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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
Separate Deadly Attacks In West Bank And Jordan; U.S. to Remove 50 percent Tariffs On Some Canadian Goods; Trump Admin. Files Lawsuit Over Alaska Senate Race; Cybersecurity Firms Scramble To Fix Flaws Found In PHP Code; Melania Trump: Russia And Ukraine Agree To Single-City Ceasefire. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired October 23, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, "THE BRIEF": Welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, and you're
watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, two separate shootings. One at an Israeli military checkpoint at the occupied West Bank, the other at a church in Jordan.
We'll bring you each story and each response. The Trump administration is suing the block certification of the Senate race in Alaska if the incumbent
Republican loses. And two sisters in Iran punished by the Iranian regime for protesting. One of them sentenced to death. I spoke to a family member
about all that they have endured.
In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military is now demolishing buildings and giving people just five minutes warning to get out following
a deadly attack on Israeli soldiers. Two Israeli soldiers were killed, three wounded when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli military
checkpoint in Hebron Friday. The assailants were then shot dead in a gunfight which lasted some 20 minutes. The Israeli military said it is
imposing a, quote, "full siege on the city of Hebron."
In the wake of that attack and now ahead of Israel's elections on Tuesday, those are the country's first elections since the October 7th attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Our first step will be to destroy this place and transform it completely. We will
evacuate the residents, go house to house, remove weapons found there, and address and destroy all terrorist infrastructure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: In Jordan, a manhunt is underway for gunmen who carried out a deadly attack on a church. At least seven people were killed, dozens
wounded. The security camera footage shows several gunmen. You see them there just outside the church. They opened fire as Christians were
attending a funeral. One survivor says she did not believe she would make it out alive. An investigation is underway to undercover -- uncover the
gunman's identities and motive.
More now from CNN's Jomana Karadsheh. A warning, her story contains images that you may find disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): CCTV video of an attack like no other in Jordan's history. Gunmen opening fire at a church in the
south of the country just as mourners gathered for a funeral at the Greek Orthodox Church in this predominantly Christian town. Dozens were injured
or killed in what authorities are describing as an unprecedented terrorist attack on the country's Christian minority.
This cell phone video captures the horror and chaos inside the church where the dead and injured lay in pools of blood. Security forces launched a
major operation pursuing the assailants who fled the scene after what witnesses said was several minutes of continuous gunfire.
The Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II, vowing, quote, "the harshest retaliation" to this rare terrorist attack that sent shockwaves across a
country known for its stability in a turbulent region where its small Christian population has long felt protected and immune to the sort of
jihadi attacks that have targeted Christians in neighboring countries.
The king dressed in his military fatigues visited the injured in hospital on Friday night. This survivor telling him after God you are our protector
this is our country and we will never ever leave it. For many Jordanians Friday's attack on the church they say was an attack on the entire nation.
Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Joining me now is Khaled Elgindy he's a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Khalil good to have you
back.
KHALED ELGINDY, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT: Yes. Thanks for having me.
SCIUTTO: So, first, sad fact of the day we have to talk about two attacks in two different countries, two different profiles. But let's begin with
the attack in the West Bank. So, gunman attack in Israeli checkpoint there. Who's most likely behind this attack?
[18:05:00]
ELGINDY: Well, I don't know that anyone has claimed responsibility for the attack. I mean, there are plenty of weapons circulating in the West Bank
and there are various armed groups here and there. But more importantly, there's a lot of motive for Palestinians to pick up a weapon and strike
back at Israeli soldiers.
The Israeli military has made life quite miserable for Palestinians over the past three years. Israeli settlers have been rampaging on a sort of
campaign of terror all throughout the West Bank. I think 23 Palestinians have been killed just this year by Israeli settlers. There are attacks on
the olive harvest, which is a major source of income for the Palestinian economy.
And so, it was really, I think, a matter of time when something like this was going to happen, because the West Bank has been a -- like a pressure
cooker for the past few years.
SCIUTTO: Well, we don't know these soldiers who were killed were involved in settler violence. I mean, are you saying that the soldiers were an
obvious target because of the settler violence?
ELGINDY: No, I'm saying that the soldiers who are maintaining an occupation, right, over the West Bank the -- and maintaining these
restrictions on Palestinian movement, on where they can harvest olives, where they can't, I mean, Israeli soldiers are, of course, a part of an
occupying force. So, I think it's not that much of a surprise that that armed groups would target an occupying army, regardless of, you know, the
individual soldiers and whether or not, you know, what their particular roles might be. I mean, this is an occupying army.
SCIUTTO: The Israeli response has been, and we've seen this before, to tear down, you heard the Israeli prime minister refer to it as terror
infrastructure in the city there in the wake of this. It's not clear that they're distinguishing between terror infrastructure or homes of places
tied to the attackers in this case and just homes of people living there.
But listen, let's be frank, we're in the midst of a cycle here, right? You have settler violence. You have gunmen here targeting Israeli soldiers. And
by -- we should note that some Israeli units have been attempting to hold back settlers from committing acts of violence. But who in this latest
instance of this cycle of violence is standing in the way of it worsening, right? I mean, is there any process here, any outside player or inside
player who's looking to find a path forward in the West Bank?
ELGINDY: Well, there doesn't appear to be. Right now, the Trump administration is preoccupied with midterm elections, with you know, a war
that is not going well in Iran plenty of domestic reasons, higher prices inflation, that sort of thing. So, not really that focused on the West Bank
or Gaza.
So, Israel has pretty much a free hand to do what it wants. It has had a free hand throughout most of the last three years. We've seen what that
does in places like Gaza, where an entire society of 2 million people has been basically eradicated. And those tactics are being imported into the
West Bank.
You know, obviously the two individuals who carried out the attack are just that. They're two individuals. And it -- there's no way to reasonably make
a connection with an entire neighborhood unless the goal is collective punishment. And we know from what we've seen in Gaza and other parts of the
West Bank that is precisely the goal. The goal is not to distinguish between the people who have carried out the attack and the civilian
population, but to punish the civilian population. And that is what we're seeing.
SCIUTTO: Yes. And listen, you know, a political message there as well with the elections next week in Israel. Khaled Elgindy, we appreciate you
joining.
ELGINDY: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: All right. Well, he mentioned the politics in this country, and the U.S. midterm elections are just 11 days away. A Republican senator in a
key state just got a boost from President Trump. Senator Susan Collins of Maine announced today that the Trump administration will drop its 50
percent tariffs on some Canadian goods, which Maine farmers and Maine industries rely heavily on. The timing fortuitous, to say the least, for
her.
The Trump White House apparently recognized that its trade war with Canada is hurting Collins' reelection bid. She is in a tight race with Democrat
Troy Jackson. You see him there.
[18:10:00]
In a recent CNN survey, 70 percent of likely Maine voters disapprove of Trump's tariffs on Canada. Control of the Senate, of course, could come
down to a closely contested race in Alaska, and the Trump administration is trying to insert itself into that election process preemptively.
The Justice Department has sued to block certification of the results if the Republican incumbent, Dan S. Sullivan, loses. The lawsuit claims that
voters could be confused by the presence of an independent candidate on the ballot with a similar name, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. President Trump said it
right out loud today that he is the one who pushed the DOJ to file the lawsuit.
Joining us now, Nate Persily, Professor of Law at Stanford University. Nate, good to have you back on the show.
NATE PERSILY, PROFESSOR OF LAW, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Thanks for having me.
SCIUTTO: All right. So, first, from a legal perspective, does the DOJ's case have a legal shot in court?
PERSILY: It doesn't. It doesn't. It's going to be kicked out as soon as the judge hears it because this is really an unprecedented exercise of
authority under what's known as the National Voter Registration Act, otherwise known as Motor Voter. And it doesn't provide for DOJ authority to
enforce you know, lawsuits with respect to names on ballots.
SCIUTTO: Should we see this though as the first of many attempts by this administration to refuse to certify or in other ways block or question
results of these midterms that don't go the GOP's way?
PERSILY: Well, I think it's not just the first. We've had dozens of lawsuits that have been filed. There's sort of a bet spreading that's going
on to sort of put the markers down just in case the election is going to be contested afterwards.
And so, whether it's the lawsuit here in California related to alleged non- citizens on the rolls- or other lawsuits related to voter registration databases, or in this case, what's happening in Alaska, it's a way of
preserving different kinds of arguments to say that the election was flawed.
SCIUTTO: So, what will that look like the day after election day, assuming -- well, some races are going to go against Republicans. We know that.
Whether that is enough to take both the House and the Senate is another question and an open question. But what does it look like? Are we going to
have a sort of limitless number of lawsuits by the Justice Department and others on the Republican side to contest elections they lost?
PERSILY: I don't think so but I don't know. And it really just depends on how close these elections are. If we have a Bush versus Gore style election
where, say, the Senate hangs in the balance and they're talking about 300 votes or so, that -- this is not a political system right now that can
handle that close an election.
And so, I think you know, it really depends on the legal theories and why the Justice Department or other actors might be involved. But there's
something that we call the election administrator's prayer, which is, oh, God, whatever happens, please don't let it be close.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
PERSILY: Because if it's close, then any of these legal sort of wranglings could be outcome determinant.
SCIUTTO: So, tell me and you contained -- some of your answer was contained in that question just about the state of the system right now. But do you
have confidence that the institutions, whether they be the courts or election officials in states blue or red, Congress, will stand up in the
face of illegitimate attempts to decertify or to block election results?
PERSILY: Not only do I think they will stand up I think they are standing up right now. So, you're seeing judges around the country, some appointed
by President Trump some appointed by his predecessors, who are standing up for the right to vote. And so, frivolous lawsuits like this are being
rejected by judges of both sort of political pedigrees. And I think also the election officials that you mentioned, they're the real heroes here.
This is a very difficult job that they're doing under incredible pressure right now. And whether you're talking about Republican or Democratic
officials who are administering our elections at the local or the state level, they're really standing up for the right to vote. And I think right
now the indications are that the system is holding.
SCIUTTO: That's nice to hear. But before we go, what are the chances that one or more cases has to ultimately to be decided by the Supreme Court?
PERSILY: I think there's a good chance that it might go up to the Supreme Court. I mean, when you're talking about 435 House races and a third of the
Senate being up, let alone everything that's happening in state legislatures and governors races, there are going to be lots of court
cases, both on election day and afterwards, and there will be some recounts and there'll be some controversy.
And the Supreme Court has been actively involved in many cases already dealing with mail ballots or dealing with executive orders. And, so we
shouldn't be surprised or fear that they should be involved.
[18:15:00]
The courts so far have really sort of been adhering to the law and applying it no matter who it is who's bringing these lawsuits.
SCIUTTO: Professor Nate Persily, I sense a little bit of a hope there. So, I'm going to cling to that. Thanks so much for joining.
PERSILY: Me too. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: All right. Still ahead on "The Brief," some cyber security firms are calling it Black October, the latest on the severe cyber threats to the
Internet uncovered by A.I.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
?? I will speak on behalf of those girls in the present under the torture until the last breath of my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: I speak with the relative of two Iranian twin sisters following their harsh sentences simply for taking part in protests.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. In today's Business Breakout now, U.S. stocks finished the trading week lower with selling pressure spreading beyond
tech. The Dow fell almost one and a quarter percent as the price of oil spiked higher yet again Brent crude settling above $116 a barrel as Houthi
fighters continue to target Saudi Arabia. One of the world's largest oil exporters, concerns the U.S. might resume military strikes on Iran after
the midterm elections weighing on sentiment as well. Brent rose six percent this week and is trading near six months highs.
Tech stocks lost more than a half percent this week as investors continue to question the billions, tens of billions of dollars companies are
spending and borrowing for their A.I. buildouts. Tech world was shaken by news that A.I. has uncovered shocking vulnerabilities to some 70 percent of
the global internet. You heard that right. 70 percent.
Cybersecurity firms are working to fix flaws to the PHP programming language that have been lurking in the system for years. The disruptions
posed by A.I. are also being felt by employees in the financial sector with American Express saying it will be laying off some 3,500 employees about 5
percent of its workforce as it prepares for and adapts to and takes advantage of A.I.
U.K. financial giant, Barclays, announced Thursday it is laying off 5 percent of its workforce citing A.I. advancements as well.
Joining me now Jacob Ward technology journalist and founder of the ripcurrent.com. Jacob good to have you back.
[18:20:00]
JACOB WARD, CNN CONTRIBUTOR AND TECH JOURNALIST: Hey, Jim, great to be with you.
SCIUTTO: So, you and I have heard these debates about whether A.I. is going to lead to a big job implosion, and there are folks on different sides of
the debate here, but we're seeing some pretty big cuts, right? I mean, is this the beginning of a wave?
WARD: Well, I mean, you know, we've seen some of this already. I remember back, God, it was probably a year, year and a half ago, a big bank in Asia
was the first one to openly say, we are cutting jobs because we think we're going to have people -- you have A.I. do the work for us. And at the time,
that was very notable. Now, suddenly, everybody, every CFO is saying that.
And, you know, the toughest part, of course, here, Jim, is that you don't know, is this actually a function of some sort of grand plan around A.I.?
Because that's what a CFO likes to say to one's investors, or is this, you know, some kind of retrenchment, you know, some paring back of too much
hiring you did during COVID, you know, that kind of stuff. It's not really clear one way or the other.
But what we do know is that, you know, the promise of A.I., which many of the companies have said, you know, is going to be greater productivity, but
everybody's going to have just sort of a different kind of job, doesn't seem to be true. The companies that are supposed to be the big customers
for these kinds of A.I., and who better than Amex to be that kind of customer, they're cutting positions. And they say that A.I. is why. And so,
it definitely suggests that cuts are coming. And we're just seeing the beginning of it.
SCIUTTO: So, what about the other side of the ledger? Because some of the A.I. non-apocalyptic voices, right, are saying, well, yes, OK, you'll lose
some jobs, but you're going to gain so many other jobs. Are we seeing that positive side of the ledger?
WARD: I mean, we haven't seen it yet, right? We know -- I mean, overall, the jobs numbers are actually pretty positive. You know, the unemployment
figures are pretty stable, you know, all things considered. The problem is people who fall out of a job are taking an incredibly long time to find a
new one, if they find one at all. And it's affecting, you know, sectors of the workforce that we've never really had to think about before.
You know, people who had the education and the experience in highly technical jobs that once upon a time made them irreplaceable. And suddenly
they find themselves out of work and not able to find anything else. And so, as with anything we've seen before, you know, when there's a big
industrial turnover like this, yes, eventually some jobs come along, not every job that you would need, but those jobs aren't necessarily paying
what the old jobs did. And the people who lost the prior round of jobs don't necessarily get the next round. It's not a one-to-one transition for
those people.
And so, I think there's, you know, the damage that we're seeing here is going to probably, you know, really ripple through families, through
generations, through workplaces.
SCIUTTO: My kids are worried about it. I'll tell you that. OK, so can you explain this PHP vulnerability and how big it is and what it means?
WARD: Yes, it's really fundamental to the way the Internet works, right? So, when you and I click on a web page, we load one up, you know, the way
that it sits there building it on your computer before it shows it to you as it pops up piece by piece and block by block, that's all PHP. PHP is the
language by which a website is presented. So, the problem here, of course, is that this is fundamental to how 70 percent of websites work.
Now, you know, the reason we know about this is that companies say they've figured out that this is a vulnerability and they've fixed that
vulnerability and that there are new versions of PHP that, you know, are OK with this. So, that's good. But it, of course, has everybody scrambling to
update. And, you know, and I would say to all of our viewers, like, if you're not using a password protection, you know, a password file system,
you really should. Don't be memorizing them or writing them down on paper. You should be using a piece of software that generates hard passwords for
you.
You know, we, I think, are beginning to see now a cat and mouse game that's going to go on forever, right? Because it's going to take two dudes in the
basement to do the kind of damage that once upon a time you needed an army of well-trained hackers to pull off. This is the power and the risk of A.I.
And I don't think we're going to be able to just sort of, you know, assume that A.I. will protect us in addition to endanger it.
SCIUTTO: OK. Final question. You've heard about these concerns. I mean, you know, more about them. There's a lot of talk out there about risk to
financial institutions, some sort of A.I.-driven attack to make everybody's bank accounts disappear. OK. You know, we're not there. But there were some
ripples of it this week, even American Express, right, access to some accounts, some services. What's happening there and how serious?
WARD: Yes. You know, I mean, this is that moment where all of these companies who had built their security systems on the idea that the attacks
would be limited by the bandwidth of human beings, the amount of time a human being can remain awake at a laptop doing the work, right, the
ingenuity of human beings, the, you know, ability to do this kind of stuff was all limited just by human limits.
[18:25:00]
Now, right, we have these technologies that you can unleash overnight while you're sleeping that do this kind of work on behalf of criminals rather
than them having to staff a round-the-clock operation. And so, these, you know, financial institutions are having to reposition right away, you know,
and this is going to be, I think -- you know, I think the good news here is they are also by virtue of A.I. going to have all kinds of new capabilities
in defending themselves than they had before.
But it is absolutely a moment where everyone's got to basically dig in and start over in a sense. It's no longer going to be the case that you can
just keep track of what's going on geopolitically on the edge of Russia and know as a result, oh, that's where the hacking is going to come from. And
so, I just need to be prepared for emails that look like they were written by people from that part of the world.
The old sort of, you know, cybersecurity stuff, that's going out the window. Now, it is a game of robot versus robot, and these institutions are
going to have to deploy those robots in their defense as they're being attacked by them.
SCIUTTO: Robot versus robot. You know, the storyline of a thousand sci-fi screenplays. Jacob Ward, thanks so much for joining.
Checking out some of today's other business headlines. Reuters reports that Chinese fast fashion giant Shein has agreed to pay a $100 million fine to
settle a U.S. probe over delivery delays and other customer complaints. The settlement equivalent to 44 percent of Shein's second quarter profit is the
latest hit to the online retailer. It's facing regulatory and tax crackdowns in Europe and the U.S. that have put a lot of pressure on
growth.
New filings show that Elon Musk has given at least $445 million, half a billion dollars to Republican candidates ahead of this year's midterms.
Musk contributed almost $77 million to his super PAC in the first two weeks of this month alone. Most of that money has gone towards helping
Republicans keep control of the Senate. He made eight-figure donations to super PACs involved in house races.
Almost all of Taiwan was shut down Friday as a powerful typhoon approached the island. Airlines canceled nearly 1,000 flights due to the storm, which
is bearing down on the island as we speak. Train service was shut down. The typhoon was at one point a super typhoon and the strongest storm in the
Pacific this year.
Still to come tonight on "The Brief," a ceasefire in a Russian-occupied Ukrainian city. We'll tell you who made it possible.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:30:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto, and here are the international headlines we're watching today.
Israeli troops are now going house to house in the occupied West Bank, City of Hebron, saying they're imposing a, quote, "full siege" after Palestinian
gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a military checkpoint. The two gunmen were then shot dead by other Israeli troops. The Israeli prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu, is vowing to destroy what he calls terrorist infrastructure, as Israeli forces search for anyone connected to the
attack.
A manhunt in Jordan is underway for gunmen who carried out a shooting at a church there. They killed at least seven people, wounded dozens. The
attackers opened fire as Christians were attending a funeral. Authorities are working to uncover the gunman's identities and motive.
In France, a mass shooting in the Paris suburbs has killed at least one person and wounded five others. The alleged gunman there is in custody.
Authorities say he drove around in a car and opened fire at several locations. One local mayor calls the shooting Islamophobic. French
President Emmanuel Macron says it was a terrorist and racist attack.
America's first lady, Melania Trump, says she has helped secure a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine for one city, the Russian-controlled Oleshky.
This is south of Kherson. The aim, to allow elderly residents to evacuate. Moscow and Kyiv have both confirmed that agreement. Despite this, of
course, the broader Russian war on Ukraine continues.
Emergency teams battled fires after a series of Russian strikes on Kyiv this week. Ukraine's president says he remains hopeful for some sort of
peace negotiations and he says talks are in the works for early November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We have an agreement to hold a trilateral meeting in Ukraine, United States and Russia. We are ready to
meet any day, even tomorrow, but it all depends on the Russians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Zelensky refuted President Trump's claims that Elon Musk had restored full access to the military-grade version of Starlink, Starshield.
Julia Benbrook joins me now. Julia, if I can, on this small ceasefire negotiated, it seems, or at least was helped along by the first lady,
Melania Trump. To our knowledge, is she at all involved in the broader negotiations to end the broader war or was her attention focused
specifically on this one town?
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she has had a big focus on children specifically throughout this conflict and she says that this
localized ceasefire agreement was focused on the elderly, that there's a big elderly population there.
President Donald Trump was asked specifically what you just asked me. He was asked if she could be involved in some broader negotiations, some
trilateral talks involving Russia and Ukraine going forward. He said no, but then he went on to say that that's not the worst idea he has ever
heard. But the first lady, she announced earlier today that she had helped secure this localized ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine in the
city of Oleshky. It is expected to go into effect in just a matter of days now.
And her team says that the circumstances there, the dire circumstances in that city, came to her. She really became interested in them during some
private discussions that took place at a recent Fostering the Future Together event that she held in New York City on the sidelines of the
United Nations General Assembly.
And according to a press release from the first lady's team, she did work with officials from both Russia and Ukraine on this as an exclusive
intermediary as she kicked off the talks here. Now, the first lady herself in a statement provided a bit more information. She said, quote, "the
situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a frontline war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky's remaining population is comprised primarily of
elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food and clean water. She went on to add the people of Oleshky have limited
electricity, live amid mined roads and endure regularly -- regular military attacks.
[18:35:00]
It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be
impossible."
Trump himself, the president himself, did praise his wife as he left Washington today. He's traveled out here to Florida, where I am. But he had
this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: What you want to do is save children. And that's their focus. And both sides are cooperating with doing a very good
job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BENBROOK: So, again, he was then pressed if she would have more of a role in these discussions, he said that that was not going to be the case, but
praised his wife. It is notable, of course, that this announcement came from the first lady's office and not directly from the president's. Jim.
SCIUTTO: Julia Benbrook, thanks so much for joining. Still coming up on "The Brief," two young Iranian sisters, 21 years old, facing harsh
punishment, even torture, relatives say, simply for taking part in protests. One of them sentenced to death. I spoke with their cousin who
helped raise them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: A human rights group says that about a dozen women in Iran are now facing death sentences on political or security-related charges. Among them
is 21-year-old Taraneh Rahimi, sentenced to death after taking part in January's anti-government protests. Her twin sister, Romina, received a 25-
year prison sentence.
Their cousin, Masoud Nourmohammadi, who helped raise them, says the evidence against them was a confession, though a confession issued under
torture and threats. He says his family members have appealed, but even their lawyer was arrested earlier this month. I spoke with him a short time
ago and began by asking what he knows about the twins' condition right now. We should warn you, some of his descriptions of their treatment are
disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MASOUD NOURMOHAMMADI, COUSIN OF TARANEH AND ROMINA RAHIMI: They -- as you all know, they've been through the torture for the last -- for the four
months and the last eight months, physical torture on the first four months, horrible torture. They got beaten up with batons on a daily basis,
a nightly basis. They got tortured in front of each other with everyone who was in that building.
[18:40:00]
So, the situation from the physical situation is terrible, but also from the mentality perspective, they broke them down.
They have given a lot of paperwork in the last few weeks to Tehran and say, you just confessed that you were not tortured. And she has refused to do
that. Sometimes when I talk to the press like this, they stop giving her food and then ask her to use leftovers from other people.
They are -- sometimes they are being refused to receive clean clothes and clean pads. And everybody on that prison, they don't have drinking water.
SCIUTTO: Listen, the track record of this regime with prisoners, including young people who simply protested against their government is awful. I
understand their lawyer was arrested. Do you have any legal recourse for them?
NOURMOHAMMADI: Yes. Let me, let me talk about their policy. The policy is taking hostage.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
NOURMOHAMMADI: In the first day of this regime, they took hostage of American diplomats in Iraq. That's how they started their government and
regime. They -- throughout these many years, 47 years, they took hostage of Iranian Americans inside of Iran.
Now, there's not that many in Iran left right now. So, they're taking hostage their own people. I wouldn't -- I shouldn't say their own people
because they definitely don't feel like that. It's Iranians, the brave Iranians. Their lawyers are being taken hostage too. Those lawyers, they
were the only brave lawyers I could find to put them on this case.
And this case has 16 other people as well. And there are so many other cases. They were eager enough. They were brave enough to come in and help
with the case. And they took him hostage too. So, this is the policy of Islamic Republic.
SCIUTTO: Yes. And I've spoken to other people in your situation. And my heart goes out to you. I can't imagine for you as well, the pain and worry.
Is there any pressure being applied from outside the country that can help perhaps reduce their sentences?
NOURMOHAMMADI: Cut the ties with Islamic Republic. They hostage, taking people hostage, no matter if they're Iranians or not. Anyone against them,
they will take him hostage. Just cut all of the relationships with Islamic Republic and then corner them and then tell them this is not OK. This is a
massacre.
The massacre happened in January 8th and 9th and is still continuing. They killed thousands of the best of Iranians in the streets. And they're
continuing doing that on the presence. Be very clear with them and say, this is not -- this is the crime against the humanity. And we as countries,
we can't -- we are not -- we don't talk to terrorists. We can't tolerate that. And that will corner them and put pressure on them.
SCIUTTO: Is anybody advocating on behalf of them? Any human rights groups, the U.S. government? Is anyone coming to your aid at this point?
NOURMOHAMMADI: No, no, I'm left alone. I have sent many, many emails to U.S. governments telling them about the situations. They have not acted. I
have received some responses, but even my representatives in my own state, they have not responded back. So, I have been left alone. And I will speak
on behalf of those girls in the prison under the torture until the last breath of my life.
SCIUTTO: Have Taraneh and Romina, have they lost hope?
[18:45:00]
NOURMOHAMMADI: Taraneh is very strong. She's very strong. And that is one of the reasons that she's been targeted. They target the people who are the
kind people or the beautiful Iranians who are the strongest Iranians. They target them. They handpick those people. Taraneh is still strong.
Romina, however, she can't see her sister going through that with all of those physical injuries, denying access to the hospitals, anything like
that. They have mentally broke those girls, but Taraneh has stayed strong so far.
SCIUTTO: You've been a father figure to them. You helped raise them. How do you suffer through this? How do you manage?
NOURMOHAMMADI: It's terrible. I can't sleep in the night. I get zero sleeps. I -- it's -- they hang people at 5:00 a.m. every day on a daily
basis by Azan time, the call for prayer. And I -- two hours before that and three hours after that, I just stay awake to see what's going on, to hear
some news, if this was the time for them or not.
SCIUTTO: I've interviewed others who've been imprisoned by this regime, and some have told me that international publicity about their cases can help.
And I wonder if you believe it's the same with Taraneh and Romina's cases.
NOURMOHAMMADI: I do. I speak on their behalf because I believe that people in the world should hear their story, should hear how strong and brave they
have been, and then what regime, Islamic Republic, have done to them. And at least I can document their pain.
SCIUTTO: Yes. And their pain is real. I mean, you talk about torture, you talk about Taraneh suffering a skull fracture, you talk about threats of
rape as well.
NOURMOHAMMADI: Yes. You know, they have something called magic bed, magic table. They took those kids and tie them up to those tables and beaten them
for hours and hours and hours. And they call it magic because no one would come off those beds or tables until they confess to what they want. They
have gone through that. They have been tortured in front of each other.
Taraneh, while she was being tortured, she closed her mouth so hard that all of her teeth has been broken. And the reason is just because she didn't
want her sister to hear her screaming. She wanted to stay strong. But they did that to Romina throughout the nights, nights for three months, four
months. And the whole building could hear her throughout that time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: An alarming account there. The Iranian regime has previously denied accusations of torturing prisoners. CNN has reached out to the U.S.
State Department for comment, but has not yet received a response.
Still coming up on "The Brief," voters in Brazil headed the polls Sunday in a presidential runoff, which is a virtual dead heat. We will have a preview
from the ground.
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[18:50:00]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Voters in Brazil. Head to the polls this weekend to elect their president. Polls show Flavio Bolsonaro and President Luiz
Inacio Lula da Silva running neck and neck ahead of Sunday's runoff. Bolsonaro, a right-wing senator, led the first round by about two points.
His father, of course, is former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is now under house arrest for plotting to overturn the last election.
CNN Brazil Correspondent Priscila Yazbek joins me now. And, Priscila, listen, it's -- you know, I'm not going to ask you to do any horse race
predictions here, but are the campaigns treating this as a dead heat at this point?
PRISCILA YAZBEK, CNN BRASIL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, of course, Jim, it's a tight race at this point. And Flavio Bolsonaro is leading the polls by a
margin, a narrow margin, by one to four percentage points over the incumbent president Lula. And those differences are within the margin of
error. So, it's a statistical tie.
In the first round, Flavio finished ahead with 47 percent of the votes and Lula had around 45 percent of the votes. So, the turnout, the voter turnout
could make the difference in the runoff. Thirty-three million Brazilians didn't vote. So, although the voting is mandatory in Brazil, so both
candidates count on these undecisive voters to go and cast their ballots this Sunday. Also, it's important to say that they have two very different
campaigns.
So, Flavio Bolsonaro has promised tighter control in public spending, also a more hardline approach to fight organized crime. And Lula has promised to
expand social programs, also to keep raising minimum wage above inflation and to strengthen the worker's right. And also, this election could mean a
huge difference and a change in the relationship between Brazil and the U.S.
Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America today. And if Flavio Bolsonaro wins, he could have closer ties with Trump's administration
politically. He has met with Trump in the White House earlier this year in May, and he probably will try to use their relationship to negotiate better
trade agreements, specifically in tariffs. And he has signed on that he could make concessions like in mineral critical sector.
And also, Flavio Bolsonaro has signed on that he would join Trump's administration's shields of America if he's elected. While Lula will
probably keep a more independent foreign policy, he has defended already Brazil's sovereignty, and he has said already that Brazil is nobody's
backyard. So, Brazilians have to choose this Sunday between two different paths, not only at home, but also abroad.
SCIUTTO: Let me ask you about that, because Lula has brought up this idea of Brazilian sovereignty, as you say. Bolsonaro has advertised his close
ties to the Trump administration, much like his father here. Where is the Brazilian electorate on that? I mean, do they find close ties to the U.S.
as a positive?
YAZBEK: In fact, no, Jim. Also, President Donald Trump, sources have said to CNN Brazil and also to other newspapers here, that the strategy of Trump
to get closer to Flavio Bolsonaro was backfiring. So, that's why Donald Trump didn't try to support more Flavio Bolsonaro, although he met with
Flavio Bolsonaro in the White House earlier in May. And both politicians are right-wing.
[18:55:00]
And with the Brazilian electorate, when there was this approach, and when Flavio supported the tariffs, this made the popularity of Lula rise. So,
this is not a good approach. That's why he was more discreet, according to sources that we talked in Brazil, from the Trump administration.
And also, with this negotiation of tariffs, Flavio Bolsonaro, in the past, he has defended the tariffs because the Trump administration adopted the
tariffs, saying that Brazil was not giving a fair judgment to his father, Jair Bolsonaro, in July last year. So, this was not well received by
Brazilians. And so, he changed also this strategy.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Priscila Yazbeck, you got a lot of work to do this weekend. Thanks so much for joining.
YAZBEK: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: And thanks so much to you for joining. I'm Jim Sciuto in Washington. You've been watching "The Brief." We wish you a very nice
weekend. Please do stay with CNN.
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[19:00:00]
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