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Trump Says Netanyahu Needs to Be More Responsible with Lebanon; Iran Demands Israel Withdraw from Lebanon as Part of Agreement; Brendan Sorsby Aims for NFL Amid Legal Saga Over His Gambling; Tropical Storm Watches Issued for Texas, Gulf Coast. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 16, 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: Two days after President Trump said he signed a tentative deal to end the U.S. war with Iran, the details, they're still a mystery. Today at the G7 summit, the president vowed to release text of the documents in a couple of days. And CNN is just learning from an Israeli source that Israel asked the U.S. to see the text and was told no. Trump is also criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today for his recent attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Iran insists the current agreement must end fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is joining us now from Tel Aviv on the uncertainties of this tentative deal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: In so many ways, the lines have been drawn by the various parties about the way forward for this U.S.-Iran agreement and what each side is and is not willing to do. But there's still uncertainty about how the different sides will interpret the actions of the other and ultimately separating the rhetoric from actual action. And on that front, you have the Israeli statements.

They will not withdraw their thousands of troops that are currently in southern Lebanon from Lebanese territory. That was said by the defense minister, by the Israeli prime minister himself.

[14:35:00]

And we are also seeing on the ground that Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon are continuing with four people killed in multiple Israeli strikes that took place in southern Lebanon in one town square and also on a vehicle in a neighboring village.

Then you have what the Iranians are saying. The Iranians are vowing that this war, the broader regional war, will not end until the war in Lebanon ends, until, first of all, Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon and until Israeli attacks in Lebanon stop as well. What we don't know yet is whether or not what Iran says is it would be a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding would lead them to carry out attacks against Israel or to, you know, abandon this newly crafted deal with the United States. From the U.S. perspective, that one is also important as well, of course. And the U.S. is indicating that an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon is not necessary. But what you do have is President Trump saying that the Israeli prime minister and by extension the Israeli government and its military must act more responsibly in Lebanon. The president even went so far as to suggest that perhaps Syria, the Syrian government, should be involved in taking care of Hezbollah in Lebanon instead of Israel, who President Trump said is taking too long and even suggested that is causing more civilian casualties than are necessary in southern Lebanon.

But U.S. officials have suggested that there is latitude for Israel to carry out actions that they deem to be in their own self-defense in Lebanon. But the way in which the United States is going to define that from the way Iran is going to define that are going to be two very different things. And so we see now, as we have seen at so many different points in this negotiation between the United States and Iran, that ultimately Lebanon is a linchpin of this agreement and it is the one over which the United States has the least control.

Increasingly so, it seems, as the relationship between President Trump and the Israeli prime minister has grown increasingly strained.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Our thanks to Jeremy Diamond for that report. Let's discuss these developments with Michael Oren. He's a former Israeli ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us. I want to start with some new reporting that we got just minutes ago from an Israeli source indicating that Israel asked the United States to see the text of the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran and was rejected. I should note a U.S. official called that report not accurate. What reason can you think of for the U.S. to not show this memorandum to its strongest ally in the region?

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Well, good to be with you. A very difficult moment, indeed. For me, it's deja vu because it reminds me of 2015 when President Obama negotiated the JCPOA, the nuclear deal with Iran.

Israel was also iced out of that negotiation. The United States did not share the details of those negotiations with Israel at the time. And here it appears to be happening again.

The reason I can't speak for the administration, but I can understand perhaps that Israel would oppose many aspects of this deal. We don't know the final draft yet, but there are Israeli sources who claim to have had some kind of access to it and say that it doesn't address Israel's basic, basic needs. Let's keep in mind, and I don't think this is sufficiently reported throughout the American media, the northern part of Israel, the Galilee, is uninhabitable.

It is being shelled by Hezbollah daily. Thousands of people have been displaced. So it's not as if Israel wakes up in the morning and decides to attack Lebanon. They're doing this for self-defense. And if the protocol, if the draft of this agreement between the United States and Iran does not address the fundamental issue of Iranian support for what they call proxies, which are terrorist groups, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Hamas, that's a great problem for the state of Israel. If it doesn't address Iran's ballistic missile program, which has devastated Israeli neighborhoods, that is a major problem.

And if it doesn't sufficiently address the nuclear problem, that's going to be a problem in the state of Israel too.

SANCHEZ: I want to ask you about the situation with Lebanon, because President Trump was asked whether he's frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding actions the IDF has taken in southern Lebanon against Hezbollah. Let's listen to that response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Israel's fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed. And you don't have to knock down an apartment house every time you're looking for somebody. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did.

I've had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Trump is framing it as Israel making it harder for the U.S. to secure an agreement with Iran. Is he right that Netanyahu's posture has become an obstacle?

[14:40:00]

OREN: Well, I hate to disagree with the president, but any prime minister would do probably what Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing and more. The criticism of Netanyahu in this country is that he's not doing enough to defend the north. And it's actually impairing his chances of being reelected in our elections coming up this fall.

And again, any prime minister of Israel has as his or her first duty the defense of the land and people of this country, which is precisely what the IDF is doing tonight as we're speaking. And really, there's no wiggle room here.

We understand that the Iranians have succeeded in making the Lebanon issue one of the crucial issues in the peace in negotiations with the United States. But that can't bind the state of Israel. And Israel will under this government or any government will say that this agreement is between the United States and Iran, not between Israel.

Israel is not party to it. So we're not even part of the negotiations and we won't be we won't be obligated by it.

SANCHEZ: So, Ambassador, you disagree with Vice President J.D. Vance when he expresses confidence that the Israelis will be bought in on this agreement further down the road. There's nothing that you can envision based on what we know of this agreement that might persuade the Israelis to come on board later on.

OREN: Well, I see one positive aspect of it, and that in contrast to the JCPOA of 2015, where the Iranians were paid up front in the hope that, as President Obama said, they would become a responsible regional power. It appears that the payments to Iran are being conditioned on Iran compliance with the terms of the agreement. That would be positive.

But based on what we know right now, there's a tremendous amount of concern and trepidation in this country tonight.

SANCHEZ: Ambassador Michael Oren, we have to leave the conversation there. We very much appreciate your time and sharing your perspective.

OREN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still to come, Venus and Serena Williams teaming up on the tennis court once again, how the sisters are reviving one of the sport's greatest partnerships next.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Protesters hitting the streets in Albania for the 16th day in a row demanding the resignation of the prime minister. Our affiliate A2 sharing this footage from Monday.

It shows thousands of people gathered in the capital city of Tirana. It is in response to a planned luxury resort development linked to President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Albania's government says the project could make the country a global hotspot for tourism, but critics say the plan could damage beaches and threaten wildlife.

And SpaceX surging past Amazon in market value on just its second full day of public trading. And get this, shares in the company are now more popular than every other stock on the market combined. The Elon Musk company also purchasing the AI coding company Cursor for $60 billion. SpaceX hopes the acquisition will help it close the gap with its rivals.

Also, crews are racing to contain a raging wildfire that just erupted in Riverside County, California. This is a blaze that has been named the Shore Fire. And since it began yesterday, it has burned more than 2,600 acres and has sparked evacuation orders.

Right now, it is about 25 percent contained, and the cause is under investigation -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Admitted gambler Brendan Sorsby is now betting on himself again, but sort of differently than he was before. After intense backlash, the controversial quarterback has decided not to play for Texas Tech this fall. He's going to enter the NFL supplemental draft instead.

By going pro, Sorsby ends the legal saga that could have derailed his college career. Remember, he acknowledged he made thousands of sports bets, including 40 wagers on his own team when he was with the Indiana Hoosiers. NCAA rules mandate banning such players, but he was granted a temporary injunction by a judge earlier this month that could have allowed him to play for Texas Tech.

Still, Sorsby was facing legal challenges on multiple fronts to keep him off the college field.

Let's discuss with veteran sports broadcaster Cari Champion, who co- hosts Flagrant and Funny. Cari, great to see you as always. So Sorsby is walking away from his final college season after this unprecedented legal fight, admitting to thousands of dollars in bets.

How big a moment is this for college sports as it clashes with this new gambling culture that seems to have taken over everything?

CARI CHAMPION, CO-HOST, FLAGRANT AND FUNNY: Boris, that's a great question. So you're asking two things in one. So the NIL issue, that's name, image, and likeness money.

He gets to also keep the money that he got from playing in college, along with having everything else expunged, in a sense, as he tries to go to the pros. What's going to happen is -- and we've been saying this for some time within the sport -- we're going to have to get control and put some sort of parameters, boundaries, rules to NIL. Because what has happened is that he's admitted to wrongdoing, took his NIL money, which was worth millions in certain cases is what some people are saying.

And now he can say, guess what? All right, it's going to be an issue if I stay in college. Let me just go to the pros and see what happens.

Now, the supplemental draft that they are having, the NFL, they don't have it every year. They only have it for people who have the potential to be in the pros. And so what they're saying is, they're betting, not only is he betting on himself, but they also believe that he is viable, he is a protected talent, and he deserves some sort of attention, if you will, to at least get a look at the pros.

This seems like a win-win situation for him. But if I am sitting in this position, and I am playing a sport in college, I'm thinking, well, I can get away with just about anything. Not only can I gamble and admit that I did wrong, because at one point, we were going to try to let him back and play at Texas Tech.

[14:50:00]

But now I can actually escape all charges/issues and go to the pros and be rewarded there with a contract and still keep all my NIL money. We have a real problem in college sports. There needs to be something, someone, some board, a separate coalition that puts, again, some sort of parameters around what can and can't happen, because right now, it's a free-for-all.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's interesting that schools like Georgia and Nebraska refuse to schedule Texas Tech over this, clearly sending a message to the NCAA. I wonder how you think this is going to be received by the NFL, if he's going to viewed as a serious prospect or perhaps as a problem, if the gambling perhaps is a non-starter for some teams.

CHAMPION: I'm going to tell you this, and it may sound too harsh, but winning solves all. If he gets on a team and he plays well, they're going to protect him. To find a valuable quarterback, a draft class that wasn't considered that great in '26 and '27, it's going to be much more valuable, at least that's according to some of the analysts.

They will protect someone who is valuable. Winning solves all. We see it in all sports.

I would be concerned, though. There are coaches, there are franchises, there are teams that are going to have an issue with him knowing that he has a problem, because he clearly has an issue with gambling. I don't think that he's going to get to the pros and decide, oh, I fixed it. I'm all set now.

So unless he gets some serious rehab and or therapy, and whatever team takes him on and watches him, really walks him through this process, I don't see this going well for anyone. Unless, sadly, he starts to win, and then they all ignore the problem.

SANCHEZ: Yes. I do want to end, Cari, on a brighter note. Serena and Venus Williams just got a wild card to play doubles together at Wimbledon, a duo that has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together. What does it mean for them to pair back up together on the court?

CHAMPION: You know, I have been thinking about this for some time. I said about three, maybe four months ago, before Serena announced that she was coming back to play. Once I knew that she had her second child, and I started to watch her more and more on her Instagram and her socials, and she's showing off that she's a little more fit, a little more lean, and she's starting to practice.

This is all a run up for the Olympics, believe it or not. I think that for someone like Serena, and especially her sister, this is a dream come true to be in the Olympics 2028 in Los Angeles. It's where they're from.

It's here in the United States. They can actually have their family, their children, their friends sit and watch history. I think that's what we're watching.

Them going to Wimbledon is going to be special. Between the two of them, they have over 20-some-odd titles there. They own the grass.

They play well on grass. That's their sweet spot if you will. I think this is all a run up for the Olympics. I think that's going to be really significant, especially for those who are huge tennis fans and miss watching the sisters play. It'll take you back to yesteryear, the nostalgia of what they are able to bring. And to me, they capture the true essence of tennis, American tennis, that is, because we haven't seen it in some time.

SANCHEZ: It's true. Potential dream scenario for 2028. Cari Champion, always great to chat with you.

CHAMPION: You too, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much.

Still to come, a dangerous flood emergency and the Gulf Coast now on high alert. We have the forecast when we come back.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The first potential tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is threatening the Gulf Coast, which is already reeling from deadly flash flooding in Texas. Watches have just been issued for more than 16 million people. Parts of Mississippi and Louisiana are also on alert.

So let's get now to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, who is tracking the timing on all of this. Derek, tell us what you're seeing.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Brianna, if this gets named, it will become Arthur, the first of the Atlantic hurricane season. It's looking very disheveled, very disorganized on satellite right now, but it is packing quite a punch. By the way, you're looking at the first forecast cone and the first tropical alerts and advisories issued from the National Hurricane Center so far this season.

And this is the forecast track, which does call for this to intensify into a tropical storm. The reason being is because of this circulation, which you can see into southern portions of Texas is expected to emerge right off the coastline of Texas. What's there?

Warm Gulf water. So that's going to help it intensify, perhaps gain some strength in terms of winds. But the big story that will be well written in the history books once this is all said and done will be the rain.

It is going to pull in moisture from the Gulf, and it's going to wring itself out on this stationary frontal boundary. And you don't want to hear me say the words stationary and tropical in the same sentence. It means bad things.

Rain could lead to excessive totals that could cause flash flooding. We've already seen instances of that across portions of Texas into Louisiana. And this will be a several day flash flood event spreading into portions of Mississippi, even into Alabama and portions of the Tennessee Mississippi -- Tennessee River Valley, inclusive of Atlanta, Georgia, where upwards of a half a foot of rain could fall in some of these locations, especially the closer you get to the coast.

Now, listen, if you have an iPhone, like so many of us do, you have the opportunity to download our latest weather app to get further information, more detailed information from our team of in-house meteorologists. I've got my phone and I'm going to show you the app in real time. And I've taken you to Houston where you can see all of the ongoing alerts.

There it is. Flash flood warnings. We've got flood watches, tropical cyclone statements.

We've also got this radar, which is front and center. But this is interesting because you can switch your location depending on where you're located. And if you're in Chicago, for instance, we're also monitoring the potential of a severe weather outbreak for the day tomorrow ...

END