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Connect the World
U.S.-Israel War with Iran; Nearly 100 U.S. Service Members Injured since July 7; Tate Brothers Arrested; Judge Considering Injunction on Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger; Global Oil Markets React to U.S.- Iran Conflict; China's Village Super League Football; Five Dead, Thousands Evacuated in Chile Flooding. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 21, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm
Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi, where the time is just after 6:00 in the evening.
Lebanon's president Joseph Aoun is in Washington for critical security talks with president Trump.
Ten consecutive days of strikes between the U.S. and Iran as Yemen's Houthis announce their intentions to close the Bab-el-Mandab strait.
Plus, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Dan Kane expected to testify before senators in the coming hours
as the Trump administration seeks more money to fund the Iran war.
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GIOKOS: Welcome to the show.
Lebanon's president visits the White House next hour for critical security 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.
Mr. Aoun's meeting follows talks with U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio, who reaffirmed Washington's support for Lebanon's efforts to reclaim its
sovereignty and advance peace and economic recovery. CNN's senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak is following the story for us from D.C.
Kevin, good to see you.
What are the chances the Lebanese president will produce any meaningful progress for his country during the meeting with president Trump?
What are you hearing from sources?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think what you've seen is this plan that the administration helped broker, whereby Israeli
forces would start withdrawing from certain villages in southern Lebanon.
In fact, that is starting to take place. And so this has been something of a glimmer of positive action in what has really become kind of a quagmire
for the president in the Middle East.
You know, they set this plan in place several weeks ago. They're calling them pilot zones in the south part of that country, whereby the Lebanese
forces would move in to try and counter Hezbollah as the Israeli forces move out.
And it ostensibly is meant as the preliminary step before the complete withdrawal of the IDF from Lebanon. And remember, this has been something
of a sticking point in the broader conflict with Iran.
As part of that MOU, there had been the stipulation that the conflict between Israel and Lebanon and Hezbollah in Lebanon would come to an end in
order for that broader -- those broader peace talks to proceed. And so it does actually appear as if it's working for now.
But it is still very much in the early stages. And it could all essentially fall apart, in part because the negotiations, which took place over several
days here in Washington, were between Israel and Lebanon, not necessarily between Israel and Hezbollah. And it's not clear how that group plans to
proceed now that this is starting to take effect.
And so there are -- there is optimism, I think, at the White House, that these discussions have worked, essentially, and that this is proceeding as
planned.
And so when the president arrives here in about an hour's time, I think you can expect both him and president Trump to discuss how to make this a more
fulsome, how to -- how to try and translate this into a broader peace agreement between the countries.
But I think, without Hezbollah at the table, it will be difficult to make any firm commitments. But it will be, I think, an important moment, I
think, for the president as well, to take stock of what's happening in the broader conflict here, which I think is a lot less positive for him.
There are signs. There are no signs that this is deescalating anytime soon. And the president, at this point continues to try and pound Iran to come
back to the negotiating table to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
And when we hear Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, before the Senate Appropriations Committee later today, I think that will be a very critical
moment. You know, we haven't heard him in testimony before lawmakers in almost two months.
The Pentagon has stopped holding regular press briefings and what lawmakers will be pressing him on is the cost of this conflict.
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The administration has asked for nearly $88 billion, most of which will go toward the war.
And how Pete Hegseth defends that sum of money and describes what resources will be needed going forward, I think, will provide a clearest indication
that we have of whether the administration sees this as something of a limited conflict or whether they view this as a prolonged engagement going
forward.
For which they will need additional resources and money. And so a whole slate of important issues here in Washington today to take stock of exactly
where all of this stands.
GIOKOS: Yes, exactly, and what the outcome will be. You know, with Joseph Aoun meeting with president Trump today, we know president Trump, I guess,
needs some kind of win. This is a U.S.-brokered deal between Israel and Lebanon.
How much pressure can he actually exert on prime minister Netanyahu, who's got his own domestic pressures in terms of when it comes to the issue of
actually, you know, getting out of southern Lebanon?
LIPTAK: Yes, it's a great question. And I think in terms of how much pressure the president is willing to exert and how much pressure he's able
to exert are somewhat different questions.
He does seem more willing to break with Netanyahu than many of his predecessors, including the last president, Joe Biden. And I think that's
in part because he has shown so much support for Netanyahu in the past and because Netanyahu recognizes that political support for president Trump
will be critical in his upcoming election.
And, in fact, you just saw yesterday the president pushed back on the mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, who has said that he would try and have
Netanyahu arrested under an ICC warrant if he comes to the city for the U.N. General Assembly in September.
President Trump pushing back, saying that Netanyahu would never be arrested if he comes to the United States. And so you have the president both
showing utmost support for the prime minister. He's called him a wartime leader. He has called for his pardon amid these corruption allegations
inside Israel.
But at the same time, you see him regularly break with Netanyahu when it comes to his strategy in the region, including in Lebanon. He was furious
at the onset of this MOU that Israel continued its operations there, which undermined the whole thing.
Now you know, several weeks later, the MOU is dead, according to president Trump. And so I think, you know, president Trump is looking for some
success in the region and Lebanon could be a place where he finds it.
But how he deals with Netanyahu going ahead, I think, is something to watch very, very closely. You know, he has -- he was questioned, I think, several
days ago, whether he thought that Netanyahu was, in fact, the best candidate to become prime minister again or if he saw other people inside
of Israel who could potentially do a better job.
And he didn't answer clearly. He didn't say definitively that Netanyahu was the best person to become prime minister again. And I think that gives you
an indication that the president recognizes what his political capital in this situation is and seems very willing to exercise it in these next
critical months ahead of the Israeli election.
GIOKOS: Kevin, always good to see you. Thank you so much for that analysis, Kevin Liptak.
Well, there's new concern over global oil supplies after the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen announced a blockade on Saudi shipping. The Houthis say
they intend to block the Bab-el-Mandab strait in the southern end of the Red Sea.
Nearly 15 percent of global maritime trade passes through the strait. This happening as the U.S. strikes Iranian targets for a 10th consecutive night
and Iran hits its Gulf neighbors, while U.S. president Donald Trump warns Iran, quote, "will pay for" the deaths of U.S. service members in the
region.
I want to bring in Dina Esfandiary, Middle East geoeconomics lead for Bloomberg Economics.
Dina, really good to have you with us. I want to start off with something you wrote on X and you say this.
"The Houthis have announced a blockade of Saudi, framing it as a domestic issue. The move is intended to give them wiggle room to escalate from
targeting Saudi ships, only to expanding to wider disruption in the Red Sea."
And, Dina, we also know that the Houthis have already started broadcasting messages to vessels, putting out warnings as well. I mean, this could be
another huge risk on global oil supply.
How are you analyzing some of the scenarios that could play out in the couple -- in the next couple of days?
DINA ESFANDIARY, MIDDLE EAST LEAD, BLOOMBERG GEOECONOMICS: Absolutely. This is really significant and it's really significant now because so much
of the oil that was going through the Strait of Hormuz has now been diverted toward the Red Sea.
The Saudis, in particular, have done that. reaching maximum capacity in their East-West Pipeline.
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So that means that all of that oil that was going through Hormuz is now going to the Red Sea. The Houthis have been very careful to give themselves
space. So they've now come out and said that they were told -- they will target all ships that go in and out, that dock in and out of Saudi ports.
But, of course, how much they implement that threat is what everybody's going to be watching, because they could target just Saudi ships to begin
with. They could go much bigger. At the end of the day, what matters is that they've made this threat.
And ultimately, because they've done this in the past before, that threat is credible. And that's enough to scare a lot of people off.
GIOKOS: Yes. Look, the wider issue here is what we're seeing from the U.S. side. And the Pentagon is saying nearly 100 U.S. troops were injured in the
last two weeks. We know that Hegseth is expected to face senators today and, you know, answer questions around the fact that they need more money
for this war.
From the Tehran perspective, they're reading into this, they're looking very closely at the U.S. strategy right now and I guess who's going to
buckle first.
ESFANDIARY: Well, that's the million dollar question. The problem is that both sides right now appear to be locked in an escalatory spiral. The
Iranians want to make sure that their red lines are clear. And the main red line really is their control over the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S., in turn, also wants to be sure that its red line is clear. And that red line is that Iran can't control the Strait of Hormuz. So the two
are basically locked in this exchange. It's an incremental -- incrementally increasing exchange in the sense that -- and now it's targeting more
infrastructure both in Iran and in the rest of the region.
That's likely to increase over the course of the next few days. Every time it gets worse, it becomes harder to find an offramp for both sides. And
that's the critical issue.
GIOKOS: So I mean, look, the United States has reiterated for many months now, frankly, that they have been able to degrade a significant number of
Iran's military capabilities, as well as missile launchers.
Iran, in the meantime, targeting Gulf states specifically over the past 10 days and also releasing footage of their missile launches and drone launch
sites.
What capabilities do we know, you know, Iran still has at this point?
ESFANDIARY: Well, it's really hard to say exactly. But what is sure is that, yes, the U.S. has degraded some of Iran's capabilities. But, no, that
hasn't been enough to prevent Iran from continuing its attacks.
And not only has Iran been able to continue its attacks in the strait, largely because that doesn't require much, frankly. It requires some
drones. It requires some rubber boats with guns or explosive devices. So controlling the strait from Tehran's perspective is really easy.
The thing that's been more interesting to watch is Iran's ability to target U.S. bases and U.S. personnel in the wider region, including in Jordan.
The U.S. had moved some of its troops into Jordan, away from the Gulf Arab states in order to move them away from Iran. And Iran has still been able
to target them. That is something that's really quite worrying.
GIOKOS: All right. Dina Esfandiary, thank you so very much for your time. Good to see you.
Now the U.S. military says nearly 100 troops have been injured since July 7th, mostly with minor concussions. That disclosure, apparently an attempt
to counter reports the Pentagon is withholding information about casualties from the Iran war.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will be appearing on Capitol Hill in the coming hours and he's going to be facing lawmakers'
questions there about the cost of the war.
Last hour, I spoke with CNN's Brian Todd about what we can expect to hear during today's testimony.
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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.
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Injuries to U.S. service members who were not killed, they've 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 four U.S. service members killed in recent days during the Iran war. Those two who you see there, they were identified as Lt. Tyler Feehan.
He's on the left there. He's 25 years old. And Pvt. Isabella Gonzales on the right. She is 19 years old.
Also, we just learned of another identified service member killed, Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton. 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.
Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton was killed in Iraq during a controlled explosion of a drone. Those are three 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.
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GIOKOS: All right.
New British prime minister Andy Burnham has held his first cabinet meeting as leader. Burnham began naming his cabinet on Monday, shortly after
arriving at 10 Downing Street.
As PM, Burnham came into office promising measures to ease the cost of living for Brits and has already announced plans to scrap tax on household
electricity bills from October. Anna Stewart joins me now from London, tracking all of the latest.
Anna, really good to see you. So a couple of surprise appointments in Burnham's cabinet, including former defense minister John Healey as
Chancellor of the Exchequer.
What can we read into Burnham's picks?
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's definitely the most surprising pick of the lot. John Healey as chancellor. He does have experience in the
treasury, so that's not surprising.
But he resigned from the last government as defense minister in a spat really with the treasury, which he will now lead. And in his resignation
letter, he made very clear that what he wanted to see was spending of 3 percent of GDP on defense in 2030.
So that is something we can expect to see from this chancellor. Defense stocks, I can tell you in the U.K., are slightly higher today.
But how will it be funded?
How will any of the new government's plans be funded?
That's really the big question. There have been warnings from the IMF, also the OECD, to this new government saying they need to practice strict budget
discipline. They cite high government debt, surging energy bills, a slowing economy.
The other surprise pick was possibly Ed Miliband but not because we didn't expect to see him in a big role in this government. He's on the left of the
party, so bringing him into the fold was very important for the new prime minister.
However, foreign minister is an interesting one. He's been quite vocal in his opposition over the years, particularly with the U.S. recently. He led
opposition in the initial refusal to use British air bases for president Trump's Operation Epic Fury.
In 2016, Eleni, he also wrote an essay that said, "We must do our best at home and abroad to resist the worst of Trumpism. These are dark days for
America and the world."
So a very interesting pick as foreign minister. That could be a bit spicy on the world stage, couldn't it?
GIOKOS: Yes, indeed. And it's really good to have you tracking this story for us. Anna Stewart for us in London.
All right. Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, with Andrew and Tristan Tate facing multiple charges in the U.K., we'll be taking a look at how the brothers'
court appearance played out on Monday.
And what police are saying about an attack on a building in New York City that houses ICE offices and the suspect now in custody.
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GIOKOS: The online influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate appeared in handcuffs in a U.S. court on Monday. The brothers were arrested by U.S.
Marshals on Saturday following an extradition request from the United Kingdom, where they face multiple charges, including rape and sex
trafficking.
Attorneys for the brothers say they're innocent and are urging the Trump administration to intervene. CNN's Randi Kaye has the latest.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the heart of Miami Andrew and Tristan Tate in federal court after a dramatic weekend arrest. Booked
on new charges including rape, sexual assault, human trafficking and possessing indecent images of a child.
The brothers are influencers with dual U.S. and U.K. citizenship. They are known for their misogynistic content online.
ANDREW TATE, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: I will state right now that I am absolutely sexist and I'm absolutely a misogynist.
KAYE (voice-over): U.S. Marshals took them into custody Saturday outside a bare knuckle boxing event. The arrest coming after U.K. investigators say
four new victims came forward. The U.K. Crown Prosecution Service and Bedfordshire Police say the Tate brothers now face a total of 59 charges
between them.
The brothers are well known and in some areas of the internet celebrated for suggesting men own women.
TATE: I believe the woman is given to the man. I believe she's given away by the father. I believe she belongs to the man. I believe she belongs to
the man in marriage.
KAYE (voice-over): The brothers had been arrested in Romania in 2022, where they are facing charges of human trafficking and forming an organized
criminal group to sexually exploit women. They have denied all charges.
So what were they doing in Miami?
Last year after Romanian authorities lifted the travel restriction on the pair, they hopped on a private jet to Florida.
TATE: We live in a Democratic society where it's innocent until proven guilty.
KAYE (voice-over): Despite all the controversy, their support online continues to grow. Young men and boys often follow them for their content
promoting female submission and male dominance. Andrew Tate once argued women should bear responsibility for being sexually assaulted.
TATE: It's about the fact that she belongs to him and the intimate parts of her body belong to him.
KAYE (voice-over): The Tates are outspoken supporters of President Donald Trump and hold plenty of sway in the manosphere.
Just two weeks before they were allowed to leave Romania, Andrew Tate posted this, "The Tates will be free. Trump is the president. The good old
days are back."
The White House said the U.S. government played no direct role in bringing them to Florida. Romania's foreign minister also said he wasn't pressured.
The Tates have repeatedly praised Trump and urged voters to support
him. And some members of Trump's family have shown support for the Tates. In 2023, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted about Andrew Tate's house arrest in
Romania, calling it absolute insanity. Their defense lawyer reiterating his client's innocence, saying this is a case of free speech.
JOSEPH MCBRIDE, LAWYER FOR ANDREW AND TRISTAN TATE: When you drag somebody's name to the media, when you slander them, when you defame them,
when you accuse them of heinous and terrible allegations, the process becomes the punishment until you can clear your name.
KAYE: And that court hearing lasted just seven minutes. There are no cameras allowed in federal court, so we don't have any video from there.
But the Tate brothers, we understand, will remain in custody at least until their lawyers meet again on Monday. And there's no telling how long this
extradition process can take. It can actually take months, depending on how many challenges the Tate brothers bring.
It's also worth noting that two sources familiar with all of this are telling CNN that President Donald Trump is not expected to get involved in
the Tate brothers' extradition case -- Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): I want to get you up to speed now on some other stories that are on our radar.
There are rising concerns over teenagers using generative AI to view and make explicit content. In a survey of more than 1,300 teens by Common Sense
Media, nearly 20 percent admitted that they had created AI-generated sexual content or know someone who has.
Now it looks like the U.S. could be in for a new trade war. President Trump has announced 50 percent tariffs on one of its closest allies, Canada. The
move covers around $20 billion of Canadian goods, marking some of the administration's steepest tariffs yet.
The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating an incident outside a government building in New York on Monday. Authorities say a U.S. Army
veteran staged an attack at the building that houses the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE.
Investigators say the man was carrying a sign that read, "ICE off our streets." CNN's Brynn Gingras has more on the suspect now in custody.
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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One federal authority calling Andrew Arrabaca anti-American and anti-government extremist, in police
custody after they say he staged an attack right here outside of 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan.
A federal building that houses ICE as well as New York headquarters of the FBI and other government agencies. Arrabaca, a Army veteran, according to
the video that authorities say they have of this incident, came to this area in the morning and essentially fired off an air pistol several times
at this building.
And then proceeded to take a gas can of gasoline, poured over the front steps of the employee entrance of the building and then light it on fire,
quickly apprehended by authorities. And has said some things to investigators throughout the investigation and while he's being questioned,
including bringing up some anti-ICE sentiments.
Authorities also say he had a anti-ICE sign on a cart that he was carrying that was filled with a number of weapons, including a hammer and knives and
a machete. So lots to be collected for this investigation.
Authorities also saying that they found his car and that they are going to have a search warrant to go through it. At this point, Arrabaca has not
been charged. But, of course, this investigation still very much active as the night goes on -- Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.
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GIOKOS: A U.S. federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order, pausing the Paramount Sundance takeover of Warner Bros. 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.
CNN's Brian Stelter has more for us.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: 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 -- this 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 states' 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 ballgame 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.
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 AG's 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.
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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: Yes. 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 and 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 is 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 Bros. is in
limbo due to this merger challenge.
GIOKOS: All right. Coming up on the show, president Donald Trump is set to meet Lebanon's president at the White House today. What Lebanon wants to
see from this meeting, that's coming up next. Stick with CNN.
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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back to CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Eleni Giokos. Here are your headlines.
Heightened attacks in the Middle East as U.S. Central Command says its forces hit Iranian military facilities during a 10th straight night of
strikes and Iran hit back at its Gulf neighbors. Mediators are trying to get both sides to pause the fighting for 10 days to resume negotiations.
Just hours away on Capitol Hill, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will answer questions from lawmakers about the cost of war with Iran. The
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is also set to testify. The Trump administration is seeking tens of billions of dollars from Congress in
emergency funding.
New British prime minister Andy Burnham has hosted his first cabinet meeting as leader. Burnham came into office promising immediate measures to
ease the cost of living crisis. He announced plans to scrap VAT on household energy bills ahead of Tuesday's cabinet meeting.
Let's talk more about the expected meeting next hour between U.S. president Donald Trump and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun. It comes at a crucial time
as Israeli troops occupy the south of Lebanon.
And while a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement has prompted Israel to start partially withdrawing forces from southern Lebanon, a Lebanese official
says Mr. Aoun hopes Mr. Trump can secure Israel's full withdrawal.
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We have ambassador Massoud Maalouf joining me now live from Washington, D.C., He is a former Lebanese ambassador to Canada, Poland and Chile.
Ambassador, really good to have you with us. Thank you so much. I mean, this is a really important meeting between president Joseph Aoun as well as
president Trump. We're starting to see some withdrawal of Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon.
But the question is, can president Aoun secure a far bigger withdrawal?
And whether you believe that president Trump will agree and can commit to that.
AMBASSADOR MASSOUD MAALOUF, PRESIDENT AND CEO, MAHARAT FOR DEVELOPMENT: Thank you for having me. In fact, that's what exactly what president Aoun
is seeking. Now I don't think it's going to be a very easy target, a very easy task.
But he is trying hard and he will try to convince president Trump to pressure, to a certain extent, Israel on withdrawing. We know that Israel
so far occupies a good part of the south. We have heard some Israeli people in the ministry, in the government, who say that they will -- they don't
want to withdraw, even if America asks them to do that.
But -- and this complicates the situation. And on the other hand, we know that in Lebanon, inside Lebanon, Hezbollah has said clearly that they don't
trust what the president is doing.
Now what president Aoun is doing -- and they consider him as a stooge of the United States and Israel.
So the task is not easy but it is worth trying. President Aoun will do his utmost to convince president Trump to see what he can do with Israel,
because, as long as Israel occupies a certain part of Lebanon, that means that president Aoun has not succeeded in his task.
Of course, this will take some time and now it's going to be step by step. We have started today with the pilot zones according to the trilateral
framework that was signed less than a month ago between Lebanon and the United States and Israel. And then we will see step by step if Israel now -
- yes. Yes, ma'am.
GIOKOS: Yes. So I saw, Ambassador, really interesting points that you make. And I have to ask you this because, you know, it's said that
Hezbollah right now is weakened, that it's trying to regroup.
And there's a really important window of opportunity that perhaps means a few months where, you know, if president Aoun is able to get military
assistance from the United States to strengthen the Lebanese army, for example, that they might be able to do more damage to Hezbollah.
How are you reading this moment in terms of the opportunity that has arisen?
MAALOUF: What I think personally is, it's not only a matter of having the Lebanese army with the capability, the military capability of fighting
Hezbollah. It's -- the question is also the will. And we have heard from Hezbollah that they don't trust the army. They don't trust the government.
And we have also to take into account that about 30 percent of the Lebanese troops in the army, the Lebanese army, are Shiites. And probably they will
not have really the will to fight other Shiites in -- with weapons. You know, there are relatives, there are families. There are a lot of kinds of
this kind of relations.
So the task is not easy. And I personally think that it is, to a certain extent, connected with what's happening in Iran. If Iran is strong, it will
keep supporting Hezbollah and the situation in Lebanon will be as it is now for a little longer.
Now if the United States can change the regime in Iran, which doesn't seem to be very likely at the moment, in this case, things will change in
Lebanon because we know that Hezbollah is supported by the Iranian regime in weapons and in many other ways, in also politically.
Financially, there is a small change now, however, in that -- is that Syria now, with the change in the regime in Syria, is against Iran and it's not
allowing the passage of weapons to Hezbollah through the Syrian territory.
So we will see if this will continue that way, how will. But I think that Hezbollah is a big question mark in this whole issue, because, whatever the
president and whatever president Trump also does and supports president Aoun, the question inside Lebanon is a little bit more complicated than
making some statements of support.
(CROSSTALK)
GIOKOS: Yes. Ambassador, I mean, really interesting that you mentioned that the support that usually comes through from Syria has now been halted.
[10:40:00]
Which kind of, you know, speaks to the fact that Hezbollah might be, you know, weakened at this point. But I wonder; we know that president Trump is
under pressure to try and get a deal done. He needs that at this point. It's a deal brokered by the United States.
Prime minister Netanyahu is dealing with his own domestic issues in terms of optically and strategically what that would look like if Israel does
withdraw from southern Lebanon.
What do you think the big hindrance is to coming to some kind of diplomatic agreement?
MAALOUF: If Israel withdrew from Lebanon, that will be a big sign that things will get better in Lebanon. In this case, Hezbollah will not have
any more reason to fight Israel, to be -- to keep its weapons and that.
But I personally don't think that prime minister Netanyahu is ready to withdraw from Lebanon. We know very well that, on the 27th of October,
there are elections in Israel. And if the Likud Party, the party of prime minister Netanyahu, does not win the election, it means that Netanyahu will
not be prime minister anymore.
And in this case, there is a very strong chance that he will go to jail because of what's going on with the judgments inside Israel for a lot of
matters that he is subject to. So that's why I think he wants to convince the electorate in Israel that he is the one who can who can defend Israel
on so many fronts.
And he is actually exaggerating often the danger that is caused by Hezbollah, in order to show that he is a very strong prime minister. He is
the one, the only one who can defend Israel. And that's why I personally don't think that he will be ready to withdraw from Lebanon before the
elections.
GIOKOS: Yes. All right. Ambassador, really good to have you on with us today. Much appreciated for your analysis.
OK, so I want to move on and I want to talk about oil prices because they are on the rise again today amid a new potential threat to the world's oil
supply. Brent crude and global oil benchmark topping, as you can see, $91 a barrel, sitting at $91.5 right now on Brent crude. That's up 2.6 percent.
WTI crude is at $84.79 a barrel. That's up almost 3 percent.
And it comes after the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia shipping in the Red Sea, a key route for global
energy supplies. We've got CNN's business senior reporter David Goldman joining us now from New York.
Bab-el-Mandab strait, it accounts for around 15 percent of traffic, maritime traffic. I mean, this is just such a huge risk. Countries are
starting to like really draw down their reserves.
How worried should we be about the Houthis at this point?
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, they haven't enacted -- they haven't -- or at least they haven't enforced this blockade.
But if they do, it's significant because this was the exit that Saudi Arabia had used to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which we know has been
either locked down or kind of open -- or kind of closed for about five months. They were basically transporting via pipeline and convoy the oil to
the Red Sea and trying to get it out that way.
And they were doing that very successfully. Somewhere around the order of 4 million barrels a day had been exiting through this other choke point that
now the Houthis want to close off. And so that is a significant threat, not this the kind of threat that the Strait of Hormuz is.
But when you compile these things, it gets to be pretty, pretty significant. Now oil prices, it is worth mentioning, although they are up
about $20 from their low point from a few weeks ago when the Strait of Hormuz was mostly open, we're still also around $25 or $30 below the high
point for the war.
So the market right now is kind of saying, OK, you know, we think that this could be a problem. Maybe there's some room to rise but we're not quite at
the level that we are or we were just a few weeks ago.
The reason for that is that, as you mentioned, there are these inventories. China has almost 2 billion barrels of oil in its inventory. It continues to
draw down that. And that saps demand for oil imports.
So the big picture is this is a bigger problem today than we had yesterday. But still the market thinks that it can be managed, at least for the time
being.
GIOKOS: All right. David Goldman, always good to have you on the show.
[10:45:00]
Thank you so much.
GOLDMAN: Thank you.
GIOKOS: Coming up, self-proclaimed Cockroaches swarm New Delhi's streets. We will explain why they pose a major challenge to India's government.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: It started as satire. Now India's youth-led Cockroach movement is taking over the streets. Thousands of Gen Z protesters have been
demonstrating in New Delhi. They're angry over leaked exam papers and mass youth unemployment. And now they're demanding the education minister
resign. CNN's Ivan Watson has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Indian government has a cockroach problem. A youth protest movement that
calls itself the Cockroach Janta Party. On Monday, thousands of these demonstrators descended on New Delhi, a rare mass protest in the heart of
India's capital. Defying a police ban.
Police firing tear gas to stop the protesters from marching to the Indian Parliament.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope they listen to us because if not now, then I don't know if it is -- if it's a democracy or like dictatorship.
TANI SIDHU BHARGAVA, PROTESTER: We've had bad governments but we've never had such an evil government. Because this government is only interested in
power, fame and money. They are genuinely non biological. They don't have a shred of decency in them.
WATSON (voice-over): The Cockroach Party began barely two months ago with this social media post from Abhijeet Dipke, a graduate student from Boston
University in response to a top judge who appeared to call India's unemployed youth cockroaches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are youngsters like cockroaches.
WATSON (voice-over): Dipke launched the Cockroach Party demanding reform of the country's scandal prone education system and the firing of the
Education Minister. That official has since called the Cockroach Party terrorists.
Last month, the Cockroach Party began a small sit-in protest in downtown Delhi. It was joined by activist and educator, Sonam Wangchuk, who went on
hunger strike. On Saturday, police forcibly removed Wangchuk from the protest, taking him to a hospital.
Since then, a movement that had existed mostly online suddenly burst onto the streets of Indian cities. On Monday, India's health minister met face-
to-face with Cockroach Party representatives, asking them to end their sit- in.
But they're still calling for the resignation of the education minister, a rare show of defiance that's put the government of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi on the defensive -- Ivan Watson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: When we come back, even though China didn't qualify for this year's FIFA World Cup, it still got to celebrate its own version of the
beautiful game.
[10:50:08]
That story, right after the break.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
GIOKOS: The World Cup may be over but football fans in China are caught up in another tournament. It looks very different from the World Cup but it's
no less beloved. CNN's Mike Valerio shows us China's Village Super League.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the pitch in a remote corner of Northern China, the chanting, dancing and thousands
of fans hanging on every shot. This isn't the World Cup.
This is Cun Chao, China's amateur Village Super League. Right back Tong Zehao and his teammates are one win away from Cun Chao glory. But first, he
has teeth to fix. Tong the dentist becomes Tong, the defender.
TONG ZEHAO, SOCCER PLAYER (through translator): You could say it's a dream come true. Standing in the spotlight like this, it's not something I
normally get the chance to experience.
VALERIO (voice-over): Like Tong, nearly all the players have day jobs. Professionals are barred, giving amateurs a stage of their own. That
grassroots model reverses the top-down path Chinese soccer has pursued for years.
Beginning in the 2010s, China's property giants spent billions bringing international stars into the professional league. The spending brought a
brief burst of success, before China's property boom unraveled, along with bribery and match-fixing scandals.
All this despite Chinese leader Xi Jinping, himself an avid fan, making soccer a national priority.
VALERIO: So there are no multi-million dollar contracts here. As soon as all these guys are done work, they pack up their things, drive for hours,
put on their cleats and come here because of their love of the game.
VALERIO (voice-over): While Tong and his team step onto the pitch for the final, the entire community gathers at the stadium near festive
performances and bustling night markets. But above all, they're here to cheer on their home team. That's the side in red taking on Tong's team.
CHEN XUAN, CUN CHAO FAN (trough translator): I first got to know soccer because Cun Chao came to my hometown. Before that, I didn't really know
much about soccer.
WANG YANG, CUN CHAO FAN (trough translator): Cun Chao is more about getting ordinary Chinese people involved in soccer. It helps everyone learn
about the sport.
VALERIO: The Cun Chao phenomenon began in southwest China only a few years ago. And ever since, it's been people from doctors to delivery drivers
taking to the field and entire communities turning these matches into festivals.
VALERIO (voice-over): Cun Chao offers what money and mandates struggle to produce. Local stars playing for the communities, cheering them on. And
just before the eve of the World Cup final in Fuping, it all came down to this, heartbreak. A 1-nil loss for Tong's team.
TONG ZEHAO, AMATEUR SOCCER PLAYER (through translator): Winning and losing are both part of the game. It's normal and we can accept it. We'll come
back and fight again next year.
VALERIO: So for a country that is still someday searching for World Cup glory, they didn't stop believing in the game. They just found another way
here to love it -- Mike Valerio, CNN, Fuping County, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GIOKOS: OK, so flooding is a problem in Chile. Authorities say at least five people have been killed and thousands evacuated after several days of
rain. The storm system has caused landslides and overflowing rivers.
[10:55:04]
More than 33,000 people are isolated due to road closures and swollen rivers. Authorities are working to restore power and drinking water in some
areas. And a new storm system is expected to bring more rain in the coming hours.
Greece is bracing for a three-day heat wave. Temperatures are forecast to climb as high as 42 degrees Celsius, 107 degrees Fahrenheit in some
mainland areas. Visitors to Athens' top tourism sites braved the heat. Many tried to stay cool by seeking shade or using fans, as well as umbrellas.
And others like this American tourist relied on a positive attitude.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very hot in Athens but it's been hot back home as well. We've had a little bit of a heat wave. So trying to drink plenty of
water, keep hat on my head and just having the best time we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GIOKOS: Positive attitude gets you through anything and everything. All right. So meteorologists are expecting the soaring temperatures to persist
in Greece, at least through Wednesday.
That is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next. From me, Eleni Giokos, I'll see you tomorrow.
END
