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One World with Zain Asher

Global Oil Market Resiliency Won't Last Forever; U.S. Imposes New Tariffs on Dozens of Trading Partners; Teen Suspect in Georgia School Shooting Pleads Guilty to all Charges; Angry Young People Stage Nationwide Day of Protest in India; King Charles and Queen Camilla Attend Opening Ceremony. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 24, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. You are watching "One World". The U.S. is escalating

its air campaign against Iran. Both Washington and Tehran are pushing back on a New York Times report, which says that Iran rejected a new ceasefire

proposal that was presented by the Iraqi Prime Minister.

This as the U.S. military completes the 13th straight night of air strikes against Iranian drone facilities and other targets. Iran says it launched a

new wave of attacks on U.S. assets, both in Bahrain and Jordan. Now we've just learned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be in

Washington next week and will meet with the U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us live now from Washington. Obviously, this is the first face-to-face meeting between the two men since the start of this

war, and obviously it comes at a time of quite significant escalation in this war. Oren, take it away.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: And that will make this meeting critical. It will be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's seventh

time traveling to the U.S. to meet President Donald Trump. But as you pointed out, it is his first since February, therefore his first since

before the war started.

Now he's been trying to arrange this for quite some time, according to Israeli officials and sources with whom CNN has spoken, and now it looks

like it will finally be happening here. The two are set to meet in just a few days on Tuesday. And it comes amid tonight a 13th consecutive day of

U.S. strikes on Iran.

According to U.S. Central Command, which governs U.S. military operations in the Middle East the U.S. targeted Iranian military command centers,

drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and more. Iranian state media says at least four people were killed

and more than 50 others wounded in these strikes, as we see in Iranian retaliation as well.

Iran, claiming they have targeted U.S. bases in Bahrain and Jordan, targets that have become, frankly, frequent targets for the Iranian military over

the course of the last several weeks. Trump signaled on Thursday that he's not yet ready to seriously negotiate here; that he's perfectly fine with

these strikes continuing.

And it was also Secretary of State Marco Rubio who recently said that Iran was quote begging for a deal for a ceasefire agreement with the United

States. Regardless, it doesn't look like that ceasefire is coming anytime soon here. Iran not feeling the pressure that that the U.S. insists they

are under.

And in fact, the regime itself, after the funeral of Ali Khamenei, will have a boost of its own confidence, knowing it had millions of supporters

coming out on the streets. And so, you have this situation with continued U.S. strikes on Iran, and yet negotiations not moving, Iran not buckling

under that military pressure.

And now Netanyahu set to visit next week. Netanyahu has long been skeptical of Iran's intentions behind negotiations. He has never believed they were

negotiating in good faith, and he has advocated for renewing the strikes on Iran. That being said, he has given Trump room for diplomacy.

Diplomacy he has felt would inevitably fail here. So, this comes at a critical time this meeting. And of course, we will follow all of the

developments very closely with the U.S. forces building up in the region.

ASHER: All right, Oren Liebermann live for us there. Thank you so much. And a second vital choke point on global energy supplies is now under threat.

This week, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared a maritime blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The threat is persuading some ships to take a

very cautious approach.

One oil tank is rerouting to avoid sailing through the Southern Red Sea. The vessel's owner says the ship is now sailing via the Suez Canal and

around the Cape to Asia. Until that Houthi blockade, the global oil market has been somewhat resilient, but investors are becoming increasingly

nervous.

On Thursday, global oil prices topped $100 a barrel for the first time since May. Right now, Brent Crude, the European benchmark, is sitting

around $98 a barrel. WTI, the U.S. benchmark is hovering at around $90 a barrel. Anna Stewart joins us live now from London.

I mean, technically, traffic is still, as you pointed out earlier today, traffic is still passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, although there

aren't many, as I understand, that Saudi-backed vessels.

But just the fact that vessels in that strait, the number is certainly declining, and there's obviously fears just in terms of Houthi rebels

escalating here. I mean, what will that mean for oil prices going forward, Anna?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, if we take us through the week, I mean, the Houthi rebels threatened a complete blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb

Strait. Then there were attacks on two Saudi-flagged vessels.

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And the big concern yesterday following that was that we could see an effective closure of the Strait, and there wouldn't be any crossings, and

there would be a huge knock-on effect for oil, but also global trade. You know, this is a major transit route.

However, there were 49 vessels that actually traversed through that little narrow choke point, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, yesterday, as you say,

critically, it appears there were no Saudi-flagged vessels. And that is why this is still a very important part of the whole oil story.

Essentially, this for Saudi Arabia, the biggest Gulf producer, was the alternative route. They were unable, of course, to export through the

Strait of Hormuz due to all of the risks around Iranian missile attacks. So, this was the backup, and it was a big backup. They had to pipe their

oil right across their country, the East West Pipeline, and then get it out into the Red Sea.

Now, plenty of discussion today on where Saudi Arabia goes from here. For instance, can they still get it out through the Red Sea, but go up the Suez

Canal, go north, go round Africa, the Cape of Good Hope. Of course, that is something we've spoken about many times over the years for trade generally.

Given this is always a bit of a security issue around this area from Houthi rebels, that would put a big price tag, a further premium on oil. That is

definitely not best-case scenario. So, you know we have these two choke points in the Middle East. It's also worth bearing in mind, of course,

attacks in the Black Sea from Russia at the moment.

So that also plays into this. It's incredibly resilient to see oil actually back down under $100 a barrel. I'm looking at now. We have had comment from

Capital Economics this morning. I'm curious to see where traders currently see oil going by the end of the year. There's a lot of confusion.

I mean, this is all geopolitics. Anything could sort of change in any of these areas at this point. But a more persistent supply disruption, they

say, could push oil prices towards $120 a barrel, possibly even higher. And that, of course, isn't just an oil story. That feeds into inflation.

That feeds into how much pain we all feel around the world in terms of the cost of living and interest rates and so on, and that is why this is such a

relevant story to us all.

ASHER: All right, Anna Stewart, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right; President Trump is moving forward with a round of new global tariffs

effective today. Dozens of trading partners are now being hit with levies of 10 to 12 and a half percent on goods exported to the United States.

The move comes as a near blanket tariff of 10 percent expired, attacks that the U.S. Supreme Court deemed unlawful. The White House says the

president's trade goals will continue despite limitations. CNN's Valeria Leon joins us live now from Mexico with more.

Interesting enough, Mexico by and large, about 80 percent of goods from Mexico are exempted. But it really is a lot of Latin American countries

that are going to be feeling this. I mean, namely Brazil, for example, Colombia, Chile, and of course Venezuela as well, which is interesting

given the relationship between the United States and Venezuela, both politically now and economically. Take us through it, Valeria.

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct, Zain. It's not just Mexico; it's other Latin American countries. Starting today, Mexico, the

United States' largest trading partner, will be subject to a 10 percent tariff on goods that not qualify for this preferential treatment under the

USMCA.

And this measure is part of a new round of tariffs on 60 trading partners announced by the U.S. Trade Representative. But for Mexico, the government

says the effective tariff rate will remain essentially unchanged because the new duty replaces another 10 percent tariff that's expiring.

The announcement came just hours after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with President Claudia Sheinbaum here in Mexico City. And the

meeting took place as both countries concluded their third round of bilateral negotiations over the future of this USMCA.

President Sheinbaum posted on X these pictures of the meeting at the National Palace in Mexico City with other U.S. officials. And she wrote, we

advanced in the review of the USMCA agreement and bilateral agreements of the benefit of both peoples.

And according to U.S. officials, the new tariffs follow a months-long investigation into whether Mexico and dozens of other trading partners have

not done enough to prevent goods made with forced labor from entering their markets.

Mexico's Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard says the government knew about this measure in advance. He also stressed that around 85 percent of Mexican

exports will remain tariff-free because they comply with this USMCA's rules of origin. Here's how he explained it.

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MARCELO EBRARD, MEXICO'S ECONOMY MINISTER: It is essentially the same as what we had before. Only the legal basis for the 10 percent tariff has

changed. That tariff already applied to goods that did not comply with the USMCA's rules of origin requirements. We do not see any change in the

effective tariff Mexico is currently paying.

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LEON: But this latest tariff measure comes at a very particularly sensitive moment for Mexico because negotiations over the future of the USMCA are

already under way. The U.S. declined to extend the agreement for another 16 years in its current form, triggering these annual reviews that could

continue through 2036.

This week's bilateral round ended without a final agreement after three days of negotiations. So, although Mexico says the new tariff will not

immediately change what most of its exporters pay, the timing adds another layer of uncertainty to the negotiations, Zain.

ASHER: All right, Valeria Leon live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, French authorities have ordered the complete evacuation of the

Crabbs Peninsula and are launching boats to support the operation. The popular tourist spot is threatened by wildfires blazing across parts of

Southern France, fueled by record-breaking heat waves.

40,000 people are being evacuated from there alone, and several 100 of them by sea. Spain has also declared a national emergency over its wildfires as

well. The interior minister said more than 10,000 people were ordered to leave towns in the mountains west of Madrid as firefighters work to keep

three fires in the region from joining together. CNN's Pau Mosquera has more.

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PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Emergency sirens have become an also familiar sound during Europe's summers. Increasingly frequent,

intense and prolonged heat waves are making scenes like this more common across different parts of the continent.

In the commune of Saumos in Southwestern France, a wildfire that broke out on Wednesday, forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people after

burning through 2,000 hectares of land. It's a nightmare that residents of the idyllic Italian Island of Sicily have also experienced firsthand.

ANTONELLA DI FRANCO, SANTO STEFANO QUISQUINA RESIDENT: The flames were beating us against the walls. We felt helpless. We tried to help each other

using hoses and whatever we could find. No one was helping us. Nobody. But we're alive. That's what matters. The important thing is that we survived.

MOSQUERA (voice-over): Dozens of wildfires were reported across the island on Wednesday as temperatures were forecast to exceed 40 degrees celsius. In

Spain, just days after the country's deadliest wildfire so far this century, which government officials say claimed the lives of 13 people,

another blaze is spreading rapidly through the Province of Guadalajara.

DAVID PITA, CONDEMIOS DE ARRIBA RESIDENT: Well, it's very sad, very sad, very

sad. It's a real shame. But as long as there are no casualties, I suppose you could say things are going as well as they can.

MOSQUERA (voice-over): The fire has been burning since July 16th and has so far consumed more than 30,000 hectares, making the Guadalajara fire one of

the worst wildfires ever recorded in the country.

PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER: More than 100,000 hectares have been burned as a result of the wildlife or wildfires across Spain. To put that

into perspective, this is the annual average that Spain experienced over the past decade.

MOSQUERA (voice-over): Authorities fear that threats like this could become more widespread before the end of the summer, as wildfire risk is expected

to remain high across Western Europe in the coming days. Pau Mosquera, CNN, Madrid.

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ASHER: All right, in a court appearance this morning, the teen suspect in a shooting at George's Apalachee High School officially pleaded guilty to all

55 charges against him, including four counts of murder. 16-year-old Colt Gray is accused of killing four people and wounding nine others in the 2024

shooting.

He previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. Gray could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. Victims of the shooting also

spoke in court, describing how the attack has changed their lives. Gray's father was convicted in March on murder and man's laws of charges. He's

expected to be sentenced next week. All right, still to come, India's biggest youth protests in years is growing. Thousands are taken to the

streets, ahead.

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ASHER: All right, India is bracing for a nationwide day of protests after days of clashes between demonstrators and police. The movement, led by the

youth-driven so-called Cockroach Janata Party began over alleged examination paper leaks, but has grown into a broader challenge to Prime

Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Protesters accuse authorities of cracking down on dissent, while the government says it is committed to preventing future exam paper leaks.

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NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER: Numerous effective measures have been taken over the past two and a half months since the paper leak incident.

Those responsible have been arrested and are now in jail. Our main responsibility has been to make sure that the student's academic year is

not wasted.

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ASHER: Milan Vaishnov is Director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Milan joins us live now from Geneva,

Switzerland. So, I think it's really important to start with context because I think if you're watching this program or you're reading the

headlines from outside of India, it can be quite hard to get your head around the fact that you have these examination paper leaks, and that's led

to thousands of people protesting in the streets.

I think it's important to note, and I'll have you explain this, that these medical entrance examination papers in India, not only are they grueling

and they're very, very difficult, but they're extremely competitive. You've got millions of people taking the same exam every single year for only a

small, really a fraction I think 100,000 or so places available.

And then you know you have parents who apparently go into debt hiring private tutors. It is really, really difficult. I understand that some

parents even relocate to coaching hubs. And so, then to have these examination papers leaked because I guess of corruption. You know, perhaps

in some cases employees end up selling the examination papers online for a fee, is really, really unfair, and it causes so much outrage. So, just talk

to us about the context here.

MILAN VAISHNAV, DIRECTOR, SOUTH ASIA PROGRAM, CARNEGIE EDOWNMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Sure. You know, as you said, the proximate cause of

these protests was the cancellation of a nationwide entrance exam for more than 2 million students who were seeking admission to undergraduate medical

colleges.

And the cancellation of this exam took place because the exam paper was an indeed it was leaked in advance. And this is just the latest in a string of

controversies that have plagued nationally administered entrance exams for a variety of colleges and universities.

So, that has put millions, literally millions, of Indians' lives on hold as the government scrambles for solutions to leaks, technical glitches, all

kinds of procedural and administrative irregularities.

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And I think what we're seeing now with the protests is, although the focus really is on higher education, they are fueled by a broader angst about

youth underemployment, unemployment, lack of opportunities, and just generally corruption and poor governance.

ASHER: You know, I think it's important to know. I mean, you talk about these examinations being canceled, and I know that it's now broadened out

to other issues as well. But you know, when you spend years studying for an exam, and anyone who's taken some of these sort of pressure cooker exams

around the world, whether it's the baccalaureate, the SAT, A levels where I'm from in the UK, or AS levels.

You know, you spend a long time studying, and then when it's over and you put down your pen in the exam hall, there's a feeling of OK, that's over.

Now I can completely decompress. So, to have these students be told that because of reasons that are beyond their control.

Factors that have absolutely nothing to do with them, that are not their fault, they now have to go through that again, is really difficult. And so

just talk to us about how Narendra Modi's government is dealing with this? Obviously, this is a threat to him, and how opposition parties are sort of

taking advantage of the chaos here?

VAISHNAV: Yeah, I mean the protesters have some pretty clear demands. And I'd say first and foremost, is that the sitting Education Minister in

Narendra Modi's Cabinet, Dharmendra Pradhan, resigned from his position, given that there have been just these massive irregularities that have

taken place on his watch.

They are also calling for sweeping reforms of the entire national testing agency, which is responsible for overseeing, you know, tens of exams across

the country. And I think the protesters feel that the government has been really slow to address their concerns. They have stood by their minister.

I think the government itself has kind of miscalculated. They didn't think that this protest, which started as a kind of jokey kind of internet meme

would have legs. But in fact, we are seeing tens of thousands of people amass in central Delhi, right next to the parliament, right next to where

the prime minister and his cabinet reside.

Something that you know since Narendra Modi has come to power in 2014, we haven't really seen. So, this is a rare occasion when the Modi government,

which has been so domineering and has really held power so savvily for more than a decade, is on the back foot for in a very rare instance.

ASHER: You know, this is a threat to Narendra Modi partly because young people make up such a huge amount of India's population. You know, one of

the things that Narendra Modi promised. I mean, one of the things that he campaigned on was this idea of tackling corruption that was supposed to be

his thing.

So why hasn't the BJP done a better job of addressing this kind of corruption that affects you know ordinary young people in India?

VAISHNAV: Yeah, I mean, I think there's two interesting things in what you said. I think the first is on the corruption agenda. First of all, this is

an uphill climb for any government. But I think you're absolutely right that at the end it comes down to competence, talent, the kinds of people

you appoint to your government, holding them accountable.

This is a government that is very concerned about saving face. They don't like to cast aside people who haven't done their jobs properly. And so, I

think people are promoted on the basis of loyalty as opposed to professionalism in many circumstances. But I think the larger point is

about who is protesting, right?

I mean, these are young, urban, aspirational Indians. These are the very people who propelled Narendra Modi and the BJP to power in 2014, and have

done so in subsequent elections since then. And so, I think it has actually proved to be very difficult for the government to respond to these

protests.

Because they can't term them as kind of anti-national or unpatriotic or people who are guided by the kind of proverbial foreign hand. I mean, these

are people who, in many instances, were part and parcel of the BJP's core constituency.

ASHER: Yeah. And you know we'll see if it forces any kind of change in Modi's leadership style because one of the criticisms, he's faced is you

know very limited sort of press conferences, limited engagement with the direct population. We'll see what the fallout is. But Milan Vaishnov, we

have to leave it there. Live for us in Geneva. Thank you so much.

All right; Britan's King Charles and Queen Camilla made their appearance at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. New Prime Minister Andy

Burnham and his wife were there as well. Many were lucky to shake hands with the King. But a unicorn received the biggest hello from Charles, who

touched the nose of Finnie, the game's official mascot.

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Are being held in Glasgow, Scotland, where the Royal Couple arrived in spectacular fashion, borrowing the blue police box from the TV Show Doctor

Who, known as the Tardis, which, of course, is a time-traveling spacecraft. Thousands of athletes from dozens of countries will compete in the 10-day

Commonwealth Games. All right, stay with CNN. There is much more "One World" in about 30 minutes from now, but "CNN Creators" is up next.

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