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One World with Zain Asher

Israel: Won't Withdraw from Current "Yellow Line" Before the Disarmament of Hamas; Thousands of Evacuees Allowed to Return Home in France & Spain; Infantino's Senior Adviser Resigns Over World Cup Finance Plan; FIFA Says Nobody is Selling Football, after UEFA Boycott; Four Bodies Recovered, Six Climbers Missing in Avalanche. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired July 31, 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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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Live from London. I'm Christina Macfarlane. Bianna and Zain are off today. This is "One World". As the U.S.

unleashes a fresh wave of attacks on Iran, the war is pulling in even more countries in the region.

For the first time, Egypt have come under attack. Cairo says a fire that broke out on two vessels at a port Wednesday was caused by a drone in

Southern Iran. Explosions ran out after overnight U.S. strikes. Iranian state media video shows search and rescue operations on an island in the

Strait of Hormuz. It says a couple and their two-year-old child were killed in the U.S. strikes.

Meanwhile, Iraq says there's no evidence its territories were used to launch strikes on Saudi Arabia early this week. But right now, this hour,

Donald Trump's cabinet is gathering at Camp David. Let's go to Kevin Liptak, who's at the White House this hour, is covering developments there,

Kevin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. And the president just touched down up at Camp David. It's the mountainside retreat up in

Maryland. President Trump doesn't go there particularly often, but what he's doing is convening his cabinet. It's his 13th cabinet meeting of the

presidency so far.

He traveled up there with Pete Hegseth, the Defense Secretary, and Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State. And I think that gives you an indication

that Iran and the Middle East and the president's so far unsuccessful attempts to try and bring that conflict to a resolution will be at the very

center of what he's talking about today.

In a lot of ways, this conflict has consumed the presidency so far. It has had such wide spanning effects on the economy, on the energy markets. And

it has caused a degree of concern among the American public, who are not behind the president in this war?

A CNN poll out this week showed that 28 percent, only 28 percent of Americans approved of how the president was handling the conflict. And he

is at the moment at something of a crossroads. You know, he has paused the night-by-night attacks. Yes, there were those strikes earlier this week in

retaliation for the Iranian strike on a U.S. position.

But that did not continue last night, and so we are in this pause as the president tries to pursue some measure of diplomacy. But it doesn't appear

as if the Iranians are rushing back to the negotiating table. They think they have leverage in their ability to close the Strait of Hormuz, and so

the president is left deciding what to do.

He has been presented these options for escalating the conflict, including a plan that would last about two weeks and try and decimate the Iranians'

missile positions. But the president, so far, has not signed off, in part due to concerns about the dwindling stockpile of missiles and, in

particular, the Patriot missile interceptors.

And so, president, I think clearly left with a decision. Whether he makes it up at Camp David or not remains to be seen. Now Camp David, of course,

is a backdrop that does have some diplomatic undertones. That's where Jimmy Carter brought together the Egyptian President and the Israeli President

back in 1979 to broker the Camp David Accord.

So, the president perhaps looking to seize on that history to achieve some sort of breakthrough. But at this point, what that looks like not at all

clear.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. And Kevin, as you're speaking here, we are seeing images of the president arriving here at Camp David, taking a golf cart, I guess,

to get to that meeting that is about to get underway there. And Kevin, to your point, I mean, are we hearing anything yet about whether Israel is on

board with this plan that has emerged, you know, between Hamas and the Gaza Board of Peace overnight? Has there been any public statements yet?

LIPTAK: What the Israelis have been saying is that they will not withdraw from Gaza unless Hamas lays down their arms and gives up their arms. What

Hamas has said is that they won't give up their arms until Israel withdraws from Gaza. And so, I think you are left in a position, and American

officials acknowledge this as well that this is going to be a very complicated and reciprocal progress process to put in place what they have

agreed to overnight.

Now, American officials are optimistic that this is going to happen. They are proclaiming this as a real breakthrough for the Gaza Strip. And one

that could potentially lead to the reconstruction of that enclave. But I think there's no question that there's some major political, major military

hurdles that will have to be overcome.

[11:05:00]

MACFARLANE: All right, Kevin Liptak, there from the White House. Thank you very much. Now, Spain is trying to defuse the migrant crisis in its tiny

territory in North Africa. The Spanish government says an estimated 50,000 people crossed over from Morocco to Ceuta in a single day.

Local officials say at least 34 people died, most by drowning as crowds came across by land and sea on Thursday. Just take a look at these

extraordinary images. I mean, Ceuta now juts out into the sea from Morocco and has long been a target for migrants trying to reach Europe. Here's a

look.

We saw a look of the chaotic scenes there. It's unclear what caused the sudden rush. Spain's Prime Minister suggesting it was fueled by a recent

Spanish Supreme Court ruling on migrants arriving by sea, the surge is already deepening divisions over migration in Europe. The crowds, mostly

made up of young men, celebrated as they entered Spanish territory. Take a listen to what one young man was saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're happy to be here. It's been a very tough experience to go from the ocean. It was very tough. The police officers

tried to stop us, but our will and our determination, we could come here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: CNN's Nada Bashir joining us now live from London. And Nada, I mean, we've seen significant numbers of migrants cross over into Ceuta

before, but nothing like this. 60,000 migrants, I believe, in just a matter of hours. What are you learning about the reasons for this surge that we've

seen?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly was unprecedented. And you could see that in how overwhelmed Spain's border guards and officials

were in responding to this current situation. Officials on Thursday calling for the Spanish government to declare a state of emergency, and the

government itself deploying additional troops to Ceuta to in order to support in that response effort.

As you mentioned, with regards to the cause behind this surge of migrants attempting to cross the border, the figure at this stage is an estimate.

But the government has put it now at around 50,000 they believe crossing since Thursday. But as you mentioned, Pedro Sanchez, the Prime Minister,

did give a statement just in the last few hours.

He believes that human traffickers, smuggling rings have exploited and misunderstood a Supreme Court ruling, which was handed down earlier this

month in Spain, which essentially prohibits authorities from immediately returning migrants who have crossed into Spain via a sea crossing without

due process.

Now, it is understood that potentially individuals who crossed yesterday and even today may have been misled that this meant an automatic or

immediate acceptance of status within Spain if indeed they do cross over by water. And the vast majority of those who did cross over yesterday are

believed to have traveled by sea.

And of course, we've been hearing from some of those individuals speaking to reporters on the ground, some saying that they were at sea for two to

four hours even, and this was a very risky crossing as well. More than a dozen people at this point confirmed to have been killed as a result.

So certainly, a very worrying development. And this has drawn backlash, as you mentioned, from some European Leaders with regards to the security of

Europe's coastal shores. We've been hearing, for example, from the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has threatened, in her words, to take

extraordinary measures, potentially including excluding Spain from the visa-free Schengen travel zone if the situation is not handled.

France's Interior Minister has also said that France is stepping up its security on the border with Spain. But at this stage, the Spanish

government has said that they have maintained communication with the Moroccan government and authorities. The communication has been smooth.

And important to note, the Spanish government has said that already they believe around 25,000 of those migrants have returned back to Morocco, and

they expect that figure to rise, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Extraordinary and incredible pictures, images that we've been seeing. Nada Bashir, thank you very much. Now France and Spain are finally

getting a respite from days of battling some of the worst wildfires in recent memory. Thousands of people in Central Spain are allowed to return

to their homes or what's left of them after huge blazes west of Madrid were brought under control.

The wildfire emergency is easing slightly near Bordeaux as firefighters come a welcome dip in temperatures to help put out the flames. The blaze

has destroyed much of the town of Le Puech. CNN's Melissa Bell reports.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what the village of Le Puech in Southwestern France looked like a week ago.

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These videos, filmed by Mathieu Plessis, one of a handful of locals who stayed behind to try and help firefighters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BELL (voice-over): By Friday morning, however, this was all that was left of his home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BELL (voice-over): Some locals here accuse authorities of sending firefighters elsewhere just when the fire hit hardest for them. As it

spread, they were engulfed and felt abandoned as firefighters raced towards the popular tourist hot spot of the Cap Ferret Peninsula.

His neighbors didn't fare much better. Many of their houses were destroyed as well. Overall, in the village of Le Puech, 180 houses were destroyed,

making it the hardest hit by the Gironde fire. That trail of devastation that led to Le Puech began here just over a week ago at Ground Zero of the

Gironde fire.

And here on the outskirts of the village of Saumos, you get an idea as well of just how violent it was. Melissa Bell, CNN, Saumos.

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MACFARLANE: I want to bring in CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam with a look at the fire forecast. So, we were just saying there, Derek, that France and

Spain are getting a little bit of respite from rain. What else are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, temperatures, this is the peak heating of the day right now across Western Europe. So yesterday, just

taking note as we've been covering this for so many days now, temperatures were approaching and reaching 40 degrees plus across the Iberian Peninsula.

Bordeaux was in the 30s yesterday and earlier this week, so I do like to see this. This is a small glimmer of hope. We'll take what we can get.

There is a very weak cold front that's moved in across Western Europe, but it's really being shunned by a very strong ridge of high pressure settling

in across the Mediterranean. So that cold front can't really progress that far south.

This is a telling satellite image. We've expanded this view to kind of give a broader perspective. Authorities warning about the potential of more

forest fires or wildfires across Italy and into Greece. So, what you're looking at is a satellite image going back to May 23rd of this year.

Notice the green, lush landscape here. Then we turned off the taps. We had the consecutive heat wave. There's been four of them so far, and it really

zapped the moisture out of the vegetation. So, we go forward to a satellite image that was taken just a couple of days ago, and notice the browning on

the vegetation here.

There's still little pockets of green, but the large majority of the landscape there has dried out so substantially that it has created these

tinderbox conditions on the ground. So, when you add in the dried vegetation, you have the extreme temperatures with consecutive heat waves

and, of course, very little rainfall and winds that continue to fuel flames, that's the recipe that you need for wildfires to spread and,

unfortunately, become more numerous.

So, here's the heat dome. You can see the relief that's extended across northwestern portions of France into the UK. But notice all of the red

right here across the Mediterranean that's because of that ridge of high- pressure temperatures. Even though they've dropped somewhat, they will go back up. Here's a look at Greece, for instance, above average heading into

next week, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Wow, still extremely steep. Derek Van Dam, thanks very much. Now a moment of isolation and mounting pressure. FIFA President Gianni

Infantino is facing major backlash over his plan to inject private money into competitions. Infantino's Senior Adviser Carlos Cordeiro has now

resigned in protest.

This comes just one day after UEFA unanimously voted to boycott future men's and women's World Cups if the proposal goes ahead. Well, for more on

the fallout, let's bring in Andy Scholes. He's live for us from Atlanta.

And Andy it's interesting to see overnight that FIFA haven't really backed down since the you know the high-profile drama of that boycott yesterday,

right?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah.

MACFARLANE: But we have seen, I think, not just one but two high-profile resignations in the last few hours.

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SCHOLES: Yeah, and you know what, Christina? It really says a lot when you know one of your right-hand men come out this strong against a proposal

like this. And you know, Cordeiro, he's one of Infantino's top advisers, a Former U.S. Soccer President, a Former Goldman Sachs Executive, he didn't

hold anything back in his resignation.

He said, as a senior adviser to the FIFA President, a former banker, and a lifelong football fan, I cannot stand by while FIFA considers selling a

stake in the World Cup. He went on to say, let me be clear. I had no involvement in this proposal, and I oppose it unequivocally. It is a bad

deal for FIFA's member associations, a bad deal for football, and a bad deal for the long-term future of the game.

So, you know Christina, it really says a lot that statement right there, right? It shows how tight the circle was for this idea? And you know, it's

really clear that Infantino didn't seek Cordeiro's advice when trying to put this together, or really anyone else's, when it came to the FIFA

Forward Enterprise idea to get private equity.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. And I think right now all of this is being viewed as something of a referendum, really, on Gianni Infantino's presidency, right?

Not just on this business venture, and in that regard, what are you hearing from the confederations who obviously been very public in their disapproval

in recent days?

SCHOLES: Well, and you know, the thought was overnight after UEFA announced that they were going to boycott future World Cups. You know, that was the

nail in the coffin, right? Like FIFA is going to have to backtrack on this whole private equity idea. That was not the case.

They did not do that. You know, UEFA made their announcement that they were going to boycott future competitions. And then CONCACAF has come out. The

Asian Football Confederation have come out all against this idea of private equity. So, if you add all of all the countries, Christina, it's 143

countries out of 211.

So Infantino, you know, he doesn't have the votes for this to go through. And earlier, I asked the Vice President of UEFA, Laura McAllister. I spoke

with her. She was in that meeting deciding on the boycott. I asked her what she thinks needs to happen next.

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LAURA MCALLISTER, VICE-PRESIDENT, UEFA: Nobody except FIFA came up with a proposal that threatened the soul of football. And had we not stood up in

the way that we had with a threat of boycott, which of course is commensurate with the scale of the threat that FIFA put before us, we would

be letting this proposal go through.

So, we had no choice. But now it's up to FIFA to really deal with this as quickly as it possibly can by removing this proposal by apologizing to the

federations for the insulting way in which it's been handled. And accepting that they need to really reconsider the principles upon which their

governance operates and the ways in which they make decisions about the future of our sport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah, and Laura also told me she'd like to see this resolve today, but you know we'll wait and see. The first thing on the calendar that could

see potential disruption is that under 20s World Cup, which is in 36 days. You know, at the heart too of this is all of the fans.

You know, we saw their voice being instrumental in pushing back on that Super League plan years ago. I also spoke with Ronan Evain. He's the

Executive Director of Football Supporters Europe, and he, for one, certainly blames Infantino for this mess.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONAN EVAIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS EUROPE: The way to operate of FIFA under Gianni Infantino, a small circle of people, most of them being from outside of football, get to decide of the future of

our game. That's how you make monumental mistake like Gianni Infantino has just done.

He is surrounded by cronies, by yes men, by business partners, and by political allies, is -- it became fully aligned with the Trump

Administration, and then he forgot that his duty is towards football. So, when you don't speak to the very people that make the game what it is, the

fans, the players, the leagues, the clubs, the football associations, you make this kind of mistakes. Gianni Infantino is completely disconnected

from the reality of football.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah, well, so we'll see where this goes from here. You know, Christina? I can't imagine they're going to keep this going much longer.

But you know just as well as me. You know, Gianni Infantino, he's very powerful man, and he clearly wanted this private equity money to come

through.

Will there be some sort of negotiating going forward? Doesn't seem likely, though, right? Because UEFA has flat out said this is not even a

possibility. We will not entertain it whatsoever.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, what can you do without UEFA? And I know, you know as well as you do, Andy, that many feel that Gianni Infantino's position now

has become untenable. So, there is much to watch in this moment, we'll continue to track it. Andy, appreciate it. Thank you.

Now, the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now the second largest on record. The World Health Organization confirms there have

been more than 3,500 cases since the outbreak was identified in mid-May, with more than 1,500 deaths.

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Only the 2014 Ebola outbreak was larger. There is no approved vaccine for the rare strain that is driving the current outbreak, though vaccine trials

are underway. An active conflict in the Eastern DRC has, of course, made it very hard to reach some communities. OK, we're going to take a short break.

We'll be back straight after this.

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MACFARLANE: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has launched a new cooking show. The Real Food Show is on his YouTube

channel, and it features his revised dietary guidelines, which were criticized for emphasizing meats. But praised for rejecting ultra-processed

snack foods.

Kennedy said the show reminds people cooking with real food can be simple and affordable. But it's also a chance to gather around the table and share

at a time when people are too often isolated.

Rescue efforts are under way to find a group of mountain climbers who were caught up in an avalanche. The Alpine Club of Pakistan says four bodies

have been recovered from Broad Peak in the Karakoram Mountains. Six are still missing, and world-renowned mountaineer Nirmal Purja was part of the

group of climbers. CNN's Mike Valerio has more.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, what Nirmal Purja wanted to do with this effort is to finish this climb on the border of China and Pakistan,

then move on to the Himalayan mountains. And he wrote on X that if he were to be successful summiting both of these mountains, that he would become

the first person in history, as he describes on X, to summit the world's 14 tallest mountains twice.

We're talking about the 14 tallest peaks in the world that are above 8,000 meters and are above 26,300 feet. So, this effort was part of a herculean

task. Where exactly we're talking about here is Broad Peak. It's on the far western fringes of China, the far eastern fringes of Pakistan, right on the

border between those two countries and the roster of people who were part of this climb.

In addition to Purja, we have people from Nepal, Pakistan, Oman, person from the United States, and a person from China. China also, where we are

in Beijing, offering the ability to help if called upon by Pakistan. Search teams have reported clear weather for Friday, and they are also expecting

clear conditions throughout the weekend.

But certainly, it is very emotional for people invested in the story to look at one of the last social media posts that Purja put on X when he

approached this climb on the border of Pakistan and in China with humility, he wrote, broad peak. I ask for nothing but safe passage up and back down.

I take zero mountains for granted, not one.

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The moment my foot leaves base camp, it's 100 percent always has been, always will be. And the search for the rest of that team that went up this

peak, Broad Peak, the 12th highest in the world. Well, it still remains ongoing. Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.

MACFARLANE: Sad story. All right, stay with CNN. I'll be back with more "One World" in about 30 minutes from now. But "CNN Creators" is up next.

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(CNN CREATORS)

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