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Trump Defends Strikes on Iran, Says Nuclear Sites Destroyed; Lawmakers Furious Over Last-Minute Cancelation of Iran Briefings; HHS Secretary Kennedy's New Vaccine Panel to Hold First Meeting. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired June 25, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, President Trump at the NATO summit slamming an early intelligence assessment that U.S. strikes honor on Iran's nuclear facilities did not destroy core components of its nuclear program, Trump now calling it a virtual obliteration. We're standing by to hear more from the president this hour.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And a historic upset in New York City, New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani now poised to win the Democratic primary in the race for mayor. His top challenger former governor, Andrew Cuomo, conceding the race late last night.

And today, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s newly appointed vaccine advisory committee is set to have its first meeting as some lawmakers push for it to be postponed.

I'm Omar Jimenez with Kate Bolduan. Sara Sidner and John are out today. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: The breaking news this morning, President Trump is giving a new defense for the U.S. strikes on Iran as more questions are being raised about how destructive the hits really were. CNN was first to report on a preliminary assessment by U.S. Intelligence. According to seven people briefed, it finds those strikes set Iran's nuclear program back not by years, but maybe only a few months.

Yet the president who is attending the NATO summit in the Netherlands, he does not believe that. Now, slightly tweaking his language though, saying the strikes caused virtual obliteration. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't know, but they're not going to have a bomb and they're not going to enrich. And we believe all of the stuff is down there, we don't think they believe the time, because to get that out is a very difficult thing. It's not like moving a package or taking this carpet up and moving it. It's very difficult. It's very dangerous to do. We believe it's all down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: He's talking there about the enriched uranium where there have been big questions if Iran moved large portions of enriched uranium out before the U.S. strikes. So, look here, it's before and after images from one of the sites in Iran, the underground Fordow nuclear facility that the U.S. dropped those massive bunker-buster bombs on. You can see from the air how destructive it was.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, they were by the president's side during what became a back and forth press conference with reporters in the Netherlands, and they also spoke up about the strikes, the president leaning on both of them to give their take. Secretary Hegseth called the strikes flawless. Both he and Secretary Rubio suggested there were political motives at play for leaking the intelligence, the early assessment, this early preliminary intelligence report. Hegseth said an FBI investigation is now underway to identify the people behind the leak.

Let's go now too my friend and colleague, anchor of CNN's OutFront, Erin Burnett, who's in Ras Al-Khaimah by the Strait of Hormuz in the UAE. Erin, this was, there already was a lot of developments that needed to be looked into after this intelligence report came out last -- was -- well, CNN reported on last night, and then you've got this big pushback from the president this morning.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. The huge pushback, Kate, as we're hearing, you know, in the early hours of this morning in the Netherlands where the president is taking this on head on, of course we know this as assessment by the Defense Intelligence Agency matches what the Israelis are also saying in their initial bomb assessment, initial being the crucial word, but still, the conclusion here cannot be ignored.

We're joined by our Kristen Holmes. She's at that NATO summit in Noordwijk in the Netherlands. And, Kristen, you know, we are going to be hearing from the president shortly, and you've been hearing him take this on head on, as Kate emphasized, now adding the word virtual ahead of obliteration. Zach Cohen is also with us in Washington.

But, Kristen, let me begin with you with what we're learning in these early hours of the morning so far.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes Erin. I think what's really interesting about this is you're hearing President Trump acknowledge that this intelligence does exist, but he is saying that they're waiting for a fuller picture here. Now, in the same conversation, the same kind of press conference that ended up being a back and forth with reporters, he compared using the nuclear, or using the bombs on Iran as the same way the U.S. used the nuclear bomb in Japan on World War II, saying they both ended wars.

[07:05:14]

And then he completely reiterated this idea that he believes that they set Iran's nuclear program back more than a decade. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I think basically decades, because I don't think they'll ever do it again. I just don't think they're going to do -- I think they're going to take their oil. They're going to have some missiles and they'll have some defense. I think they've had it. I mean, they just went through hell. I think they've had it.

It was -- I believe it was total obliteration. I believe they didn't have a chance to get anything out because we acted fast. If it would've taken two weeks maybe, but it's very hard to remove that kind of material, very hard and very dangerous for them to remove it. Plus, they knew we were coming and if they know we're coming, they're not going to be down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, as Kate said, he's talking there about moving the uranium out. He's insisting that Iran never moved it out from underground before we struck those nuclear facilities. And just quickly because we are here at NATO, we're going to see the president again, he's going to have a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this is going to be notable. We're going to wait to see what comes out of that. Just a reminder, Zelenskyy, Ukrainians had hoped to meet with President Trump at the G7, but President Trump left early, so this will be that opportunity for them.

BURNETT: Yes, absolutely. Kristen, thank you so much. And now, Zach, as promised you know, I know that we have that breaking news on the intelligence report, the first to come out. What is your new reporting on what that leaked intelligence report says? As I know you're learning more here in these early hours.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, and it's really important to note that this is the first known U.S. intelligence assessment since those strikes on those three nuclear facilities in Iran. And while it is an early initial assessment, I mean, it comes after Donald Trump, the president, has been claiming for days that those strikes obliterated their targets. And this assessment seems to be at odds with that conclusion by the president.

We were told by our sources that the assessment does say that the strikes do not appear to have destroyed key components of Iran's nuclear program that includes centrifuges and the stockpile of enriched uranium at these sites. And that's something again that Donald Trump has suggested unequivocally was destroyed.

And now we're seeing subsequent our reporting kind of re-contextualize a little bit here. But take a listen to what Donald Trump said earlier when he was asked about this intelligence assessment and our reporting on it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, the intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says, we don't know. It could have been very severe. That's what the intelligence says. So, I guess that's correct, but I think we can take the we don't know. It was very severe. It was obliteration. And you'd think that a media outlet would say -- isn't that a great thing? I mean, more importantly for the pilots, for the military, you take their guts out, you take their absolute guts out. They had a tremendous attack. It was a complete obliteration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, there are still a lot of questions, and again, this is a very early assessment, but it is a formal one from a U.S. intelligence agency, albeit one, the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is not representative of the entire intelligence community's view. But it is a specific agency that has experts who are focused on analyzing battle damage assessments, like the one that's being carried out on those strikes in Iran.

Ultimately, at the end of the day though, this does point back to comments made by chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, earlier this week when he said it's far too early to know what is still there and what is not.

BURNETT: Yes, absolutely. And, of course, you know, they admit they don't know where so much of that enriched uranium is. Some of that enriched uranium highly enriched. And how much of it was moved possibly before the strikes or to unknown locations, so much that we don't yet know.

Kristen at the NATO summit, Zach Cohen, thanks so much to both of you. Omar, back to you.

JIMENEZ: All right, Erin, we'll get back to you soon.

Meanwhile, we're following some other stories, including Democratic lawmakers not happy after classified briefings on the top secret details of the Iran strikes were postponed. We're going to have the latest reaction from Capitol Hill next.

Plus a political earthquake in New York City, how a Democratic socialist is now poised to win the city's mayoral primary over former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

And it's being called Alligator Alcatraz. Florida officials are now working on a migrant detention facility in the middle of the swamps and forests of the Florida Everglades. All that and more coming up.

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BOLDUAN: This morning, big questions abound on Capitol Hill after classified briefings scheduled for both the House and Senate yesterday on the Iran Strikes were abruptly canceled. Some Democrats suggesting they were postponed because the assessment of the intel community may not be or isn't in line with the president's messaging, as has been clearly discussed. The White House, for their part, says the delay is due to, quote, evolved circumstances in the Middle East.

Here's the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): This last minute postponement of our briefing is outrageous. It's evasive, it's derelict. They're bobbing and weaving and ducking. Senators deserve full transparency. There is a legal obligation for the administration to inform Congress about precisely what is happening. What are they afraid of?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill for us as always. So, Lauren, the meetings are now rescheduled for the end of this week, but what are you hearing about this today?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, there was some palpable frustration, irritation, especially from Democrats yesterday on Capitol Hill, because if you remember, this was at least 72 hours after Saturday's initial attack on those Iran nuclear facilities. And there were a lot of Democrats who were very senior, who were still trying to get clear indications of what had taken place in Iran and wanted answers to their questions. Senator Adam Schiff said this yesterday in response to the postponed briefings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I don't buy the explanation at all. Many of us were demanding a briefing before the strikes occurred. And the fact that this is being put off again just raises questions about why have they not been more forthcoming with whatever our intelligence shows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: Now, Chuck Schumer did say yesterday that, you know, there was a belief from the administration that they wanted Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth to both be able to brief lawmakers in these classified settings.

But, again, Chuck Schumer's point yesterday was, we could have the briefing with lower level briefers yesterday, then move forward later in the week with Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth if they also wanted to come. As you know, Kate on the Hill, it is often preferred that you get more information, not less.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely right. Lauren, you also have new reporting on how the president is really ramping up pressure on Republicans on the Hill over that massive bill that we haven't talked about for a hot second that encompasses in basically his entire domestic agenda. What's your reporting?

FOX: Yes. Just to catch everyone up, this is the bill that passed out of the House of Representatives, has now been lingering over in the United States Senate and there is still a wide swath of issues that they have to figure out, from state and local tax deduction issues to cuts to Medicaid that a lot of senators are uncomfortable with. And despite the fact that they have all of these outstanding issues still to deal with, the deadline was supposed to be the 4th of July. That gives them just nine days. And what Republican leaders are really banking on right now is this belief that despite the fact they're hearing so much grumbling from members, from moderates to conservatives in the Senate, they believe that it's just going to be too hard for anyone to vote against Trump's agenda.

Now, does that remain to be true when rubber hits the road, this bill comes to the floor? That remains to be seen. And we should just note that there are a lot of outstanding issues that have not been finalized. So, it's really hard as a reporter and as a member to really get a sense of, are people voting for this or are they voting against it?

But right now, leadership certainly believes that the pressure from Donald Trump, and he posted yesterday on Truth Social that lawmakers need to get this done, that they shouldn't go on their 4th of July recess without passing it, that that is going to be the momentum they need. Of course, just a reminder, once they pass it out of the Senate, it's got to go back over to the House of Representatives.

And if you remember, Speaker Johnson had such a carefully built coalition to pass that bill in his chamber. If they change it, which they are looking to do in the Senate, that makes it more difficult for Johnson in a couple of days. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. With so many other factors at play, the president's pressure campaigns have proved very effective in the past. The idea of getting away for the 4th of July recess also has an impact, but also we have seen this blow up more than once when it comes to a carefully built coalition in the House. So, much, more to come.

Lauren, thank you as always, Lauren Fox from Capitol Hill for us.

We are expecting -- we've already heard a lot from President Trump already this morning. We're expecting to hear more from the president from the NATO summit any minute now. We're going to bring that to you when it happens live.

And also there is new CNN reporting that as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s newly formed vaccine advisory committee is set to meet today, CNN is learning that a study on vaccines set to be presented at this meeting, it does not appear to exist. We've got it for you coming up.

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JIMENEZ: Welcome back, everyone. Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new vaccine advisory committee is holding its first meeting despite a push to delay it. Senator Bill Cassidy expressed concerns it could further erode American's confidence in vaccine safety. And Senator Elizabeth Warren sent a letter to RFK Jr. saying his replacements have conflicts of interest.

I want to bring in CNN's Meg Tirrell who joins us now. So, Meg, I mean, what can we expect from this meeting today? Let's start there.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, this has been traditionally a very influential and normally a committee that people don't pay a lot of attention to, but that it really is going to change today. Nobody's expecting this to be a normal meeting of this group.

This is called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. And its recommendations really influence how we use vaccines in the United States. It influences the schedule of vaccines for both children and adults, and also influences insurance coverage for those vaccines as well as state policy on which vaccines might be required.

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So, this is a very influential panel.

But earlier this month, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all 17 members of the panel, these experts who'd been on this panel, all in one fell swoop, alleging that they have conflicts of interest. And two days later, he appointed a new panel of eight new members.

Now, people across the public health world and across the political spectrum have taken issue with some of the members added to this panel as well as the process to do it. Senator Bill Cassidy, who is a doctor from Louisiana, also the Republican chair of the Senate Health Committee, who was an instrumental vote to confirm Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posting on X this week, that, quote, the meeting should be delayed until the panel is fully staffed with more robust and balanced representation as required by law, including those who have more direct, relevant expertise.

This is however slated to go ahead at 10:00 A.M. this morning. But, Omar, we even found out just last. Tonight, one of these eight members has withdrawn from the panel. We learned from an HHS spokesperson, Dr. Michael Ross decided to withdraw during the financial holdings review. So, the eight are down to seven now. Omar?

JIMENEZ: And before you go, Meg, I mean, we're also getting reports that these advisers are going to be getting a presentation this week that appears to cite a study on vaccines that doesn't exist. I mean, what more do we know about that?

TIRRELL: Yes. So, one of the concerns about the meeting is that some new agenda items were added, including some that most in the public health world consider settled science. One of those issues is a preservative called fimarisol (ph) in vaccines that was largely removed from most childhood vaccines about 25 years ago.

But there's a presentation on the agenda that's going to be made by a person from Children's Health Defense, which is the anti-vaccine organization that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. used to lead before becoming Health Secretary. She posted her slides yesterday for that presentation, which had been slated for tomorrow. And we checked out the citations We noticed that one of them, which had been flagged by an infectious diseases physician, appeared to link to a study that actually didn't exist.

We reached out to the apparent lead author of that study who said he had not published that study. He published one with a similar title in a different journal, but it came to the opposite conclusions showing no potential link of harm from this preservative to brain effects.

And so there are a lot of concerns about how science might be construed here in this meeting today. And we should note also, Omar, that that slide was taken down, the presentation was put back up without that slide on it.

JIMENEZ: All right. Maybe because you reached out, but we may never know. Meg Tirrell, I know you'd be on top of it. Thank you for the reporting. Good to see you.

All right, more coming up, breaking overnight, a key intelligence report says United States strikes in Iran did not completely destroy nuclear sites. The White House says that report is, quote, flat out wrong. We're standing by to hear more from President Trump this hour, and we're going to bring you that when it happens.

We're also following overnight a major upset in New York City's mayoral election. New details on how an underdog political newcomer is poised to take the Democratic nomination. Stay with us.

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