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One World with Zain Asher
Burnham: Leadership Process Will Be Underway Soon; Political Turmoil As U.K. Prime Minister Announces Resignation; High-Levels U.S.-Iran Talks Conclude, Technical Work To Continue; Temperatures To exceed 40C In Deadly European Heat Wave; Former U.S. Fed Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan Dies At 100; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired June 22, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:41]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. We're following two big stories this hour; the first is the latest on the war in Iran. We've
just learned that Marco Rubio will be traveling to the Middle East for the first time since the memorandum of understanding was signed.
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Isa Soares live for you there from Downing Street. I'll be bringing you the very latest, of course, on the resignation of
British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
And we begin right here at Downing Street, the epicenter really throughout today of British politics, now the scene what we have seen the last few
hours of political earthquake.
In the past few hours, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation, meaning, basically the race is on to find a new head of
government. And that will be just put into context for you, the sixth leader in just seven years.
And it's likely come in the form of this man. Have a look. This is former mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham. He was sworn in as an M.P. just
in the past few hours, meaning, he can now formally challenge Mr. Starmer as leader of the ruling Labour Party.
The process is expected to begin next month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY BURNHAM, BRITISH LABOUR MP: I made my statements, obviously, praising the prime minister's dedication, service and confirmed that I will put
myself forward in the process that will soon be underway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Rishi Sunak did that and he became prime minister, you called for a general election, would you be looking to do the same?
BURNHAM: I think you're jumping several hurdles ahead there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, Clare Sebastian is here with me here at Downing Street with much more to try and make sense of what has happened.
You were here when Prime Minister Starmer spoke and clearly very visibly emotional day. It was almost inevitable, wasn't it, given what we've seen
over the weekend?
Speak to that pressure and this moment, because he did come into government just only two years ago with quite a landslide.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I think this was the statement, this was the speech that he had been so fighting to avoid for
the past few months as we've seen multiple instances like this where people questioned his leadership and he even started to face pressure from inside
the party but this time was different, of course,
But this still happened quickly, right? In Friday morning he was saying, if there's a leadership race, I'll run in it. I don't want to walk away.
Over the weekend, he started to sort of collect his thoughts. There was clearly pressure coming from the highest echelons of the Labour Party.
His team came out on Sunday and started to message around the sort of political realities that he was facing and finally we made it to this
moment. As you say just under two years since that landslide victory that swept in the Labour Party after 14 years of conservative government.
So, look, I think for Keir Starmer, there were a few things that went wrong here. It's not that you can't just point to one thing. There has been a
precipitous decline in his popularity rating, but a few missteps, the winter fuel payment to pensioners that he cancelled at the beginning of his
term and then had to sort of slightly reverse course on that.
Peter Mandelson destabilized his government, appointment of Peter Mandelson as the British ambassador to Washington, and then, of course, it emerged in
the Justice Department files just how close his relationship was to Jeffrey Epstein and he had to be fired. Starmer had to apologize. That scandal
resurfaced again and again.
But when we made it to May 7th and those local and regional elections where Labour was wiped out in so many areas, yes, it was a huge wake-up call to
the party that his popularity had just declined to the extent that many felt that they could no longer go on.
But, obviously, everyone waited to see what would happen with the by- election last week and Andy Burnham's decisive victory, I think, really strengthened the case for change here.
SOARES: Clare Sebastian, thank you very much.
Well, Martin Farr is a senior electorate in contemporary British history at Newcastle University. His expertise centers on British politics, the
political party's elections and media and he joins us now live.
Martin, great to have you here on the show. Let me pick up really what Clare was just saying there. How much did those by-elections that we saw
just last -- last week. How much did that change? Was that -- what changed the landscape here for Keir Starmer?
MARTIN FARR, HISTORY LECTURER, NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY: Well, the by-election meant that he could be an MP. So in one -- in one literal legal sense, it
was required, but the key point was the extent of the victory. It was much greater than expected.
It was a very important by-election for a number of reasons. And the most important one, I think, for Burnham as prime minister designate, which he
effectively is, was that he could face down the threat that reform poses in former Labour areas. The Northwest is one of those areas.
[12:05:11]
He's tried to stand in the Gorton-Denton by-election earlier in the year and was prevented by the Prime Minister Keir Starmer from doing so, because
it was obviously going to be a challenger to him in the House of Commons.
Starmer's position then was quite weak and it was the action of a weak prime minister, but his authority has leached so much since then. He was
unable to prevent Burnham from standing in Makerfield.
And in a way, it's been better for Burnham because Makerfield was a much more marginal constituency for him to win than Denton and Gorton in the
sense that it was very high on the list of the seats that Reform has to win to be a governing party. In the top 10 of the seats, Reform had to win in
the next general election.
So although it was a harder task to win the election as by-election for Burnham, were he to do so, it would be a greater statement. And for him to
have done so with such a large majority was an enormous statement. And it's given him enormous momentum and authority to replace Starmer and to provide
the kind of opposition, the kind of challenge to reform which his party are desperate for, because they're very concerned that for the first time in
British history, there could be a party of the far right if this Labour government does not get its act together.
SOARES: Right. So he -- he surprised many, of course, with our by-election. He is known and viewers probably know this, he's -- as the King of the
North. What does he have to do now? We know we mentioned he became an M.P. in the last few hours.
What does he have to do now, Martin, to try become the King of the East, the West and the South?
FARR: Well, it's true to say that his appeal is very much as -- as a non- Southerner, as a non-Londoner, and that matters much more in the North than it does in the South. And that -- that itself tells the tale.
He's very affable, very personable, very relatable. None of those terms apply to -- to Keir Starmer, who wasn't able to come across in -- in a
natural way in the way that Andy Burnham does.
So, I think his appeal would be quite, if not universal, would be much, much wider. However, he will inherit the same list of challenges that Keir
Starmer will leave on his desk. And his charm alone will not be sufficient to overcome those.
He's -- he's thought to be on the soft left more so than Keir Starmer, much more of the Labour Party than Keir Starmer. And I think it's absolutely
critical who he picks as his Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The bond markets are watching very closely, not least because he dismissed himself in rather injudicious comments earlier in the year. So that's the
key part of it. Also having a team together who are able to advise and to plan because it's ironic that the main reason the Starmer government failed
is I think it wasn't properly planned or prepared for government, yet, it had years to do so.
This new government will have a matter of days to do so and the electorates increasingly impatient as are the markets. And so it needs to hit the
ground running.
SOARES: Yes. Markets, as we all know need stability, Martin. You -- you point -- you had a couple of points that I want to pick one if you don't
mind, want to expand on rather the question of what he stands for.
Many people don't know very much about him other than he is the king of the north and he's a very charismatic man. What does he -- where does he stand
do we know on foreign policy? Just for our viewers watching internationally, do we have a sense of where he stands on -- on foreign
policy, of course?
FARR: Of all the policy areas, that's the one we know least about because he never held a role in government or in opposition related to foreign
affairs.
But in fact, it's normal actually that the opposition, new prime ministers don't have relation to foreign affairs before they're in office. And then
suddenly it overwhelms them, as it did for Keir Starmer.
And curiously, in his case, he was least qualified in the area of foreign policy. And yet, it was the area where he was most proficient, most
comfortable, most confident.
So, Burnham will have this to inherit. He will have a clean slate with President Trump. He's known to be sympathetic to the European Union, as was
for Keir Starmer, but is constrained in the way that Keir Starmer was. He's a remainder like to Keir Starmer, but isn't thought of as being part of
this kind of London set of pro E.U. politicians because he has his roots in the north.
He can relate much more to the skepticism that northern voters had about the European Union and why they voted to leave in the first place.
But I think the key point whether to retain Yvette Cooper as foreign secretary or moves her to be Chancellor. But there's no clear foreign
policy prospectus for this new prime minister.
SOARES: And we're talking about him, Martin, as if he's already won, as if he's going about to move in.
Do you -- where do you see the leadership contest now? Will others -- we know that Wes Streeting, he's -- he's made it clear that he's not throwing
his hat in the ring. He is supporting Andy Burnham.
Do you think others will take this as an opportunity to go for it? Or do you think that the path has been cleared for -- for Burnham?
FARR: I think where Burnham won his by-election in Makerfield last week by one vote, would been unlikely that he'd be challenged because he's so
popular in the parliamentary party and in the membership of the party. He would vote ultimately on any candidates who were standing for election.
But the size of his victory means that it's inconceivable. I think he'll be challenged. Streeting was the only likely candidate to stand against him
because he's from a different part of the party.
[12:10:03]
I was watching this very closely today and it's -- it's hard to describe just to see. And it's -- it's unprecedented. It's an incredible situation
for a prime minister within two years of their election with a huge majority in parliament to be announced by a person who is not effectively
in parliament. This momentum happened before the make-up for by-election.
And to watch Andy Burnham govern his train in Manchester down to Euston as Harold Wilson did in October '64 from the North West, the last northern
prime minister was in 1964, and that's a big part of his appeal is very striking.
Wilson won an election as leader of the Labour Party. Burnham has come into parliament to unseat a Labour leader. It's an incredible situation. And
there was much goodwill and warmth in the chamber when he signs the oath as a new M.P.
But I think the situation does betray a sense of crisis, a genuine sense that there are very serious stakes at play here.
And as he said in his victory speech in Makerfield, this really is the last chance, not merely for the Labour Party or this government, possibly for
the British system of politics as we've known it.
SOARES: Yes. Well, he promised change. Let's just see how much change he actually does bring if he does, of course, if and when he makes his way to
10 Downing Street.
Martin Farr, senior lecturer at Newcastle University. Thanks very much, Martin. Really appreciate it.
And, of course, I'll be back in about what 15 minutes. Zain and Bianna, much more from Downing Street in what has been quite a dramatic day in
British politics.
ASHER: Yes. Seven prime ministers right in a decade. So --
SOARES: Yes.
ASHER: So --
GOLODRYGA: It's almost like the (INAUDIBLE).
SOARES: I'll tell you what, currently, I think -- I'll tell you what, I think Larry the Cat's probably been here longer. He's probably have the
longest time in office, right?
ASHER: Oh, yes, yes. Since 2011.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
ASHER: Since 2011.
SOARES: Yes. There you go. Exactly.
GOLODRYGA: He's seen so much. All right.
ASHER: Isa Soares, thank you for that. We'll be back with you shortly.
All right. As we mentioned at top of the hour, America's top diplomat Marco Rubio is expected to travel to the Middle East this week. Rubio will be the
first cabinet official to visit the region following the signing of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.
Meantime, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is heading home from Switzerland. This follows what he calls a quote, very good day of U.S.-Iran
negotiations.
GOLODRYGA: Vance says Iran has agreed to admit U.N. nuclear monitors into the country and that technical teams will continue talks this week.
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We laid a very good foundation for a successful final deal. The -- the final deal is the house.
We -- we set the foundation. We haven't built the house, but we've laid a successful foundation to get to a good place for the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: As for clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, Vance calls those talks a, quote, work in progress. This after Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep a security zone in southern Lebanon for, quote, as long as necessary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: No matter what happens in the talks, with an agreement, without an agreement, I pledge to you that Iran,
as long as I'm prime minister, will never have a nuclear weapon. Never.
As long as we need to protect our people, we will remain in the security zone in south Lebanon. And the reason, the reason is perfectly understood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Donald Trump is framing the moment as a big win for Americans, but early numbers from an upcoming analysis are telling quite a different
story.
CNN business senior reporter David Goldman joins us now with that part of the story. Just talk about the cost of the war here and how Americans are
feeling about it, David.
DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. There's a lot of ways that you can talk about the cost of a war. Let's just talk about the
easiest one first, which is the dollar figure. We're looking at around $40 billion for the United States.
Now, this is a lot of money, obviously, but I might not even cover all of that dollar figure. That's why I wrote at least here, right, because
there's another $20 billion that the Pentagon has asked for on top of the $1 trillion budget that they have every year that allows them to pull
operational costs out of that. So, it's at least $40 billion and that's the cost of taxpayers.
But it doesn't end there. Of course, there's also the economic costs. So that's why I wanted to focus on this number, which is 4.2 percent. People
in the United States are familiar with that. That is the inflation rate that we had.
Now, remember, this was under three percent before the war started and it is going to continue to rise potentially after we have already gotten out
of, well, or at least signed that memorandum of understanding.
And that is because even though gas prices start to fall, even though, you know, diesel prices have started to fall, there is more that goes into the
cost of living for Americans that could continue to rise for quite some time.
[12:15:00]
Now, there's also one more cost I wanted to talk about, and that is the oil market. Look at this number. This is 1.15 billion barrels of oil that have
been lost since the beginning of this war.
What does that mean? Well, it means that this is the amount of oil that would have come through the Strait of Hormuz that never did, right?
And so what has happened is that all of those oil stockpiles that we've seen have been diminished. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the 32 member
IEA countries, those are the big Western countries, at their lowest level since 1990. That is alarming because if there is a problem, then obviously,
it's going to be hard to fix it.
But there's another problem too. The reserves, the commercial reserves in Cushing, Oklahoma are at 20 million barrels right now. That is at its
operational low. It's like when you hit the spigot and you try to get the coffee out of an urn and it doesn't drip anymore, my nightmare. That's
what's happening in the oil market right now. And that's because of what has happened.
So, what does this all mean? Now you have a clearer picture of what the cost is.
ASHER: It means we should also be less dependent on coffee. It's my nightmare as well, David.
GOLDMAN: Listen, you know, I try to bring you some good news but you keep getting me these stories of, you know, I could use a little bit of coffee
right now.
ASHER: When do you try to get most confused? When?
GOLODRYGA: David, our good news is that this show is at 12:00 noon for you.
GOLDMAN: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: And we don't call you at 7:00 A.M. to come on and report.
GOLDMAN: That's right. That's right.
GOLODRYGA: So just remember us when you need one last cup of coffee to stay awake.
GOLDMAN: That's right. That's right. Thank you so much for that.
ASHER: Thanks, David. Appreciate it.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Still to come on "One World," a massive fireworks display in Oklahoma this weekend. The only problem, it was not intentional.
We'll tell you what happened, next.
ASHER: And when we come back, it is so hot in Europe. That one country is actually restricting alcohol consumption. We'll have the latest on what
could be a record-breaking heat wave.
GOLODRYGA: And Donald Trump once again blames vandals for defacing the newly renovated reflecting pool. He's now threatening jail time over the
issue as the drama over the troubled renovation continues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's disappointing. I expected to come here and not see the algae.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like green algae. That's nasty color.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:16]
(FIREWORKS)
GOLODRYGA: Sparks flew into the air when a firework stand near Tulsa, Oklahoma, caught fire and detonated on Saturday. It is not clear what
started the blaze.
ASHER: Fortunately, then, nobody was injured in the small town of Broken Arrow. It took multiple crews about 20 minutes to put out the flames.
All right. A sweltering heat wave hitting Europe has turned deadly. And France authorities say that three people died from health issues caused by
extreme heat.
Thousands of schools are closed or are on modified timetables as red heat wave warnings are issued in several areas.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Record-breaking heat is expected in the U.K. as well with forecasters saying there is a high chance this could be the hottest week on
record in June.
CNN's Allison Chinchar is at the CNN Weather Center. So these have become evergreen stories, sadly, Alison, every summer, but it does seem to be
happening earlier and earlier in the summer each year as well. Tell us about this warm weather system.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I mean, as you mentioned, this is the second big heat wave we've had in as many months. So for a lot of these
people, it kind of almost feels like a broken record.
And we're not just talking one country. This is several countries that are going to be dealing with this extreme heat. These are current temperatures.
So you can see 104, 106, 102, even 102 degrees Fahrenheit in Madrid.
Now for our metric folks, again, you're looking at some of these temperatures that are in the upper 30s, even into the low 40s. And this
likely isn't going to be the only day we have those temperatures that are going to be that high.
Look at all of these dots. Now the orange dots you see on the map, those are areas that have broken a daily record. The red dots, a monthly record,
meaning, this is the hottest temperature they've ever had in the month of June. And those gray dots are potential records that are all time records.
Now, these will have to be verified, but some of these areas could break those records. Today, they could break them again, tomorrow, and perhaps
even Wednesday of this week as well. That's why you have a lot of these alerts that are in effect. So these are the alerts that we see for Monday,
but you're likely going to see them continue for several more days. Although they may shift a little bit farther to the east and we'll explain
why.
So this high pressure system is the reason why we are dealing with a lot of these extreme temperatures and it's called a heat dome. So basically that
high pressure just sits tight, but it acts like a lid trapping all of that heat kind of essentially right there at the surface.
It, you know, kind of just forces the warm air to just kind of stay in place. And that's the unfortunate part for a lot of these areas. It's going
to be multiple days of this extreme heat.
Now, once we get towards the very end of the week, we're talking Friday and Saturday, there will be a little bit of relief for areas along the Iberian
Peninsula, but then it starts to heat back up across Central Europe. So places like Germany are now going to start to see their temperatures begin
to increase well above where they normally would be for this time of year.
So again, you've got these alerts. This is for Tuesday. And again, as I mentioned, you're likely still going to see more and more places. See them
even on Wednesday or Thursday. It just might change locations as that heat begins to spread into other countries.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you.
President Trump is now threatening 10-year prison terms for people who allegedly vandalized the troubled reflecting pool on the National Mall.
He's blamed vandals, without evidence, for problems after the blue paint peeled off the bottom.
According to a Trump official, five people were arrested and 14 police reports filed. One of those arrested is three-time U.S. Olympian David
Hearn, who told CNN that he simply touched the blue material.
ASHER: Yes. Visible algae blooms have persisted since Trump's $14 million taxpayer-funded renovation project was completed. Here's what visitors are
saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never seen this many National Guards in the National Park area. They came up to me and two other women asking if --
asking if we've touched it and then just add, promoting us not to, that we would get arrested or charged with vandalism if we did.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've paid all of this money as taxpayers in order to get this fixed and it's still not fixed. And it is -- it's -- it's
disappointing. I expect to come here and not see the algae.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks like green algae. That's a nasty color. Looked like nothing has been done to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The National Park Service has been trying to clean the pool, but Trump said it would need to be drained again for repairs.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Coming up for us, more on Keir Starmer's resignation and emotional goodbye that marked his departure. Our colleague Isa Soares
picks things up from 10 Downing Street up next.
ASHER: Plus, Cape Verde stuns Uruguay in another World Cup draw. We are following reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:25:56]
SOARES: Welcome back to "One World," live from Downing Street. I'm Isa Soares. It's almost 5.30 here in the afternoon.
And our top story this hour, Keir Starmer has resigned as British Prime Minister. And he made his announcement right behind me here on the steps of
10 Downing Street earlier today. Getting emotional as he spoke both about his wife and his children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: When I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important job, being the best
husband I can to my fantastic wife, Vic, who has been a rock by my side through good times and bad. And being the best dad I can to my beautiful
children, who are my pride and my joy. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, despite winning a landslide victory for his Labour Party at the U.K. general election, less than two years ago, Starmer struggled to
win over the public for much of his time in office.
Nominations for a new leader will now open on July 9th. Newly elected M.P. Andy Burnham is currently the only name in the race.
For more on what this means for the future of British politics CNN's Nic Robertson joins me now live from Lucerne in Switzerland.
And, Nic, you and I unfortunately have been here many, many times outside 10 Downing Street, far too many in last 10 years. Just -- just -- I want to
pick up what we heard there from Keir Starmer.
You could see, you could hear in his voice, his voice was shaking right there as he thanked his family and his wife as well.
Can -- can you speak to -- to -- to that moment because clearly he didn't want to be here, he didn't want to be in that position, and but it was
almost inevitable given the developments over the weekend.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. And he'd said all along that if there was a challenge to his leadership, he would fight it.
And he clearly heard from his closest advisors and closest friends, the ones he'd lent -- the ones he'd lent on for -- for advice and support
through his leadership, that that moment had come.
And I think for anyone, if you take this at a very personal level, to hear from one's closest friends that really, sadly, you're just not the person
for the job. You've tried really hard. You're -- you're a great person in so many ways, but this is a time to step aside.
[12:30:12]
So, I -- I think this was something that he was aware that was coming and at a national level and big political level. This is -- and historic
moment. Yes, we've seen a lot of prime ministers come and go in Downing Street in recent years, which is indicative of the changing political
times.
It seems that the tide turns away from the sort of two party politics leaders in position for a long time. There's a bigger churn, the
undercurrent of a -- of a -- of a dwindling and -- and more squeezed economy is probably a factor behind it. Challenges that -- that clearly
Keir Starmer wasn't able to manage.
But I think if you take an even bigger step back for it, what does that say about society today and about, let's just say men in society who generally,
and Keir Starmer was one of those accused of really not showing emotions.
It's rare, I think, and -- and probably there are people better positioned than me to look back at a time when a male prime minister has -- has -- has
left his emotions on the doorstep so clearly like that.
I think that also tells us about evolving society, expectations in society of -- of what we expect from one another and people. So, I think there's a
lot bundled in there. But at a -- at a very personal level, that's a very difficult moment.
And -- and -- and he will now know that his days on the international stage and dealing with issues like Iran and the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon and
on all of that are now dwindling. And -- and perhaps his last outing, which is the last week, the end of the last week, the first week of July rather,
will be the NATO's leaders' summit. And that's also going to be tough for him because the defense budget and (INAUDIBLE) is something he's had to
squeeze.
SOARES: Yes. And, look, I was going to mention Ukraine, where he's obviously been applauded by Zelenskyy today, as well as by the E.U. for
really leading in that front.
I wonder though, Nick, you know, I -- I was hearing from -- from some voters today, some British people today, and they were basically saying to
me, you know, I didn't -- I voted for Keir Starmer.
I -- I have -- I have no vote. I haven't voted for -- for Burnham. I don't even know what he stands for.
Where do you see -- I mean, speak to the challenges for Burnham going ahead, if there's no leadership contest. So far, he's the only one who's
threw his hat in the ring because many were hoping there'll be some sort of debate, challenging of ideas.
What -- what do you think on that? How would that -- how do you think that will land with the British population?
ROBERTSON: Certainly, Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform, is already making that an issue, that this isn't the -- the leader and the agenda that the
country voted for when they voted for Keir Starmer. There was overwhelmingly support for Labour.
Obviously, the political shift has happened in Farage's favor. It would work well for him. It would appear, latest opinion polls, if there were a
general election, he could do well.
So, I think -- I think Starmer's going to -- going to certainly hear that from political opponents. And I think there will be people in his party who
would perhaps guide him against trying to sort of take the line where you feel personally that you feel you need to have the mandate rather than the
country giving the mandate to Labour.
And I think that very much depends on what tone and direction that he sets for the Labour Party and the support that he has within the party.
And I say that in part because, you know, the criticism of Starmer is Labour has actually done some good things. He just hasn't been able to sell
them well.
Does -- does Burnham really need to shift the country much to succeed? Or do you just need to better sell what Labour has been doing?
If he doesn't need to shift the sort of direction of the state, if you will, the party and the country, perhaps therefore he doesn't need to go to
the polls and this is what he will -- he will have to weigh, but it will certainly be a political challenge he'll face.
SOARES: Indeed. He's certainly charismatic and a very good communicator is something we have heard time and time again.
Nic Robertson in Lucerne. Thanks for joining us, Nic. Appreciate it. And I'll be back for you at 7:00 P.M. London time right here with my show, "Isa
Soares Tonight." That is 2:0 P.M. Eastern Time.
For now, I'm going to pass things back to Zain and Bianna. And, ladies, politics, indeed very brutal.
ASHER: Yes. Andy -- Andy Burnham has a lot on his plate just in terms of what he's inherited --
SOARES: Indeed.
ASHER: -- as it pertains to the cost of living crisis, just the U.K. economy. There's so much. The relationship between the U.K. and the United
States with Trump. There's a lot that he is in for. We'll see what happens --
SOARES: Huge entree. Huge entree.
GOLODRYGA: He seems to want the job, so we'll see.
ASHER: Thank you, Isa. Appreciate it.
[12:35:01]
All right.
SOARES: Thanks, ladies.
ASHER: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to the Middle East this week, the first cabinet official to visit the region after
the signing of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.
GOLODRYGA: Vice President J.D. Vance is touting progress after what he calls a very, very good day of negotiations at the high-level talks in
Switzerland. He says he's most excited about Tehran agreeing to admit U.N. nuclear monitors into the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: This is probably what we're most excited about as Americans. The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country.
That is a major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program
in Iran. And that's exactly what we wanted to do. That's exactly what we asked to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The technical teams will continue negotiations to address key issues in the memorandum of understanding.
GOLODRYGA: Time now for The Exchange. We want to take a closer look at these U.S.-Iran negotiations. CNN global affairs analyst Karim Sadjadpour
joins us now. He's a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Karim, always good to see you.
I want to talk about your piece that you wrote over the weekend. They got a lot of pick up online. But -- but first, just these comments from J.D.
Vance in his assessment that these were very, very good talks.
I mean, if you're just looking objectively at what the U.S. has been able to accomplish here, it seems that all of these terms have really been
dictated by Iran in this MOU, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, connecting Lebanon to any deal now, as it pertains to the fighting between
Israel and Hezbollah.
Neither of these were ways that Iran could call the shots on February 27th. Now, they seem to be carrying that leverage. And we've had years of U.N.
inspectors in the country.
So, don't know how much groundbreaking news came out of that headline. Just give us your assessment, Karim.
KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I totally agree with you, Bianna. If you look at that memorandum of understanding, there are 14
points. Really, only one of them asks anything of Iran, and that's on the point of nuclear compromise.
But the other 13 points either heavily favor Iran or they're just kind of neutral diplomatic language. So any objective observer who compares
President Trump's language the opening night of the war in which he talked about, you know, American plans to destroy Iran's missiles and proxies and
maybe even unseat its regime, compared to this document can see that this was a war whose outcome didn't favor the United States, it favored Iran.
And when I listen to Vice President Vance now, what's not really clear to me is -- is his hope kind of a narrow nuclear deal with Iran, or is it a
broader transformation of U.S.-Iran relations, kind of a grand bargain. I see him say a little of both. And there's a danger that they accomplished
neither.
ASHER: And just in terms of the Lebanon issue here, I mean, obviously that is the -- that's the tripwire in all of this. And when you think about the
Israeli perspective, they sort of see Southern Lebanon as basically unfinished business.
But as it pertains to Israel ever defeating Hezbollah, I mean, is that ever going to be a realistic outcome? I mean, the most they seem to be able to
do is sort of -- sort of keep them at bay and diminish their power temporarily until they sort of regroup and get reenergized and get rearmed
by Iran. So, give us your take on that too.
SADJADPOUR: So, I also agree with your instincts, Zain, which is that Lebanese Hezbollah, so long as it has funding from the Islamic Republic of
Iran, will likely continue fighting.
Now, they've been significantly weakened over the last couple years. Their top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed. But that hasn't defeated their
resolve and their -- their willingness to continue fighting.
I think the big source of tension between the United States and Iran and Israel, in this memorandum of understanding, is the issue of sovereignty.
Because Iran says, well, Lebanon is a sovereign country. Israel should respect Lebanese sovereignty and not attack it.
Israel says, yes, indeed, Lebanon is a sovereign country. And therefore, Iran shouldn't be running its militia, Lebanese Hezbollah, which is
launching strikes against us. And that is a -- is an issue which is unlikely to be resolved in the coming months.
GOLODRYGA: And it's an issue that has been really riling the -- the region for decades now. And what the United States seems to agree to, over the
weekend at least, is in a de-confliction cell. That includes Iran in trying to negotiate some sort of ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which is,
of course, I don't think the United States has ever really taken thus far.
[12:40:22]
I do want to ask you about your piece for "The Atlantic" titled, "Trump's Second Gamble on Iran." And this one line stood out to me. You write, the
president's incoherent has become a source of gallows humor among Iranians. Trump went to delete Ayatollah Khamenei. One Iranian told me but he
accidentally pressed update."
And this is a president who continues to say that there has been regime change that they've knocked out two layers of leadership. And this seems to
be, in his words, a more reasonable leadership that he can deal with.
Just explain to our viewers what this leadership, what these new leaders, who they are and what their ideology is.
SADJADPOUR: Well, that's an important question, Bianna. What we've seen is that the top leader obviously was 86-year-old Ayatollah Khamenei. He was
assassinated and replaced by his 56-year-old son, Mojtaba, who, in terms of ideology, is a carbon copy of his father, you know, with supporting
resistance against America and Israel.
He's surrounded by Revolutionary Guard commanders who are similarly men who call themselves principlists. They're loyal to the principles of the
revolution.
And so what we've seen over the last four months is that the conduct, whether it's external or internal conduct of the Islamic Republic hasn't
changed, its regional and nuclear ambitions haven't changed. And so it's difficult for President Trump and Vice President Vance to reconcile.
How is it that four months ago they argued Iran was such a dangerous threat that it required military confrontation, yet, that very same regime, which
hasn't really changed now warrants potentially significant economic concessions? I think that's very difficult policy to reconcile.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Now the president appears to be somewhat sympathetic in allowing them to have ballistic missiles which had been one of the goals in
going into this war and defeating their ballistic missile program, decimating that as well as their proxies and nuclear program.
Karim Sadjadpour, I suggest our viewers go and read your piece as always. Thank you so much for the time. We appreciate it.
SADJADPOUR: Thank you to both.
GOLODRYGA: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:13]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Breaking news this hour, legendary music producer Clive Davis has passed away. Davis worked alongside superstars including
Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, and Billy Joel.
ASHER: Davis' family is remembering him as a, quote, towering figure whose influence changed music forever. He was 94.
And the former U.S. Federal Reserve chair Alan Greenspan has also died at the age of 100. His wife, NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell, said he suffered
complications from Parkinson's disease.
GOLODRYGA: Greenspan served as Fed chair for five terms under four presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan, who nominated him back in 1987.
His nearly 19-year tenure saw a period of great economic change.
Our colleague, Erin Burnett, looks back at his life and legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): When he left the Federal Reserve in 2006, after 18 and a half years at the helm, Alan Greenspan was a legend.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: He has dominated his age like no central banker in history.
BURNETT (voice-over): First appointed Fed chairman by President Reagan, Greenspan oversaw some of the markets' most tumultuous times.
Just two months into the job, on October 19th, 1987, the U.S. stock market crashed, plunging 22 percent in one day, Black Friday. Greenspan was
credited with reassuring investors and later helped steer the U.S. economy through an Asian financial crisis, the dot-com bubble implosion and the
September 11th terror attacks.
But after he left the Federal Reserve and the subprime mortgage meltdown threatened to collapse the world economy, some praise turned to blame.
Critics said Greenspan's policy of low interest rates fueled the housing bubble, and argued that he failed to rein in risky mortgage lending.
ALAN GREENSPAN, FORMER FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Do I like people making unkind remarks about me or my colleagues or things? Of course I dislike it,
but that doesn't make it true.
And the fact that other people have mis -- misunderstandings of how the world works, I'm not going to fret about that. It's not my job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you solemnly swear --
BURNETT (voice-over): Called before congress in 2008, Greenspan didn't admit fault, but acknowledged the free market let him down.
GREENSPAN: I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organizations, specifically banks and others, was such as that they were
best capable of protecting their own shareholders.
That, as I said, shocked me. I still do not fully understand why it happened.
BURNETT (voice-over): Born in 1926 in New York, Greenspan first pursued a career in music, touring with a swing band before giving it up to study
economics.
GREENSPAN: Looking back in retrospect, I kept taking the right path all the time and ending up where I never expected to be.
BURNETT (voice-over): He became a consultant on Wall Street, later advising Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan.
ANDREA MITCHELL, ALAN GREENSPAN'S WIFE AND NBC CORRESPONDENT: Hello, everybody.
BURNETT (voice-over): Greenspan also found time for love, marrying NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell in 1997.
As Fed chief, his words were carefully chosen and often sphinx like, but he always moved markets.
In 1996, wondering if stocks were overvalued, Greenspan posed this question during a speech in Washington.
GREENSPAN: How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated asset values?
BURNETT (voice-over): Within hours, stocks around the world sold off, cementing his reputation as a global economic force.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The testimony you are about to provide --
BURNETT (voice-over): In 2010, Greenspan himself offered this assessment of his career in public service.
GREENSPAN: I was right 70 percent of the time, but I was wrong 30 percent of the time. And there are an awful lot of mistakes in 21 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:57]
ASHER: World Cup underdog, Cape Verde, stunning the world again by staving off a defeat from two-time world champion Uruguay on Sunday.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. The match ended in a draw, two-two. And clearly, Cape Verde fans were ecstatic with the outcome.
CNN's Don Riddell is following the World Cup for us from Atlanta.
This is what I love about sports so much, no matter what sport it is, Don. How many people knew all of the Knicks players' names three weeks ago? Now
all of a sudden, they are the kings of the world. And the same can apply to these Cinderella countries who come into the World Cup with much more
dominant teams, expected to defeat them, to come out on top. And even having a draw is a win for Cape Verde.
Just talk about this enthusiasm and love for this team.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: You're absolutely right. I was at the first game when they drew with Spain, the reigning European champions. And before
the game, I was speaking to a journalist in the press box who said, just being here is our trophy.
And look what they have now done. They have taken points off two teams who are former world champions, Uruguay, as you mentioned, and also Spain, who
won the tournament in 2010.
And this really is now becoming quite an extraordinary fairytale. They took the lead against Uruguay, then they had to come from behind, drawing that
game, two all. It means the Blue Sharks now have a pretty decent chance of making the knockout round.
And I don't know who would have thought that could have been possible before this tournament kicked off.
But I mean, they haven't fluked their way to it. They've defended when they've had to. They've scored goals and been more adventurous when they've
had the opportunities. And a stat that I think is absolutely remarkable. They only conceded one foul in the first game, only four in the second
game.
The average for a World Cup game is that you're going to commit 15 fouls. So, I mean, they've -- they've made five fouls against the average of 30 at
this point.
So, I mean, this is a disciplined, organized team. And their last game against Saudi Arabia in the group is the easiest game they will face. It's
still by no means a gimme.
But there's a real chance they could go to the knockout stage. And it's just an absolutely wonderful story from a country of less than 500,000
people, what, 10 islands off the coast of Africa? I mean, just amazing, everything about it.
GOLODRYGA: Can't wait for that movie.
RIDDELL: Yes.
ASHER: No, they are -- they are phenomenal. And Bianna just say that we are all now Cape Verde supporters these days.
Just in terms of Argentina, because they've got this match against Austria. We saw what Lionel Messi did in the opening game with that hat trick. I
mean, the man is almost 40. I think he's 39. 38, 39 this week.
RIDDELL: Turning 39 soon, yes.
GOLODRYGA: 24th.
ASHER: Yes. And the fact that you can do a hat trick, I mean, the talent is otherworldly. It is otherworldly talent.
What -- what can we expect from this game --
RIDDELL: Well --
ASHER: -- Don?
RIDDELL: I mean, looking at both teams, I think Austria will be a tougher opponent for Argentina. So, I mean, I think they'll give them a game.
[12:55:00]
Am I expecting to see more Messi things and more Messi magic? I think quite possibly. I mean, remember that hat trick that he scored the other day was
the first World Cup hat trick he'd ever scored, 20 years to the day since he first scored in the World Cup.
It also just happened to come on his 200th international appearance. So today is 201. He could make World Cup history today because he's tied with
Miroslav Klose for the most goals, 16 in the World Cup. So he could very well surpass that.
He also is tied with Diego Maradona for the most World Cup assists with eight. So another pass to set up a goal and he's going to break that record
as well.
So all eyes on Lionel Messi, always, of course. It's been a hard week for him, of course, we learned since that opening win against Algeria that his
dad was suffering some -- some quite serious health concerns. And I'm sure that's been really, really difficult for Lionel to deal within the camp.
But today, all eyes will be on the football again. And, yes, I think expect more Messi magic.
ASHER: Yes, that's a great way to leave it. Expect more Messi magic. And obviously our heart goes out him with what's happening with his dad.
But, Don Riddell, we shall see. Thank you. Thank you so much.
RIDDELL: All right.
GOLODRYGA: What a great way to close the show. Messi and Cape Verde, right? Try to beat that.
That does it for "One World" today. I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Thank you so much for watching. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
