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CNN International: Iran Seizes British-Flagged Tanker in Strait of Hormuz; Trump Says U.S. Downed Iranian Drone, Iran Denies It. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 19, 2019 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, welcome, I'm Becky Anderson, live from CNN's hub in Abu Dhabi. It is 2:00 am and we continue our breaking news coverage of the incident in the Persian Gulf.

It feels like you can cut the tension here in the Gulf with a knife, after a major escalation that is sure to further strain relations between Iran and the West.

Our breaking story this hour: Iran's Revolutionary Guards used a helicopter and small boats to seize a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. This is how Iran's state-run press TV captured the Stena Impero just hours ago.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says it seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. And according to the IRGC's official statement, the vessel's name is Stena Impero. It was seized for violating international naval regulations as it was passing these strategic waterway. Press TV will update you as soon as we get more information.

ANDERSON: The U.K. government convened an emergency response meeting. The British foreign secretary says he is extremely concerned by the situation that there are no U.K. citizens on the ship.

None of this comes out of the blue, of course. To give us the context, two weeks ago the Iranian flagged oil tanker was seized by British commandos near Gibraltar. Tehran said there would be a response in no uncertain terms. Here's what the U.S. president had to say about the situation.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So we're going to be speaking with the U.K. and this only goes to show what I'm saying about Iran, trouble, nothing but trouble. And remember this, the agreement, the ridiculous agreement made by

President Obama, expires in a very short period of time, it was a short-term agreement.

When you're dealing in countries you have to deal in 50 years to 100 years, you don't deal on the short term. That was a ridiculous agreement. And it goes to show you I was right about Iran. And let's see what happens.

But I know that it's not an American ship, it's U.K. I guess it could be one, it could be two. And we'll be speaking to them. They have a new prime minister coming soon and that's a good thing for the U.K.

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ANDERSON: That's the U.S. president responding to questions from reporters on this incident that happened just a couple of hours ago in the Strait of Hormuz. Let's bring in CNN's Fred Pleitgen, he was in Tehran just a few weeks ago and he knows what happened.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps seizing a British flag tanker.

The question is, why, Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems, Becky, that there's various reasons why this happened. Why this happened right now and, of course, one of them could be a tit-for-tat response, that the authorities in Gibraltar, with the help of British special forces, seized that Iranian flagged tanker in the Mediterranean.

And I think one key event that happened is yesterday or today that the authorities in Gibraltar were given the go-ahead to detain that tanker for another 30 days. I do believe that the Iranians considered that to be a slap in the face to them.

You've seen negotiations between Iran and the U.K. side over the past couple of days and weeks, trying to get the Iranian tanker released. There were even talks between Javad Zarif and the U.K. foreign minister, where it seemed as though the U.K. were on the verge of allowing that tanker to be released.

The Iranians obviously were angry about the fact that it hadn't happened. Also there were Iranian politicians, Iranian military leaders, who said openly that the Iranians should take the ship in response.

The Iranians on the face of it are saying they took the ship because it was disregarding international maritime law. They claim that it had turned off its tracker and they pulled it closer into Iranian waters and brought it onshore, of what we're hearing, to the port of Bandar Abbas.

But all of this, of course, Becky, comes at the time of extreme tensions. The other big event that's been happening is that the U.S.S. Boxer just went -- [18:05:00]

PLEITGEN: -- through the Strait of Hormuz, which is another thing that the Iranians would've seen as a provocation and we know there was an Iranian drone flying around the U.S. and it took the drone down and the Iranians were saying it didn't happen.

But you did see a lot of activity from the Iranians around the U.S.S. Boxer at the Strait of Hormuz going into the Persian Gulf. Certainly the time of heightened tensions, a time when the Iranians are clearly signaling that they believe they are the bosses in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

As with these heightened tensions, they are saying that they are not going to back down an inch while the U.S. says it's an international waterway and needs to remain open. It needs to be safe passage especially for tankers like the one that Iranians have seized right now.

It's an extremely difficult situation and tense situation but some very distinct things already happening that could've escalated the situation where the tank was seized -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. You alluded to President Trump just said in the past 24 hours that the U.S. shot down a drone that was above the U.S.S. Boxer. This is footage released by the Iranians from a drone that they say hasn't be disabled and is perfectly fine and just to prove that, they have released this footage that they say is of the U.S.S. Boxer and was shot after President Trump said that the drone was disabled.

There's a lot going on. As you rightly point out, Fred, a lot of number of different incidents which only go to poke the hornet's nest, we've been talking for sometime and the Iranians have been suggesting and saying, as well as people in this region, all it would take would be a mistake to take this from dealable (sic), keeping things tense but not catastrophic and be unimaginable.

Are we there yet?

It is very unclear whether the Iranians' red lines are and where the U.S.' red lines are and that doesn't include the U.K.

PLEITGEN: I think, Becky, at this point, it seems those red lines might be shifting. The mistake, if a catastrophic mistake is made, that the other side might think they're doing something that would not lead to a big reply from the other.

But that then does. And then things could spiral out of control. Look at the things that have been happening over the past couple of months, almost each and every incident that took place could have led to a wider conflict.

You look at the tankers that were attacked and the U.S. says by sea mines from Iran. The Iranians are saying that that wasn't them. A U.S. drone being shot down -- and we have to remind you, that wasn't some small drone, that was a very large surveillance drone that flies around 50,000 feet that was taken down. Also it was a very expensive drone as well.

Then there is President Trump was the one who walked back. Ever since, with the U.S.S. Boxer that was there through the Strait of Hormuz, I have been on a U.S. warship, on the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier as it went through the Strait of Hormuz a couple of years ago.

And seeing the footage that we are seeing from the Boxer or from the Iranian footage that was taken of the Boxer. what I saw back then, it seems the Iranian forces were closer to the Boxer that what we saw a couple of years ago.

Right now the, situation is extremely tense and you're absolutely right, any mistake could lead to a wider confrontation on both sides. If you look at the rhetoric from the Iranian side, the Revolutionary Guard Corps saying, look, if the U.S. goes too far, there's going to be a big response from the Iranians.

The Iranians are saying generally they are willing to escalate if there are provocations from the U.S. You also have folks in the Trump administration who would not shy back from a fight with the Iranians, first and foremost national security adviser John Bolton.

Then you have these reports that the U.S. are planning on sending additional troops into the region, this time to Saudi Arabia. So you're absolutely right, this is an extremely tense time where any mistake could certainly have great consequences Becky.

ANDERSON: Fred, a story for you just in Iran, just a couple of weeks ago. Just an update for you. The British foreign minister saying that he wants to speak to --

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ANDERSON: -- his Iranian counterpart but he is on the plane and can't, that being Zarif. He is on his way to Venezuela. But he's insisting -- the British foreign secretary --, quote, "We are not looking at military options, we're looking at a diplomatic way to resolve this situation. But we are very clear that it must be resolved."

Going on that, "Freedom of navigation must be maintained."

Let's go live to Iran now. Ramin Mostaghim is a "Los Angeles Times" reporter in Tehran and he joins us now.

Ramin, will this move by the Revolutionary Guard to seize the British tanker, does it surprise anyone in Iran?

RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, "L.A. TIMES": No, everybody was expecting the deal to be a couple of months and a couple of weeks ago, rhetorics and the commands from top officials. So everybody was expecting this retaliation or tit-for-tat.

But unfortunately at this time of the early morning in Tehran, the officials do not have bait (ph), despite the tension and escalation now. And only press and media like you and I are very clear (ph). We don't know the -- what's their own reactions, which are great until morning, 8:00 or 9:00 am in the morning to see what the official reaction to that.

But until then, I can say that this tension escalations and also what's going on in the Persian Gulf was predictable by Iranians and Iranian people every day are just renewing all these tensions and are expecting worse to come.

And that is the danger of this story, because when you --

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MOSTAGHIM: -- you just get habituated with the tensions increasing and escalations in the regions, then you are just getting used to it and then everything can come out of the blue sky and a big catastrophe can happen because everybody not just expecting better to come, just everybody is expecting more acts to happen. And that is the danger in the region.

ANDERSON: Ramin, thank you for that. Ramin is in Tehran and it is a quarter past two in the morning here in the UAE.

Before Iran seized the British tanker some hours ago, the American president claiming that the U.S. Navy shot down an Iranian drone on Thursday. Now Iran has since denied it and we've been showing you this footage, that he claims proves the U.S. president's claim.

CNN reporter Ryan Browne is standing by for us.

What does the Department of Defense have to say about this situation?

We're hearing from an official that the U.S. military was initially using armed planes. But now armed drones to monitor the situation. So as we look at these images of the U.S.S. Boxer from Iranian drone, what are the capabilities?

RYAN BROWNE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. is currently flying a range of surveillance aircraft that can include drones and action also include larger aircraft, for instance, a Navy surveillance plane. They routinely flying in this area and more importantly we're told that the U.S. Naval forces in the region are in close contact with the U.S. flagships operating there.

So they are very much keeping an eye on the situation and also talking to U.S. vessels which could be very well understandably nervous that they could be the next target of the Iranians, given that they have seized the U.K. flagship and temporarily stopped a Liberian flagship as well.

So the U.S. Navy taking a proactive posture right now as this develops.

ANDERSON: Just as we speak, I'm just getting a line in from one of my producers. Saudi Arabia actually now confirming CNN's reporting that there will be more U.S. troops in the region, specifically in Saudi Arabia going forward.

We also know, the secretary of state has been doing the rounds in this region and beyond, trying to get U.S. allies together in a coordinated fashion --

[18:15:00]

ANDERSON: -- to ensure that the maritime security and particularly in the Strait of Hormuz in the wider Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea is safe and is built up.

Does the U.S. believe that it's getting the support it needs from its regional allies here to secure these tankers and this shipping, be them U.S. and U.K. or others?

BROWNE: It's a great question. Today, in Washington at the State Department, the administration was holding a conference with 60 countries in an effort to build this coalition to help protect these waterways and ensure the freedom of navigation.

The U.S. has been clear that it does not want to do the heavy lifting here. It doesn't want to see U.S. Navy ships escorting every single tanker. They want the responsibility to fall on the countries of origin.

If it's a U.K. flagship, that the U.K. military forces should kind of keep an eye on their own ships. The U.S. has offered to perform and command and control function with some sophisticated capabilities, surveillance, reconnaissance aircraft, capabilities that other countries don't have.

They're willing to offer that but given the high volume of traffic that goes through the strait, the U.S. is hoping to make this a coalition effort. They're trying to get as many countries at they can to sign up; 60 countries meeting here in Washington, not clear yet how many of those are going to be willing to participate in such an endeavor, particularly giving the heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the downing of a drone yesterday, Iranian shooting down of a U.S. drone a few weeks ago. It's unclear if there's going to be any success in the countries to sign up to an international task force.

ANDERSON: In the region, voices suggest how many more vessels do we need in the strait and how much more tension do we need?

Better if there's less security to a certain extent or less of headline security than more going forward.

Ryan, it's always a pleasure having you on, and thank you for your reporting.

Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, we will have more on the situation with Iran and a live update from London on the seized British flagged tanker and the response there and that's coming up in just a moment, let's take a very short break and will be back after this.

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ANDERSON: Here's our breaking news for you. In the past couple of hours Iran has seized a British flagged tanker in the volatile Strait of Hormuz. They say it had violated international regulations.

This ship is the Stena Impero, which is pictured here, the foreign secretary condemning the seizure, saying it is essential that all ships can move safely and freely in the region.

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ANDERSON: But Jeremy Hunt says the U.K. is looking at a diplomatic response, not a military one. This didn't come out of the blue, of course, it happened as Gibraltar got approval to detain an Iranian tanker for another month.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatening British shipping after Royal Marines captured this Iranian vessel earlier this month.

CNN correspondent David Culver following the story from London. He joins me live with the latest.

Let's have a look at more of what Jeremy Hunt has just said. This is important, I'm going to read out what he said.

The British foreign secretary saying that he wants to speak to his Iranian counterpart. But he is on a plane -- that being Zarif -- and so he can't but Jeremy Hunt insisting, quote, "We are not looking at military options, we're looking at a diplomatic way to resolve the situation. But we are very clear that it must be resolved."

Going on that freedom of navigation must be maintained. Certainly the sense here, David, is that the British foreign secretary is trying to take the steam out of what otherwise could be a situation that could get out of control?

DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question, Becky. It could be explosive, but this statement, to put into context here. This is within the last hour. I was going through the videos feeding into our International Desk here in London.

And it was outside of the cabinet office here in London where that COBR meeting of national security officials are gathering right now and are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation.

As you point out, the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt saying they are hoping for a diplomatic solution and hoping that they don't have to go the military direction.

But I want to take a step further because the freedom of navigation in the Gulf is essential but he says if that freedom of navigation is restricted, Iran is the biggest loser and so it is in their interest to resolve the situation.

He did not elaborate on that but strong words, no question. He said, Becky, that he had been in touch with the U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo, as you mentioned, he tried to get with Mr. Zarif but was unable to because of the travel. He is believed to be on to Venezuela at this moment.

But he puts it in context that they are using some very decisive words. There are also choice words, they are trying to dance this delicate situation throughout and we do expect an update as this COBR meeting comes to a conclusion and hopefully within the next hour or few hours as we will stand by and wait for that.

No doubt security officials are taking this very seriously. In Tehran, the U.K. ambassador is working with Iranian officials but they're also working with international partners. The question here is, who are these partners that can help with this diplomatic solution so to speak. It seems like the U.S. is in no place to do that -- Becky.

ANDERSON: We've heard from President Trump, who called Iran "trouble." He went on to say that he was looking forward to working with a new British prime minister.

Implicit within that was that they will be more on board with how I feel about myriad things, not least Iran.

Is it clear -- the U.K. foreign secretary says he is not looking for a military confrontation here.

But is it clear where the British red lines are when it comes to provocation from the Iranians at this point?

CULVER: There was a question as to what the deadline would be here. So how long are you going to give the Iranians in this situation?

That was put to the foreign secretary as he came into that COBR meeting. He said let me meet with the other officials and I'll update you on that on the back end.

One of the things worth pointing out here, Becky, is that this stems from the Iranian part as a response to the Grace 1 in Gibraltar. It's worth noting that, here in London, the chief minister and deputy from Gibraltar have been here, according to the Twitter feed from the chief minister, since Wednesday.

They've been holding a series of meetings with Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson and met with May. They met with Iranian officials. And interesting to note on Thursday that they said that those meetings with Iranian officials were constructive and positive. That's the words they used just yesterday.

So it's interesting to see 24 hours later what there things have turned.

ANDERSON: Fascinating, thank you, David. Susan Glasser is a CNN global affairs analyst and she joins me now

from Aspen, Colorado, via Skype.

Susan, good to have you. Back in May --

[18:25:00]

ANDERSON: -- you wrote in "The New Yorker" that Donald Trump may be constraining a possible march to war with Iran but then said, and I quote, "I wouldn't discount the chance that a series of mistakes could lead to a conflict that Trump himself doesn't want," almost two months to the day since you published that.

What is your assessment of what is going on?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think all the unknowns that you've been going over is a good reminder of how conflicts can escalate, even when that's not the intention of any of the parties.

President Trump since May has actually been very strongly that he wants to go to the direction of negotiations with the Iranians rather than conflict. That is what so interesting to me about the timing of this incident with the seizure of the British ship in the sense that this is coming at the exact moment when a (INAUDIBLE) of President Trump's, U.S. senator Rand Paul from Kentucky, has already been giving the green light (INAUDIBLE) to have a secret meeting with the Iran foreign minister, Javad Zarif.

In fact, that meeting may have actually occurred while he was in New York (INAUDIBLE). So you have on one hand one fact of the Iranians starting to talk, perhaps, to the Americans, through an envoy for President Trump at the same time that you have perhaps a different faction moving to take this very aggressive action against the British ship. It's really one of those moments where uncertainty, that potential for (INAUDIBLE) and miscalculation.

ANDERSON: And you can hear the British foreign secretary trying to take the steam out of this. We've been hearing right across this region where I am -- and I'm in the UAE; this is our Middle East broadcasting hub -- that a mistake could be catastrophic at this point.

You've been writing about Trump's racist remarks recently aimed at four congresswomen. I raise that at this time to bring in his dramatic play for reelection. A lot could change if he is not reelected. The Iranians at one point looked to be sitting this one out but these sanctions are clearly biting and action needed.

How would a change in the presidency change things, as you see it?

GLASSER: It's a very good question. I think that the question of how does the U.S. 2020 presidential election factor into the calculations made by different countries around the world, including the Iranians, clearly this is something that has become a major part of everyone's foreign policy. I think up until recently, the Iranians were looking to wait Trump

out, that they thought there was a good chance that he would lose reelection next year. But these recent overtures are indications that they might be willing to (INAUDIBLE) suggest that either they've changed their assessment; that is, they think President Trump is more likely to win reelection.

Or the new U.S. sanctions, what the American officials call the maximum pressure campaign are taking enough bite out of the Iranian economy that they're feeling some (INAUDIBLE) to move more quickly to some sort of resolution.

But I think up until this very aggressive act against the British that there was (INAUDIBLE) starting to take hope among American security officials (ph) that perhaps there was a greater chance that there had been say six months ago of a new round of (INAUDIBLE).

This, I think, calls that into question and we still don't know how (INAUDIBLE) will affect it. But 2020 is on everybody's mind these days, because of course President Trump (INAUDIBLE).

ANDERSON: Sure. Susan, thank you, she is out of Aspen, Colorado, for you tonight. We will have more of our breaking news coverage after this.

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ANDERSON: Back to our top story this hour. The U.S. military says it is monitoring the Strait of Hormuz after Iran seized a British flagged oil tanker there. You're seeing some video of that vessel right now. The British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt warning that Tehran would be the biggest loser if freedom of navigation is restricted in these waterways. Jeremy Hunt adding that the U.K. is looking at a diplomatic response but hasn't been able to talk to his Iranian counterpart yet. He says because Javad Zarif is on his way to Venezuela. U.S. president Donald Trump earlier spoke to reporters outside the White House. He had a rather muted response to the seizure of the tank. Have a listen to what he said.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

TRUMP: Well, as you know, we have a very close alliance with the U.K. and we always have. We heard that. The United States has very few tankers going in because we are using our own energy now. We've made a lot of progress over the last 2.5 years.

So we don't have many tankers going in but we have a lot of ships there that are warships and we'll talk to the U.K. and we have no written agreement but we have an agreement. They've been a very great ally of ours.

So we heard about it. We heard it was one. We heard it was two and we'll be working with the U.K. They'll have a new prime minister soon, which is a good thing. And we will be working with the U.K. But we have no written agreement but I think we have an agreement, which is longstanding.

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ANDERSON: CNN's Abby Philip is at the White House for you and joining us now.

I'm sure that the United Kingdom will be relieved that the U.S. president is showing some support for Britain here, granted somewhat underwhelming. His policy towards Iran is being confused or, should I say, has been confusing to the rest of us.

Is it clear where he stands at the present?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It has been quite confusing because this has been an internal debate between different factions within the president's administration.

If you listen to what President Trump said in that clip that you just played, you'll be forgiven for being even more confused after that statement. That is not clear what he is saying there. He was asked a couple of times in that gaggle actually about whether he thought that these latest actions from Iran were enough to cross his red line.

He just simply didn't answer that question and he implied that, because the United States did not have as much of a presence in terms of oil tankers in that region, that this did not affect the U.S. as much as it affected our ally, the U.K. He would be willing to talk to the United Kingdom about what they might need in a situation like this.

But he didn't give a whole lot of clarity and adding to the lack of clarity is what we're hearing from our sources about what's been going on behind the scenes in talks inside the White House.

They've been saying that President Trump has not been talking as much about diplomacy with Iran as he has been in the past. He said repeatedly in public that he wants to sit down with Tehran, he wants to come up with a better deal than the Iran nuclear deal.

And our sources are telling us he's not talking about that as much anymore. He himself has become a little bit more hawkish. But the question remains after all of this, is what Iran has done with these two tankers --

[18:35:00]

PHILLIP: -- is what the U.S. has done with that Iranian drone that they jammed and brought down this week, is all of that enough for President Trump to move closer to some kind of military action? We simply do not know. The president is not giving us any more

indication of whether or not he is moving closer to that kind of stance. At the same time, some of his allies are worried about this, that he is being influenced by advisers like John Bolton, who are encouraging him to be more hawkish about Iran.

But at the end of the day, this is President Trump's decision and he's been reluctant to go there. It seemed, based on his comments today, that he is still reluctant to raise the temperature on Iran.

He didn't repeat his warnings to Iran today when he was asked about the situation and that should be -- that should not go without notice, that he did not use this as an opportunity to ratchet up the pressure.

ANDERSON: What is absolutely clear is that he does not believe that the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz is the U.S.' responsibility solely. He wants allies in the region and beyond to show that the burden of maritime security in these waterways.

Correct?

PHILLIP: That's exactly right. Beyond that, I think the president is starting to emphasize that we don't need, in his mind -- we don't need the strait as much as some other countries do. He wants other people to step up.

That might be a miscalculation on his part as there are many people who say that ensuring the freedom of passage in that strait is as important to the United States, whether or not we get oil from that part of the world as much as we used to.

But this is all part of President Trump's desire to pull the United States out of some of these foreign entanglements. Also to highlight to Iran he won't be provoked into military action if they are trying to, for example, mess with global oil supply.

If this is an attempt to get his attention by affecting the price of oil, he is essentially telling them he doesn't think it's going to work because the U.S. is not as reliant on oil from that region as they were in the past.

ANDERSON: Abby Phillip at the White House, it's always a pleasure having you on, thank you.

CNN military analyst and former commanding general for the U.S. Army, Mark Hertling, he is in Orlando, Florida, for you.

We know the U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo and special representative for Iran Brian Hook pushing for an international pan- regional force to help monitor and protect the Gulf.

Is that practical with the amount of shipping going through there?

I'm talking about capacity at this point.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It would be extremely challenging, Becky. It's only one factor that plays a role in this. The U.S. and the Brits are now escorting their ships, provide escort operations on both the sea and in the air overhead.

The U.S., as the president, just said, it's covering down partly on the ships from the U.K. that are flagged under that country. But there are a lot other ships that go through that area.

The Iranians also seized a ship last Sunday that had an unnamed carrier, that was a bit confusing, out of the United Arab Emirates.

So these things will continue, what's fascinating is how we are addressing this.

What is our strategy?

What are we trying to get out of this?

We are using the threats of military action; that is always good. it's a national power, use the military but the other dynamics of national power aren't as much in play as they should be.

Economic sanctions?

Yes. They're crippling Iran.

Information?

No. It's dysfunctional; we're fighting back and forth on open communication measures on Twitter. In fact, in diplomacy, we are truthfully dysfunctional right now because we have no contacts, either former or back channel, with the government of Iran.

Jeremy Hunt, as you said a little while ago, his first action from the U.K. perspective is getting in touch with the Iranian foreign minister.

Who is the United States talking to?

Right now, we are not talking anybody.

ANDERSON: What about Rand Paul as an opportunity to do the negotiation?

HERTLING: I won't comment on that. I don't think Senator Paul has the professional credentials to do this kind of negotiation and he's going in with a bias against Iran anyway. There was an opportunity in the past to expand the negotiations in a diplomatic action with Iran but that was squandered. Make no mistake about it. I'll say this, in a very forward manner, Iran is on the line after, not only in the strait but across the Middle East. They are doing things in other countries that are difficult to --

[18:40:00]

HERTLING: -- challenge and are disrupting other governments. They have hurt American soldiers or they've contributed to hurting American soldiers in combat in Iraq. All of these things are certainly a part of consideration. But you have to have diplomacy in order to tamp down these various tense situations where there's potential for (INAUDIBLE).

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ANDERSON: What you have just described is exactly what Donald Trump's argument or helps Donald Trump's argument, when he says that the nuclear deal was a terrible deal and this malign behavior, meddling around the region and ballistic missile projects that the Iranians have, is stuff that needs to be dealt with.

Mark, any kind of conflict with Iran would be catastrophic regionwide. More so in the sense of asymmetrical warfare through proxies. As you rightly point out, it is not just Iran, its proxies around the region have hurt American assets.

HERTLING: Certainly. From a military perspective, there will be a very chaotic and asymmetrical and traumatic. Many countries in the Middle East have Iranian proxies within their area of operations, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, other countries.

The thing that is also concerning in the situation is that this would quickly become economic warfare as well. The president can easily say, America is fine, we've got our own sources of oil.

But the rest of the globe depends upon the transport of energy sources through the straits to keep up the global economic dynamics. If that is challenged by either military or economic conflict against Iran, it's going to be problematic for the world's economy.

ANDERSON: It certainly will affect the Asian economy; 60 percent of the oil moving through those waterways goes to Asia. And if Donald Trump wanted to put the squeeze on the Chinese, it wouldn't be a bad way of doing it.

What do you make of the Iranian drone footage that Tehran says exposes Mr. Trump's sheer lies about destroying this drone?

We are looking at the images now, this is images or a video released by the Iranians that they say proves that the U.S. did have a drone above the U.S.S. Boxer but it hasn't been shot down or dismantled in any way. It is still there.

HERTLING: I think you're going to see the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency perhaps have different conclusions from films that they have taken. In fact, Becky, this is an important aspect of this whole fight.

A few weeks ago, when the Iranians shot down a U.S. drone, that was an extremely advanced piece of equipment. As I've said before, it was somewhat of a small Lear jet with unbelievable intelligence capability. It was shot down at 30,000 feet, which is a feat in and of itself, by the Iranian missiles.

This drone that was impeded, let's put it that way, over the U.S.S. Boxer was in fact a lesser quality and capability. It was a tactical systems. Not all drones are created equal. There are some that are very high tech; there are some that are just a little bit above the kind that you would buy in Radio Shack.

It was allegedly brought down or disrupted by electronic signal as opposed to a straight shot. So the Iranians certainly could have the video of a drone while it was still taking pictures.

But what happened after that and how is it recovered and what occurred in that incident over the U.S.S. Boxer remains classified for now. But I think it will be open source very soon from the U.S. perspective.

ANDERSON: Your analysis is always incredibly important to our viewers. Mark, thank you.

HERTLING: Thank you for having me.

ANDERSON: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM and will be back to the breaking news coverage after this very short break. Do stay with us.

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[18:45:00]

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ANDERSON: We're here in the programming hub in Abu Dhabi covering a vitally important story. We're hearing from the British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt speaking on the seizure of this British vessel, just outside the foreign office was where Jeremy Hunt was speaking and as you listen to this, keep in mind that there is a leadership contest going on in the U.K. right now.

Mr. Hunt could find himself as prime minister in the midst of what is this crisis in just a few days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foreign Secretary, what's the situation tonight having status Iran taking control the British vessels?

JEREMY HUNT, BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, the situation as we see it this evening is a situation involving two vessels. The first is the Stena Impero, which was surrounded by four vessels and a helicopter, has changed course and is heading into Iranian waters, 23 crew on board, a British flagship.

The second ship the Mesdar, Liberian flags but British managed, surrounded by 10 speedboats. It is not clear yet whether it has changed course or not. That has 25 crew, no British nationals in any of the crew but we're also concerned about all of the crew.

I have spoken to Secretary of State Pompeo in the United States about the situation and I've tried to talk to Foreign Minister Zarif of Iran but I understand he is on a plane so I will speak to him as soon as I can.

This is completely unacceptable; freedom of navigation must be maintained. We are having an emergency meeting of the government's COBR in a few minutes time. We will respond in a way that is considered robust. We are absolutely clear, if this situation is not resolved quickly, there will be serious consequences.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think this could be resolved by diplomatic means?

Can you rule out any kind of military intervention at all?

HUNT: We are not looking at military options. We're looking at the diplomatic way to resolve the situation. But we are very clear that it must be resolved. Freedom of navigation in the Gulf is absolutely essential.

If that freedom of navigation is restricted, Iran is the biggest loser. So it is in their interest to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. And we will do everything we can to do that. But, as I say, there will be serious consequences if we are not able to resolve it quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you set any kind of deadline Iran returning control of these ships?

HUNT: I'm about to go into the COBR meaning and all those things will be discussed in the detail. We'll also make a statement to the appropriate moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: A quick update on what you just heard from Mr. Hunt there.

[18:50:00]

ANDERSON: The owner of that second vessel that he alluded, the Mesdar, Liberian flagged but British managed, releasing in a statement that it was stopped and boarded but that all crew are now safe and that it is sailing away.

The Iranians, confirmed, not holding onto it. They are holding on to the British flagged Stena Impero. Let's go back to CNN's David Culver in London.

As we rolled that clip from Jeremy Hunt, we reminded our viewers that he is in a leadership race against Boris Johnson at the moment for the Conservative Party, which could mean that he could be prime minister by midweek?

CULVER: No question, Becky. That complicates things even further. Here this is the U.K. in a state of transition in the midst of this international crisis that they're trying to balance and figure out how to go forward with it. It's interesting to put it in context, that sound bite that you heard

there about 90 minutes ago and was outside the foreign office, as you heard, Hunt said he was going into the COBR meeting, national security officials gathering to discuss how to handle this.

You also notice there's some carefully choreographed language that he chose. On one hand, he said that they do not intend to use military action, they don't intend to go in there with force, but rather diplomatic -- that was at least the hope.

On the other hand, he says there will be serious consequences, that this will be a robust response. They are looking at this in a way of I think hope to try to go forward with the diplomatic stream and they say they have their own ambassador in Tehran, who has been meeting with Iranian officials as well as other international partners.

Who those international partners are that can assist them with this, still unclear. Doesn't seem likely that the U.S. would play a role in that.

But Hunt has no question a lot to go through right now. He says that he got there around that time, about 90 minutes ago. But we do know that meeting was going on, Becky, probably about just three hours prior to that. That's our understanding as to what was initially convened. This puts it in perspective for you, too.

We put in some calls here from our International Desk to the foreign office, trying to get some clarification on timing, and trying to really understand when this all started to come together and they were so flooded with calls, so overwhelmed that they put us onto consular official, who tried to take our questions.

So the press aide there couldn't even facilitate our request at that time. It tells you that they're dealing with a lot right now.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. All right, thank you for that.

It is 10 to three in the morning here and 10 to midnight in the U.K. You can see the door of that building firmly closed at present. And we will take a very short break. Back after this.

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[18:55:00]

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ANDERSON: More on our breaking news this hour.

The Iranian seizure of a British tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Let's turn to Trita Parsi. He's the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute and author of "Losing an Enemy" and an expert on Iran. A pleasure to have you on; we have spoken before and let me start with

this latest incident. The seizing of this British tanker by the Revolutionary Guard.

What do you make of what is going on?

TRITA PARSI, FOUNDER, NATIONAL IRANIAN AMERICAN COUNCIL: It's a very unfortunate and very dangerous development but also it's highly predictable. I think what the Iranians are doing is signaling countries that, if you allow yourself, if you succumb to the pressure of the Trump administration, allow yourself to become a tool in the Trump administration's strategy of pressuring Iran, this maximum pressure strategy, then you will pay a price for it because the Iranians are not going to allow you to target Iran without response.

As you mentioned on air, this is following the Brits capturing an Iranian tanker about two weeks ago. They warned that they would be retaliating against that. This is all very dangerous, very unfortunate and none of this would be happening had it not been for the Trump administration, seeking to kill the nuclear deal and going down this path of maximum pressure against Iran.

ANDERSON: The Trump administration in response would say the reason they did that was that Iran is meddling in the region and has a ballistic missile program which threatens this region. So there is a narrative on both sides but I get what you are saying here --

(CROSSTALK)

PARSI: -- it doesn't deal with those issues. If you want to a critique of the deal, it has to be on the merits of the deal itself and not on the issues that, by both sides agreed upon, would not be part of the deal.

This is about actually following the law and the Trump administration can have arguments as to why they don't follow the law but it doesn't mean that they're not following the law, they are breaking international law and they are violating the U.N. Security Council resolution. And that clearly will have consequences.

ANDERSON: Trita, explain to our viewers the nuance here as we had the Iranian foreign minister in New York the past couple of days whose movements being extremely limited by the U.S. administration but in New York what he describes as a substantial move or offer to the U.S. on the details of that deal, that the U.S. hoped they might be able to renegotiate.

So you see the Revolutionary Guard poking the hornet's nest as it were in the Strait of Hormuz.

A disconnect between the two or part and part of Iranian negotiation?

PARSI: Part of Iranian reaction rather than negotiation, because essentially what the Iranians are showing, their conclusion has been that they lived up to the nuclear deal and got nothing for it and the Europeans have made a lot of positive statements about seeking to keep the deal alive but they've been much more adamant about making sure that they are not violating Trump's sanctions.

As a result of all that the, only way they can protect themselves from what potentially would be an attack from the Trump administration, mindful of the fact that John Bolton is a national security adviser, is for them to have this deterrence, that they're willing to fight and attack.

On the one hand, making an offer of negotiations and agreeing to discuss certain parameters of all of this but on the other hand saying they will not be pushed around and will not be an easy -- not going to be a cakewalk like John Bolton tricked the United States into thinking that the Iraq War would be.

ANDERSON: Trita Parsi there. I'm Becky, Anderson, coming to you live from CNN's Middle East programming hub in Abu Dhabi. We are working our sources of bringing you the very latest on what is this breaking news for you throughout the night.

It's just past 3 am here so it's good night from us but CNN's special coverage goes on after the break with Zain Asher.

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