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One World with Zain Asher
Iran's Supreme Leader Puts Out Message Marking New Year; Netanyahu Denies Israel Drew U.S. Into War With Iran; Travel Chaos And The Summer Travel Season; Long Waits At U.S. Airport Security Checkpoints; American College Student Found Dead In Barcelona; CNN On The Ground As War Enters 21st Day In Iran; A.I. Version Of Val Kilmer To Star In New Movie; Psychologist On How To Cope In Turbulent Times; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired March 20, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:37]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. And this is the second hour of "One World."
In the Middle East and across the wider Muslim world, people are trying to celebrate, of course, under a cloud of conflict. It is Nowruz or New Year
in Iran today, a time of family, renewal, and the promise of new beginnings.
It comes as the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran is now approaching its fourth week. One Iranian says that time feels suspended in some ways. And Muslims
across the world are marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, the celebrations muted by the sights, sounds, and the reality of war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(EXPLOSION)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: This video purportedly shows Tehran launching a series of missiles overnight from an undisclosed location in Israel. And Iran exchanged fresh
attacks as well.
Iran's new leader reportedly releasing a message, marking the start of the Persian New Year, which he named the year of a resistance economy under
national unity and national security.
However, no video or audio accompany the text. In the statement that was read on state television, Mojtaba Khamenei also said that attacks against
Turkey and Oman were not carried out by Iran or its allied forces. Khamenei has made no public appearance since being chosen to succeed his father
earlier this month.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Beirut, Lebanon, for us and joins us live now.
So, Nick, just walk us through what the ayatollah, the new ayatollah said, but I think also the fact that this is now at least the second statement
where we haven't actually seen the ayatollah or heard his voice in any way, shape, or form.
It does raise eyebrows. A lot of people wondering whether indeed he was injured, possibly severely injured, in that attack on February 28. What do
we know for sure at this point, Nick?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We don't know anything for sure, Zain, absolutely. And this statement is accompanied
with a number of images of Mojtaba Khamenei. We don't know when they were taken. They do appear potentially to be from some kind of stock library.
It's hard to understand why at this deeply sensitive stage are the questions of leadership swirling with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, saying that they don't know who is in charge in Iran, why, for the second time, Iran's authorities would not provide some kind of proof of
life or health of their new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
There is no audio, yet again. There is no sense of a real image capturing him in the moment and again no video. And no sign of him in public either.
So the questions, particularly after this repeat of the first statement we received from him happening after the death of the man who many felt
potentially was running the show, Ali Larijani, in another Israeli airstrike, the security chief, is going to ask -- raise massive questions
yet all over again.
The actual content of the message, perhaps slightly more focused, you might argue. There is a moment in which Khamenei claims to have got into taxis,
anonymously driving around the streets of Iran, talking to ordinary people and discovering fortuitous for him, I'm sure, that they ultimately agree
with his assessment of the world and his criticisms of how the economy has been managed in the past.
As you pointed out, he's clear that the attacks on Turkey and Oman, remember Oman, a neighbor of Iran, across the sea, but also a country which
had tried to mediate between the United States and Iran in the moments before the war, but struck repeatedly by Iranian projectiles and drones and
Turkey, another neighbor similarly under threat.
He says that they were not attacked by Iran and that the attacks of these nations suffered were essentially false flag operations faked by what he
calls the Zionist enemy, ultimately Israel, there to try and drag them into the war.
Also a call for some sort of a media crackdown to ensure dissent ultimately is suppressed and also praised for how the popular revolt we've seen, what
he called a coup, has been kept down, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Nick Paton Walsh live for us. Thank you so much.
The Israeli prime minister is signaling that he is on the same page as the U.S. president when it comes to the war with Iran. Benjamin Netanyahu says
that Israel acted alone in a strike on Iran's South Pars gas field on Wednesday, causing Tehran to retaliate.
[12:05:10]
That claim, coming despite U.S. and Israeli sources telling CNN the U.S. was aware of the strike. Netanyahu, meantime, says he's agreed to hold off
in any future attacks from a request -- after a quest rather from President Trump.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond asked this question at the prime minister's news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: You've also indicated today that you made a commitment to President Trump not to strike these oil and
gas facilities in the future.
Should President Trump come to you one day and say, oil prices are too high, it's time to end this war. Will you listen to him? And do you need
the United States in order to continue this campaign alone?
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I don't think any two leaders have been as coordinated as President Trump and I. He's the leader. I'm,
you know, his ally. America is the leader.
But ultimately, President Trump makes his own decisions. And do I respect them? Yes, I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us live now from the White House. So, Kevin, I thought there were a few things that were quite interesting about
what the prime minister said there. Number one, he really tried to ensure that at least in the public eye, there was no daylight between the U.S. and
Israel.
But he also made it very clear that the U.S. was the leader. The U.S. was in charge. They were the ones that were calling the shots. Israel was just
sort of following along.
And that is important, especially after the resignation we got this week of a senior American intelligence official who essentially said that he
couldn't, in good conscience, support the war in Iran that the U.S. was embroiled in. And he said that it was Israel that had led the U.S. into
this war.
The prime minister --
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right.
ASHER: -- also not specifying what he would do necessarily if the U.S. decided that they were going to take an early off-ramp and leaving that
part of it vague as well, Kevin.
LIPTAK: Right. And, you know, there have been so many questions about whether or not Israel essentially dragged the U.S. into this war. Marco
Rubio, some weeks ago, essentially said that out loud before reversing himself and, of course, the White House had denied that and President Trump
had denied that his arm was twisted into joining Netanyahu in attacking Iran.
And so you do see an effort now, really on both sides, here at the White House, but also on the part of Netanyahu to ensure that the two seem
aligned.
But even though both of them used that word coordinated, I don't think there's any question that even if their militaries are working very closely
together that their objectives in this war are beginning to diverge.
And you have seen that just over the last several days really come into sharper focus with this attack on the Iranian gas field with some of the
actions that Netanyahu has taken and the IDF have taken to take out Iranian leadership.
It does seem pretty clear that Israel's objectives in this conflict go well beyond those very, you know, quantifiable military goals that the White
House has laid out, whether it's to take out the ballistic missiles, ensure they aren't able to build a nuclear weapon, taking out the Navy, you know,
those are the very specific outlines that the White House has said they're trying to achieve here. But Netanyahu is clearly going much, much further.
And when you talk to American officials, many of them do acknowledge that Israel is going on sort of a scorched earth campaign here. They seem to
want to cut off, not only the Iranian leadership, but also Iran's sources of revenue, you know, their energy supplies, essentially trying to lead to
a failed state. And that's something that a lot of Western officials, particularly in Europe, believe is Israel's ultimate objective here. That
is not what the White House is trying to achieve.
And President Trump, I think, sees pretty clearly that going after the oil infrastructure is only going to be spell trouble down the line, you know,
when he decides this war is going to end.
I don't think there's any question that the president wants Iran to be able to have those resources in order to rebuild because I don't think he wants
to pay for it and be involved in what is going to be a very, very messy process.
And so despite the claims of coordination, it seems pretty evident that the two sides, Israel and the United States, are pulling further apart in what
they're trying to accomplish.
ASHER: All right. Kevin Liptak, live for us. Thank you.
Oil prices could remain higher for longer than expected. Goldman Sachs has warned that higher prices could last through 2027. The reason is oil -- the
oil infrastructure rather in the Middle East is damaged. And the main way to get it out the Strait of Hormuz is effectively, right now, shut down.
At last check, Brent Crude is trading above a hundred dollars a barrel, $109 to be precise. And the U.S. benchmark WTI is trading slightly under
that, $96 a barrel.
[12:10:01]
The international energy agency says, the conflict has triggered the largest disruption to supply in the history of the global oil market. It
says, there are ways that you can reduce the amount of energy consumed and save money.
First, work from home, whenever possible. If you do drive, slow down. Reducing your speed will actually use less gas and won't extend your
commute by much.
Of course, using public transportation or ride sharing is always cheaper. And avoid air travel if there are alternative options available.
The war in Iran is also changing international travel, particularly air travel, of course.
So, what should you do if you are planning a summer trip?
Clint Henderson is known as The Points Guy. He joins me live now.
So, obviously, this has appended the travel industry really across the world, but obviously you are in the United States, so we can talk about
U.S. airlines.
It is far more expensive than it was. Oil prices rising. If you have a trip planned in the summer, next week, the week after next, next month, what
should you do?
CLINT HENDERSON, MANAGING EDITOR, THE POINTS GUY: Well, if you have already booked, you're in a better position than most folks who are just looking to
start booking summer travel now, where we've seen price increases anywhere from 10 percent to 50 percent on domestic trips within the U.S. That's
according to a Deutsche Bank survey out last week.
And we are, at The Points Guy, are telling people, go ahead and book your holiday trips now, because we're not sure what's going to happen with the
price of jet fuel. It's already sky rocketed. Ticket prices are already going up.
In the U.S., we're fortunate if you book a main cabin ticket and the price drops later, you can get a trip credit. So that helps alleviate some of the
stress.
But look, it's -- it's not just the Middle East, the airspace that's been really severely impacted by this crisis. You know, a lot of Americans fly
through the Middle East to get onward destinations.
I was supposed to travel through Abu Dhabi to get to South Africa on Monday. That flight has been canceled. So there are real implications here.
And it's led to really a surge in ticket prices across the board.
ASHER: If you want to get a deal, I mean, you know, I'm -- I'm based in the U.S. as well. I'm in New York. And oftentimes, when I travel international,
I like to stick to the same airline. I like to go with the airlines that I know and I feel comfortable with. I do have certainly a fear of flying, so
that is one way to mitigate that for me.
Should people be a bit more flexible and just go with the airlines that they -- they -- they barely even heard of in order to get a better deal?
HENDERSON: So, it really depends on your personal preference. You know, a lot of people are very loyal to Delta Airlines, for example. They won't
think of flying anyone else.
But if you want deals, flexibility is the key word. There's a couple things you can do is set Google flight alerts, track where you want to go.
If you're -- if you're flexible with the destination, you can save even more money. But if you really want the rock bottom deals, you're going to
have to be flexible and not super loyal to one airline.
Because frankly, that's what they're counting on when they set up these programs and -- and make you lock in because they don't want you checking
other airlines. But competition is king when it comes to finding flight deals.
ASHER: Yes, of course. Tim (ph) Henderson, we've got much more to talk about, especially as it pertains to airports and wait times and all the TSA
chaos, so do to stick around for just a moment.
As we enter the weekend, air travelers across the United States are dealing with long waits to get through airport security.
One Atlanta traveler tell CNN, they waited more than three hours. Three hours to get through security. And actually, they ended up missing their
flight, by the way.
It's the same at a lot of busy airports. This was a security line in Houston, Texas. The problem is, of course, as we were reporting, the TSA
workers are calling out sick at five times the normal rate. That's because they're not getting paid because of a partial government shutdown.
And the U.S. transportation secretary says the situation is actually going to get worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: And they're about to miss another payment. This is going to look like child's play what's happening
right now. You're going to see small airports, I believe, shut down. You're going to see extensive lines.
And air travel is going to almost come to a -- to a -- to a grid hole. Stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Ryan Young joins us live now from Atlanta with more. I mean, Ryan, it's a -- it's a tricky one because obviously you can't really expect
people to rush and be excited to go to work if they're not being paid. It makes total sense that they don't want to go to work. But that line behind
you, my goodness, that looks long.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the shorter line. So, Zain, we've been making your producers a little nervous here
because of the fact we were trying to get in this little space right here. So, we can show you the back half of this line.
So, if you look all the way down there, it's -- it's passed as far as the eye can see. People waiting in the line. And they want to get to this front
part right here because from here, the hope is that it'll be under an hour to all the way through, maybe.
[12:15:03]
So, Stu is our veteran photojournalist. He's going to join me as we make this walk this direction. I want to show you. Once they get here, they're
hoping that this will be under an hour.
What we've been learning from the people that we've talking to, it's been over an hour and a half to get through this line as it snakes back and
forth. And this has been going on all day long.
Normally by 12 o'clock, we see the rush die down. It goes under two minutes. Everything's been OK, but that's not been the case today. We count
maybe one, two, three, four, five. Five lines open on this side plus pre- check.
At one point, the pre-check line, which is the expedient way to get through this airport. We've been finding out that some folks waited over an hour
and a half to get through that line as well.
This has been crushing people. We talked to a family that got here this morning at 2:45 A.M. Their flight was out at six o'clock. Guess what? They
did not make the flight. So everyone was sitting on the outside sort of just waiting to see what would happen next.
We talked to some travelers who say, they cannot believe this is an ongoing mess. Take a listen.
OK. No problem. We don't have that sound right now. I can tell you what they said. They said they can't believe that Congress still gets paid while
all this is going on. They can't believe that the TSA doesn't get paid.
I just spoke to a TSA agent. They moved here in July to take this job. They've had to be able to ask for not only for their rent to be pushed
back, but they've also had to ask for their car payment to be pushed back.
And so far, they got one extension for the car payment, but they're not sure what's going to happen next with the rent.
Again, this is the line that people are seeing all through American cities. This one's pretty bad here at Hartsfield-Jackson. We also know the one in
Houston has been pretty bad, backed up.
The international terminal for all our international flights out of this busy airport. That was also impacted earlier this week. They've been asking
people to make sure, especially for those international flights, they arrive four hours before their flight takes off.
We talked to a family today trying to go to Jamaica. I'm not sure they made it. They were communicating with us. They got here at 6:45 at 9:15. They
were just leaving the area there at security.
So it's one of those things where you have to cross your fingers. But even the folks who work here say, they've never seen it this bad, this
sustained. And we're waiting to find out what the numbers of callouts are today.
They've been giving vouchers to the workers here so they can pay for food. How long can they do that?
ASHER: Gosh. The line -- I mean, the line behind you is so ugly. But I did see a kid waving at the camera. So the good news is that --
YOUNG: Yes.
ASHER: Oh, my God. The good news is that you're entertaining people, right? As they wait. As they wait.
YOUNG: We're in the middle of it all, right? Yes, exactly. We're in the middle of it all because we want to show you as much as possible.
ASHER: Yes. Ryan, thank you so. I hope you don't have a flight anywhere soon. Hopefully not.
YOUNG: No, not today.
ASHER: OK. Good, good, good.
All right. Ryan Young, thank you so much.
YOUNG: All right.
ASHER: Let's return to Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy.
So, Clint, we laugh, but it's not funny because, A, you have people who are not being paid, but those lines are so horrific. I mean, we're talking
about people waiting in line for three hours and still missing their flights.
My question to you is, as I was listening to Ryan, I was thinking to myself, my gosh, what is the lesson here? Because you're getting to the
airport three -- three hours early. Earlier than you would, and you're still not making it on the flight.
Is it better to -- if you -- if you haven't booked your ticket yet, is it better to fly out of smaller airports where people have better luck at
smaller airports or not really?
HENDERSON: It really depends. That's the problem with this. It's so chaotic because you don't know where these long lines are going to pop up next
because you don't have insight into who's calling in sick at which airport.
The problem is, as you heard earlier in that sound bite, they're talking about closing some small airports down. So that's my fear.
I will give your -- your viewers one tip. There is CLEAR, a private company that runs security at some airports. You can go and sign up on the spot for
CLEAR and get whisked to the front of the line. So that may be an option for some travelers.
But I think getting to the airport three or four hours early, not a bad idea. I'm leaving from Atlanta on Monday. Now, after seeing your video, I'm
terrified, how early I have to get to the airport. But also airport --
ASHER: Yes. You should stay the night at the airport.
HENDERSON: I know.
ASHER: Sleep on the bench, my advice to you.
HENDERSON: Airport websites will actually show you the wait time. So at least that will give you some information because the TSA websites are not
being updated right now.
ASHER: You mentioned CLEAR. My understanding is CLEAR is -- is quite expensive for a lot of ordinary people. So, I -- I hope that they have a
free trial. Get the free trial and then cancel a week later. If that is --
HENDERSON: Exactly.
ASHER: If that is possible.
Clint Henderson, thank you so much. I appreciate it. All right.
HENDERSON: Good to see you.
ASHER: A spring break trip to Barcelona ends in tragedy. An American college student is found dead after a night out.
[12:20:59]
Up next, what investigators know about what exactly happened?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Family and friends are mourning the loss of an American college student after a spring break trip to Barcelona took a devastating turn.
Twenty-year-old James Gracey parted ways with friends while clubbing early Tuesday and was last seen alive around 3:00 A.M., relative say. He was
later found dead in the shallow water in front of the same nightclub.
CNN's Melissa Bell has the latest on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the nightclub here in Barcelona, the Shoko nightclub, where the young James Gracey was last seen in the very
early hours of Tuesday morning here along the boardwalk of the Catalan City.
He'd been out celebrating with friends. He'd only arrived in the city the day before on Monday, having spent a couple of days in Amsterdam. It was
spring break. He'd come over to visit friends who were staying here in Barcelona.
And then at about 3:00 A.M. got separated from his friends and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Then a desperate search ensued.
We understand from a Facebook post from his mother that authorities had found his phone that it may have been stolen. But then the terrible news on
Thursday evening that his remains had been found just a short walk over there.
Somewhere in the waters, the shallow depths just off the coast. Shortly afterwards, local authorities confirming that they were indeed the remains
of James Gracey, Jimmy, as he was known to his friend.
The eldest of five children, a keen hockey player, the chaplain of his fraternity. He was just about to finish his junior year. His father just
too distraught to make the trip down to the boardwalk where the remains were found.
A lot of questions still remain that we might not get the answers to just yet because the investigation continues. The autopsy will take some time.
We understand there are questions about who had his phone, what authorities have been able to find on it and what they were able to piece together
about whether or not he left the nightclub alone.
Still, local police are saying that they believe that his death was accidental rather than the result of a criminal act.
Melissa Bell, CNN, Barcelona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Coming up, CNN's Fred Pleitgen takes us inside Tehran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We hear jets going overhead. You hear bombs dropping. And you hope that you're not in
the vicinity of something that's getting hit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[12:25:05]
ASHER: Details ahead on the thousands of Iranian civilians injured as this war is set to enter a fourth week. That's after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.
Brand-new images just into CNN. A fragment of an Iranian missile has landed in the old city of Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SIREN)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Sirens rang out multiple times in Jerusalem today. The Israeli police say they're working to neutralize the fragment.
The Palestinian Red Crescent says one person has been taken to the hospital with shrapnel injuries. We're working on getting more details on this
incident.
As war with Iran enters its 21st day, day-to-day life for Iranians has been greatly affected. Iranian state media says that over 18,000 Iranian
civilians have been injured since the conflict began.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen reflects on his decade of visits to Iran and why this trip has proven more difficult than others.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PLEITGEN: OK. We're hearing jets overhead. It's (INAUDIBLE) going off. They're told to get out of here as fast as possible.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): For more than a decade, my colleague Claudia Otto and I have been coming to Iran.
Reporting from the Islamic Republic is never easy. But facing an open-ended American and Israeli military campaign, the Iranian government is now up
against, maybe its biggest challenge since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and maybe even the Iran-Iraq war starting in 1980.
This trip in the opening days of America and Israel's war would prove to be harder than most.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we should go.
PLEITGEN: Yes, we should go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should go. We go. We go. We go.
[12:30:06]
PLEITGEN: It looks like a chimney, though, doesn't it? Anyway, something was hit.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): With Iran's airspace closed, we drive for two days from Armenia, approaching Tehran in the early morning hours.
CNN was the first Western broadcast media outlet granted visas since the war began.
Reporting in Iran during a time of war is complicated. We have full editorial control over what we publish, but need permission anytime we want
to film.
We're almost certainly being monitored, and so getting the perspective of everyday Iranians can be complicated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text through translation): Excuse me.
PLEITGEN: There are a lot of bombings. And, of course, it's also quite scary when you hear jets going overhead, you hear bombs dropping, and you
hope that you're not in the vicinity of something that's getting hit.
So it's certainly a very difficult situation for the folks who live here in Tehran, and many are telling us that they're basically just trying to get
by.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text through translation): Of course there is fear. Anyone saying they're not afraid is lying. Human beings cherish their
lives. So many people have lost their children and their families.
Civilians on the other side are dying too. That isn't right either.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): Attack on Mehrabad Airport was terrifying. I'm terrified to drive here every day.
We're concerned because there's an IRGC base nearby.
We're especially worried about the Mosalla Mosque. If it's bombed, this whole area would be devastated.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Mosalla Mosque is where, after Friday prayers, hardline Iranians gather to rally in support of the government.
(CHANTING "KHAMENEI, THE MARTYR")
PLEITGEN: There are thousands of people here, but, of course, we also have to keep in mind this is just a small snapshot of Iran's society.
And many of the people who come here are, of course, political and religious hardliners.
(CHANTING "JEWISH ARMY, THIS WILL BE YOUR LAST BREATH")
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Religious Shia Muslims strike their heads in ritual mourning for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's late supreme leader killed in
an Israeli airstrike.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We kill Trump. We kill Netanyahu. We kill all of them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text through translation): We will come dressed in shrouds and stand by the future leader, and we will protect them.
Even if, God forbid, they manage to harm the new leader who is announced, we will again stand by the next leader as well, continue with strength.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a (BLEEP) massive airstrike, man.
PLEITGEN: What was in there? Police station?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police station, yes.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): But it's not just America and Israel that threaten the theocratic rule.
(GUNSHOTS)
PLEITGEN (voice-over): This war comes just months after the government crushed massive nationwide demonstrations, leaving thousands of protesters
dead, as even the authorities themselves acknowledged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through text translation): It's absolutely terrifying here. It feels like the end of the world.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): As night sets in, a black cloud rises over the city.
By daybreak, oily water rains down on Tehran. Israel has struck several major oil depots on the edge of the city.
PLEITGEN: There were air raids going on, I would say, for about an hour and a half last night. And you could really hear big impact in various parts of
the city, especially the south, the east and the west, and then we saw that thick smoke in the night sky.
And I'm going to show you above us, you can see that there is black cloud still going overhead.
And one other thing I want to show you as well, we have a white car here so you can really see it. It rained this morning in Tehran. And the rain
seemed to be saturated with oil as well. You can see there's this black soot that's inside the rainwater.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The strikes turned day into night.
PLEITGEN: It's an absolutely apocalyptic scene here. We've just made it to the Shahran oil depot, which was attacked last night in a massive wave of
airstrikes.
We heard those going on for about an hour and a half with massive thuds and then explosions that we could hear. And that thick black plume of smoke, we
saw that last night, and now we're actually seeing it up close.
And what we're also seeing is that some of those destroyed storage tanks are still on fire. There's still flames originating from them.
You can also see here that the area around here is also completely destroyed. There's people here actually working on this electricity pole to
try and get the electricity back.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Israel says it struck the oil depot to, quote, deepen the damage to Iran's military infrastructure.
[12:35:59]
In the hours after the attack, the Trump administration expressed dismay at the bombing. Health authorities say the acid rain, we were also subjected
to, can cause skin and lung damage.
We meet the former foreign minister and now foreign policy adviser to the office of the Supreme Leader, Kamal Kharazi.
PLEITGEN: OK.
KAMAL KHARAZI, FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER TO OFFICE OF IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER: I don't see any room for diplomacy anymore, because Donald Trump had been
deceiving others and not keeping its promises.
And we experienced this in two times of negotiations that while we were engaged in negotiation, they struck us.
PLEITGEN: Do you consider this an existential threat to the Islamic Republic?
KHARAZI: It is an existential threat to the Islamic Republic, and therefore, we have to say with full might. The proof is in the pudding.
What is important for us is the end of this game. And we are ready to continue that game.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Every night, the sound of warplanes reverberates across the city, followed by explosions that shake the windows of our
hotel.
PLEITGEN: Where we are right now is the east of Tehran. And the authorities say there was a massive airstrike that hit a residential building now.
And the reason why the authorities have told us to actually wear masks when we're here on the ground, is they say that obviously this is kicking up a
lot of dust and so it's better to wear a mask just to be protected.
The blast from the bombs that hit this area were so strong that it not only destroyed these buildings, but that it also damaged severely a lot of the
buildings on the other side of the street and in fact in that larger block.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): As the bombing campaign drags on, day by day, airstrike by airstrike, we can feel and hear the anger among those affected
build up, also directed at us as we're viewed as media from Iran's enemy state, the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text through translation): Death to the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text through translation): I was in the basement. I kept bumping into the walls. Then I was under the rubble.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Some of the survivors of this airstrike are clearly still in the state of shock.
As we continue filming, we hear the roar of a jet overhead, then anti- aircraft fire too close for comfort.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we should go.
PLEITGEN: Yes. We should go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We should go. We go. We go. We go.
PLEITGEN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go which way?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That way to the right.
PLEITGEN: OK. We're hearing jets overhead. This anti-aircraft (INAUDIBLE). They told us to get out of here as fast as possible.
Now, there was just a big explosion around here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.
PLEITGEN: Let's go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.
PLEITGEN: So that just goes to show how fast things can turn bad here.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Reports on social media suggest the airstrikes we witnessed, targeted a base of the besieged paramilitary group impacting
surrounding civilian housing.
For the first time in more than 40 years, the future of the Islamic Republic seems deeply uncertain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text through translation): Death to the U.S.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): There is longstanding and widespread discontent with government corruption and mismanagement, but if President Trump hoped that
his airstrikes would lead to a quick and easy transition of power, a pro- American revolution from the streets, it seems he'll be disappointed.
(CHANTING "DEATH TO THE U.S.")
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Meanwhile, Iranians on those streets are hoping for a respite and for President Trump to focus elsewhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Better look to the U.S. population because you -- your country, more than our country, have a problem about economy, about
anything. We are strength. We are more than 7,000 years history. We don't fund to war any countries.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:40:56]
ASHER: All right. Breaking news into CNN. U.S. officials tell CNN that thousands more Marines are deploying to the Middle East in the coming days.
It's unclear when they will arrive or what exactly they will do when they get there.
The deployment comes as President Trump continues to say that he will not put boots on the ground in Iran. We'll update you as and when we get more
details on this particular story.
All right. An A.I. version of the late actor Val Kilmer is set to appear in a new movie.
First Line Films released this generative A.I. image of Kilmer from its upcoming movie titled "As Deep as the Grave."
The filmmakers say that Kilmer had planned to work on this project prior to his death last year. After he passed away, they worked with the actor's
daughter and their state on the project with the intent of honoring his passion for the role.
CNN's Clare Duffy is following this story for us from New York.
Listen, I mean I think a lot of people are a bit uncomfortable with this because the idea of having a deceased person and sort of seeing them as if
they were still alive in a movie, people are creeped out by that.
Just explain what the reaction has been and why the estate ended up agreeing to this.
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, Zain. This is something that has been really controversial in Hollywood. This idea of creating A.I.-generated
actors, in part, because human actors are worried that that could take away their jobs.
But it's interesting to see how this studio, First Line Films, has navigated trying to respect the wishes of, you know, the late Val Kilmer
and also his family in this project.
Kilmer was actually cast in this role five years ago prior to his death. This is a film that is the true story of archaeologists in the American
Southwest discovering the history of the Navajo people.
And Kilmer was cast in this role, in part, because of his Native American heritage in this really crucial role of a spiritual advisor for one of the
main characters.
So after his death last year, the filmmakers realized that they wanted to continue to include him in this film and that A.I. had advanced to such a
place where they could use his significant body of work to create that A.I.-generated image of him that you see there as well as recreating his
voice.
And as you said that this is being done with the full support of his family. His daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, put out a statement saying that Val,
quote, "Always looked at emerging technologies with optimism as a tool to expand the possibilities of storytelling. This spirit is something that we
are all honoring within this specific film of which he was an integral part."
And indeed, Val Kilmer did seem to be an advocate of using this technology after he lost his voice to throat cancer. He used A.I. to create a replica
of his voice in 2021 for his documentary.
And so interesting to see how they're trying to do this in a really delicate way. And there has been some controversy around this, but nothing
like we saw, Zain, last year with the fully A.I.-generated actress, Tilly Norwood.
In that case, Hollywood really reacting negatively to the idea that that A.I.-generated actress could have been created with the help of real actors
work and then replacing their jobs potentially down the line.
[12:45:00]
So, it's interesting to see how Hollywood is sort of grappling with this idea and this new technology that many of them accept is going to be part
of their work, but they want it to feature and compensate the work of real human actors, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Clare Duffy, live for us. Thank you for that report.
All right. Still ahead, whether it's the conflict in the Middle East or nuanced certainty over the cost of living, global turbulence is being felt
on an emotional level for a lot of people.
Next, we take a time out from the headlines and ask an expert how we can look after ourselves in an ever-changing world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Today is Nowruz, the Persian New Year, falling on the Spring Equinox. It is a day of renewal, rejuvenation, and the hope that the
New Year brings peace, or at least an end to the current war in Iran.
This year, Nowruz coincides with the end of Ramadan. Two billion Muslims from all across the world are marking Eid al-Fitr. They'll gather with
family and friends to celebrate breaking a month of fasting, supplication, and reflection.
Earlier today, Muslims gathered in Washington Square Park here in New York to pray together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OMAR NEZIR, WORSHIPER: This is a great day. We have the community over here. It's lovely to see this in New York. I think we're spreading a good
message. Everyone is welcome.
I think people come to this, they become a better person, to Muslims and non-Muslims and it's -- it's great to be able to do this in a place like
New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: If there's a time of deeply conflicting emotion, we want to step away from the headlines for just a moment to focus on how we can safeguard
our own welfare and world that does feel increasingly unsafe.
Our next guest is just the person to talk about that, Razan Shaheen, joins us live now. She's a psychologist at the Insights Therapy Center in
Bahrain.
Razan, thank you so much for being with us. I think I just want to start with the fact that, you know, there are so many different layers to this
story in terms of people being affected by this.
You have, of course, ordinary people in Iran who are trapped, who are dealing with a massive war. God knows how long this war could go on for.
You also have people in Lebanon. We actually just reported on that earlier in the show and the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding there, a million
people displaced.
And again, similar situation with just no idea how long this could go on for -- for Lebanon. And that is a country that has been through so many
crises, especially on the economic front.
[12:50:01]
But then you have this idea that you have, you know, ordinary people across Gulf states. Many people in the UAE, for example, in cities like Dubai and
Abu Dhabi, who are not necessarily used to being in the middle of a conflict.
And, yes, the air defenses in the Gulf region is very robust. But still, there is a feeling of psychological uncertainty and fear.
Give us your take on that and -- and how people can sort of shield themselves from this emotionally and psychologically.
RAZAN SHAHEEN, PSYCHOLOGIST, INSIGHTS THERAPY CENTER: You're definitely right that there is so much uncertainty in the air and you're right that
each country is kind of experiencing it differently, or each region is experiencing it differently.
So for the GCC, yes, this is very, very different. I think most people here have never quite experienced anything like this before.
And adding that layer of newness, adds also to the uncertainty because there is a lot of we don't necessarily know what's going on. We don't know
when it will end.
The sounds and all of that that we also experience here. But how to deal with the uncertainty as well is an important topic. And it's something that
we've been talking about a lot here, especially that, like you said, also the GCC in general, they're relatively safe.
The government's doing a great job at taking care of us. And that adds a level of safety for us here.
But in general, to deal kind of with the uncertainty, it is really hard. And it's nice here that there's a community that helps with that, too.
So for example, today is great. So even a lot of people who celebrate and also notice (INAUDIBLE) to everyone as well.
And so, again, we want to try to keep up with normalcy because that gives our brain something to -- to hold on to with all of the -- the chaos and
all the unknown.
Having routine structure gives our brain something to -- it's almost like a little milestone of what our brain can look forward to, of what we know.
And so that ends up being really helpful, actually, for our psyche. So definitely keeping up with normal traditions like, you know, wearing your
Eid clothes, getting your hair done, going to the barber, whatever it might be, you know, visiting family, going to prayers, keeping up with that sense
of normalcy, as long as it's OK with the government guidelines and safety.
ASHER: Yes. I mean, you mentioned the GCC and -- and just how -- how much of an, in your words, a good job, the governments in that region have done
are keeping ordinary people safe. Despite the fear from the sound of explosions, as I was saying, the air -- air defense systems across the
Gulf, extremely robust.
And so most people, as I understand it, feel safe at this point in time. You're saying that just sort of keeping up your normal routine, keeping up
traditions, having something to look forward to, is really good.
But if you are, for example, in Lebanon, in Southern Lebanon, especially, and you have been displaced from your home, for example, and the area where
the IDF has ordered evacuations from is a very vast area.
So a lot of people don't necessarily know where to go, where it's safe to go. You're seeing entire neighborhoods in southern Beirut really
experiencing the brunt of this conflict. What do you do then? Like, psychologically, especially for young children, mothers with young
children.
I mean, how do you stay sane in that kind of environment?
SHAHEEN: You're right. It's definitely a very different ball game in -- in places like Lebanon and in Iran as well, definitely.
So I think in places like that, the concern ends up being very different because there's more of a legitimate life threat. So it does end up being
literally kind of focusing on, OK, what's happening right now?
You know, are my kids OK? Are my mom OK? Is whoever OK? What happened? Where are we? Kind of doing our best to stay to be present. Because either
way, if it's -- we just heard an explosion or we just heard something, that's naturally how our brain is going to process if we're safer, if we're
not safe.
That will be kind of the first thing. Our brain is not really going to be thinking about, how do I stay sane? It's going to be, how do I stay safe?
And so it does end up being yes.
OK. This is where community honestly really, really comes into play. I think one of the things that, unfortunately, in tragedy, but also
fortunately, in tragedy, community ends up being a very, very, very important part.
Our social connections end up being a huge protective factor in whether something's developing into a trauma or not.
So just having a sense of community honestly is going to be incredibly helpful. People helping one another. Feeling like there's almost a sense of
purpose as well. This is why you find a lot of people turn to being helpful, turn to communities, and trying to see what is missing, and how
can we help and all of that.
[12:55:14]
These are all things that also do really help in the moment. Sort of once the -- once the danger has kind of passed, then we kind of have the ability
to move into thinking about other things essentially.
And even predictability doesn't have to be anything too dramatic. It could just be trying to find ways to -- to sleep at around the same time every
day. Meals that possible at around the same time every day. A kind of a little bit of structure helps us stay in the -- in the presence.
ASHER: All right. Razan Shaheen, thank you. Thank you so much from your -- for your perspective there. We appreciate it.
All right. The chart toppers that are BTS are back in action and back on the stage after almost four very long years, especially if you're a fan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: A stunning display in the skies over Seoul as drones formed images of the music superstars. They're back with their new album, Arirang, out
now.
The band will perform in Seoul on Saturday. Their first live show since completing their military service, which is why they were on such a long
hiatus.
The first live show since completing the military service, as I mentioned, the superstars then jet off on a world tour. And, of course, we hope you
have your tickets.
That does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. We appreciate you watching. "Amanpour" is up next. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
