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What We Know with Max Foster
Israeli PM Netanyahu Gives Update On War With Iran; Trump Says He Told Netanyahu To Halt Attacks On Energy Facilities; Airlines Mull Ticket Price Hikes As Fuel Costs Spike. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired March 19, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: -- doesn't have nuclear weapons.
[15:00:03]
He said that to me. I didn't say it to him. He didn't need any convincing there either.
Now why did he say that? Because for more than four decades, this regime as I said in the beginning of my remarks is chanting "death to Israel, death
to America," but they say Israel is only the small Satan standing in their way. The great Satan is the United States of America.
And these ideological fanatics, these lunatics, define their raison d'etre, their reason for being is wiping out western civilization and America that
leads it. They have claimed the lives, they've maimed and wounded thousands of Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. They killed the American marines in
Beirut. They bombed your embassies. They tried to assassinate the American president, Donald Trump, not once but twice.
Now they blackmail for oil. Just imagine what they would do, what they're capable of doing if these lunatics had nuclear weapons and the means to
deliver them to every American city and every European city and everywhere around the globe. This is a danger for the entire world. It's certainly a
danger for Israel. It's certainly a danger for America. We see eye to eye on that, President Trump and I Israel and America.
But I think if people are honest, if leaders are honest, they would understand that were not only fighting our fight, we're fighting their
fight. I speak to dozens of world leaders, dozens. They all know that. And privately, they all say that. They say that privately.
But I say it publicly, the world owes a debt of deep indebtedness, deep indebtedness to President Trump for leading this effort to safeguard our
future.
Questions?
MODERATOR: We'll now take a few questions. The first question is from Zach Anders from Newsmax.
ZACH ANDERS, NEWSMAX: Mr. Prime Minister, Zach Anders, Newsmax.
(INAUDIBLE)
NETANYAHU: One, a transitional leader that will have a transition. You don't want to replace one ayatollah with another. You don't want to replace
Hitler with Hitler. So, I think the question is, will the conditions be created for such a change? I think it's too early to say. And I think in
the final account, as I said, its up to the Iranian people to show that -- to choose the moment and to rise to the moment, we can create the
conditions but they have to you know, they have to explode those conditions at a certain point.
It is often said that you can't win, you can't do revolutions from the air. That is true. You can't do it only from the air. You can do a lot of things
from the air.
And we're doing but there have to be -- there has to be a ground component as well. There are many possibilities for this ground component. And I take
the liberty of not sharing with you all those possibilities.
REPORTER: Would you recognize Pahlavi if the people keep chanting for him in the streets?
NETANYAHU: Well, I'm not going to say what -- who specifically is going to be there but I think he's been a force for good. He's been trying to get
the people to unite for a transitional government, a democratic transitional government, or a moderate transitional government. I hope that
one that it comes to being. I think it's too early to say.
MODERATOR: Next question from Richard Engel from NBC News.
RICHARD ENGEL, NBC NEWS: Good to see you again.
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: So just to explain, if you're watching here, we're watching a live press conference with the Israeli prime minister. But the
questions he's being asked aren't actually on audio, despite the fact that he's got a microphone there. So we'll just wait for the prime minister to
respond. He's taking a broad range of questions so far from U.S. media.
NETANYAHU: I think we have concrete goals how to do it, how to end it. We wanted, as I said, decimate the ballistic missile program, which we're
doing, decimate the nuclear program, which we're doing.
I think that those are goals that are achievable but I'm not going to put a schedule or a stopwatch on it. I think, we have -- we have goals that that
have to be achieved. And we're not counting the days, but I will say this, this canard that we dragged the United States into it is, is not just a
canard.
[15:05:03]
It's ridiculous. It's just ridiculous. I mean, I think President Trump said it best and I said it as well many times, there's always a danger in
acting, but in conditions of existential threats, there's a much greater danger in not acting.
What do you think would have happened if America did not act now, just imagine what would have happened. In a few months' time, no more than a
year, Khamenei still alive would have ordered the beginnings of the new nuclear program and the reconstructed ballistic missile program to move
underground. Now, it'll take them a little time, maybe a few years, but you can't reach those programs, and they develop intercontinental ballistic
missiles. Okay? That means missiles that can hit Chicago and New York and Florida and Texas and California.
Oh, but they don't have it yet, that's what people said, right. Let's wait. Just let them do it, you know, just wait. Wait and let them do it.
You won't be able to do it. It's the last moment. No, it takes a little time. I mean, you had a few months to do to prevent them from doing it and
to just decimate these industries and perhaps achieve this transitional government in Iran.
So, you sit back and you say, well, it's not going to happen in the next Thursday, so let's not act. I tell you that there's enormous risk in not
acting, much greater risk than acting. And if you think that the oil markets are in trouble today, think of Iran with nuclear weapons and the
means to deliver them. Then think of the blackmail that you would endure.
REPORTER: I didn't exactly ask, however --
MODERATOR: Okay, we're going to go to the next question.
REPORTER: It's only fair. This is a serious subject.
NETANYAHU: What is the -- what is the question?
REPORTER: My question for --
NETANYAHU: Yeah. Go ahead, go ahead. Go ahead, ask.
REPORTER: Do you have --
REPORTER: There are more questions.
REPORTER: There are oil fields around the world burning. Gas prices are going up. The war is popular here in Israel, is not popular with many
Americans. My question was how do you see this ending? Not why, not even when? What do you imagine the day after?
NETANYAHU: Well, we have achievable goals and I'm not going to speak about the full battle plans that we have with the United States. We're well
coordinated with them.
I will say this, that once we achieve our goals then I have argued I think, and Americans understand this very well because we're real partners. I
think that what has to be done is to have alternative routes instead of going through the choke points of the -- of the Hormuz Straits and the Bab
El Mandeb straits in order to have the flow of oil, just to have oil pipelines, gas pipelines going west through the Arabian Peninsula, right up
to Israel, right up to our Mediterranean Ports. And you've just done away with the choke points for forever that is definitely possible.
So I see that as -- I see that as a real change that will follow this this war. But I also see this war ending a lot faster than people think. I think
you have to -- in war, you have to grit your teeth. Churchill said that democracies suffer from the slumber of democracies, as he called it. And
the only wake up, he said they may wake up only when they hear the gong -- the jarring gong of danger is the way he put it.
Well, you're hearing the jarring gong of danger, the jarring gong of danger is Iran gets nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. That's not a jarring
gong. That is an apocalypse. Don't let it happen.
And the function of leaders is to stand and tell people the truth, even when things are uncomfortable. That's what you have to do. And you don't
always see the danger in time. But leaders are tasked with the task of seeing danger in time and acting on it.
And I hope that in time, people will see the wisdom and the courage of President Trump's decision and his leadership and the fact that were
working together. America is not fighting for Israel. America is fighting with Israel for a common goal to protect our future, to protect
civilization against these barbarians
MODERATOR: Next question. One question, Guy Azriel from i24NEWS.
REPORTER: Thank you, Prime Minister. Guy Azriel, i24NEWS.
President Trump said today he did not like the Israeli strike on the Iranian gas fields.
[15:10:00]
My question to you, was the president aware of Israel's striking that gas field? Did you approve it? And please if you may, do you see any signs that
the Iranian regime is collapsing? And what assurances do you give the Israeli public that if it does stand on its feet, we will not see another
wave of war with Iran in maybe five or 10 years
NETANYAHU: Well, I'll say two things. Fact number one, Israel acted alone against the gas compound. Fact number two, President Trump asked us to hold
off on future attacks, and we're holding out.
What do we see? What happens if the -- are there any signs that the Iranian regime is cracking? A lot of signs, a lot of signs I wish I could divulge
all of them, but I see that.
But will I tell you, will I commit right now that it's going to collapse? I can tell you that we're working to create the conditions for it to
collapse, but it may, it may survive. It may not. If it survives, it will be a lot weaker. There's no comparison. It'll be at its weakest point.
Shorn of industries that it built over decades, death industries shorn of many other capabilities that they have and equipped with the experience,
with the knowledge that if they try again, they'll be hit again even harder.
I cannot tell you of the technological developments that we are engaged in to anticipate this and other possibilities, but Israel has shown that it
can do wondrous things. And in partnership with our American allies, we can do amazing things, amazing things.
As Pete Hegseth, the secretary of war, said, these are the two most amazing air forces in the world. It's the two most amazing intelligence services in
the world. It's the -- it has the capabilities to confront these barbarians and to outstrip them both in innovation and, when necessary, in lethality.
It's directed -- it's targeted lethality. It's going against the killers, and as much as possible to avoid civilian casualties.
We have those capacities. We're building them for the future. That is what safeguards the future. You know, if people want to be naive, they don't see
the kind of world we're living in.
In this world, it's not enough to be moral. It's not enough to be just. It's not enough to be right. You know, one of the greatest writers of the
20th century.
Someone that I admire a lot was the historian Will Durant. He wrote many volumes. I read most of them. He also wrote "The Lessons of History", very
brief 100-page book in which he said, well, history proves that, unfortunately and unhappily, Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis
Khan, because if you are strong enough, ruthless enough, powerful enough, evil will overcome good, aggression will overcome moderation.
So, you have no choice, if you look at the world as it is today, you have to be blind not to see that the democracies led by the United States have
to reassert their will to defend themselves and to oppose their enemies in time, while there's still time before the jarring gong of danger wakes them
up and wakes them up too late. This is where we are now. The fact that people don't see that, the fact that a lot of the news media are harking on
a lot of fake news, but also a lot of -- a lot of short sightedness and do not see the historic period and the historic struggle that we are engaged
in now doesn't obviate these truths.
We are -- we have to be strong. We have to be armed. We have to be more powerful than the barbarians, or they will not be merely at the gate.
They'll crash our gates and destroy our societies.
That's what Israel is doing now with the United States. And I'm very proud of the fact that the Israeli people are standing strong, that the Israeli
army is standing strong. We rose from October 7th. Our people, our soldiers rose like lions.
But in protecting ourselves and in joining with our great American friends, we're also protecting the entire world.
MODERATOR: Thank you. Next question. Tom Burridge from ABC News.
TOM SOUFI BURRIDGE, ABC NEWS HOST: Hi. Tom Soufi Burridge, ABC News.
Prime Minister, given the escalation of attacks on U.S. allies across the Gulf, given the spiraling energy costs, the high costs in general, that the
U.S. service personnel killed in this war, many Americans are asking that question. Whether you misled their government into starting this war, and
for how long should Americans keep paying the price?
[15:15:04]
NETANYAHU: Well, I misled no one, and I didn't have to convince the President Trump about the need to prevent Iran from developing its nuclear
program, putting it underground and being able to launch nuclear tipped missiles at the United States. He understood that. He explained it to me. I
didn't explain it to him.
And I think that our partnership is the only way to avoid this catastrophic development.
The loss of servicemen is painful. I early on in my military service, a fellow soldier died in my arms. I lost a brother who fought terrorists, led
the historic rescue, the. The cost to bereaved families is enormous, and I sympathize and send to the condolences of the people of Israel to these
families and to the American people.
Freedom is precious. It has its costs. But if you're not prepared to defend it, if you're not prepared to resist the tyrannies that are trying to arm
themselves with the weapons of mass death, you will have no future. And therefore, we're doing what we can.
As far as oil prices rising, spikes -- you know what a spike is? You know what a spike is it goes up and goes down. And the Americans are working
very hard, and we're trying to help them in every way that we can to open the Straits of Hormuz. And if they succeed, which I think they will, then
oil prices will come down.
But if you say, all right, I'm suffering right now. And people are, then I shouldn't do anything. I should just succumb to the blackmail let Iran get
on with it. Let them develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to deliver them to New York and Los Angeles, you're going to be blackmailed in
ways that you can't even imagine.
I think what this -- what this war has done is unmask what Iran is. You know, we've said for years look at these people. They're doing things that
normal regimes do not do. I don't hear even adversaries of the United States chanting "death to America, death to the great Satan," massacring
tens of thousands of their own people at will like that in two days.
You have that sometimes but the combination, the combination of fanaticism, deep ideological lunacy, there's no other way to call it, the total and
utter ruthlessness of this regime makes it uniquely dangerous, uniquely dangerous not only to Israel and to the United States but to everything in
between and far beyond.
And the fact that this is not recognized, you ask me okay, what do people think? What did they think in the 30s? What did they think in the 30s when
you had a terrible, ruthless killer regime led by a lunatic, that took one country after the other, did it very sequentially? What did they say?
They said what? They said, let's stay out of this. It's not our war. It's not our problem. Maybe it's only the Jews.
Have we learned nothing, absolutely nothing, in these 80 years? We cannot see the danger that lurks. It doesn't lurk, it's risen from the mud, it's
right in our face, it's splattering blood right at us.
I can't believe -- I can't believe that we've -- that we're clueless. We're not clueless. I talked to many American friends. They're not clueless. They
understand this.
Some don't. Some are adamantly opposed, but many are adopting a wait and see attitude. But I can tell you that I've spoken. As I said a minute ago,
I spoke -- I've spoken to many, many leaders. We're talking about dozens and dozens of leaders and they all say the same thing.
I understand it. Some of them come out and say it. They're bold, and some of them say, you know, I don't know, you know, I wish -- I understand it,
but some of my people don't or my news media are against me and so on. I was glad to see in the United States that an enormous number, enormous
percentage of President Trump's supporters, traditional supporters, understand it.
And I hope that my friends and colleagues of many years on the other side of the aisle, those who understand and agree with what I just said, and
there are quite a few of them, have the courage to come out and say it because at the end at the end, what is the task of leaders? If you are a
leader, the most important thing, the most important thing is to assure the security of your people.
[15:20:00]
And that means identifying danger in time and acting against it. That is a prerequisite for the survival of any biological organism. You have to
identify danger in time and act in time against it. You either fight or flight, these are the two options you have.
Where can you flee? Nowhere, because Iran can reach any part of the world. So, you have to, at a certain point, fight. And this is the juncture where
we've reached in time, not too late, but in time. I just will encourage all those who agree with what President Trump is saying, with what I'm saying,
too, act.
I didn't have to convince President Trump of anything. He didn't need any convincing. He acted as a great leader does to protect his country and to
protect the future.
MODERATOR: Thank you. Next question. Alex Traiman, from JNS, right behind you, yes.
REPORTER: Mr. Prime Minister, Hezbollah has opened up another front against Israel, launching rockets against Israelis, Israeli civilians. Now
ground troops are inside Lebanon. Is there any hesitancy toward launching a full ground operation to eradicate Hezbollah? And what would eradicating
Hezbollah do to transform Israel-Lebanon relations and the greater Middle East?
NETANYAHU: Look, Alex, I can't divulge our battle plans. Obviously, Hezbollah is not what Hezbollah had been. I said in my opening remarks in
Hebrew that there -- you know, they were talking about 150,000 rockets and missiles that they had, ballistic missiles. They had thousands of Radwan
terrorists right at our -- right next to our fence underground, ready to invade. And we knocked them back. We destroyed the bulk of their missile
capacity.
In six hours, we knocked out Nasrallah. We destroyed the all the Hamas, or rather all the Radwan infrastructure right next to our border. We now have
a security corridor, a security zone that were -- that is there that prevents this kind of invasion. And we have plans for the future.
Obviously, our number one effort is geared towards Iran. If the regime goes, you know, that Hezbollah goes. But in any case, we're devising our
plans in such a way that we could remove this threat as well.
MODERATOR: Thank you. Final question from Jeremy Diamond at CNN.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Prime Minister, Jeremy Diamond, CNN. Nice to you.
You've assassinated Iran's supreme leader and dozens of other senior Iranian officials. The result of that so far has been the appointment of a
new supreme leader, considered to be even more hardline than his father. The Iranian regime is not showing any signs of collapse as of now.
So, I wonder, what do you say to those who say that killing those individuals is in fact, empowering the hardliners in Iran? And are you
confident that your strategy will still lead to regime change?
And then secondly, if I may, you've also indicated today that you made a commitment to President Trump not to strike these oil and gas facilities in
the future. Should President Trump come to you one day and say oil prices are too high, it's time to end this war, will you listen to him? And do you
need the United States in order to continue this campaign alone?
NETANYAHU: Was that a single question? Jeremy really hogged it, but I'll answer your questions.
I'm not sure who's running Iran right now. Mojtaba, the replacement ayatollah, has not shown his face. Have you seen him? We haven't, and we
can't vouch exactly what is happening there. There is -- there is a cloud here that's not clear.
What we see is that there is a lot of tensions inside the people who are edging for the top. It's not a uniform position you see that sometimes with
contradictory orders that are given. You know, they do one thing and then they withdraw it and so on.
I think it's important that they know that if they think they're going to target the world, target the president of the United States and so on, they
themselves are being targeted. That creates a lot of uncertainty. We found that that can have an effect, the removal of Nasrallah has never been
really -- has never really been replaced because some people are not replaceable.
I think the authority and the hold that Khamenei has had is not going to be translated to anyone, not to Mojtaba if he's there and not to anyone else.
But I think this is part of the effort to crack the regime.
[15:25:04]
It's not going to happen one day. We're 20 days into -- into this war.
DIAMOND: You're seeing cracks?
NETANYAHU: Yes, yes. We're seeing cracks. We're seeing cracks and we're trying to propagate them as fast as we can. Not only in the top command,
we're seeing cracks in the field. You know, it's sort of like a hollowed out rotten piece of wood that's holding on the outside, but there's a lot
of rot inside.
We're seeing some defections. We're seeing fear and trepidation in the IRGC units that are manning the ballistic missiles. You know why? They're afraid
to die. They're not -- they're not all suicidal. In fact, most of them are not.
So we're seeing cracks, but we're going to hit them again and again. The minimum thing we want to do is again, erase the industrial capacity that
they had to produce these weapons they'll have to build it from a start. And that's very hard. It's very hard to do underground, too. So, they're
not going to be able to just take the pieces and move them below, below the earth. It's going to be a lot harder for them.
But ideally, if it cracks enough and with some other things that I won't get into, yes, the regime could change. Is it guaranteed? No. And is it up
to the Iranian people in the final accounting to make use of the conditions that were doing in weakening this regime? We'll see. I cannot tell you.
They're very brave, by the way. I don't come and criticize them in any way. I think they're very brave. I think they suffered enormously. And the
question is, will we have a meeting ground between the weakening of the regime and the rising of the people? In many ways, that could develop?
We'll see.
On the oil and gas questions, I can only tell you this -- look, I don't think any two leaders have been as coordinated as President Trump and I.
He's the leader. I'm, you know, his ally.
America is the leader, Israel is -- as the national security memorandum described as I think a month ago six months, six weeks ago, I think
something like that. They called Israel the model ally. That's how they call it, the model ally.
It's not a superpower but America is seeking around the world. And you hear it from the speeches of President Trump and others in the administration.
They say, where are you? You know, we've helped you all these years. Where are you when we're doing something that is as important, at least as
important for you as it is important for us? And yet one country is there and against all the vilifications that are leveled at Israel, Israel is
sponging off America and all that. No, it's not, it's not.
Israel is a brave country, a resolute country with an incredible army, incredible soldiers, incredible courage. And we're fighting alongside the
United States when the chips are down. We're fighting with the United States. We're fighting for a common goal.
So, I can tell you that that's the most important coordination. But in practice, President Trump and I speak regularly. You know, we discuss
things, our staff discuss things. Our militaries are in close coordination as never before.
But ultimately, President Trump makes his own decisions. And do I respect them? Yes, I do.
DIAMOND: The question is whether you would or could continue the war --
MODERATOR: Just one question, Jeremy, thank you.
DIAMOND: Could you do it without the United States? Without the refueling capabilities, for example?
MODERATOR: We're going to -- thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Thank you, everyone.
NETANYAHU: You exhausted your questions.
MODERATOR: -- for your questions today.
(CROSSTALK)
MODERATOR: Thank you, everyone.
FOSTER: So, we saw Jeremy Diamond there trying to get as many questions as he could to the Israeli prime minister, giving this notable press
conference, after many questions particularly about Israel's relationship to the United States.
So, Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissing the idea that anyone can tell Trump to do. He said that's ridiculous. This is after some reporting that he,
Israel somehow pressured the United States into this war. And he's saying that he didn't mislead anyone about this war Trump absolutely understands
it, didn't convince him of anything. And he didn't need convincing.
Actually, President Trump, he understood Israel's point of view throughout this process. And it's all been done through coordination, both military
and intelligence. But that obviously brought the debate onto this attack on Iranian gas installations yesterday, which Donald Trump says he wasn't
aware of and Netanyahu effectively confirming that, saying Israel acted alone on that gas compound, but confirmed that Trump has asked him to avoid
doing that again because it is affecting, obviously gas prices, oil prices, which the whole world is feeling right now.
[15:30:20]
CNN's Oren Liebermann was watching all of that unfold in Jerusalem.
What stood out for you, Oren?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Max, let's stay right there with the South Pars gas field strike from Israel. You're absolutely right
that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel acted alone, but this was probably the most interesting part of the press conference. It's very
possible for Israel to act alone and for the U.S. to be aware of the strike, even if Israel doesn't need some level of coordination or
cooperation to carry it out.
President Donald Trump has denied that he knew about the strike. You seem to see some bit of support for that from Netanyahu. And yet we have heard
from both Israeli and U.S. officials that there was coordination, and the U.S. was aware of the strike. And apart from that one bit where he said
Israel acted alone, he also made clear how close the coordination and cooperation is between Israel and the United States, not only at the
political level but, crucially, at the military level. And that's why, since even before we had confirmation from American and Israeli officials
that the U.S. knew of the strike on Iran's gas infrastructure, it was almost impossible that the U.S. didn't know because of that coordination.
In terms of what else we heard from the press conference, frankly, not all that much new. Netanyahu spent a lot of time praising Trump. That's not at
all a surprise. He needs Trump if he wants to continue this war. And Israel has made very clear it has plans for several more weeks of war. So, they
need Trump on their side. So, it's again, no surprise that you hear Netanyahu praising him and saying he's the only leader who had the guts to
do this.
You also heard him echoing what has become a Trump administration talking point, saying that the war between Iran and Israel in the U.S. happened
back in -- started back in 1979. We've heard Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth say this a lot in the U.S. Netanyahu was echoing those talking points here
for a bit.
And then he frankly gloated about Israel's military successes and the U.S. military successes since the beginning of the war. Other than the answer on
the South Pars gas field, I don't know that we learned all that much that was new. This is -- this is Netanyahu in a very comfortable position for
him, as Israel continues to carry out pretty much unmolested strikes against Iran with coordination with the U.S.
FOSTER: What did you make of what he was saying about Reza Pahlavi? Obviously, the son of the former shah who wants to go in and head a
transitional government the prime minister said, you can't do revolutions from the air. Does that imply that he doesn't expect regime change or that
regime change would only come through some sort of ground operation?
LIEBERMANN: I think what's become clear here as we near the three week point, is that Israel will accept nothing short of this regime collapsing
as they go after just about every leader, official, senior member of the leadership there and the Iranian regime. But in terms of the plans for the
day after, Israel doesn't really have that planned out at all. He said Israel is creating the conditions for the collapse of the regime.
And he hopes the Iranian people will overthrow the regime when the time is right. He's called on the Iranian people to do that several times. Again,
sort of this reference to some time in the future where they'll have the opportunity to do so. But it doesn't seem like Israel actually has any plan
to make that happen.
He's right that it's very difficult to change a regime with airstrikes alone. He's aware of that. I think the U.S. is very much aware of that.
In terms of Reza Pahlavi, he met Pahlavi some years ago, I believe in early 2023, perhaps in April of 2023. But he hasn't pinned his hopes on Pahlavi.
It seems like neither has President Donald Trump.
So, in terms of what comes next, I don't think that Israel has a plan for the day after. Israel is very much content where it is right now carrying
out repeated strikes against more and more parts of Iran.
FOSTER: Okay. Oren, appreciate it after that press conference from the prime minister of Israel.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:37:45]
FOSTER: Let's recap then the major escalation in the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran after Israel strikes the world's largest gas field, along with
questions over whether Donald Trump knew about the attack beforehand.
President Trump insists the United States knew nothing about the strike on the South Pars gas field, but that directly contradicts what sources from
both the U.S. and the and Israel are telling CNN.
The president was asked today whether he had spoken with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told him, don't do that and he won't do that. We didn't discuss. You know, we do -- we're
independent but get along great. It's coordinated. But on occasion, he'll do something. And if I don't like it. And so, we're not doing that anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Let's go to Riyadh now, CNN's Nic Robertson.
Obviously, we just heard from the Israeli Prime Minister said there's close cooperation militarily, intelligence wise. You would assume the U.S. knew
about this attack, which is having a huge effect on the global economy. But the Israeli prime minister also saying that he acted alone.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, and the two things can actually be parallel and correct that sources that have spoken
to CNN, both Israeli and U.S. sources, have said actually, the United States was aware that the strike was coming. And what Netanyahu said and
said he was very careful and quickly prepared.
It appeared to respond to Jeremy Diamond's question, saying, I have two things to say about that. One, we acted alone. Two, the president asked me
not to do it. I won't do it again. He didn't really have the pause to think about that.
And I say that those things can both be true in parallel, that they did act alone. And the sources talking to CNN and saying that Israel would have
been aware, can be correct at the same time.
And I'd also sort of frame into our understanding of how the war works. And Oren was giving us a very good understanding. There, of course, has been a
correspondent at the Pentagon for many, many years as well, and understands how the Pentagon works, how it works with military partners like Israel,
how they integrate to work in the battlefield.
So, he understands that space very well. But we also got a chance to hear from General Dan Caine today, the CENTCOM chief speaking very specifically
about how air crews get their orders, particularly those air crews that need to work with the air tanker refueling aircraft, as they would do
flying from Israel all the way over the Red Sea to this oil field.
[15:40:24]
And it's understood that the Israel is being supported by tankers that have come from the United States. Some of them are based in fact there in
Israel, operating with U.S. Air Force aircraft as well.
But the understanding that General Caine gave very clearly that these air force get their instructions about 24 hours in advance and then they need
to work through that battle plan and how they're going to refuel and the routes they're going to take and what ammunition they put on board, and
what -- how that ammunition should work and it's a complex 24 hour process.
Then they go to bed, he says and then they get up and fly their missions. So, the notion that Israel, even if it wasn't using the physical U.S.
assets could be sharing the same air battle space, congested as it is without the United States being aware. With this, more than 24 hours of
planning again stretches credibility but the prime minister didn't specifically deny that the U.S. didn't know. He just said we acted alone.
FOSTER: Nic Robertson in Riyadh, thank you.
Now, the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are lower. If it finishes in the red, that will be the Dow's lowest close of the year.
This is our Business Breakout.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary says the United States could lift oil sanctions on Iran. Scott Bessent told Fox Business that oil, which is currently
quote, on the water could be unsanctioned to help lower prices. That would allow oil shipments to be sold freely in Europe and other regions, with
Iran getting the proceeds.
Japan and five European nations say they're ready to help ensure safety for ships in the Strait of Hormuz. In a joint statement, the countries say they
condemn Iran's attacks on ships in the Gulf and will contribute to, quote, appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage in the strait.
Several central banks in Europe are warning about economic uncertainty from the situation in the Middle East. The ECB, Bank of England and the Swiss
National Bank kept rates on hold as they warned of potentially higher costs. The European Central Bank president, Christine Lagarde, said a major
shock was unfolding.
Well, one of the world's top airline bosses says it's inevitable that ticket prices will go up because of the war in Iran. Willie Walsh, who runs
the International Air Transport Association, says there's no way that the industry can absorb the cost of rising fuel prices.
Richard's back from Brussels, where he's been speaking to them all.
I mean, there's two things here, isn't there? There's the oil and the cost of jet fuel, I guess, but also just the sheer demand and lack of supply.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: Yes, absolutely. And on both of those occasions and for both of those reasons, the airline CEOs are
pretty much in agreement that there's very little they can do. We were talking today. We were -- I was hearing today that one of the CEOs told me
that he's paying $1,700 now for jet fuel. I asked him what was it beforehand? He said $700.
No airline can absorb that sort of cost. Therefore, as I heard again and again today, they're going to pass the costs on how long, how far, how
deep, how much, that depends on how long the war is going to last.
FOSTER: And do they talk a bit about the you know, lack of flights available, long haul flights because they're not flying over the Middle
East and how that affects prices?
QUEST: What they're really -- what they're -- the industry is particularly concerned that what this has shown is that European aviation has ceded too
much ground to the Gulf. They've allowed the Gulf, the level playing field in the Europeans' eyes never existed. And now if you want to fly to Manila
from Europe, you can't do it because the Gulf carriers aren't flying.
So, time and again today, they said, not only is this an opportunity to sort of put things right, but if we don't, then the competitiveness of
European aviation will be seriously in jeopardy.
FOSTER: Is that boosting the European hubs effectively?
QUEST: Eventually, yes.
FOSTER: Yes.
QUEST: I think there's a -- there's a realization amongst the CEOs. Well, they've known it all along. Theres a realization amongst European
politicians that too much ground has been given to the gulf carriers, to Asian carriers, to Chinese carriers. And when you have a crisis like this,
first of all your prices go through the roof. And secondly you simply there are no -- you know, Lufthansa today told me they used to fly to a dozen
places in Asia. Now they fly to two.
FOSTER: Okay. Richard, thank you so much. More from Richard and "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS," of course.
We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:48:03]
FOSTER: The war with Iran is increasingly having a major impact on the global economy, as both sides are now striking vital energy production
sites. It remains nearly impossible for cargo ships to go through the Strait of Hormuz. Only a handful have been able to safely travel through
the region. And now Israels strike on Iran, South Pars gas field has escalated the war prompting counterattacks from Iran on neighboring Gulf
energy facilities such as Wednesdays strike on Qatar energy's Ras Laffan.
So, what we want to know is, has this war on Iran become an economic war?
Joining us now is Sir Hew Strachan, a military historian and professor at the University of Saint Andrews.
Thank you so much for joining us professor. But we wanted to get your context on this.
I mean, first of all, the way this war has evolved from a purely military one striking military targets in Iran and U.S. interests in the Gulf has
really evolved into something very different, hasn't it? And it's economic targeting.
SIR HEW STRACHAN, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS: But the economic targeting, in a way was entirely foreseeable,
wasn't it, in terms of the importance of Iran to global energy supplies and the importance of the Straits of Hormuz?
I think we could have anticipated that would be a difficulty.
FOSTER: It doesn't seem to have been anticipated though, does it, apart from the Iranian side.
STRACHAN: Well, they obviously saw it as an opportunity. I think one of the issues here is how do -- what effects are you trying to have? What
economic effects are you trying to have? I mean, the one that we're all concerned with is the effect, the global effect in terms of inflation, the
cost of energy, the cost of oil and gas, and what that's doing to the global economy.
If this is war against Iran, what effects are we trying to have on Iran? And there it seems to me, there's a lack of clarity because if the -- if
effects, if the aim is to attack Iranian production on what is a joint site with Qatar.
[15:50:06]
If that is the aim, then clearly it affects a country, countries other than Iran. And secondly, what effect will it have within Iran?
It doesn't seem to me it's going to advance the cause of regime change which the prime minister of Israel has just been talking about again
because economic suffering, I suspect certainly on the historical record, will drive the people of the country closer to its government rather than
further away, if you're under attack in a personal sense and feel that life is intolerable, which I guess most Iranians right now do feel.
Then actually, you look at who's causing the problem and the cause of the problem right now, however much they, some of them, may fear their own
government is the external actor rather than the internal actor.
FOSTER: What's the -- you know, the last comparable example of this? I mean, people have talked about World War Two, but in terms of and there's
been trade wars, of course. But when was the last big military economic war that we've seen like this?
STRACHAN: Well, the combination -- I think both the world wars qualify because they were fought in, in effectively every dimension, military and
economic simultaneously, with an endeavor to have reciprocal effects from one to the other.
The last war that really caused confusion for global markets in the Middle East will have been the 1973 Yom Kippur War. And it really took at least
two years for the effects of that to work through. And what was, after all, a short war and a war that remained much more regionally focused than this
one is because it's already drawing in multiple other Gulf states, in addition to those directly affected by the fighting, what they are directly
by the fighting, which is why they're being drawn in.
So, in -- whichever comparison you take, it doesn't work terribly well for you. I mean, if the Second World War, what they realized by the time the
Second World War is that you should be focused on something that is economically vital to the war production of the country and that meant
focusing on things like ball bearing factories. There doesn't seem to be what's happening here.
FOSTER: Sir Hew Strachan, really appreciate your time today fascinating insight onto this what is now a global event.
We'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:55:10]
FOSTER: Donald Trump made a somewhat awkward reference to military history during his meeting with Japan's prime minister in the Oval Office. When
asked by a Japanese reporter about why U.S. allies weren't told about the war in Iran, Mr. Trump made a joke which led to audible groans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We went in very hard and we didn't tell anybody about it because we wanted surprise. Who knows better
about surprise than Japan? Okay, why didn't you tell me about Pearl Harbor? Okay? Right?
You know, he's asking me, do you believe in surprise? I think much more so than us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Some unusual silence there after that.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.
END
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