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Oil Prices Fall After U.S.-Iran Agreement Signed; Grand Opening Ceremony for Obama Presidential Center in Chicago; Trump's Iran Agreement Draws Fierce Backlash from Conservatives; Ukraine Launches Largest Attack on Moscow Since War Began; New York Prepares for Millions to Attend Knicks Championship Parade. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 18, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. You can see right there, oil prices falling overnight. Prices settled below $80 a barrel for the past three days. It comes as the Strait of Hormuz is set to reopen, this after President Trump signed the agreement with Iran.

The president is lashing out this morning at all kinds of critics, including many Republicans who say Iran came out on top in this agreement. This is what the president wrote. These fools who think I haven't been tough enough on Iran when the stock market just hit a record high and oil prices are tumbling down. They're either jealous, bad people, or stupid. I should note the markets actually dropped yesterday having to do with the Fed.

But be that as it may, CNN senior business supporter David Goldman is here. And we are getting welcome news on oil prices and gas, David.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. I mean, certainly the president sounds like he's declaring victory here, right? I mean, oil prices are down and they're down about $10 above where they were to start the war. That's pretty good. Gas prices just went below $4 nationwide for the first time since March 30th.

And then to your point about stocks, they did have a little bit of a bad day yesterday, but we've been close to record highs and they're up again today. So, you know, on the surface, it sounds like the president might be right, but he had something really interesting to say about why he might've done this deal right now. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I didn't want to see economic catastrophe. If you kept this going, that could have happened. But all I know is every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship. The one president I did not want to be was the late, great Herbert Hoover. I didn't want that. And who knows what would have happened, but bad things happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GOLDMAN: Herbert Hoover, that's not a comparison that you want to be making. It's kind of an interesting acknowledgement, right, that the economic power that Iran had was really weighing on not just the U.S. economy, but the global economy. And when he's talking about economic catastrophe, I mean, that might be a hyperbole, but it also shows that getting into a war like this, you never know what's going to happen.

BERMAN: It's absolutely an admission of the leverage that Iran had. It was stunning to hear him say that quite so explicitly. David Goldman, thank you very much for that. And it is welcome to see the stock market up and gas prices down before below $4 a gallon.

GOLDMAN: Yes.

BERMAN: Let us now go to Chicago where Sara Sidner at the historic opening of the Obama library.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We are here live in Chicago. You are hearing them testing some of the music. We just happen to be in a gospel song, which is a great way to start the day here in Chicago. Beautiful weather. And this is about to get underway in the next few hours.

But first, let's go to our Democratic Congressman Gabe Amo of Rhode Island. He's a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and is watching all that is going on with Iran and this new signing of this MOU and what it all means.

[07:35:00]

I want to get a sense from you of what you think about the details that you have seen with this MOU. Obviously, this is not a final deal. There are so many details to work out. But what do you think about the initial issue that, look, the Strait is open, grass prices are already reacting, falling this morning, but there's a lot more to be worked out here?

REP. GABE AMO (D-RI), FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Well, the details of this MOU make it very clear that this was a foreign policy national security blunder from Donald Trump. The fact of the matter is the power that Iran possesses over the Strait of Hormuz will forever remain something that is leveraged in addition to the $300 billion in reconstruction funds and the lessening of sanctions that allow them to sell oil on the market.

And so, ultimately, this is a deal that reflects that it was a bad decision, a war of choice from Donald Trump following up on his tearing up of the JCPOA, which did not require hundreds of billions of dollars spent or a war being waged that hurt the American people at the gas pump, at the grocery store and cost the lives of 14 service members.

SIDNER: Look, President Trump, when he came into office, you know, was focused on the JCPOA, focused on it because he wanted to tear it up. And he did tear it up. I do want to go to the comments that he made just yesterday, just hours ago about that deal and particularly about how he thought that Iran responded to the deal that President Obama and all of his people worked on for two years to get to achieve without, as you said, a war. Here's what the -- President Trump said about that deal and about how Iran -- he thought Iran was responding to the JCPOA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have pictures of it like, oh, my God, look at this money he's giving us. He tried to bribe his way out. I didn't do that. Nobody mentions that. 1.7 billion and hundreds of millions of dollars. They tried to bribe their way out of it. And you know what the Iranians did? They laughed at Obama and they said he's a stupid son of a --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Really nasty words there. He does realize that there is an opening of the presidential center here for Barack Obama. I do wonder what your response is to his slamming of that deal, the way that he did it, as he has not made his own full deal yet.

AMO: Well, it's clearly historically inaccurate. Donald Trump refuses to do the hard work that's required of the presidency. That requires diplomacy, negotiation, committing to making Americans better off. And in fact, I think Donald Trump is, frankly, resentful of the historic nature of Barack Obama's accomplishments as president. And that's why he resorts to language that's beneath the office of the presidency and action that does not meet the moment when the American people want a president, a White House, to focus on lowering their costs of living. He's just jacked prices up. And it's a shame.

But frankly, we have to see more from this administration and we need them to come to Congress, give us a full briefing on this MOU and how they will proceed moving forward.

SIDNER: Look, there is a reason for President Trump to be jealous of President Barack Obama if you look at the polling as to approval ratings. Right now, latest CNN polling just freshly coming out yesterday, President Obama is about 57 percent of people approve of him. Trump is in the 30s.

I do want to get a sense of what you make of what's happened here in the South Side of Chicago. We are sitting right underneath the huge monument there that has the words of President Barack Obama that he spoke during the 50th anniversary of the Selma March.

But this is a huge complex that is meant for the community as well as visitors where people can come and learn about history. But also, he's hoping that this will grow and change just like his slogan, hope and change. What do you make of this center today? Your thoughts on it?

AMO: Well, I'm very excited to see the launch of the Obama Presidential Center today as someone who had the opportunity as a young man to work on both his campaigns and in his White House. I want to tap into some of the hope, that hope mongering that he was known for that is not just about him as a person. And he'll tell you that, that it's about the democracy. It's about the fundamental goodness of people and the capacity of ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

[07:40:00]

And what I hope to see in the center, when I have an opportunity to view it, is the story of the people who made up this movement, one that continues, that carries on through the alumni he has represented in Congress and in elected office, but also in serving their communities in whatever way they can. And that's what the center will ultimately be, a place where people convene, not for nostalgia, because that, as he has said, is not the point. The point is to see what we can do to make tomorrow better than today. And it is quite moving to see the images of it, and I look forward to seeing it in person.

SIDNER: I have never heard the word hope-mongering, but I like it. Representative Gabe Amo of Rhode Island, thank you so much, I do appreciate it. John.

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow since the start of the war. We can see new video there, that large explosion and black smoke rising into the air. Also, a key oil refinery was hit. Russia says it shot down nearly 200 drones.

Let's get the latest from CNN's Sebastian Shukla. Sebastian, what are you learning about all this?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: -- show some of them to our viewers, because Moscow is engulfed currently, or has been overnight, in plumes of black smoke following these drone and long-range attacks launched by Kyiv on Moscow. What the Ukrainian president has said about these attacks in a few recent minutes is that they are fully justified response to Russian strikes on our cities and communities.

And, John, we've been seeing both sides, Moscow and Kyiv, exchanging air attacks like this now for several weeks as it becomes clearly a new phase of this war. And what we are trying, or what both sides are trying to do, is to weaken each other's positions.

From the standpoint of the U.S. and for Europe, they really believe that the Ukrainians have the upper hand here now, and that these attacks are demonstrating two things to President Putin and the Russian people. One is that it is bringing the war home to Russians to say, look, the president is not able to keep you safe. And the second is that the targeting of these locations and strikes is very specific.

We've seen this attack today targeting an oil refinery outside Moscow. We've seen attacks in St. Petersburg attacking another oil facility. And all of it is designed to really push the Russian economy, which European and defense and security officials are saying is really teetering now as a result of these attacks. The hope is that all of this is a way to push President Putin towards the negotiating table.

And we saw at the G7 summit just in the last few days, that all of those leading G7 members, including Donald Trump, are aligned that this is the way forward, John. BERMAN: It's funny to see some of these images of Moscow under attack, and you have to think about the coordination it took to get the drones close enough to do this, perhaps launching even from inside Russia. Many more details still to come on this. Sebastian, thank you so much for updating us. We'll get more information as it comes in.

All right. New details about a deadly plane crash on a South Texas highway. The pilots reported mechanical problems and requested an emergency landing. The aircraft lost contact and went down as it was trying to divert to Laredo Airport. Of course, we saw these pictures yesterday. That was the aftermath of people trying to rush to the scene to rescue surviving passengers from inside. We're now hearing from witnesses who saw it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAYRA GARZA, WITNESS: We thought it was just another accident until we got closer. We saw there was a lot of flames and then we saw an aircraft split in half. The pilots were the ones banging on the windshield. When we got there, that's what we saw. And when they opened the door, the first thing one of the kids said is help me, help me. My husband said it was very dramatic. It was something that he would never forget.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I mean, it all looked incredibly dramatic. We should note that one passenger, Josh Baer, a tech CEO, was killed. Two pilots and three teenagers survived, and it's since been released from the hospital. Firefighters also rescued a small dog on the plane.

All right. Live on the parade route as millions and millions of New Yorkers hit the streets. Not here. It's completely empty here right now. But there's all kinds of security for what will be the largest police deployment for an event in New York City ever.

[07:45:00]

And how do you prepare for a spate of bear attacks? Is dressing up like a bear really the best answer?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are still hours away from the start of the parade. But you wouldn't know that by the fact that the New York Police Department just announced that all of the viewing pens are now full. Basically, no one else can get into the designated areas to watch the parade. So, they're going to have to find some other way to do so.

And again, we are still hours from the start of the parade, the first to celebrate an NBA championship for the Knicks in more than 50 years here in the city. We've talked about the massive security presence that it's taken to make sure that this goes smoothly. More than 10,000 police officers, which for perspective is almost the size of the entire Chicago Police Department. And as part of that, I spoke with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani about how they decided and how they assessed what they needed security wise for this massive celebration. Take a listen to some of what he said.

[07:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: More than 10,000 officers, which is the largest number of officers assigned to any planned event I'm aware of. How did the city land on that standard of security? What were those conversations like going into this?

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D-NY): I think it always comes back from how we ensure that this is something that is safe, that is secure, and that is a moment where every New Yorker can enjoy themselves responsibly. And working with the PD, working with agencies across city government, not just in preparing for tomorrow in terms of the screening procedures, but also for the infrastructure of the parade. That is everything that we've been doing over these last few days, and frankly even weeks. And we're excited because we know that, as you said, this day means so much to New Yorkers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: It's a big balance here. I want to bring in former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis. And, Commissioner, look, it is a balance on a day like this. You want people to celebrate, you want people to have a good time, but there is still a job to do to secure and make sure they can do it the right way. What is top of the list for a department like the New York Police Department in trying to make sure that balance happens properly?

ED DAVIS, FORMER BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good morning Omar. Well, the most important thing is the safety and security of the individuals attending. With the world situation the way it is, and the deployment of 10,000 New York City police officers, and unprecedented, it is an indication that the threat picture, the threat level is high.

And so, NYPD Commissioner Tisch, who is well regarded in police professional areas, groups, will tell you that she's one of the best. And so, they've got great leadership there. They've got a huge deployment of police, and they've put specialized teams out with specialized equipment, everything from drones to heavy weapons, the emergency services unit. So, they're doing everything that they can in the face of an elevated threat. And, you know, this ends up at the mayor's residence where there was a terrorist attack this year. So, they're acutely aware of that.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, just on that point, obviously there is a wide threat assessment, again, not just for the parade itself. When you look at sort of the layers of security here, I mentioned that the NYPD said that the viewing pens were now full, which is a layer behind screening. Every single person coming into that area would be screened as part of it. But when you look at the scale of people who are deployed here, we're talking more than 10,000 officers.

What is the most difficult thing when you're commanding a force that size and making sure that everything happens the right way?

DAVIS: Well, certainly terrorism is uppermost in everyone's mind, but there are logistical issues. This is one of the most heavily traveled roadways in the country. And they've essentially shut down lower Manhattan with the exception of the two main highways on either side. So, that's going to be a problem. And now, you add to that the fact that the pens are full.

So, instead of, you know, spending your time looking inside the pens to make sure nothing goes wrong, you now have to deal with crowd control on the outside of those pens to make sure there isn't a crush there. And that's all handled properly. So, big issues like terrorism and then logistical issues and traffic and crowd control. It's a big menu for the NYPD today.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And, you know, that latter portion I experienced for sure, just trying to get here, the crush of people trying to even just get out of the subway and find which entrance to go through and get screened. It's going to be something to watch. Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis really appreciate the time.

And, John, look, as the mayor has described, they expect this to be the largest parade in New York City history, the largest NYPD deployment for any planned event. And oh, by the way, people are going to be celebrating this next championship for the first time in 50 years. So, a lot going on. And again, we are still hours from the start of this. And people are already locked in, basically sold out.

BERMAN: Good to hear from the Boston commissioner -- former Boston commissioner. Obviously, Boston has to deal with victory parades much more frequently than they do here in New York. Had to do it. Had to do it.

All right. New video this morning of an unusual tactic by a Japanese government task force to address the ongoing bear problem. These are emergency response drills for the man in a bear suit crawling around like he's getting shot. I honestly have no idea why. Really? Genuinely? The drills are in response to a string of bear sightings and attacks. I hope it helps.

[07:55:00]

In Connecticut, it's a pool, not a parking space. Officials say the driver was attempting to park and instead accidentally accelerated and crashed through trees and a fence before plunging into the water there. Luckily, lifeguards were on duty. They did pull the driver to safety. No one was hurt. Unclear if the car needed CPR. Let's go back to Sara in Chicago.

SIDNER: Thank you so much, John Berman. We are back live here at the Barack Obama Presidential Center. The tallest, the most ambitious and the costliest so far, $850 million to build. Well, it's not just a library, it is a complex, many different things taking you through so much history, but also giving people a place to feel that hope and change that President Barack Obama was trying to impart to the country when he was president.

There will be all sorts of dignitaries here. Of course, former presidents. We've got former President Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Joe Biden, all of the first ladies and a rare gathering of just stars. We've got Stevie Wonder is going to be here. Christina Aguilera, Bono also going to be here.

And one of the dignitaries joining me here live from the Obama Foundation, CEO Valerie Jarrett, is sitting beside me. You're a longtime friend, but also an advisor of President Obama. I mean, I got to ask you, when you turn around and you look at what has been created. By the way, I saw this in 2024 when they were just building it. That was just starting to go up. And I came back and thought, whoa, what did you think this morning? It's finally happening. It's finally opening.

VALERIE JARRETT, CEO. THE OBAMA FOUNDATION AND FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, Sara, first of all, welcome to the Obama Presidential Center. You don't know how good it feels to finally be able to say that.

I grew up in this neighborhood. I used to ride my bike through Jackson Park as a child. And so, to see this kind of an investment right here in a community that sorely needs it just fills me with so much pride. And I think about literally thousands of people who work to build this campus.

And you're right. It's much more than just a presidential museum. We have so many amenities that are designed to be supportive of the visitors, whether you come from across the street or from around the world. They're going to come here and they're going to learn. They're going to hopefully feel motivated to do something a little different in their own lives and they're going to have fun.

SIDNER: This library, as I've just seen snippets and I can't wait to go in because I love going to presidential libraries. I've been to Johnson's and Reagan's and I always find it fascinating. It brings you back to a time when we lived this. We got to live this history.

But there is something particular about this in that this was the first black president of the United States of America and the first black first lady of the United States of America. How much is that infused in this and sort of the civil rights movement? Because the words on the top of this building are from --

JARRETT: From America.

SIDNER: Yes. Are --

JARRETT: It came from President Obama's speech at the 50th anniversary of the marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. And so, I'm glad you framed it that way, because we start at the first floor of this museum with the Declaration of Independence. We talk about the Civil War, the end of slavery, reconstruction, Jim Crow.

We talk about the labor movement, the women's suffrage movement, the civil rights movement, the immigration movement. All of these efforts that paved the way for President Obama's presidency to even happen. And then the stories throughout his administration.

And we fully put a spotlight not just on the president and former first lady Michelle Obama, but on all of the people whose shoulders upon which they stand. And the people who were part of his campaign and his administration, our supporters here and from around the world, who really believed in this vision for America that we are really one America and that we all are tasked with trying to improve this great nation of ours.

So, it is an effort to really catalyze moving forward, not simply a time capsule for the past. And for those young people who didn't live the experience, and for those who are older and have forgotten some of it, it's a reminder of how his presidency fits in the continuum of our country as we try very hard to perfect this union.

SIDNER: I do want to talk to you about sort of the serious side of this, in that some of the history of this country, there is an attempt to change or to erase or to mold in a different way than really how it happened, how it was laid out, how important was it for you, not just to see this history, but to make sure that the younger generation is also going to get a chance, not just to see the history, but almost to live it, because there's also some living things, a garden from the first lady, for example, that is inside of this complex.

[07:55:00]

JARRETT: Yes, and in addition, inside of the museum, we have a lot of interactive displays where people can see -- tell their stories and feel and see the connections of their stories, not just to the Obamas, but to each other. And I'll tease it, but you've got to come in and see how we connect it all.

And really the point here is, is that we do have a lot more in common than we have differences and that our differences can be debated without being disagreeable. And so, we're trying to bring up the best in America here and have people appreciate the fact that we all have a role to play in making our country stronger and better, and that we shouldn't erase our history. We should look at it through a very realistic lens in order to learn from it and do better.

SIDNER: Valerie Jarrett, it is such a pleasure to be able to sit here with you on a day that I know means so much to you, but also to the country and to Chicago, certainly the South side as well. Thank you.

JARRETT: Thank you so much, Sara.

SIDNER: I do appreciate your time.

JARRETT: Appreciate you too.

[08:00:00]