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Isa Soares Tonight
U.S. Intensifies Pressure On Venezuela; President Trump Urges House To Release Epstein Files; U.N. Security Council To Vote On Phase 2 Of Gaza Peace Plan; Explosion On Polish Train Track Is "Act of Sabotage"; Ukraine To Purchase Up To 100 French Fighter Jets; U.K. Unveils Changes To Asylum Policy; Iran Deputy FM: "Our Nuclear Program Is Intact As We Speak". Aired 2-3p ET
Aired November 17, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
MAX FOSTER, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Max Foster in for ISA SOARES TONIGHT. A U.S. pressure on Venezuela
intensifies as President Trump weighs what next steps to take, and suggest there may be a path to diplomacy.
Then abrupt about-face. A U-turn from the Oval Office as the U.S. President changes his tune and encourages Republicans to vote to release the full
Epstein files. And a crucial vote in the U.N. Security Council on the U.S.- backed plan for Gaza. We'll have the details on who is expected to vote for it, and who might veto.
We begin, though, in Venezuela where aggressive U.S. action to potentially force regime change on Caracas is nearing a fever pitch. It comes as a
window of diplomacy appears to be opening. The Trump administration is asking the alleged drug cartel in Venezuela be designated a foreign
terrorist organization.
The U.S. claims President Nicolas Maduro is the head of the organization, something he's denied. Congress would have to review the request, which
could then green light targeted attacks. The immense American military drills in the Caribbean include the largest aircraft carrier in its fleet.
President Trump says he hasn't made a decision on striking Venezuela, but may be open to a diplomatic solution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It allows us to do that, but we haven't said we're going to do that, and we may be discussing -- we may
be having some discussions with Maduro, and we'll see how that turns out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
TRUMP: They would like --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President --
TRUMP: They would like to talk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: A defiant President Maduro addressed his supporters over the weekend, and had this direct message for the American people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT, VENEZUELA (through translator): I reiterate this every day to the people of the United States. The people of the United
States, listen to me. War in the Caribbean, war in South America, no. War eternal, no. Peace, yes. Peace for America, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Stefano Pozzebon joins us live from the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. So, Stefano, when we talk about a diplomatic solution, it seems as
though some sort of negotiation for Maduro to go. Is that how you understand it?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, that's what it looks like, isn't it? And I think that the Trump administration has resorted to a very well
tried and tested tactic when it comes to Venezuela, in particular, but the whole of Latin America in general, which is the very famous carrot and the
stick suggestion.
And what I'm trying to say is, it's not a coincidence in my analysis that the Secretary of State argues to designate these criminal organization,
supposedly headed by Maduro himself as a foreign terrorist organization. And then in a matter of hours after that announcement, we hear Trump saying
that he would be open to holding discussions and saying that Maduro would like to talk.
I think that they are seeing these two double approaches converging on Caracas at the same time. You either sit down and talk, we will have to
know what the concessions, the -- that he is removed from power and replaced by somebody that is a little bit more palatable. And at the same
time, you already have the stick, a very big stick.
Given that we're talking about the largest aircraft carrier in the world. Already putting pressure on Maduro and telling him that they would be
declaring his government a foreign terrorist organization. I think that we have seen this movie before.
We're seeing this history before because the government of Venezuela has been enthralled and entrenched in negotiations, so, with the opposition
here in Venezuela, but also other governments who tried to mediate in the political crisis that is, frankly, at the bottom of this whole story, is
that the political crisis of Venezuela itself.
Of a government who has refused to give up power after claiming -- election last year, that many independent observers believe they have lost. Of
course, Maduro denies that, and as much as he denies the accusation of being involved in drug trafficking.
[14:05:00]
But I definitely do think that this, Max, is a different week, it's a different day in Caracas. For weeks, we have heard only the bellicose
rhetoric coming down from the White House in particular with the potential military drills happening between the U.S. Marines and the forces of
Trinidad and Tobago just a few miles off the Venezuelan coast.
Well, now if you speak with analysts, sources and people inside the circles of power here in Caracas, there is more of a sense of a feeling that people
are bracing for a negotiation. And I just want to point you out that we are on the streets of Caracas when it feels like much like a very normal day
with people going in and out of an office, we're in front of a shopping mall.
So, there are people in their daily shopping on this Monday afternoon here, it doesn't feel like I was saying, many times in the past that these
geopolitical tension has translated into frenziness onto the streets of Caracas. And of course, this reversal from the White House and the
possibility of opening negotiations surely will add to a sense of normality, at least, here in Caracas.
You never know, Max, with this administration coming up in the White House, by the way, it could be that there is yet another reversal, and we will go
back to the bellicose rhetoric and the threat of direct military strikes on Venezuelan soil. But for now, it does feel a different -- a different story
right now, really.
And we will bring you, of course, the latest -- by the way, we haven't heard a direct reaction from the Venezuelan government to that possibility
that from Donald Trump, those remarks were made late on Sunday night. And we haven't heard from any government official so far. Maduro will be
speaking to the nation later today.
He does a weekly TV show every Monday evening, and of course, if he will address those remarks by President Trump, we will definitely bring it to
you. Max.
FOSTER: OK, back with you then. Stefano, thank you so much. And later in the show, we'll take a closer look at President Trump's goals and possible
course of action in Venezuela with Christopher Sabatini; Senior Fellow for Latin America at Chatham House. Now, after repeatedly opposing any attempt
to make the Epstein files public, President Donald Trump is now making an abrupt U-turn.
He's calling on House Republicans to vote to release the documents, saying there's nothing to hide. For months, Mr. Trump has rallied against
transparency of the files, and he himself has the power to demand their immediate release from the DOJ without going through Congress.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House is expected to vote on the measure as early as Tuesday, and dozens of Republicans may support it. But it faces a much
harder battle in the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): President Trump has clean hands. He's not worried about it. I talk to him all the time. He has nothing to do with this. He's
frustrated that they're turning it into a political issue. And it's not surprising because the Democrats have nothing else to talk about. What have
they accomplished in ten months? Epstein is their entire game plan. So, we're going to take that weapon out of their hand this week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, one of President Trump's biggest supporters is now one of his most outspoken critics on the Epstein files. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor
Greene is the most high profile Republican to split with the President on the matter. Their political breakup is getting messier by the day, with Mr.
Trump labeling her a traitor for pushing to have the files released.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Unfortunately, it has all come down to the Epstein files, and that is shocking. And you know, I stand with these
women, I stand with rape victims, I stand with children who are in terrible sex abuse situations, and I stand with survivors of trafficking, and those
that are trapped in sex trafficking.
And I will not apologize for that. I believe the country deserves transparency in these files, and I don't believe that rich, powerful people
should be protected if they have -- if they have done anything wrong. And so, I'm standing with the women, and I will continue to do my small part to
get the files released.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Kevin Liptak at the White House to explain why this U-turn, Kevin? And also, does it actually mean the files will be ultimately released?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think we're still a few steps away from learning whether the Justice Department was actually going
to release all of these documents, and probably more importantly, what the documents actually are, that they plan to put out.
But clearly, the President had come to the realization that his efforts to try and halt this vote in the House were essentially going nowhere, and
that he was headed for a political embarrassment if perhaps dozens of Republicans were going to break with him. We heard from one House
Republican over the weekend that perhaps as many as 100 Republicans were going to sort of vote not to be loyal with the President, but to vote for
the release of these Epstein documents.
And I think it was becoming clear and clear to the President as this weekend wore on, that his efforts to try and tamp down on that were not
working.
[14:10:00]
You know, we saw just last week, the President haul into the White House one conservative Republican, Lauren Boebert, in the White House Situation
Room for that meeting with Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, you know, two of the top law enforcement officers in the entire country, to convince her to vote
to take her name off this, quote, "discharge petition", and it just didn't work.
And we know that the President had been trying to get in touch with other Republicans as well, and it just wasn't going anywhere. And so, that seems
to be what the political calculation here was. The President really completely reversing course and encouraging Republicans now to vote for
these documents release.
Now, what happens in the Senate is unclear at this moment. It would need a significant number of Republicans to get on board to pass there as well.
And the President has also not said whether he would actually sign this if it made it to his desk, all of those would have to happen before these
documents are actually released publicly.
I think the President believes -- still believes that this is all a distraction. You've heard him say that this is all turning people's
attention away from what he thinks are the successes of the Trump administration, and he seems to believe that trying to get this vote
finished with and done and dusted will turn people's attention back to what the administration is actually accomplishing, whether that actually happens
or not, I think remains to be seen.
And certainly, once these documents are released by the justice Department, they will cause a whole fresh round of deep dives and controversy as well.
So, it's evident that this isn't going to go away entirely. The other tack that the President has taken is to instruct the Justice Department to
investigate Democrats' ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
And you saw him order Bondi last week to look into Bill Clinton, to Larry Summers, all of these other individuals who were named in that tranche of
e-mails that was released by the House Oversight Committee last week. So, all of these sort of distraction techniques -- I think when you talk to
some of Trump's allies, they're concerned that in sort of going so hard against this, the President is only drawing more attention to it.
And that seems to have sunk in at the White House. The President essentially conceding and saying, yes, go ahead and vote for this. But it's
evidently a topic that the President continues to be frustrated by, and you saw him just yesterday lashing out at reporters when he was asked about it
as he was flying back here to the White House. Max.
FOSTER: In terms of, you know, one hurdle that may come sooner than the President signing any sort of bill is the Senate. Does he think it's not
going to get through the Senate?
LIPTAK: I mean, at this point, the President seems to be giving Republicans the political cover they need to actually vote for this. And that I think
was the challenge all along here, is that this was essentially going to force every single Republican on Capitol Hill to go on the record on
whether they supported the release of these documents.
And remember, many of them had promised to their constituents during campaigns that they would do everything that they can to shed more light on
this investigation. It was essentially putting their promise to their constituents up against their loyalty to President Trump. Now that Trump
has sort of removed that loyalty test factor from this decision-making, it seems likely or possible even that enough Republicans in the Senate will
vote to go along with it because they believe it is in their own political best interests.
That remains to be seen whether John Thune; the Senate Majority leader in the Senate, the top Republican in that body, wants to go down this road. He
could certainly, you know, hold it up, go through sort of legislative hurdles before it actually makes it to the President's desk. So, that's a
question that still remains open. But at least, when it comes to this question of loyalty, the President seems to be giving these Republicans the
go ahead.
FOSTER: OK, our Kevin Liptak at the White House, thank you as ever. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents are carrying out an intense immigration
raid in North Carolina's largest city. But the Department of Homeland Security says agents have arrested at least 130 people so far in Charlotte
since its operation began over the weekend.
City officials accused the agents of profiling, and say they haven't received any information on how agents are conducting the operation, which
is putting residents on edge. Still to come, one veto could sink it, but the Trump administration is hoping to win the U.N. Security Council's
support for the next phase of a Gaza ceasefire plan. Details of a critical vote just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:15:00]
FOSTER: Just hours from now, a U.S.-sponsored plan for Gaza faces a crucial vote at the United Nations. The Security Council will take up a resolution
that builds on President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan unveiled in September. Some diplomats are reportedly concerned the resolution lacks
major detail, including who would serve on a transitional governing board for Gaza and what exactly its powers would be.
There's also uncertainty over how an international stabilization force for Gaza might operate, and how Hamas will be disarmed, and when our Nic
Robertson has a closer look at this critical next phase of the ceasefire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (on camera): Yes, it was just over a month or so ago that President Trump put forward out his sort
of 20-point plan for peace in Gaza. And initially, that was a ceasefire, the release of Palestinian prisoners release of Israeli hostages held by
Hamas and others, and that's happened.
But this is the difficult part. Everyone knew it would be difficult. President Trump's initial plan was quite vague, just the bare bones. So,
this U.N. Security Council resolution that's drafted predominantly by the United States, aims to put flesh on those bones. It will talk about the
Board of Peace. This is the international body that will oversee Gaza.
It will be in place for about two years. The expectation they will talk about the International Stabilization Force; a Palestinian police force
that will be trained in Egypt and in Jordan. These are some of the details that we've seen in a draft version of this document. However, we don't know
if that's going to be the final draft. And some of the language is very imprecise, and that gives concern to diplomats I've spoken with.
To aid organizations that I've spoken with, that in its current form, not enough detail to make it workable. And one area that's already causing
alarm in Israel is the line about, moving forward if the Palestinian Authority or when the Palestinian Authority reforms itself adequately, this
may provide the path to discussions about a Palestinian state.
Already, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there will be no Palestinian state. He's been criticized from within his cabinet for
allowing this sort of language. But on the Palestinian side, where the language is placed, how the language is placed, the imprecise nature of
discussing what it is precisely the Palestinian Authority has to do, who will judge whether or not they've achieved this measure that will allow
them to move forward to the discussions of a Palestinian state.
All of that may not be enough essentially for the Palestinians. So, this is a document that will be voted on at the U.N., even if it passes, it doesn't
mean it's going to be successful. And we understand as well there's a possibility of another U.N. -- another Russian counter resolution that may
be put forward.
And as a member of the permanent five on the Security Council, Russia could veto the U.S. proposal as it stands right now. So, all of that's the frame
going into this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:20:00]
FOSTER: Nic Robertson reporting there. Returning now to that major U-turn by President Donald Trump, he is now calling on House Republicans to vote
to release the so-called Epstein files, saying there is nothing to hide. Joining us, Larry Sabato; the Director of the University of Virginia's
Center for Politics, thank you so much for joining us.
There may be a struggle in the Senate, as we understand it, and then it obviously has to go to the President to be signed into law. But why doesn't
he just release them anyway?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, they're making a legal argument that they can't do that since the Attorney
General and the FBI director have already said that they've released everything they could legally. The vote of Congress would potentially give
them the power to release far more or considerably more than they have already.
But the truth is, and you know this, Max, President Trump hates the word loser more than any other word in the English language. And he was headed
toward not just a loss, but a big loss. Dozens of Republicans had talked to one another, banded together, and realized that if they all voted for the
release, Trump couldn't come after them all.
The margin in the House is too small, so they stuck together, and it was already clear that the vote was going to be, if not overwhelming, something
close to it. Now, the Senate is another matter entirely.
FOSTER: Yes, tell us what's going to happen there.
SABATO: Well, they haven't decided yet. They haven't decided when they're going to vote or if they're going to vote. And also, the key here is, can
you reach 290 votes in the House and 67 votes in the Senate, why? That's the veto override number. It's two-thirds of each House. If Trump knows
that the thing is not going to pass, the bill is not going to pass if he vetoes it, and at least, one of the two Houses, then he may veto it if he
feels that strongly that there may be some things in there that he doesn't want released for whatever reason.
FOSTER: OK, and what do you think this says about MAGA? Because the fallout here has been between MAGA and Trump, hasn't it? Or am I jumping to
conclusions here? Most of the MAGA grouping seems to want the Epstein files released, and Trump resisted it, and that's a problem, isn't it, for him?
SABATO: Yes, it's the MAGA base that wants this released. It's not just Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and a few others. It's the MAGA base
of voters, and they've communicated that to congressmen who can only lose in the Republican primary. They're automatically elected in the Fall. So,
they're very sensitive to what the MAGA base has to say.
FOSTER: And Marjorie Taylor Greene, as you say, they've fallen out, appears to be over this. But you know what do you think about his strategy there?
Because she's -- I mean, I don't know how powerful she is. You'll know better than me, but she's certainly a very vocal voice for MAGA.
SABATO: Oh, this is just a tremendous turnaround, and it's caught everybody's attention. Now, look, there may be a personal reason here, in
that Marjorie Taylor Greene wanted to run for the U.S. Senate from Georgia next year, and the White House, President Trump's political advisors did
not want her to run and produced a poll showing her losing by about 20 points.
That's a seat they can pick up, by the way, with another candidate. She didn't take kindly to that. She felt she had earned Trump's endorsement and
support. So, I think that may be a piece of this. It's not all there is to it, but it's a piece of it.
FOSTER: Yes, and what do you make of President Trump's position off the back of all of this? Is it seen as a sign of strength that he's capitulated
or weakness that he pushed it this far?
SABATO: Oh, it's very much weakness. Though, he will claim it's his strength that it wasn't that he thought he was going to lose the vote, he
could have won the vote, you know that. But he decided just to let him go ahead and do it because he has nothing to hide, even though he's been
hiding it for quite some time.
FOSTER: OK, Larry Sabato, thank you so much as ever to bring us that context, a very complex story, thank you. Still to come tonight, tension in
the Caribbean, the largest U.S. warship arrives there as President Trump amps up the rhetoric against Venezuela. And we'll look at the next steps.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
FOSTER: Well, as a huge U.S military drill gets underway in the Caribbean, President Donald Trump says he hasn't made a decision yet on whether to
attack Venezuela. U.S. officials tell CNN the Trump administration hopes diplomatic pressure will force President Nicolas Maduro out of office.
Christopher Sabatini is a Senior Fellow for Latin America, Chatham House. He joins us from Ottawa, Canada. Thank you so much for joining us,
Christopher. Just on the idea of military action, I mean, it's not going to be President Trump's first choice, is it? He says he doesn't want wars and
it's going to be expensive and it could cost American lives.
CHRISTOPHER SABATINI, SENIOR FELLOW FOR LATIN AMERICA, CHATHAM HOUSE: No, he doesn't want a war. He campaigned in 2016 on ending what he called the
forever wars that were launched in the name of regime change, Iraq and Afghanistan. His MAGA base very much feels that. So, he's unlikely to
launch the war.
I actually just think, quite frankly, in his soul, he really does want to be in some ways, a President of peace. But what he's been trying to do for
the last two-and-a-half months is ramp up pressure on President Maduro, to try to convince him to leave or convince those around him to force him out
to leave. So, in other words, regime change on the cheap.
Now, we have this massive force arrayed against him off the coast of Venezuela. You know, they've taken out a number of boats, killing people
they alleged to be narcotics traffickers, but we don't really know because they simply shot first and didn't even bother asking any questions. But
now, of course, that hasn't worked.
It hasn't rattled the military sufficiently to ask them to remove Maduro. As you mentioned, he's now engaging in talks, we'll see if diplomacy can
work with this threat just off the coast of Venezuela. But it's unlikely in any event no matter what happens, that Donald Trump will actually put U.S.
soldiers or boots on the ground for a military intervention as such.
FOSTER: Which Maduro knows, so why should he budge?
SABATINI: I think that's right. I think what he does fear, though, is that there could be missiles and drone attacks on airstrips, perhaps there's no
cocaine, the very little cocaine that's made in Venezuela, there's no fentanyl that's made in Venezuela, so he'll probably focus more on
airstrips, maybe some ports somewhere the narcotics leave. But then the next step, he may take out a number of military installations, including
surface-to-air missiles, a number of military sites, even possibly the military barracks.
[14:30:27]
So, in that case, again, what Donald Trump is trying to do is scare the Venezuelan military into defecting from Nicolas Maduro, but without having
to actually risk any American lives or any real long-term commitment in Venezuela. But the truth is, that could bring more chaos than an actual
transition. And at that point, I suspect Donald Trump would just want to walk away.
FOSTER: When he talks about a diplomatic solution, Donald Trump, who do you think he's talking to?
SABATINI: He says he's talking to Nicolas Maduro, I imagine. Nicolas Maduro has always wanted to talk to any U.S. president. In fact, it's funny
because it was quite controversial when U.S. officials under the Biden administration talked to Nicolas Maduro because it was seen as a sellout.
He'd already had a U.S. indictment against him. But in this case, it's Donald Trump. I suspect he's doing it through Rick Grinnell, who was his
special envoy for Venezuela, who had met with Nicolas Maduro before and had done so actually earlier in his first term.
So, I think he's probably talking directly to Nicolas Maduro. But one hopes that the contours of this is intended to get Nicolas Maduro to leave
office. He was not elected in 2024, as he claimed. According to International Election Observers, he only won about 30 percent of the vote
compared to around 70 percent for the opposition. He's not a legitimate president.
The question is, how far is Donald Trump willing to go to push him out if he decides to dig in his heels? Just merely talking to Nicolas Maduro, I
suspect, is not going to be sufficient to convince him to leave Venezuela and go to Florida or Russia or someplace. Not Florida, Cuba, probably more
likely.
FOSTER: Yes. I mean, our reporter in Venezuela has talked about, you know, Maduro losing some support, but he does still have a lot of support,
doesn't he? I just wonder what Donald Trump can offer him that he'd possibly want to take.
SABATINI: What he's going to offer him, I imagine, is a safe exit, asylum, maybe not jail time. No one wants to end up like Manuel Noriega, the former
president of Panama, who spent time in a Florida prison and then in a French prison where I imagine the food is better. But in this case, I
suspect what he's saying is just leave and arrange some sort of transition of government for elections to be held.
But as you say, he does still have support and he has support, particularly in the military and the security sectors. He's built up his own private
militias called Colectivos. They're not going to go away anytime soon. And this military that he's built up and made loyal, he's done it through
basically corruption and illicit enterprise. They will not want to part with their revenue stream, if you will, from illicit enterprise, everything
from money laundering to illegal gold mining.
So, even if you remove Maduro, you're not even removing, if you will, the head of the Hydra. There are many other elements within this government
that will want to remain, that will probably dig in their heels and not want to leave with Maduro because it'd be a massive exodus.
FOSTER: Christopher Sabatini, fascinating chat. Thank you so much for joining us.
SABATINI: Thank you.
FOSTER: Now, a train track explosion in Poland is being called an unprecedented act of sabotage. Ukraine's foreign minister suggests that
Russia could have played a part in the incident. The railway is key in delivering aid to Ukraine. However, Poland's interior minister warns
against immediately blaming Russia since an investigation is underway. One resident describes what happened when the explosion occurred.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It was just about 9:00 p.m. I was watching TV and heard a terribly powerful explosion. The whole building
shook, the windows, the glasses and everything in the house. Everything shook so much. We didn't know what's happened. That was my first
impression. My wife came up to me saying there was an explosion. We started looking around the area. I asked if a gas cylinder had exploded or if it
was an accident or something like that. But we couldn't see anything. And finally, everything went quiet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, Ukraine has agreed to purchase up to 100 fighter jets from France. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inked the deal earlier on Monday,
which also includes drones. Whilst in France, he spoke about the importance of jets and drones.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, important documents are being signed to significantly strengthen our
defense capabilities. First, Ukraine may receive 100 Rafale F4 aircrafts and very powerful French radars, eight air defense systems, six launchers.
For some, these are technical details, but for us, they are important. Each launcher protects lives, which is very important. We will receive missiles
and guided aerial bombs necessary for our defense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:35:00
FOSTER: Well, despite the agreement, questions remain like how exactly will Ukraine pay for the jets? Elysee Palace says the purchase commitment would
span over the next 10 years. This new defense deal comes as Ukraine tries to prepare for winter against Russia's attacks on its energy
infrastructure.
Joining us now is Pascal Confavreux. He is the spokesperson from the French Foreign Ministry. Appreciate you joining us today. Just explain why you
think the deal is so important to Ukraine.
PASCAL CONFAVREUX, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: Yes, it was really a major news today. It was a historic deal. Because we're here to say that
we support Ukraine for the long run, for the long-term. There was a military part of support today and also a civilian part, economic part.
On the military part, there was what you were telling, up to 100 Rafales, these fighter jets, in the 10-year to come, which is a major step forward
because they are very, of course, efficient. But there was also, on the short-term, deliveries of drones, of anti-drone systems, and also of ground
air anti-systems for SAMPT. So, this was a full package of military aid, short-term and long-term. And then also a civilian part, an economic part,
in terms of, for instance, deliveries of train locomotives, for instance, which are, as you know, very important for the resilience of Ukrainian
economy.
FOSTER: What value is that deal in all together?
CONFAVREUX: For the train, it's about half a billion euros. For the Rafale, it's really for the industrial partner to say.
FOSTER: Because, you know, there is that question about how Ukraine's going to pay for it. I'm just wondering how you structure a deal when a country
is at war and is clearly running out of money.
CONFAVREUX: You know, there are different systems of support for Ukraine, namely at the European Union level. There is a fund which is called SAFE.
There's also a discussion that we have at the European Commission for what we call a reparation loan, which will be based on the frozen assets. So,
there is still a discussion now with the European Commission and our European partners. It's approximately 140 billion euros for the two to
three years to come.
FOSTER: There will be a cost to France, though, won't there as well? Obviously, your economy is struggling at the moment. How much public
support do you think there is for this continued support for Ukraine right now when, you know, there are obviously priorities at home as well?
CONFAVREUX: There is a very strong support in Europe in general that we can see in the long-term in our population for Ukraine. And you know why?
Because we understand that there is at stake here the security of us Europeans, that the Ukrainians are fighting with great bravery and that
everyone was saying, you remember, in February 2022, that we would fall in like weeks. And now, we are three years into it, more than that, and they
are resisting.
And you know, since November 2022, when the front was stopped until now, the Russians have advanced only less than 0.7 percent of Ukrainian
territory. And so, it's thanks to their, of course, bravery and fighting spirit. It's also thanks to the support from the U.S., from the European
Union, that we are behind them.
FOSTER: And it's obviously about support for Ukraine. It's also about preventing any sort of incursions into Europe, isn't it? You'll see that
Germany last week started talking to 18-year-old boys about whether or not they might serve in the military. We've seen the British today putting an
aircraft carrier under NATO command. The optics around that were about being war-ready in Europe. Those Europe -- the big European countries,
France, Germany, the U.K., seem really concerned about a possible attack by Russia. What would you say to the people watching who might be worried
about that and the optics coming?
CONFAVREUX: Yes. There is definitely a higher conscience of the Russian threat. We can see with the incursions that they have in the Eastern
European countries, like Poland or Estonia or Romania, with drones or sometimes jets. But we also have taken that into account in our own, for
instance, defense strategy, our book that was adopted last June, where Russia is the main threat. And so, we are building the resilience of our
society by also knowing where the threat comes from.
[14:40:00]
FOSTER: OK. Pascal Confavreux, thank you so much for joining us from Paris tonight. Really appreciate your time. Much more still to come, do stick
with us. We'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Here in the U.K., the government has revealed a massive overhaul to its asylum policy, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announcing major
changes for immigrants and refugees. CNN's Anna Cooban has the details from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: The U.K. has announced a sweeping overhaul to its asylum policy. Most striking are plans to
quadruple the amount of time it will take for a refugee to be able to settle indefinitely in the country, from the current five to 20 years. It
will be harder, too, for those claiming asylum to access financial support. Housing and weekly allowances will be removed from those with the right to
work, for example.
But controversially, the ruling Labour Party plans to narrow the way British courts interpret part of the European Convention on Human Rights.
That would mean asylum seekers using wider family connections, like aunts or cousins, as a reason to stay in the U.K. will only be able to do so for
immediate family members.
Today, U.K. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood explained the rationale behind the rule changes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHABANA MAHMOOD, U.K. HOME SECRETARY: Today, we have published Restoring Order and Control, a new statement on our asylum policy. Its goals are
twofold. Firstly, to reduce illegal arrivals into this country, and secondly, to increase removals of those with no right to be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOBAN: The U.K. has drawn inspiration from Denmark, a country with some of the strictest asylum policies in Europe. But it's going further. The path
of settlement in Denmark is eight years, well short of the two decades about to come into force in Britain. None of this is happening in a vacuum.
Anti-immigration sentiment has been rising in the U.K. Over the summer, more than 100,000 people turned out in London for an anti-immigration
demonstration. And in recent months, there have been protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers.
The Labour government is keen to show that it's being tough on immigration, and as hard-right party Reform U.K. is gaining popularity.
Anna Cooban, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Five months after the U.S. and Israel carried out strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities, it remains unclear just how much damage really
was done.
[14:45:00]
U.S. President Donald Trump initially claims the Fordow nuclear facility had been obliterated, but U.S. intelligence assessments later suggested
that Iran's nuclear program may have only been set back by a couple of years. CNN's Fred Pleitgen sat down for an exclusive interview with Iran's
deputy foreign minister to talk about the strikes and the state of Iran's nuclear program.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAEED KHATIBZADEH, IRANIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: If the other side accepts the logic of compromise, the logic of negotiation and -- which is
give and take, and abandon some delusions that they do have, and abandon this tendency to achieve whatever they couldn't achieve through military
campaign, through any sort of political or diplomatic means, then we think, within the framework of what Grand Ayatollah Khomeini said, we can move on.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you already rebuilding your nuclear program and is it going to be as strong as it was
before?
KHATIBZADEH: The nuclear program, the peaceful nuclear program is intact as we are speaking. Yes, they have attacked, they have ruined many of our
infrastructure, machineries, buildings, but the program is very much based on our indigenous knowledge, very much spread across our country, which is
a huge country, 90 million people, 1,600,000 square meter country, and this country is not a country that you can bomb and then think that you are
going to ruin everything. This is a science and this is a knowledge and this is a know-how that we actually possess and we are going to be
protecting that.
PLEITGEN: Does that mean expanding and strengthening your missile program?
KHATIBZADEH: The battle of repair and recovery started the moment that ceasefire happened. The battle of repair and recovery happened in Tel Aviv
by receiving thousands of shipments full of military equipment from the United States and NATO members. Also, we started our battle of repair and
recovery.
Our aim was to prevent another war. The other side's aim was to be prepared for another war. So, we think that any means of defense, legitimate means
of defense, should be boosted by Iran because no country on earth compromises on its national security and Iran is not an exception.
PLEITGEN: What is your message then to the Trump administration as it looks the situation in the Middle East? What would you say to them as far as
dealing with Iran?
KHATIBZADEH: Iran is the oldest living, continuous civilization on earth. I repeat, Iran is the oldest living civilization on earth. This country and
this nation is master of survival and master, you know, of just conquering all the turbulences and all the ups and downs. The language that we respond
is the language of respect and equal footing and I think this is the language that based on which we can talk to other side even if there are
those aggressors.
PLEITGEN: President Trump said that the U.S. is now in wars to win them. Are there people in Iran who think at the higher level that Iran must
rethink its stance on nuclear weapons?
KHATIBZADEH: We are a member of IAEA. Even after all these atrocities and crimes that President Trump and his administration did by bombing over U.N.
safeguarded peaceful nuclear facilities, we decided not to withdraw from NPT, Non-Proliferation Treaty. And you know that this is why Israelis, by
possessing hundreds of nuclear warheads, they are not actually party to the non-proliferation treaty.
Why Iran has decided to remain in the realm of NPT? Because Iran is very clear about this peaceful nuclear program. Not only do we have a fatwa by
our leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, but also in our doctrine the only thing that we are following is peaceful nuclear program and also legitimate
military program to defend our national interests and our national security.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Fred Pleitgen there speaking to Iran's deputy foreign minister. Now, a copy of the entire internet sits in a church basement in California,
you believe. We'll take you there and meet the man who could be called the internet's librarian.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
FOSTER: Everything on the internet is forever is often used as a cautionary warning to think before you post online. But is it strictly true? The
Internet Archive has been saving web history for nearly 30 years, trying to keep a record of everything that goes online, even as content faces both
political and physical threats. CNN's Hadas Gold has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just blocks away from the Presidio in San Francisco sits a century-old former church. But what was
once a house of God is the holy grail of internet history, the Internet Archive, saving a record of the web one page at a time and now innovating
for the A.I. future.
GOLD: There's a bit of a symbolism of having a church be the headquarters for the Internet Archive.
BREWSTER KAHLE, FOUNDER, INTERNET ARCHIVE: I think of it actually with the pillars, the idea of the permanence. It's a reference to the Library of
Alexandria, which was a great project of the Egyptians and the Greeks to build all knowledge. Of course, now that place is the internet.
GOLD (voice-over): Brewster Kahle started the Internet Archive in 1996 when a year's worth of websites was just two terabytes, which could easily fit
on just one of these hard drives. Now, the hum of servers fills the stained glass adorned sanctuary, where 150 terabytes worth of the internet are
saved every day.
KAHLE: So, every time a light blinks, it's either somebody uploading something or downloading something from the Internet Archive.
GOLD (voice-over): This year, the Trump administration deleted thousands of government web pages. When everything from health policies to achievements
by minority military members disappeared, the Internet Archive was able to help show and preserve what had been removed.
KAHLE: This change was huge. Whole sections of the web came down. They have a new point of view. And that's why we have libraries to go and have the
record.
GOLD: Do you ever feel that what the Internet Archive is doing is preserving truth?
KAHLE: The Internet Archive preserves a record. And whether it's true or not is actually for others to interpret.
GOLD (voice-over): To protect against future threats both physical and political, the Internet Archive has copies of its servers in multiple
locations around the world.
GOLD: Are you concerned at all that you guys will be targeted at some point?
KAHLE: Let's go and make it so that there's different points of view stored and made permanently accessible in different environments. So, libraries
have always been under attack. Now, more than during my lifetime. But let's go and live up to the moment.
GOLD: We're seeing the rise of A.I. Should be we would be recording something that was created by A.I. and the same we would record things that
were created by humans?
KAHLE: We're starting some experimental programs because so many people are turning to the chatbots as a news source. And so, they're going and just
typing these things in. It's a preliminary project still to go and record what did the different chatbots say about the current affairs. So, we want
a record of our times. And this is just another aspect of it.
GOLD (voice-over): And they don't just save web pages. Libraries, museums or really anyone can ask the team to digitize and help preserve physical
records such as music, TV and books.
[14:55:00]
KAHLE: This is 1947. We had electricity already. Let me show you what happened in 1927. So, this is what 1927 sounded like.
GOLD (voice-over): Books are carefully photographed page by page, digitized and posted online. Even entire vintage video games are preserved, playable
without the need of old consoles.
KAHLE: My browser is going to be running in JavaScript, IBM PC and using the Internet Archive as a giant floppy drive.
GOLD (voice-over): The Archive has recently emerged from years of legal battles over copyright claims and is celebrating saving more than 1
trillion web pages, meeting their fans and supporters offline.
ANNIE RAUWERDA, INTERNET ARCHIVE SUPPORTER: There are a lot of people that are just passionate about the cause. There's a cyberpunk atmosphere.
MARK GOLDMAN, INTERNET ARCHIVE SUPPORTER: Yes. This day and age when truth has become increasingly hard to find, it's nice to have a hard copy of
something that was actually out there.
GOLD (voice-over): A party they hope to host again with the next trillion pages.
Hadas Gold, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Thank you for watching tonight. Do stay with CNN. I'll have "What We Know" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
