Cause Of Saudi Arabian Attack Still Unclear; Polls In Israeli Election Close In An Hour
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Hello, everyone. Live from CNN London, I'm Hala Gorani. Tonight, Saudi Arabia speaks, the energy minister talks as the nation faces the fallout of its attack on one of its oil facilities. Can the companies stabilize oil prices and also the confidence on its own production? Also, a tense and frankly awkward hearing in the U.S. capital as a former Trump campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, demands a lot from Democratic members before he'll answer any questions. We are live in Washington. Also tonight, Benjamin Netanyahu faces his biggest political test yet. My colleague Becky Anderson is in Jerusalem.</s>BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Hala. Just under an hour until polls close, we'll look at what is at stake, who is likely to come out with the most seats, and how difficult it still might be for that candidate to find a way to actually form a government -- Hala.</s>GORANI: All right, Becky, we'll see you in a bit. We begin this hour with breaking news as the Saudi energy minister is talking about how his country is trying or will try to rebound from that attack on one of its oilfields. Speaking just minutes ago, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the kingdom is aiming to ramp up oil and gas production as fast as possible, saying -- according to some reports -- that it could be back online early in the morning on Saturday. They will be shooting for 11 million barrels per day by the end of this month, and 12 million by the end of November. Meanwhile, a source familiar with the U.S. and Saudi investigations tells CNN there's, quote, "A high probability that the strikes were launched from an Iranian base." The assessment is that the strikes used low-altitude cruise missiles, flown over Iraq in an effort to mask their origin. However -- and this is important to underline -- neither country has produced any evidence of this. And it's worth noting that Iran has consistently denied responsibility. This, as U.S. officials tell CNN that Saudi Arabia has recovered circuit boards from one of the weapons used in the attack. It apparently missed its target and landed in the desert, intact. Nic Robertson is following developments from inside Saudi Arabia. Talk to us about the latest. There was a news conference from Aramco and also Saudi officials speaking out about this attack.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. What they seem to be doing is trying to sort of settle nerves and fears in the oil markets around the world. Because, you know, Saudi Arabia is an absolute key producer, and that's also part of their argument here. When they say that -- and as they have told reporters in this press conference today, half of their capacity was taken out. That's about eight percent of the supply to the -- of the global supply. And this is, in essence, where Saudi Arabia tries to build its case, that this is an attack not just on Saudi Arabia, but on the global economy and on global stability. But in essence, this press conference is designed to settle calms and fears and give a measured Saudi assessment of when they think that they can restore that capacity. No need to panic in the meantime, they say, because they can use their strategic reserves that are placed around the world. And perhaps that's why we're seeing these figures of 11 million barrels and 12 million barrels, capacities that they will head towards in a month or so's time. Because currently -- or until a few days ago -- they were at 9.8 million barrels, and that, now they're going to go above that. Perhaps the intention there is to replenish the reserves that they have, perhaps there's an intention to create bigger reserves around the world. But this is -- this, I think, is what we're hearing, the strength of argument from the energy minister, from the new head of Aramco, there, in this press conference in Jeddah.</s>GORANI: And what I find interesting is that not all countries -- Western countries are falling in line together, about who they think is responsible. Because the French foreign minister, who's visiting Cairo today, Jean-Yves Le Drian, says we don't necessarily agree that the location of the origin of the attack was Iran. Let's listen to what he said.</s>JEAN-YVES LE DRIAN, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): At this stage, France does not have evidence which would allow us to say that these drones came from one place or another. And I do not know if anyone has such evidence.</s>GORANI: He does not know if anyone has such evidence, interesting, Nic.</s>ROBERTSON: Yes, it is, isn't it. And it clearly puts the burden on Saudi Arabia and the United States, to present whatever evidence they have. I mean, what the source familiar with the investigation has told us, that this drone that fell short, this cruise missile, this low-flying cruise missile, relatively new type of technology, that it fell short of the target, that it was relatively undamaged, that this is what the Saudis and the U.S. military weapons investigators are using on the ground to make the determinations of who produced it and where they believe it took off from. What we've already heard, on the record from Saudi authorities, is that it didn't take off from Yemen and that these weapons systems were made by Iran. And I think, you know, a point of context here -- and this perhaps goes to what the French foreign minister was saying -- when the Saudis made similar allegations about weapons that the Houthis were using, just about a year and a half ago, we were the first group of journalists, at CNN, to be taken to see these Scud missile systems, or Scud-type missile systems. And the Saudis told us, back then, that they were using the circuit boards there, that they were looking at the components to see where each of these things were manufactured, where it was put together, who had made it. And the allegation was that it was manufactured by Iran. And the U.N. later looked at it, and came to the same conclusion. What the Saudis are saying now is, they're appealing for U.N. investigators to join them, for international experts to join this investigation. What they are trying to do is build a body of international support for the evidence that they seem to believe that they have, that would make their claims credible, that -- as they stand, that Iran was responsible, even to the point that the high supposition, if you will, the high degree of likelihood that these weapons were fired from Iran, flew over Iraq, over Kuwait and then at their targets in Saudi Arabia. So we see how the Saudis are trying to do this, but we haven't -- and certainly from the French foreign minister, very clear, there, even behind the scenes -- the evidence, such as they believe they have, hasn't been made available to all their allies yet.</s>GORANI: All right. Nic Paton Walsh (sic) In Riyadh, thanks very much. We have a lot more on this story. Still to come this hour, we'll be going live to Tehran in about 20 minutes. Iran's foreign minister now says the U.S. is in denial. That, another reaction from inside of Iran, live, coming up a little bit later. To Israel, first. In just under an hour, polls will close in a closely watched election there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing one of the biggest battles of his political life in the country's second election in five months. Becky Anderson is in Jerusalem, and she joins us now -- Becky.</s>ANDERSON: Thank you very much indeed, Hala. Leading up to today's vote, the polls have had this race way too close to call. On the one hand, the man who has dominated Israeli politics for years, Benjamin Netanyahu, who's trying to keep his right-wing Likud Party on top. And on the other, Benny Gantz, former Israeli army chief of staff, now leader of the centrist Blue and White Party. Of course, it is not as simple as just these two men. No matter the result, it's almost certain that anyone who wants to lead will have to piece together a coalition, which is what brought us to this point, to this rerun. Mr. Netanyahu was unable to cobble together a government after the last election in April. We've got our team watching at both the major parties' headquarters, with just about 50 minutes or so before polls close. Oren Liebermann at Likud's facility in Tel Aviv; Sam Kiley is at Blue and White HQ. Oren, less than an hour away, as I say, from the close. How confident are Netanyahu's supporters, that he will nail it this time around, on his terms?</s>OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think nobody here is confident with what the results of this election will be. As you said, election polls for the past three months, since this election was called in summer, have predicted a very tight race all along. And moreover, most of them if not all of them have predicted the same political deadlock that led to this situation in the first place, may very well still exist.</s>TEXT: Likud: Right-wing, conservative party; Led by Benjamin Netanyahu; Won 35 seats in April election</s>LIEBERMANN: And because of that, you're seeing that lack of confidence. Nobody here is willing to make a prediction on how this will definitively turn out. They all want to see the exit polls. But they also know that the exit polls have been wrong in the past, sometimes very wrong. So even more than the exit polls, they want to start to see the actual results come in over the course of the evening and into the early morning hours. Both Netanyahu and his rival, former chief of staff Benny Gantz, are taking the same strategy right now, warning their voters, we're about to lose unless you get out there and vote. In Hebrew, it's known as a gevalt campaign, a panic campaign, to try to inspire voters by putting the fear of losing into them. And we're seeing both of them take it at this time. Now, Becky, it's worth pointing out, this can't actually possibly be true because the Central Elections Committee has actually said voter turnout is up 1.5 percentage points from last April. That being said, we don't know where it's up. And that may be one of the very important questions that decide who it is that has a reason to celebrate tonight.</s>ANDERSON: That's right. Sam, Netanyahu's critics accuse him of running a sort of Trumpian campaign, on steroids. One commentator describing him as having lied, defamed, fabricated and provoked his way to center stage, leaving his opponents grumbling in his wake. What is the mood there, of his arch-opponent and party?</s>SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, at the moment, it's rather subdued. And as Orem was observing there, because of the failure of accuracy in the past, of exit polls. For example, supporters here are being told not to bother to turn up much before 1:00 in the morning, when results will become much more clear.</s>TEXT: Blue and White: Centrist, liberal party; Led by Benny Gantz; Won 35 seats in April election</s>KILEY: There are a few commentators around, there's a lot of media but precious few members of Mr. Gantz and Yair Lapid's party apparatus because they are still very much in the business of trying to get those core voters out. And so they're on the stump, and trying to drive them -- almost literally -- to the polls. Now, but it is also the case, it is absolutely undeniable that this entire campaign has really been defined by Benjamin Netanyahu, can be accused of being Trumpian. Perhaps Trump can be accused of being a student of Mr. Netanyahu. He has pioneered this very aggressive, very rhetorically inflammatory, sometimes, campaigning style, which means that he can always own the argument. And then he can decide whether or not, were he to get elected, whether or not he actually implements any of those plans. So, for example, he has said he would annex the Jordan Valley and all of the settlements on the West Bank. Now, that is a commitment that he's made to try to draw in the right wing, but he may not (ph) have to keep it.</s>ANDERSON: Oren, just remind us, what exactly is at stake at this point?</s>LIEBERMANN: For Netanyahu, this is about not only his political future as the longest serving leader in Israel, an accomplishment he claimed in July, but also about his personal future. There are investigations, corruption probes looming against the prime minister. And the attorney general, who is a Netanyahu appointee, has already said he intends to indict the prime minister on charges of bribery and breach of trust in three separate cases. The preliminary hearing for that is two weeks away. One of Netanyahu's strongest arguments for pushing aside these investigations, is that he's prime minister. If that's no longer the case, first, he loses that argument. But perhaps more importantly, if he's not the prime minister, he has no way of going to the Knesset and essentially legislating himself immunity from prosecution, which is something analysts here have said he has looked to do. And in fact, one of the members of his Likud Party even introduced such a bill back in May, before the Knesset fell apart just a few short weeks later. So this is about the personal and political future of Netanyahu, and that's why this is so important. And perhaps that's part of the reason he's making such a frenetic get-out-the-vote effort in these last few hours of campaigning, now, less than the last hour.</s>ANDERSON: Oren, Sam, we'll let you go. Hang on in there. As we say, less than an hour to go. We'll get those exit polls. These will not be the actual results, of course, but we'll get a sense of sort of what is going on as far as these numbers are concerned, as these characters begin to think about how they might build a coalition. All right. Let's talk more about this with someone who's been there. Einat Wilf, a member -- a former member of the Knesset, joining me now. I've spoken to people, today, who have told me simply that what is at stake in this election is Israeli democracy. Do you buy that?</s>EINAT WILF, FORMER MEMBER, ISRAELI KNESSET: Indeed, indeed. There is a sense that democracy's on the ballot. Israel's democracy is one of the longest standing in the world. It's been continuous since the day it was born. But we are in an unprecedented situation. We've never had elections, repeat elections in such a short period of time. And the reason that democracy's on the ballot is that Netanyahu is trying to use Israel's system in order to grant immunity for himself from legal proceedings. And he wants this immunity as long as he's prime minister, which means that he cannot sustain a loss. And in democracy, if you cannot accept a loss as legitimate, you no longer have a democracy.</s>ANDERSON: The problem is this, isn't it? That whichever way you spin the Rubik's Cube on this, the questions seem to be, to Bibi or not to Bibi. So whether you buy the argument that Israel's democracy is at stake, in the end, he still has an awful lot of support out there, doesn't he?</s>TEXT: Israel Election, September 17: At stake: 120 seats in the Knesset; Second vote in 5 months after deadlocked result in April; New election set after P.M. Netanyahu failed to form coalition</s>WILF: Certainly. Because he does have real achievements, which we cannot discount. He has given Israel about a decade of relative peacefulness, after years of suicide bombing, mayhem and blood in our streets. Under his leadership, violence has been at bay. And for many Israelis, if they try to judge the question of corruption versus what Netanyahu calls life itself, the fact that they are not being blown to bits when they go to have pizza, they say, OK, corruption charges aren't pleasant, but it's more important for us to have a leader with whom we feel safe.</s>ANDERSON: What happened to the Labor Party? I mean, neither of these men and their parties can govern on their own. They have to get into a coalition. And in the past, the Labor Party has run a coalition, has run government. What's happened to -- it was such a force in Israeli politics, it may not even get enough votes to enter parliament this time. I mean, that -- it's been part and parcel of your life as a Labor Knesset member. What has gone wrong?</s>WILF: Labor, the party, has been in a long trajectory of decline for a variety of reasons. I would say, primarily, because its main premise, that it could make peace with the other side, failed miserably when both Arafat and Abu Massen walked away from perfectly good peace offers and followed with violence. But the party that carries this name right now, which is Labor, is no longer Labor in content. In many ways, you could say that Blue and White channels what old Labor used to be. It has the labor union, it has the generals, and it is the centrist party that claims to be a governing party.</s>ANDERSON: Well, whichever way you look at it, it's not going to be a kingmaker in this election, likely not going to be a kingmaker. The right- wing Nationalist Party run by Avigdor Lieberman, could easily be in that position. We certainly see the rise of right-wing nationalism around the globe, and it does seem to be reflected in Israeli politics at this point, doesn't it? Is that important (ph)?</s>WILF: To a point. I mean, Israel is a country where a national identity is important. Lieberman actually has run in these elections, not on a platform of nationalism, but one of secularism and being against the Haredi, the ultra-Orthodox parties, and this is one of the reasons he will probably do much better than he did in the previous elections. He's also promising to have a secular unity government, which is what most Israelis at the moment seem to want.</s>ANDERSON: He may be looking to roll back religion within government and society --</s>WILF: Yes.</s>ANDERSON: -- but when (ph) I talk about being sort of a nationalist leader, he's got the tendencies towards nationalism, populism, as we would see in other places around the world. It's a joy having you on. Thank you very much indeed for your analysis --</s>WILF: Thank you.</s>ANDERSON: -- it is incredibly important election. We've talked about what is at stake. And within about 45 minutes' times, Hala, we will be back and we'll get the polls, which close here at 10:00 local time. We'll get you those exit polls as soon as they are out. And full special coverage of this election in the hours to come. For now, though, back to you.</s>GORANI: All right, Becky. We'll see you at the top of the hour with more special coverage. Coming up, a U.S. House committee considering impeachment is hearing from Donald Trump's former campaign manager. What he's saying and not saying about the president and the Mueller report, some fiery moments right out of the gate. We'll bring you the latest, after this.