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The Lead with Jake Tapper

U.S. And Iran Reach Agreement But Key Questions Remain; Pence Pens New Book Challenging Trump-Era Republican Party; Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) Is Interviewed About U.S. And Iran Reach Agreement But Key Questions Remain; Tourists Go Viral Embracing American Culture During World Cup. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 15, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:17]

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: Thanks to my panel. Really appreciate it. Thanks to all of you at home for watching as well. We appreciate you. But don't go anywhere. Jake Tapper is standing by for "The Lead." Hi, Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Thanks, Kasie. How are you? Good to see you.

HUNT: Very well. Good to see you, too.

TAPPER: We'll look for more tomorrow in "The Arena."

HUNT: See you.

TAPPER: Of course. We've got not one, but two vice presidents on "The Lead" today. And "The Lead" starts right now.

As questions mount about what exactly is in this agreement with Iran, Vice President J.D. Vance is here to try to clear up some of the confusion. When will the Strait of Hormuz finally reopen? What does this all mean for gas prices? Is this really quite different than the Iran deal President Obama made that Trump trashed? We're going to get answers and discuss it all with a host of folks, including J.D. Vance, Vice President Vance, coming up.

Plus, President Trump's other V.P. is also here. Mike Pence joins me live in studio to react to the breaking news out of Iran, his criticisms of the second Trump administration and his new book where he lays out a path forward for the Republican Party.

And California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom claims the Justice Department is now targeting his family because he is Trump's -- quote -- "political enemy." Newsom says his wife is under investigation. Those details ahead.

Welcome to "The Lead." I'm Jake Tapper. We're going to begin with the breaking news in our "World Lead." Growing questions about exactly what is in or what is not in this memorandum of understanding, this agreement between the U.S. and Iran that is supposed to end the war. It's supposed to end the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. It's supposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It's supposed to begin 60 days of talks to hammer out details on nuclear negotiations, among other issues.

Now, at this hour, the American people are in the dark on many of the specifics that President Trump and Vice President Vance have reportedly already signed virtually because the full text of this MOU, this Memorandum of Understanding, has not been released. And what we're hearing from both the U.S. and from Iran, well, it doesn't all line up.

Just three examples. It is unclear whether Iran will get any of its assets that are frozen unfrozen before these negotiations start. Number two, it's unclear whether Israel is required to withdraw from Lebanon. And number three, it's unclear when the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and whether Iran will be allowed to impose tolls on ships going through it at some point.

Now, even without all these details, this agreement is being met with a healthy dose of skepticism and in some cases, frankly, dismay from conservatives who think it doesn't nearly go far enough. Trump ally, Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, says he's going to be watching closely to ensure Iran's nuclear program is addressed properly. He says Vice President Vance is the architect of this agreement, who must help explain it to Congress directly. In just a moment, I'm going to talk with Vice President Vance about the details of this agreement and why this text is still under wraps.

Meanwhile, President Trump right now is in Geneva for the G7 Summit, and he's claiming victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The oil has taken its biggest plunge, and we're into the low numbers. Not quite back yet, Kevin, to the extent that we're getting close to the numbers we were before it all started. And the main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Trump was referring there to the price of oil plunging, although what's also plunging is the amount of oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is not a good thing. That is at its lowest level since 1983 when the Reagan administration was filling the reserve for the very first time and when the U.S. had a much smaller economy. Now, it's this low because the Trump administration keeps having to deploy emergency oil to minimize the damage from this war with Iran.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins is traveling with President Trump, live for us in Geneva, Switzerland. Kaitlan, what is President Trump saying about the status of this deal this evening?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, we know the president has signed it, the vice president has signed it, Iran's chief negotiator has signed this deal. But really, outside a handful of people, the details of this are still secret. That's because the actual text of this memorandum of understanding has not been publicly released yet.

And earlier, we spoke with administration officials who said we should expect the full text of it to come out in the next 24 to 48 hours. But until then, we have not really been able to properly assess what is actually inside this deal. There has been a lot of comments from administration officials about what's not in it, criticizing what's being publicly said about it.

[17:05:03]

But, of course, no one has actually been able to read the deal in and of itself yet. And so, it remains to be seen until that text is actually fully released, Jake, what is here that the president has signed on to and what is the administration is making clear is not some final agreement with Iran, but it's really jumpstarting this next process of what they say is going to be about 60 days of talks on the technical aspects of what the president wants to get here, which is what he was alluding to there as he was sitting alongside the French leader, that Iran cannot have access to a nuclear weapon.

There have been key questions, Jake, about frozen assets and sanctions relief that Iran clearly has sought during these negotiations, what they were seeking even before this war started back in February. And earlier, the administration officials told us that so far, none of the assets so far that Iran wants access to have been unfrozen yet, but said that that good could be part of the deal if Iran lives up to its part of the agreement.

And earlier, officials were saying that there could be small gestures on behalf of the U.S. if it seems like Iran is complying with what they say that they've agreed to. Now, the officials didn't say exactly what those small gestures are but, obviously, that seems to be referencing the unfreezing of assets and sanctions relief.

And Jake, one other thing that we still don't have a lot of clarity on is the Strait of Hormuz itself and when they expect it to be fully open because we're hearing conflicting answers from administration officials who are working on this deal to the president himself, who sounded quite optimistic earlier about when exactly the strait will be back to normal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The deal is all signed. And the strait is already partially opened. As you know, they're doing a little hunting for a couple of mines that they've already found. But, essentially, ships are starting to go out now. On Friday, it will be completely opened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: So, the president was referencing Friday there Jake, as you heard. From officials that we spoke with earlier, they said it might take a little bit longer for that -- than that for it to actually look like it's back to normal.

One official asserted that they knew where all of the mines are, that Iran has laid in the strait. But, obviously, that is going to be an issue here. It's going to be something the president is discussing with the other world leaders that he's meeting with here at the G7 summit where he has lashed out at pretty much every single one of them for not getting more involved in the war when the United States started it, but we'll obviously be trying to have their help when it comes to cleaning up the Strait of Hormuz. So, we'll see where that goes here.

And Jake, I should note, the president is here. He is expected to leave the region this week. But on Friday is when that ceremonial signing of this memorandum of understanding is supposed to happen right here in Geneva with the vice president and with top Iranian officials. So, we'll see obviously what that looks like as they get closer to that and whether this memorandum of understanding actually results in the full deal that the president has been seeking or if it just helps get an off-ramp to this war.

TAPPER: Kaitlan Collins traveling with President Trump in Switzerland, thanks so much.

Joining us now, Vice President J.D. Vance of the great state of Ohio. Mr. Vice President, thanks so much for joining us. I know that you're planning on releasing the text later at the end of the week after some of the -- some of the smaller issues have been reached and worked out. I do want to ask a couple things about it, though. Does this deal at all address Iran's ballistic missile programs or Iran's funding of groups that the U.S. government classifies as terrorists such as Hamas or Hezbollah or the Houthis?

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, it does, Jake, because what the agreement does is fundamentally set up a structure whereby if the Iranians behave like a normal country, then we want to treat them like a normal country and welcome them into the world economy.

What paragraph one of the agreement says is effectively that Iran commits itself just as the United States commits itself to regional peace and stability. And part of that, Jake, is that the Iranians have to stop funding violent terrorist organizations, they have to stop funding regional instability.

But the important thing about this agreement, Jake, is that everything from what Iran gives us on the nuclear program and, of course, that's the most important thing, is the commitment verifiable to never building a nuclear weapon. All of these things come along with benefits if Iran delivers and nothing if Iran doesn't deliver.

So, we certainly expect that as part of our broader agreement, Jake, Iran is going to stop funding terrorist organizations. Most importantly, they're going to have a verifiable commitment to not building a nuclear weapon.

But the good thing about the way that we've set this up is that we have the leverage here. We have the ability to welcome them into the world economy if they perform. We also have the ability to say, you know what, you don't get anything if you don't meet your end of the obligation.

TAPPER: Is it fair to say that it's not spelled out, that they have to end their ballistic missile program or end their funding of the Houthis and Hamas and Hezbollah, that that's left purposefully vague, and then the U.S. will come later and say you know that we expected this and you're not behaving accordingly? I'm just trying to understand how the deal is written.

[17:09:59]

VANCE: Yes. So, the MOU, Jake, is about a page and a half. So, it is a very general document, but this has been very much part of the conversations that we've had with the Iranians. And on a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase.

But what the MOU does is set up a framework whereby the Iranians get the benefits of the bargain by meeting their obligations under the bargain. They know that we don't want them to fund terrorist organizations. They know that we don't want them to be a source of instability in the region. And, of course, most importantly, they know that we want a verifiable long-term commitment to not build or procure a nuclear weapon.

We have that in this agreement, Jake. But fundamentally, it's set up in such a way where we're going to have to attach their commitments to deliverables that then are met with economic benefits for the Iranian people. That's the way that we've structured it.

One final comment on this, Jake, if I could step back. Right now, the Iranian nuclear program has been completely destroyed. Their capacity to enrich uranium, their enriched stockpile of fuel is buried far below the earth. And we really have a two-way pathway to ensure the Iranians don't ever rebuild that capacity.

On the one hand, if they try to rebuild it, they're never going to get the financial resources that they would need to rebuild billions of dollars-worth of nuclear program. On the other hand, if they're willing to commit to verifiable milestones and to make sure that we feel confident they're not going to rebuild that program, we're going to totally transform our relationship with Iran and Iran's relationship with the broader Middle East.

So, either way, the United States wins, either way we ensure Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon, but we really prefer that they choose the option where there's greater economic cooperation and where they behave like a normal country and are treated like one as well.

TAPPER: You have said that the U.S. is willing to talk about unfreezing Iranian assets if the Iranians meet those benchmarks you've been discussing. Iran says that this deal unfreezes billions of dollars over 60 days of negotiations and that many of the funds will be unfrozen before talks even begin. Is that true? What does the MOU specifically say about unfreezing assets or sanctions relief?

VANCE: Yes. So, Jake, on the second point, that's definitely not true. There hasn't been a single dollar of sanctions relief or unfrozen assets either from the United States or any of our allies in the Gulf. I've seen some misreporting about that. I don't know where it comes from.

Where I suspect that it comes from, Jake, is what you're going to expect is that certain elements within the Iranian system, certain hardliners in particular, they're going to overemphasize in an effort to sell it to certain domestic populations, they're going to overemphasize what Iran gets from the bargain without ever articulating the things that Iran has to give up in order to get those benefits.

To be very clear, this agreement contemplates a very significant sanctions relief package for the Iranian people that transforms how they interact with the world and with the region, but they only get that benefit if they meet their obligations under the agreement.

So, I would caution everybody to be skeptical of what certain propaganda elements within the regime are saying. The truth is, there is a really big opportunity for the Iranians, but they only get the benefit of that opportunity if they do the things they promised they're going to do.

TAPPER: If Iran was able to essentially hold the world hostage in some ways by closing the Strait of Hormuz, even after the U.S. and Israel decimated Iran militarily, why should we not expect that they will do the same thing again when they are allowed to reconstitute their military?

VANCE: Well, a couple of things there, Jake. First of all, while Iran did try very hard to close the Strait of Hormuz and they cut down traffic substantially, one of the things that we've seen over the last two to three weeks, Jake, is that there has been a substantial increase in oil and gas flows out of that region of the world under the protection of the U.S. military.

So, one of the reasons why I think actually they made this agreement, I don't think they'll ever say this, but one of the reasons why they made this agreement is because they recognize they're losing that leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. That's a card they can play. They played it once, but you can't play it every day indefinitely or you start to lose it. I think they saw that that leverage point was getting weaker and weaker, which is why we've been able to strike this agreement.

Fundamentally, Jake, the way to think about this is the United States has optionality here. Have we destroyed their military? Yes. Have we decimated their nuclear program? Yes. Is the country economically much weaker than they were before the conflict began? Yes.

But there really are two options, two pathways for Iran to go from here. Option one is they stay under extraordinary economic sanction, which means they're never going to be able to rebuild their military and never going to be able to reconstitute their nuclear program, or they show us verifiably, they allow the inspections regime to say with confidence that they're not going to rebuild that nuclear program.

[17:15:07]

If they do that, it's going to transform the entire region. Jake, for 47 years, this country has been a thorn in our side. It has been kind of a basket case for Democrat and Republican administrations. The coolest thing about the progress we've made over the last few weeks is that you see people within the Iranian system, senior leadership, even IRGC officials say, you know what, we may have some animosity, we may have some mistrust, but we recognize the way that we've done business with the United States for 47 years is a mistake, let's try something else. We're going to verify that, of course, but we're certainly willing to try something else if they comply.

TAPPER: There are obviously a lot of critics of this deal from within the Republican Party, a lot of conservatives who are critical. And I think if one of them were here right now, they might say, this is still the same group of religious extremists, of zealots who are willing to sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of Iranians who are demonstrating for democracy, who fund terrorist groups.

And even if they want to end this war, you still can't trust them, and they still are -- I mean, this is again not my characterization but the characterization of plenty of people in the Republican Party, they're still a fanatical death cult. How would you respond to that?

VANCE: Well, I'd say two things about that, Jake. First of all, I don't trust anybody. I think that, fundamentally, the way the president has set up this deal is that the benefits of the bargain only accrue again if Iran actually complies. We're not talking about rewarding words. We're talking about changing the way that we deal with Iran based on their actions.

And number two, fundamentally, it is a much different group of people. The president of the United States has said this before. But let me just -- let me just give some detail to that. If you think of like the last 47 years of American relations with Iran, we have never had this level of direct or indirect coordination, we've never had this level of direct communication between the highest levels of their society and the highest levels of our political leadership. So, something has fundamentally transformed.

Can I say with a hundred percent certainty that they're going to meet every obligation to this bargain? No, of course not, because I can't predict the future. What I can say is that we've structured this deal in such a way where their benefits only accrue if our benefits accrue as well.

TAPPER: Vice President J.D. Vance, thanks so much. Really appreciate your time.

VANCE: Thanks, Jake. Take care.

TAPPER: President Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, is here next to react to what we just heard from his successor, Vice President Vance. We're going to talk to Vice President Pence about what he thinks about this agreement with Iran.

Plus, we are following this breaking news out of California where an Air Force bomber has crashed shortly after takeoff. Emergency crews still on the scene. We're waiting for an update from military officials. That's also ahead.

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[17:20:000]

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TAPPER: In the "Politics Lead," we just had Vice President J.D. Vance responding moments ago to foreign policy hawks inside the Republican Party who worry that the White House has too much faith in the mullahs, too much faith that Iran is going to hold up their end of this new agreement. Here is what Vance had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: I don't trust anybody. I think that, fundamentally, the way the president has set up this deal is that the benefits of the bargain only accrue again if Iran actually complies. We're not talking about rewarding words. We're talking about changing the way that we deal with Iran based on their actions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Here with me now, President Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence of the great state of Indiana. What do you think of this plan based on what you've heard so far and what you heard from the vice president?

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, first, I think you have to recognize that President Trump's decision to unleash our armed forces against the leading state sponsor of terrorism a year ago and then earlier this year was historic and unprecedented. And I think the president and the administration have earned some latitude in putting together a negotiated peace.

But I have concerns. Look, I hope for the best. I certainly welcome the cessation of hostilities, but I just don't trust the Iranians. And literally, for 47 years, this has been a regime that has breathed death to Israel, death to America. And as you observe, while we welcome reports about the MOU that there's a commitment to not pursue a nuclear weapon, commitment to open the straits, that was never all of it.

And one of the -- one of the defects of the Obama administration was the lack of a structure for seriously dismantling and verifiably preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. And there was no mention in the Obama-Iran deal of Iran dismantling their missile program or ending decades of supporting terrorist proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. TAPPER: Yes. And you heard me ask Vice President Vance about that, about the ballistic missile program and about funding these proxies, these terrorist groups as U.S. government calls them. And he said basically, I'm paraphrasing, but you heard the interview earlier, that the MOU is only a page and a half and that Iran is expected to behave in a way that comports with the, you know, community of nations, adheres to stability in the Middle East. But it didn't sound like there was anything specific in the MOU. I guess we'll see when they release the doc, the language, and also when there is some sort of planned -- negotiated at the end of all these.

PENCE: Right.

TAPPER: But as of now, I mean, it sounds like that's -- it's the same situation as in the Iran deal with Obama as of now.

PENCE: Well, I think that's the concern. But, again, we're sitting here, we don't know what's in the memorandum of understanding.

[17:25:00]

Look, I take the vice president at his word and respect his position. But I think the American people are entitled to see the deal, entitled to understand what the next 60 days really looks like.

Look, I just remember back in 2018 when the Mossad in Israel discovered and brought to the world and brought into the Oval Office details of how Iran had lied for decades about their relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons, I think it was called the nuclear attic, and literally showed that Obama's Iran nuclear deal was built on lies. I mean, Iran had pledged not to pursue nuclear weapons, had even allowed the International Atomic Energy Commission to come in periodically, but what was uncovered with some extraordinary intelligence work by our ally Israel was that they were lying the entire time.

And my other concern is about this idea of $300 billion --

TAPPER: Oh, yes.

PENCE: -- from allied countries going in and the release of frozen assets --

TAPPER: For reconstruction, yes.

PENCE: -- because look, without a hard commitment and really accountability, money is fungible.

TAPPER: So, they say --

PENCE: And to take that -- to take the $1.7 billion that Barack Obama gave him, pallets of cash, you know that you know that that made its way to subsidize Hamas, underwriting October 7th, that it made its way to support Hezbollah.

TAPPER: But he says -- Vance says that that money only comes if there are actions that prove that they are --

PENCE: Right.

TAPPER: -- they are committed. They also said, and you heard him say that this seems -- he said he was excited about this because there had been better direct communications with Iran -- between the U.S. and Iran than there had been in 47 years, and that this does seem like a new group of people who understand that there needs to be a new path. Do you believe that there is a new group? I mean, that the old ways are gone in Iran?

PENCE: Well, I'm hopeful. And again, I don't want to prejudge this.

TAPPER: We're all hopeful, but do you believe it?

PENCE: You know, I spent a lot of time in the Situation Room. I heard people talking on the outside who didn't know what was really happening. So, I want to give the president, I want to give his team the benefit of the doubt here. We did eliminate much of the leadership of Iran, but the fact that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is now seemingly in the lead, I mean, this was the organization that literally was responsible for the death of over a thousand American service members in Iraq, in Afghanistan.

TAPPER: Yes.

PENCE: Look, I just think we need to be eyes open on this. I want to hope for the best. I welcome the end of hostilities. But unless we have a completely verifiable accountable structure, the results in the dismantling of the nuclear weapons program, dismantling of the missiles program and a public renunciation of their decades of supporting terrorist groups across the region, then I think we ought to just simply allow our armed forces to move forward and finish the job.

TAPPER: All right, former Vice President Mike Pence, stay right there because we've got so much more to talk about, including the conservative blueprint that you're laying out in your brand-new book, "What Conservatives Believe." We'll be right back.

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[17:30:00]

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TAPPER: We're back with our Politics Lead. Former Vice President Mike Pence is with us now to tell us about his new book. He calls a modern take on Barry Goldwater's "The Conscience of a Conservative." Aiming to define the values of the Republican Party for a new generation. It's called "What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience." It's out right now. It's been out for a week or so. A couple weeks rather.

So the biggest theme you tackle is the rise of populism --

PENCE: Right.

TAPPER: -- within the modern Republican Party. You write, "Popular opinion is fickle. Principles are final. The challenge for conservatives today is to hold fast to our principles. This means believing in personal and economic liberty. It means standing up to evil regimes and standing with the friends of freedom on the world stage. It means conducting ourselves with dignity and civility. Above all, it means respecting the Constitution."

Well, I mean, with all due respect to our President that, you know, he violates a lot of those. I don't know that he's always civil. He doesn't always stand with the friends of freedom on the world stage. And in terms of personal economic liberty, I have seen a lot of people objecting to the way that he has tried to get the government to have a percentage of some of these companies. What do you think?

PENCE: Well, I think for decades, the Republican Party has been defined by that broad mainstream conservative agenda, which embraces America's role as leader of the free world, limited government, the right to life, traditional values. And our contest has been through the decades with a traditional liberal Democratic Party.

But I think our politics have changed in two respects. Number one, I think the Democratic Party has been overrun by a progressive left that embraces socialism openly, that actually questions long-term alliances, including with our cherished ally Israel, and even tolerates leaders who engage in anti-Semitic tropes. But on the Republican side, the reason I really wrote the book was to inform people who share those conservative principles that there's also another threat from the populist right that would advance isolationism, protectionism, marginalized values like the right to life.

[17:35:19]

And while they've had some success with the Trump administration, I want to be clear, I think the new Trump administration has gotten a lot right. I mean, the $1.5 trillion national debt, the issue we just talked about, taking on Iran directly, standing with Israel, extending all those Trump-Pence tax cuts, and also, in the main, taking on the radical left with their kind of radical gender ideology and social agenda.

TAPPER: What about the radical right? I mean, I see a lot of --

PENCE: But look, I stipulate to you that the populist right has gained some purchase in this administration.

TAPPER: I would say so.

PENCE: I would say the stops and starts on Ukraine are evidence of the appeal of the populist right that would have us pull back from our commitment as leader of the free world. I would say issues like broad- based tariffs, nationalization of American businesses --

TAPPER: Yes. PENCE: -- price controls, and something important to me, the marginalizing of the right to life that's taken place, those all emanate out of the populist right. And so, I thought it was important to put down on paper a book that just reminds people in our movement what conservatives believe, and I hope it starts a real debate.

TAPPER: Another thing that conservatives used to believe is in law and order, and I wonder how you view that $1.8 billion fund that the President has tried to start, a judge recently indefinitely blocked it, but Trump has said he wants to bring it back one way or another.

This would be to pay out people who have been victims of weaponization by the government, Trump says, because, you know, and a lot of them are like people who were prosecuted for beating up cops on January 6th, and a lot of those people actually were calling to hang you on that day, and the President wants to pay them. How does that square with conservative values?

PENCE: Well, it just doesn't, Jake. I wrote a chapter on conservatives who always believed in law and order from the neighborhood to the border, we just have. And the fact that there would even possibility be a fund that would give taxpayer money to people that assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol, I think is deeply offensive to millions of Americans, me included.

I'm glad the administration has signaled they're walking away from that, but again, this goes to, you know, part of the course of the populist right in the party that seems to want to set aside our traditional commitments and conventions and standards, but I think the overwhelming majority of people that ever vote for Republicans, and that would be Republicans, Independents, and many Democrats, still embrace these traditional values, these traditional principles and ideals, like the rule of law, and I'm hoping in the days ahead to be a voice for those things in our movement and in our party.

TAPPER: Before you go, I know you have a son and a son-in-law who are in the military, and I'm sure that this war has not been easy for your family, and please thank them for their service. We really appreciate it.

PENCE: Well, I will, but I want to thank all of our troops. I think our military has responded in Operation Epic Fury with historic professionalism, and if this memorandum of understanding does not achieve those core elements of progress, I think we ought to let our armed forces go forward and finish that job.

TAPPER: "What Conservatives Believe," it's available now. Former Vice President Mike Pence from the great state of Indiana, thanks so much for being here.

PENCE: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Good to see you, as always.

[17:38:52] The B-52 bomber just crashed shortly after takeoff at California's Edwards Air Force Base, what we're learning about the accident and the fate of the crew on board. That's next.

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TAPPER: Breaking news in our National Lead. A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber crashed shortly after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California today. CNN's Josh Campbell is monitoring the situation for CNN. Josh, have we heard anything about the fate of the crew?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: We have not, Jake. And that is a big question right now. But, you know, you look at these harrowing images that we're getting from our CNN affiliate where you see this large black burn scar along the side of one of the airfields there at Edwards Air Force Base up in the Mojave Desert just north of where I am here in L.A. You can see just how catastrophic this was. But, again, we are waiting for additional information from the U.S. military on what the actual fate of the crew is.

Now, I spoke to a retired military pilot who has flown in and out of Edwards before and said that this particular aircraft does have the capability for ejection evacuation for members of the crew. But, again, we still have no indication right now on whether that actually occurred or what the circumstances were here. What we are hearing from the Air Force is that just after around 11:20 a.m. local time, as this B-52 Stratofortress was taking off, that is when this crash occurred.

And, again, you can look at some of these images. It appears that there is just really nothing really left as far as the fuselage of that aircraft that we can see intact. This is a big heavy bomber that has been used for decades across global missions. The U.S. Air Force says that it's capable of carrying numerous types of ordnance, including nuclear weapons, including precision-guided weapons. But, again, we don't know what the particular mission was here. Was this a training, which occurs, you know, oftentimes with the U.S. military across the country on a day-to-day basis?

[17:45:13]

A lot of information we are still waiting to hear back. We do know that the last known fatal crash involving the B-52, Jake, that was back in 2008, when one of the airplanes went into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guam.

TAPPER: All right, Josh Campbell, thanks so much. And we're waiting for the news and praying for survivors of that crash.

Returning to our World Lead now, the new agreement between the United States and Iran. This is supposed to open the Strait of Hormuz and end the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, pave the way for further negotiations. I'm joined by Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton. He's on the Armed Services and China Competition Committee. Congressman, we still don't know the text, the specifics of this agreement with Iran. But earlier today, President Trump predicted that there soon will be free sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. Do you agree?

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, we just don't know. And this is the administration that promised to be the most transparent in history. And yet they can't share a memo, a mere memo that's a page and a half long. And yet we're supposed to believe that this page and a half memo is going to reopen the Strait, prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, stop, according to J.D. Vance's interview earlier, stop them from building ballistic missiles and supporting proxies in the region, return peace to the region, all in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer money.

I mean, Jake, you can't rent an apartment for an agreement that's a page and a half long. And yet you were supposed to trust this out of this memorandum of understanding. It honestly sounds like a surrender document. That's what it sounds like to me.

TAPPER: I don't know the specifics of it. I think the payments, I think the money that's being discussed are Iranian assets that have been frozen and money, the reconstruction funds, 300 million -- 300 billion, I think, are coming from Gulf states. But again, that's my understanding. I don't know because they haven't released the documents yet.

MOULTON: No, that's right. And just to put this into context, you know, in contrast, we got a very comprehensive nuclear deal under President Obama that prevented Iran from ever building a nuclear weapon, had 24/7 electronic monitoring, intrusive inspections, kept enrichment at a level much lower than where Iran is today. And all of that was in exchange for less than $2 billion. So we're just talking about a memorandum that's -- a memorandum that says we will discuss the nuclear program in the future. And the number that's being thrown around is 12 times that.

TAPPER: Yes. President Trump is at the G7 Summit in France of world superpowers. To say the least, under President Trump the U.S. relationship with the G7 has changed. What do you see as the G7's role going forward?

MOULTON: Well, you know, under the historic nuclear deal under Obama, the G7 actually played a really important role in reinforcing this deal and holding around Iran accountable. We had a very formal mechanism to snap back sanctions if Iran ever violated the deal, which is part of why even the first Trump administration certified that the Iranians were following the Obama nuclear deal.

This is, of course, before Trump decided to just tear it up and start from nothing and allow Iran essentially to rebuild their nuclear program to a level that it never reached once Obama had dismantled it. And so we don't have any of that in a page and a half memorandum of understanding. You know, J.D. Vance says, oh, well, we're just going to, you know, trust that we can work with these guys. Does he recognize that the new Ayatollah is more hard line than the one that they replaced?

I mean, we used to have an 86-year-old in failing health with a fatwa against producing a nuclear weapon in charge of Iran. They've now gotten the guy in his 50s who's more hard line. And in case he wasn't hard line enough, we killed his immediate family to just prove that maybe what he should do is focus on building a nuclear weapon. So none of this should give us confidence.

TAPPER: Let me just ask you, because we're running out of time. Another pressing problem for the G7 is this is the Russia-Ukraine war. And today, a Russian attack on Kyiv set fire to a nearly 1,000-year- old monastery complex and killed at least five people. Do you foresee any end to this ongoing destruction and loss of life?

MOULTON: I mean, we've got to we've got to bring it to an end. But it's very important that it's a loss for Putin. Putin cannot come out of this thinking that he has a win. And that's why it's so incredibly dangerous what Trump is doing and continually, sometimes quietly, sometimes overtly supporting Putin's policy. Because if the message that Russia gets at the end of this war is that they can have a sovereign nation, they can go take over a free country like Ukraine, then we just have to ask which NATO country is going to be next.

TAPPER: Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

[17:49:58]

The World Cup is in full swing with another match set to start in just minutes. But off the pitch, one of the best stories to emerge from this competition is the international tourists on social media going viral as they document their discoveries and their love of the American experience. One of those influencers is going to join us live ahead.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America, can you please explain why this is so big?

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TAPPER: In our Sports Lead, from Buc-ee's to fast food, World Cup visitors are diving into the United States of America and going viral along the way. One Swedish fan raved about ranch dressing on X, writing, "Why did no one tell me ranch sauce is like crack? Europe, we need ranch ASAP." A German tourist even called Taco Bell the Holy Land.

Meanwhile, some fans are bringing their culture here, such as these Scottish tourists in Boston waking neighbors with bagpipes at 6:30 a.m. Despite the early wake-up call, the Bostonians and the Scots have become lads. Even with all the competition, the World Cup seems to be serving as a global unifier. Let me bring in one of these great European social media stars, German football YouTuber, Fiago.

Fiago, you were in Chicago for the U.S. versus Germany send-off match, and you seemed to enjoy the classic Portillo's food chain. Not the sunburn, though. How would you rate your All-American experience so far?

FIAGO, YOUTUBER: Correct, Jake. I was in Chicago, and I absolutely loved it. First time for me. I was not familiar with the sun in Chicago. I forgot to put on my sunscreen. The food was amazing. I definitely need to go back. Chicago really surprised me. The atmosphere was great at the soccer game. It was an amazing trip.

TAPPER: Chicago is a great city. Another German soccer fan, Freddy, has also been going viral on X. He posted this photo of a custom, Welcome Freddy banner with the German flag added to Louisiana's state welcome sign. What do you make of all the viral content coming out of this tournament and all the love for the European tourists from the American people as you show us our country with fresh eyes?

FIAGO: Yes, I know Freddy. He's a nice guy. He's close to me, so I've been talking to him. He's loving it. He's more touring the south. I did Chicago. I think it's more because in Europe we have a lot of rather negative news about the Americans in the last five years, let's say that. I think we are all enjoying the fact that this country is so great to visit. The people are amazing, so welcoming. The culture is amazing. It's like Europeans are getting a new view of America right now, I think, also through our content, and that's cool, I think.

TAPPER: That's wonderful. Were there any stereotypes about the U.S. or about Americans that you arrived with that turned out to be totally wrong or totally true?

FIAGO: Yes, I mean, a lot of Europeans think that Americans have no clue about soccer. They don't like it. They don't care at all. But I went to the friendly game, the send-off match, and it was a packed stadium, 60,000 plus at Soldier Field. Everyone was hyped. So many people recognized me as well for the videos. I got a big community of U.S. followers. It was just all a really good vibe. And I can tell you, soccer is so big in the United States. Even though Europeans here don't believe that, they will soon.

[17:55:09]

TAPPER: No, it's true. It's taken about 50 years, but it's pretty huge. And your very own Germany rolled over Curacao 7-1 yesterday. How are you feeling about Germany's chances of winning a record-tying fifth World Cup?

FIAGO: I mean, us Germans, we're known to be very skeptical, especially after the last two editions where we got grouped. That was a national humiliation. So we're a bit more low-key. But yesterday, I mean, it was a good result. It was the biggest win of the tournament so far, but against the smallest country that's ever qualified. So let's not make too much of it. But no, we're confident. We can go far. I don't know if we can win the World Cup. I think we might go to the quarters or semis. That's going to be good.

TAPPER: So you've been to if I'm -- tell me if I'm wrong. You've been to Miami, New York, San Francisco, L.A., Chicago. What cities next?

FIAGO: Right. Right now, I'm back in Germany because I've got a lot of work here. But I'll be back in New York in two weeks, in one and a half weeks. And then I'll probably go to Philadelphia for 4th of July.

TAPPER: That's my hometown. You're going to love it.

FIAGO: It's going to be great there.

TAPPER: Fiago, you've got to go to Tony Luke's for a cheesesteak or go to Reading Terminal Market. And you also have to check out Rita's Water Ice. Rita's Water Ice.

FIAGO: I'll keep that in mind. I'll definitely do that. I think I will love it. America's told me it's the greatest celebration, 250th anniversary. And there's the Germany game, hopefully, against France. That's pretty likely. So I'll do that. And I'll also be in Nashville and Washington, D.C., probably. No World Cup hosts, but I'll just enjoy the culture. Now I'm really excited to see more of America.

TAPPER: All right, Fiago. Well, thank you so much. When you're in D.C., come back. Come on our show. You can be in person, we'll show some of your -- we will go through all your photos and stuff. All right, safe travels.

FIAGO: I love to. Thank you so much.

TAPPER: All right, cool.

Another World Cup story we're following tonight. Iran is scheduled to play its first match of this tournament in just a few hours. Iranians living in the United States are divided on how much they should support this team. That's ahead.

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