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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump Agrees To Two-Week Ceasefire, Subject To Strait Of Hormuz Opening; Sirens Sound In Tel Aviv After Trump Announces Iran Ceasefire; Artemis II Crew Heads Back To Earth After Historic Lunar Flyby. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired April 07, 2026 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00]

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Little past 09:00 p.m. here in New York. It has been just about two and a half hours since the President announced a ceasefire with Iran. He did it on social media.

Quoting from the President, Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE. He added, quote, The reason for doing so is that we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East. We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate.

For its part, Iran's Foreign Minister said in a statement, quote, I hereby declare on behalf of Iran's Supreme National Security Council: If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations. He continued, For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.

Now that said, Israel has been dealing with several new waves of missile fire from Iran. According to our Jeremy Diamond, who is in Tel Aviv and had to take shelter during our last hour, the Netanyahu government has reluctantly agreed to the truce.

In the last few minutes, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates also reporting incoming fire. Bahrain's Interior Ministry is sounding air raid sirens and telling people to take shelter.

I want to start this hour with CNN's Chief National Security Analyst, Jim Sciutto, in Tel Aviv.

What are you hearing from Israeli officials on the status of this proposed two-week ceasefire?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Anderson, we have a ceasefire announcement. We don't yet have a ceasefire, because since the announcement, we've seen, as you said, three waves of Iranian missile attacks here. Just a few minutes ago, looking up at the skies over Tel Aviv, I saw one of the interceptions, here in the central part of the city.

So, Iran is still firing missiles at Israel and, as you note, at its Gulf neighbors as well. Whether those are the last salvos before the guns fall silent, or a sign that there are still details to be worked out? We don't know.

But we do know that when we look at the initial demands and goals of this war, that there's a great deal of distance between that 10-point proposal that the President says will be the basis of negotiations and what America's goals were going in here. Because the 10 points includes things like complete sanctions relief for Iran, but also Iran continuing to exercise ultimate control over the Strait of Hormuz, which is something that would be an enormous concession for the President to make.

Israeli officials have been telling us consistently, since the start of this war, that they would not consider a victory without two things.

One, regime change. And no one in this country believes, despite the President's claims, that there is regime change. They see quite the same leadership in place in Iran.

But also, Israel has long demanded, and still wants, effective restrictions, really an ending of Iran's nuclear program, including controlling those hundreds of kilograms of highly enriched uranium. That hasn't happened either.

And while the President will say that he has met all of America's goals. Frankly, the President's list of goals has changed throughout as well.

COOPER: Yes.

SCIUTTO: At one point, included regime change. That hasn't happened. As well as control of the nuclear program.

So, you have big gaps between the U.S. and its main ally, Israel, but also gaps between what the President said he wanted to achieve, and what's been achieved today.

COOPER: Yes.

Jim Sciutto. Thanks. From Tel Aviv.

Joining me now, CNN Senior White House Correspondent, Kristen Holmes.

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So, is the White House offering many specifics at this hour, either about the ceasefire or the upcoming negotiations?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They're not giving that many specifics.

But here's what we do know from a White House official, that there are preparations being made for a potential in-person meetings between Iranian and U.S. officials. Now, we have been told that this is likely to happen in Islamabad, with those Pakistani negotiators present. It would include Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, as well as Vice President JD Vance, and then, of course, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, who have been doing a bulk of the negotiating.

Of course, the question now is, how does this work with JD Vance's travel? He's currently in Hungary. Will he take a stop in Pakistan? There's obviously always security concerns as well.

But preparations are being made for potential talks. Nothing right now is solid. And we got a statement from the press secretary reiterating that, that nothing is final until President Trump says that it's final. But that is something that is currently in the works.

Now, in terms of the deal and what's going to be negotiated. We have asked repeatedly for that 10-point plan, for any kind of details on what it includes. We have not gotten that from the White House. Only them doubling down on what President Trump said, that this was going to serve as the basis of negotiation. They also said that it was President Trump and the military that got Iran to bend. We, of course, have been hearing from Iranian officials saying that the U.S. has bent in this case.

What we do know, of course, is that President Trump did not bomb civilian infrastructure today, barely meeting that deadline or signing off on this ceasefire roughly two hours before that deadline that he had set.

COOPER: Yes.

Kristen Holmes, thanks very much

Joining me now, for more on President Trump's ceasefire announcement, is Democratic House Leader, Hakeem Jeffries.

Leader Jeffries, your reaction to what we know about this ceasefire tonight?

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Well, a two-week ceasefire isn't sufficient. We need a permanent end to Donald Trump's reckless war of choice, which is why House Democrats have demanded that Speaker Mike Johnson immediately reconvene the House back into session, so we can move a War Powers Resolution that will end this conflict permanently.

COOPER: That seems unlikely to happen. What do you actually think is going to happen in this two-week period? What do you need to -- assuming that doesn't happen, what do you need to see happen, or want to see happen, in this two-week period?

JEFFRIES: Assuming it doesn't happen this week, we go back into session next week, and we will present a War Powers Resolution as soon as it becomes available to us to do so, as a matter of privilege, on the House floor. All we need are a handful of Republicans to join us.

The American people strongly oppose this reckless war of choice and know that we should not be spending billions of dollars to drop bombs in Iran, while Republicans and Donald Trump are unwilling to spend a dime, to actually make life more affordable for the American people, including, but not limited to, by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

It's unbelievable in terms of the priorities, and yet we've seen this President's behavior unhinged, unpresidential, unconscionable, including the messages that he's communicated to the American people over the last few days.

COOPER: Is there a scenario, where the Iranian regime gains control? I mean, they have control now of the Strait of Hormuz. According to this ceasefire, if it holds, it seems like for this two weeks, they will have control of it as well, and very well, possibly beyond that. If Iran gains full control over passage through the Strait of Hormuz, is that an acceptable outcome to you?

JEFFRIES: Well, it would be an extraordinary outcome, but not surprising, given the fact that what we've seen from Donald Trump is that he's plunged America into this war, that now involves more than a dozen countries, without any plan, any objective, and any exit strategy, in terms of how, actually, this conflict improves the national security of the American people.

What we do know is that as a result of Donald Trump's reckless war of choice, life has become more dangerous for the American people, and life has become more expensive, as a result of gas prices skyrocketing across the country, further exacerbating an affordability crisis that are crushing everyday Americans, middle-class Americans, and working- class Americans throughout the land.

COOPER: Do you think the President of the United States looks weak for having now five deadlines that he has made, this last one, saying, he would kill off the entire -- that he would kill Iran's entire civilization, and then not following through on that?

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JEFFRIES: I think the President has consistently weakened America's standing throughout the world, as the leader of the free world. In fact, he often confuses friend from foe. We have seen him do this as it relates to how he's engaged with Ukraine and continuing to play footsie with Vladimir Putin and Russia, who are sworn enemies of the United States of America. He never treats them in that fashion.

And in terms of the outcome of the situation, which has already been very costly and deadly, more than a dozen brave, patriotic Americans have lost their lives, men and women in uniform, and hundreds have been seriously injured. And the question is, to what end?

COOPER: Leader Jeffries, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

Coming up next. A live report from the Gulf on how the ceasefire is taking hold.

Also, CNN's Fareed Zakaria, on the bigger picture, what this may mean around the region, and what the President's threat to destroy Iran's civilization actually says to the rest of the world.

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(VIDEO - AIR RAID SIRENS IN ISRAEL)

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COOPER: Those are air raid sirens in Israel tonight.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has new reporting from there. He joins us shortly.

Jeremy, what are you -- what are you learning?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, an Israeli military spokesperson, is telling me that Israel is still conducting air strikes inside of Iran. And this is coming as we are continuing to see wave after wave of Iranian ballistic missile fire.

The picture from this region right now, Anderson, is one of confusion and one of continued strikes in all directions, despite the fact that it has now been more than an hour since the Pakistani Prime Minister announced on Twitter that there is a ceasefire that has taken effect immediately. He said that over an hour ago. And since then, we've seen several rounds of Iran Ian ballistic missiles, several of which have made impact in the form of cluster munitions, here in central Israel, as well as in southern Israel.

And again, now the news from an Israeli military spokesperson, telling me that Israel is still conducting strikes. In addition to that, we know that Iran is also still striking countries in the Gulf as well.

And so, the early hours of what is supposed to be a ceasefire here are already proving extraordinarily shaky. This comes, as an Israeli source told me earlier that Israel is concerned about the terms of this ceasefire agreement. They were insisting that Israel would abide by this ceasefire agreement, following President Trump's lead. But as of now, Israel is still conducting strikes.

The other question mark, what this means for Lebanon? Because the Pakistani Prime Minister said that Lebanon was also supposed to be included in this -- in this ceasefire. Israeli military officials had long been planning for an escalation on the Lebanese Front, after a ceasefire with Iran. But that is not what this ceasefire agreement says, at least according to the Pakistani mediator.

So, a lot of questions, Anderson, in the early hours of what is supposed to be this ceasefire. And again, we are continuing to see strikes across the region.

COOPER: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thanks very much. And what is a long night for people in Tel Aviv and the region.

I want to turn now to Fareed Zakaria, who is joining me here in the newsroom.

Are you optimistic about what's happened in the last hour?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: Well, I'm optimistic, in the sense that it's a lot better than what Donald Trump was threatening to, you know--

COOPER: You mean, wiping out civilization?

ZAKARIA: --wipe out so the -- you know, Iranian civilization, any of those kind of broad-based expansions of the -- and escalations.

But the negotiations here have been a kind of -- almost a case book in how not to negotiate. So, it's not surprising that the ceasefire is fragile. You have no actual negotiation going on between the two parties. You have no real trust built up between them. The last two negotiations, the United States was in with Iran. It essentially started bombing Iran in the middle of those negotiations. So, it's not surprising that even though there does seem to be some kind of an agreement, it's very fragile, and it's probably going to take a while to work out.

COOPER: I mean, the President indicating tonight that this is kind of well along on things that possibly could be agreed on. It seems like the 10-point plan that Iran has talked about implies Iran control over the Strait of Hormuz, not just in this two-week period, but afterward.

This conflict has shifted from concern of Iran's nuclear program to, Let's get the Strait of Hormuz open. And you don't hear a lot about Iran's nuclear program now.

ZAKARIA: So, you've hit the nail on the head. This is the single biggest strategic shift that's taken place, and strategic loss for the United States and its allies. What this war has done is handed Iran a weapon that is far more usable than nuclear weapons.

COOPER: The Strait.

ZAKARIA: Which is the Strait of Hormuz, choking off global oil supplies, essentially disrupting the global economy. And what they have realized is they have this weapon, they can use it, they can turn it on and off without will, and anything that institutionalize it, it means, that at this point, the United States and its Gulf allies are in a sense, hostage--

COOPER: Right.

ZAKARIA: --to Iranian good graces, in order to get their product out.

COOPER: So, could there be a deal in which Iran remains in control of the Strait of Hormuz?

ZAKARIA: It seems like Iran will be very reluctant to give up that power and that authority.

And just to give you a sense of what a big loss this is, Anderson. The United States' first military actions in 1799 were about freedom of navigation, the so-called Quasi-War with France, then the war with the Barbary Pirates. That was all about freedom of navigation.

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Since then, the United States has fought for and tried to maintain the principle of freedom of navigation. As the global superpower, that has been absolute -- you know, we had the -- 1979, the legislation passed, the Freedom of Navigation Program. That is what is being given up here. The idea that Iran can control one of the key chokepoints of the world economy is -- you know, flies in the face of the whole basic responsibility the U.S. had.

And as you say, this was not an issue for 47 years of tension with the U.S. and Iran. Iran never closed the Strait of Hormuz. So, the United States and Israel have somehow handed Iran a weapon, at the end of this, that they never had. And as you said, the nuclear program is not even in the 10 points.

COOPER: So, if Iran remains, you know, building a nuclear program or the capabilities to have a nuclear device, and then gets control of the Strait of Hormuz, they would end up in a better situation than they were before this?

ZAKARIA: Right. So, they have then the two -- the nuclear stockpile, which they have. They have this maritime position of power.

But remember, they're also proposing in -- and Iran's parliament has passed legislation to this effect, to charge $2 million per ship. So, the number of ships that normally cross the Strait of Hormuz is about a 100. You do the math, and J.P. Morgan has done the math, that is $90 billion of additional revenue for Iran, on top of about $50 billion to $60 billion in oil revenues they were getting.

COOPER: So, a lot of ballistic missiles?

ZAKARIA: All of a sudden, Iran is, I mean, after Saudi Arabia, the richest country in the Middle East.

COOPER: Yes.

ZAKARIA: And so, you've taken an Iran that was weak, contained, its nuclear program shattered, and you've given it control of the Strait, enormous new revenue flows and the nuclear stockpile.

COOPER: Yes.

ZAKARIA: It's a very strange outcome.

COOPER: So much for the Art of the Deal. Fareed Zakaria, thanks very much.

Coming up next. The domestic political dimension, as our CNN global war coverage continues.

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COOPER: With tonight's ceasefire with Iran, barely three hours old, there have been at least two statements we've now seen from Tehran on it. President Trump tonight is disputing one of them.

CNN's Matthew Chance has new reporting that sheds light on the one the President is complaining about. He joins us now from Doha, Qatar.

Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Anderson. There were a couple of statements.

There's a very short one from the Iranian Foreign Ministry -- Foreign Minister, basically saying, Look, we're going to observe a ceasefire and open the Strait of Hormuz on the basis that there will be negotiations with the United States and our 10-point plan, the Iranian 10-point plan, will be accepted as the basis for those negotiations. But it doesn't go any further than that.

The second document, the one apparently President Trump seems to be objecting to, is the one that's been sent to us by the Supreme National Security Council of Iran. That's Iran's highest military body. And that's a lot more aggressive, and it goes into a lot more detail about what that 10-point plan to end the war from Iran actually involves. And it includes things like this.

Regulating passage through the Strait of Hormuz, in coordination with Iran. So, basically making sure that Iran still can exercise control over that strategic waterway through which 20 percent of the world's oil passes.

To end the war against the Axis of Resistance. So, that's a reference to Iran's proxies, and perhaps Israel stopping its attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon, but also other proxies in the region as well.

The third point it mentions is the withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from bases across the Middle East region. That's obviously a big ask, unlikely to be accepted. But nevertheless, it is one of the points in that 10-point Iranian plan, according to this Supreme National Security Council document that was sent to us, by the way, by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The fourth point that I identified here, a compensation payment that Iran is demanding. That's war reparations for the damage that have been incurred, throughout this five- or six-week U.S. and Israeli military campaign, which has caused massive destruction, I expect. And finally, the lifting of sanctions, all sanctions, and the unfreezing of -- unfreezing of assets. That would obviously be a major boon for the Iranians.

The document also goes on to talk about how negotiations to -- sort of find a final agreement, a final end to the conflict, a cessation of hostilities, will be carried out in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, over the next 15 days, and they'll start on Friday.

So, again, a much more detailed document from that Supreme Military body in Iran, compared to what we saw from the Foreign Minister, that just sort of spelt out the broad -- the rule -- you know, the bare bones of a ceasefire agreement.

COOPER: So Matthew, I just want to be clear, you got that more detailed statement that was actually sent to you by the Foreign Ministry of Iran?

CHANCE: Yes, it had already appeared on state news agencies in Iran, like the Fars News Agency, and the semi-official Tasnim News Agency as well.

But when President Trump posted on Truth Social that he objected to that report, to that document, he said it was fake. I followed up with the Iranian Foreign Ministry, and said, Look, do you have this document that you can send to me? And they sent me the document themselves, which was exactly the same as the document we originally had. And so, look, I think we're pretty confident, very confident, that this document is, you know, is authentic.

[21:30:00]

COOPER: And so, the Foreign Ministry, would they be involved in the negotiations, or any negotiations that take place between the U.S., Pakistan, and Iran?

CHANCE: I expect so. I mean, the Foreign Minister Araghchi has been one of the sort of more -- sort of outwardly-facing officials in what's left of the Islamic regime. Remember, a lot of his counterparts -- sorry, a lot of his associates have been killed, assassinated in U.S. and Israeli strikes, over the past several weeks.

I don't know for sure what the makeup is going to be of the Iranian negotiating team. But there's every possibility that the Iranian Foreign Minister is going to be part of that.

COOPER: Matthew Chance, appreciate your reporting from Doha tonight. Thank you.

Joining us now, two CNN Senior Political Commentators, Rahm Emanuel and David Urban.

David, if Iran is still going to control the Strait -- or is going to control the Strait of Hormuz, moving forward, what was the White House's big win? Or was there a White House win in this ceasefire? DAVID URBAN, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Anderson, I don't think that's the likely outcome of any -- of any negotiations. You heard that they said they will open the Straits of Hormuz, to begin these negotiations. Not sure.

You asked the important question there. Will the Foreign Minister be at the negotiating table? Who will be at the negotiating table? Who speaks for the Islamic Republic at this point in time? Who's going to have enough credibility to carry these things forward? And who's going to be able to enforce anything? I think Pakistan is leaning in here because they share a long border there, and they see what might happen. And those questions are all to be determined.

I think what's important is oil starts flowing through the Straits. Things sit down -- people sit down and start negotiating. There is an off-ramp in place.

However, if you think any of those things that were just mentioned, reparations, the long list of just ludicrous requirements that they have for a ceasefire are going to stick? I think that's a non-entity. I will leave it to Ambassador Emanuel to share some of his diplomatic skills. But I don't think that's a great starting point.

COOPER: Rahm, negotiations that led to the Iran nuclear deal, back in 2015, took 18 months, according to Wendy Sherman, who was just on, in the last hour. Do you think anything can be accomplished with Iran in two weeks, that deals with Iran's nuclear program, and the Strait of Hormuz, and whatever else either party wants to have on the table?

RAHM EMANUEL, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO JAPAN, (D) FORMER CHICAGO MAYOR: Not if you were -- not even if you were drinking Red Bull all day can you do it in two weeks. Impossible.

I think, look, we started this to degrade Iran's nuclear capacity. And they found, Anderson, they have a nuclear option. It's closing the Strait of Hormuz.

And I think what the United States should do is announce, very clearly, a three-point program, short-term, medium-term, and long- term.

First, all boats go out, or no boats go out. That's our policy on the Strait of Hormuz.

Medium-term, we're going to set up with International Maritime Association, associated with the U.N. They can do a commission, a fee, that goes to both Gulf countries and Iran equally, in building up what happened when -- destroyed in the war.

And then long-term, use the Abraham Accords to rebuild pipelines out of the Strait -- out of the -- for the Gulf countries, into the Red Sea, away from the Strait of Hormuz, so Iran never has this veto power over the world economy. I think that's a short-term, medium-term, and long-term, and it doubles down on the United States and its allies. It is going nowhere. Remember, the number one goal for the -- since the 1979 Iranian Revolution is that America will be expelled from the Gulf.

By being there, using the Abraham Accords, which were an author of, as the principal financing for the Gulf countries, out of the Strait of Hormuz, to the Red Sea, like Saudi Arabia has, that doubles down on America's presence. I don't think the idea that Iran is going to, you know, they're -- everybody's going for political points here.

I think that we're at a sad point, and I'll close on this, Anderson, is that nobody really trusts the President of the United States word about what he said he won or didn't or what the goal is. That's a degradation of the realm of the United States, that when we gave our word, we upheld our word, and it was a trusted. That's one of the consequences and one of the casualties of this last six weeks.

COOPER: David, I want to ask you about another -- what some people have called it degradation as well. Which, you're a decorated military veteran. You're a graduate of West Point. When the Commander-in-Chief threatens to kill a country's entire civilization and bring it back to the Stone Age. Have you ever heard a military leader, or an American president, use that kind of language, or even think in those terms?

URBAN: Yes, Anderson, I'm not quite sure what the President was thinking, when he was tweeting it out.

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Because what we started out is here is, you know, the Persian people are great, honorable people, great country. We wanted to support the uprising, the overthrow of the Islamic regime, support the people of Iran. Persia is a great history -- has a great, long history.

And so, the President's words in that Truth Social post, and his stated goals at the outset of this, just don't really match up. So, I was very confused by it.

And no, I don't think you're winning hearts and minds, you're not going to have the people kind of rise up against their theocratic regime by saying, We want to destroy the entire civilization. Persian civilization and Persian people are very proud people. And to do that, I think, is counterproductive.

COOPER: So--

EMANUEL: Anderson?

COOPER: Yes, go ahead, Rahm.

EMANUEL: Look, a commander -- the presidency comes with a lot of roles, moral voice, executive, but the most important role is Commander-in-Chief. That's the most solemn, most responsible thing a president does, is the role of Commander-in-Chief. Franklin Delano Roosevelt called America the arsenal of democracy. Lincoln, towards the end of the war in his second inaugural said, malice towards none.

This was an abandonment of the responsibility and degradation of the most important role the president plays, which is Commander-in-Chief. He did not define for the troops why we're there, he did not define what victory looks like, and he did not define how we will walk out of there with our heads high.

That is an abdication of the responsibility, the most solemn responsibility, spending many hours in the Situation Room, that a Commander-in-Chief owes the men and women who are executing America's national security interests.

This was not just a bad tweet. It is nowhere close and doesn't measure up to an arsenal of democracy that gave America, the whole country, its purpose in World War II.

COOPER: Yes. Rahm Emanuel. David Urban--

URBAN: Anderson, I would just say--

COOPER: Yes, go ahead David.

URBAN: Just real -- just real quickly, I will say, I wish the President would have started out with the speech he gave the other night, talked about, you know, as Rahm said, Given a much more limited objective, we're going to go in there. We're going to, quote-unquote, mow the lawn. We're going to keep these folks from having nuclear weapons for a long time, the delivery systems for a long time--

EMANUEL: Right.

URBAN: --We're going to get in, we're going to get out. We're going to do some more damage than we did before.

EMANUEL: Right.

URBAN: I think if he'd have laid that out at the beginning, at the outset, we'd be a lot better off than we are today.

EMANUEL: Anderson, one last thing. I know you're trying to go is -- very quick. Ukraine and Iran showed that without navies, you can control waterways.

I would say, right now, the United States has a policy to fight two wars simultaneously. We're going to have to change and alter it to find -- being able to fight a conventional war and an unconventional war simultaneously.

COOPER: Yes.

EMANUEL: What we're entering is a new phase, and America is not ready for this next phase.

COOPER: Yes, we've been watching--

EMANUEL: Two countries, no navy, controls waterways.

COOPER: Yes.

Rahm Emanuel, thank you. David Urban as well.

Coming up next. One of our CNN military analysts joins us, to talk about where this ceasefire leaves each side.

And a world away, literally, some incredible photos of the Moon as Artemis II makes its way back to Earth. We'll show you pictures of the Moon you've never seen before.

[21:40:00]

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COOPER: Back from the newsroom with CNN's global war coverage and the state of tonight's ceasefire.

We're joined by retired Air Force Colonel, Cedric Leighton. Karim Sadjadpour. And Brett McGurk.

So, Colonel Leighton, we haven't heard from you. Do you see this as a strategic victory, so far, for Iran?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.), FORMER MEMBER, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I do actually, Anderson.

And one of the things that's really important is what happens with the Strait of Hormuz. And in the statements that we've seen so far, we have everything that indicates that Iran seems to think it's exercising, or going to exercise, control over the Strait. That's a problem. They didn't have that before. And--

COOPER: Which just -- I mean, this -- I think a lot of people kind of maybe assume they had control before. They did not have control of the Strait of Hormuz before.

LEIGHTON: That's correct. They did not have control of the Strait of Hormuz. It was considered an international waterway. They would monitor it, and they would, every now and then, create some mischief in that area. But it was nothing like what, apparently, is going to be happening now with the possibility of them collecting toll, doing things like that.

So, it's a problem, and that could very well impact not only the oil price, but also the entire economic situation, all the economies of the Gulf states along the other side--

COOPER: Yes, I mean, if they're collecting $2 million per ship, which I think is what they're talking about that, I mean, that's an incredible amount of money.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Incredible amount of money, Anderson.

And you know, there's a famous quote about revolutions, that they're not judged by what they destroy, but the political order that they build. And that applies to wars as well. Because President Trump only wants to talk about this war with measuring what he's destroyed in Iran. But I think how history will judge this war is what is the political order that he's left behind.

As of right now, the political order is Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz, more brutal, entrenched Iranian regime, unaccounted nuclear material. It's able to continue to build its drones and missiles. It's going to continue to support its proxies. So, this could be different a year or two from now. But as of right now, history is not going to judge this war well.

COOPER: The President has said, though, Karim, there has been regime change. He's trying to redefine what the term, regime change, actually means. There are new people, new human beings, in the positions that they weren't currently in -- formerly in. Are they more hardline, more extreme, more have their backs to the wall than the previous regime?

SADJADPOUR: The new leaders in Iran share the same ideology, and that ideology, they call themselves Principlists, because they're loyal to the principles of the 1979 revolution. And the chief principles of 1979 are Death to America and Death to Israel. And so, they're going to continue to have that as part of their identity.

[21:45:00]

And President Trump hoped that he was going to change the U.S.-Iran relationship. It's, unfortunately, not going to happen.

COOPER: Brett, what are you looking for over the next even 24 hours? Obviously, this thing is very fragile.

BRETT MCGURK, FORMER MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I'm looking, Anderson, for not what is said, especially out of Iran or even out of the White House, but what happens on the ground and in the waterways.

Are ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz or not? I mean, that is really the big test. If they are moving with a toll paid to Iran? That's a huge problem. If they're moving freely, as President Trump's statement seemed to say? That's good. That's where we'd want to be. Right now, we don't know. We'll see. That is really what matters.

I think the stuff come out of Iran tonight, Anderson, is like this maximalist 10-point plan that is like farcical on his face. And yet, Trump's statement said he accepted it as a basis of negotiations. I don't know how to make sense of that, because there's no way, I think, the United States could ever contemplate what is in that 10-point plan.

And the Iranians are also declaring that they basically -- the U.S. has accepted that. I'm quite certain that's not true. So, we don't know. This is classic negotiating with Iran, particularly in the open. You get so much posturing, so much boastfulness. And then what's really happening? It's unclear.

So bottom line, first of all, do the missiles stop? Right now, we have missiles being launched from Iran. Right now, the ceasefire is not fully in effect, or at least not being implemented effectively. And what's happening with those ships? I mean, that's really what we'll have to watch, over the next 24, 48 hours.

COOPER: And Colonel Leighton, does Iran -- I mean, over this next two weeks, is that an opportunity for Iran to regroup? Obviously -- I mean, I guess can the -- will the U.S., will Israel, still be overflying, getting satellite imagery, seeing who's moving around, where things are going?

LEIGHTON: Yes, you're actually raising a really interesting point, because often in agreements like this, there is some kind of verification process. We don't know that there's going to be a verification process. That's a critical element that actually should be part of an agreement, or at least some permanent agreement, so that the Israelis, the Americans, can see what Iran is doing, and vice versa. That would be a typical agreement in a case like this.

And when you look at those kinds of elements, it's going to, I think, really be key to see how much really changes, in terms of the military posture, because I think the Iranians are going to try to regroup, and they're going to position themselves in a way that they can survive. They may move some missiles around that they get ready to launch. They may not launch them, but they might be trying to be ready to do that.

And of course, the Israelis would want to see whether or not those missiles are targeting Israel, for example. And the same for the Gulf states, they'd also want to know if missiles were targeting them. So, it really remains to be seen.

I think one other thing that's also critically important, we're expecting the Iranians to respond and basically exercise command over their elements. But if their command and control system has been destroyed, or at least limited in its effectiveness, by the American and the Israeli air strikes, we have to be prepared for there to be some units that don't get the word or are just firing on their own, because that's the last order that they had.

COOPER: The idea, Karim, that negotiations are going to take place over a two-week period. I mean, it just seems, again, from past negotiations with Iran, these things drag on and on. I mean, it just seems like a nightmare negotiation process.

SADJADPOUR: There is zero chance we're going to reach a resolution in a two-week period, in part because Iran's most senior leaders have been killed, and those that are remaining, it's difficult for them to convene. Few of them probably have the power or legitimacy to sign off on major decisions.

And at the moment, when I observe this Iranian regime, I see that they have an accelerator. They're able to escalate. I don't see anyone who is able to really pump the brakes. COOPER: Brett, why would Iran want to do this quickly? I mean, if you've looked at the -- if you've studied President Trump at all, the oil prices, the concern about the Strait has now become the dominant issue for him, overshadowing, it seems, even the nuclear program. That's the weapon that they can continue to use moving forward.

MCGURK: Yes, Anderson, I've been thinking about reflecting on what we've talked about a lot here, over the last six weeks or so. And kind of the first principles -- we've talked about Carl von Clausewitz, and he said something, There's rarely finality in war.

Very rarely do you have like an unconditional surrender, World War II -- war shift advantage. And here, Iran, since 19 -- for the last 47 years, has basically been in a state of war with the United States, we've been -- hot wars, cold wars, but there's been a state of war. And what just happened is going to shift advantage.

[21:50:00]

And if you took a snapshot, right now, because of what you just said, Anderson, that economic control that Iran has now asserted effectively? It may shift advantage in their direction, perhaps decidedly. But I wouldn't -- I wouldn't draw that conclusion yet. We have to see. And we don't know how much damage has been done in Iran and how intact this system really is. And we know the popular demands for change in Iran are still there.

So, again, this has been going on for 47 years. It's going to go on for some time. But I think that kind of a not final, it shifts advantage, who has -- who has the advantage tilted towards? Tonight, I'd have to say Iran, if they're in control of that Strait.

COOPER: Brett McGurk. Karim Sadjadpour. Colonel Leighton. Thank you very much.

Up next. A change of subject. A thankful change of subject may be. The kind of travel photos that most of us will never get to take, incredible photographs, never before seen, of the Moon. We're going to show them to you, coming up.

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[21:55:00]

COOPER: Well, some incredible images to show you. The Artemis II astronauts are heading home after their record breaking lunar flyby. They took these incredible photos of Earth, the Moon surface as well. They made history today with a ship-to-ship call with the International Space Station about 230,000 miles away.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is a bit closer than that. He's at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Ed, the pictures. I just want to keep showing them. I've been looking at them all day. They're so amazing. ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, one of those pictures is already the wallpaper on my laptop here at work. It has been stunning.

More than 50 gigs of data being transmitted back from the capsule here to the Johnson Space Center. They are still going through the process of going through the thousands and thousands of just the photo images. That doesn't take into account all of the audio files that were recorded that we haven't had a chance to hear yet, Anderson, from the astronauts as they were doing the lunar flyby.

All of those details and descriptions of what they saw, the scientists here are very eager to dig into, because it really is an unprecedented look at the surface of the Moon. So much to learn, they say, from all of that.

But this mission continues, Anderson. Over the next 24 hours, you're going to see the Artemis II crew going through more tests and more demonstrations inside the capsule. One of those includes the radiation deployment system that helps protect them from radiation, if there's some sort of solar event there that becomes rather treacherous. And there's also some manual piloting work that they will continue.

And then, they really prepare for that final day, where they have to reconfigure that cabin, put the seats back in, so they can get ready to return to Earth.

COOPER: Yes. It's just incredible.

Ed Lavandera, thanks.

Joining me now is Space Journalist, Kristin Fisher.

Kristin, what went through your mind when you first saw some of these new images of the Moon?

And let's keep putting them up -- putting them up.

KRISTIN FISHER, SPACE JOURNALIST, FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, ENDLESS VOID STUDIOS: I thought that these are the images that I have been waiting to see my entire life. This is a mission that I have been wanting to see happen my entire life.

And what we've been seeing, over the last few days, you know, this crew, the Artemis II crew, they were supposed to deliver on essentially recreating Apollo 8's famous Earthrise image. I mean, no small feat, no pressure, right Anderson? For them to do that and give us Earth-set, I mean, it has been such--

COOPER: Yes, this one in particular, it's just incredible.

FISHER: --a joy to watch this.

COOPER: Yes, we're seeing the Earth behind. It's so awesome.

They've taken, I think Ed was saying, 10,000 photos during that flyby. What are scientists looking for, when they go through these images?

FISHER: Well, a big part of this mission, Anderson, I mean, think about Artemis II is really just the beginning of the entire Artemis program. You know? The goal here is to build a base, a permanent human base, on the surface of the Moon.

And so, these images are essentially helping them scout out good spots, you know? And it's not just the Artemis II mission that's doing that. You've got robotic rovers and spacecrafts that are kind of serving as scouts for these future Artemis missions, that are going to build a base. That's the goal here.

COOPER: And they're going to be returning to Earth. There's this heat shield. Can you talk about that, the importance of the heat shield as they return to Earth?

FISHER: I mean, the heat shield. We all remember the tragic Columbia disaster, right, Anderson? I mean, what happened there, the reason that those astronauts tragically lost their lives, was because their heat shield on the space shuttle did not work. It did not withstand the temperatures on reentry. And so, that's what's at stake here. This heat shield on the Orion spacecraft has to withstand incredibly high temperatures to keep these astronauts safe on reentry.

And so, yes, this mission so far has been an unbelievable success. But what's the next 48 hours, that splashdown on Friday, is really one final critical test.

COOPER: What is the timeline for future Artemis missions?

FISHER: We've got Artemis III coming up in 2027. That's going to be a rendezvous just in low Earth orbit, between the Orion spacecraft, and one or both of the human landing systems, either SpaceX's Starship or Blue Origin's Blue Moon.

And then Artemis IV in 2028, that will be the big one, that will be the first lunar landing. But they're going to start putting the very basic components of a base on the surface of the Moon, with robotic and uncrewed spacecrafts, as early as next year, with the goal of making it fully operational by the early 2030s.

[22:00:00]

So, this really is a whole new era, Anderson. And this mission has, for the first time, really made me feel and believe like we're finally not going to be a species that's trapped in low Earth orbit, like we have been for the last half century.

COOPER: Yes, it's just incredible. And especially on a day in which there's so much horror going on, here on Planet Earth, it is just wonderful to take a few moments, to look at these incredible images, and see ourselves from such a distance.

Kristin Fisher, thanks so much.

That's it for us. The news continues. Turn things over to NEWSNIGHT with Abby Phillip.