Return to Transcripts main page
One World with Zain Asher
Sanders: We're Seeing a Transformation of Democratic Party; Zelenskyy: Attack Shows Crucial Need for Anti-Missile Systems; Armed Man Arrested at Trump's California Golf Club; CNN Projects El-Sayed will Win Michigan Democratic Senate Primary; Egypt's Elsewedy Electric's Mission to Power the World; AI Models Impersonate, Deceive People During Testing. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 05, 2026 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. This is "One World". A photo finish for an
extraordinarily close race in Michigan that could help determine who controls Congress. CNN projects that progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed
will win the Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate, prevailing over moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens.
El-Sayed held on to a narrow lead, with Stevens unable to make up ground in late votes reported from Wayne County, which includes Detroit. The two
candidates were locked in a very tight and certainly very contentious battle. Stevens congratulated El-Sayed on the win. El-Sayed will now
advance to take on Republican Mike Rogers in the general election in November.
Voters also went to the polls in Missouri, Kansas, Virginia, and Washington State. But of course, all eyes were pinned on the battleground state of
Michigan. El-Sayed spoke in Detroit minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL EL-SAYED, PROJECTED U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE: I want to say just first and foremost how grateful I am for the opportunity to
participate in democracy. Now, my family immigrated to this country from a place where there is not democracy. You cannot just put your hand up and
run.
And the ability to do this, to have our voices heard, to select our leaders, it is -- it is a gift that sometimes we take for granted. So, to
have participated means so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right, let's take a closer look at some of the contentious politics we saw during this race in Michigan. Let's bring in Zoe Clark.
She's Associate Director or Associate General Manager and Political Director of Michigan Public Radio and Co-Host of "It Is Just Politics".
Zoe, thank you so much for being with us.
I mean, this was a really, really close race. I mean, I woke up this morning and I eagerly checked, and it was still when I woke up too close to
call. It's only just been projected within the last hour or hour and a half or so.
So, it was a very narrow race, which tells me that politics in the state is deeply divided, and one of the biggest tasks at hand for El-Sayed is really
to unite Democrats again before he goes up to battle against Mike Rogers. How does he do that?
ZOE CLARK, ASSOCIATE GENERAL MANAGER & POLITICAL DIRECTOR, MICHIGAN PUBLIC RADIO: Yeah, I don't think we can underestimate and say just what a
contentious, at some points mean race this was between Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, and he's got a lot of work to do.
And I think he's trying to do that at this press conference today. There's a Democratic Unity breakfast happening tomorrow morning when Democrats will
get together. The leaders all coming together, and then on Friday there's going to be a rally when not just Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens, but
candidates for governor and attorney general and secretary of state will come together. But he absolutely has some work to do with Haley Stevens
supporters.
ASHER: Just talk to us about how much of an uphill battle, because that was one of the issues. Some people thought, listen, obviously he might be the
shiny new penny, the sort of change candidate, and obviously, I mean, we just heard him spoke. He's extremely. No one can deny that this man is
very, very charismatic.
But a lot of people thought that Haley Stevens was just a safe pair of hands. Maybe you know, some would argue a bit run of the mill. You're sort
of typical standard moderate Democrat, but that she had the best chance of winning against Mike Rogers in a couple of months. Do you think that's
true?
CLARK: Right. The word has been electability, electability, electability. And that is what folks who were backing Haley Stevens, the centrist, the
quote unquote establishment wing of the party, Chuck Schumer. That's what they were saying is that Haley Stevens has a better chance against
Republican Mike Rogers.
But what we saw is progressive Democrats coming out yesterday and saying they don't want more of the norm. They want change. That they think change
is what is going to win. And so, not only does Abdul El-Sayed need to get those Haley Stevens supporters who may be wary after such a contentious
race.
But he's going to have to get sort of the infamous independent voters and ticket splitters of Michigan. You know, in in Michigan, we voted for Joe
Biden and Barack Obama twice.
[11:05:00]
And we voted for Donald Trump twice. And so, there's a lot of voters out there that he's going to have to speak to in order to try to win this
November.
ASHER: And that's really the interesting thing about Michigan, because obviously, the sort of closest comparison is, of course Mamdani's win here
where I am in New York City. And I think that one of the sorts of there were so many factors about his win that sort of wowed people.
But one of the biggest things that people were talking about is you know just because it worked in New York, you had this progressive candidate in
New York. Does that really mean that it could work? Could that Mamdani style of politics really work in other places across the country?
And as you point out, Michigan is unique in that way. Obviously, a battleground state. Obviously, as you point out, it did vote for Donald
Trump twice. And now you have a situation whereby El-Sayed, you know, somebody who is in that category of progressive politics doing
extraordinarily well.
Yes, it was a close race. But what does that tell you about whether this style of Democrat politics can really blossom in other parts of the country
besides reliably blue states?
CLARK: Yes, this was sort of the largest lab experiment of the sort of progressivism in 2026, and it showed that it could win, albeit it's been
close. I mean, right now we're only looking at a difference of about 15,000 votes. We should also say, though, here in Michigan, that two progressive
candidates down ballot in two congressional districts also won.
And so, we saw across the board voters, Democratic voters within this primary, right, a subset of Democratic voters, basically saying that they
want change. They want something different. That's what we kept hearing on the campaign trail. People saying that Washington DC is not working for
them, that these institutions aren't working.
And therefore, that's the establishment isn't working for them, and that they're sort of willing to make a bet on change and willing to make a bet
that Abdul El-Sayed will be able to beat Mike Rogers by turning out, you know, independent voters. And you know we saw this in 2016 in Michigan.
Bernie Sanders actually won the state over Hillary Clinton. So, we'll see what turnout actually looks like come November after this primary.
ASHER: What was it about El-Sayed that really galvanized voters in Michigan around him? And again, I really want to reiterate that it was obviously a
very close race, but you know he is somebody who has an inspirational story?
Obviously, that counts for a lot in American politics. He is very charismatic. He does have a sincerity to him. Just talk to us about what it
was about him beyond just what he stood for in terms of his own sort of brand of politics.
CLARK: He ran as the changed candidate, and he ran against the establishment. And again, as we've been saying, the establishment is not
popular right now. And it was interesting, you know, Haley Stevens kept bringing out more and more endorsements of establishment candidates.
And at a certain point, it was like, I don't know that that's actually helping her. But Abdul really kept to a singular message. It was money out
of politics, money in your pocket, Medicare for All, and he would just continue to hammer that over and over again.
And it really, really became a powerful, repetitive message. It's something I think he actually learned from the Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who he lost
to back in 2018, her sort of infamous fix the damn roads, right? Find these messages and these issues that are what matter most to people, and just
continue to repeat them on the campaign trail over and over and over.
ASHER: Yeah, I mean, and he won despite all of the, as you point out, not just the establishment candidates who backed Stevens, and also you had
organizations like AIPAC. But really just how much money was pumped into this race to back Stevens? He won despite of that.
CLARK: So much money.
ASHER: So much money. All right.
CLARK: Yeah. So much money. $60 million on behalf of Stevens.
ASHER: Yeah. And he just spoke about that moments ago. Zoe, we have to leave it there. Thank you, thank you so much for that, and we'll have much
more on the outcome of that Michigan Senate Primary later on in the show.
Right, the U.S. President is once again threatening Iran and presenting another ultimatum, while also expressing optimism that a deal with Iran
could be agreed to as soon as today. On Tuesday, Donald Trump vowed the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened soon; otherwise, he would launch a harsh
new attack.
The president also claimed very good discussions were underway with Tehran, saying that a breakthrough could come within 48 hours. Iran denies that any
talks with the U.S. are taking place, but it says that it is continuing negotiations with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz.
[11:10:00]
One Gulf official meantime tells CNN there is a 50-50 chance Oman and Iran could reach an agreement by Friday. Countries around the region have
obviously a lot on the line. There's a lot riding on this. Multiple sources say also that the U.S. military has used up 80 percent of its interceptors
for a key defense system, with some senior commanders warning the Pentagon's stockpile of ammunitions is dangerously low.
Haley Britzky joins us live now from Washington. So, Haley, just talk to us about what this means, because you know, obviously, if this is the case,
according to sources, it does put the U.S. in a precarious position in terms of really continuing this war over the long term.
HALEY BRITZKY, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Zain. I mean, it's the -- one of the main concerns that military advisers are
having, and we've seen, and as we reported, that this is being brought up to the president as he's weighing sort of next steps.
We saw that this was brought up over the weekend when the president was weighing escalating strikes against Iran. This was one of the things
advisers pointed to as a factor in this. And so, what we're hearing numbers-wise, Zain, is that sources saying nearly 80 percent of THAAD
missile interceptors, that's Terminal High Altitude Defense System, nearly half of Patriot interceptors.
And virtually all sources say of long-range surface to air weapons. So, these are crucial munitions that the U.S. uses to defend its personnel, its
installations in the region, but also its allies. This is something that it has been described to me for years as sort of you know a safety blanket for
countries in the Middle East, particularly because of their effectiveness and the effectiveness of these systems.
And as my colleagues and I reported, you know, Gulf allies brought up these concerns about the U.S.'s ability to protect them from Iranian retaliation,
particularly if Iran retaliates, you know, against allies because of American escalation in the conflict here. So, it's something that's
certainly top of mind for allies as well.
But it's something that has been a problem for a long, long time, Zain. I mean, even before the war with Iran began, we know that Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, brought this up to the president as something to keep in mind going forward with this conflict.
It's been a concern for the defense industrial base and for the Pentagon long before this conflict started. Was the level of stockpiles for the U.S.
munitions, not just in the Middle East to be used in the Middle East, but particularly used in the Pacific. This is something that officials are
regularly concerned about, was how the U.S. would be able to act in a potential conflict with China and what would be needed there.
And so, if you're expending them in the Middle East, of course, there's concerns about what would be left for the U.S. military in the Pacific. So,
all of this is sort of bubbling and is certainly top of mind for officials as they're deciding what to do next. We hear that, as you mentioned, there
may be a deal, there may not be a deal, but certainly something that advisers will continue to point to as the president weighs his options,
Zain.
ASHER: All right, Haley Britzky, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, now to the aftermath of a very deadly night in Kyiv. Ukrainian
defenses failing to intercept any Russian missiles. Local authorities say at least 17 people were killed, and dozens more wounded. Russia reportedly
fired more than two dozen ballistic and anti-ship missiles.
Ukraine has admitted it has a shortage of U.S.-made Patriot missile interceptors, the only defense system that could actually bring down
certain advanced ballistic missiles. Let's get straight to Clare Sebastian joining us live now from London.
And this is the thing because one of the things that Zelenskyy has talked about with American officials is this idea that at some point the U.S. or
rather Ukraine would like to essentially produce their own Patriot interceptor missiles. The U.S. had intimated at some point that they would
allow licenses for Ukraine. Where are we on that front?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Zain. I mean, this was something the promise for Ukraine to be able to produce Patriot interceptor missiles
locally was something that President Trump had promised at the beginning of the summer. Now he seems to be walking back on that idea.
His NATO Ambassador saying earlier this week that it probably wouldn't happen this winter. But clearly this has created a situation where there is
now a well-publicized lack of defenses for Ukraine, particularly when it comes to ballistic missiles, and that is clearly what Russia is trying to
exploit with this overnight attack and previous ones.
And in fact, if you look at the strike package from this particular attack, 24 Iskander and ballistic missiles and four anti-ship missiles. They didn't
fire any cruise missiles, which are easier to bring down. So, they've specifically designed this package to be as difficult as possible for
Ukraine to avert.
And zero of these missiles were brought down by Ukrainian air defenses. We've been looking at some of the numbers over the past month or so, and
they do show that this has been getting increasingly difficult for Ukraine in terms of the ballistic missiles launched in July. According to our
calculations, only about 23 percent of them were averted by Ukrainian air defenses.
[11:15:00]
And so far in August, Russia has fired 56 ballistic or similar missiles at Ukraine, of which only one has so far been brought down. So, it is getting
increasingly difficult. This did lead to calls today from President Zelenskyy renewing his pleas to his allies to send more supplies of these
interceptors and calling again for the licenses to produce them locally.
He's warned as well that supplies of these interceptors have dropped threefold in 2025. So, Ukraine is in a very vulnerable position here. This
attack overnight was also striking because of the targets. We know Ukraine has been hitting e-commerce sites in Russia belonging to Wildberries, which
is Russia's biggest e-commerce company.
This was clearly designed as a response. There were six people killed, for example, at warehouses belonging to the operator of Ukraine's biggest
supermarket chain. Three people were killed at a post office sorting office. But perhaps the most gruesome scenes of all came from a train
station just in the suburbs of Kyiv, eight people were killed when a missile struck that train station.
They were said to be waiting after a train delay, having missed their last train. So, look, big picture here is that July we know was the deadliest
month for Ukrainian civilians since April of 2022. August already shaping up to be a brutal month, Zain.
ASHER: Clare Sebastian, thank you for that. All right; we are following some breaking news out of London. Police have arrested a 47-year-old woman
for stabbing multiple people in the city's famous Covent Garden District. Four people have been taken to hospital. No word yet on the condition that
they're in.
For now, police describe the stabbing rather as a mental health incident. We will bring you more details as soon as we have them. All right, coming
up, under pressure, polls grow louder from battled Republican Max Miller to leave Congress and abandon his re-election. Details ahead. Plus, heading to
court, the man arrested at Donald Trump's golf club in California ahead of the president's visit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Ohio Republican Max Miller remains defiant, saying that he will not resign from Congress nor drop his bid for re-election. This
amid mounting pressure for him to step aside over allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife. His former father-in-law, Republican Senator Bernie
Moreno is also calling for him resign.
Miller spoke exclusively with CNN's Jake Tapper Tuesday, just hours after Miller requested the House Ethics Committee to open an investigation into
him.
[11:20:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MAX MILLER (R-OH): I am never going to give up. And what I mean by that is my daughter is going to grow up one day, and she's going to see all
of this. And she's not going to see that her father caved to political and social media pressures for something that he never did. I will never, ever,
ever let my baby girl see her dad walk away as a quitter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN White House Reporter Adam Cancryn joins us live now from Washington DC. I mean, so for our international audience members who may or
may not have been following this story. Just walk us through what Max Miller has been accused of specifically?
And also, just how President Trump is handling this? I understand that President Trump essentially spoke to him saying, listen, it's going to be
tough for you to win your re-election bid, but has really stopped short of fully withdrawing his support. Walk us through it, Adam.
ADAM CANCRYN, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, to start from the beginning, these are domestic abuse allegations that Max Miller,
an Ohio Congressman, is now facing from three women, including his ex-wife. His ex-wife and these other women, saying they were he was physically
abusive toward him toward them.
His ex-wife saying that at one point he threw hot water on her. And as you mentioned, Senator Bernie Moreno, who is his ex-father-in-law, expressing
on a number of occasions concern about both the safety of his daughter and the daughter that Max Miller and his ex-wife Emily Moreno have together.
This is a long-running situation, one that does not seem like it's being going to be resolved anytime soon. Miller has asked for a House Ethics
Committee investigation into himself to essentially try to clear his name. At the same time, he has said he's not going to drop out.
And as you heard in some of that CNN interview yesterday, he's denied all these allegations and said he's essentially being unfairly attacked by
these three women and others, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILLER: For no second am I going to sit here and continue to be debased by false and baseless allegations and be pushed out of the seat. I have worked
so hard to represent and done a terrific job for our community. I've been a good legislator. All they're trying to do is create rumor mills without
evidence. It's all hearsay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANCRYN: Now there are a lot in the Republican Party who want him to drop out in the next few days, give them a chance to hold on to this. What
should be a safe red seat? One of those who has not done that, though, is President Donald Trump.
He has said, expressed doubts about Miller being able to win this race. Told him personally, look, it doesn't look good, but at the same time, he
stopped short of saying, Max Miller, you need to get out of the race. And until that happens, the kind of consensus around the GOP here is that there
isn't going to be any impetus where Max Miller feels like he is under so much pressure that he needs to leave the race, Zain.
ASHER: Yeah, without President Trump telling him explicitly to do so. Adam Cancryn live for us. Thank you for that. All right; a man arrested at
President Donald Trump's golf course in California on Sunday is expected to appear in court today.
Los Angeles police say that 38-year-old Janine John Taylor was spotted acting suspiciously on the property of Trump National Golf Club. The FBI
says ammunition was found in his pocket, and a loaded handgun in his car. He was arrested two days before President Trump visited the club for a
Republican National Committee dinner. CNN Nick Watt is in Los Angeles with more? Nick, what more do we know?
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Zain, this arrest was announced while the president was in the air on his way to that golf course for a dinner
last night. Right now, we are told investigators are going through Tails Electronics to try and figure out a motive. They will not say yet that this
was definitely a potential threat to the president.
But we are learning from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and also from the FBI, some pretty disturbing details. Now, this guy who lived
in a city just pretty close to Trump's golf club was apparently first seen there on Friday. He had an earpiece in, and he was taking pictures of the
security preparations that were under way for Trump's visit.
Staff at the golf course then told federal agents that the guy was back on Sunday. And he apparently walked up to the agents, engaged with them, told
them that he was working for the State Department and was there as part of the security detail.
Now they figured out after a quick check that he had an outstanding warrant for a robbery, and during a pat down search, they found a magazine with
hollow tip ammunition in his pocket. Then in his car, they found binoculars, another weapon.
And then they searched his house on Monday and they found more an illegally modified AR-15 style rifle, a lot more ammunition, some badges again, kind
of apparently fake badges, suggesting he was some kind of security officer. And they also found notebooks with what we're told contained concerning
statements.
[11:25:00]
Now they haven't elaborated on that. But so far, he has been charged with three weapons counts, one charge relating to robbery. He's pleaded not
guilty to all of those. There's now a federal charge, and of course the investigation is under way as to was this guy going to threaten the
president?
You know, obviously there have been Zain previous attempts on the president's life, so the FBI tell us you know they are not taking any
chances. They are investigating this deeply. He's expected to be in court today when we might get some more details.
But right now, what we know is a guy with ammunition, weapons, a badge claiming to be some kind of security officer was on Trump's golf course
just a couple of days before the president landed, Zain.
ASHER: Nick Watt, thank you so much for that. All right still to come, a nail-biting finish to a contentious Democratic primary. More on the race to
be the next U.S. Senator from Michigan up ahead. Plus, SpaceX finally made it to the moon, but not exactly how they wanted to. Stay with us and see
what happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher from New York. Here are some of the headlines we are watching today. A Gulf official
tells CNN there is a 50-50 chance Iran and Oman could reach a deal over the Strait of Hormuz by Friday. U.S. President Donald Trump says though that an
agreement between Washington and Iran could happen within 48 hours.
On Tuesday, Trump claimed the Strait will be reopened very soon, possibly even today, but he warned, if that doesn't happen, he will launch a harsh
new attack on Iran. Overnight, Ukrainian defenses failed to intercept any incoming threats in a Russian attack said to include more than two dozen
ballistic and anti-ship missiles.
Ukrainian officials say at least 17 people were killed and dozens more wounded. Ukraine says it's running short of U.S.-made Patriot missile
interceptors.
[11:30:00]
In Greece, emergency crews backed by water bombing aircraft are on high alert for potential wildfire flare-ups west of Athens. Residents evacuated
from the area say they were left at the mercy of God, returning to find their homes in farmland guttered and reduced to ash. Officials say strong
winds and the rugged terrain fueled the fast-moving blazes.
Some families in Morocco say they don't know the fate of their loved ones who were part of that border surge into Spain's Ceuta territory. Some
70,000 migrants crossed into the Spanish Enclave in North Africa last week, and while most have now returned. Thousands are still there, many of them
minors, and we know there are at least 72 people who died during that chaotic crossing.
All right, more now on our top story, Democratic Primary for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan. The results are in, and CNN can project that
progressive candidate and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed has clinched Michigan's Democratic Senate Primary. He defeated Congresswoman
Haley Stevens in what was a bitter and contentious race.
El-Sayed will take on Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in November. Voters in five states also punched ballots yesterday in several key primary
races across the country, including Missouri, Kansas, Virginia, and Washington. CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Detroit, Michigan, and joins us live
now.
I mean, one of the things that El-Sayed has to really focus on is how to beat Mike Rogers. I mean, that was one of the concerns that a lot of voters
had in this primary that it would have been Haley Stevens. She would have been the more likely candidate to sort of triumph in November. How much of
a tall order is it for El-Sayed Arlette?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Abdul El-Sayed really tried to use his remarks a short while ago to issue a call to unity within the
Democratic Party because he believes that they need to come together in order to defeat former Congressman Mike Rogers, who was the GOP Senate
nominee in November.
Now, this win by El-Sayed was a significant notch in progressives' belts, as they were able to show that a progressive candidate was able to win in a
battleground state like Michigan. But so far, he has just won that Democratic Primary, and there is still quite a bit of work to do to head
into that general election.
There's very real questions facing El-Sayed about whether he will be able to bring together a broader general electorate coalition at a time when
Republicans are simply trying to paint him as too radical for the state? But as he took questions from reporters, I asked El-Sayed about the fact
that this was such a close race and what that might mean for Democratic unity? Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EL-SAYED: You heard about the historic turnout. Sometimes, you know, intra- family squabbles are the biggest ones, but we all know that when we walk out the house, we stand united. And sometimes we got to have it out about
the conversation about who we are and who we want to be.
And I think I'll tell you that the things that unite us are so much bigger than the things that divide us. If anything, when you've got 500,000 more
voters who came out to be a part of a process to pick a nominee, that means that their voices have been heard. And we're going to build a movement that
reaches out to everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now, in a show of unity, El-Sayed's opponent, Congresswoman Haley Stevens, quickly released a statement saying that she supports him in this
campaign and remains focused on that goal of defeating Mike Rogers. The two actually also El-Sayed and Stevens spoke earlier today.
He was also joined by State Senator Mallory McMorrow. She had been running in this contest just until a few weeks ago, but dropped out. She wanted to
also show that the Democratic Party would stay united. But there's still very real questions about whether they will be able to do that?
That's part of the work that El-Sayed will have to do, bringing together some coalitions that had perhaps voted for Haley Stevens, like Black voters
here in the Detroit area where we are. We also heard El-Sayed make a specific plea to Jewish voters. The politics of Israel are something that
really loomed large over this race.
El-Sayed has been quite critical about Israel's actions towards Gaza. He also railed against the money that was spent in this race by AIPAC, that
pro-Israeli lobby group that spent more than $30 million to help boost his opponent, Haley Stevens.
But in his remarks, El-Sayed made clear that he wants to try to reach out to Jewish voters. That his goal is to keep Jewish voters safe. And saying
that they are part of the coalition that he hopes will be able to come together in November.
But certainly, this will be a very tall task for El-Sayed and Democrats writ large, as Michigan is just simply a battleground state that's flipped
between presidents Republican and Democrat in recent cycles. And the road to the Senate majority certainly runs through the state, as both parties
really see a key to their path to victory.
[11:35:00]
ASHER: All right, Arlette Saenz live for us there. Thank you. All right, let's get back now to one of our top stories and the optimistic assessment
by the U.S. President of the chances of a deal with Iran. Iranian media is casting doubt on Donald Trump's claim that the Strait of Hormuz could be
reopened as soon as today.
On Tuesday, Trump said that he expected it to happen very soon, or else U.S. attacks on Iran would restart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the Strait of Hormuz, there's active reporting that you might open as soon as tomorrow?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Could happen tomorrow and next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tomorrow?
TRUMP: A lot of progress has been made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right, Iran denies it is even talking with the United States. And Iran's state broadcaster is reporting that any future agreement will be
with Oman, and it won't involve reopening the Strait. Rosemary Kelanic is the Director of the Middle East Program at Defense Priorities. She's also
the Author of Black Gold and Black Male Oil and Great Power Politics. She joins us live now.
Rosemary, it is so good to have you. I think it's been a while since we've spoken. But just in terms of you know your assessment of the only way in
which the U.S. is going to sort of end this war. Do you think the only way out is with Iran gaining either some or all control over the Strait of
Hormuz? Is that the only way that this war is going to come to an end, Rosemary?
ROSEMARY KELANIC, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM, DEFENSE PRIORITIES: Yes, I think so. And that's been my view for a long time. And I think more and
more analysts are coming to the same conclusion. And the reason is that Iran has demonstrated for months now that just by threatening attacks on
tankers or other ships, or by doing limited attacks, ones that don't even sink these vessels.
They can throttle shipping through the Strait of Hormuz enough to really cause a deficit in global oil markets that's been depleting inventories
over time. And no matter what kinds of military missions the U.S. has done to try to shuttle oil through Hormuz, we have been unable to reopen it
fully with military power alone, given the Iranian threat from drones and missiles and attack boats, et cetera, et cetera.
So, you know, Iran has demonstrated it can threaten traffic through the Strait. It can do it indefinitely. It can do it cheaply. And it's pretty
much going to be an endemic condition going forward that Iran has this ability. So, the choice for the U.S. left is to keep fighting a war with no
resolution in sight, or to allow even tacitly, Iranian authority over the Strait, even if it means that they impose tolls.
ASHER: And speaking of those possible tolls, this agreement that is being negotiated between Iran and Oman. We don't know 100 percent what is in it.
But according to reports, is this idea that ships would essentially enter the Strait through the Iranian route, and they would exit the Strait,
basically hugging Oman, like going sort of close to Oman.
And that there would be-they're not calling it tolls, but they're calling it service fees for security. Just you know, explain to us first and
foremost Iran's thinking with that sort of strategy, this idea that they would exit, enter one way and exit via Oman?
And also, I mean, obviously, one of the major concerns is going to be that these security fees that Iran ends up charging is going to be used,
possibly for nefarious purposes, possibly building their missile program. Who knows? But just give us your thoughts on that strategy here.
KELANIC: Yeah. So, the strategy, you know, in some ways is it actually makes me optimistic from a Western perspective that Iran wants to bring
Oman into this arrangement to begin with, right? They're not saying we're going to be in charge. We're not, you know, we're not going to split
authority with anybody.
We're not going to allow anybody else to charge tolls, et cetera, et cetera. They are trying to do some kind of cooperative framework with Oman,
an Arab state in the region. And that softens politically the outcome for the United States and for the rest of the region. That it's not just Iran
that's benefiting from this arrangement.
So that's a cause for optimism because they could be much harsher and more aggressive in the control that they want to impose over the Strait. The
fact that they want to be in control of the incoming traffic does give them an upper hand because if you control the incoming traffic, you essentially
control the outgoing traffic, right?
No one goes out that doesn't go in first. So, it's a more important role for them, but it still does give Oman some sort of sense of control and
authority. And you know that's -- it could be a lot worse. Put it that way. It could be a lot worse in terms of Iran cementing its leverage.
ASHER: OK.
KELANIC: I mean, it could always be worse, right? Like that's sort of the general rule of international politics. It could always be worse.
ASHER: It could always be worse. But just in terms of the security fees or the tolls that Iran may end up imposing, that is very tricky.
[11:40:00]
Because once you introduce tolls, it is very difficult to not introduce tolls anymore. To sort of then say to Iran, actually, we don't want you to
introduce tolls anymore. Once you've said yes to that, you can't easily climb down from that.
KELANIC: Absolutely. And that's what Iran is counting on I think, right? They don't just want the income. The income would be nice. It's important
to them. It could be anywhere from $8 billion to $15 billion a year, according to various estimates.
That's not chump change, but considering that Iran has suffered, by some estimates, $300 billion of damage from the Iran -- from Trump's war and the
U.S. Israeli air strikes, it would still take them almost 30 years to get back to zero to break even, right? Just on reconstructing their economy.
So, it's you know it's favorable to Iran in certain ways. In the larger context, it's a drop in the bucket for what Iran can get. But yes, once you
put the taxes on, and this is a tax, right? This is essentially Iran imposing security authority and charging a tax for using the Strait. And
once you do that, it's pretty hard to remove.
ASHER: Not only is it hard to remove, but then it sort of sets a precedent for other parts of the world, doesn't it?
KELANIC: It could, although I don't think that the present argument is as strong as people think it is, because Hormuz is just so different from
everywhere else, right? Iran controls the entire northern coast line of the Persian Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz is 100 miles long. That's 100-mile-long
gauntlet that ships have to run under Iranian fire.
The cargo that's passing through oil is so important for the global economy. It's just -- Iran just has more leverage over Hormuz than say the
Houthis will ever have over the Bab El-Mandab, which is only 30 miles long, which is like the length of the City of Chicago. So even though it's
narrower, it's a smaller passage that ships have to go through from top to bottom.
The Red Sea is much larger. The Houthis are weaker, et cetera, et cetera. So, other countries might try to impose a similar scheme, but I don't think
they're going to have the leverage that Iran does over Hormuz. It's just a pretty unique situation.
ASHER: Right. So, it's circumstantial, and it just so happened that several factors worked out in their favor in their ability to control the Strait.
Rosemary Kelanic, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much. We'll be right back with more after this short break.
KELANIC: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ASHER: All right, the Bahamas power grid is getting a boost this year with help from Egypt. In our new series, Africa Inc, Adefemi Akinsanya explains
how a Cairo-based industrial giant is proving that world-class infrastructure can be both built and exported from Africa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ADEFEMI AKINSANYA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bahamas electrical grid will soon get a major upgrade, thanks to this new
piece of African-made infrastructure.
ANTHONY CHRISTIE, COO, BAHAMAS POWER AND LIGHT: Well, this transformer in particular will ensure that we provide a stable, reliable grid in order for
us to maintain supply to our customers on about a third of this island, we need this new transformer to be installed and be placed on the grid.
It's over a million dollars, and it required not only the purchase of the equipment but also the logistics and other components involved in order to
get it here.
AKINSANYA (voice-over): The 70-ton transformer was built nearly 10,000 kilometers away in Egypt by Elsewedy Electric.
MOHAMED ELSEWEDY, VICE PRESIDENT, ELSEWEDY ELECTRIC: Egypt has lots of benefits for business from exporting, being the center of the world, and
the same time a low-cost country producing with low cost. We start in the Gulf, and then we started going through, going also to Europe and the
States as well.
AKINSANYA (voice-over): Founded in 1938, Elsewedy Electric has grown from an Egyptian trading business into a global infrastructure player. And
transformers are only part of what powers that growth. About an hour north east of Cairo, this factory is part of Elsewedy's cable division, a
business the company says sold nearly 140,000 tons of wire and cable in the first nine months of 2025 alone.
AMR EL SAWAF, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ELSEWEDY CABLES: What makes a good cable that you are using the best materials with the best quality, and even the
best assets as per the specifications needed by each project, each client in each country of the world.
AKINSANYA (voice-over): But Elsewedy's business doesn't end on the factory floor. The real test is getting products from factories like this to
critical infrastructure projects thousands of kilometers away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Bahamas project for us was like a reference to prove that we are up to the standard and up to the quality to start opening more
projects on that side of the world.
AKINSANYA (voice-over): And every successful delivery helps strengthen partnerships.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We sent a team of five persons on a factory acceptance test, so they got to go to Egypt and they got to see it in place before it
was shipped. So, our team worked well with the OEM to make sure that all the specs were there, all information was shared, so that when it got to
the port, we could actually move it.
So, it was a lot of bits and pieces involved. We need many more transformers, so again, there may be need to reach out to them and work
with them in order to ensure we have the equipment we need.
AKINSANYA (voice-over): Elsewedy believes the need for power infrastructure will only continue to accelerate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Demand will increase a lot because of EV cars, in addition to all the data centers that being built all around the world. So,
there is always a demand for the coming, say, 10 to 15 years that it's growing year after year. The next phase for Elsewedy Electric as growth,
it's not only for Elsewedy Electric; it's for the whole market to grow as well.
AKINSANYA (voice-over): And perhaps growing demand will lead to growing opportunities for other African companies in the sector.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Africa Inc. in association with Dangote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
ASHER: All right, hundreds of people are fleeing their homes in Guatemala as one of the most active volcanoes in Central America enters its most
intense phase of eruption. The Fuego volcano is about 50 kilometers southwest of the Capital, Guatemala City. It's been spewing lava and ash
since Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: During the day, you can't see it, but at night, it's a serious thing, so you can't sleep. You stay alert to anything, but it is
more dangerous tonight because you can see it. Because for a moment it wasn't making noise, but the little red bits go all the way down, and then
since it has a clear path, it's scary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Red alerts have been issued for three regions, and authorities are urging people to move to shelter as many people say they're afraid of what
will happen if they leave, but the defense minister says that security forces will guard against looting.
SpaceX's first earnings as a public company blasted past expectations. Elon Musk's satellite space and AI business revenue soared by 92 percent, but at
the same time, it showed how much cash it was burning through on artificial intelligence that put shareholders on edge, sending the shares down in late
trading on Tuesday.
A huge chunk of SpaceX rocket may have crashed into the moon earlier this morning. We are still waiting for more details on this. The part is from
the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket and weighed about four tons traveling more than 5,000 miles an hour. It's been floating in space since
it's launched last year.
The collision would pose no threat to the Earth, but could create a crater with a diameter of 30 or 20 to 30 meters on the Moon's surface. CNN's
Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean has more.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: This really emphasizes the vastness of space. This used rocket booster from a launch a year and a half
ago has been floating in space ever since. That is until the moon's gravity took hold of it, setting the stage for this crash into the moon's surface
that was supposed to happen early Wednesday morning.
But right now, we're still awaiting official confirmation. What we're talking about here is the second stage or upper stage from a SpaceX Falcon
9 Rocket. The first stage or lower stage is the section that dramatically lands back on Earth to be reused. This part usually falls back toward Earth
but is burned up in the atmosphere.
The Falcon 9 upper stage weighs around 8,800 pounds, about the weight of an adult female African elephant traveling five 400 miles per hour, seven
times the speed of sound, meaning it was going to hit the moon with a lot of force, three tons of dynamite. That's how much power that this impact
was going to create, and then make a crater about the size of a basketball court.
But here is the rub, unlike a moon landing or a manned rocket, this is space junk. There are no cameras on board, no data being sent back live, so
this is a bit of a needle in a haystack now. And people around the world are looking through telescopes for craters on the moon to confirm it hit
the moon as expected, and that can take some time because the moon, after all, 230,000 miles away, no small object.
But it is important for scientists to study this because it will provide key data for them as NASA prepares to head back to the moon and set up a
more permanent base there. And NASA wants to know how best to protect these missions from space junk like this, which there'll be a lot more of with
more moon missions coming up, back to you.
ASHER: All right, in a surprising example of artificial intelligence going rogue, the most advanced AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI went to new
lengths to deceive real people during testing by Britain's AI Security Institute. It was done in lab environment where they have intentionally
relaxed security protections. Researchers say the models created multiple fake identities and repeatedly tried to persuade real people to insert
malicious code into an online file transfer service.
[11:55:00]
Both Anthropic and OpenAI are investigating. All right; Disney fans may soon be seeing Mickey Mouse's latest dance on TikTok. The two companies
struck a deal letting creators make videos with Disney's famous characters.
The partnership announced earlier today would let social media creators make short-form videos based on brands like Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar.
It's being billed as the first of its kind, first of its kind deal. Financial details were not disclosed.
And finally, before we go, an engineering professor is turning her childhood vision for jumping ropes into reality. Tara Reid Smith -- Tahira
Reid Smith, excuse me, developed a machine that can turn double Dutch ropes without the need of two people. The app-controlled prototype is called Jump
Dreams.
This is really cool. A double Dutch is obviously a very strategic activity that requires coordination, timing, agility to keep pace with the ropes.
Smith says that her dream is to get her invention. This is so cool into production. It's the little things in life. All right, stay with CNN. There
is much more "One World" with my colleague Bianna Golodryga after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
