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Parts of Iran's Nuclear Supply Chain Appear to have Survived U.S. and Israeli Attacks; New Documents Show Taxpayers Paid $300,000 Plus to Settle Sexual Harassment Claims Involving Lawmakers; Prosecutors Say L.A. Arson Suspect was Angry at the World. Aired 2:30- 3p ET

Aired May 05, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Primary debate. It will be hosted by Kaitlan Collins and Elex Michaelson. The face-off will kick off at 9 Eastern, 6 Pacific, and you can also watch it on the CNN app.

Still to come, some new CNN reporting that raises questions about the impact of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear supply chain. What satellite images suggest about what happened to its highly enriched uranium.

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[14:35:00]

KEILAR: New CNN reporting is casting doubt on the damage that U.S. and Israeli strikes have caused to Iran's nuclear supply chain. The U.S. has said it decimated Iran's nuclear capabilities, but a CNN investigation finds that while much of the production process took a significant hit, the most important parts, the stores of highly enriched uranium, may not have been touched at all.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And satellite images show Iran has covered over several entrances to underground tunnels at the Isfahan uranium conversion facility, with roadblocks at that location possibly suggesting something valuable could remain buried underground.

Let's discuss with Joe Cirincione. He is a nuclear expert. Joe, thank you so much for being with us.

JOE CIRINCIONE, NUCLEAR EXPERT: My pleasure.

SANCHEZ: Let's walk through some of this. At one of Iran's uranium ore mines in Saghand, there's no evidence of damage after strikes, but you can see diggers still operating in satellite images. That mined ore then goes to yellow cake uranium production, right?

CIRINCIONE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: And so when you see significant strikes in some areas, but not in others, the indication is that there's still plenty Iran can do with that material. CIRINCIONE: Absolutely. Excellent reporting by CNN. And Iran has

several mines that, according to the photo evidence, are still operating. They're still mining the uranium.

There's only a couple of places where you can turn that uranium into yellow cake or refined uranium product. And one of those is Isfahan. Now, as CNN reported, Isfahan did sustain substantial damage. So it's likely that this is set back the program but not obliterated it by any means.

KEILAR: But they buried tunnel entrances, right?

CIRINCIONE: Ah, yes.

KEILAR: Before this current war started. And that's, of course, where the uranium was likely transported. They further fortified some of those defenses last month. I know you visited Isfahan.

CIRINCIONE: Yes.

KEILAR: It's fascinating. If you can talk to us a little bit about that. What does that fortification tell you?

CIRINCIONE: So Isfahan has a lot of surface facilities that are soft targets. And those are the ones we hit. And that's where they do some of the refining of the uranium.

But it also has deep tunnel structures like built down, not just down, but into the mountain ranges around Isfahan. So hard granite protecting some of these tunnels. And that's likely what they're guarding.

And assessments are that the U.S. has damaged the above ground facilities, may have damaged some of the underground, but not all of them. And that's where we think Iran is still storing its supply of highly enriched uranium, including some that's been enriched to 60 percent, very close to bomb grade, and still has a stockpile of advanced centrifuges that it could use to bring that uranium quickly up to weapons grade.

SANCHEZ: Why has the United States and Israel in this last round of strikes not targeted those tunnels? Is it something that the U.S. has the capacity to do?

CIRINCIONE: Well, we did target those in June, and that did set back the program. The latest U.S. intelligence estimates reported by Reuters today indicate that the June attacks set the program back perhaps three months, but that these attacks didn't affect the program at all. So U.S. intelligence appears to estimate that Iran could still build a nuclear weapon in about nine months to 12 months, a longer time than they had in June, but still well within the range that could threaten a nuclear weapon from Iran.

KEILAR: Joe, as you're looking at this war and the point that we're at now, what do you think this war has done to Iran's nuclear ambitions? CIRINCIONE: Well, it's probably set back the capabilities, but at the same time, it's increased the intent of getting the bomb. One of the central lessons of this war is, if you want to protect yourself from a U.S. attack, get a nuclear bomb. And then the politics have shifted decidedly in favor of the factions that want to have a bomb.

As you were just discussing on air with the other expert, the IRGC, the hardline faction that has always wanted to build a bomb, has probably had a greater position now and is probably tilting Iran more towards that capability.

SANCHEZ: So when you hear President Trump say that Tehran is either going to hand over this highly enriched uranium or the U.S. is going to go on the ground and take it, what is the likelihood of an operation like that succeeding?

CIRINCIONE: Neither one is true. Iran is not going to just hand over this capability. Can you make a deal? Yes, you can.

We have reported that Iran is actually offering to suspend its program for a considerable period of time. But what they want is guarantees that the U.S. won't attack it. What they want is a relief to sanctions.

So you've got to pay a price for this. Can the U.S. attack these facilities? No, they're too deep underground.

If we could, we would. Nothing short of a nuclear weapon is going to knock out Iran's capabilities. And some of it is so deeply buried that even a nuclear weapon probably could not penetrate the granite dome that protects it.

[14:40:00]

KEILAR: So when you look at the war strengthening Iran's ambitions, their desire for the nuclear weapon, do you think this gamble on the part of the U.S. was worth it?

CIRINCIONE: Iran has a nuclear capability. There's three ways to deal with it. Diplomacy, sanctions, war.

We had diplomacy. It worked. It shrank the program. It limited the amount of uranium. It the amount of centrifuges. There was no way they could build a bomb under that 2015 deal.

Trump killed that deal and tried option number two, maximum pressure, heavy sanctions, sort of force Iran to comply. That didn't work either. Now in his second term, he's tried option three, war, and that hasn't worked.

There are only three ways to do this. Only one, diplomacy, is the one that has worked.

SANCHEZ: So would you argue that it's time for a new JCPOA? And is that likely given who's leading Iran right now? CIRINCIONE: That's the only way out of this mess. You have to have a negotiated agreement. The only way you stop a country from getting a nuclear bomb is getting them to agree not to do that.

You can't bomb away the capabilities. You can't bomb away the knowledge. I think it's going to take a third party to come in and intervene.

Maybe there could be a breakthrough with China when Trump goes there next week.

SANCHEZ: Joe Cirincione, thank you so much for sharing your expertise. Appreciate the time.

CIRINCIONE: Thank you, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still to come, CNN now learning taxpayers paid more than $300,000 to settle confidential sexual harassment claims involving former House members. What the newly released documents show when we come back.

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SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

New video of a chaotic scene outside a hospital in Brooklyn. In it, you can see ICE agents dragging a handcuffed detainee as protesters clash with police. DHS says the man who is a Nigerian citizen was arrested during a targeted operation. At one point, people in the crowd are seen throwing garbage cans. Multiple people were arrested after this incident.

Also disturbing video of a small airplane crashing into a building in southeast Brazil. A pilot and co-pilot both killed when the plane went down in a neighborhood there. Officials say the passengers are in serious condition, not yet clear what caused this crash.

And Dolly Parton says she's canceling her Las Vegas residency after originally postponing those concert dates. The 80-year-old shared the news on social media along with an update about her health.

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DOLLY PARTON, SINGER, SONGWRITER: I have some good news and a little bad news, but the good news is I'm responding really well to meds and treatments and I'm improving every day.

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SANCHEZ: Parton sparked concerns last October when she delayed the start of that residency and her sister began asking for prayers for the singer.

Also, we can all now breathe a sigh of relief. The long-running legal dispute between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni's production company apparently over. The two sides announcing a settlement just two weeks before their trial was set to begin. Lively accused her. It ends with us co-star of sexual harassment and launching a smear campaign as retaliation for speaking up.

Last month, a judge threw out 10 of the 13 claims in Lively's lawsuit. Details of the settlement not yet been disclosed -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Newly released documents show taxpayers were actually on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle confidential sexual harassment claims involving former members of Congress or their offices. The cases include settlements of six former members of the House dating as far back as 1996. And in all, taxpayers paid more than $300,000 to make sure those claims never saw the light of day.

CNN's Annie Grayer has some new reporting on all of this. Sort of infuriating, I think, as taxpayers learn about this. Oh, that's great. I paid for that.

What are you learning about these settlements?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: So these settlements were all done in secret. And reviewing some of the documents just shows the allegations that six of these former members of Congress were facing and how these settlements were handled. And in total, all these allegations -- all these settlements amounted to around $300,000 that were paid for by taxpayers, because that was the ruling of how things were supposed to be handled at the time.

Now, most of these former members had been accused of sexual misconduct publicly, and many resigned because of that, including Democratic Congressman John Conyers and Republican Congressman Blake Farenthold. But these six settlements are just part of a large number of settlements that these offices handled. And in total, from 1996 to 2018, there were over 300 cases that were resulted in these settlements that taxpayers had to pay for.

Now, after 2018 is when lawmakers changed the law. So now, taxpayers no longer pay for any of these settlements. Members themselves have to handle the payments.

We don't know of any payments that members have made for settlements, because they would have to report that to the House Ethics Committee. And the House Ethics Committee has not disclosed any of that information. And we've also learned that because of the retention policy for this office handling all these settlements, some of these old settlements from way back when are no longer kept because of retention policies.

Those files don't have to be protected. So really reviewing all of these documents, these settlements, the notes throughout this process really just gives an insight into really the convoluted process of how this is all handled on Capitol Hill.

KEILAR: Why is this coming out now?

[14:50:00] GRAYER: So Republican Congresswoman Nancy May subpoenaed this office of workplace rights that oversees all of these settlement cases. And she's one of many lawmakers in the Republican Party who's pushing specifically for more accountability and transparency in light of the bombshell sexual misconduct allegations that we saw from Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell and Republican Congressman Tony Gonzalez that led to their resignations.

That is creating this moment of reckoning on Capitol Hill where people want more transparency into how this process is playing out. They want to peek behind the curtain. And Republican Nancy May, with her subpoena, has shed light into a very opaque process up until this point.

KEILAR: It's really interesting. Annie, thank you for the reporting. We appreciate it.

Still to come, some new court filings painting a volatile picture of the man accused of sparking L.A.'s deadly Palisades fire. Witnesses say he was angry at the world in the hours before the fire that eventually caused $50 billion in damage.

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KEILAR: An explosion at a fireworks factory in central China has killed more than two dozen people and injured many more. The blast was reportedly so big that a shockwave shattered windows in some nearby buildings. The city where this happened is known as the world's fireworks hub. And according to Chinese state media, it accounts for more than half of the world's supply.

The person in charge of the company has reportedly been detained by police, and the accident is being investigated -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Today, federal prosecutors say the man accused of starting one of the most destructive wildfires in California history was angry at the world because he didn't have New Year's Eve plans. In early 2025, the Palisades fire burned through several neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles, killing 12 people and destroying thousands of homes and businesses.

Let's get the latest from CNN's Josh Campbell. Josh, what more can you share?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: A lot of really interesting details in this new court filing. As you mentioned, Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29 years old, he stands accused of starting that deadly blaze. We're getting some insight from prosecutors in this filing about what their strategy will be to actually go after him.

And what they say is evidence of his culpability here. Of course, he has pleaded not guilty to any charges.

Just to remind people about this deadly fire here in Los Angeles last year. It kicked off on January the 7th, but it wasn't until later in the month when it was actually fully contained. A dozen people killed, thousands of homes and structures were impacted.

Now, in this new filing, prosecutors paint the picture of a man who was allegedly motivated by a series of grievances. They say that in the days before New Year's Eve, he had exhibited anger and frustration over not being able to find what they called companionship for New Year's. He allegedly had issues with a former co-worker that he had dated. He then reached out to someone else trying to make New Year's Eve plans.

That person didn't even remember who he was. Prosecutors say he then reached out to someone else who said they already had plans and Rinderknecht was not invited. Authorities say that he was driving on New Year's Eve for Uber and dropped off his last passengers near the Pacific Palisades and then drove to a nearby neighborhood where he allegedly started a fire that would continue to burn underground and then erupt into the deadly Palisades fires days later.

But interestingly, prosecutors allege that there's something else at play here as well and something that I don't think any of us were expecting. I'll read you part of what they say in this filing. They say quote, "In the weeks and hours leading up to the fire, the defendant fixated on Luigi Mangione," who, of course, stands accused of killing the CEO of United Health. Prosecutors say that, "Many of the defendant's Uber passengers on December 31st and January 1st described him as angry and tense, driving erratically, ranting about being, 'pissed off' at the world and Luigi Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism."

Now, his attorney says that his client is innocent. He said that essentially suggesting it's nonsense to say he was angry. He couldn't get a date. So he went and set a fire. He also believes that his client is being used as what he describes as a scapegoat for city officials not being able to get that fire contained very quickly.

His trial is set for next month. Again, he has pleaded not guilty, but a lot of interesting insight into this new memo from prosecutors.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and Josh, you actually interviewed the lead ATF agents who conducted what became a months-long investigation. What evidence is going to be key in this prosecution?

CAMPBELL: Well, this was a massive investigation. I interviewed them when the fire was still raging. They had launched to try to determine the origin, to try to determine if this was man-made and who might be responsible that then leading this months-long investigation and finally Rinderknecht's arrest.

Authorities in this document say they have a lot of evidence that they will be intending to produce at this trial. They say that, for example, the suspect had allegedly used ChatGPT to generate images of a burning forest and people fleeing, running away from that. They say that ATF experts will also be testifying about where his location was as it relates to the actual point of origin of that original fire.

And they also say that DNA experts will be testifying about DNA found on a lighter that was inside his car. So again, laying out a lot of evidence here and with the ChatGPT stuff, that's obviously interesting. It appeared that he used that a lot according to prosecutors and actually used it to discuss some of the anger that he was feeling at various people.

So that's what the evidence looks like right now. We'll see if they have more by the time the prosecution and the trial starts next month.

SANCHEZ: Josh Campbell, thank you so much for that reporting. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

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