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Trump Pauses Threat to Strike Iran's Energy for Another 10 Days; G7 Ministers Meet as War Rages in Middle East; Lebanon's Humanitarian Crisis Worsens Amid Conflict; Exposing a Web of Men Drugging and Assaulting Their Wives; U.S. Senate Sends Bill to Fund Homeland Security to House; Dubai's Growing Concerns about Middle East Conflict. Aired 10a-11a ET
Aired March 27, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:59]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson in
Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, where the time just after 6:00 in the evening.
And we start this hour with the U.S. president's second pause of his threat to attack Iranian energy sites, saying there'll be at 10-day pause, three
more days than Iran asked for. Donald Trump's announcement coming just minutes after the Thursday close of the U.S. financial markets, which are
today all sharply lower again. He says Iran is begging for a deal to end the war. Iran's leadership publicly denies talks are happening or that they
are interested in negotiations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Iran has never sought war. Iranians are peaceful, noble nation inheriting one of the richest
civilizations on earth. Yet they have demonstrated absolute resolve and determination to defend themselves against the brutal aggressors who know
no boundary in perpetrating all sorts of crimes, a defense that shall persist as long as needed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That's the Iranian foreign minister.
The war rages on, of course. Iranian state media reporting several people were killed in an airstrike in northwestern Iran today and Iran firing back
at Israel and its Gulf neighbors. This video shows damage from a strike in Northern Israel.
As the war nears its fifth week now, G7 allies meeting in France seeking greater clarity from the United States on its war plans and diplomatic
efforts to end the conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived today for the second day of talks as Europe remains resolute in resisting
Donald Trump's calls to join in the war effort.
We've got Jim Sciutto with us this hour in Tel Aviv. Melissa Bell is in Paris.
Jim, let's start with you. Israel's defense minister says its strikes on Iran will, quote, "escalate and expand." What are you hearing from
officials there?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, to your earlier point, Becky, I think it's important to emphasize that when President Trump
talks about a pause, that was really just a pause on what would have been an escalation in the war. Expanding U.S. attacks to include Iranian energy
infrastructure. The attacks on other infrastructure, ballistic missile sites, et cetera, continue. And by Israel as well.
And the Israeli Defense Secretary Israel Katz said -- made his comments in response to a series of Iranian strikes earlier today on Israel. We heard
the warnings here in Tel Aviv saying that, well, in response to those strikes Israel will expand its attacks on Iran. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISRAEL KATZ, ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I warned the Iranian terror regime to stop the
missile fire directed at Israel's civilian population. Despite the warnings, the firing has continued and therefore IDF strikes in Iran will
escalate and expand to additional targets in areas that assist the regime in building and operating weapons used against Israeli civilians. They will
pay heavy and increasing prices for this war crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Prior to those comments, there had already been signals here that Israel would attempt to strike more targets, attempt to do as much damage
as it can, particularly to Iranian missile facilities, launch sites, production facilities, et cetera, to prepare for the possibility at least
of a ceasefire. Trying to get as much damage in prior to that.
I will, though, say Becky, and we've talked about this some in the last 24 hours, that the Israeli view of those negotiations remains quite skeptical.
While they believe that Iran is in a weaker position now and willing to talk, they don't see Iran as being willing to make the kinds of compromises
that would be necessary to find a middle ground between the U.S., those 15 points, and Iran's five points that we saw in response.
[10:05:05]
ANDERSON: Melissa, this U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and its global repercussions will be front and center at this G7 meeting. What are we
hearing at this point?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. These are G7 allies that are looking for a lot more clarity from Marco Rubio,
who's now joined them. He wasn't there for the first day. He's now with them today, about what the end strategy is, what the American strategy is
with this war.
There has been no real public approval or backing of the United States war against Iran by any of these G7 allies. But what everyone does agree on
around that table today is the urgent need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. There is this growing coalition of countries willing to get involved in
some kind of force that would allow for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened.
Still, all of the foreign ministers arriving at this G7 meeting speaking to the fact that their posture would remain entirely defensive. So we await
more clarity on that. This is what the German foreign minister had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHANN WADEPHUL, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): But I was already able to have an initial discussion with my colleague Rubio on the
sidelines of the meeting and was able to reiterate our position on this matter, which was also clear to him, namely, that Germany is certainly
willing to play a role after the end of hostilities when it comes to ensuring the safety of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
We had an initial discussion on this complex issue, which we will certainly explore in greater depth. My interest here is to ensure that we broaden the
common ground we share in this dispute.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BELL: So there's a lot of frustration on either side of this divide. The other G7 allies extremely worried about what's happening, extremely worried
about what the American strategy or apparent lack of may be from their point of view. And then frustration on the other side, which you heard very
clearly expressed yesterday, Becky, in that first Cabinet meeting in Washington since the war had started with them speaking to the fact around
the table, President Trump and his Cabinet, to the fact that it's all very well for these allies to get involved once hostilities ended.
What they want is greater participation now. All of these allies very clear that that's not going to happen -- Becky.
ANDERSON: I do want to hear more from President Trump yesterday, Melissa, talking about NATO. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I said 25 years ago that NATO is a paper tiger. But more importantly, that we'll come to their rescue, but they will never come to
ours. That's why I'm so disappointed in NATO because this was a test for NATO. This was a test. You can help us. You don't have to. But if you don't
have it, you know, if you don't do that, we're going to remember. Just remember. Remember this. And a number of months from now, remember my
statements.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Pretty threatening stuff there.
Jim, you've covered U.S. national security for years. What do you make of his remarks?
SCIUTTO: Listen, it's a clear threat. President Trump has been quite public in his doubts about NATO for years, frankly. I'm going back to the first
administration, some of his former senior advisers told me he quite close, he came quite close to withdrawing from NATO in his first term. Prior to
his second term, some of those same advisers said they would be worried about NATO in the second term.
And we've already seen the splits just a few weeks ago. Remember, there was practically a breaking point in the alliance when President Trump was
insisting on taking the territory of another NATO ally, Denmark, in Greenland. And it was only really a truce declared the president's
ambitions have gone nowhere. And in addition to that, of course, President Trump has said repeatedly Ukraine is not his war, not America's war,
despite the enormous threat it poses to Europe and despite the enormous threat that Russia poses directly to Europe and to those same NATO allies.
So the president, you know, in that language there, though, he has pushed NATO certainly from his direction on Greenland, on reducing the U.S.
support for Ukraine and questioning the alliance as a whole seems to be creating a justification now by saying that because NATO nations did not
listen to his request to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, that they're going to pay for it. Right? I mean, he -- after those comments you played,
he used the phrase never forget, you know, with all that historical significance to describe that.
I've been speaking to officials from NATO allies for the last several months about their concerns about his commitment to NATO. They are real.
They don't believe the U.S. is the ally it once was, that they could rely on it. And I can only imagine those words increase those fears.
ANDERSON: Yes. Melissa, I'm thinking about NATO and what NATO has on its plate at the moment. That is, of course, Russia's war with Ukraine.
[10:10:04]
While all of this is going on, President Zelenskyy visited Saudi this week in an effort to sort of provide support for Gulf nations. Of course, during
this difficult time and to get some support from the kingdom. What role is Ukraine playing in all of this?
BELL: Well, Ukraine has the advantage of having got up and running a relatively sophisticated, certainly drone-making capability, weapons
production of its own. And this is all battle tested stuff. So he's now in Saudi Arabia to speak to Saudi authorities about the possibility of sharing
their drone technology with them because, as he pointed out, once he arrived in Riyadh, the kinds of drone and missile strikes that the Gulf
States are now feeling, seeing are precisely what Ukraine has some expertise in dealing with.
So what's interesting, I think, about this trip is that it's an important reminder of how these two big wars, the war in Iran, the war in Ukraine,
are actually sort of bleeding into one another, not just because of those transfers of military technology and expertise, Becky, but also because
from the point of view of the Europeans, the big winner of both, really, Vladimir Putin. He's been seeing his coffers filled with the many billions
of dollars' worth of oil revenue as a result of the American waiver on its sanctions on seaborne oil.
Even as his troops have launched this springtime offensive, knowing that the United States has their focus elsewhere, and also that Ukraine is
fostering out of cash. It's now waiting for 90 billion euro loan from Europe, currently being held up by Hungary, but that they hope to see the
first tranche of that they desperately need. But also they've been watching helplessly, Becky, as these sophisticated air defense systems have been
heading out of Europe and towards the Middle East.
ANDERSON: Yes. To both of you, really insightful stuff. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
Alireza Nader is president of the Nader Research Group and an Iran expert, joining me now from Washington.
Good to have you. Thank you. What do you make of Donald Trump's delay, pause, on his threat to blow up or annihilate the energy infrastructure in
Iran? Is this, do you believe, a genuine attempt at diplomacy or do you see this -- and do you expect that Tehran sees this as a tactic?
ALIREZA NADER, PRESIDENT, NADER RESEARCH GROUP: Thank you for having me. I think this shows that the U.S. is not doing well in this war frankly. The
Iranian regime is still capable of interrupting shipping in the Persian Gulf. Fuel prices are going up. The regime is not on the verge of collapse.
The Revolutionary Guards are still running Iran and imposing costs on the United States and its allies.
The port facilities in Kuwait were just attacked. If President Trump goes through with his threat of targeting Iranian infrastructure, then Iran will
target infrastructure across the Persian Gulf and the GCC states, and this will create chaos, not just in the Persian Gulf, but across Middle East and
really across the world.
ANDERSON: It is unclear just how much engagement, if any, is coming from Tehran. We certainly hear behind the scenes there may be some indirect sort
of channels open certainly between Egypt and Pakistan, for example. The Qatari prime minister met with -- met in D.C. with J.D. Vance and Scott
Bessent earlier today. Qatar have said that they discussed defense partnerships and global energy markets, saying, and I quote here, Alireza,
"Both sides underscoring the importance of ensuring the sustainability of energy supplies and maintaining the continued flow of liquefied natural gas
from the state of Qatar to global markets."
On the surface, at least, this conflict has done the very opposite of what Iran wanted. It's pulling Gulf States closer to Washington, correct?
NADER: In some ways, it is pushing the Gulf States closer to Washington. But when I talk to a lot of people in the Gulf States there's deep investor
worry about what's happening. There is deep uncertainty. Look, the GCC states have no choice but to go with what the United States wants at this
point. But there's a lot of unhappiness. Just this morning, there were reports that J.D. Vance had a very difficult conversation with Netanyahu of
Israel, and he told Netanyahu, look, a lot of the predictions you made did not come true.
[10:15:04]
There was no popular rebellion in Iran. The regime is not on the verge of collapse. We see chaos. So I think the GCC states officially may be on the
side of the United States and the Trump administration, but they're very unhappy as well.
ANDERSON: The threat from Iran for these Gulf nations very specifically and for this wider region is not just the ballistic missiles and drones. It is,
of course their proxies much degraded, of course, of late. But the Houthis in Yemen now threatening their involvement. A government official tells CNN
if Washington and its allies rush to escalate the situation against Iran, Yemen will preempt them by intervening.
Like I said, we've talked about how much Iran's proxies are degraded, but I wonder how much impact could the involvement of the Houthis have, and how
serious do you think that warning is?
NADER: I think the Houthis are a significant threat actually. They have not entered the conflict so far. It may appear that they have been put on
reserve by Tehran. They could definitely interrupt shipping in the Red Sea and really creates a lot of create a lot of chaos in another part of the
world beyond the Persian Gulf. The same with Hezbollah and Hamas. Yes, they have been greatly weakened, but Tehran still has cards to play
unfortunately. It is still a significant power, and I think it can continue this conflict for months, if not years.
So I'm very pessimistic about this military conflict or war, and I really worry about the people of Iran. I think the regime is going to turn its
anger toward the Iranian people once this conflict concludes.
ANDERSON: So -- and let's just close with that thought. Reports suggest that J.D. Vance had a pretty, difficult relationship, difficult call with
Benjamin Netanyahu. It appears the narrative goes something like, you sort of overestimated the uprising of the people of Iran once, you know, the
U.S. and Israel started this bombing. What do you make of the response from people in Tehran and around the country? Are you surprised that you haven't
-- we haven't seen the sort of uprisings or the demonstrations that we saw, for example, back in January?
NADER: I think Reza Pahlavi made a big mistake by calling on Iranians to storm government buildings on protesters in January. The regime massacred
thousands of Iranians, and now people are afraid to come into the streets. They will get massacred. They know what they're facing. They have bombs
dropping on their heads. I lived in Tehran as a child during the Iran-Iraq war, and the aerial bombings are terrifying. People are not going to come
into the streets and rebel while this is all happening.
ANDERSON: No, I mean, understandably so. And we are seeing continued death toll there as we are around the region of course.
Alireza, it's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.
Still to come, how civilians in Lebanon continue to face heavy losses and heartbreak in this escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and
CNN goes undercover to investigate a hidden network of men sharing tips on how to drug and rape their own partners. That important report is just
ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:21:07]
ANDERSON: Israeli forces are expanding their military operations inside Southern Lebanon, a traditional Hezbollah stronghold. The IDF released this
video to CNN on Thursday. The military says it shows the destruction of Hezbollah sites in Lebanon.
As we've been reporting, civilians are those who are suffering the heavy losses in this conflict, and it is not clear yet who was targeted in the
strike near Beirut overnight. But Lebanese officials say more than a thousand people have been killed since Israel launched its latest
operations against Hezbollah inside Lebanon earlier this month.
Well, last hour, CNN's Nick Paton Walsh shows just how dangerous it is in Lebanon right now on the ground. He talked to paramedics who say they fear
for their lives as they work to help others during the conflict. The World Health Organization has also compiled data about the dangerous conditions.
Among its findings, 64 attacks on health care in Lebanon since March 2nd, resulting in 53 deaths and 91 injuries. Five hospitals have closed, nine
hospitals have sustained partial damage.
Well, for more, I want to bring in Dr. Abdinasir Abubakar, who is with the World Health Organization, joining us today from there.
Thank you, sir. You're in Beirut in Lebanon. We've been reporting on the death of paramedics in Lebanon. Doctor., these are your colleagues in
healthcare. What's your reaction to these attacks?
DR. ABDINASIR ABUBAKAR, WHO REPRESENTATIVE IN LEBANON: Well, thank you very much, Becky, for having me. I really appreciate for the question. I think
he -- of course, what I feel is, you know, very upset, very dismayed. But also what I feel is that, you know, the killing of the paramedics and
healthcare workers is not only, you know killing of the healthcare worker, but also the impact this will have the healthcare system in Lebanon, which
already suffering a great aspect of it.
And I think what we have seen for the last four weeks actually is, as you alluded, that the number that you have mentioned earlier, we have an
updated figures in which, if you don't mind, I would like to share with you that so far what we have, you know, documented and verified by WHO is there
are 78 attacks. Of those 78 attacks may have -- there are 53 deaths related to the, you know, healthcare workers, whether first responders, the nurses,
the doctors, you know, and humanitarian, you know, healthcare workers.
But at the same time, also, we have observed that when 117 injuries among the healthcare workers. So what's the impact of this? The impact is that,
you know, the health system in general will impact because the access to services, these are the people who were providing the first responders,
those who are rescuing the people who were injured on the attacks. These are the people who were, you know, bringing people, you know, the
ambulances who are bringing injured people to the hospital.
At the same time, also, we have seen five damaged hospitals and five hospitals being closed and 49 primary healthcare centers that are closed.
This is clearly showing that the access of health services in the conflict affected areas is severely impacted.
ANDERSON: Can I just ask you, you're on the ground and we've talked about the impact on these specific hospitals, those that have been hit, those
have been put out of action? What is the current state of the healthcare system in Lebanon? You've got a million people displaced. Thousands have
been injured. Can you just describe the sort of story on the ground for me?
ABUBAKAR: Well, the situation on the ground, actually, it's very alarming. And I think what we have seen the impact this conflict is having health
system is one, the one I mentioned earlier, which is that the attacks of the healthcare. But also the closure of the health facilities.
[10:25:02]
But what's very important as well is there are large number of healthcare workers that have been displaced. Remember that when the civilians were
evacuated from the south and also nearby areas, we have healthcare workers who are part of the civilian as well, and they've been evacuated. That
means that we don't have healthcare workers who are operating in those affected health facilities.
We also have an increased mental health among the civilians, among the healthcare workers as well. You know, whenever there is an emergency,
whenever there's a food emergency, the first thing people will impact is the mental health, distress, you know, the family might have died and
everything else. We do have also, you know, the emergency medical supplies, we do have a shortage.
And not only because shortage in Lebanon, but also, you know, shortage that we have because of the shipping lines that used to bring these supplies
from the Middle East outside Middle East. It's been impacted. And now what we have seen is the cost of shipping the supplies from outside the country
have skyrocketed. This morning I have visited two referral hospitals who are managing the casualties. The war wounded patients, and both of them
have expressed that the supplies that they have will be enough only for two weeks, and what will come after that?
It's only God knows into that. As long as we're experiencing that, the airport will have only one airline that's operating.
ANDERSON: You're talking about real critical needs here. Let me ask you, is the WHO working with the Lebanese government and-or with Hezbollah in some
parts of the country?
ABUBAKAR: Well, WHO is working purely with the government and with the minister of health actually. We, for us, our partner and our counterpart is
the minister of health and the Lebanese government. This is what we are working. We are providing, we are providing, you know, supplies. We are
providing whatever necessary support that they need for the government, especially for the Ministry of Health.
We are working with the hospitals. We are working with the primary health care centers. Our aim and intention is to provide the necessary support to
the government, but also to the Ministry of Health in particular, as well as healthy partners, the NGOs who are dedicated. We have a 50 partners who
are working with the healthcare system in Lebanon. We are also working and supporting them.
ANDERSON: Yes, understood. It's good to have you on today. The story there from Beirut, Lebanon. Thank you very much indeed, sir.
Well, as we reach the one month mark of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and also this latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict, it is worth remembering this is
not just a cycle of diplomatic tit-for-tat between world leaders, that human cost is staggering. In Iran, almost 2,000 people have been killed,
according to the Iranian Red Crescent Society. We can't verify numbers. They could be an awful lot higher than those. In Lebanon, the government
said it's more than 1100. Thirty people have been killed in Gulf Arab countries, many of them migrant workers. Eighteen civilians have been
killed in Israel, which has also lost four soldiers in Southern Lebanon, and 13 U.S. service members have died.
Just a reminder of the devastating toll.
Well, you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. There is a lot more news ahead, so please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:30:56]
ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, just after 6:30 in the evening here in Abu Dhabi. Here are your
headlines.
We are watching to see whether the U.S. House will approve a bill sent by the Senate to fund the Department of Homeland Security. If passed, the
agreement would restore funding to some DHS agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration. Now, thousands of those TSA workers
have not been paid for weeks, fueling major delays at America's busiest airports.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced he is pausing threatened strikes on Iranian energy facilities for another 10 days. He claims talks with Iran
are ongoing and are going well. Iran insists it is not currently talking with the U.S. or interested in negotiating at this time.
Well, at the G7 in France, European allies are challenging U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Russia and on a push for new talks with Iran. It's
Rubio's first foreign trip since the war began, and it comes as divisions grow over the war and calls for de-escalation as they intensify.
Well, a month's long CNN investigation has uncovered a hidden network of men sharing tips on how to drug and rape women.
Saskya Vandoorne tracked down a man who boasted about raping his wife and spoke to a woman who survived this type of abuse. Now, look, I've got to
warn you, before we begin, that this report does contain accounts from survivors of sexual assault and abuse. Those who appear on camera gave
their consent, and we respected the wishes of those who asked to remain anonymous.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Line connecting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go ahead, caller. What's your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've just heard from my daughter. She's on her own in a house with four children and has just learned she's been drugged with her
son's sleeping medicine.
ZOE WATTS, SURVIVOR: We worry about who's coming behind us walking down the street. We worry about going to our car late at night, but we don't worry
about who we lie next to. I didn't realize I had to.
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Zoe Watts may never know if the videos her husband made of her being raped were ever uploaded
online. She met him when she was 17. He's now serving 11 years for rape, sexual assault by penetration and drugging.
WATTS: I knew that he wanted to have a conversation because we'd had a church service that Sunday. He reeled off a list of his wrongdoings to me
as if it was, you know, a shopping list. I've done this, this, this, this, this, this and this. I've been using our son's sleeping medication to put
in your last cup of tea at night to tie you down, take photographs, and rape you. And I think I just went into shock.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Zoe kept the abuse secret for a few months as she grappled with what had happened to her, speaking out only after a severe
panic attack. Her mother then called the police.
WATTS: There were some times I thought, you know, this isn't right, but what would it mean? What would our -- what would our family look like?
Their children would be without a dad and there would be a reputation. And my boys would grow up having a reputation and they'd know what their dad
was doing.
VANDOORNE: I've noticed you haven't used the word rape a lot. Tell me, tell me why.
WATTS: It just doesn't -- I don't know, it's like one of those things really, I really, I struggle with that, to say that that's what happened.
It's like people can't say it, too, neither. I just don't think.
VANDOORNE: You know you're not alone.
WATTS: Yes, yes. Sadly.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Huge numbers of explicit sleep videos are being uploaded online by users who claim it's non-consensual. One Web site
profiting from this is Motherless.com.
[10:35:00]
Last year, we began investigating a porn site that gets over 60 million visits a month, focusing on the thousands of videos featuring women who
appear unconscious during sex acts. Most of its users are based in the U.S. It's home to so-called sleep content, with hundreds of thousands of views.
One popular hashtag is #eyecheck, a way of proving a woman is asleep.
We created a fake name and soon got into a private Telegram group dedicated to sharing sleep content with almost a thousand members. One day, a man in
the group we're calling Piotr, not his real name, DM'd me. Piotr admitted to me that he had been crushing pills into his wife's drink to rape her in
her sleep. Without encouraging him, I tried to find out how he was managing to do this. Who was he? Where was he?
Even when women come forward, proving it can be nearly impossible. Some drugs leave the body within 12 hours. Survivors often only realize much
later what happened. And even with the courage to speak out, there are still countless roadblocks when it comes to reporting to police or bringing
a legal case.
Amanda Stanhope didn't know her partner had been abusing her for five years.
AMANDA STANHOPE, SURVIVOR: The police had to look through all those videos.
VANDOORNE: And what did they make of them?
STANHOPE: The one where I was absolutely horrified and he'd performed a sexual act on my face whilst I was unconscious. And it was completely
clear. And the police looked at this one and I thought there's the evidence. And the police said to me, well, we can't use that. That isn't
clear evidence because it looks like you're pretending to be asleep.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Her former partner was charged with multiple counts of rape and sexual assault. He took his own life before the case could go
to court. While talking to survivors, the man I was DM'ing continued to message and send me videos.
It made me even more determined to try and meet him, to get him in person, so I'm going to send him a message now and I'm going to see if he would
meet with us.
(Voice-over): By now, we'd worked out he was in Poland. And we knew roughly where he lived. But he refused to meet, and then a tip. He let slip that he
was planning to attend a party.
That's him. I recognize him. So we're inside the restaurant. And I've just seen him dancing with her, and at the start of this investigation, all of
these men were faceless. And so seeing him tonight has just really brought home the fact that this is happening in real life.
(Voice-over): The man who had been messaging me day and tonight was only a few feet away, oblivious. I'd come to see if he was real. And there he was
with his wife. The same people I saw in the videos. We couldn't approach Piotr's wife without potentially putting her in danger, so we reached out
to police about our findings.
The Telegram group we infiltrated eventually disappeared. But it's a pattern authorities know well. One goes offline, another soon resurfaces.
We reached out to both Motherless and Telegram, but did not receive a response. As campaigns by German journalists to shut down Motherless and
strengthen moderation on similar platforms continue, videos of women who appeared to be abused while unconscious are still being uploaded, and U.S.
Safe Harbor laws largely protect the site from liability.
In the end, it all comes back to Gisele Pelicot, the survivor whose trial shocked France and drew global attention. With astonishing dignity, she has
taken hold of her own harrowing experience.
In reporting this case, we've spoken to multiple survivors who say they were drugged and raped by their husbands, and many of them see you as a
source of strength. With your permission, I'd like to read you some of the messages that these survivors have sent to me to read to you.
One survivor, her name is Amanda Stanhope. She lives in Wigan. "Her strength inspired me to speak out. She broke the silence and shame. So many
survivors are forever grateful to her. I'd love to say thank you. If she can do it, then so can I."
GISELE PELICOT, SURVIVOR (through text translation): You're making me cry. It's beautiful. These are testimonials that move me, of course, but it is
nice to say to yourself that they have found this strength. I was able to transmit that to them, it was a win because we must indeed be united with
everything that happens because if you stay in your corner, you will never shift perceptions. And I say bravo, ladies. Bravo. Don't be ashamed of
doing it.
All women must be able to do this process even if it is very difficult. Even if it is very complicated in their head. But they're going to get
there. It takes time. It can take months, days, maybe even years. But they will eventually get there.
[10:40:33]
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And help is available if you have experienced any of the abuse that we are talking about here. In the U.S., call the National Sexual
Assault hotline or chat anytime on RAINN.org. Outside the U.S., U.N. Women and the Pixel Project provide a list of agencies that are available around
the world.
And CNN's investigation is already drawing sharp reactions from lawmakers across Europe. In the U.K., Jess Phillips, the minister for safeguarding
and violence against women and girls, said the report highlights the need for the government's new specialist taskforce to crack down on online
perpetrators, adding there is nowhere for these vile criminals to hide.
And in Italy, the investigation has amplified calls for new legislative reform from Democratic Party lawmaker Laura Boldrini. She is calling the
report a catalyst for accountability in a political landscape still grappling with what she described as patriarchal history.
Well, I'll be back with more news in just a moment.
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ANDERSON: Well, let me bring you the view from Lebanon. We are seeing a significant amount of smoke rising from the capital Beirut. This video
coming into CNN moments ago. Lebanon state news agency has been reporting new Israeli strikes in both Southern Lebanon and Southern Beirut today. And
the UNHCR, the U.N.'s refugee agency, describing Lebanon now as facing a humanitarian catastrophe with more than a million people fleeing their home
in the wake of these Israeli strikes.
Well, help may be on the horizon for ending what have been these brutally long lines at U.S. airports. The senate has sent a bill to the -- to fund
the Department of Homeland Security to the House. Now, if that gets passed, there would also be money for the Transportation Security Administration,
and it is there that thousands of TSA agents have been calling out because they haven't been paid in weeks.
CNN's Alayna Treene is at the white house. Just how close do this bill -- is this bill to passing, Alayna, at this point?
[10:45:06]
All right. I'm afraid that I can't hear you. I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to take a very quick break and we'll see if we can
reestablish with Alayna.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We're going to head back to Washington for you for more on this effort to fund Homeland Security and get some wages into the pockets of
these TSA agents at airports.
CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House.
I think we've reestablished with you. I was asking you just how close is this bill to passing at this point?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Becky, and I hope you can hear me now, but essentially they're hoping it can pass. I know from my
conversations with people at the White House or congressional reporters hearing the same from people on Capitol Hill is that they're hoping this
can get passed by the end of the weekend. Of course, the House is a very different chamber, Becky, from the Senate. They have very different
personalities within them.
And so it is a little bit of work that House Speaker Mike Johnson has on his hands to try to get this through. But the expectation is that this will
pass hopefully quickly. We've heard from some Democrats in the House as well, who are likely to get on board with this, given this was essentially
a compromise of some sorts.
But I will say, even if this does get passed as soon as today, which again could be likely, very unclear at this point, that doesn't mean that the
problems we're seeing at airports or that TSA workers who have gone a month now, over a month, without a full paycheck, are actually going to get paid
very quickly. There's a lot that still needs to be done. Unfortunately, this is how government works. Things take a long time. Things go slowly, so
there's still some questions about how quickly the impacts of this shutdown are going to be resolved once Congress actually gets this funding bill
through and passed, and to the president's desk.
ANDERSON: And what concessions, if any, is the Republican Party and is President Trump giving in order to get this funding?
TREENE: Well, quite a few actually, Becky. One of the big things and really part of the reason that Democrats and Republicans have been at a complete
standstill over the last month or so is because of the issue of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcements here and customs and border
protection. Essentially, Democrats said, we do not want to fund those parts of DHS until we can get needed reforms.
Republicans didn't want that. They were trying to push this through. They were also trying to tie, or at least President Trump mainly was trying to
tie what he calls his SAVE America Act, essentially voter I.D. laws for voting for different elections, trying to tie that to all of this.
Essentially what ended up happening is both sides kind of lost here. Democrats, yes, they actually got one concession, which is that ICE funding
and CBP funding is not included in this bill, but they didn't get any of the forms that they were really pushing for.
While Republicans their loss here is that those two key agencies within the Department of Homeland Security for the border are not going funding in
this bill, but they are hoping they can get that money tied to a different bill that hopefully they're, you know, hoping that can pass with only
Republican votes. So it's still kind of messy. There's still a road ahead to get a lot of the priorities that Republicans wanted in this bill.
We're going to have to see whether or not that is possible down the line.
[10:50:05]
ANDERSON: Absolutely. Good to have you, Alayna. Thank you.
Well, as we close out a month of this U.S.-Israel war with Iran, a warning from Tehran that any country joining military action against it will face
the consequences. A senior adviser to the supreme leader warns that military aggression against Iran will return to the participants like a
boomerang. He also added that the Persian Gulf could be a focal point for what they call retaliation.
Well, these comments come a week after Iran launched strikes on Qatar's main gas facility in retaliation for Israeli strikes on its South Pars gas
field.
CNN's Eleni Giokos joining us live from Dubai.
And, you know, we mark a month of this conflict. Let's just remind ourselves what impact we are currently seeing in the region so far.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a really important question. So we keep focusing on the supply of oil that transited through the Strait of
Hormuz, 20 million barrels of oil a day. It's 20 percent of global supply. You know, I was looking at fertilizer, 30 percent of global fertilizer
transits through the straits. We're looking at helium. We're looking at so many other products.
But I think it's also really important to take a moment and look at all the goods that come into the region via the straits. The Gulf region relies on
the strait for 70 percent of imports of food, and we're talking about massive containers bringing in various supplies of perishable goods as well
as nonperishable goods. There's been such a lot of questions that are coming through in terms of, you know, are we going to see a food crisis
erupting? You know, what is it doing to supply chains?
And it's really fascinating to see how everyone is sort of readjusting and trying to figure out how to keep the place, you know, importing food and
finding out, you know, figuring out the rerouting. I went to one of the biggest retailers in the region, Spinneys, Becky, to find out how they're
adjusting to this new reality. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS (voice-over): At first glance, it looks like business as usual inside one of the region's largest and well-known supermarkets, Spinneys.
Here in Dubai, shelves are stocked, customers are shopping, but behind the scenes the pressure is mounting.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is not only choking almost 20 percent of global oil supplies, but also all cargo coming into the region,
including food. Gulf States rely on the straits for 70 percent of all food imports.
SUNIL KUMAR, CEO, SPINNEYS: The Hormuz, nobody -- everyone thinks that it is the oil is the most relevant, but it is oil is the most relevant. But it
is -- it's the most relevant but at the same time, food for this region is also so crucial because Jabal Ali port, we depended on, UAE depended on
Jabal Ali port as well as Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi. Now these two ports are not operating.
GIOKOS (voice-over): In the early days of the war panic buying surged, echoing scenes from the COVID-19 pandemic.
KUMAR: Initial two days, three days, in fact, customers were hoarding stock. They were coming into the stores and they were buying panickingly
because that's what we have seen in the COVID time as well. But after four days, it's actually drop down and it became normal.
GIOKOS (voice-over): Shipping costs have also surged. Spinneys says there's now up to a $5,000 surcharge on containers. The solution, bringing supplies
in by air using other ports in the region and then loading trucks and driving it into the United Arab Emirates, all at an extra cost.
But your input costs, your cost I think has doubled.
KUMAR: Increased.
GIOKOS: Has it doubled?
KUMAR: Not increased, the supply chain cost has increased.
GIOKOS: But how much?
KUMAR: I don't have that percentage number. But it is, it is manageable at the given time.
GIOKOS: So you're OK to absorb everything right now.
KUMAR: At a given time.
GIOKOS: How long can you keep that up for?
KUMAR: It depends on how long and what is the fuel cost is going to be. If the fuel cost is not going to stay as it is today, and it is not coming
down, it will have an impact. And somebody has to absorb this cost.
GIOKOS (voice-over): The World Food Program warns of a ripple effect, most impacting vulnerable populations. Rising fuel and fertilizer costs could
push food prices higher globally if the crisis continues. While retailers in the Gulf region have found a workaround to the strait, if the war
continues, consumers worldwide could be left paying the price.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS (on-camera): All right. So, Becky, I asked him whether we're going to see a food crisis, food shortages in the region. He said categorically
no. And I also spoke to other retailers that had the very same answer.
[10:55:03]
The point is the food is going to be a lot more expensive. We might have less options. And also quite interestingly, I said, what are spending
patterns looking like now? Do you know what the biggest, sort of the most popular thing is right now? It's crisps and chocolates. Apparently it's
comfort food during this time. So interesting on that front. But the point is nothing's changed in the Strait of Hormuz. And until we open that up,
you know, we're going to be seeing major surcharges on sea freight.
ANDERSON: Yes, I think we can all relate to that sort of comfort food at this point.
It's good to have you, Eleni. Thank you very much indeed.
Let's see how U.S. stocks are getting on. Dreadful session yesterday. S&P down significantly as low as it's been during this war. The S&P 500 off
about eighth-tenths of 1 percent now. The Nasdaq a little more than that. The Dow just about the same.
And so despite President Trump's apparent efforts to reassure Wall Street investors are getting mixed and often contradictory signals from Washington
and Tehran. Here are the latest oil prices. They've been swinging sharply of course this week as well. That's the picture as we, shall I say, close
out a month of this war and these prices.
After President Trump threatened U.S. strikes on Iran's power infrastructure, he's now offered a sort of 10-day window. Let's see what
can be achieved in that time if indeed that is a window of de-escalation to a degree. It's unclear at this point.
That is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
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