON: Does he know that?
SALAH: No. I didn't say that before.
ANDERSON: He knows it now.
SALAH: I met him twice. He's a great, great man.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I'm sure he does and I know Gerrit he would have been watching last night. You been a fan of Gerrit as long as you could be literally
stand up. I spoke to you in Liverpool during your podcast just after we'd done that interview. And we talked at the time about what football means
to you.
[11:40:00] Just step back for one moment and reflect on last night and just want to spend just 30 seconds or so just explaining to the viewers who
don't get it what it all means.
ROBERTS: It means everything in this city. It really does. And I think it lifts everything. I think people will go out and spend more money when
Liverpool have won. You know the Liverpool bars were absolutely rocking last night. Everyone's walking around the city today with a smile on their
face. Well maybe not Everton-ians, who are our rivals in the city. But certainly the red half of (INAUDIBLE). And it does, it lifts the city. It
means everyone was so, so proud of our football team. We're so, so proud of the history.
Well we want new stories to tell. One of the things that we do at the (INAUDIBLE) is try to introduce new voices all the time. And we've got
some younger lads, some younger girls who sometimes come on our podcast. And they haven't seen some of the glory years that I have. They didn't see
Liverpool win in Istanbul, for example. They haven't seen some of the other trophies listed. They certainly haven't seen them lift the Premier
League because we've never done it. And the last time we won the league was way back in 1990 which I'm old enough to remember, unfortunately.
But it was great for them last night. That was their turn to see a fantastic on the field European victory that people didn't expect. None of
the experts expected Liverpool to turn that around. I don't expect them to turn that around. I don't think the players really did. But once it
started, we got behind them. The players kept on pushing. That was lifting the crowd, the crowd were lifting the players, and it becomes this
beautiful thing that rolls on.
ANDERSON: And the rest is history.
ROBERTS: In it hope it rolls on all the way to Madrid.
ANDERSON: We wish every Liverpool football fan the very best. And whoever you're playing be it Tottenham or Ajax it's going to be a great game, I'm
sure. Thank you, sir. Always a pleasure.
ROBERTS: Thank you.
ANDERSON: And if you're interested that podcast, "The Anfield Wrap", is terrific, I have to say.
With jubilation not confined to Liverpool, take a look at this message from basketball legend, LeBron James. Cheering on Liverpool all the way from
Los Angeles. And we should point out that James owns a 2 percent stake of Liverpool Football Club.
Well let me tell you this. We are about to break some news. We are learning the Royal baby name. It is Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor.
I'm going to get you Max who is our Royal correspondent up for you on that. Because there's been so much speculation. Hasn't there? About this name.
Whether they could sort of straddle the kind of U.S. and U.K. sort of naming market as it were. The Royal family can be incredibly traditional
about the names for its family members. But you've got a U.S. mom this time and the idea was that they would find something that would suit them
both. Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor, Max. Does that work? So transatlantic. I think it does. Doesn't it?
FOSTER: Well it does. Archie is short for Archibald, isn't it? We are trying to work that went out as it come through. And also when George's
announcement was made -- there's the press release coming in they had the full title there. So it was Prince George of Cambridge. But we have no
title there. So I'm wondering if Meghan and Harry have chosen not to use the title for their children. That would be interesting. I'm just trying
to confirm that with the Palace. Maybe they're going to come in with that a bit later on. But there's also an earldom. Earldom that he's entitled
to and they haven't use that either in the announcement. Interesting that they've gone that route -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, no, isn't it just. I mean it has. It's been, you know, what's in a name. I know a name is so important to any new parent. But
this one the world was sort of musing over, weren't they? So Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor. I think that's a good ring to it, Max, don't
you think?
FOSTER: In terms of the Palace press release that just came through, they're saying they're going to be referring to him as Archie Harrison.
They're not referring to any title there at all. That's interesting. Princess Anne chose the same for her children. And her reasoning was that
she wanted her children to go out and not to be depend on the monarchy for work and make their own careers. So maybe Prince Harry is thinking the
same thing.
ANDERSON: Archie Harrison. Now you know, folks. Thank you, Max. We're going to take a very quick break. We will be back after this.
[11:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: If you weren't with us just before this short break then we are learning the Royal baby name. I'm going to get you straight to Max Foster
who is in Windsor standing by and I'm not going to ruin it for those who haven't already heard. So, Max, tell us.
FOSTER: Archie Harrison. You like it, I think everyone around us likes it. What's interesting, Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor. So rather
than using the Sussex surname they're using Mountbatten Windsor . So that's the family name and there's no title references. Potentially the
Queen could have allowed this boy to be a Prince. There's an Earl of Dumbarton title, which is Harry's secondary title, which the Prince could
have used as well. But I think what Meghan and Harry are signaling here are that they're a modern couple. They are not senior in the Royal family
anymore as the Cambridge's have more children. So, therefore, they're going break away and allow their children to build their own careers. So I
think that's quite interesting in itself.
I'm just confirming with the palace whether or not titles will come later on. But certainly with previous children, the Cambridge's, for example,
the announcements of the titles certainly came with the names.
ANDERSON: Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor, Max and I were talking about this before the break and we thought it had a good ring to it. Just
remind us the name Mountbatten, very, very significant in this family particularly to the Queen.
FOSTER: Yes. Windsor comes after the castle, and this was around the wartime when effectively there was concern about the German sort of
references in their previous name. So they reinvented their surname to Windsor.
Mountbatten comes from Prince Philip's side of the family. He was very keen to have Mountbatten reflected in the younger members of the family
surnames. And that was because when he married the Queen, he wanted his name reflected. But she insisted on having Windsor in there as well. So
Mountbatten Windsor is actually the name of many of the Royals even though, for example, George is known as George Cambridge. But they're basically
signaling they're not seeing a Royal career for this young boy.
ANDERSON: Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor, otherwise known as Archie Harrison. Thank you, Max.
Let's get you up to speed on the other stories that we are following on our radar right now. President Cyril Ramaphosa is among millions of South
Africans voting in national elections. He and his ruling African National Congress, expected to win but are likely to come out of this election with
a smaller majority than they have had in the past.
At least nine people have been hurt in the bomb attack and gun battle in Kabul, Afghanistan.
[11:50:00] The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the headquarters of the charity Counterpart International. At last report
Afghan soldiers were still battling.
In our top story for you today. The Iran nuclear deal has been hanging by a thread ever since the United States withdrew. Well now the international
agreement in danger of complete collapse. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announcing his country will reduce its commitments.
Let's discuss this with Vali Nasr, dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, also author of "The
Indispensable Nation" and the CNN global affairs analyst, Jason Rezaian. He's an opinion writer for "The Washington Post." Jason was imprisoned in
Iran for more than a year and wrote a book about his ordeal called "Prisoner." Thank you to both of you for joining us. Apologies for the
slightly truncated interview this evening. We will come back to you guys. But while we have the time, Jason, firstly to you. What do you make of
what we are seeing and hearing both out of Tehran at present and out of Washington?
JASON REZAIAN, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Becky, I think it's really par for the course during this administration. The rhetoric from
both sides has been amping up over the past year since the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal a year ago today. And I think we can reasonably expect
more tension, more escalation and rhetoric, although I hope cooler heads prevail.
ANDERSON: Vali, more tension, more rhetoric, the potential for war at this point or at least a military strike. Where are we at, at this stage?
VALI NASR, DEAN, SCHOOL OF ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: The potential for a military strike is separate from the fate
of the deal. That I think depends largely whether there is a provocation that happens in the region that would lead to the United States reacting to
it. But I think the decision that Iran took was coming for some time. Iran had given Europe two years to come up with ways in which it would
fulfill economic commitments of JCPOA. Europe was not able to do it.
So the president in Iran was under a lot of pressure that Europeans cannot be given an indefinite amount of time to just try to fix this. So he
basically took the policy of less for less. You do less, we're going to do less but we're not coming out of the deal which is ironically what Trump
wanted Iran to do.
ANDERSON: What we are seeing over the past sort of 24, 36, 48 hours are some references by the U.S., to threats from Iran to U.S. targets, Vali, in
the region. And I'm talking about the region that I am in here. Now we haven't got a lot of specific detail on this. But here is Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I can't say much more that the Department of Defense has said that they were very specific, these were
attacks that were eminent. They were attacks at point out fairly soon. We are worried about them. We're taking every action we can to deter them.
Other than that I just can't say anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Vali, this certainly could be seen as the building of a U.S. narrative about the threat to U.S. assets in this region from Iran. This
is a Trump administration that some say is trying to push conflict. In other words it is looking for a fight. Do you buy that?
NASR: It's possible. In other words, I would underscore the word narrative. The U.S. is trying to build a narrative without really
compelling evidence that it shows. On the other hand one could look at this step that the U.S. took with sending its aircraft carriers to the
region as a warning to Iran not to react to the economic pressure that's being imposed on it in ways that the United States would not want to see.
I think what's not clear yet even to Iranians is that does President Trump want to negotiate a new deal or do they want regime change in Iran? One
could say that if you want regime change, you're going to go down the path of war. If you want to bring around to the table, you want to actually
tell them there's no military reaction to the U.S., just come to the table.
ANDERSON: Jason, your perspective.
REZAIAN And I would like to add to that, Becky.
Yes, and I think the reality is that there isn't a lot of coherence in the Iran policy of the Trump administration. Part of that is I think a
difference of opinion to what Vali just mentioned. I mean, it is clear that his National Security Adviser, John Bolton, has been seeking regime
change and tried to cultivate war with Iran in the past.
[11:55:00] At the same time Secretary Mike Pompeo seems to thinks that pressure will work to bring Iran to the table. And at the end of the day I
think everybody is worried that a public outreach to President Trump might get him interested in sitting down directly with Iranians. So I just don't
think there's a coherent plan right now and we should be worried about an escalation. At the same time I think that there are ways to reduce tension
and that should happen through talking.
ANDERSON: I explained at the start we are slightly truncated tonight. So I'm going to leave it there. Your analysis, both of you, extremely
important as we continue to cover this story. We'll have you back. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
I'm Becky Anderson. That was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thank you, viewers, for watching. And from the team working with me here and those around the
world, it is a very good evening.
END