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U.S. Strikes Military Targets on Kharg Island; Democratic Breakthrough in North Carolina; NASA Releases Photos. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired April 07, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Population.

As you mentioned, the U.S. did carry out strikes. A U.S. official confirming to me, and also the White House confirming to my colleagues, on Kharg Island, but those sites struck were military strikes. They did not target oil infrastructure there on Kharg, which is something President Trump has talked about, right, as a way to stop Iran from being able to export oil. Kharg is where they export some 90 percent of their oil. But at least on oil infrastructure, those attacks from the U.S. perspective have not yet begun.

Hours from now we could see this war expand beyond where it is today, but already today it is quite active.

And I'll say before I go, Sara, that Iran continues to strike as well. We've been here in Tel Aviv experiencing a number of air raid signals over the course of the day.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's interesting that you point out that some of these strikes are already happening on Iran's infrastructure, although, albeit done by Israel, but not to the extent yet as to what the president has put it, where he said all power plants and all bridges will be taken out.

We will wait and see. The deadline is quickly approaching.

Jim Sciutto, thank you for your reporting there in Tel Aviv for us.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now, retired Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt and CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier.

General, just let me start with you.

Word of this new round of attacks on Kharg Island, which is right there. We can zoom in and we're being told by various officials that the targets were the military sites here, not the oil facilities there. But what would be the point of this new round of attacks on Kharg, General? BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET.), FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POLITICAL-MILITARY AFFAIRS: Well, I can think of two reasons. Number one, it would be a preparatory attack, softening it up, so to speak, if there was some sort of land invasion to try to secure the infrastructure without destroying it. I wonder if they've actually knocked out any of the electrical transmission lines throughout that are connected to the oil infrastructure. As you know, the oil has to be pumped into tankers. If they can take out the transmission lines, they can actually stop those pumps without significantly affecting the infrastructure and the ability to restart it sometime in the future quickly.

BERMAN: Kim, I want to ask you about this new statement that was released by the president just a short time ago with this language, "a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." He goes on to say he doesn't want that to happen but it probably will.

This is sort of a new extreme in this maximalist language that he's used to destroy things inside Iran. He's talked about bridges before. He's talked about power plants. Now he's talking about a whole civilization. How do you think that will be received inside Iran?

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes. You know, already inside Iran people who hate the regime were getting tired of being targeted by U.S. and Israeli attacks. And seeing they're, you know, afraid to go out to get groceries, water shortages, power outages, et cetera. And a pervasive sense of worry, when might a stray missile, et cetera, hit me.

But now, when you're talking about wiping out a civilization, the message that sends is, this is not President Trump speaking past the regime to the Iranian people and saying, we're going to take them out so that you can step forward and take back your country. It's promising decimation.

It also, as Jim Sciutto mentioned, raises questions about, you know, when a judge looks at what is a war crime, you also look at intent. And this sounds punitive. This isn't about hitting the dual use facilities that are majority used by the military. This is promising wiping out everything. There are also real concerns in the gulf about this, about what sort of blowback they're going to face.

BERMAN: You know, General, it's interesting, Kim and I both covered you when you were in Iraq with the U.S. military there during the occupation, speaking on behalf of the military there. And I remember, vaguely, that there was an effort to distinguish between attacks on the terrorists that were there and the Baathists and the loyalists of Saddam Hussein, and the Iraqi people.

From a military standpoint, when you're working behind these strategic efforts, when you see language making this a war of civilizations, what does that do to your efforts?

KIMMITT: It completely turns it around. It makes, in the minds of the civilians, as Kim said, it makes them the enemy. In fact, 90 percent of the people, it is estimated, don't like the regime. They would like to see the regime change. But at the end of the day, we've got to make the enemy the regime, not the United States of America.

And I think tonight we will sort of prove one way or the other what side they're going to be on going forward.

[09:35:03]

BERMAN: And, General, we have a little map here that shows some of the power plants inside Iran. One of the things the president has said is they'll hit each and every power plant. Just explain the distinction. And I know it's not black and white. There are a lot of shades of gray here between dual use, which can be used for military and purely civilian infrastructure. Is there such a thing as a purely civilian based power plant?

KIMMITT: Well, I suppose there are if there are no military bases that receive electricity. It's hard to suspect that that will be the case given the way that Iran disperses their forces. There are some considerations of proportionality. There are some considerations of necessity. And I've got to tell you, I agree with the fundamental strategic objectives of taking out their nuclear program, taking out their ballistic missile and their proxies, but I don't agree with what we're talking about here.

BERMAN: And, Kim, finally, I mean negotiations are underway through Pakistan. Maybe intermediaries there. J.D. Vance, the vice president, was saying that there will be a lot of talks before tonight. What do you think the expectations are? If there is a place to meet in the middle there, what's the middle, and how close is Iran to the middle in terms of the proposals they're making, because they're talking about tolls in the Strait of Hormuz. They're talking about a promise of no more attacks in Iran or in, you know, in Gaza or in Lebanon ever.

DOZIER: Yes, look, each side is still sticking to very extreme positions with the U.S. saying that basically you have to give up your ballistic missiles and all the things that the Iranian regime sees essential for its survival. Whereas on the Iranian side they're saying they want things like war reparations. They want Israel to stop attacking Lebanon, as well as the attacks on Iran. So, they seem very far apart. And I just heard from a senior gulf diplomat who said, look, we want them to come to a deal, but the deal has to include that Iran also isn't going to keep hitting us.

So, we're of a mixed feeling right now because peace is what we need. But if the U.S. carries out this threat, Iran, so far, has been doing damaging attacks against gulf facilities, desalination, electricity, et cetera, but it hasn't unleashed the scale that gulf officials fear it could and cause the kind of destruction equal throughout the gulf to whatever the U.S. plans to mete out against Iran.

BERMAN: Yes, no doubt an entire region that has been hit repeatedly over the last month, very much on edge as this deadline, this new extended, revised deadline of 8 p.m. tonight approaches.

Kim Dozier, General Mark Kimmitt, great to see you both. Thank you.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There are new images just in from the far side of the moon. Take a look at this. What NASA just released. We'll bring that to you next.

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[09:42:42]

BERMAN: All right, election day in Georgia and Wisconsin. So, naturally, we're talking about North Carolina. But there are really exciting, interesting races happening in North Carolina. And for that, CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is here.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I don't know geography that well. That's the problem here.

BERMAN: But the point is, we talk a lot about the race for the Senate.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Because the Senate might be in more play than it has been in the past.

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: And one of the races that Democrats maybe are most hopeful for is in North Carolina to flip a seat there.

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, you want to talk about a state that Donald Trump has won three times. Three times. But it looks to me that Roy Cooper, the former governor of the great state of North Carolina, has a real shot here. Look at the Kalshi prediction market. Chance Cooper, the Dem, actually wins this race? His chances have gone way up. Back on October 7th it was 63 percent. Of course that was six months ago. Now look at this, an 86 percent chance to flip a Senate seat in a state that Donald John Trump won by three points. And he is the clear favorite at this point, the former governor.

BERMAN: Now, we call it -- we call it chance for a Democratic breakthrough, right?

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: But one thing I do want to point out is there have been Democrats in the Senate from North Carolina before fairly recently, but maybe I'm dating myself here.

ENTEN: I think you're dating yourself a little bit here, Mr. Berman. Why do I say that? Because, in fact, the last democrat to actually win a Senate race in North Carolina was back when I was in college. It was Kay Hagan back in 2008. In fact, the only living former Democratic senator is John Edwards, who won all the way back, the last midterm win was in 1998. I was in elementary school there, grammar school there, really dating myself. That is how long ago. But as you pointed out, this 2008 was a wave year. And what you see

is, when Democrats do well nationally, and they are doing well right now, you can, in fact, flip a Senate seat as right now Roy Cooper is predicted, forecasted to flip in North Carolina.

BERMAN: All right, so in a wave year, Democrats can do well because maybe the president's dragging the incumbent party down in the state. What is the president's approval in North Carolina?

ENTEN: Yes, OK. So, Donald Trump has won North Carolina three times. He won it by three points back in 2024. But right now he is dragging -- he is dragging Democrats down, because just take a look here.

[09:45:03]

Look at this. OK, Trump's net approval rating in North Carolina. John's off on the side laughing. Look at this, in spring of 2025, Donald Trump was three points underwater overall. Among independents he was 18 points underwater.

Look at how low he has fallen now. Among independents he's 42 points underwater. And overall, he's 15 points underwater. Right now, North Carolina is not a pink state. It is much more of a purple, dare I say light blue state, with how unpopular Donald Trump is dragging down Republicans. And he may, in fact, push Roy Cooper in to the Senate.

BERMAN: And again, once again, I'll just point out the independents here. And that is a staggering --

ENTEN: This is -- woo-hoo (ph).

BERMAN: Yes. And I was only laughing at your physicality. You must burn thousands of calories during this segment.

All right, we're talking about the president's net approval there. How about the war?

ENTEN: How about the war? This is just another thing that I think is dragging down Republicans in the state. Look at this net military -- net approval of U.S. military action in Iran among North Carolinians. Among all voters, 19 points underwater. Again, this independent number, look at this, we're talking 41 points underwater. This war, if it continues on, will continue to drag Republican candidates down across the political map.

BERMAN: All right, very interesting to see that, particularly in a state where there is a large military presence.

Harry Enten, thank you very much for this.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BERMAN: A lot of news. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:50:49]

BOLDUAN: And some awe-inspiring breaking news now. Moments ago, NASA released some of the first images taken by the astronauts aboard the Artemis II from the far side of the moon during their moon mission and flyby. And they're breathtaking.

Let's get to Randi Kaye. You're seeing one of them right here. But let's get to Randi Kaye, who's at the Johnson Space Center for much more on this.

Walk us through what we're looking at now, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty amazing. Kate. They took about 10,000 images during their lunar flyby. And let's just take a look at that first one there. It is the earth dipping behind the lunar horizon. And you can see such detail of the moon in the foreground of that photo. Just a stunning photo.

And then the other one we have is of a total solar eclipse. We haven't seen one of those from space like that since the Apollo days. So that is also really remarkable.

And just the way that they describe things as they saw them on the lunar flyby. They had 35 lunar targets, and they were talking about the new craters that they were seeing and how -- Christina Koch was saying at one point that one of them looked like it was a -- like a lampshade with tiny pinpricks of light poking through. And this is what the lunar scientists were hoping for. They were hungry for this description from the astronauts in space.

But they -- now they did, as expected, they lost contact with Mission Control here in Houston for about 40 minutes during that lunar flyby. And when they regained communication with them, this is what Christina Koch had to say to the Mission Control here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA KOCH, Artemis II MISSION SPECIALIST: Houston, we have you the same. And it is so great to hear from earth again.

We will construct science outposts. We will drive rovers. We will do radio astronomy. We will found companies. We will bolster industry. We will inspire. But ultimately, we will always choose earth. We will always choose each other.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Integrity from earth, our single system, fragile and interconnected, we copy. Those of us that can are looking back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And, Kate, two very cool things happening today. There's going to be an in-space call between the astronauts and the International Space Station astronauts. So, that's really something we're looking forward to. And they'll also be debriefing the lunar scientists here at Johnson Space Center around 3 p.m. Eastern Time today, Kate. BOLDUAN: And they're making their way back now. I mean what -- if I

had just done what they had done, I'd just sleep the rest of the time. I mean is there any indication from mission control what happens until splashdown?

KAYE: Well, they're going to sleep until another couple of hours today before they wake them up. And today is pretty much a low-key day for them except for what I was just noting before. And then they are going to use that free ride home, as they call it, where they will leave the lunar sphere of influence where the moon's gravity is stronger than the earths, and they're going to slingshot their way home, back to earth for a splashdown off the coast of San Diego on Friday.

BOLDUAN: On Friday. Now, they've got another thing to look forward to, as well as what will be a really cool moment.

KAYE: You bet.

BOLDUAN: The only humans in space talking to each other. I mean that's like quite a moment when they start, when they speak to the International Space Station. It will be just really -- what do you guys see and what's out your window today?

It's great to see you, Randi. Thank you so much.

KAYE: Exactly.

BERMAN: They can get a connection up there. I can't get a signal in Manhattan.

BOLDUAN: Would you call it -- but would you call it a phone call? That was one of the things I was struggling with this morning.

Sara.

SIDNER: Can you hear me? Hello? Hello? They've got it clear.

All right, what comes after the end of an era? CBS has revealed who will be replacing Stephen Colbert's late night talk show after "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" ends next month. It's after ten years on late night. The vacant slot will be filled by "Comics Unleashed," with Byron Allen. CBS will air two back-to-back episodes of the late- night comedy show, followed by "Funny You Should Ask," a syndicated game show also created by Allen.

All right, also on our radar, it's a moment 37 years in the making. Michigan capping off a dominant March Madness run to win the NCAA men's basketball championship late last night, their first since 1989.

[09:55:09]

Taylor Swift said that was a good year. Anyway, the Wolverines came out strong in the first half against UConn. The Huskies battled back and got within four points in the final minute of the game, which you probably already know, because a lot of us were watching it, but Michigan held on. The final score 69-63. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUSTY MAY, MICHIGAN HEAD COACH: When you bring a group this talented together and they decide from the beginning that they're going to do it this way, and they never waver and they never change, that's probably the most uncommon thing in athletics now.

But for these guys to cut down the nets after all they sacrificed is pretty special.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Take a look at the celebration on the streets. Back on campus in Ann Arbor, some students lining up as early as 10 p.m. Sunday to get a prime spot for the party. Here's what I learned. Never waver, never change, John. That's what we expect from you.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Go ahead.

BERMAN: I just wavered a second ago.

BOLDUAN: No wavering. Not when you're wearing the maze and blue. No wavering.

BERMAN: I think I just wavered again. I think I just wavered twice in the last five minutes.

BOLDUAN: That sounds so creepy when you say it.

Thanks for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL Ooey-gooey (ph). "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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