Return to Transcripts main page

Connect the World

Trump Warns of Retaliation Against Iran for Soldiers' Death; Trump Announces 50 Percent Tariffs on Some Canadian Products; Army Veteran Targets Federal Offices with Anti- I.C.E. Message; New UK Documents Detail Rape Charges Against Tate Brothers; Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber Sets Auction Record at $3.75 Million. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired July 21, 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: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces lawmakers for the first time since the war with Iran ramped

up again. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It is 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up full-scale war, that is what the president of Iran calls the intensified fight against the U.S. And there is no end in sight to the

conflict. Plus, Andrew and Tristan Tate are looking to President Trump for help as they fight their possible extradition to the U.K.

All right. We're 30 minutes to go before the start of trade in New York. Let's check in on those futures. It is green all round. NASDAQ up 1.4

percent, S&P about four tenths of a percent higher. Dow Jones also looking much stronger today. All focus on the chip makers that have been performing

quite well.

Also, want to check in quickly on Brent crude as well as WTI as we start to continue to see issues in and around the Strait of Hormuz, renewed threats

in the Bab al-Mandab Strait as well, where we are now seeing Brent crude prices up almost 2 percent sitting at over $90 a barrel, really important

threshold there, and WTI up 2 percent right now at $84 a barrel.

Now I want to begin with heightened attacks amid fears of a wider war in the Middle East, as mediators try to get the U.S. and Iran to stop the

fighting. U.S. Central Command says its forces attacked Iranian military facilities during a 10th straight night of strikes.

Iran hitting back at Gulf neighbors, including Bahrain, which reportedly faced a barrage of drone and missile strikes this morning, all of this as

Yemen's Houthis declare a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping at the southern end of the Red Sea, and we're looking at the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

CNN White House Reporter Kevin Liptak joins me now. Kevin, really good to see you. You know, President Trump is definitely not backing down on Iran.

10 nights of strikes, especially after the latest death of U.S. service members, what is he hoping to get out of this escalation?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, and it seems as if his thinking is that the harder the U.S. pounds Iran, the greater the

likelihood that they will reopen the Strait of Hormuz and come back to the negotiating table to discuss its nuclear program, but there's no evidence

at this point that the strategy is working.

And I think it leads the sense that the president is at again at a strategic crossroads, facing this decision to either escalate this war back

into the full-scale conflict akin to what we saw back in early spring, or to try and take advantage of what the mediators have put on the table,

which is this 10-day ceasefire that would allow the negotiations to proceed, would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

And in their minds, hopefully bring this conflict to a more definitive conclusion, but it's not clear that the president is prepared to take that

option. What a U.S. official said yesterday is that for now the president was focused on quote, making Iran pay both for their attacks on the

commercial vessels in the strait, their violations of the memorandum of understanding.

But also, the deaths of those three and perhaps four American service members who died over the weekend-really one of the deadliest stretches for

American forces over the course of this war-and that until then, the quote, devastating blows will continue until the president deems otherwise.

At the same time, they're leaving the door open for diplomacy. You've heard that from the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This White House

official also said that talks between the two countries are continuing, and I think it just underscores the limits of the president's military strategy

here.

There are limits to what you can accomplish from the air. All of the you know quote, unquote, easy sites to strike in Iran have already been struck,

and now the U.S. is finding itself in a position to go after some of what Iran has reconstituted during the pause in fighting in terms of missile and

drone facilities.

And so far, President Trump seems unwilling to order up a ground invasion that you know may or may not, I guess, shift the momentum one way or the

other, and so he is caught, I think, in something of an impasse. Where it goes from here at this point, we don't know.

Now we know the president tomorrow will be attending the dignified transfer of the remains of those American service members who died over the weekend,

and that I think will be an important moment.

[09:05:00]

It sort of really underscores the weight of responsibility that is on the president as he makes these decisions about how exactly he plans to

proceed.

GIOKOS: All right, Kevin Liptak, thanks so much. Now, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White

House today. Mr. Aoun is expected to present a proposal that's aimed at disarming the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and for securing

Israel's military withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Today's meeting comes at a pivotal moment for Lebanon, as it struggles with security challenges along its southern border. Aoun is the first Lebanese

President to visit the White House since 2009. For more on this, I want to bring in Firas Maksad, a Managing Director with Eurasia Group, a Global

Political Risk Research Firm and Consulting Firm, recognized expert on Lebanese politics.

Firas joins me now to discuss the broader dynamics. Really good to see you. Look, President Trump is meeting with Joseph Aoun in just a few hours. You

also had a meeting in D.C. yesterday. I want you to describe the atmosphere in the lead up to the meeting today. I mean, does diplomacy here stand a

chance?

FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR WITH EURASIA GROUP: Thank you, Eleni. The Lebanese President is receiving a warm welcome not only from the White

House, but the policy community in Washington. There is an appreciation for the degree of risk that this Lebanese President is taking in an effort to

restore state sovereignty over its territory.

Particularly when it comes to countering Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that dragged the country now for two consecutive wars and

brought much destruction and renewed Israeli occupation of south Lebanon. And so, this meeting is very much a landmark meeting as far as Lebanon is

concerned.

Joseph Aoun is the first Lebanese President to visit the White House in some 19 years. Only three former Lebanese Presidents in the history of that

republic have made have traveled the path to the White House. So, the expectations are high. I think Joseph Aoun in particular wants to see wants

to prove that diplomacy can deliver limited Israeli withdrawals as they might be because there are some limitations on the Israeli side with Bibi

Netanyahu facing in elections.

There's a realistic expectation of total withdrawal is not on the cards. Limited withdrawals, nonetheless, support for the Lebanese army and support

for the reconstruction of southern Lebanon.

GIOKOS: So that's really interesting. You believe that there'll be limited withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and we're seeing what they're calling

sort of a pilot program in already seeing some withdrawal. In terms of the restrictions, the limitation for Benjamin Netanyahu and the domestic

pressure that he faces, how do you see this playing out despite the pressure from President Trump to make commitments for withdrawal?

MAKSAD: This is the most right-wing government in Israel's history, and Netanyahu is facing criticism not only from the right of the political

spectrum, the Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, those extreme right elements within his cabinet, but also criticism from the opposition on the left that he has

not done much, he has not done enough, I should say, to deal a devastating blow to Hezbollah.

There's concern that Hezbollah will reconstitute, fill any vacuums that the Israeli military leaves if they in fact do withdraw from Lebanon. And in an

atmosphere where Israel is leading up to a charged pivotal election on October 27th. There's a pressure for him not to withdraw.

But there's countervailing forces here, and President Trump carries a lot of weight in Israel, and he is very much calling on Israel. The Israeli

Prime Minister, to begin that withdrawal from Lebanon, limited as they may be, again to hand over a diplomatic victory for President Aoun.

GIOKOS: Yeah, so I want to talk about this really interesting window of opportunity, but it's you know the fact that Hezbollah is weakened. They're

attempting to regroup. What priorities need to be focused on to take advantage of this moment?

MAKSAD: Yeah, Eleni, it is actually quite surprising that Hezbollah, which has been protesting very loudly at the prospect of the Israeli-Lebanon

direct negotiations that are being hosted by the U.S. protesting very loudly about President Aoun today appearing shoulder to shoulder in the

White House with President Trump.

But they've actually been doing very little to disrupt this process, and it takes very little to disrupt the process and disrupts today's summit.

[09:10:00]

The resumption of Hezbollah attack against Israeli forces in southern Lebanon would very much throw a wrench into this very fragile Lebanon-

Israel ceasefire that continues to hold despite the fact that the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has collapsed. But it seems that Hezbollah is too

weak to relaunch military operations.

It seems that its own support base in Lebanon's Shia community is devastated by the war and not enthused to take yet another round, yet

another gamble with Israel, and that creates that window of opportunity for the U.S., Lebanon, and also Israel to prove that there is another way.

GIOKOS: All right. So, we know President Aoun wants to focus on Israeli withdrawal in southern Lebanon, but also looking for investment and a

reconstruction plan. How is that going to sit with President Trump?

MAKSAD: I think it'll sit very nicely with President Trump, who we all know has a particularly eye on everything having to do with business, and I

expect that amongst the asks and the offers in the White House today, we will see President Aoun offer American companies the opportunity to invest

in key strategic sectors in Lebanon.

That would include offshore gas, and that would also include the strategic telecom sector in Lebanon, amongst others. So, there will be very much

things on the table that could interest the American President. But also, there is a need to support not only the Lebanese state but the fledgling

Lebanese army, that is the backbone of the Lebanese Republic.

But nonetheless is trying to face off Hezbollah and establish sovereignty with Vietnam era 1960 outdated weaponry. And soldiers that today receive a

salary that almost is a third of what Hezbollah fighters receive. And so, there is a degree of the need to deliver and support the Lebanese state if

the Lebanese state is in fact going to have a chance at proving itself and averting yet another slide towards conflict --

GIOKOS: All right, Firas Maksad, thank you so much for that insight. Much appreciated. Great to have you on the show. Right, in the coming hours,

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to appear on Capitol Hill alongside General Dan Caine.

They will face questions about the war with Iran and the administration's request for tens of billions of dollars in emergency funding. This comes as

the Pentagon reveals nearly 100 service members have been injured in the last two weeks, but most were minor concussions.

Now, pushing back on reports, the U.S. military has been slow to disclose injuries. CNN's Brian Todd joins us now from Washington with more. Right,

Brian, good to see you. What can we expect to hear from Hegseth and the request for billions of dollars for this war with Iran?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, you can expect a lot of pointed questions from senators, especially from Democrats on the Senate

Appropriations Committee in that hearing, that will begin a little more than five hours from now on Capitol Hill.

As Eleni, mentioned, the Trump Administration is now lobbying Congress for tens of billions of more dollars for funding for the continuing war in

Iran, despite concerns from many in Congress that the U.S. has had depleted munitions and funding for the war.

Secretary Hegseth will get a lot of questions about that and how he's going to justify some of the billions of dollars that they are requesting for

ongoing operations in Iran. But as Eleni mentioned, there is a big controversy brewing over the reporting of casualties, U.S. casualties

specifically in the Iran war.

CNN and other outlets reporting this week that the Pentagon has been slow to disclose injuries of U.S. troops, CNN reported Monday that U.S. Central

Command has not been regularly giving updates on non-fatal attacks in recent months. Injuries to U.S. service members who were not killed, they

have left those totals to a military website, which has often experienced delays in reporting those totals.

So that is something that Secretary Hegseth will undoubtedly be asked about, are they being forthcoming enough with injury and death totals from

the Iran war? Now, just on Monday, the Pentagon's top spokesman Sean Parnell did try to address some of this. He posted on X that nearly 100

service members have been injured since July 7th, but he said most of those were quote, minor concussions.

This comes as more U.S. soldiers who were killed in the Iran war have been identified. You see the pictures of two of them there. There were three and

possibly 4 U.S. service members killed in recent days during the Iran war. Those two who you see there, they were identified as Lieutenant Tyler

Feehan.

He's on the left there. He's 25 years old, and Private Isabella Gonzales on the right. She is 19 years old. Also, we just learned of another identified

service member killed, Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton.

[09:15:00]

Now, the two whose pictures you saw there, Feehan and Gonzales, according to the military were killed during a strike in Jordan in recent days.

Sergeant Michael Emanuel Swinton was killed in Iraq during a controlled explosion of a drone. Those are 3 U.S. service members positively

identified as being killed.

Their dignified transfers to the United States will occur on Wednesday. President Trump planning to attend that dignified transfer, possibly a

fourth U.S. service member listed as missing has also been killed, but we have not confirmed that one yet, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right, Brian Todd, thank you so much for that update. Ahead on "Connect the World", a judge, a U.S. judge, is pressing pause on the mega

merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Brothers Discovery will have that details on the story when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: A U.S. federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order, pausing Paramount's takeover of Warner Brothers Discovery, CNN's parent

company. The media mega merger has been put on hold for two weeks as the judge considers an antitrust legal challenge led by California's attorney

general.

The judge says a hearing will be held on August 3rd, to consider granting a preliminary injunction. If that goes ahead, it could freeze the merger for

months. For more now, I'm joined by CNN's Brian Stelter. Brian, really good to have you with us. Tell us about this temporary restraining order and

what that means ultimately for the merger.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right, this is the one big remaining challenge to Paramount taking over WBD. Paramount has won or

gained regulatory approval in markets all around the world, but these Democratic state attorneys general have filed suit partly because they

suspect that the Trump Administration gave the green light for political reasons.

But when you look at the text of the lawsuit, it's about the markets for theatrical movie distribution and for cable channel licensing, and the

states were able to persuade a federal judge that they do have a strong case. Here's what the judge said in her filing. She says, is Judge Araceli

Martinez-Olguin.

She said the states make a strong showing that the deal will substantially lessen competition in the wide release theatrical distribution market. What

does that mean? It means she is buying the state's arguments that if Paramount and Warner are allowed to come together, that it will reduce

competition, it will hurt Hollywood, and ultimately harm consumers.

Paramount now has a few weeks to try to rebut those arguments and convince the judge otherwise. That's what will happen at that preliminary injunction

hearing on August 3rd. And analysts who cover antitrust say sometimes these injunction hearings are the whole ball game because if an injunction is put

in place, it would stall the deal for months.

And oftentimes, companies that are trying to merge they abandon their mergers when a judge intervenes in that way because it takes so long to get

to trial and so costly to have an unpredictable trial.

[09:20:00]

So that's the situation now. All eyes on that August 3rd date, which by the way could slide, but at least scheduled now for August 3rd. It is a

dramatic change in fortunes for Paramount, which has been moving very quickly to try to get this deal done and take over CNN and the rest of

Warner because the deal gets more expensive for Paramount starting in October.

Now, here's what the company said in a statement, Paramount saying the merger is lawful, pro-competitive, and will benefit consumers, creators,

workers, and the entertainment industry. Paramount saying we will vigorously defend the transaction and look forward to the hearings on the

substance of the State AGs' lawsuit.

So, more to come in the next couple of weeks here, this is moving pretty rapidly. But like I said, if a judge does decide to keep to enforce an

injunction, and reading between the lines of her ruling yesterday, she seems inclined to do so. That could be a serious impediment for Paramount

going forward.

GIOKOS: Yeah, I mean, could you give me some scenarios here where the merger could be dashed altogether?

STELTER: Right, that is ultimately what's on the table now, and I sense from Paramount executives a great deal of frustration because for the past

five months these executives have been working hard in Europe, in Asia, in the United States, all around the world, securing all the regulatory

approvals that are needed.

But the states do have jurisdiction here. States are able to enforce antitrust law. And what we've seen several times now in the U.S. in recent

months are examples of the states stepping in because they believe the federal government's falling down on the job. The view from these

Democratic state attorneys general is that the Trump Administration has walked off the beat.

The cops are off the beat. They're not enforcing antitrust law, so these states are having to do so instead, and that's an interesting dynamic we

see. Right now, CNN caught in the middle as Warner Brothers is in limbo due to this merger challenge.

GIOKOS: Yeah. All right, Brian Salter, thank you so much for that update. I want to get you up to speed now some other stories that are on our radar

right now. A new trade war may be on the horizon. That's after President Trump announced 50 percent tariffs against certain imports from Canada on

Monday.

It'll impact around 20 billion dollars of Canadian goods. The measure targets one of America's closest allies and are some of the steepest

tariffs on Trump's presidency. I.C.E. off our streets. That's the message a U.S. army veteran displayed as he carried out an attack in New York on

Monday.

He was arrested after starting a fire outside a federal building which houses offices for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other government

agencies. Three people were hurt. People on the U.S. Gulf Coast are racing to prepare for tropical storm Bertha, several days of heavy rain, gusty

wind, and coastal floods are in store for parts of the Gulf region.

Tropical storm warnings have already been issued in some states. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is joining me live from Atlanta. Really good to

have you with us, Derek. What are you seeing on the horizon?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK, so there, no one wants to see a tropical system in the Gulf this close to land mass here in the U.S. We

know how quickly these things can change, but there are a lot of things working against this current tropical storm, which was officially named

last night.

It became a tropical storm Bertha at 08:00 p.m. Eastern Time, but what's really working against this is it's running out of kind of runway to

strengthen, and it's also got a lot of dry air and strong winds coming in from the north. So, notice how the bulk of the heaviest rain and the

thunderstorm activity, you see the lightning bolts there, is south of the center, which is right here.

And that is a good indicator that this storm is sheared and it's having a lot of difficulty strengthening. Even though there are some thunderstorms

right around the center that we're starting to notice as well. Anyway, this is the take-home point. There is still going to be tropical storm

conditions across the coastline, potentially into the Florida Panhandle.

A lot of people vacation here right along the Mississippi and Alabama coastline, right into the boot of Louisiana, but you can see the official

forecast from the National Hurricane Center has nominal strengthening from this system. Regardless of all that, this is a vulnerable coastline in the

United States.

It's very low lying, and any amount of water being pushed around by tropical entities like this can build up storm surge, and we've already

seen some of that realized. The potential for localized two to four feet, especially right here, you can kind of see that catcher's mitt where we

push up all the water into the low-lying areas of southeastern Louisiana.

Also, a lot of people vacation here, so several beautiful beaches. This is known as the Nature and Forgotten coast of Florida, that Florida peninsula

there, or the Florida Panhandle, that 30A that is a highway that I'm referencing, dotted with beautiful, beautiful white sandy beaches.

So, anyone going outdoors, venturing outside, may see that it's sunny outdoors. They're like, hey, I'm not going to cancel my vacation. You get

in the water and you have problems with rip currents because of a nearby tropical system that you can't quite see because it looks beautiful

outside, right?

[09:25:00]

So that's the misleading weather that we will have across this area. Regardless, there's another big story here, Eleni, and I want to touch on

this because the big threat of severe weather impacting a large population density of the East Coast of the U.S. including the Mid-Atlantic, D.C.,

Philly, into Baltimore, New York City.

We have not only severe weather chances with tornadoes and straight-line winds, but the potential for flash flooding could be a real concern later

this evening. So, flying in and out of the East Coast cities, you want to double-check your flight plans because they could certainly be impacted,

Eleni.

GIOKOS: Derek, thank you so much.

DAM: We got it.

GIOKOS: Much appreciated as always. Well, Greece is in the midst of a three-day heat wave. Temperatures are forecast to climb as high as 42

degrees Celsius in some mainland areas. Some tourists in Athens have been braving the heat by seeking shade or using fans as well as umbrellas.

Others are relying on, get this, a positive attitude.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very hot in Athens, but it's been hot back home as well. We're having a little bit of a heat wave, so trying to drink plenty

of water, keep head on my head, and just having the best time we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And use some sunscreen. I would suspect with those temperatures. Meteorologists are expecting the soaring temperatures to persist through

Wednesday. All right, up next, the UAE is betting big on gas -- rising demand and energy security are driving that push.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Elenio Giokos live in Abu Dhabi, and you're watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. The U.S. Central

Command says its forces attacked Iranian military facilities during a 10th straight night of strikes. Iran hit back at its Gulf neighbors.

This comes as mediators try to get both sides to pause the fighting for 10 days to resume negotiations. Lebanon's President visits the White House

today for talks with President Donald Trump. Joseph Aoun is expected to propose a plan to disarm the Iran-backed group Hezbollah while pressing for

an Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

The meeting comes as Lebanon faces mounting security challenges. New British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has held his first cabinet meeting as

leader. Mr. Burnham began naming his cabinet on Monday, shortly after arriving in Downing Street. The Former Mayor of Greater Manchester came

into office, promising to ease the cost-of-living crisis, and has already announced plans to scrap VAT on household electricity bills.

[09:30:00]

We are seconds away from the start of trade in New York City. Of course, markets today interestingly, looking to the upside, and a lot of the focus

has been this week, and actually over the last few days, on chip makers and the tech sector. Right, and there you have it.

Trade has officially begun in the first few seconds of trade. Dow Jones is up around half a percent. And importantly, we're seeing S&P and NASDAQ as

well sticking to the upside. But we're keeping such a close eye on the oil market, with prices on the rise once again.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, topping that key threshold of $90 a barrel today. As you can see, it's almost actually sitting at $91 up 2

percent WTI at over $84 a barrel. That's up 2.4 percent. It comes amid a new potential threat to the world's oil supply. And you can see supporters

of Yemen's Houthi celebrating after the Iran-backed rebel group declared its own maritime blockade on Saudi shipping that is through the Red Sea by

choking off the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Now, a major new energy investment from the UAE, Abu Dhabi's national oil company, has announced a 6.2-billion-dollar investment in a massive

offshore oil and gas field. The Umm Shaif Gas Cap Project is expected to produce the equivalent of 10 percent of the UAE's current gas consumption,

with output set to begin by 2030.

The United Arab Emirates holds the world's seventh-largest proven gas reserves, and this project is aimed at meeting rising demand at home while

boosting gas production and expanding LNG exports abroad. And joining me now to discuss this, we've got Robin Mills.

He's the CEO of Consultancy Firm Qamar Energy, live from Dubai. Robin, really good to see you. I mean, this is a big bet on gas. This is a big bet

on domestic consumption. Take me through this investment and the significance right now.

ROBIN MILLS, CEO OF QAMAR ENERGY: Well, that's right, Eleni. This follows just recently. We had a similar announcement on the Bab Gas Cap, an onshore

field, another very big gas development. So, the UAE really, you know, literally stepping on the gas to boost its production.

And a lot of this is because of the rising domestic demand that they see, partly because of industry, but even more than that, because of their build

out of AI data centers. So, this is yes, a big part of their gas strategy. They want to be self-sufficient by 2030 and this is another step towards

that.

GIOKOS: Yeah, it's quite interesting. I mean, a lot of people don't know this, but the UAE holds the world's seven largest gas reserves. There are a

lot of room for further expansion. Give me a sense of you know when you mentioned AI, we know that there are data centers currently in construction

right now.

Is there a lot more room to develop some of these gas opportunities?

MILLS: Well, this is so the two projects Umm Shaif and Bab that announced recently go along with others. There have been -- there are several other

major gas projects in progress. So, this is all, as we say, designed to feed these data centers and also other plans. So, the UAE wants to boost

its gas exports.

It actually just announced recently it would build another liquefied natural gas export plant on the Indian Ocean, so to avoid the Strait of

Hormuz, as well as a lot of industrial projects. So, this is all a key part of the economic development. But indeed, AI is really a central part of

this the so-called Stargate UAE data center, which we're five-gigawatt facility.

That's probably the biggest in progress right now, but certainly room to do more.

GIOKOS: You know what's quite interesting is you know the UAE investing so extensively in gas to meet domestic demand. In the meantime, a third of the

UAE's needs are, you know, through a contract with a pipeline in Qatar that actually expires in 2032. Give me a sense of how sort of that shift to

focus on domestic production versus relying on imports is going to change sort of prognosis around production and reliance for the UAE.

MILLS: Yeah, so the UAE announced a while back that it wanted to be capable of self-sufficiency in gas by 2030. I think on our figures it's pretty

close to that, and certainly these two recent announcements would take it well beyond self-sufficiency to having a surplus, if not by 2030, probably

soon afterwards.

So indeed, the UAE wants to be prepared. I think for that expiry of that contract with Qatar in 2032, as you say. But that contract may well

continue. Maybe it -- may be renewed. But the UAE, of course, is it will be in a much stronger position to renegotiate a decent deal on that if it's

not too dependent on it, if it has other options, including its own domestic production.

[09:35:00]

GIOKOS: Yeah, really good point there. I just want to talk about the impact that we've seen on continued strikes on the UAE and specifically focusing

on oil gas fields, particularly at the beginning of the conflict with Iran and the impact that that's had. Do you have any idea, Robin, at this point,

just what kind of damage we're talking about here?

MILLS: Yes, you know, as you said, at the start of the war, there were a number of attacks on oil and gas fields, particularly gas fields and

facilities in the UAE, as well as on oil refinery and some industrial facilities, so kind of a mixed pattern of damage. I think it looks now that

the damage to the gas facilities was not too serious, and they're basically repaired and running normally.

The industrial facilities, the aluminum plant may take longer to repair, but overall, I think the UAE has come through this well so far. I mean,

fingers crossed that there aren't any more attacks of that nature of course.

GIOKOS: All right, Robin Mills, great to have you with us. Thank you so much. Moving on now, new court documents from the UK detailed charges made

against the Tate brothers. We'll bring you the latest developments in the case right after the break. Stick with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Newly unsealed court documents from the UK are revealing more details about the charges facing the Tate brothers, including rape and sex

trafficking. Federal filings released Monday describe complaints made by women to British officials, including details of physical as well as sexual

abuse.

Both Andrew and Tristan Tate are currently in custody in Florida, fighting an extradition request from the UK. They deny all allegations. CNN's

Carolina Peguero is following the story for us from Miami. Carolina, good to see you. Tell us a little bit more about these court documents and what

they reveal.

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, like you said, while the Tate brothers are here, still in federal custody in Miami, the unsealed

documents by the state officials has been and federal officials has been pretty alarming as far as these allegations and more from British

prosecutors about the sex crime charges, including rape and sex trafficking.

And like you said, those allegations from the additional women who spoke to British officials are claiming that they were physically and sexually

abused up to the point where some of them were strangled and lost even consciousness, as well as later being raped.

Now, the Tate brothers, who have appeared in court on Monday and remain in custody, they deny all allegations, and their legal team is also saying

that they are going to prove their innocence, that they're going to fight these allegations, and they're even asking the Trump Administration to

intervene.

[09:40:00]

GIOKOS: Carolina, just help me understand where this is headed, because we're talking about extradition to the UK, and importantly, here the amount

of time that this is going to take. What are you hearing?

PEGUERO: Well, the UK is expecting for it to be an expedited process, while the lawyers have been given another week where they will be presenting at

the next briefing hearing here in Miami on Monday, hoping to present more evidence in defense to their clients, and hoping as well as more hearings.

GIOKOS: All right, Carolina Peguero, thank you so very much. Now, if you're missing superheroes, you're not in for a treat this December. Take a

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- We're going to need a miracle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Marvel is releasing the first trailer for the upcoming "Avengers: Doomsday" movie. It has already racked up. At least 36 million views on

social media. The Doomsday trailer shows a region of legion, rather, of superheroes from the Marvel multiverse, like Thor and the Fantastic Four.

Even some Marvel X-Men are set to take on Doctor Doom. It hit cinemas on December 18th. All right, and a milestone for cinema history. This

lightsaber just set a new world record for the most valuable screen used Star Wars prop ever sold at -- an auction. Mark Hamill's original

lightsaber with the severed hand used on the set of "The Empire Strikes Back" was sold for nearly $4 million.

Heritage Auctions called it one of the most important surviving Star Wars artifacts in existence. Right, "World Sports" with Coy Wire is up after the

break. Stick with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END