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Sources: One Of Two Crew Rescued After Fighter Jet Shot Down In Iran; Trump Imposes New 100 Percent On Pharmaceuticals, Metals; Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) Discusses Iranian Response To Missing U.S. Member Rescue. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired April 03, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: And for that reason, in this blog post -- this leaked blog post from Anthropic, it says that it plans to roll out this next model really slowly on a limited basis to organizations at first so that they can get familiar with the technology and plan to protect themselves.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Wow. That is really saying something. Lisa Eadicicco, thank you for that alarming update.

We have a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starting right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: One crew member rescued, another still missing. The latest on the search and rescue mission after a U.S. fighter jet is shot down over Iran. What we're learning this hour.

Plus, President Trump has said the war with Iran will end shortly. But three sources have told CNN that Tehran still has a dangerous arsenal of weapons. We have the details on that just ahead.

And a view of Earth we have not seen in years. The Artemis II astronauts sending home pictures of our pale blue dot. NASA officials will give us an update on the mission to the moon this hour as we follow these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

First, our breaking news, a search is happening right now behind enemy lines in Iran. Sources say the U.S. military is making painstaking efforts to extract a lost crew member after their F-15 fighter jet was shot down by Iranian forces. The other member of that crew fortunately has been flown to safety and is now recovering. But the Iranians are offering their citizens a reward to capture the missing American. CNN's Matthew Chance is monitoring developments for us in Doha, Qatar.

Matthew, this is still a very fluid and dangerous situation. What is the latest?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly is. And details are still very sketchy coming out of Iran about the latest on the search and rescue operations that we understand are still underway to try and find the second U.S. crew member.

As you mentioned, one of the crew members in that two crewed member F- 15E Strike Eagle U.S. warplane that was shot down earlier today over Iran has been recovered. We understand that individual is in U.S. custody and is having medical treatment and is alive, which is good. But the status of the other crew member is at this point unknown.

It's interesting, though, and significant that this event has taken place because it is the first time that a U.S. plane has been shot down over Iran since the war there began at the end of February. And as you mentioned, it -- it underlines how dangerous the situation is there, despite the fact that President Trump and other members of the Trump administration have been talking about how the war was virtually won and about how air superiority is being enjoyed by U.S. forces in the skies over the Islamic Republic. I mean, that was clearly an overstatement.

There's been significant damage done, we understand, to Iran's air defenses. But when you've got a country like Iran with manpads, with those shoulder-launched, you know, surface-to-air weapons that are highly mobile, very difficult to detect, air superiority, you know, cannot be absolute. And I think that's what's been underlined today.

It also sort of underlines the whole danger of being at war in Iran for an extended period, a war that President Trump has now said will last for about another two weeks, possibly another three weeks. It's deeply unpopular. There have already been 13 Americans killed, something like 365 Americans injured, some of them very seriously. That's obviously tragic, but it's also a growing political liability for a president as he pushes forward with this deeply unpopular Iran war.

SANCHEZ: Matthew, what can you tell us about this reward being offered by Tehran to its citizens for the capture of this U.S. service member?

CHANCE: Yes, well, I mean, look, it would obviously be a huge propaganda win for the -- for the Iranians if they could capture alive a -- a -- a U.S. crew member, a U.S. pilot or one of the pilots, as it's describing them, that have been shot down. A couple of rewards have -- have been announced. You've got state television basically saying, calling -- calling on the citizens of the area of southwestern Iran, where the plane is believed to have gone down, offering them the dollar equivalent of $76,000, or the local currency equivalent, for anyone who finds a crew member alive.

We've also had a situation where an Iranian soccer player has offered his footballing medals for a -- as a reward as well. And so, it's sort of taken on a -- a -- a popular dimension. I have to say the Iranian state media say that so far, their efforts and the efforts of civilians in Iran to try and find that -- that missing crew member have so far been unsuccessful.

[15:05:05]

SANCHEZ: Matthew Chance live for us in Doha. Thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: We're joined now by retired Army Major General Randy Manner. He served as Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. 3rd Army in Kuwait. General, thanks for being with us. This is just a really tough

uncertain time when it comes to this second crew member. How is the military focusing this search, especially as Iran has not been able to locate this crew member?

MAJ. GEN. RANDY MANNER (Ret.), FORMER DEPUTY COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. 3RD ARMY IN KUWAIT: Anytime there are operations -- air operations, you have HC-130 cargo aircraft that are at search and rescue with Black Hawks flying in rotation, ready to go in literally, I mean, within minutes of there being a problem. And then, of course, those aircraft, which are very slow moving and they fly very low, they are also escorted by fighters.

So, it's something where the response to be able to find an American pilot would be extensive and immediate. And, of course, my -- my thoughts, of course, are with the pilots and their families, as well as the entire rescue team and their families as well, because they're all in harm's way as they try to safeguard this remaining American fighting for a man.

KEILAR: We had some really important reporting here on CNN last night by Natasha Bertrand and team about Iran's capabilities and just how capable they are when it comes to launching missiles and drones. And I think that if you are an American who has been listening to the rhetoric of this administration, it might surprise you to know that, yes, Iran has, I mean, certainly suffered in its capabilities, but it still has a considerable amount of them. What does this event tell us about Iran's capabilities?

MANNER: I think it tells us more about what the administration is saying in terms of are they -- to the extent of exaggerating certain factors. It's important to understand that while the -- the offensive capabilities of Iran have been greatly diminished, they have substantial ability to still strike out at its neighbors and to strike out at our military bases.

On top of that, their ground capability, if we were to go in and occupy anything, is quite frankly massive. And having several thousand airborne or light infantry soldiers are not going to be sufficient against the Iranian army. We do have the strongest military on the planet. The reality is we have to be able to be thoughtful in how we would do any kind of an operation if it was to involve ground forces.

KEILAR: What is the psychological effect on this event for U.S. forces and also for the American public?

MANNER: For the U.S. military, it's -- it's a very sad, but it's an essential part of, quite frankly, the -- why we serve. We serve to defend the Constitution, to defend the American people, to implement and to execute the lawful orders of our -- our leaders to the best that we can. And so, obviously, it hurts significantly to lose an aircraft or to lose a fellow airman. And at the same time, people are dedicated to the cause, and they will persevere.

In terms of the American public, that's a different story. It will vary according to their beliefs in the administration and then how close they are to military families as well. I just hope that everybody is united in supporting our military and their families.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly hoping that they are united in that.

General, we do have some new video, and this is coming from Iranian state-run media showing Iranians looking for, I don't know if it's just this remaining unrecovered crew member or if this was at -- at the point when both had been unaccounted for. But the point is that they're really incentivizing people to go out and look. They have been offering a reward for anyone who might capture one of these Americans. What are -- what are your concerns here?

MANNER: Well, it does not surprise me that the Iranian regime is incentivizing people to look, the local population to look. I am somewhat encouraged by the, at least, the -- the official releases have said, do not harm the pilot, make sure that he is kept safe. And so, those are very encouraging words in the event that the Iranian people find this individual first.

As we know, when we lost pilots in North Vietnam, they were not always treated that way whatsoever.

[15:10:03]

They were many times tortured, beaten, and so on.

So, let's hope that if that pilot is captured that he is treated under the rules of the Geneva Convention, which of course is a bottom line, important baseline for all American military members.

KEILAR: Yes, let's certainly be hoping that.

General Randy Manner, we really appreciate your time today. Thank you.

And still to come, we have more in our breaking news on the search and rescue mission for that U.S. service member, that crew member of that fighter jet who is missing in Iran. We'll have a live report from the White House.

And then later, new out of this world images from the Artemis II crew as they begin day three of their historic mission around the moon. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:15:20]

SANCHEZ: Today we're following breaking news. Sources telling CNN that one of two crew members have been rescued after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down over Iran. An Israeli official confirming to CNN that Israel has postponed planned strikes on Iran so as not to interfere with ongoing search and rescue efforts. Let's go live now to the White House with CNN's Kristen Holmes.

Kristen, what are you hearing?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, well, we are told by the Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that the president has been briefed and is monitoring the situation, but that was hours ago. We still haven't heard from President Trump. The last time he posted anything on Truth Social was more than six hours ago, and we've seen no statement from the president or from the White House about these events in detail.

Now, I was told that some of that is being done intentionally. They want all of the communications on this to be streamlined. They want it to come from U.S. Central Command. But I was also told that Central Command was going to put out a statement in regards to all of this, and we still haven't seen that. That, again, was several hours ago when we first started asking questions and seeing these reports.

Otherwise, we've been confirming from other sources, other U.S. officials, what we're hearing about the search and rescue, about the crews on the ground. Now, of course, for the White House, this is an all-hands-on-deck situation. We saw Vice President J.D. Vance arriving at the White House a short time ago. And they're not just the concerns for the safety of the missing crew member, but also for those who are part of the search and rescue effort, those Americans as well.

And in a larger picture here, Boris, I mean, this comes just days after President Trump was addressing the nation, trying to sell this war to the American people with the same idea that essentially all of the air forces had been obliterated, that the U.S. was essentially already winning this war.

And part of the reason that he came up to the podium to give that remark is because there has been increasing concern inside of the White House about the political ramifications of this war. We are inching ever closer to those midterm elections in November, and it doesn't feel as though this war, even though they have said would end in two to three weeks, is actually going to end in that time frame.

The political piece of this is critical for this White House, who did not want to play politics in this. Remember, President Trump actually ran on the idea of no more wars. And we are told that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles herself has been concerned about the political outcome from this. It's not just the idea of boots on the ground. It's not just the idea that Americans don't approve overwhelmingly of this war. It's also the fact that the gas prices are still high, the oil prices are still high.

So how this now fits into that narrative that we heard from President Trump just two days ago, we have to wait and see.

SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes, live for us at the White House. Thank you so much for that update.

After the break, we're going to get reaction to the downing of the U.S. fighter jet from a Marine and member of the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman Seth Moulton joins us after a quick break. Stay with us.

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[15:23:00]

KEILAR: President Trump is hitting some pharmaceutical companies with a new 100 percent tariff. CNN's Meg Tirrell is joining us now to break down which companies are at risk and what drugs may see higher prices.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the 100 percent tariffs that President Trump's administration announced on pharmaceuticals seems like a big headline, but there are so many exclusions from these tariffs that it's unclear exactly how many medicines they might actually end up affecting.

Now, they are due to take effect in a few months, but one of those exceptions is for companies that have struck agreements to at least start moving manufacturing of their medicines to the United States. For those companies who have these approved plans, their tariffs will be 20 percent.

And a reason for that is because the Trump administration says that is a risk to national security to be importing so many medicines and ingredients for medicines from other countries. And so, that is one exception to the tariffs. But there are a lot of other ones.

First of which is that these 100 percent tariffs don't apply to generic drugs. Now, generic drugs make up about 90 percent of prescriptions in the United States. So, that is a huge bucket of medicines these tariffs will not apply to. And of course, that comes after there were a lot of warnings that putting tariffs on generic medicines could lead to drug shortages. And a big reason for that is that generic drugs are typically sold at very low margins, so very little cost higher than what it costs to manufacture them.

So, making their costs higher could lead to some manufacturers deciding to leave the market on some medicines. So, there were fears about shortages around generic drugs. That now is off the table for at least a year.

There are other exceptions as well. Companies that have struck so- called most favored nation deals with the Trump administration will not be subject to these tariffs. Also, products that are made in countries that have struck trade deals with the Trump administration, so that includes a number of countries across Europe and Asia, they will have lower tariffs or no tariffs at all, depending on their agreements.

[15:25:01]

Also, there won't be tariffs applied to certain specialty pharmaceuticals, including drugs for rare diseases, some animal health drugs, drugs for certain conditions and other specialty pharmaceuticals, as long as the Trump administration determines that these medicines meet an unmet need, a high unmet need in the United States. So, quite a few exceptions here.

In terms of those most favored nation deals, remember, these were deals that the Trump administration was striking on some of the largest manufacturing companies of pharmaceuticals in the world. They were starting to do this at the end of last year. And what most favored nation refers to is a pricing structure where companies promise, at least for some drugs for some patients, not to price them higher in the United States than they're priced in a bucket of peer countries around the world.

And so, we've seen this with more than a dozen of the biggest drug makers that they've struck these deals. Now, there are sort of mixed reactions to whether this is actually lowering drug prices. One area of success has been in the GLP-1 weight loss drug space, but more broadly, questions about whether this is really bringing drug prices down. But as part of those deals, these drug companies are exempted from tariffs, and they agreed to increase their manufacturing presence in the United States.

So, quite a few exceptions here from this 100 percent tariff rule. It may still apply to some companies and some medicines, but they don't take effect for a few months. And it appears that the Trump administration is using this to try to apply pressure to get maybe more companies to come to the table, agree to move their manufacturing, maybe strike more of these most favored nation deals.

And so, we'll have to see over the next few months how big of an impact this actually has on medicines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A search and rescue mission is underway for a crew member of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down over Iran. Sources telling CNN another crew member was rescued by American forces and is receiving medical treatment. Iranian state media has issued pleas for Iranian civilians to look for the missing crew member. And this is new video that appears to show Iranians doing just that. One local official has offered a $76,000 award to anyone who finds the service member alive.

We're joined now by Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. He's a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

That is just chilling to hear that that is the plea being issued by the Iranian government. What is your reaction to that?

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): I mean, we kind of knew this might happen. I mean, this is the risk of going to war with a country like Iran. And it's important to remember, Brianna, that this happened a day after the President got on TV to the nation and said, among other bombastic claims, that they had completely eliminated Iranian anti-aircraft facilities.

So, a day later, 24 hours later, they shoot down an advanced U.S. fighter jet. This just shows how incredibly out of his league the President is. The Commander-in-Chief doesn't know what he's talking about. He's lying to the American public, and he's putting our troops at grave risk.

KEILAR: And Congress, of course, is on recess. You are all home. But are you getting briefed on this? Have you been briefed on this? Do you expect to be?

MOULTON: We expect to be briefed well after the fact, because that's what this administration does. They tell Congress well after the fact what's going on. They, you know, juice up the brief so that they sound like pep talks, rather than actually doing the proper oversight that's required here, rather than having serious conversations about the way forward.

And right now, this administration is totally lost because they don't know what to do next. They don't know how to get out of this mess. They do not know how to end this war. If there's one thing that came out of the President's speech the other night, besides the fact that he's senile and -- and falling asleep, is that there's no plan. There's no plan whatsoever. Just a whole bunch of things about all the things they're going to destroy and whatnot, and then a plea with Iran to come to the negotiating table to reopen the Strait and end the war.

KEILAR: I want to talk a little bit more about the capabilities of Iran, what this incident is demonstrating about that. This is what the president said on Wednesday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight, Iran's navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons, factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces. Very few of them left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN had exclusive reporting last night that roughly half of Iran's missile launchers are still intact. Thousands of one-way attack drones remain in Iran's arsenal. They're basically at about 50 percent with those, which is still considerable.

[15:30:01]

I wonder, and considering that we know, there has been another U.S. jet that was hit by Iran. It managed to make ...