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Hegseth Says U.S. Isn't Going Anywhere; Trump Announces Ceasefire; Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) is Interviewed about the Strait of Hormuz and Iran; Gilgo Beach Suspect to Plead Guilty; Marc Caputo is Interviewed about the Iran Peace Deal. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:01:46]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We'll begin with breaking news this morning.

We just heard, just moments ago, from the Pentagon at the first briefing since the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Defense Secretary Hegseth calling Operation Epic Fury an historic and overwhelming military victory. Hegseth claiming that Iran was begging for a deal.

Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Iran wants it to happen. They've had enough. Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory. By any measure, Epic Fury decimated Iran's military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: We should note, he's using the past tense, making it sound like the war is over. Hegseth also said the U.S. was prepared to follow through on President Trump's threat to destroy Iran's whole civilization if it didn't agree to a deal. And he appeared to confirm there is still nuclear material in Iran, saying that it would be removed under the deal.

As for the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil route, Hegseth indicated that it's open, and said that U.S. forces will be, quote, "hanging around" the region to try to ensure safe passage. The president has suggested to ABC that securing that waterway will be a joint venture with Iran.

We have live team coverage of all these developments. Let's start now with Natasha Bertrand in Washington. There are a lot of statements being made by Secretary of Defense

Hegseth about this war. What stood out to you as you heard what was being said between him and General Dan Caine?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Hegseth, of course, went out of his way to declare that this was a total and complete military victory and say that that is why Iran decided to come to the table right now because of the military pressure that the U.S. was placing on this, quote/unquote, new regime. Again, repeating this idea that there are new leaders in place who are perhaps more reasonable and more willing to negotiate with the U.S. than the old leaders, despite the fact that many of the leaders, including the president of Iran, are still there, including the ayatollah, whose son is now the current leader -- the current supreme leader of Iran.

So, what we heard from Hegseth was a lot of, frankly, hyperbolic information about the success of the U.S. military operation. Yes, the U.S. did manage to degrade much of Iran's military, very much degrade its navy and, of course, its air force, but at the same time he did exaggerate certain things, including by saying that the U.S. military completely depleted and decimated Iran's missile launching capability. We are told, according to our sources, that roughly half of those missile launchers are still intact after a month of U.S. bombardment over Iran. They still have thousands of one-way attack drones. And of course, they are still able to hold the Strait of Hormuz at risk here and control it, something that the Iranians have said they are going to continue to do even as of this morning, saying that they are still requiring coordination with their military before ships can pass through.

[09:05:06]

One of the more interesting things that he's talked about, of course, was also the nuclear material and the question of what is going to happen to it because it is still deeply buried underground, according to our sources as well. Material that can be used to create a nuclear weapon. He said that the U.S. essentially is monitoring it and expects Iran to give it back. And if not, the U.S. is going to go in and take it.

Here's a little bit of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It's always been non-negotiable that they won't have nuclear capabilities. And so right now it's buried and we're watching it. We know exactly what they have. And they know that. And they will either give it to us, which the president has laid out, we'll -- they'll give it to us voluntarily, we'll get it, we'll take it, we'll take it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: Now, President Trump had said that this might be a joint effort, that the U.S. and Iran might go in and get the, quote/unquote, nuclear dust together. It remains to be seen how that is going to be worked out in these negotiations in the coming days.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Natasha Bertrand.

Let's go now to our chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward. She is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Give us some sense of the reaction that you're seeing. And I know it's very hard to get immediate reaction, but this has been building and building. And there are some discussions about potential talks in Pakistan, in person talks. What are you learning from the region?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sara, make no mistake, there is a palpable sigh of relief across the gulf about the prospect of this two-week ceasefire. I've been speaking to a source here who said, you know what, if President Trump had gone ahead with his threat to decimate Iran's civilian infrastructure, we would have been the ones to pay the price in terms of retaliatory strikes. So, certainly there is a feeling of relief that potentially cooler heads are prevailing, that there's a possibility to get people to the negotiating table.

But I also want to be clear about what the ceasefire looks like here in the gulf today. So far we have seen, and I'm just going to give you the numbers, in the United Arab Emirates, 17 missiles intercepted, 36 drones intercepted. In Kuwait, at least 28 drones have been intercepted. There have been attacks on Bahrain as well. And of course, we have seen Israel absolutely hammering Lebanon. The largest swath of strikes across the country, more than 100 in a period of ten minutes. And that, again, calling into question whether Iran will feel compelled to respond in some way.

Then you look at the chasm that clearly remains between the two sides, between the U.S. and Iran, the 15-point plan that President Trump has been talking about, Iran's ten-point plan, all of those issues that you just heard Natasha go through, whether it's the highly enriched uranium, whether it's the ballistic missile launchers, whether its Iran's regional proxies, which are still operating, or, crucially, the Strait of Hormuz, which despite what we've heard from the White House and Secretary Hegseth still appears to be in a sort of chokehold.

And so the question is, when we do see, supposedly on Friday, Iran and the U.S. engage face to face, how are they going to be able to cobble together some kind of a ceasefire agreement for a more longer lasting peace that can possibly address the very real issues and concerns of both sides, Sara.

SIDNER: Very good points made by you.

Clarissa Ward, thank you so much for your reporting, as well as our Natasha Bertrand. Appreciate it.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with us now is Congressman Ben Cline, a Republican from Virginia on the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman, great to see you this morning.

REP. BEN CLINE (R-VA): Good to be here.

BERMAN: President Trump, a few minutes ago, was speaking to Jonathan Karl of ABC News. They were talking about the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's suggestion that it could collect tolls to allow ships, in order for Iran to permit ships to go through. This is what Jonathan wrote. "This morning. I asked President Trump if he's OK with the Iranians charging a toll for all ships that go through the Strait of Hormuz. He told me there might be a joint U.S.-Iran venture to charge tolls. We're thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It's a way of securing it. Also securing it from lots of other people. It's a beautiful thing."

How would you feel about a deal that would provide the Iranian regime with potentially millions and millions of dollars a day for passage through the Straits of Hormuz?

CLINE: Well, first, I want to agree with the president that this ceasefire is a beautiful thing. It's great that we are able to get this two-week ceasefire for everyone (ph). It's a significant, positive development. I want to commend all those who were able to bring what is essentially a terrorist regime to the table to stop their attacks, to allow flow of goods through the Strait of Hormuz and to move forward.

Now, all of these things will be part of the negotiations.

[09:10:02]

But it's a major step forward, and we should be glad that the hostilities have stopped.

BERMAN: My question was, how would you feel about Iran collecting money to open the Straits?

CLINE: You know, that's one point in a number of points that are going to be raised as these negotiations continue. But I think the cessation of hostilities, the fact that this terrorist regime that has been attacking Americans, killing Americans for decades, has stopped attacking ships going through the gulf. And so -- the Strait. We are -- we should be glad about that.

BERMAN: How would you feel about giving this regime, which, as you said, has been terrorizing, killing people for decades, how would you feel about giving them money for opening the Strait?

CLINE: I don't think they should be allowed to continue to operate as they've been operating. And so, what you're seeing is essentially taking them to the brink, which the president has done, and they have stopped. I don't hear that they are assessing tolls on any ships going through the Strait of Hormuz right now. So, to the degree that that has stopped, I think that's a positive development.

BERMAN: It's one of the suggestions in perhaps their ten-point plan, that they would somehow collect revenue through the Strait. I'm just asking, if it does come to that in the agreement, and the president of the United States saying to Jonathan Karl he's talking about it, I'm trying to assess if you're OK with Iran, this regime, which has been killing and terrorizing people, collecting money.

CLINE: He hasn't -- the president has not agreed to their ten-point plan. No one in Congress has agreed to their ten-point plan. So, no one's going to be OK with that kind of continued tax by Iran on ships going through the Strait. So, we'll continue to negotiate. The president's going to continue to negotiate over all of these points. But we want to allow this administration to continue to negotiate as they move forward.

BERMAN: You, just the other day, said that this war was not a war of choice. You said, "this is something that America must engage on because Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon."

So, if after the negotiation is complete, if it does get complete, and Iran continues to have the 900 pounds or so of enriched uranium buried in the ground, would you be comfortable with that outcome?

CLINE: The success of the operation in destroying the capability of Iran to develop a nuclear weapon has been amazing. And so, we should congratulate those who have successfully destroyed that capability. And that was a major goal. That was essentially what made this a necessity, an operation of necessity instead of an operation of choice.

So, we should be glad that their ability to craft a nuclear weapon, even if some of the nuclear dust, as the president says, is buried underneath the Iranian territory, is still there, it's not capable of being put into a form of a weapon.

BERMAN: So, a conclusion that would be just watching this 900 pounds of nuclear material, you'd be OK with that outcome?

CLINE: Well, you have to be able to continue to monitor to make sure they do not continue to pursue that development of a nuclear weapon. So, as any result of these negotiations, you're going to have to have that continued monitoring status that's not going to be a negotiable outcome for them to be able to initiate that pursuit of a nuclear weapon again.

BERMAN: Understood. Congressman Ben Cline, from Virginia, we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you so much, sir.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A huge turn of events in the case that has spanned decades. The accused Gilgo Beach serial killer expected today to change his plea now to pleading guilty to the murders.

And the search for an American woman missing at sea has now become a recovery mission. What we have learned about her disappearance in the Bahamas, and the questions now being raised around that.

And toilet paper, paper towel, diapers, up in flames. But like a lot of them. Look at this. A warehouse worker is now accused of starting this massive fire.

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[09:18:34]

BOLDUAN: This morning, a major development is expected in a case that has just haunted the Gilgo Beach community for nearly three decades. The suspect accused in the murders of seven women whose remains were found on Long Island's south shore is expected to change his plea to guilty. Rex Heuermann previously denied allegations of murder following his arrest in 2023. Today, according to a source familiar with the case, he's expected to, quote, "take responsibility for all seven murders."

Joining me right now is CNN's Jean Casarez. She's got much more on this.

What are you learning?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a case -- you know, I always say that there are certain cases that are just legal history. And this is that case, and today is that day, because this is a case that was on Long Island, New York, and it has become famous, but it has been unsolved, until today, we believe.

And it was a 1993 on Long Island, Kate, that young women started going missing. Parents never saw their daughters, young children never saw their mothers. They didn't know what happened to them. They were just gone.

They finally, in 2010, discovered four bodies on Gilgo Beach. They were all wrapped in burlap. They were pretty much intact. And those four victims, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello and Maureen Brainard-Barnes, they were found, but they didn't know who they were. They didn't know who had done this.

Later on they found three other bodies, in time, different modus operandi.

[09:20:02]

They were not intact. Some were dismembered. And that was Sandra Costilla, Jessica Taylor, Valerie Mack. They had to find out who did this.

Finally, in 2023, a task force was formed and they honed in almost immediately on a man named Rex Heuermann. Rex Heuermann, an architect in New York City. Very successful. Office on Fifth Avenue. Family. Children. But they believe, due to witness interviews, cell phone records, his physical appearance and a vehicle that he had, that he might be the perpetrator. And that's where this all started. But they needed DNA.

They found hairs on the bodies, next to the bodies, in the burlap of what they were wrapped. They needed his DNA. They -- outside of his office was a trash can. They monitored him. Saw him eating pizza. They took the pizza and they got his DNA and they took it to that hair. And they did sophisticated forensic testing from the shaft of that hair. And there was a match. But one problem, New York didn't allow hair evidence in.

So, there were multiple hearings to allow hair evidence in. It was going to be a case of first impression for the state of New York. But now, all of a sudden, we believe that he will stand in that courtroom, which will have a video camera for part of it, we're going to have some video, and will admit to murdering all these young women.

BOLDUAN: Quite a moment. And then on to, at some point, then sentencing. But it would appear avoiding a trial that would be, well, just astonishing and also so hard for the families of all of these victims to have to live through that.

CASAREZ: That's right. And we need to watch that hearing because there's always surprises. You never know what's going to happen when you have a live court action. So, we will see.

BOLDUAN: A great point, Jean. Thank you very much.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right, still ahead, new reporting about possible talks this Friday in Pakistan for a permanent end to the war in Iran.

And remarkable images coming from the Artemis II mission as the crew journeys back to earth. Where they are now as they are heading home. Look at these images.

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[09:26:27]

SIDNER: All right, we're following the breaking news this morning. Defense Secretary Hegseth declaring victory over Iran in a briefing to the American people.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Iran wants it to happen. They've had enough. Operation Epic Fury was a historic and overwhelming victory on the battlefield. A capital V military victory. By any measure, Epic Fury decimated Iran's military and rendered it combat ineffective for years to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Now, the way he's speaking sounds like the end of the war. But it is important to reiterate that, as of right now, there is a two week ceasefire that has been agreed to, not a complete end. However, there are discussions happening now about the potential of in-person talks in Pakistan between the U.S. and Iran for a complete end to the war. This would be the first in-person negotiation since the U.S. and Israel started the war.

With me now is senior political reporter for "Axios," Marc Caputo.

First, what are you learning about these negotiations for in-person talks?

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, "AXIOS": Just that the head of the U.S. negotiating team now starts to shift to J.D. Vance, away from Steve Witkoff, who has been the main driver of the negotiation train. But one of the things the administration had realized early on, or midway through the conflict, I should say, is that J.D. Vance, as the vice president, who has a reputation of being less sort of hawkish and more reluctant to use the military might present a little better to the Iranians as a negotiating partner. And in addition to that, Vance being the number two in the United States governmental system also would carry that sort of extra weight with the Iranians, who had grown mistrustful, and vice versa from the U.S., with the U.S.

And the main point of contact that Vance has been in touch with is the Pakistani field marshal. Asim Munir is his name. And they have established quite a rapport. And during yesterday's visit, Hungary, after Vice President Vance had taken the stage and supported the prime minister of Hungary, he then just basically worked the phones all day and helped bring this in for a landing. Witkoff was talking to the Egyptians and the Qataris. It's been sort of a global affair and a global effort to bring about a ceasefire. China also played a major role as well.

What goes forward from this point on, we don't know. We do know those talks are scheduled for tomorrow or better set for Friday in Islamabad, and we'll have to see what occurs then. I don't have much insight as to what's privately being discussed at this moment.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, look, there are a lot of questions as to what will be discussed and if they will walk out of there with a real deal to end the war.

But I do want to ask you, because Secretary Hegseth kept using the word "was," as if this was all over. Do you see this as the administration's -- basically saying it is -- it is over, though there's this two-week ceasefire. We'll be watching. But this is an indication that they want to get this done with.

CAPUTO: I think on both sides of this conflict the administrations of the United States and of Iran or the regimes or whatever you want to call them, have had essentially one public dialog that they've given, one public facing message, which is, we're winning, the other guy is losing. And the United States has been saying that and Iran has been saying that.

Privately, they are talking in a much more constructive way from what we gather.

[09:30:02] And so, while Hegseth is saying, hey, we won and suggesting that everything is over, well, it's not. And the discussions are happening in earnest.