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Iran Denies Talks with U.S. As Trump Claims "Points of Agreement"; IDF Issues Evacuation Order Across Southern Lebanon Cities; I.C.E. Sent to 14 U.S. Airports Amid TSA Staffing Shortages; Travelers Face Agonizing Wait Times at Some U.S. Airports; Long Security Lines Formed at Atlanta Airport Before Sunrise. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired March 24, 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)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: President Donald Trump claims the U.S. is in talks with Iran to end the war, but the Iranians do not
appear to be in a conciliatory mood. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It is 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. From our Middle East programming headquarters, I'm
Becky Anderson. This is "Connect the World".
The stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. And futures indicating a negative start for the main indices. We will get you back
there for the opening bell. Well, talking or not talking, that question looming large after the U.S. President's claim of progress towards ending
the war with Iran.
There are conflicting accounts of what is actually happening. After announcing productive conversations with Iran in a social media post Monday
morning, Donald Trump told reporters later that the countries have reached major points of agreement, but the word from Tehran no negotiations are
underway.
Iran's Parliament Speaker calling President Trump's mention of progress fake news meant to calm financial and oil markets. Well, if talks do
happen, CNN has learned Pakistan has offered to host them. In the meantime, the war grinds on, with Israel saying it's hit more than 50 targets in
Iran.
And Iran firing back at Israel, causing damage and injuries in Tel Aviv and elsewhere, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, among the Gulf nations, reporting
missile interceptions over the past 24 hours. We've got Alayna Treene at the White House. Jim Sciutto is in Tel Aviv for us today.
Alayna, let me start with you. These conversations with Iran that President Trump is talking about, Iran's Speaker of Parliament has flatly denied them
saying fake news used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the U.S. and Israel are trapped.
That is a view in Tehran. What evidence do we have that these talks are ongoing, or at least being set up at this point?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Really, it's the president's word, Becky, and I think that's why so many people are skeptical about, you
know, the optimistic picture that President Trump is painting regarding these potential negotiations. Of course, we do have reporting as well.
What I can tell you is that our reporting shows, as you mentioned, that we're learning that Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Oman are all engaged as
trying to be mediators in some of these talks and find an eventual off ramp to this war. And yes, I think what was interesting to me as well is not
only that the president says there are negotiations, but that there have been some 15 points of agreement into these talks.
Suggesting that they're far more advanced, I think, than people had anticipated would be when starting to talk about this, especially because
if you look at where the president was just you know, on Friday, when he was leaving for Florida, it was a completely different picture he was
painting.
He was saying that he would never agree to a ceasefire, or some type of negotiating at this point, because, in his words, that they were
obliterating the Iranians. And so again, there's a lot of skepticism over this. I think another level of skepticism to bake into this, just for
context, is that some of what the president has been kind of saying about these different points of agreements.
A lot of them are things we're learning that the United States has been asking for in negotiations with them, going back to the very early months
of the president's second term, and many things that we've seen that the Iranians have really resisted here. You know, this idea of committing to
never enriching uranium again.
Also, potentially these talks around, you know, trying to provide the U.S. with the Iranian that they have already enriched and have in Iran at this
moment. All things that we have heard the Iranian say repeatedly in the past were nonstarters for them. So again, we have to see where this can
lead.
Now I will say what's also interesting is just to look at why the president is saying some of this. I think a lot of this. I think there's no question
that he obviously has his eye on the oil markets right now and gas prices and really just the economy globally at this point in time.
Yesterday morning, before making many of these comments, you know, painting that rosy picture, as I said to reporters, he went on two different
business networks to talk about these negotiations and the potential for, hopefully, in his eyes, a deal. I think that just shows you, Becky, where
his mind is, but there's still so much work to be done.
And of course, we're hearing from the Israelis and others that you know, some of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt. It will likely be far
more time than just a couple days for an agreement like this to be worked out.
[09:05:00]
ANDERSON: Let me bring Jim in, a series of attacks overnight on Israel in a matter of 10 hours while Israel continues to target Iran. Let's just pick
up on the back of what Alayna was saying there. What's the view in Israel on the possibility of talks to end this war?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: Well, two things, Becky, for one, this is a case where the facts on the ground contradict the
president's words. As we were traveling from Jordan to Israel today, we heard in Jordan multiple air raid sirens as the missiles were flying
overhead.
And then those missiles struck here in Israel, one of them managed to get through Israeli air defenses and strike to the northern part of the city
here, injuries, no deaths from that strike, but quite a fair amount of destruction, which shows that despite Israel's quite formidable air
defenses, that Iran is still able to occasionally break through those air defenses.
And as you know, in the Gulf, there were missiles and drones fired at some of the Gulf countries today. To their part, Israeli officials are saying
that their attacks on Iran continued, quote, with full force today. That's from the Israeli Defense Minister. And other Israeli officials are telling
CNN that from Israel's perspective, they do not see one progress in negotiations with Iran.
But also, they don't see the foundation for progress in those talks, because, from the Israeli point of view, Iran maintains its hardline
positions. Israeli officials, at least, don't see an opening here. So, I would say that the view of the president's words from this part of the
world right now is quite a great deal of skepticism, not just to the status today, in this moment, as the strikes continue, but also whether they see a
potential for real progress in the near term.
And then for the U.S. military's perspective, Becky, there's certainly been no reduction in the U.S. force posture in the region. U.S. military
officials maintaining at least the capability of continuing to carry out strikes on Iran at pace.
ANDERSON: Jim, good to have you in Tel Aviv. Alayna, thank you very much indeed for the view from there in Washington. Well, amidst all of this talk
about possible negotiations, Israel forging ahead with its war offensive on two fronts, of course, hitting targets in Iran, as we said, and what it
says are Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
The IDF saying that there will be no let up until the Iran backed Hezbollah stops attacking Israel. Well, Israel has issued evacuation orders to some 1
million people in Lebanon. Its defense minister says they shouldn't expect to return home anytime soon. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER: Hundreds of thousands of residents of Southern Lebanon who evacuated northward will not return to the south of
the Litani River until security for northern residents is ensured. All five bridges over the Litani that were used by Hezbollah to transfer operatives.
And weapons have been destroyed, and the IDF will control the remaining crossings and the security zone up to the Litani. The principle is clear,
where there are terrorism and missiles, there will be no homes and no residents, and the IDF will remain present.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Nick Paton Walsh is with us from Beirut. Nick we just heard there Israel's Defense Minister. We heard what he had to say. What's the
reaction there in Beirut?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I mean, a lot fast moving today, Becky, around all of this. We've just heard from
Lebanese rescue services that there been three strikes near the Southern City of Tyre.
Now that's important, because we know the Israelis have been striking hard, often with specific warnings about specific villages, even buildings at
times across the south for many weeks now. But the City of Tyre, over the last week or so, appeared to have escaped some of the shelling.
It had kind of become the remaining population center, sparsely populated, yes, but where people still fled to. We met entire village of 50 families
hiding out in one school near Tyre though today, three strikes, it seems, warnings ahead of them, no casualties, but real concerns.
I think now that we're seeing a new phase where potentially, these air strikes are being used to apply pressure on the civilians remaining to
leave. On top of that too, it is now five of the bridges that connect the southern area of Lebanon and below the Litani River with the north, they
have been destroyed.
We saw one of them destroyed ourselves on Sunday. Others have since followed. There are potentially a couple that may still exist to allow
remaining people out. But it's a clear sign here that when Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz, talks about the need to create a buffer zone.
I think is a euphemistic term here, but a security zone, clearing some of the villages away from there.
[09:10:00]
And the finance minister Smotrich talks about the potential for taking large parts of that southern area of Lebanon and as the new border up to
the Litani River. That is what has many Lebanese here deeply concerned that they're seeing a new phase here. Well, yes, certainly its right-wing
hardliners talking about annexing parts of Southern Lebanon.
But even though we've yet to see a significant Israeli ground incursion into Southern Lebanon, this may be what we are slowly edging towards here.
On top of that, Becky, though, as well, here in Beirut, last night, seven strikes in the Hezbollah area of Beirut, Dahiyeh down in the south, Israel,
saying they were hitting particular targets there as well, a more targeted, it seemed, drone strike slightly out of the city as well, where another
part of Hezbollah's staff were hit by Israel.
And I think a growing sense here that while we're not seeing an enormous escalation in terms of the Israeli ground movements, they are continuing to
disrupt, break, remove infrastructure and pressure those people south who remain of the Litani River, and indeed, too, I should remind everybody
there's a secondary part of the evacuation zone south of the Zahrani River as well, Becky.
ANDERSON: Nick, what's the Lebanese government saying?
WALSH: We've had a stark move from them today. You know, Lebanon's government here have been saying since the start of this conflict that they
seek to disarm Hezbollah, and indeed escalated that into a policy they wish to prosecute. But indeed, the gap between pulling that off, and what the
Lebanese Armed Forces are capable of doing, the prime minister himself said to me, they simply don't have the capacity for it yet.
And when you head towards the south, it's clear Hezbollah is still very much in control of that territory. Today, though, the Lebanese government
took an extra step for distancing themselves from the Iranian government, giving the Iranian Ambassador here till Sunday to leave and withdrawing
Lebanon's Ambassador as well to Iran.
So, severing, to some degree of diplomatic relations welcomed, I think, by anti-Iranian forces around the region here as a sign Lebanon is trying to
distance itself from Tehran, who the sponsor, ultimately and control Hezbollah here significant parts of Lebanon's political and military
dynamic.
So, a lot moving here, certainly, and I think the ultimate question here is exactly whether this persistent Israeli pressure continues to put Hezbollah
under pressure inside of Lebanon, or whether it ultimately creates a kind of nationalism which Hezbollah are able to harness potentially in the weeks
ahead, Becky.
ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh on the ground there in Beirut for you. Nick, thank you, and you can stay up to date on all of the latest developments on
CNN's live blog covering the war with Iran, everything that we've covered in this first 10 minutes or so of the show is featured on this platform.
That's linked to cnn.com home page, and it is the best place to find all the newest lines that CNN reports in real time. You can use your app, of
course, as well. That's the CNN app. And remember, I share some of CNN's strongest content and analysis, including the interviews I conduct across
the four hours of programming that I anchor on my social channels.
Find me @beckycnn on X and on Insta.
Right, still to come, many questions about Sunday's deadly collision at LaGuardia Airport still swirling what we know and what we don't know yet
about the investigation. Plus, long security lines, thin patients. Is there any hope on the horizon to end the agony for so many at some U.S. airports?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:15:00]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi.
Want to get you to the U.S. where we are learning about more about what was that deadly collision between a jet and an emergency vehicle at New York's
LaGuardia Airport.
This new video shows the moment when the Air Canada flight moving at about 167 kilometers an hour, crashes into a fire truck on the runway on Sunday
night. Two pilots were killed and dozens of others were injured. Now one of the pilots has been identified as Canadian Antoine Forest, according to the
"Toronto Star".
Multiple investigators are now sifting through the wreckage, examining the evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER HOMENDY, U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD CHAIR: I just want to express how much there is a lot of debris. We need to go through
all of that and to figure out what we need to take back to the NTSB to our labs, what we might want to collect, first and foremost, what we need to
take pictures of to document that evidence.
That's all evidence, and we need to document that first, then we need to collect some of that evidence. Then we get to that it's going to be days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well CNN's Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean is at LaGuardia Airport with more now on the investigation.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Investigators had to cut in to the tail of the airplane to recover the voice recorder and the data
recorder, and because air travel is such a mess right now, they rushed that down to their lab in Washington, D.C. by car. They drove it there instead
of typically flying it to D.C. to begin this analysis.
NTSB Chair Homendy says there was a system here in place called ADSDx, that is a surface collision warning system designed to prevent the same type of
incident we saw here at LaGuardia late Sunday night. The FAA is now analyzing the data from that system that warns controllers of these
collisions on the ground in the making, but she says that will take some days to fully analyze.
The big issue here is that it has taken time for NTSB investigators, a team of about 25 here on the site to get to the crash scene, there are a lot of
challenges. Homendy says that the scene is very dangerous because of a large debris field, not only across runway four here, where this collision
took place, but also on taxiway delta, where that fire truck was crossing the runway, about halfway down this 7000-footlong runway, and then in the
grassy areas around it.
And then there is the issue of simply getting investigators here, because air travel is such a mess. And I want you to listen to this incredible
sound bite from NTSB Chair Homendy in her press conference yesterday, in which she laid out the initial facts of this case, and said in one case,
their air traffic control specialist, the woman at the NTSB who specializes in interviewing air traffic controllers, one of the biggest factors in this
case, was not able to get here because she was snarled in those long TSA lines. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOMENDY: We have one our air traffic control specialist who was in line with TSA for three hours until we called in Houston to beg to see if we can
get her through, so we can get her here. So, it's been a really big challenge to get the entire team here, and they're still arriving as I
speak.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that report from Pete Muntean FAA analysis of the airport's ground radar system, which tracks air craft and vehicles on the airfield,
is underway that though, we are told could take several days.
[09:20:00]
Well, I.C.E. agents are reporting for duty for a second day at 14 airports around the United States. U.S. Immigration Agents were first sent Monday as
part of the Trump Administration's effort to ease these travel delays during the Homeland Security Department shut down.
Travelers facing long security lines at hundreds of officers with the Transportation Security Administration or TSA have quit, and thousands more
have called out after weeks without pay. White House Border Czar Tom Homan handling the I.C.E. deployment. He says agents aren't trained to run under
staffed screening check points, but will instead handle tasks like crowd control. And he suggested more support is on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: We got 14, right now and there will be more. Their number one mission there, as the president said, is help TSA with
security. Help move the flow of people through those lines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well CNN's Senior U.S. National Correspondent Ryan Young with me now. He's at Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International, where Ryan, as I
understand, its security line started forming even before the sun came up this morning. It is now 09:00 a.m. you know, 09:15, 09:20. What's the
situation right now security?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good news, and a big surprise for a lot of people, that rush hour that we saw this morning
pretty much all gone. And I can't believe I'm stressing this. Look behind us. You can see almost no lines, no waiting here at Hartsfield Jackson
International Airport.
ANDERSON: Wow.
YOUNG: When we did arrive here this morning, the lines were long as usual, but we know that Tuesdays is usually a quieter day here at the airport, and
that rush hour, that initial business traveler time, that's when we saw hundreds of people standing in line, some waiting even an hour to get
through security.
But right now, that's not the case. It's actually down to about 30 minutes. But take a listen to some of the travelers that we talked to early this
morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHIL THOMAS, PASSENGER AT ATLANTA AIRPORT: -- extra security could be bad, you know. I mean, they're going to help out and, you know, make things move
a little faster. But whether they're doing that or not, we don't know. But extra security is always good to me.
DINA PEMBER, PASSENGER AT ATLANTA AIRPORT: I mean, you think it's not going to be that bad, but then you get here and you know, you think, oh, man,
it's it really is as bad as they say it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Yeah, you can understand that sentiment when she was staying in that line for quite some time. If you look in this shot right here, you can kind
of see that green light above. We've seen more green lights above the numbers here than we've seen in the last week or so, the reason why I'm
highlighting this because that's the open TSA station.
So now we have at least eight open on this side, and then we also have pre check clear still remains closed for right now because of the reduced
staffing. So not all checkpoints are open.
ANDERSON: Right.
YOUNG: But honestly, to see the lines this short is amazing, Becky, we have not seen this in over a week.
ANDERSON: That is amazing and good news for those passengers. What sort of duties briefly does it appear the I.C.E. agents have actually been assigned
to, Ryan?
YOUNG: Glad you asked. We have been walking behind them. We followed a few throughout their day. They've been doing patrolling. So almost like a
traditional police officer, walking the corridors here, maybe every now and then, answering a question from a passenger or moving them on to somebody
who can answer the question, not taking any of the boarding passes.
In fact, there's two I.C.E. agents right there in the distance. They're standing behind that TSA checkpoint, but they're not actually checking
anyone in, so you can see they're just sort of watching the perimeter. So, it makes some people feel better because they see extra security, but
they're not actually helping to move people along, as far as we can see so far.
ANDERSON: Got it. Ryan, always good to have you, mate. Thank you. Ryan Young, in the house for you there. Well, at least 66 people were killed
when a Colombian Air Force plane crashed shortly after takeoff with more than 100 passengers and crew on board. Video circulating online shows the
aircraft's wreckage engulfed in flames and black smoke in a rural field in Southern Colombia.
My colleague CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has the very latest from there.
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Colombian soldiers were killed on Monday morning as an air force plane in Hercules C-130 crashed on Monday morning,
just after taking off from the remote outpost of Puerto Leguizamo, which is remote town deep in the Colombian Amazon jungle next to the border with
Peru.
According to the Joint Chief of Staff of the Colombian military forces, 125 troops were on board of the plane enroute to Puerto Asis, which is a
logistical hub for the whole region of the Colombian Amazon.
[09:25:00]
Of these 125, 11 were crew members, and 114 were soldiers from the Colombian army. The Colombian President Gustavo Petro said at least 80 of
these soldiers had been rescued and thanked the local community down in Puerto Leguizamo for providing the first aid and the end arriving at the
scene to try rescue as many people as possible.
Several of them have already been taken to the Colombian capital Bogota. Authorities are not speculating on what caused the accident, but have so
far ruled out the possibility that this was the result of an attack from armed insurgents that are operating in the jungle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL CARLOS FERNANDO SILVA RUEDA, COLUMBIAN AIR FORCE COMMANDER: At the moment. We have no details on what caused the plane to crash. Other than
that, as soon as it took off, it experienced a problem and crashed a couple of kilometers from the airport.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: And the Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said that the soldiers were carrying ammunition with them, and this is why in some of the
videos, you can hear the explosions from some of the cartridges after the plane crashed and took fire. This incident is likely to throw even further
into the spotlight how dangerous it can be to travel in the Colombian Amazon region, where several of the civilian and military aircraft are old
and no longer suitable for flying.
In a post on X, Petro lamented that he had tried to upgrade the military fleet. However, he said the bureaucracy got in the way. For CNN, this is
Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.
ANDERSON: Right. You're up to speed there. Let's get you a look at the stock markets. They're about to open on Wall Street. And going to get you
the opening bell and check on oil prices, which are having another sort of whiplash week. Also, a CNN exclusive, the trader who has made almost a
million dollars by betting on Iran related events.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Right. We've got about less than a minute before the opening bell on Wall Street, which will today be run by Argentina's third largest bank,
Banco Macro. Look the futures markets indicating a lower start on Wall Street. Let me just give you an indication of what's been going on.
The Asian markets in their Tuesday session actually closing higher. That will have been on the back of what was a pretty spectacular session on Wall
Street on Monday.
[09:30:00]
These Asian markets had no chance Monday to react to Donald Trump's post that he was extending the window before he starts attacking or the U.S.
starts attacking Iranian energy infrastructure. And these this idea that there may be talks going on, there's the bell on Wall Street.
So Asian markets really picking up today and taking advantage of that. But I have to say, the European trading day was pretty muted, and we are
looking at a lower open on Wall Street. Why is that? Well, we have seen a bounce on the oil markets. Once again, prices higher.
There really is some concern out there, significant concern by investors now about just what is going on with regard this Mid East conflict, its
impact on the oil markets and the oil markets impact, of course, on the wider world economy, as optimism of that quick end to a degree is fading
somewhat, the price of oil, as I say, heading back up Brent crude, the -- higher today.
Let's have a look at that for you. Right, it's about 103 they're just above some 3 percent higher. Here's how WTI, the U.S. benchmark is trading prices
rebounding after plunging on Monday. Energy market trade is watching that fresh fighting between Israel and Iran.
I mean, a series of some seven attacks by Iran on Israel in a matter of 10 hours in the overnight session. Israel, in turn, saying that they've hit
some 50 targets in Iran. Clearly, the thing is not de-escalating by any stretch of the imagination at this point, but there have been these talks
about whether or not Pakistan perhaps can host some discussions at some point this week about how this war might end.
I want to bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos. She is been watching those oil markets now for more than three weeks, very specifically, prices moving
back conflicting messages over talks between the U.S. and Iran.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah.
ANDERSON: I just want to you know what you're reading into how investors are feeling, and what is this kind of, you know, whiplash sort of moment
they're in.
GIOKOS: Yeah. I mean, it's immense volatility that we're seeing, Becky, it's 25 days in, and as you say, no real signs of this ending, because
we've seen strikes across the -- Gulf region and strikes into Iran, and that's very indicative of what actually is going on, despite the fact that
the U.S. is saying that they are talks happening Iran saying they aren't.
I mean, perhaps they're going to be mediation efforts. But here's the reality, nothing's really changed in the Straits of Hormuz. The damage on
critical energy infrastructures still unknown in terms of the long-term effect, and that is sort of the big unknown. You had a glimmer of hope
yesterday that completely waning.
And investors still very much focusing on the risk that is in the market, and keeping in mind, and I keep saying this, International Energy Agency
says that this is a supply shock that we haven't seen since the oil crisis in 1973 and 1979 combined. In the meantime, we've seen strikes here in the
UAE of this 25-day period, specifically focusing on the Abu Dhabi national oil company, where gas fields and refineries have been hit.
And in the United States, it's sort of called the Super Bowl of energy clients and the energy sector. It's called CERAWeek. The Abu Dhabi national
oil company, CEO Sultan Al Jaber had a message for delegates there, and a really important one, because he actually said that, you know what we're
seeing here, it's not just about energy.
It's -- if you don't have energy, it means lights off and always, energy trumps everything else. I want you to take a listen to what he had to say
about how Iran is weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SULTAN AL JABER, CEO OF ADNOC: Let me be absolutely clear. Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation. It is
economic terrorism against every nation, and no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage, not now, not ever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Exactly. I mean, we're seeing a chain reaction across the world, Becky. I mean, gas prices in the United States. You're seeing countries in
Asia trying to ration jet fuel at this point, telling people to stay home, not drive around. I mean, this is worst case scenario playing out.
The question is, what happens next? How quickly can this end and do we get back to normality?
[09:35:00]
ANDERSON: Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Joel Rubin telling CNN Donald Trump's claim of talks with Iran might be quote to calm
markets down, even if the actual conflict is solved soon, at least some supply chain damage has already been done.
You and I have been discussing that now for days. Is it clear just how much at this point?
GIOKOS: Yeah. No, we don't know yet. I mean, Qatar Energy says 17 percent of its capacity has been taken out of the market, and it's going to take
them up to five years to rebuild. We still haven't heard from other oil players and gas companies here in the region, in terms of what that long
term damage is.
But the point is that the supply chains have been so badly disrupted that you've got countries scrambling to find alternative sources of refined
products, because we're starting to see a shortage, particularly on the likes of things like jet fuel and even fertilizer inputs. I mean, the
agriculture sector is already reeling from this across the world.
Interestingly, a lot of people also looking at other oil supplies, specifically on the African continent. Aliko Dangote is an industrialist.
He has a refinery that has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day. He was telling me, Becky, that he's getting calls constantly about whether he can
help supply jet fuel in particular, but he also said that if the war ends today, we're still in trouble until the end of the year. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALIKO DANGOTE, FOUNDER & CEO OF DANGOTE GROUP: If things stop now, most likely you must see oil down to about, you know, maybe about $80, but going
now to look for oil where it was, you know, two months ago, up to about $67 it will take a very long time, because, you know, we have already disrupted
the supply line, the supply chain being disrupted, it means that it's going to take time before you fix things. So really, this year is going to be a
year that will be very tough for everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Painful here, Becky, for everybody, possibly until the end of the year, if the war ends now, he says. And that sort of brings you to reality,
that President Trump's words, yes, really made an impact yesterday, bringing down the oil price. I think they're looking for some kind of hope
that this will end soon, but the damage has already been done.
ANDERSON: Yeah. Eleni, good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Well, to a CNN exclusive, we're learning that a trader made almost a million
dollars from bets that accurately predicted U.S. and military action on Iran and Israeli action. The trader made the bets from 2024 on the crypto
prediction market platform, Polymarket, the better, whose identity is unknown, even appeared to predict events such as surprise military
operations.
Well Marshall Cohen broke the story for CNN and joining us now from Washington. Marshall, this is raising really serious concerns about
potential insider trading. What more do we know at this point?
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Hey, Becky, yeah, well, we know that someone made nearly a million dollars with some remarkably accurate bets
about the Iran war. As you mentioned, it all happened on Polymarket, which is one of the most popular prediction sites in the world, where people can
wager on everything from sports to elections and even war.
So, we obtained this analysis from a company called Bubblemaps. They analyzed blockchain transactions like those on Polymarket, and they had
some really interesting findings here. This particular trader accurately predicted the 2024 Israeli strikes on Iranian soil in October 24.
They were betting in the hours before last summer's U.S. attacks against the Iranian nuclear facilities just hours before it happened. And they were
at it again just a few weeks ago, with some very prescient bets in the days and hours before the U.S.-Israeli surprise attack against Israel.
For all of those reasons, the experts I spoke to said that there are some real possible indications of insider activity. Becky, one of the things
that the experts look at is your win rate. Most traders, even the best high frequency traders, they have a win rate or over 50 percent 51, 52, 53.
Well, this trader was at 83 percent overall. And if you only look at their big bets, over $10,000 their win rate was a staggering 93 percent. Now let
me be clear, we don't know who this is. The trading on Polymarket and its offshore site is anonymous. There could be a reasonable explanation here,
but the experts I spoke to said that, look, when there's smoke, there is often fire.
Now Becky, we did reach out to Polymarket for comment. They did not respond. But just yesterday, they announced some new rules that they said
are intended to crack down on insider trading, Becky.
[09:40:00]
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Really fascinating. Marshall, good to have you, sir, thank you. We're going to be back after his quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, polls are now open in Denmark's general election. Center left Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is seeking her third term. Her strong
backing of Ukraine has helped boost her support in recent opinion surveys there. Denmark's Defense Minister and the leader of the center right
opposition are among Frederiksen's main challenges.
Some of the main issues include Denmark's cost of living crisis, inequality and immigration. Frederiksen is also hoping to capitalize on her handling
of the showdown with U.S. President Donald Trump over Greenland. Right, I'll be back in 15 minutes time. "World Sport" is up next for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
[10:00:00]
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