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Isa Soares Tonight
Pentagon Chief And Top U.S. General Testify On Capitol Hill; Yemen's Houthis Announce Red Sea Blockade Of Saudi Shipping; U.S. Launches 10th Straight Night Of Strikes On Iran; Probe Launched Into Whether Epstein Was A Foreign Agent; New Details About Charges Against Tate Brothers; Hegseth and Caine to Face Grilling from Lawmakers on Capitol Hill; U.S. State Department Sends First Cargo Flight to Cuba Carrying Humanitarian Aid; U.S. House Democrats Launches Investigation into Whether Convicted Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein Acted as a Foreign Agent. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 21, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, for the first time since renewed U.S.
strikes on Iran, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman, General Dan Caine, will face a grilling from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
We'll bring you that to you live. Then the U.S. State Department sending its first cargo flight to Cuba, carrying humanitarian aid even as their
blockade remains in place. We are live for you this hour from Havana. Plus, U.S. House Democrats are launching an investigation into whether convicted
sex offender Jeffrey Epstein acted as a foreign agent. That and much more this hour.
But first, tonight, Iran's President says his country is engaged in full scale war. U.S. President Donald Trump says he's been nice to Iran so far,
and that it hasn't seen anything yet -- his words. Mr. Trump spoke just a short time ago alongside Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, is the first
Lebanese leader to visit the White House in nearly 20 years.
President Trump said he's willing to talk with Hezbollah as Mr. Aoun seeks help with disarming the Iranian-backed group and securing an Israeli
withdrawal from Lebanon. Mr. Trump also vowed more attacks on Iran, including a fortified underground site that Israel says is storing highly-
enriched uranium. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We follow the material. That's where the action is, and we'll be hitting that area very -- probably
pretty soon. And there's not a -- not a thing they can do about it. You know, normally I wouldn't say that if I thought they could do something
about it, I would never say that. But we'll be hitting that area pretty soon and very heavily.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the U.S. military says it attacked targets in Iran for a 10th consecutive night, while Iran hit several regional U.S. allies that host
American military bases, and that includes Bahrain. And now, the conflict could spread even further.
Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have declared a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, as you see there on your map. President Trump says
U.S. will take care of business if Houthis carry through on the threat.
Well, his administration is seeking more money from Congress to fund the war effort and just a -- and just 30 minutes, in fact, from now, Defense
Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine will face a grilling on Capitol Hill.
So, as we just laid out for you, a lot for us to cover this hour, I want to bring in Nic Robertson, who is for us in Jerusalem, Kristen Holmes as you
can see there is at the White House. And Nic, let me first go to you.
We are continuing to see several Gulf states really bearing the brunt of Iran's retaliation, which now seems, as we were just mentioning there,
seems to be widening, potentially, with the Houthis in Yemen threatening Saudi vessel. Just bring us up-to-date with the very latest from the
region.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the very latest in the last hour or so. Sirens have gone off in Bahrain. Again, an indication
of more Iranian strikes there. Sirens also in Irbil, in the Kurdish region of Iraq, in the north of Iraq.
They're reported to be around the U.S. Consulate there. So, those are the sort of active spots right now. Earlier in the day was Jordan incoming
missiles, three of them intercepted there by the Jordanian military. Interesting listening to President Trump earlier, mentioning the fallen
soldiers in Jordan who died as a result of Iranian strike the early part of the weekend.
Indicating that if it had been U.S. operators on the air defense system there, perhaps, the situation would have been different. But as far as the
sort of Houthis are concerned, the President brushing off a little bit of his concern, and I think the read in the region here is sort of similar at
the moment, in as much as the Houthis have said that they will block Saudi oil shipments going through the Red Sea at Bab al-Mandab.
[14:05:00]
The Houthis, of course, a proxy of the Iranians, but they have yet to actually fire military assessments. I'm getting of the Houthi military
disposition is that they are ready, but they haven't actually committed acts against Saudi vessels, of course, the threat itself is strong.
But the Houthis being a proxy of Iran, Iran wanting to drive up as quickly as possible, the price of oil, shutting down the Red Sea route, for Saudi
oil at Bab al-Mandab would inevitably increase the rate at which the oil price is already increasing.
And that the President is sort of -- is sort of saying isn't happening right now. But he clearly has a plan if it does.
SOARES: Yes, and we did see oil prices surge above $90 a barrel. Let me go to Kristen then at the White House. So, Kristen, you were saying before we
came to you, you know, Mr. Trump vowing to attack Iran, and now saying that the U.S. will hit this underground complex, Iran's Pickaxe Mountain, he
said, pretty soon. What more are you hearing on this? And the significance, more importantly, of this?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's unclear right now whether or not, this is just a threat or if he's actually going
to go through with it. And I say that because this is not the first time that he has mentioned going after Pickaxe Mountain.
He actually said it just over a week ago when he was doing a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt. Now, you had mentioned this reporting that
Israel believes Iran had moved some of its centrifuges and some of that enriched uranium to this underground fortified site in southern Iran,
Pickaxe Mountain.
President Trump was asked about that, he said that they didn't have any record of that. But the thing to keep in mind about Pickaxe Mountain
overall is that this location in 2020 was declared to the United Nations Assembly or international assembly on atomic matters.
That's the place that they would start actually developing nuclear weapons in the future, and that is where President Trump is clearly focused now, as
he expands and is considering widening this war. We saw what happened yesterday.
This idea of him moving ships into the Middle East. We were talking about F-16s, F-35s, and those aerial refueling tankers. These are all basically
laying the table for President Trump to expand this war. Now, what's unclear is how far he's willing to go.
We know he's angry. We know he's angry about the fact that Iran has breached the ceasefire, and that they have killed American troops now. But
is he willing to actually escalate beyond these nightly strikes? Yesterday, we reported that there have been mediators floating this idea of a ten-day
ceasefire to kind of cool the temperatures.
And almost immediately after we were reporting this, we were reporting it didn't seem likely President Trump would accept it. Then Central Command
announced that they would be launching their 10th consecutive day of strikes.
So, clearly, not taking that ceasefire last night, we're pushing now to see if there's any indication that President Trump would still consider any
kind of diplomatic approach, would consider looking even at a ceasefire proposal. Right now, it's just not clear how far he's willing to go.
And is much of this a pressure campaign to bring her on back to the negotiating table, or has that all fallen to the side?
SOARES: Yes, very good questions indeed. Kristen Holmes and Nic Robertson for us there in Jerusalem. Thank you to you both. Well, in some way, the
future of the U.S. war with Iran could rest on what happens today on Capitol Hill.
As we were mentioning at the top of the show, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine will testify to senators in less
than what? Half an hour from now. They are asking Congress for more money for the war as U.S. munition stockpiles are depleted by the conflict.
Congressional leaders know they need to move quickly on the Pentagon budget, but they have, as Kristen did have as well, a lot of questions
about it. It is worth noting that Congress has never formally voted to approve of the fight with Iran, and even Republicans say the Pentagon needs
to be more clear about what it will do with the tens of billions of dollars it is seeking, also weighing on lawmaker's minds.
While the deaths of at least, four U.S. troops since the seaside -- ceasefire collapsed earlier this month. We're joined now by U.S. House
Democrat Don Beyer; a fierce critic of President Trump's war on Iran. Congressman, really appreciate you being with -- on the show tonight.
We are seeing, as you heard from our correspondents in the region, a significant escalation in the Gulf with repeated attacks by Iran on U.S.
allies, and of course, as we just mentioned, the rising American casualties. As Congress prepares to hear from both the Defense Secretary,
Pete Hegseth, as General Caine, too. What are the most important questions that they need to answer, in your view?
[14:10:00]
REP. DON BEYER (D-VA): I think the biggest question, Isa, is where does this end? Congress has already voted twice to deny the President the
authority to do this. And we think this was a foolish war to begin. And as we've seen with all war plans, once that first bullet is fired, you never
know what's going to happen.
My perspective is, this President needs to go back and try to rebuild the joint comprehensive plan of action that Barack Obama had negotiated along
with Russia, China, Germany, France and England, and which Donald Trump tore up in 2017.
SOARES: And, congressman, along those veins, what I keep hearing from analysts in the Gulf, I had this conversation with one just yesterday is
along those lines, is what is the strategy and what is the end game? The Pentagon hasn't held a press briefing in more than two months.
Secretary Hegseth has yet to publicly lay out the military objectives behind this renewed airstrike. Based on the briefings that you've received,
what do you believe is the administration's strategy, and how then Congress will measure any success right now?
BEYER: Isa, you've just asked the real hardest question. As near as we can tell, there is no end game. They originally thought they could bomb Iran to
smithereens, and they would just roll over. That's not happening, it's not going to happen.
That so far, they just seem to be floundering. What they really need to do is get the ten-day ceasefire and then come back to the negotiating table
and find an enduring peace, because we're not going to bomb our way out of this.
SOARES: Now, they're asking for -- asking Congress to approve, from what I understand, $87 billion in terms of supplemental funding package related to
the conflict. That's on top of what I understand, congressman. They've already spent roughly $40 billion. Should Congress approve this request?
What conditions really need to be attached to this funding?
BEYER: Isa, I'm going to vote no on the request. I seriously doubt that the $90 billion --
SOARES: Yes --
BEYER: Will pass either or both houses, just because that the only way we can get Donald Trump to stop the war is not to refund it. Once the war is
over and there's peace, then I think there's a very good case to be made that we need to resupply all of our stocks of arms and bombs.
Because we've used up so many. But right now, to authorize this extra $90 billion is basically to give Trump a blank check on the war.
SOARES: Just to clarify, congressman, you don't think this will pass?
BEYER: I don't think so. I think there are -- as we've seen, both houses have passed war resolutions demanding that Trump stop. I think that's a
good sign of where they'll be on the $90 billion.
SOARES: And why didn't this out for our audience right around the world, congressman? Because I was reading a recent "Washington Post"-IPSOS poll
that found that 68 percent of Americans said the war with Iran is, quote, "not worth fighting", while 28 percent says it is.
At a time, of course, when we're seeing so much concern over the cost of living, affordability. How does this -- how does this sit with people up
and down the country?
BEYER: I think very poorly. One of the reasons why Trump's approval rating is in the low 30s or high 20s in most states, is the fact that most people
think this was the wrong war to fight for the wrong reasons. And I know my Republican friends and colleagues are all terrified about losing their
elections in 15 weeks just because, well, the price of oil hit $100 a barrel again yesterday.
Gas prices are going up, food prices are going up, fertilizer is unavailable, all because Trump got into a war that was unnecessary.
SOARES: Unnecessary. But here we are. Do you see an off-ramp right now, congressman, given we're seeing these escalations we've heard in the last
few hours, President Trump said they will hit an underground complex at Iran's Pickaxe Mountain. He said pretty soon, we're not sure, as you heard
from our correspondent at the White House --
BEYER: Yes --
SOARES: If that is a threat or if that's going to go -- is going to happen, given that we've seen movement of F-16s, F-35s, in the last 24 hours.
BEYER: Yes --
SOARES: What then is the off-ramp? Are we -- are we anywhere near that?
BEYER: Isa, I think -- I deeply believe the off-ramp is going to be done at a negotiating table. That all effort needs to be done there. And then when
we do get a ceasefire, we have to make sure that we don't do anything to suggest to the Iranians that we are violating it.
Because they will respond, as we have seen, and this is a shooting war that can't end until everybody is dead on one side or the other. And that's not
what we want.
SOARES: Before I let you go, I do want to turn, if I may, congressman, to Israel, you were one of more than 100 House Democrats who voted to block
billions of dollars in additional aid to Israel. Why did you take that position, and what message were you hoping to send, congressman, with your
vote?
[14:15:00]
BEYER: Yes, Isa, it wasn't a hard vote. It was a vote that's come from years of frustration with Netanyahu and his administration. That the fact
that October 7th, obviously, was an enormous tragedy for Israel, for the Jewish people around the world.
But what the way they have waged that war in Gaza with, you know, deaths approaching a 100,000, no opportunity to rebuild, just more and more
violence. And then the way they have empowered the settler violence against the Palestinians living in Palestine and then bombing downtown Beirut.
I mean, the only way we can express as Americans, our rejection of the leadership of the Israeli government is to deny them, to make the funding
we give them conditional. We've been giving them more than $3 billion with no strings attached.
We finally had to say, no, this is not right. Please work with us to live up to the human values, which I think we supposedly share.
SOARES: Congressman Don Beyer, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you, congressman.
BEYER: Yes, thank you so very much.
SOARES: Now, that is the view. You're very welcome. That is the view there from Congressman Don Beyer from -- speaking to us from Capitol Hill. Let's
go take a turn to Canada because the Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Tar(ph) -- Mark Carney, pardon me, says Ottawa and Washington will step up trade
talks after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on Canadian imports.
The Trump administration says it made the move in response to what it calls Canada's discriminatory trade policies against American-made goods. The
Prime Minister says the two neighbors will work to try to avoid another trade war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, PRESIDENT, CANADA: I spoke with President Trump earlier this morning. We agreed to intensify negotiations in the coming weeks, and the
team and myself look forward to doing that. As always, Canadians, governments, business, labor will stand together to build Canada strong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, let's get more from David Goldman. And David, look, I feel I'm getting deja vu, if it's not Brazil, it's Canada. Talk us through what
these discriminatory trade policies are.
DAVID GOLDMAN, SENIOR REPORTER, CNN BUSINESS: That's right. Well, the President certainly has, you know, been opposed to Canadian policies for a
while. He was talking about wildfires the other day in Canada needing to pay for that.
This time around, it's select-items. So, we're talking about things like furniture and alcohol. Certainly, the United States gets a lot of that from
Canada. Even hockey sticks, right? So, this is pretty narrowly focused. In fact, it's so narrowly-focused that we're talking about only around 5
percent of the Canadian goods that go to the United States.
It's around 0.6 percent of total U.S. imports. And that equals around $20 billion. Now, that's nothing to sneeze at, but obviously, in an economy
that is $31 trillion, this is not all that much money. However, why are they doing this?
Because these tariffs that are currently in effect expire on Friday. Now, the ones that were announced go into effect on August 19th, but the ones
that are in effect need to be replaced, remember, after the Supreme Court told President Trump, you can't use emergency powers for tariffs anymore,
he put new ones in place, those expire on Friday.
What are they using for this mechanism? Well, it's something called Section 338 of the 1930 Tariff Act. We all remember that very well. And it does
allow the President to charge up to 50 percent, which is exactly what the President decided to do.
But that's why some experts think that this is a test, right? They're kind of dipping their toe in the tariff waters because if this is successful and
holds up in court, then this could be another weapon in the tariff's arsenal for the Trump administration, Isa.
SOARES: Well, they really had to go back in the book, 1930 Tariff Act to find this. David Goldman, good to see you. Thank you.
GOLDMAN: Thank you.
SOARES: And just ahead right here, the U.S. oil blockade has deepened Cuba's catastrophic energy crisis. So, why is the United States launching a
major humanitarian effort on the island? We are live for you in Havana.
Also, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's circle included the rich, as you know, and powerful. House Democrats launched an investigation into
whether he used his connections to act on behalf of foreign governments. Both those stories after a very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
SOARES: Well, the U.S. is sending a cargo flight of humanitarian aid to Havana as part of a $100 million support package to Cuba. U.S. officials
say the supplies of food, medicine and fuel will be distributed directly to the Cuban people through charitable organizations.
The move comes as the island deals, as we've been telling you right here on the show with crippling energy and economic crisis. The Trump
administration has effectively placed a blockade on oil shipments there. The U.S. State Department on Monday issued a report alleging that for
decades, Cuba successfully infiltrated, quote, "the highest reaches of U.S. government."
Let's get more on all the development angles out of Cuba. Juan Carlos Lopez is an anchor and chief correspondent for CNN Espanol, he's with us this
evening from Havana. Juan Carlos, great to see you. Look, from what I understand, this is the first batch of the $100 million worth of
humanitarian assistance, which had been, if we go back, the subject of controversy right between these two governments. So, talk us through where
we are and what this consists of, this aid consists of.
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, ANCHOR & CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, CNN ESPANOL: Hi, Isa, so, it's not an overstatement to say that the Cuban government and the U.S.
government are apparently speaking past each other.
But obviously, there is some sort of coordination if this cargo plane is scheduled to arrive in Havana. Now, the way the State Department is
presenting this is saying is that, the United States and Catholic relief services sent first humanitarian flight to Cuba under Secretary Rubio's new
100 million assistance commitment.
Now, the Secretary of State announces $100 million commitment, the Cuban government said, we've never received a formal offer, and these
conversations started. Now, they've been very specific on how this aid will go to, in this case, Catholic relief services, which is linked to the
Catholic Church, has a very important presence in Cuba and all over the western hemisphere.
And this is the first of the $100 million. The $100 million aren't coming today in aid. The way they're describing it, this plane, brings aid for
about 700 families. It's a very complicated situation in Cuba, and the government is -- has said they're open to receiving any and all type of
help. But here, we have this sort of very different conversation that they're having.
SOARES: Yes, they're going through partnership with the Catholic Church in Caritas, Cuba. I'm just going to quote them here. They say this is the
State Department saying, without any opportunity for regime diversion or theft, which is what we had heard from Secretary of State Marco Rubio a
while back.
And really, Juan Carlos, you know, this flight, when it arrives, if it arrives, it's coming as these two countries continue trading accusations.
[14:25:00]
Just yesterday, in fact, the State Department, we mentioned this briefly, published a report accusing Cuba of fueling far-left extremism and running
spy rings in the U.S. Can you give us a sense of how Diaz-Canel is responding to these accusations?
LOPEZ: The Cuban government is calling this a fallacy. They're saying these are lies by the U.S. government. And if you look at that report based on
publicly-available information, it also links all type of protests in the U.S. to Cuba.
Protests on civil rights protests by the African-American community, and the way it's framed is linking everything back to Cuba. Cuba is saying this
is not true, and it's part of this conversation that they're not having in public, that they're probably having behind the scenes.
We reached out to the Cuban government today, reached out to Catholic Relief Services, still haven't heard back from them. And as I said, this is
part, and if you look at the phrasing, it says its Secretary Rubio's $100 million offer to Cuba, which for months, the Cuban Foreign Minister said
that offer was never officially made.
And now, this would be the first of it. And as I said, this is 700 kids that will -- are destined to 700 families in a country of more than 10
million that needs the help, and obviously is in the middle of this very interesting debate.
SOARES: Yes, indeed, and a crisis from, you know, many can worry about the humanitarian situation on the ground, given, of course, the conditions
right now. Juan Carlos, great to see you. Juan Carlos Lopez there for us in Havana. Thank you.
Well, Central America's largest country says it's done with democracy. After two decades in power, Nicaragua's longest-serving President, Daniel
Ortega says the nation will no longer hold elections. The country's last vote in 2021 was broadly disputed after Ortega detained his opponents and
criminalized dissents.
Last year, he consolidated his power when he named his wife as co-president and extended his presidential term to six years. The U.N. Human Rights
Council accuse them both of turning the country into an authoritarian state and violating human rights.
Ortega has not provided any details on how he could carry -- he would carry the election ban. And still to come tonight, the two most powerful military
leaders in the U.S. are about to face skeptical senators. A look at what they want from Congress and whether Congress will give it to them when we
come back.
Plus, Jeffrey Epstein, a foreign agent? Why U.S. House Democrats want to know more about the convicted sex offender's contacts with foreign
governments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:46]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. We are just minutes away from a crucial moment for the top two people at the Pentagon. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine are expected to be testifying in a moment to senators about the Pentagon budget. And it comes
as the U.S. seems poised to ramp up attacks on Iran.
Both Democrats and Republicans are eager to ask about how much the conflict in the Gulf has sapped U.S. military stockpiles and also want answers about
the casualties the U.S. has taken in the region in recent weeks.
Joining me now to talk about this our CNN politics senior reporter, Stephen Collinson. So, Stephen, first of all, just frame this for us because at the
top of the show I was speaking to Nic Robertson in Jerusalem. We're talking about these renewed strikes, of course, across the Gulf. U.S. allies, of
course. We're seeing F-16s, F-35s being sent. We're now hearing from President Trump that may hit underground complex Iran's Pickaxe Mountain
pretty soon. We're not sure if that is a threat.
All this, of course, while we're seeing the number of personnel, U.S. personnel, are dying. Just speak to this moment and what lawmakers will
want to clarify here.
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, I think you can expect the lawmakers ask, what is going on here? What is the strategy? Why
did President Trump decide he was going to escalate this? Again, after the memorandum of understanding failed, how long will it last? What is the
endgame? What is the possibility that the United States has a goal that is actually operable in this? And, again, I think they're going to ask,
frankly, why are you asking for another $87 billion, most of which is for the war in Iran, and exactly what are you going to do about it?
There is also, as you mentioned, the question of the number of injured. CNN has reported that 100 service personnel were injured since early July. That
was not publicly shared by the Pentagon for some period of time. I think there will be questions of why that was. Is the Pentagon trying to cover up
the true human cost for U.S. service personnel of this war? And they will ask, are American troops exposed? Are they sufficiently protected? And is
the administration putting them in situations that could further endanger them without any real strategy or public explanation of what the war aims
actually are?
SOARES: Yes. And this something that I heard from a congressman. I spoke to a Democrat at the top of the show from Virginia who had exactly those
questions. Let me bring in -- stay with us, let me bring in Alex, CNN national security analyst, Alex Plitsas. Alex is a U.S. Army veteran and
used to work at the Pentagon in counterterrorism.
Alex, good to see you. You heard that Stephen Collinson relaying out some of the questions that most likely we'll get, we'll hear from lawmakers.
Give us a sense of what you think from the military point of view that needs to be clarified here because they're looking to approve another,
what, $87 billion in funding. From a military perspective, what are the key questions here besides what is the end game?
ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST AND U.S. ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS VETERAN: So, I think that's exactly the big looming question for
most members of Congress. If they're going to appropriate another $87 billion towards Iran, they do as you accurately laid out, as our colleague
just laid out. What exactly is it going to go towards and what is the strategy? Because the end state has been clear in the sense the president
said, hey, they can't have a nuclear weapon.
But other than that, there hasn't been much detail in terms of what that's going to entail. So, I think there'll be some testimony coming back in
which they'll cite operational security. They won't get into a lot of details.
But at the end of the day, they're going to be pressured by the senators on both sides of the aisle, quite frankly, to explain what the strategy is.
SOARES: And, Stephen, just flesh that out, that last point that Alex was making there, from both sides of the aisle. Is it clear now that, because I
was looking at a Washington Post, Ipsos poll that showed, I think it was something like -- let me get the number, the percentage of Americans who
don't support this war, 68 percent. Is that -- is this what you're hearing both sides of the aisle?
[14:35:00]
COLLINSON: I think what you are hearing on Capitol Hill is pretty much unified opposition from Democrats. That's exactly makes sense because this
an unpopular war. They're going into an election in a few months, a midterm election, trying to win back chambers of Congress. That is exactly the
argument they would make, despite -- you know, and there are also very genuine questions about where this war is going.
So, far, Republicans have held firm. There is some concern among, I would say, publicly a handful of senators about this war and what the strategy
is. But sort of more privately, especially in the Senate, there are concerns about these numbers.
This a very politically dicey moment for the president. He's now saying, well, I'm not concerned about the midterm elections, raising the
possibility that this could go on right up to November. And this was a president who came to office saying that he wouldn't fight more wars in the
Middle East. And I think the hangover politically in U.S. political DNA from the Iraq and Afghan wars still shapes the way people think about
foreign wars.
In the House, House Speaker Mike Johnson came out today and said he doesn't think this needs an authorization for the military to carry on waging this
war in Iran. But he has a very thin majority. When this war bill comes up, it's going to be very interesting to see how difficult it is for him to get
it passed a few weeks before an election.
SOARES: And, Alex, I want to bring something in that Stephen mentioned earlier at the top of our conversation. This the number of troops that have
been injured. The Pentagon, I'm sure you've seen said that nearly 100 troops have been injured since July the 7th. But the official record only
caught up after CNN and others reported on the lag. What does the reporting and the reaction to it and why they haven't told us sooner, what does that
tell you?
PLITSAS: So, I believe the administration is going to cite, again, operational security, that they didn't want to let the Iranians know that
they were successful when they were targeting. But this very different than the usual transparency that's provided when the United States has troops
that are either wounded or killed in combat. It's simply not something that's been done traditionally. And members of Congress, I think, are going
to take issue with it as a result of that and question the lack of transparency in this particular case.
It's clear, based on multiple sources that I've spoken to, that there were dozens of wounded at the base in Jordan, potentially more wounded in Saudi
Arabia at one of the other air bases that was struck. We also had another base struck in northern Iraq in which one troop was killed during a
secondary explosion of an Iranian drone that was down.
But also, I believe, it hit a weapons storage depot. There were secondary explosions there. So, it's clear that some of this has been getting
through. And I'm also told that that's a result of the Iranians changing some of their tactics, with some of their warheads having maneuverable
warheads on them after they've detached from the missiles, which has made it more difficult to shoot down, something that they've picked up and
learned since the conflict began.
SOARES: And, Stephen, it is, for viewers watching us right now, a sense of deja vu, because we all remember the president describing the memorandum of
understanding as a historic agreement that would bring lasting stability. Yet here we are, right, discussing renewed strikes, threats to the Strait
of Hormuz, the possibility, as we've heard in the last 24 hours, of the Houthis becoming deeply involved.
In your view, has administration clearly defined its objectives? And is it a campaign of protecting shipping lanes, degrading Iran's missile
capabilities, or something broader? Speak to the evolution of that.
COLLINSON: Well, it seems to be right now all of the above, and there's not really any at least publicly announced strategy and sort of steps to get to
the endgame or to get to an area where you can define this success and then bring that about.
Now, it's possible that, you know, weeks more bombing along the Strait of Hormuz, perhaps that so degrades Iran that it makes it much more difficult
for it to interrupt shipping in the Strait, although most experts I've spoken to say that that's going to be very difficult when you only need a
missile or a drone to shut down the shipping.
I think it's been a case all through the war that this hasn't been particularly publicly well explained to the American people. That may
account for some of those pretty bad approval ratings. One of the problems has been that all -- a lot of the things the administration has said about
how long this would last, what the objectives are, they've turned out to be not true or to be very fungible. And that doesn't really help the
credibility of their arguments.
[14:40:00]
And all of what the administration is saying right now is seemingly trying to conceal the fact that what they are doing is they're fighting over the
Strait of Hormuz, which where traffic is interrupted, which is a status quo that was not in place at the beginning of war and of the war and represents
one of Iran's major gains from the conflict.
SOARES: Yes, that wasn't a problem to start off with. Worth reminding our viewers. And, Alex, just before we go, let me get your thoughts just on
what we've heard. You know, Israeli officials say that Iran may have moved enriched uranium and centrifuges to this fortified site known as Pickaxe
Mountain. And then President Trump in the last, what, two hours perhaps, said that the U.S. could target it soon.
From a military standpoint, your view here, how difficult a target would that be? And what would it take to successfully strike it?
PLITSAS: So, what we're going to talk about now is openly speculated. So, it's not putting troops in harm's way in that sense. But there's only so
many options you have with a facility like that. It's deep buried well beyond the capability of some of the conventional munitions to hit it.
Other than sort of closing the tunnel entrances, sort of sending troops inside to sort of go deal with that. So, the options are, in fact, limited.
The president has mentioned sort of both in the past, that he'd be open to ground troops without really specifying what that meant, but also said that
he would be open to what we call persistent stare. So, if they were to hit those facilities, close the entrances or collapse them, and then all of a
sudden, if the Iranians were to try to go after it again in the future or try to open it up, if there was persistent stare from satellites or
whatnot, the U.S. would have to hit it again in the future.
So, it would basically be a perpetual stare at the facility, which would sort of achieve the objectives but without a permanent solution to the
problem. So, that would answer his nuclear problem. I think he was 100 percent correct in terms of the missiles and drones still posing a threat
to the Strait of Hormuz being open.
The only real military objective that's been completely achieved at this point is the Iranians no longer possess an existential threat in the form
of the ballistic missiles to Israel or U.S. forces in the region. And we have seen some successes with the Iraqi government now trying to
incorporate the militias and then finally that Lebanese agreement with Israel that's still in its infancy. But other than that, those objectives
still remain.
So, the Strait of Hormuz is still unsolved and the nuclear program still is an unsolved issue at this point. So, those are the two major things we'll
be watching for at this point from a military standpoint.
SOARES: Yes. We shall see what lawmakers get out, of course, for this question. Alex Plitsas and Stephen Collison, thank you very much. We'll
keep an eye, of course, on that when it's testifying to the senators when that begins on Capitol Hill. We'll bring that to you. Thank you to you
both, gentlemen.
Now, survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are urging two top Republican senators to vote against Todd Blanche's nomination to become the
permanent U.S. attorney general. They wrote a letter to Senators John Corwin and Thom Tillis, accusing Blanche of showing no remorse over the
government's release of sensitive information about survivors.
Meantime, House Democrats are launching an investigation into whether Epstein acted as a foreign agent. The top Democrat on the House Judiciary
Committee says Epstein never registered as a foreign agent, but newly released documents show he acted aggressively on behalf of multiple foreign
governments.
CNN's senior reporter, Annie Grayer, joins us now from Capitol Hill. So, Annie, just talk us through then what these documents, what more we know
about these documents and what they reveal.
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Raskin says he's been through what's been publicly made available by the Department of Justice in the
Epstein files and also documents released by the House Oversight Committee. And he says just from reviewing those documents, he's found credible
evidence that Epstein was acting as an unregistered foreign agent with countries like Russia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
And so, he sent a letter to the Department of Justice, the Department of State, and the Office of Director of National Intelligence today asking for
more documents because Raskin says he believes that there's a lot more that these agencies still have not released to the public. Now, Raskin is
writing for this request as Democrats are currently in the minority in the House. So, it's unlikely that the Trump administration is going to
cooperate willingly with this request from Democrats.
But this letter and the announcement of this investigation today does give us a window and a preview into what Democrats might pursue if they win the
majority back in the House in November, that they want to continue various investigations into Epstein. And this would just be one of them.
For example, the House Oversight Committee, which has been pursuing a long investigation into this, where they've interviewed 18 people, they've
produced millions of documents at this point, Democrats in that committee say they believe there's still a lot to investigate, that their work is
just getting started. So, that is what is unfolding on the House today, and Democrats are showing that the fight to get more transparency on Epstein is
far from over.
SOARES: And when they say, when the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee says that the documents show he acted -- and I'm quoting here,
show, "he acted aggressively," do we have any more insight on what that could mean?
[14:50:00]
GRAYER: Well, Raskin is relying on documents that we've all seen and emails that have been publicly out there, but he's highlighting documents that
raise a lot more questions than answers. And that's why he is probing these agencies to provide him with more information, because he even acknowledges
in his letter that Epstein was very vague in his wording, in describing the kind of work he was doing. So, there's a lot of questions to answer here
that Democrats are not going to shy away from.
SOARES: Annie, thank you very much indeed, Annie Grayer there for the very latest.
And still to come tonight, disturbing allegations against social media influencers. Andrew and Tristan Tate. We'll take a look at what newly
unsealed core documents say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, we need to be a cost-of-living government. That's what British prime minister, Andy Burnham, is telling his top ministers. On his
second day in his new job, Burnham met with his cabinet promising to cut taxes on energy bills. It is the first of several early moves signaling his
desire to ease Britain's cost-of-living crisis. Burnham also stressed fiscal discipline as a touchstone for his new government, a message his
finance minister, John Healey, echoed.
Well, we are learning more about social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate, newly released court documents from the U.K. detail alleged
sex crimes, including rape and sex trafficking. The brothers have denied all allegations and remain in custody in Florida while they challenge
extradition to the U.K. Here's Carolina Peguero with more about the case.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: While the Tate brothers remain in federal custody here in Miami and as they are challenging the extradition
request from the U.K., we're learning about new unsealed court documents and new allegations against the brothers as physical and sexual abuse by
additional women, including charges of sex crimes of rape and sex trafficking. Now, these new allegations made by the additional women who
had spoken to British officials are saying that they were choked, some had lost even consciousness of nearly passing out and later raped.
[14:50:00]
While the Tate brothers are saying and denying completely these allegations, their lawyers are also saying they're vowing to fight the
extradition request and even asking for the Trump administration to intervene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH DANIEL MCBRIDE, ATTORNEY: What I can say about the allegations in the United Kingdom, not a single solitary person has been identified. These
are ghosts and these are phantoms. So, we'd like to know who's accused, Andrew and Tristan, of what. No innocent person can be punished while
they're being held for any proceeding. Innocent and proven guilty, solitary confinement is punishment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEGUERO: And together, the Tate brothers have faced 59 charges while the State Department has informed to CNN. And sources familiar to the cases
have said that they are not going to intervene, as well as President Trump. And the next briefing hearing is expected here at this federal court next
Monday.
Carolina Peguero, CNN, Miami.
SOARES: Thank you very much, Carolina. We're going to take a short break. Do stay right here with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, a family in Australia has welcomed four identical baby girls into the world. They joined mom and dad's four other children. And there's
even more to their story. Doctors believe this could be the first naturally conceived pregnancy of its kind in Australia. Here's Seven Network's
Michael Hammond on the sensational Aussie quadruplets.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HAMMOND, REPORTER, SEVEN NETWORK: Too tiny for their parents' arms just yet, these four little girls are proof the rarest beginnings can have
the brightest futures.
ALEXA BENDALL, OBSTETRICIAN, ROYAL BRISBANE WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: They have come from one fertilized egg that has split four times, which is
incredible.
[05:50:00]
HAMMOND (voiceover): Occurring in just one in 15 million pregnancies, it's an Australian first and one of only a few cases worldwide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To share a placenta just means that splitting has happened relatively late in the embryo life, so exceptionally rare.
HAMMOND (voiceover): Parents Jenitar and Jortham already had four kids, rolling the dice one more time.
BENDALL: When they found out that they had four babies instead of one they were quite shocked.
HAMMOND (voiceover): The pregnancy extremely complex.
BENDALL: And there is a high risk of mortality and morbidity for these babies and for mom.
HAMMOND (voiceover): But thanks to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Emily, Harriet, Alexa, and Catherine were safely delivered by C-section at
28 weeks, each weighing just over a kilogram.
[14:55:00]
HAMMOND: For now, the girls remain in the neonatal intensive care unit, growing stronger every day. In a few months, when they've reached full-
term, they should be ready to go home.
HAMMOND (voiceover): From mom, "One little hand, one giant miracle. Every day our miracle babies grow stronger is another answered prayer. We love
you more than words can ever say, my miracle babies!"
BENDALL: Long-term, their outlook will be really good.
HAMMOND (voiceover): Michael Hammond, Seven News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: We wish them all the best, of course. And finally, tonight, this just in to CNN. French lawmakers have voted to ban social media for
children under 15. Now, the move makes France the first European Union country to ban such platforms for children. France follows Australia, where
a similar ban took effect in December over growing concerns about the health and safety of minors.
Today's vote means children affected by the age limit cannot open a social media account after September 1st. And social media platforms would need to
close existing accounts within four months.
That does it for us for this evening. Do stay right here. "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next. Have a wonderful night. I shall see you
tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
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