President Trump Slaps Harsher Sanctions on Iran; U.S. to Present a $50 Billion Plan for Palestinian Prosperity; U.S. To Unveil Palestinian Prosperity Plan; Rouhani, Iran Exercising Strategic Patience, Not Fear; Trump Announce New Hard Hitting Sanctions On Iran; 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. President Donald Trump slams Iran with a new round of crippling sanctions. We will have reaction from Tehran. Plus, the deal of the century becomes a sideshow, Palestinians boycott the White House's Middle East peach workshop. And this --</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But here the ground is contaminated.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're beeping radiation alarms, part of the creepy experience.</s>STOUT: CNN heads to the Chernobyl exclusion zone to find out why people are flocking to a town starred by the world's most catastrophic nuclear disaster. Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and this is CNN Newsroom. Now the U.S. president wants a new nuclear agreement with Iran and he's using economic pressures to try to force a return to the negotiating table. Now U.S. president announced what he discusses as hard-hitting sanctions on Monday, they target the supreme leader of Iran, military officials, and the foreign minister.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The assets of Ayatollah Khamenei and his office will not be spared from the sanctions. These measures represents a strong and proportionate response to Iran's increasingly provocative reactions, make a lot of restraint has been shown by us, a lot of restraint and that doesn't mean we're going to show it in the future but I felt that we want to give this a chance, give it a good chance because I think Iran potentially has a phenomenal future.</s>STOUT: The new sanctions deny the supreme leader access to financial resources. Previously, nearly 1,000 Iranians, banks and other entities were targeted. In May, the U.S. prohibited the purchase of Iranian iron, steel, aluminum, and copper. Now some analysts have suggested that earlier U.S. sanctions triggered Iran's recent more aggressive tactics, but the U.S. treasury secretary insists that the sanctions have had the desired effect.</s>STEVEN MNUCHIN, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: There is no question that these sanctions have been very effective on cutting off funds and going to the IRGC and other people. And I can only presume. I'm not going to presume why they're doing things but these are highly, highly effective unlocking up the Iranian economy. And as the president said we look forward to a time in releasing sanctions if they're willing to negotiate.</s>STOUT: Now the impact on Iran's economy is clear, the International Monetary Fund now predicts the country's economy will shrink 6 percent this year and that inflation could reach as high as 40 percent. Now for more on Iran's reaction let's go straight to Fred Pleitgen in Tehran. And Fred, I understand that the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani has been speaking. Has he been offering any new reactions to the sanctions?</s>FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He certainly has. And in fact, I think he's still speaking right now. It's been carried on press TV, one of the state broadcasting services here. And basically, Hassan Rouhani has said that the new sanctions against Iran against the supreme leader and of course, also the ones coming against Javad Zarif. That of course that Steven Mnuchin, the treasury secretary said would come later this week, that those will have absolutely no effect at all. He basically laughed them off. He said that the leadership of this country, basically stay to this country and doesn't have billions in assets, and so therefore it wouldn't affect the way that they operate and the way that they're able to work at all. At the same time, the Iranian line has essentially been that these new sanctions will destroy the chances of diplomacy for good. It was quite interesting to see, Kristie, because the spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry he came out earlier today and also blasted the United States and said that these sanctions would cut off a path to diplomacy forever, as he put it. And that's something that sort of being echoed by Hassan Rouhani right now as well in his talk that he's given to, I think a cabinet meeting right now where he is essentially saying look, Iran negotiating with the United States, they were very meetings between the Iranian politicians but a negotiation between the Iranian foreign minister and then secretary of state. There also negotiation he said between the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he was still in office and Javad Zarif. And the Iranians are saying that they trusted that process and they feel that they are the ones who have been betrayed by the United States for leaving the nuclear agreement. And essentially saying that the U.S., the Trump administration at least have said -- have shown that they are not trustworthy in this way. As far as the impact of the sanction is concerned, Kristie, the Iranians being very clear that they are saying this is having or will have absolutely no impact on the way that they conduct themselves both here at home and internationally. And if you look, we've been scanning the Iranian press earlier today, and these items about the new sanctions are really very pretty deep down in the newspapers and at the end of news cast. So Iranians purposely not trying to make a big thing of this, not trying to show or trying to show that this having absolutely no effect, while at the same time they're saying this is something that does not make it more likely for the Iranians to sit down at the table and start talking to the Trump administration, this is something that makes it a lot less likely if it ever been likely before, Kristie.</s>STOUT: You know, Iranian officials and the official press there in Iran may brush off the impact of these sanctions, but when you have the IMF saying that the economy of Iran is going to shrink some 6 percent as a result of them, I mean, what is going to be the real material impact of these ongoing sanctions on the streets of Iran, among the people of Iran?</s>PLEITGEN: Yes. Well that's a thing. Yes, and I think that's a very important point. They are definitely, there is absolutely no doubt about it, the sanctions are having a major effect on Iran's economy, and certainly having a major effect on regular people. Now that's something that's been going on since the Trump administration pulled out the nuclear agreement and started that massive sanctions campaign against Iran, the maximum pressure campaign as they put it. These new sanctions that target the supreme leader and his inner circle and then also senior leaders or senior figures and the Revolutionary Guard probably won't add anything additional to that. But you are absolutely right, the situation for ordinary Iranians has definitely deteriorated. You walk around the markets here, you walk around pretty much anywhere in Tehran, there is always been a bump into people who have lost their jobs, who say that their employers if they were international employers pulled out of Iran, who say that they worked for Iranian companies they can't get certain goods, they can't make payments internationally. The currency has spiraled. But the big question then is, also has that in any way really impacted Iran's maneuverability and Iran's ability to project its power in the greater Middle East. And that's where, I think you're seeing mixed messages coming out of the Trump administration, where you had Steve Mnuchin yesterday saying he believes that the sanctions have had as he called it, the desired effect and have curtailed around Iran's ability to project its power in the Middle East. But then you had John Bolton, I think just a couple of minutes ago and yesterday as well, still saying that he believes that Iran is the biggest menace that the Middle East has at all, so it's hard to see how those two-analysis mess with one another. And at the same time, Kristie, the Trump administration has also said that their bottom line is, they have these sanctions in place because they want to force Iran back to the negotiating table where the Iranians are saying it's precisely these sanctions that are preventing it from going back to the negotiating table, Kristie.</s>STOUT: Yes. And we'll be talking about that mixed messaging and mixed foreign policy response in the Trump administration with a Chatham house analyst later in the hour. But Fred, we are very thankful for your reporting there in Iran. Fred Pleitgen reporting live from Tehran. Take care. The tensions with Iran are looming over this key week of American diplomacy. The U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo just left Abu Dhabi. He and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed discussed countering the Iranian threat and securing the region, specifically on the waters. And at this hour, the national security adviser John Bolton is meeting with his Israeli and Russian counterparts in Jerusalem, they are expected to discuss plans for meetings at this weeks' G20 summit in Japan, as well as the threat posed from Iran.</s>JOHN BOLTON, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President Trump yesterday imposed significant new sanctions on Iran's supreme leader, and other top leadership individuals and entities. At the same time, the president has held the door open to real negotiations, to completely and verifiable eliminate Iran's nuclear weapons program, its pursuit of ballistic missile delivery systems, its support for international terrorism and its other maligned behavior worldwide. All that Iran needs to do is to walk through that open door.</s>STOUT: In the coming hours, President Trump's senior adviser and son- in-law Jared Kushner will present the U.S. plan for Palestinian prosperity. He'll be joined by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Now they are in Bahrain to lay out $50 billion proposal to investors, business leaders, and government officials. But the U.S. delegation faces a tough test. Palestinians are boycotting the workshop, saying the economic plan is pointless without a political plan first. Oren Liebermann joins us now from Jerusalem with details on both of these stories. And Oren, first, we know that Bolton has been very busy there in Israel defending U.S. action on Iran while meeting with his Russian and his Israeli counterparts. What is happening at this trilateral summit?</s>OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we heard before this summit from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and national security adviser John Bolton and both of their statements were essentially the same hardline, they've always taken against Iran. What was interesting was that Netanyahu said that the removal of foreign forces from Syria, that is Iran and Iranian proxies, he says is a common goal and good for Israel, Russia, the U.S. and Syria. So that is the angle that Netanyahu is taking and trying to see if the U.S., Russia, and Israel can find some common ground to make that happen. That's one of Israel's key goals there and that's what Netanyahu made clear he wants to get out of this trilateral summit. Bolton on the other hand came out simply and attacked Iran, calling it a radical regime and its terrorist surrogates but as we just heard saying the doors still open for negotiations if they basically want to change major elements of their foreign policy and how they act in the Middle East. So Bolton the hawk on Iran is taking his position clearly. We are working on translating the statement from the Russian secretary for the security council, essentially their national security adviser Nikolai Patrushev because he is not on the same page or Russia at least is not on the same page as the U.S. and Israel when it comes to Iran. First, Russia is an ally, at least a partner of Iran, backs Iranian forces in Syria and sees them as a legitimate presence and has said the sanctions against Iran are at the very least illegitimate, pushing back against those as well. So, what common ground can they find? Well, that's what Netanyahu will try to work with his and the other security advisers. We'll see what comes out of this meeting because it could have depending on that common ground, it could have significant consequences for not only Syria but the wider Middle East especially as a critical moment like what we are looking at now.</s>STOUT: And Oren, another story that you are closely monitoring, the first part of the President Trump's long-awaited Middle East peace plan is being unveiled in Bahrain, with, as we have long reported here in CNN a number of no shows there, what impact is this going to have on the peace process?</s>LIEBERMANN: Well, I think it's already had the impact it's going to have. The Palestinians have boycotted not only the economic workshop as it's being dubbed in Bahrain, but also whatever plan the administration puts on the table because they see the economic part as a buy off. Meanwhile, for something that's meant to address the Israeli- Palestinian conflict there are no Israeli or Palestinian officials there to begin with. The White House has long promised deal of this century is about to get its first major test. After two years of work the economic portion of the plan, dubbed peace to prosperity will be put forward in Bahrain. The plan calls for $50 billion of investment in the Middle East, more than half of that for the Palestinian territories. It promises to cut poverty in half, lower unemployment from about 30 percent to single digits and build projects that will benefit all Palestinians even if the source of the funding is unclear.</s>JARED KUSHNER, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT TRUMP: People are tired of the way that this has been stuck in the mud for so long. And what we are hoping we can do is to get people to look at this a little bit differently, come together, share ideas and then hopefully we can create a framework on which to move forward economically.</s>LIEBERMANN: But the Palestinians don't see it that way, they see the economic plan as an attempt to buy off their national aspirations. They've boycotted the Bahrain conference and the administrations peace efforts.</s>MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT (through translator): We need the economy and we need the money, before everything there is a political solution, when there is a political solution when we see the vision of the State of Palestine along the 1967 borderline then we can say dear world, come to assist, we are ready to receive assistance.</s>LIEBERMANN: Touring the West Bank over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised little more while attacking Palestinians for rejecting the plan outright.</s>BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We'll hear the American proposition, hear it fairly and with openness and I cannot understand how the Palestinians before they even heard the plan rejected outright. That's not the way to perceive it.</s>LIEBERMANN: The trump administration peace team has said the political plan will come later, then it will address all the final status issues in the conflict, such as the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman has suggested that the full plan may not be released if it hurts more than it helps. Those chances may be slim since the economic plan was supposed to be the easy part. In Bahrain, Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law who heads the peace team will be looking for Arab states to commit some of the $50 billion to these projects, instead so far what they have gotten is the Arab states to commit to a two-state solution. Kristie?</s>STOUT: Oren Liebermann reporting live from Jerusalem, thank you. The prime minister of the Palestinian authorities among those boycotting the economic workshop in Bahrain and he spoke exclusively to Christiane Amanpour.</s>MOHAMMAD SHTAYYEH, PRIME MINISTER, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: The issue was not really about this issue, this is like a desktop work. This is somebody who is totally diverse from reality. What will be presented has nothing to do with reality and has nothing to do a settlement, has nothing to do with occupation, has nothing to do with the Palestinians not having any access to their land, to their water. Palestinians have no control of their resources. So when we speak about investment and improving living conditions without really tackling the roots and the causes of the problem, I think the whole workshop is totally misleading and it is simply an intellectual exercise. As I said earlier, the best part of it will be only the coffee break.</s>CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN HOST: But here's the thing. The administration in the United States is saying that this is a workshop, it is not a donor's conference and clearly, they say, and they've been saying it today that this is something that could work within the framework of a peace. In other words, they fully understand they say that there needs to be a peace process, a peace agreement, a peace settlement that this is the kind of investment opportunities that would go hand in hand after there is a peace settlement. So, they were also saying this won't work in a vacuum, so I guess my question to you is why don't you go and see what's on offer?</s>SHTAYYEH: Why don't they present -- why don't they fill the vacuum, why don't they come up with something that is in harmony with international law? We know what the problem in Palestine is. We have been in this peace process since October 1991 since Madrid peace talks, we have tried everything, this sort of bilateralism, the American mediation, all the problems have been tested. Everybody knows what the problem in Palestine is, the issue is whether there is a serious determination about solving the problem. This workshop is about is for me, a laundry, a political laundry for settlement and legitimization of the occupation. The Palestinians are not looking for that. The Palestinians they consider settlements are illegal, the Palestinians they want to get rid of occupation and we are ready to engage with any political proposal that has to do with international law, that has to do with ending the occupation, that has to do with allowing the Palestinians for once to live in peace and harmony in an independent sovereign Palestinian state.</s>AMANPOUR: My question to you, you say that you don't have an economic problem, and yet, you yourself have told the New York Times and others that, quote, "Palestinian authorities is collapsing financially, you could be bankrupt by July or August." Those are your words, Mr. Prime Minister. You do have an economic problem. How serious will that be? What will it mean if you collapse financially?</s>SHTAYYEH: This financial siege that we are in has been imposed by both, Israel and the United States, so those who are gathering at al- Bahrain workshop, claiming that they want to help the Palestinians, I don't know how it is possible for anybody to believe that those who are gathering there at al-Bahrain are there to help us, at the same time they are the ones who are imposing financial siege on us. We are in a difficult situation. It is true. It's simply because our money is blocked somewhere there in Israel. The issue for us as I said, solving the Palestinian problem or the problem in Bahrain. We do have an economic problem, we do have a financial problem, but these are not a result of wrong economic policy by the Palestinians, these are product of the Israeli policies that has to do with lack of access to areas sea, with lack of access to international markets, with lack of access of investors to our territory, and so on and so forth. Imagine a situation in which somebody speaks about economic development and their occupation where you have no access to land, you have no access to markets, you have no access to water, and you have no access and investors have no access here. So, we do recognize the fact that we have a problem, the question is how do you solve the problem? The problem can easily be solved by ending occupation.</s>STOUT: And that was the Palestinian authority prime minister speaking with our Christiane Amanpour. Now White House officials insist that the outlines of their plan have been well received in the Middle East. Now the favorite to become Britain's next prime minister has hit a bump in the road to 10 Downing Street. And just ahead the controversy that's got Boris Johnson refusing to answer questions. And a weeklong heatwave is expected to hit Europe, we will have the latest forecast ahead on CNN Newsroom.