- Welcome to The 700 Club.
The US military has released a video
which it says shows Iran was involved
in the explosions on two shipsnear the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran is denying it, eventhough it has used mines
against oil tankers in the past.
- The latest incident comes at a time
of rising tensions with Iran
as it appears ready toresume enriching uranium.
Jennifer Wishon brings usthe story from Washington.
- Here it is.
Pentagon officials say this video,
captured by Navy surveillance,
proves Iran is behind the explosions
that rocked two oil tankersin the Middle East Thursday.
The footage, officials say,shows Iran's Revolutionary Guard
pulling alongside a targetedship to remove evidence,
an unexploded limpet mine
attached to the ship's hull by a magnet.
The attacks are similar
to those officials sayIran carried out in May
against four commercialships in the region.
This time, Japanese- and Norwegian-owned
oil tankers were the targets.
One ship burned for hoursand is at risk of sinking.
The USS Bainbridge rushedin to help, and now,
another destroyer, the USS Mason,
is en route to provide backup.
(speaking foreign language)
Iran denies responsibility,calling it an unfounded claim
in America's Iranophobic campaign.
But Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says
the intelligence is clear.
He accuses Iran of lashing out
because it wants theTrump administration's
crippling economic sanctions lifted,
but he says that's no excuse.
- No economic sanctionsentitle the Islamic Republic
to attack innocent civilians,disrupt global oil markets,
and engage in nuclear blackmail.
- [Jennifer] And now,Iran is just weeks away
from resuming enriching uranium
closer to weapons-grade levels
if European leaders don'toffer new terms to the deal.
- There are elementswithin the Iranian regime
that do not want the US and Iran
to ever come to a bargaining table.
- The Islamic Republic says it's already
quadrupled its productionof low-enriched uranium.
But US sanctions havecut off Iran's ability
to trade its excess uraniumin heavy water abroad,
putting a desperate Tehran on course
to violate its terms of the nuclear deal.
Jennifer Wishon, CBN News, Washington.
- Well this has now become thehottest spot on the planet.
It was a proxy war in Yemen
between Iran and Saudi Arabia,
but if they take on the oil tankers
going through the Strait of Hormuz
and try to choke offthe world supply of oil,
this could really be a triggerpoint for a shooting war.
If there was ever a time to pray
for peace in the MiddleEast, it is right now.
In other news, President Trump is losing
one of his most trusted White House aides.
John Jessup has that story
from our CBN News bureau in Washington.
John.
- Thanks, Gordon.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders
says she's leaving herpost at the end of June
for what she described asher most important job,
being a mom to her three children.
The President praised Sanders
when he announced her departure.
- She's done an incredible job
and we've been through a lot together
and she's tough, but she's good.
- This has been the honor of a lifetime,
the opportunity of a lifetime.
I couldn't be prouder tohave had the opportunity
to serve my country, and particularly,
to work for this president.
- Trump also praised Sanders
and tweeted he hopes she decides
to run for Governor of Arkansas.
Sanders says she wouldn'tdismiss the possibility
because she learned a long time ago
never to rule anything out.
Well from the White House to Capitol Hill
where major backlashexists from both parties
against the Presidentafter he told ABC News
in an exclusive interviewthat he would accept help
from a foreign country ifit offered intelligence
on campaign rivalsduring the 2020 election.
But as Abigail Robertson reports,
some Republicans aredefending the President.
- Republican lawmakers areplaying a lot of defense
here on the Hill, respondingto the President's comments
that he would consideraccepting information
from foreign governmentsabout political opponents.
- The President has gone through this
and acted properly all along the way,
while you have another entity,another presidential campaign
on the Democrat side thatdid the complete opposite.
- [Abigail] But other Republicans
say there's only oneanswer to this question.
- The right answer is no.
- [Abigail] Senator Lindsey Graham
cautions he doesn't want the President
sending signals to encourage this.
- And I'm hoping some ofmy Democratic colleagues
will take more seriously thefact that Christopher Steele
was a foreign agent paidfor by the Democratic Party
to gather dirt on Trump.
- [Abigail] Adding foreigninfluence in our elections
is growing, not lessening.
- I'm a little astonished atthe outrage that I've heard
because I didn't hear equal outrage
when Hillary Clinton andthe DNC paid a foreign spy
to gather information from Russia.
- [Abigail] But Democratsdidn't hold back.
- This president isstill open for business
if the Russians havesome negative information
about an opponent.
That, to me, is outrageous.
I don't know what planet he's living on.
- The President's comments, again,
are undemocratic,un-American, disgraceful.
- I don't, there's nothingwrong with listening.
If somebody--- Calling the comments
extraordinary, even for President Trump.
- I think it is absolutely essential
that we send a message to our adversaries
that intervening in our democratic process
is against the law and not appropriate.
- Senator Warner, one of the heads
of the Intelligence Committee,
wants to cut through anyconfusion on this subject
by sponsoring the Fire Act,
which would require presidential campaigns
to report any offers of assistance
from foreign influencesimmediately to the FBI.
Reporting from Capitol Hill,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.
- Thanks, Abigail.
Anti-Semitism and Christian persecution
are on the rise around the world.
Chris Mitchell reports from Jerusalem
on a new organization that'schallenging the church
to confront these acts of hate.
- [Chris] From synagogueshootings in the United States
to Christians imprisoned in Iran or China,
Jews and Christians are underassault in today's world.
- You mostly have Jewish organizations
fighting anti-Semitism, andthen you have Christians groups
that are fighting thepersecution of Christians.
And I always felt thatthere was a connection
between the two, that there's something
that Jews and Christians have in common,
and that makes us targets of hatred.
- [Chris] Hoping to bringthe two forces together,
Susana Kokkonen has launchedHope for Persecuted Peoples.
For 10 years, she directedChristian Friends of Yad Vashem,
Israel's Holocaust Memorial.
- And now she has theopportunity to break out
of Yad Vashem and to bringthe message of Yad Vashem
all over the world.
- So this initiative really is about
both fighting anti-Semitismwith education,
but then also asking the church
to look at the persecuted Christians,
what are we supposed tobe doing at this time.
- [Chris] Kokkonen believesthe church in the West
has become too comfortable.
- This has made us like sleeping beauties
at the same time inAfrica, Asia, Middle East.
And now Asia is especially rising
as a major persecutor of Christians.
And we have more or lessignored the suffering
of these people, so it'skind of a divided church
also in that way.
- And the Jewish organizationsare reminding the church
about the persecution of theChristians around the world,
and the Christian agencies and ministries
are much more silent, and Idon't think this is right.
- [Chris] Kokkonen sees a solution
by combining prayer and action.
- Prayer is the number one, but then also,
all of the governmentsthat allow the persecution,
they certainly are trading with us
and we should beinfluencing our parliaments,
our politicians, ournations to take a stand
for these persecuted people.
- [Chris] The launchbrought together Christians
and Jewish leaders.
- It's a new day.
We saw the last 10 to 15 years.
I think it's beautiful
to see Jews and Christians coming together
for a noble cause.
- And I think that's acommon mission for us,
Jews and Christians,and that's what we want
to actually launch here today.
- [Chris] Kokkonen also callson the church to prepare
and pray against the likely increase
of persecution in the West.
Chris Mitchell, CBN News, Jerusalem.
- An important reminder
to pray against the persecuted church.
Gordon.
- Well and the Jewishorganizations have been raising
the banner here for some time,
saying that there's ongoing,specific persecution
of Christian communitiesthroughout the Middle East.
They've been doing that for a long time.
And particularly, duringthe genocide of ISIS,
they were the ones whoreally were pointing it out
before anyone else.
So this isn't new, butthe Christian church
absolutely needs to wake up,that how much persecution
of Christians ishappening internationally.
With the reelection of PrimeMinister Modi in India,
are we going to see even more violence
against Christian communities?
What's currently happening in China
is absolutely staggering,where the persecution
coming down on the church is incredible.
It's the greatest its been in my lifetime.
And then you couple that withthe bombings in Sri Lanka,
the ongoing attacks in Indonesia,
the ongoing attacks throughoutAsia, in sub-Saharan Africa.
You see these things happening.
We have to stand up withour brothers and sisters.
We have to say enough, and as a country,
that needs to be partof our foreign policy.
The good news is thecurrent administration
is quite sympathetic to it.
Now, can we put some teeth to these things
and say more than just our best wishes,
but can we make it a fundamentalof our foreign policy?
There has to be religious freedom
for everyone around the world.
