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The Situation Room

Soon, Trump Meets With Cabinet Amid Fears Iran War is Widening; Trump Says, Deal Reached For Complete Disarmament Of Hamas; Spain, Morocco Try To Halt Deadly Rush On Spanish Enclave. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 31, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, major breakthrough? President Trump announcing a historic agreement for the disarmament of Hamas in Gaza. A senior Hamas official says that they're on board, but it all hinges on Israel. We're live at the White House. We'll also get Israel's response that just came in only moments ago.

Plus, tens of thousands of migrants pouring into Spain in a deadly rush, the latest on the efforts to defuse this crisis.

And another A.I. escape, this time from a model made by A.I. giant Anthropic. Why they're calling it, quote, a misunderstanding.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is on assignment. You're in The Situation Room.

Right now, President Trump is getting ready to convene his cabinet at Camp David in Maryland. The meeting comes as the president juggles several foreign policy issues. While neither Iran nor the U.S. military reported any strikes inside Iran overnight, the war is rapidly expanding in the region, threatening to drag even more countries into the conflict.

New video from Iranian state media, for example, claims to show forces targeting an air base in Kuwait overnight, and this comes right on the heels of Egypt's being attacked for the first time since the war began.

Amid the escalation with the Iran war, we're learning of a potential, a potential breakthrough to try to end the fighting in Gaza. President Trump announcing a new deal that he says would lead to the total disarmament of Hamas. If it holds, it would be a critical step toward a new Palestinian government to take over and govern Gaza.

But we just heard from an Israeli spokesperson who said, and I'm quoting now, In response to various reports this morning regarding diplomatic progress in the Gaza Strip, Israel has reiterated that there will be no withdrawal of IDF forces from the current yellow line without the genuine disarmament of Hamas. I'll speak about all of this and more with the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, later this hour.

In the meantime, let's go live right now to our Senior White House reporter, Betsy Klein. First of all, Betsy, what is the president saying about this Hamas Gaza deal?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Wolf, President Trump is describing this as a historic agreement, but as you just laid out, there are significant both military and political obstacles going forward.

You might recall that back in October, the U.S. brokered this ceasefire framework between Israel and Hamas. One issue that it did not address was this topic of Hamas disarmament, leaving that to the Trump-led Board of Peace to sort out. Now, one Board of Peace official says that Hamas and other armed factions would hand over their weapons. That would begin with police weapons and then move into personal weapons. Now, a top -- even now, though Palestinians are facing near-daily Israeli bombarding -- bombardment on Gaza.

Now, a top Hamas official says that this is contingent on Israel holding up its end of the agreement. That would include Israel must cease fire, stop all targeted killings in Gaza, withdraw its troops to the yellow line, which is this key demarcation line agreed to back in October, and allow for a surge in humanitarian aid.

But as I mentioned, a lot of obstacles ahead. We heard from that Israeli official who says that any Israeli withdrawal must come after total and complete Hamas disarmament. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Betsy, the president, as you know, is also facing a lot of political heat right now here at home over one of his cabinet members, the attorney general pick, Todd Blanche. He's the acting attorney general right now. What is the president saying about all of this, this morning?

KLEIN: Wolf, there's a lot of uncertainty for the nomination of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to become the nation's top law enforcement official. Now, two members of President Trump's own party, Republican Senators John Cornyn of Texas, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, are the key holdouts here. And at issue is this $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund that would use taxpayer money to pay people who say that they have been wrongly targeted by the Justice Department.

Now, Trump said on Thursday that he's open to pulling Blanche's nomination until after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office. But that is a big gamble. It assumes that Republicans are going to maintain control of the Senate, and that they'll have the votes in January to get him confirmed.

The president posting in a new post to social media, quote, I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure. Their lives have been ruined. Millions of people agree with me, and so did John Cornyn until he lost his election to an opponent that I endorsed. Todd Blanche, a good man, should be immediately approved as U.S. attorney general. So, the president defending that fund, continuing to attack Cornyn, this as Blanche met with Cornyn and Tillis. They made some progress, but officials say no deal reached yet. Wolf?

BLITZER: And the president's still holding firm that those January 6 rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol, and some of whom have been convicted of beating up police officers who were guarding the U.S. Capitol, they should be reimbursed financially by U.S. taxpayers, is that right?

KLEIN: That's right. That would be taxpayer money with that $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund. But Blanche testified publicly that that fund was not going to move forward. They -- Tillis and Cornyn, they both want assurances in writing that it is, in fact, dead.

BLITZER: All right, we'll see what happens on that front.

Betsy Klein, thank you very much. And we'll discuss a lot of these developments with the current Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon. He'll join me live. That's coming up shortly.

Also happening now, Spain and Morocco have seemingly paused mass crossings into a small Spanish enclave, Ceuta after reinforcing the border fence yesterday and today. Videos show large groups of people streaming into that tiny Spanish territory that borders Africa. The tens of thousands of crossings prompted Spain to deploy its military to the area to help to try to restore order at that border. At least 19 bodies so far have been found dead in the water.

Let's go live right now to CNN Correspondent Nada Bashir. Nada, what more are we learning about this very, very explosive situation?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we've been getting updates now from the Spanish government, and just in the last few hours have heard directly from Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez giving a statement. Estimates at this stage put the figure at 60,000 migrants surging across that border. It's understood that the vast majority of them traveled across the coastal border by sea in order to reach the coast of Ceuta to enter into European Union territory.

But what we are also learning just in the last few hours, according to the Spanish government, is that we are seeing mass returns now. According to official figures, they estimate around 25,000 migrants who crossed into that Spanish territory just yesterday have already returned, and they are seeing significant numbers crossing the border.

And we've seen video emerging showing some of those individuals who did cross over yesterday returning through that land border crossing under the heavy supervision of Spain's military, which has been deployed and full force to oversee the handling and response to this crisis. But we've also seen individuals attempting to return through breached border gates along the coastline as well, many of whom, of course, who will have arrived in the Spanish territory, realizing that there isn't a lot of support on offer for illegal migration.

But there is also a lot of questions as to what exactly led to this particular surge that we have seen. Of course, we have heard from the prime minister, who has condemned illegal trafficking groups, and this comes just weeks after Spain's Supreme Court handed down a ruling essentially prohibiting authorities from immediately returning migrants who cross over by sea without due process. And this has really sparked backlash amongst some European leaders over Pedro Sanchez's government's open arms policy towards migration. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Nada Bashir with an update, thank you very, very much.

Still ahead, President Trump just departing the White House with several cabinet members. They're all headed to Camp David, Maryland, where they will convene for a cabinet meeting at 11:00 A.M. Eastern. That's in less than an hour. We'll take you there live.

The chilling allegations, meanwhile, against Republican Ohio Congressman Max Miller, what his ex-wife is saying he did to her and his response. The House investigation some of his fellow lawmakers are now asking for, and the impact it is already having on what was expected to be the safest of Republican seats.

And the race to preserve digital evidence, the new step the family of Nolan Wells is taking to try to get answers in their son's death.

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Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: Happening now, the lawyer for a congressman's ex-wife is alleging the lawmaker grabbed him and another attorney's bag earlier this week. Filings show the lawyer is now requesting a restraining order against that lawmaker, the Ohio Republican Congressman, Max Miller. Miller, who is up for re-election, is also facing calls up on Capitol Hill for a formal ethics investigation into allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno.

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Moreno is the daughter of the Ohio senator, Bernie Moreno.

Earlier this summer, CNN obtained police video of Moreno detailing specific allegations of abuse, including that Miller held a gun to her. Listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, when, when does the gun come into play?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I'm changing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what does he do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holds it at me. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holds it on you? Okay. Can you show me where he held it to you? No. Hey, it's okay. That's fine. That's fine. Like I said, that's a hard thing to talk about.

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BLITZER: Miller denies all the allegations against him, and he's suing his ex-wife for defamation. Here's what he told CNN's Lauren Fox earlier this month.

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REP. MAX MILLER (R-OH): I don't have a weapon that's even easily accessible in my home like that.

What we're dealing with, unfortunately, is something that many families go through, Lauren, which is a very nasty divorce, and in the process, allegations get made that are completely fabricated.

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BLITZER: All right. Let's go live right now to our Congressional Correspondent Lauren Fox. Lauren, what is the latest on Congressman Max Miller, and is it impacting his campaign?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, Wolf, this is supposed to be a safe Republican seat. Trump won it by 11 points in the last election. But Democrats are growing increasingly bullish that they can make this race competitive given these allegations against Miller.

His opponent, Brian Poindexter, told me in a statement, quote, these are serious allegations and deserve the full attention of law enforcement. If all the allegations against Congressman Miller prove to be true, Max Miller should be in jail, not worried about retaining a seat in Congress.

Now, Miller's denied these allegations and is confident he can win re- election. In a statement from his campaign spokeswoman, Abigail Angelos, she said, quote, the facts speak for themselves. The court has continued to permit him joint custody of his child. And if there was credible evidence supporting these outrageous accusations, that simply would not be the case. Congressman Miller will continue to vigorously defend his reputation against false and reckless allegations designed to inflame public opinion rather than reflect reality. This narrative has gone on too long.

Now, while Congressman Miller may not be under invest -- sorry, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, Congressman Miller as you're suggesting, may not necessarily be under formal investigation. But tell us about Republicans running for re-election who are facing ethics investigations.

FOX: Yes, Wolf. There are two members right now running for re- election, and, again, these are safe Republican seats who are investigated by the House Ethics Committee. Representative Chuck Edwards, which CNN reported in April, is being investigated for sexual harassment. He's denied any wrongdoing, and he did tell me earlier this summer he expects to be cleared by Ethics when the investigation concludes.

But, again, Democrats are on the ground there, and they are telling me that this race is not as safe for Republicans as it may have once been. They point to Edwards' lackluster fundraising, and they say the issue continues to gain traction for the Democrat in the race.

Now, Florida Representative Cory Mills is also the target of an ethics investigation, and in May, in a rare statement, the committee had announced it had authorized 20 subpoenas, collected thousands of documents, and contacted dozens of witnesses as it sought to review allegations that Mills may have violated various rules, laws, or other standards of conduct.

The committee said its review included an incident from February of 2025 when D.C. Metro Police responded to a report that Mills had assaulted a woman he had a relationship with. Now, no charges were ever filed, and Mills has denied any wrongdoing. But Mills' opponent, Bale Dalton, told me in an interview that he isn't shying away from highlighting this ethics investigation on the trail. Take a listen.

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BALE DALTON (D), FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Constituents are talking about it throughout the district, and it doesn't matter whether I'm on the doors or on the phones or at, you know, meetings throughout the district, you know, folks are really concerned.

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BLITZER: And as you know, Lauren, Republicans aren't the only ones facing ethics issues right now. Is that right?

FOX: Yes. Democratic Representative Jimmy Gomez in California, Wolf, is also under ethics investigation. CNN reported that in June that he's facing an ethics investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.

Now, Gomez told CNN in a statement at the time that he had made, quote, personal mistakes outside my marriage, but he said his actions were, quote, consensual in nature, and that he never broke the law or House ethics rules.

Now, Wolf, this is slightly different because California election rules will say that he is facing off against a Democrat in November. So, if he loses, this won't have the same bearing on Democrats' efforts to win the majority as it may in those other races for Republicans. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Lauren Fox, lots going on, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, Israel's current ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, standing by to join me live here in The Situation Room.

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We'll discuss President Trump's announcement of what he's describing as a major breakthrough with Hamas in Gaza. We're going to hear where Israel stands on all of this. That's next.

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BLITZER: Happening now, there are new questions emerging right now about the details of an agreement reached for the complete with disarmament of Hamas in Gaza. President Trump posted on social media today that his Board of Peace achieved a, quote, monumental step in brokering the deal with Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.

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Disarming Hamas is a critical part of implementing the president's multi-phase peace plan to end the war in Gaza and to set up a technocratic Palestinian government in the enclave.

A senior Hamas official confirmed the agreement to CNN, but said Israel must first uphold certain obligations under the October ceasefire deal.

Joining us now is Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon. Ambassador Danon, thanks so much for joining us.

An Israeli source just told us that the issue of Gaza did not come up during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's White House meeting with President Trump earlier this week. President Trump says he supports this new agreement with Hamas. Hamas says it supports the agreement. What about Israel?

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Good morning, Wolf. Basically, we support the, the plan of President Trump, the 20 points. We think it an important initiative. We endorsed it and we're looking forward to implement it. But we have to look at what's happening on the ground and not what Hamas is saying.

You know, no one trusts the terrorist organization. You have to verify what they are doing, not what they are saying. But we are committed to the plan. I want to remind you, Wolf, that last week the Israeli cabinet approved the entrance of ISF troops, the International Stabilization Force, into Gaza. And that was part of the agreement.

Now, we have to realize that the main point in the plan of the president is disarmament of Hamas. And the question is, what is disarmament? Because I heard some reports coming from Gaza that Hamas played with the idea that maybe they will move the weapons from one warehouse to another. That's not disarmament. Disarmament means to remove the weapons completely from the Gaza Strip, that Hamas will not have the capability to even touch this weapon again.

BLITZER: A Hamas senior government -- a senior official of Hamas now says the group will only disarm if Israel first stops firing in Gaza, if Israel withdraws its troops to what's called the yellow line, and allows a surge of new humanitarian aid, and permits the Palestinian committee appointed by the Board of Peace to take over Gaza's governance. Yes or no, will Israel agree to all of that?

DANON: I think those issues we can discuss and we can resolve. You know, the sequence, the mechanism, you know, there is no trust. That's obvious. When we dealt with Hamas, we saw what they did on October 7th with the hostages. So, there is no trust. But you can build the sequence with the mediators.

The main point is whether Hamas is actually willing to disarm or not. Because if they are playing games and they offer cosmetic solutions, it will not work for us. You know, disarmament means the weapon is out of Gaza. They have no control of the weapon and then the -- we can move forward. Otherwise, you know, they will start to play games, and we are not naive, and we are not stupid.

BLITZER: A U.S. official now tells CNN that President Trump would be, quote, very, very disappointed, end quote, if Israel does not adhere to its end of this peace plan. Should President Trump be prepared to be disappointed, Ambassador?

DANON: Absolutely not. President Trump and the administration, they saw what happened on the ground. We complied with the agreement so far. We did everything that we had to do. It was Hamas who was playing game about disarmament. The question is if they are willing to now to disarm. If they actually agree and they are willing to give away the weapons, we will see progress. But if it's a game, then we're going to have to go back to negotiations.

BLITZER: Let's turn to the broader war with Iran right now, Ambassador. Neither the Iranian media nor the U.S. military has reported any new strikes hitting inside Iran overnight, marking a dramatic change from Wednesday when the U.S. launched a very heavy wave of attacks targeting various places inside Iran. Is Israel aware of some sort of change in policy towards Iran right now?

DANON: We are discussing those issues. Prime Minister Netanyahu had a very successful visit in Washington. You know, there are few options to deal with Iran. You can hopefully do it diplomatically, or you apply as economical sanctions, or use military force.

I think the president and the prime minister, they think that they have to achieve the goal, and the goal is to make sure that Iran cannot have nuclear capabilities. That is the main point. I think that's where the president is heading. And also we have to realize, Wolf, that Iran is very aggressive. They attacked 12 countries in the last few weeks. So, it's also about what they will do, what they are willing to do. And I think you have to keep all options on the table.

BLITZER: As you just pointed out, several Gulf Arab nations are getting pulled further and further into this war with Iran, Saudi Arabia, for example, conducting joint strikes with the U.S. against Iranian proxies this week.

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