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Connect the World

How the U.S. Military Strategy Regarding Iran Could Shape Up; Trump Says Nations Have Pledged $7B, adds $10B U.S. Pledge; Head of International Stabilization Force in Gaza Says Five Nations Have Joined; Head of Palestinian Committee Lists Priorities for Gaza's Rebuild; Oil Prices Hover Near Six-Month Highs Amid U.S.-Iran Tensions. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired February 20, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: This is the scene live from the Royal Lodge gates where Former Prince Andrew used to live as police search

the property. It is 02:00 p.m. in England, it is 06:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up. Iran's Foreign Minister says the U.S. didn't demand a halt to uranium enrichment during negotiations in Switzerland this week. Leaders

from NATO, Europe and Ukraine gather as Russia's full-scale war on Ukraine is about to enter its fifth year. And the AI impact summit in New Delhi

wraps up today after some major announcements and a little bit of drama.

Right -- 30 minutes to go before the start of trade in New York. And we've got those fourth quarter GDP numbers that just were released. And you've

got the DOW, S&P and NASDAQ all looking much weaker today, specifically the NASDAQ and S&P, as you can see, down four tenths of a percent.

We are awaiting some numbers on the earnings front from the tech companies today, but I want to take you through these fourth quarter GDP numbers

coming in much lower than anticipated at 1.4 percent that's below the 2.5 percent that was anticipated. And keeping in mind that third quarter GDP

did really well.

That was 4.5 percent higher. So, we're looking at much weaker numbers. And of course, we'll take you through that a little later in the program. In

the meantime, new details are coming to light about this week's nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The Iranian Foreign Minister

claiming today that the U.S. did not demand zero uranium enrichment.

And Tehran has made no such offer either. That's contradictory to what we've been hearing from U.S. President Donald Trump, who says he doesn't

want any enrichment. It comes as Mr. Trump extends the deadline to cut a deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're either going to get a deal or it's going to be unfortunate for them. I would think that

would be enough time, 10, 15 days, pretty much maximum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: OK, just take me off screen there. You're going to see me. I'm still. Right. Right now, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's most advanced

aircraft carrier, is on route to the region as part of Washington's military buildup. We've got CNN's Paula Hancocks joining us now here in

studio for more on this.

We've just heard from the foreign minister saying, listen, nuclear enrichment wasn't on the table during negotiations. Very far removed from

what we're hearing from the Americans.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. So, this is an interview that he did with MS now, so a televised interview Abbas Araghchi saying that they

didn't offer to halt uranium enrichment and that the U.S. didn't ask for it. It is a surprising revelation. But of course, we haven't heard from the

U.S. side whether there'll be a rebuttal of that or not, because this is something that the Trump Administration has built into an effective red

line.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

HANCOCKS: That we've heard President Trump saying just over the weekend, he doesn't want to see any uranium enrichment. So, it is surprising to hear

this Araghchi also saying that what they were talking about is how to keep this nuclear program peaceful now and in the future.

So obviously, what we're hearing publicly from the Iranian Foreign Minister very different to what we have been hearing from the Trump Administration.

Now when it comes to this military buildup as well, we do know that sources familiar with what is going on say that at this point, U.S. troops have not

had a target list for what they would strike in Iran.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

HANCOCKS: Suggesting that that they haven't yet, as they said, quote, pulled the trigger. Now, earlier today, I did speak to the Former Deputy

CENTCOM Commander, Bob Harward about this. And I asked him, first of all, what exactly would the U.S. be targeting Iran?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB HARWARD, FORMER DEPUTY COMMANDER OF CENTCOM: Number one, the missiles that's their really their best -- ability to project power. Number two,

then the protection of the Straits of Hormuz, their ability to mine the waterways, and that the naval forces that can put at risk international

shipping bringing and taking oil.

So those would be my two priorities. And then after that, I'd focus on those elements that really oppress the people. They're on the IRGC, where

their facilities, their barracks, their head command and control. Those would be almost the pecking order my priorities.

HANCOCKS: Is this all simultaneous? Or this would be over a number of --

[09:05:00]

HARWARD: Well, it depends on how they respond. One of the things that's really happened in our military our capacity is unprecedented. So, the

amount of ordnance we can deliver real time and over a short period of time is massive.

HANCOCKS: Can military power alone topple this regime?

HARWARD: Well military power in support of the Iranian people. Again, this has to be about the internal dynamics of Iran. And as we've seen, they've

had enough, and this regime murdered more people in a matter of weeks than we lost in the Iraqi-Iranian war over 15 years in those wars.

So again, it has to be in support of the people, and they've shown the capacity, they've shown the desire, they've been murdered. I think that's

if these strikes and our military actions enable and support that transition through the people, then it's effective.

HANCOCKS: Do you believe these military strikes are imminent?

HARWARD: I'd say they're more likely than not. And again, it's driven by two things. I'd say the negotiation, what comes out of the negotiation

sign. We'd also say how well we understand the impact of the internal. I think both those dimensions are being assessed at the moment, and that will

define if and when we go, but I sense it's more a matter of when, not if.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HANCOCKS (on camera): And I asked him as well about the timeline of this, the U.S. strikes, and he said, basically the sheer power of the military

capability at this point and the very strong intelligence that they have inside Iran. He was saying as well, basically means that they could, within

hours, mitigate much of the response that we could see from Iran.

So, I asked him about the retaliation, the timeline, and he said that within hours, much of that could be lessened.

GIOKOS: I mean, here's the thing. I mean, the region has been looking at the story very closely, because it's going to have an impact. In the

meantime, many countries in this region have rejected the U.S. using military bases. Their military bases that I hear, the UK, we've also heard,

allegedly also rejecting the U.S. using its bases. Can the U.S. go at this alone?

HANCOCKS: The U.S. is a long way away from this region.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

HANCOCKS: They do need these bases in order to be able to carry out significant, prolonged strikes. I don't know if they could go it alone,

given the bases that they are able to use at this point. I mean, you need a military strategist to be able to pinpoint that.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

HANCOCKS: But the fact that so many in this region have said that they don't want their bases, they don't want their air spaces well being used,

for this will make things very difficult for the United States. The UK, part of it, multiple reports that the UK is saying that they don't want

their bases used.

These are key strategic assets for the United States to be able to carry out this kind of attack. And the reason that the UK said they didn't want

to be involved is because they're worried this could be against international law. So, it's it is a significant setback.

GIOKOS: All right. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that update. Good to have you on. Like the Director General of the U.N.'s Nuclear Agency,

Rafael Grossi has said, the talks between Iran and the United States have a sense of quote, finality or more concreteness about them.

He spoke to my colleague Christiane Amanpour, about the latest negotiations, and here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY: What actually happened is that we were looking into the different elements. What

are these elements of the agreement? So not to be mysterious about it, the elements of this agreement -- of this possible agreement, possible deal,

have to do with the nuclear material that is in Iran, in particular the highly enriched uranium.

They have to do with the facilities that were targeted back in June. What is going to happen with those facilities has to do also with future

activities. What are these future activities in Iran look like? What do they look like? What is possible? And how to make sure that all of this

happens under tight IAEA verification?

Of course, there is another chapter which has to do with more political things on which I am not involved, sanctions, lifting economic cooperation

and incentives of this type, which is, of course, something which runs parallel, and it's informing the whole thing, but it's not specifically

nuclear.

So, what has happened? And I think even this clip from President Trump's statement today goes into that direction. There is an understanding that,

after discussion on these general principles, Iran will be coming with a number of more concreate ideas.

[09:10:00]

So, there is a process which is ongoing, and we are also consulting technically to try to make it, you know, solid and viable.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: OK.

GROSSI: So, this is what is happening. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: I want to focus now on Gaza. Now on the left, you see the first meeting of President Trump's Board of Peace yesterday. And on the right,

people gathering amid rubble and tents in Khan Yunis, Gaza at the same time. The U.S. President, his key advisors, and about 50 member and

observer states, mostly countries with Trump aligned leaders, met to discuss Gaza's reconstruction under the auspices of this new global entity

created and indefinitely chaired by Trump.

But how are they actually going to disarm Hamas, stabilize Gaza and rebuild the decimated enclave? Well, we got a bit of insight from the many speakers

yesterday. First on the finances, Trump said more than $7 billion has been pledged by nine nations and offered a significant American pledge as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I want to let you know that the United States is going to make a contribution of $10 billion to the Board of Peace. And that number is a

very small number when you look at, that compared to the cost of war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And we should note it's unclear where that money will be coming from exactly and how it will be invested. We also learned about the first

troop commitments to the international stabilization force meant to secure Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR GENERAL JASPER JEFFERS, INTERNATIONAL STABILIZATION FORCE COMMANDER: I'm incredibly pleased to announce today that the first five countries have

committed troops to serve in the ISF, Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania, the two countries have committed to train police Egypt

and Jordan.

With these first steps, we will help bring the security the Gaza needs for our future prosperity and enduring peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, and we heard from the Head of the Palestinian Technocratic Committee meant to replace Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI SHAATH, CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF GAZA: First restore security via professional civilian police under

one's authority, one law and one weapon, including training and developing 5000 Gazan police to be deployed in 60 days.

Secondly, revive economic activities and livelihoods. Thirdly, ensure sustainable emergency relief. Fourthly, restore basic services, including

electricity, water, health and education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Otherwise, analysts say the event fell short of offering real structure, clarity and detail about the Board of Peace and its mandates.

What it did offer was all the hallmarks of Trump political rally, a playlist of his go to songs including Andrea Bocelli's Time to Say Goodbye.

And they were also red U.S. hats for the attendees. Here's the FIFA President wearing one. And the backdrop of the U.S. Institute for Peace,

which has been branded in Trump's name to cap off the event, President Trump banged a miniature golden gavel, and with that, the Board of Peace

was adjourned with more questions remaining than answers.

All right, the law must take its course, the words of Britain's King Charles after the arrest of his younger brother, the Former Prince Andrew.

Cameras captured this picture of a seemingly shell-shocked Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after he was released from custody Thursday night.

And he remains under investigation on suspicion of misconduct while in public office. Police have been searching his former home for a second day

today, after completing a search of his current home. Andrew has not been charged with a crime and has previously denied all wrong doings.

CNN's Royal Correspondent, Max Foster joins me now. Max, good to see you. So, what we know is, you know, his residences are still currently being

searched. Investigation still ongoing. What do we understand about why he was released? And you know how long this investigation is going to take?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, probably the most interesting part of this is the fact that the homes are being searched. Because you

could have had a situation where Andrew went into interview and didn't say anything at all, but by surprising him at his home in Norfolk, the police

were able to start an immediate search.

They've completed that at his Norfolk home, his previous home in Windsor, is now being searched. So, what they're looking for is any evidence that

backs up this claim that he abused his position in public office, and then they're able to re arrest Andrew and present that evidence back to him.

[09:15:00]

We have just heard off the record that the Crown Prosecution Service, which would be involved in any charges that Andrew would receive. Have not had a

conversation with the police about that yet. So, it's crucial to mention that Andrew hasn't been charged, but also the police haven't discussed what

sort of charge that would be yet.

So, we are some way off a charge, presumably that would come if they were going to go for another arrest. So that's where we stand at the moment with

the investigation. It's a case of wait and see.

GIOKOS: Yeah, Max, a really interesting story here. We've got the image of the former prince, and that was after his arrest, looking pretty shell

shocked. But give me a bit of understanding here in terms of how the palace has responded to this, because King Charles came out with a very strong

message about supporting the investigation and, of course, following the process of law.

And how this is going to affect the palace and the royals down the line?

FOSTER: Well, I spoke to someone close to the king yesterday, and he felt very confident that the king was showing that he's on the front foot on all

of this and getting ahead of it, showing his support for the police in this investigation, which he has to do as an independent head of state anyway.

But also creating as much distance as possible with Andrew, because if there's any suggestion that he is interfering with this case, then the

whole monarchy comes into question. There is a much bigger debate that I think will kick off next week, Eleni, because currently parliament is in

recess, MPs come back next week.

There is one remnant of Andrew's former position that stays in place. He is still eighth in line to the throne. He could potentially still be king. And

there's a real groundswell of feeling amongst members of parliament that that needs to be corrected, which is not a simple thing to do.

Number one, there's a convention in parliament not to discuss the royal family, because the monarch is one of the three branches of parliament. But

I think that's going to be broken at this point, and that is, you know, you can sort of see the House of Cards falling around that, but it's hugely

complex to change that line of succession.

The government will need to get a bill through Parliament. And if that gets through, the same bill has to go through the parliaments of 14 other

realms, including Canada and Australia, and only then would it become law, and only then would Andrew come out of the line of succession.

But there's going to, you know, what I'm currently understand for the government is they are not reserving time for that because they've got

other priorities. That's going to be a big question for the government next week. So, I think it bounces from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street.

GIOKOS: Yeah, Max. And very quickly, what's the atmosphere like in London right now? How people, just average people on the street talking about

this, responding to this news?

FOSTER: Well, they just, you know, I think there is some sympathy for the monarchy, still very little sympathy for Andrew, and a great deal, I

wouldn't say pleasure, but the idea that he is finally facing some sort of justice. Also, Eleni, I think some pride actually, in the UK, that much

more progress is being made off the back of these Epstein files in the UK than it is in the U.S., for example.

GIOKOS: Yeah. All right, Max, good to have you on. Thank you so much. Max Foster, there for us in London and still to come, how European leaders are

planning to bolster their response to Russian threats against Ukraine and NATO member nations. We will be back right after the short break. Stick

with CNN.

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[09:20:00]

GIOKOS: Top leaders from NATO, the EU and Ukraine have been meeting in Poland to discuss security and to take stock of the Russian Ukraine war as

it enters its fifth-year next week. During a press event earlier, the UK's Ministry of Defense announced that France, Germany, Italy, Poland and

Britain are now actively working to develop new air defense weapons to further protect NATO's territory.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas also revealed that the European Union will try to adopt its latest sanctions package against Moscow on Monday.

We've got CNN's Melissa Bell following the story for us. Melissa, good to see you. Melissa, what have we learned from this joint press conference

hosted by NATO as well as the European Defense Ministers, what's the plan?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're meeting in Krakow today to try and figure out more about the details, and that's

what we've been hearing, Eleni, this multi-million-euro idea, these lower cost air defense systems made up of things like autonomous drones and

missiles that these European countries within NATO will now be working on.

The idea is that, with the lessons learned on the ground in Ukraine, they believe that one of the keys to re arming and adding to the independence

militarily of Europe will be these kinds of deals, these kinds of projects. Now it comes in the context, of course, of this growing realization here on

the European continent, that the American ally is at least wanting Europe to be more independent than it had militarily.

And that perhaps the alliance isn't as steadfast as it was. So, this project will, over the next few months, aim to build up this kind of lower

cost air defense system for Ukraine. But in the context where this is the European part of NATO that is trying to add to its strategic independence

and achieve what people like President Macron have been calling for years, which is greater independence on the part of the continent.

Now it comes also in the context where, on one hand, the American Administration has been urging for years, and this right back to the first

Trump term, for European NATO allies to do more of their part for the alliance's defense. Also urging Europeans to do more about their own

defense, no longer relying on the United States.

We also understand that at the same time, though, as part of a consultation process on this, the commission has had push back from American companies

worried that Europeans are no longer going to be buying entirely or so many of their weapons, and suggesting that there could be retaliatory efforts on

the part of the American Administration, should this kind of strategic independence continue?

And so far as Europeans buy European weapons, would mean less business for American companies. So, there's this kind of dual language coming out of

Washington. Europeans, for their part, have been struggling, really, to get the kind of coherence and unity that they need on this subject.

And certainly, today's meeting is designed to show that in terms of very concrete projects, they can make progress, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yeah, really fascinating, definitely a sign and show of unity from the European perspective and NATO. All right. Melissa Bell, good to see

you. Thank you. Next week marks the fourth anniversary of Russia's full- scale invasion on Ukraine. CNN has a number of reports surrounding this event, including this piece by Ivana Kottasova and Victoria Boutenko.

The article is titled the secret assassination plot scandals and four-year war that left Volodymyr Zelenskyy battered but still standing. It is a

fascinating piece, and we invite you to check it out on our digital platforms. I want to get you up to speed now on some other stories that are

on our radar.

A decision on President Donald Trump sweeping tariffs could be released as soon as next hour as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to release opinions.

It's still unclear, though, which of the dozens of cases heard by the High Court might come down today. The justices have allowed the tariffs to

remain in place while they consider their ruling, which could carry major economic and political consequences.

The bodies of nine skiers have yet to be recovered after their group was caught in the deadliest avalanche the U.S. has seen in 45 years.

[09:25:00]

The rescue mission near California's Lake Tahoe has been difficult as conditions worsen and as the snow subsides, teams are hoping to continue on

Friday as well as into the weekend with the rescue mission. In Austria, a court has convicted an amateur mountain climb of gross negligent

manslaughter.

In an unusual case, the man was found guilty of leaving his girlfriend near the summit of the country's highest mountain after he left her to get help.

She died of hypothermia, and he received a five-month suspended prison sentence and an $11,000 fine. We just missed away from the opening bell on

Wall Street.

And still to come, a possible U.S. strike on Iran is wrapping markets and driving up oil prices. We've also got those fourth quarter U.S. GDP

numbers. We'll bring you up to date on all the data that matters. That's all coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. Britain's foreign, former

rather Prince Andrew has been released from custody after his arrest Thursday. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor remains under investigation on

suspicion of misconduct while in public office.

Police have been searching one of his homes for a second day, and he's previously denied all wrong doing. U.S. President Donald Trump is extending

his timeline for potential military action against Iran. He told reporters on Air Force One that 10 to 15 days was pretty much the maximum time he'd

allow.

And would know whether a nuclear deal with Tehran would be possible within 10 days. European leaders have plans in the works to boost their response

to Russian threats against Ukraine and NATO member nations, during a media event earlier, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK announced they are

actively working to develop new air defense weapons and are considering a new intelligence alliance.

The U.S. economy slowed sharply in the fourth quarter, expanding at rates of just 1.4 percent and that's where we're going to start with some of the

important data that came out today. So, fourth quarter GDP, much lower than anticipated. It was down from around 3.3 percent, 2.5 percent in terms of

what was expected, 4.4 percent growth in the third quarter.

Matt Egan joining me now, good to see you. I'm going through all these numbers, and it's pretty shocking to see this rate. We're going to check in

on the opening bell in just a bit, but give us a sense on why we're seeing such a dismal, a fourth quarter GDP number where there was an anticipation

of a much higher rate of growth.

[09:30:00]

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, Eleni, we were expecting a slowdown, but not this much of a slowdown, as you mentioned, 1.4 percent annualized

growth during the fourth quarter. That is a big deceleration from 4.4 percent in the third quarter. And there was a range of estimates, but this

was lower than the consensus that I had seen elsewhere.

So why did this happen? Well, it's actually largely a simple reason. It's the government shutdown. The Bureau of Economic Analysis, which puts out

this report, they say that the government shutdown subtracted about one percentage point of GDP growth, meaning instead of 1.4 we should have been

at around 2.4 percent and that's not a bad number, still slower than the third quarter, but not terrible.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

EGAN: You can see the trend on that bar chart. You can see that big drop off all the way on the right for this most recent quarter. And what

happened is we had the longest government shutdown in American history, and that caused government spending to plunge. Government spending helped boost

GDP in the third quarter, but it was a major negative during the fourth quarter, perhaps bigger than some had expected.

And I do think, though, the good news is that we're going to get that back right. History shows that shutdown caused GDP drops.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

EGAN: They reverse. And so there should be a recovery in the current quarter, the first quarter. So, I do think we need to put a bit of an

asterisk on this fourth quarter number. And when you zoom out, Eleni, you can see that for the year of 2025, the U.S. economy grew at a piece of

about 2.2 percent.

That was also a slowdown from 2024. It was slower than in 2023 but it also wasn't as bad as some people had feared when the president put those

historically high tariffs on U.S. imports. And so, I think that the bottom line here is, yes, growth slow down, but a lot of that was because of the

government shutdown.

GIOKOS: Yeah. Government shutdown, OK. All right, so markets have opened up in New York, I want to check in on those numbers. You've got the DOW down

around four tenths of a percent, NASDAQ as well in the red S&P under pressure. Of course, we are waiting for some company earnings, but

importantly, market participants not liking this number.

And importantly, you also had personal consumption spending coming in as anticipated, at around 3 percent that was in line with what people were

hoping to see, really important. But you also got the oil price really fascinating right now, as we're worried, we're waiting to see what

President Trump is going to do in terms of the decision with striking Iran.

So, take me through all these dynamics that I guess, is injecting a new level of uncertainty into the markets.

EGAN: Yeah, well, Eleni, I think the energy market is on edge right now over the Iran situation, right? Oil investors and traders, they're not

freaking out, but this historic military buildup in the Middle East has certainly gotten the energy markets attention. U.S. oil prices, you can see

down by about a quarter of a percentage point this morning, but that's after U.S. oil hit a six-month high -- just yesterday, right?

And you can see it on that line chart. It's been trending higher all year, up about 15 percent this year. Now there was a similar spike all the way on

the left side of that screen last summer when Israel and Iran were in that brief war. But it ended up being a temporary spike because actual flows of

oil out of the Middle East were not interrupted.

Now, as always, the attention is on the Strait of Hormuz, right? That's that narrow water way off the coast of Iran.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

EGAN: That is just a critical choke point. It's the most critical choke point for oil flows on the planet. The Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other

countries, they get most, if not all of their oil out to the market through the Strait of Hormuz, and in the past, Iran has threatened to shut it down.

Now that would be, of course, a nightmare for consumers, for businesses around the world. It would be a big risk for really, the whole world

economy. Now, there was some interesting analysis out over just how high oil prices could go. The Center for Strategic and International Studies put

out an analysis where they said, look, if you have a situation where there is a blockade of Iranian oil and it gets interrupted, then you could easily

see oil prices go up to $80 a barrel.

And they said that if there is a more severe escalation where Gulf oil shipping has been disrupted, you can get $90 a barrel. And then there's

some more severe scenarios out there too, such as if the U.S. and Israel actually attacked Iranian oil facilities, knocking them off line for a

period of time, that could bring back a return of $100 oil.

And really the worst, most severe analysis scenario out there is if Iran ends up attacking other Gulf oil facilities in the region.

[09:35:00]

They say that, that could bring back a historic oil spike. It could get prices above that $130 peak from four years ago after Russia invaded

Ukraine.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

EGAN: And look, all of this is a risk to the economy. It's also risk to the cost of living. Gasoline prices here in the U.S., they've been a bright

spot.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

EGAN: Gas prices are still well below $3 a gallon. But what's interesting is they have started to creep higher. Over the last month, there's been

about an 11-cent increase in the price of gasoline here in the U.S. And it's easy to see how if there were a full-blown crisis here, if there was

an actual war between the U.S. and Iran.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

EGAN: Those prices could go significantly higher. And of course, that, Eleni, is the last thing that consumers need right now. Back to you.

GIOKOS: Well, thank you so much for you know, bringing us up to speed on all the probabilities that could play out, and the question is just how

much of those scenarios have been priced in. So Matt Egan, good to have you on. Thank you so much. Now, earlier this week, a comment from a former

world leader made headlines. You might have seen this. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They're real, but I haven't seen them, and they're not being kept in what is it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Area 51.

OBAMA: Area 51. There's no underground facility, unless there's this enormous conspiracy, and they, they hid it from the President of the United

States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the first question you wanted answered when you became president?

OBAMA: Where are the aliens?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Right, following these comments by Former President Barack Obama, here is how President Trump responded to those comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something that got a lot of attention this week, Barack Obama said that aliens are real. Have you seen any evidence of nonhuman

visitors to Earth?

TRUMP: Well, he gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that.

You know --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, aliens are real?

TRUMP: Well, I don't know if they're real or not. I can tell you he gave classified information. He's not supposed to be doing that. He made -- he

made a big mistake. He took it out of classified information. No, I don't. I don't have an opinion on it. I never talk about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Right. However, President Trump has now said he will direct federal agencies to release government records related to extraterrestrial life.

And UFO is joining us now. Senior White House Reporter, Kevin Liptak. Kevin, we need you on the story. So, thank you so much.

Maybe you can offer some insight. I think it was very telling when President Trump said that he gave classified information and he shouldn't

have done that, and when I saw that, I was like, whoa. What does this mean? So, you're at the White House. Tell me what's going on? What are the

conversations being had?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I think it's telling in the president's view of Barack Obama. I'm not sure it's all that telling

in what the president knows or doesn't know about the existence of extraterrestrial life that may have visited Earth.

I think he may have been needling his predecessor in some ways. But also, I think fanning some of the conspiracies. You know, you could call them

conspiracies, but also just genuine interest that many people have in this question of whether or not the government has evidence of alien life.

And the president not confirming that one way or the other, but saying that he will release all of the information that he does have in order to

satisfy this demand. And so, it will be interesting to see what, if anything he comes up with. It is true that interest in this has really kind

of surged, probably in the last eight or nine years or so, from when there was a report leaked out of the Pentagon that they had all of these

incidences of sightings of unidentified aerial objects, essentially of UFOs that they couldn't necessarily explain.

Now since then, the Pentagon has said that many of them were drones or, you know, technical aircraft. A lot of them, though, remain unexplained.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

LIPTAK: And that, I think, is why there continues to be interest in all of this. And so, I think the president is doing, frankly, something that he's

done in the past, which is promising massive disclosures about a widespread conspiracy.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

LIPTAK: He did this about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. He did it about the assassination of MLK. You know, in a little more somber note, he

also did it about the pages related to Jeffrey Epstein, which, in a lot of ways, sort of blew up in his face.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

LIPTAK: And so, you do see the president sort of being a showman here, teasing something revelatory, something that will satisfy American

conspiracy theorists and alien enthusiasts, but not necessarily saying what exactly that's going to be.

GIOKOS: Well, I think everyone's watching this. A lot of people are watching this very closely because it is fascinating.

LIPTAK: Yeah.

GIOKOS: Well, Kevin, thank you so much for taking this on today. Much appreciates it. Kevin Liptak at the White House. We're going to a short

break. We'll be right back.

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[09:40:00]

GIOKOS: The American Woman's Hockey team will be feeling on top of the world today after a dramatic comeback win over rivals Canada in overtime on

Thursday. I mean, fantastic images. Andy Scholes joining us now to take us through some of the amazing things that we're seeing on our screen right

now. Tell me.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, Eleni, when you go to the Olympics, right, you dream of having an iconic, amazing moment. And it

didn't look like it was going to happen for the U.S. against the rivals Canada, in this gold medal game, they were down one to nothing in the final

minutes.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

SCHOLES: They tie the game. It goes to overtime, and then Megan Keller just an all-time move to win the match in the game for Team USA. So, they claim

the gold medal, and just amazing dramatic fashion. And the celebration was just awesome afterwards. It was so great.

And now the men's hockey takes center stage. You got the semifinals coming up on Friday. Could the U.S. and Canada end up meeting in the men's final

as well?

GIOKOS: Yeah.

SCHOLES: Canada could get a chance to maybe get a little revenge there, but both of those teams got to get through the semifinals first, as you see

Canada taking on Finland, the U.S. also taking on Slovakia.

GIOKOS: Yeah.

SCHOLES: So, we will wait and see. But man, the hockey has been so good so far there in Italy.

GIOKOS: All right. I'm telling you Andy Scholes always bringing us the drama on the sports front. We'll be right back after the short break.

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[09:45:00]

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