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Quest Means Business

Source: Hezbollah Commander Survives IDF Strike In Beirut; Source: Harris Plans To Campaign With Her VP Pick Next Week; Trump, Harris Release Dueling Campaign Ads; Quest's World Of Wonder Goes To Turkey. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 30, 2024 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:12]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Good evening, I'm Richard Quest.

Breaking news to bring you this evening. It is from Lebanon.

A high level Hezbollah commander has reportedly survived an Israeli airstrike that was targeting him in Southern Beirut. This is all according

to senior Lebanese government officials.

Israel has confirmed that it was targeting Fouad Shukur. It says he was behind the deadly attack that killed 12 children in the Israeli-occupied

Golan Heights. According to the state media in Lebanon, at least one woman has died, several more injured in the strike.

It also says the attack was carried out by a drone. A drone that fired three missiles. The video shows rubble in the streets and smoke as you can

see there, seen from the distance.

Two sides of the story. We are reporting both of them from their respective capitals, or at least respective places.

Jeremy Diamond is in Haifa in Israel. Ben Wedeman is in Beirut.

Start with you Ben, to bring me up to date on exactly what happened and what the current situation is.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This happened between 7:00 and 8:00 PM local time when there was a loud explosion coming from the

Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut in the southern part of the city, according to the Lebanese national news agency, a drone fired three

missiles at a residential building.

Now, the now Ministry of Health is saying that at least one woman was killed more, than 60 people were injured in that strike. Now the Israelis

are saying the target of that strike was Fouad Shukur otherwise known as Hajj Mohsin, a senior military commander in Hezbollah.

Now, I spoke to a senior Lebanese official who told me that Shukur could had survived the strike, although we are seeing persistent claims coming

from Israeli officials that they successfully assassinated this individual.

So we are waiting for some sort of final word on this, we're expecting some kind of statement from Hezbollah shortly, but obviously, this is the --

this is sort of perhaps the opening shot of what was expected to be an Israeli response to the strike on the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan heights

where 12 children were killed on Saturday.

QUEST: Jeremy Diamond, you take it up from there, please. The Israeli response to that attack, does Israel say that's it?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, the Israeli military was very quick to confirm that they were responsible for this

strike and part of that is because it is not only a strike intended to take out a senior Hezbollah commander, it is also a strike intended to send a

very clear message. And that message I'm told was to show that this attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which killed 12 children would not

go unanswered.

The Israeli government viewing that attack on Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights as crossing a red line in the words of the Israeli Defense

minister. At the same time, I am also being told by a senior Israeli official that even as they take this very kinetic action near the Lebanese

capital in the southern part of the Lebanese capital, they are also trying to send a message that they do not seek an all-out war between Israel and

Hezbollah.

One senior Israeli official telling me that whether or not there will be an all-out war will depend on Hezbollah's next actions.

And so the Israeli military at this stage has not issued any new guidance to Israeli civilians. They say the home front command guidance for

civilians remains unchanged, but there is no question that there is the possibility of escalation in the air tonight -- Richard.

QUEST: So, Ben Wedeman, when I heard this today, I immediately thought of the recent military action between Iran and Israel where one side or the

other, the other retaliated, but it was done in a sort of, we are going to tit-for-tat and we are going to leave it there.

Now since Hezbollah said they didn't do the Golan Heights attack, if they are right and if they are telling the truth, then they will want to

retaliate for what happened today.

WEDEMAN: The fact of the matter is that clearly neither side is ready or eager for a full-scale war at this point. I think Israel, after almost 10

months of the war in Gaza, we have read many reports about how there they are running low on ammunition, that the troops are exhausted.

[16:05:10]

They perhaps don't have the appetite for what could be an even more brutal war with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah for its part, it is -- it began engaging in these cross-border strikes on the 8th of October, the day after the Hamas attacks on Israel,

it said in solidarity with the people of Gaza, but it has not sort of by and large gone so far as to provoke a full scale war with the Israelis.

They don't want a war.

Don't forget that Hezbollah is also a political party and in Lebanon, there are not -- there is not a majority it is in favor of a war with Israel,

certainly Hezbollah has a very strong and solid base, but there are many others Lebanese who have no desire whatsoever to engage in any form of

hostilities with the Israelis.

So I think we may see sort of a delicate back-and-forth, so both sides can tick the boxes that they have done, what they need to do without going over

the cliff.

QUEST: And is that your sort of assessment in Israel as well? That there may be a bit more argy-bargy and noise, but actually this is going to be

contained -- Jeremy.

DIAMOND: Well, yes, there has certainly been a lot of rhetoric in Israel indicating that security must return to Northern Israel. The residents,

some 60,000 who have been displaced need to be able to return to their home safely. And yet, time and time again, even as we hear this bellicose

rhetoric, we also hear Israeli officials repeatedly walking back from the edge of the cliff.

QUEST: Jeremy and Israel, Ben in Lebanon, thank you, both.

The CNN military analyst, Mark Hertling is with me. Let's just dissect this if we may, because it seems like there isn't the appetite as you were just

hearing from both of them for further and increased military activity.

So the risk here is something getting out of hand. Some rogues, some whatever, but the things sort of escalates inadvertently.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Richard, in your interview, you summed it up very precisely comparing it to the last strike

between Iran and Israel and the attacks. There is always a process of action, which in this case was Hezbollah striking the Majdal Sham within

the Golan Heights. Israel has now reacted by targeting the individual they believe, Fouad Shukur conducted and led those attacks, and he did it in

such a way -- they did it in such a way as to send a message to not only Hezbollah, but also the government of Lebanon by striking very close to the

capital city.

Now, we are concerned about what happens with the counteraction, what comes next? Will Hezbollah do something more? Or will Iran pull Hezbollah's chain

a little bit and pull them back from the brink?

Will Israel strike more targets? That's still a possibility, but in this case, I see this particular strike, this very precise and sterile attack

against one individual south of Lebanon as to being very proportional in nature.

And I know most of your viewers might not agree with that, but it was a proportional strike based on the original strike that occurred in the

Majdal Sham area a few days ago.

QUEST: But then this would lead to Hezbollah de facto admitting they were behind the Golan Heights attack, which is something that they've said --

they were not behind because if they are not behind it, then they've just been attacked. In other words, then would see the need to retaliate.

HERTLING: Yes. What I think Hezbollah said was it was a mistake, that wasn't their target. But the fact of the matter is Hezbollah still launched

30 missiles into Israel. And for many people who have been almost consumed by the fight by Hamas down in Gaza, we've ignored, for the most part on the

world stage and you we can you can bet that the Israeli population have not ignored this, what has been happening out of Southern Lebanon.

I get a daily report from the Israeli Defense Forces and it talks about the launching of missiles on a daily basis from Southern Lebanon, and it has

been intense. Israel has struck back in the southern part of that country, but this is the first time that Israel, in this conflict, that Israel has

gone against the targets in Beirut, which is about a hundred miles north of Haifa, where Jeremy Diamond was reporting.

[16:10:10]

QUEST: Mark, reading -- well, with your contacts, obviously, I am reading these reports. Is it your view that the Hezbollah-Israel-Lebanon border war

or skirmishes is a tinderbox? I mean, how close --

HERTLING: Oh, absolutely.

QUEST: How close is it to getting into a full-scale ongoing shooting war?

HERTLING: Well right now, it is so close, Richard, that Israel has moved about 80,000 citizens out of range of rocket and artillery fire coming from

Lebanon. Imagine that kind of consequence, saying -- telling their people, their citizens, to move out of the area.

When you're talking about continual attacks from Hezbollah forces in Southern Lebanon into Israel, into different locations, random rocket fire

and the amount of rockets that Hezbollah has compared to Hamas, I would say yes, it is certainly a tinderbox and that's why I think a lot of people

have focused so much attention on this because if Israel decides to do an incursion into Southern Lebanon, and by the way, as they've done so many

times before or conduct a major air campaign into Lebanon, you're talking about a much larger terrorist organization in Hezbollah than what you see

in Hamas.

And it is more well-supplied, well-organized and it has the -- Hezbollah has the capability to maneuver amongst the citizens and a very large state

versus the very compressed environment which Hamas finds itself in that few square kilometers of Gaza, where Israel has been fighting for so long.

QUEST: Mark, I am very grateful to you, sir. Thank you for bringing it into context for us, to help us understand. Thank you.

QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight from New York, in a moment, Kamala Harris is apparently close to choosing her vice presidential candidate. She is

expected to campaign with her running mate next week according to our sources, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: News into us, the first major departure from the White House since President Biden ended his re-election bid earlier this month is senior

adviser Anita Dunn is leaving a post. She is going to help the super PAC backing Vice Its President Harris' campaign.

[16:15:05]

Now, we are also learning that Kamala Harris plans to campaign next week in swing states with a newly chosen running mate. Sources says that timing and

the choice of states to be decided, but it does suggest everything is very close to choosing that actual person.

MJ Lee is with me at the White House.

Let's do Anita Dunn's departure. I mean, the administration has got only a matter of months left to run, but the interesting thing here is A., the

significance of Anita Dunn in the administration, and B., where she is going.

MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, it is interesting because there had actually already been talk inside the White House and

people who would be familiar that at some point, Anita Dunn was going to leave the White House and become more involved on the campaign side of

things.

Of course, the reason that the timing of this is really interesting is because it is no longer Joe Biden that is at the top of the ticket. She is

going to be consulting on and advising these super PACs that are now working to get Kamala Harris elected president.

Now, the president did release a statement that just came out from the White House and of course, that speaks volumes. It is not often that the

president will actually formally comment on a personnel decision, it really goes to show you what a part and important part of the inner circle of

advisers she has been for so many years.

The president said, in part, "I deeply the value her counsel and friendship, and I will continue to rely on our partnership and insights as

we finish the job over the next six months."

Now, the context here for her departure, of course, is that a couple of weeks ago, as we all remember, there was the CNN presidential debate where

President Biden really shocked a lot of folks with his incredibly poor debate performance, and she was Anita Dunn, one of the advisers that ended

up getting a good amount of blame.

Now, a lot of folks on the other hand, would have argued that it is really only the principal that can be blamed, that is the president himself, but

this is really significant given that this is the first major departure that we are seeing from the president's inner circle.

QUEST: Okay, I need to ask you about this business of the vice presidential candidate. Now, if she is going to campaign next week say Monday, Tuesday,

Wednesday, Thursday, or whatever. So what are you guessing? When do we find out?

LEE: In the coming days is the answer.

I mean, everything is really happening on a condensed timeline. We already knew that. We knew already that the vice president wanted to choose someone

by August 7. So honestly, the answer of in the coming days works for practically any scenario at this point, but we are told that she hasn't

actually started the process of formally interviewing her top contenders, but that is going to begin this week.

And then, there is going to be in announcement that quickly follows, and immediately after that as you were saying, she and her future running mate

are going to hit the road together and that will be the first time that we see the two of them really campaigning across the country as they get ready

for the Democratic convention.

QUEST: In the coming days, absolutely. How long is a piece of string? Excellent. Thank you very much indeed.

MJ Lee at the White House.

Now, the Republican vice presidential candidate, JD Vance is speaking at a rally and he is facing fresh criticism of people without children you know,

the comments cat ladies et cetera.

CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Vice President Kamala Harris is hitting the campaign trail tonight holding a rally in the

critical battleground state of Georgia seeking to keep this state Joe Biden flipped in 2020 blue in 2024.

The Harris Campaign also out with a new ad as they seek to educate voters on the vice president's record.

VOICE OVER: The one thing Kamala Harris has always been, fearless, as a prosecutor --

HOLMES (voice over): Focusing on her public service.

VOICE OVER: As California's attorney general, she went after the big banks --

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We believe in a future where every person has the opportunity.

But Donald Trump wants to take our country backward.

HOLMES (voice over): The ad is part of a $50 million blitz ahead of next month's Democratic convention.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump's campaign is up with their own ads today, zeroing in on Harris' record on immigration.

VOICE OVER: Under Harris, over 10 million illegally here, a quarter of a million Americans dead from fentanyl.

LESTER HOLT, NBC NEWS: Do you have any plans to visit the border? You haven't been to the border.

HARRIS: And I haven't been to Europe. I mean, I don't understand the point that you're making.

HOLMES (voice over): With a multi-million-dollar ad buy in six key battleground states Trump's team believes the border is a political

liability, and one that the former president can seize on.

VOICE OVER: Kamala Harris failed, weak, dangerously liberal.

HOLMES (voice over): As Trump's vice presidential nominee, JD Vance remains under fire for his 2021 childless cat lady remarks.

CNN's KFile uncovering a pattern of disparaging comments from Vance towards those without kids, including this statement in 2020.

[16:20:09]

SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The fact that so many people especially in America's leadership class just don't have that in

their lives, you know, I worry that it makes people more sociopathic and ultimately our whole country a little bit less -- less mentally stable.

HOLMES (voice over): Trump defending Vance in an interview Monday.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He is not against anything, but he loves family. It is very important to him. He grew up in a

very interesting family situation and he feels family is good and I don't think there is anything wrong in saying that.

HOLMES (voice over): Vance now facing new scrutiny after "The Washington Post" obtained audio of the vice presidential candidate from a donor event,

projecting less confidence in the race against Harris than the Trump Campaign has led on.

VANCE: All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch, the bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe

Biden does, because whatever we might say, Kamala Harris is a lot younger.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Well, the two ads reveal starkly different messaging strategies. Kamala Harris is trying to portray herself as representing an optimistic

future, fearless, as they say; Donald Trump's harsh past and the Trump Campaign taking aim directly calling her dangerously liberal that attacks

on her record.

Michael Worley is the founder and CEO of political advertising agency, MDW. He joins me now.

In some short of shape or form, what each campaign is doing is pretty nakedly obvious in the great annals of advertising, but which is likely to

be more successful?

MICHAEL WORLEY, FOUNDER AND CEO, MDW COMMUNICATIONS: Well, it is interesting because the ad that we are seeing coming out this week from

Trump is very different than what we saw last week.

Last week, it was the first major ad they put out after President Biden stepped back and Vice President Harris took over, that ad was all about

tying Vice President Harris to President Biden, talking about the inflation, talking about economic issues, but tying them together.

Now, one week later, we see an ad from the Trump Campaign that doesn't feature President Biden at all, not by his likeness and not by his name. It

is very interesting.

And on top of that, you're seeing a shift in the messaging. We've gone from an economic and inflation message to now we are talking about immigration.

I think they are seeing polling numbers that probably say that Independent voters are feeling a little bit better about Biden. His approval rating has

probably gone up since he stepped down because of sympathy, and they think that right now isn't the right time to juxtapose the two in an ad, so

they're changing course.

But more than anything, they are trying to figure out how to hit the vice president because they weren't expecting this and they don't have a game

plan.

QUEST: Right, but at the end of the day, does how optimistic message versus Donald Trump's hitting the candidate rather -- I mean, bearing in mind, you

would have thought he would -- they would be much more about what they're going to do and how they're going to change rather than just bashing away

at what has just been before.

WORLEY: Absolutely. Well, I think that you've seen two messages so far from Vice President Harris.

The first ad that they came out with recently, the freedom ad with the great Beyonce song in the background, that was all about energizing the

base and mission accomplished, because I can tell you as a Democratic strategist here on the ground in Florida, you are seeing the palpable

excitement from the base about Vice President Harris.

Truth be told, Democrats were kind of dealing with a little bit of clinical depression over the past few months. They have woken up, they're out of bed

and they are out the door going to vote. So they really achieved that goal in the first ad.

This new ad is looking forward, it is looking at drawing a direct contrast with her and former President Trump and looking forward to issues that they

know are going to move the needle going forward.

I predict that after the convention, you're going to see a messaging shift really on reproductive rights, because that is a winning issue for

Democrats across the board.

QUEST: But if, as I think we can largely perhaps agree, maybe I am being presumptuous, but Americans, particularly in the middle and in the swing

states, they tend to be conservative with a small C. All right, conservative with a small C, as we say in Britain.

The dangerously liberal moniker against Harris, the open borders, a quarter million dead from fentanyl, that resonates with those in the Midwest and in

a more small C conservative environment.

WORLEY: Of course it does, but it is nothing new. You know, these Independent voters in the swing states, especially in the Rust Belt, they

have heard this time and time again.

The problem though is you're going up against the record of Vice President Harris, who was a prosecutor, who put people in prison.

QUEST: Right.

[16:25:03]

WORLEY: She has been attacked by the left for that. So, I think it is a bit of a difficult conversation to have with these voters to paint her as an

extremist while also dealing with her record.

QUEST: At our morning meeting at QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, we had a very heated discussion about whether the important thing is whether there is still a

middle ground that needs to be fought over, or whether the real issue this year is one of turnout.

Is there still a middle ground to fight over? Or is it really all about turnout? And bear in mind, one or other of my close colleagues are going to

be whooping around the office depending on your reply.

WORLEY: It is all about turnout. It is all about turnout, and one of the things that is so different in this situation with Vice President Harris

leading the ticket is you have a reinvigorated Democratic base.

Let me just give you a little example. We are already seeing in polling here in Florida among Black voters, the excitement for a Harris presidency

is sky high. If you can get the Black vote up to the percentage of turnout that we saw in 2008 and 2012 for Vice President Harris, that could help her

substantially in swing states where you have a one percent margin determining victory or defeat.

So, if you can turn out that base and get them excited, that might be more effective than trying to go after voters who may have already made up their

mind, who say that they're in the middle.

QUEST: My executive editor, Pamela, thanks you sir, for vindicating her views. I was taking the opposite point of view, but I thank you anyway. It

is always good to have you on the program. Thank you, sir.

Now, the US women's gymnastics team are not in the middle, oh, no, they are the Olympic champions.

They overcame Italy and Brazil who did extremely well in their own right to the gold. Simone Biles, of course, fought through a calf injury. She led

the United States to victory.

This medal in the team competition makes her the most decorated US gymnast of all time. Glory for the Olympics in the men's triathlon will wait

because of the poor water quality in the River Seine.

Officials say the weather will determine when the river is safe for swimming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AURELIE MERLE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SPORTS, PARIS 2024: We've seen that we go from heavy rain to extreme heat like today in very few days, so it is

actually hard to control how it can affect the quality of a river.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, Japan is the most medaled so far, the US is leading in the overall count on the medal count, followed by France.

We have diving, shooting, and gymnastics. They all take place during the first few days of the Olympics and they are the events, by the way, which

the US and China do extremely well -- diving, shooting, and gymnastics.

Then you go to basketball, volleyball, water polo, and the medals for those, they all later on. The US and Europe tends to dominate those

contests -- basketball, volleyball, water polo, and then we've still got, of course, the track and field, which comes much later into the Games.

Coy Wire is in Paris.

We thought it was worth explaining that I mean, obviously we will talk about Simone Biles first, extraordinary. I mean, this was -- the grace, the

elegance taking time to thank all the team, taking time -- just magnificent, a true sportswoman.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, she lifts not only her teammates, not only the entire arena, but everyone out there watching what she has done

and of course, knowing what she has been through from the last Olympic Games, right, Richard?

So -- and I will say this. Gold has been won, but they are not done. It was a packed house, an electric atmosphere, super charged with fans,

celebrities from around the globe to see that US women's gymnastics team capturing Olympic gold in the team competition.

It leveled up the silver they won in Tokyo -- Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera -- they dominated, Richard. They dominated

the field, scoring nearly six points ahead of Italy, who took that Silver and Brazil, who took the bronze, which by the way, that was their first

ever team medal. So hat's off to Brazil.

But with Biles winning her eighth Olympic medal, as you mentioned, Richard, she surpasses Shannon Miller to become the most decorated American gymnast

of all time, but also at 27-years-old, she is now the oldest American woman ever to win gymnastics gold, five years older than the previous record, by

the way.

Now, all the focus, Richard is going to turn to the individual finals which begin Thursday. Biles and Lee, they qualified to compete for gold in the

all-around. That's the first time two former Olympic all-around champs are going to compete for that all-around title.

Lee also qualified for beam and bars, Chiles on the floor, Carey on the vault, but Simone Biles just being there, I have a quick anecdote about her

being in that arena, she was so excited to get back out there, overcome the injury, overcome the ghosts of Tokyo 2020.

[16:30:09]

When they came out as a team, they are opposed to all stay lined up and introduce everybody. While they're standing there in line, she walks out

and starts running down to the middle of the arena waving to fans and her teammates had to tell her, "Simone, Simone. Come back. They need to

introduce us." And she turns around and runs back to her team.

It just shows how excited she is to be on what she calls their redemption tour, and they dominated it. They won that gold leveling up the silver they

took back in Tokyo.

QUEST: Coy Wire, in Paris this evening, thank you.

The White House says an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah can be avoided. The latest on the strike in Beirut by Israel after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: British police are responding to a violent protest the day after a knife attack in Southport in the northwest. Officials say a large group

believed to be members of the far-right group are demonstrating outside a local mosque. They say police vehicles have been damaged. Three children

were stabbed to death and eight have been injured some badly at a Taylor Swift-themed event. A 17-year-old boy who police say was born in the U.K.

has been arrested in connection to the incident.

The White House says there is time to avoid an all-out war with between Israel and Hezbollah.

[16:35:01]

Israel has launched a strike on Beirut earlier. It's targeting a top Hezbollah commander. It says Fu'ad Shukr was behind the rocket attack that

killed 12 the children in the Golan Heights. A Lebanese government source says that Shukr survived the strike. The White House says a diplomatic

solution would stop further attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We do not believe that an all-out war is inevitable. That is not something that we believe, and we

believe that it can still be avoided. You know, this is a president, as you've watched him the last three and a half years, he believes in

diplomacy, diplomatic solutions, especially as we're talking in this moment along the blue line that that is true as well. And so -- and that will end

these attacks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Alex is with me, Alex Marquardt in Washington.

So the U.S. is a very difficult -- another very difficult position in how it handles this.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It is. And what Karine Jean-Pierre is referring to there from the White House is that there

has been a simultaneous diplomatic effort going on alongside the efforts to get to a Gaza ceasefire that has been run by an official name Amos

Hochstein, a senior Biden administration official, to try to get that northern border in Israel, the southern part of Lebanon, to quiet it down.

The problem, of course, Richard, is that the war in Gaza continues to rage on, so quiet in the north is not likely to come anytime soon. And then we

saw this horrific strike on Saturday that killed a dozen children, young people in Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights, which Israel

considers its territory. The international community considers to be Israeli occupied territory. These are Druze citizens who identify mainly as

Syrian, but Israel took this as a strike on their territory. So we knew the response was coming.

Richard, the question now is, is this the only response that we're going to see from Israel, particularly because their intended target appears to have

survived this attempt. He was not only behind these -- that strike on Saturday, Israel says, but the United States has a $5 million bounty on his

head for his role in part in the 1983 Marine barracks bombings that saw some 241 U.S. Marines killed.

So the U.S. does appear somewhat confident in this moment that this will not escalate further in the days leading up.

QUEST: Right.

MARQUARDT: They said that to not exaggerate the implications of Israel's response. But of course, think all kinds of things could happen after this

strike in Beirut -- Richard.

MARQUARDT: Alex, I'm grateful. Thank you, sir.

Charles Lister is with me, the director of Middle East Institute Syria and Counterterrorism Programs.

All right. Charles, where does this go next? What's your view?

CHARLES LISTER, DIRECTOR, SYRIA AND COUNTERTERRORISM PROGRAMS, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Well, honestly, I think all bets are off at this point. Everyone

is frankly waiting to see how Hezbollah responds. Reports are proliferating right now that Fu'ad Shukr was indeed killed in this strike. And gathering

from reports on the ground, Hezbollah is going to imminently make some form of public announcement about that.

So if that is the case, there is absolutely no question Hezbollah will be responding and they will be responding in a far larger way than anything

we've seen from them since October when this latest conflict first broke out. At that point, then we're all in that place where we just hope that

that response isn't something that then triggers the Israelis to retaliate even greater and then we're in a spiral of uncontrollable escalation.

This is the scenario we've all feared for the last nine months but it does appear to be at least beginning to play out in front of our eyes tonight.

QUEST: So who has the -- take this whichever you like, the power, the influence, the ability, whatever you like to describe it? Who has it to

prevent it?

LISTER: Well, honestly, it's the decision-makers themselves. It's the Israelis and it's Hezbollah who principally have the power in their hands

right now to --

QUEST: No. No, sir. Right. Right. But, sorry, to clarify what I mean is who has the power or influence to put on either Hezbollah or on Israel not to

prosecute further?

LISTER: Exactly. And I was going to get to that by saying that, honestly, I don't think anyone has the full amount of power and influence to actually

make that happen. These two actors are now locked into their own dynamic. The U.S., I think, and the Biden administration has exerted very

significant influence over the last several days since the weekend to ensure that the Israeli response wasn't -- you know, more strategic in

scope than what we've seen today.

You know, a single strike in Beirut targeting a very senior official is unquestionably a kind of counter-escalation. But I think we could have seen

something far greater if that Biden administration pressure hadn't been exerted over the last several days.

[16:40:00]

QUEST: The ability to row this back and to avoid for want of a better phrase an accidental escalation, that's the tricky part here.

LISTER: It is. And the fact of the matter is accidents can happen. And I think what happened over the weekend probably was largely an accident. I

don't expect Hezbollah intended to hit a soccer field full of Syrian origin children. But we are now where we are. That has now triggered this kind of

a dynamic.

Now one hopes that calmer heads will prevail. It's an open secret that neither Hezbollah or Israel wants to find themselves in an all-out

conflict. I mean, just the sheer amount of death and destruction that will result on both sides is a scenario that neither of them wants to play out

but this is, as I said earlier, you know, the scenario we all feared was where an accident then triggers this kind of a cycle which is frankly very

hard to get out of.

QUEST: Sir, I'm grateful. I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

I'm going to leave you with the markets and how things have been trading today. Take a look at the -- you're going to see different things. Let's

look at -- you see that tells the story of the day. The Nasdaq is off more than one and a quarter percent. You've got Nvidia down 6 percent again.

You've got Microsoft off 3 percent or 4 percent. You have a whole slew of major tech down and you'll see this when we look at the Dow 30 because the

-- you've got to the bottom there of course. Amazon is just off. Microsoft down just 1 percent. Intel is down. IBM is down.

And those very sharp falls on the price weighted index can't withstand the other sea of green that we've got, which is banks. That's where interest

rates decision for potential and if you will the steady stocks like McDonald's.

That's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for the moment. I'm Richard quest in New York. Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I hope it's profitable. Together

let's go to Turkey to "World of Wonder."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:04]

QUEST: These are the mud baths of Sultaniye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do a backflip.

QUEST: Don't -- everyone's an expert. Everyone is an expert.

Very hot. With that stench of sulfur.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jump, Richard.

QUEST: Will you all stop telling me to jump. What's that?

I have no idea who is this stranger liberally covering me in thick mud.

What are you doing?

That's the point. Just cover yourself and wallow.

I can't describe this. It's like putting your fingers into Jello and (INAUDIBLE). I'm wondering what's inside and then up comes all this, which

you then covers yourself in.

And then things took an even stranger.

Thank you.

I never did find out who he was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You won the wrestle?

QUEST: There's no shortage of people here who want to get to know you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice. What a good life, eh?

QUEST: Good life. That's exactly --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good life.

QUEST: Good life.

Sheer, unabashed enjoyment.

I'll step in.

I'm sure my therapist will have field day analyzing why I enjoyed this so much.

That was a little fun. I'd say it takes 20 years off you. There's no shampoo. I got to look like this for the rest of the day.

The mud may have cleansed by body. Now my mind must be enriched by the ruins of Kaunos. Unfortunately we have the attention span of a mountain

goat.

Don't get too close because it looks like there's a young (INAUDIBLE).

Jimbo is determined to get your reaction.

What are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go way back.

QUEST: If not from the goat, then from me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was he a dairy farmer? A farmer?

QUEST: His father was the farmer. He's adopted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said, told me he grew up on a farm.

QUEST: (INAUDIBLE) farm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what it was. I was just making conversations. It's been a long day.

QUEST: You didn't have to get up --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

QUEST: Mud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, well, yes.

QUEST: Frankly, the goats decided we weren't worth the effort. Everything here has a story. This stretch of water is said to have been created from

the tears of Byblis. Why was she crying? Well, that's an unsavory tale that you'd be best off looking up yourself.

Heading back to the hotel and there is just time for a spot of scrumping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can get the orange.

QUEST: The act of helping yourself to fruit that isn't necessarily yours. Apparently this is completely acceptable in Turkey. Well, that's what I was

told. There are fruit trees on everywhere in Gocek. The oranges ripe for the picking.

Look at them. I imagine them ripe.

Yes, Jimbo has suddenly discovered ethics over my scrumping of somebody else's fruit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's get out of here before the farmer comes out.

QUEST: The farmer will be delighted somebody wants to enjoy his oranges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

QUEST: No, hang on. Hang on. Hang on. Isil?

ISIL, ISTANBUL PRODUCER: Yes?

QUEST: Where's my knife? Here, look at this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isil?

ISIL: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the 24-hour rule?

ISIL: There's no 24-hour rule.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said there's a rule about picking oranges.

ISIL: There's a rule that if you see it, (INAUDIBLE), if you see it, you have the right to take a little bit. So, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that lore or is that just sort of nomadic story?

ISIL: It's epic rule.

QUEST: Look at this.

ISIL: So he can be in legitimate territory now.

QUEST: This is -- try to just peel it, buddy. Where's your leather man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's in my bag.

[16:50:02]

Don't want to get orange juice all over to be honest.

QUEST: All right. I will not peel this orange then.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you're doing a great job.

QUEST: Sweet, rich juices dribbling all over.

Now, you said these were bitter.

ISIL: I'm really curious how they're not. Are they really oranges? Are they really orange?

QUEST: Absolutely delicious.

This is everything an orange should be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's you fed for the night. Get us time so we can (INAUDIBLE).

QUEST: Thank you, Mr. Farmer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: The Mugla region is famous for paragliding. People come from around the world to discover its dubious delight.

We have to transfer to their van to get to the top of the mount where people are doing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which means I've got to grab all my kit.

QUEST: Yes. Yes. They look fairly normal people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the plan is you're going to just take three or four steps and then close off the side of this 2,000-foot hill.

QUEST: Right. You notice he says you're going to. What will you be doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll be filming because I've got to document it. That's what we do. That's I do. That's my plan. You engage and I just document it.

QUEST: So at the top of the mountain --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What mountain?

QUEST: The mountain is called Babadag, which means dad or big one or something like that. Anyway, 1700 meters is where we are. And now I sort of

see how it is. You don't actually jump off the edge. Well, you do but watch, watch. He turns around. He's on his own. And it captures the wind.

And off he goes. I hate this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You wouldn't be wearing that during takeoff, during flight, during landing. We got to use helmet.

QUEST: Right.

And don't go anywhere.

This is the bit I always worry about, that this bit is going to fall apart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This can be a bit tighter.

QUEST: How many of this have you done?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry?

QUEST: How many of this have --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 25 years now. In a year like 400 to 500 times.

QUEST: So now I'm ready. I just got to keep walking is what he said.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Start walking. Come back slowly. And now start running forward. Keep running faster.

QUEST: Take off. My goodness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You like it.

QUEST: Well, I wouldn't say that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you comfortable?

QUEST: Yes. Wow. This -- so now you want to see what I'm seeing. That is what I am seeing. My goodness. It's a little bit terrifying itself but it

is exciting and worrisome at the same time, particularly as we go further out. And as we go further out you realize how little there is underneath

you.

[16:55:01]

At the moment I'm over trees and mountain but soon we're going to be going over the big drop where there really is nothing more.

I'm enjoying it in a sort of weird way. The -- over the water. I presume we're going to start to descend towards the beach. But it's not the sort of

thing I naturally love to do. Oh, that's beautiful. That's enough of that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We stop.

QUEST: That was the G's. Well, we don't want to end up on somebody's roof.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up. Stand up.

QUEST: And well done.

The hat saved, another fear conquered, and a trip that I will never forget.

That was magnificent. Absolutely superb. I always say after I had done skydiving, I'd never do it again, but I still say that. But that I would do

again. I enjoyed that. Now fish for lunch.

I never tire enjoying the beauty of Turkey for it is both uplifting and inspiring with its abundant generosity. And you all want to come here and

experience the warmth and welcome for yourself where the Aegean Sea meets the Mediterranean. The Turkish coast part of our "World of Wonder."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END