Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Interview with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ): Vance Says U.S.- Iran Talks Laid Successful Foundation for Final Deal; Legendary Music Producer Clive Davis Dies at 94; Messi Breaks All-Time Scoring Record During Win Over Austria. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 22, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Vice President J.D. Vance is on his way back to Washington after wrapping up the opening round of peace talks with Iran for the day. As Vance departed Switzerland, he struck a positive tone about the negotiations, saying the two countries laid a good foundation, but Iran is pushing back on his claims that it agreed to let nuclear inspectors back into the country. A top Iranian official telling state media Tehran made no new commitments about nuclear inspections during the talks in Switzerland.

During these talks, the U.S. also agreed to temporarily lift sanctions on Iranian oil. Let's talk about this now with New Jersey Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Congressman, thanks for being with us. You said a few days ago that you were dumbfounded by this agreement. Did you hear anything from the vice president this morning that would change your assessment?

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: No, in fact, it just seems like we're giving away more of the store by officially lifting sanctions and allowing Iran to sell their oil. Of course, this regime will sell their oil, most of it, to China, one of our top adversaries. So, you know, I know the vice president said they made progress.

[15:35:00]

Clearly, the Iranians immediately dismissed any perceptions of progress when it comes to inspectors. So where we are right now is we've given them a lot. We are lifting sanctions.

We're talking about giving them billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild. Obviously, they're opening up the straits, but that seems to be changing by the hours you saw probably over the weekend. That said, of course, the straits were open when we started this conflict.

But, you know, one of our top adversaries, the Iranian regime, has killed Americans, attacked our bases, and obviously been clear that they do not support our freedom or democracy over the decades of going after our families and our military. They still seem to have nuclear intact, their ballistic missile program intact, their drone program intact, and, of course, their terror financing program intact. And what it appears is we're going to give them more money to support more terrorists who, of course, have killed Americans.

KEILAR: Do you think they are agreeing to let inspectors back in, though? I mean, you're hearing Iran deny new commitments, but you have the vice president saying that's in place. And I certainly hear that you don't agree with the way the administration has gotten to this point, but this is the point we're at.

I mean, do you think that the inspectors are not going to be allowed in?

GOTTHEIMER: I don't know. I wasn't there. So, I mean, you know, he's the vice president saying one thing, and listen, I hope that's right.

But, of course, the Iranians are denying it. And part of my challenge with this regime who flies under the banner of death to America is they've been pretty consistent about lying over the years, as you remember in JCPOA, the agreement under President Obama, the Obama administration, they made certain commitments on their nuclear program, on enrichment, which they didn't live up to, on oversight, which they didn't live up to. So, you know, they seem to be sprinting, and then they sprinted to develop a nuclear weapon.

So, you know, I'm not a big -- I don't trust them much, let's just say, and continue to give away the store when they think -- when the Iranians think they have the upper hand on us and that time isn't on our side. I worry a lot about their supposed commitments.

KEILAR: Some of your concerns with the JCPOA, similar to this one, the nuclear program, the ballistic missiles as well. Does the U.S. have the leverage that it needs to get Iran to agree to something that goes as far as you want to see?

GOTTHEIMER: I mean, that's always the question, right? I mean, I think we're the most powerful country in the world. So I think we have a lot of leverage.

I think if we're willing to be aggressive, we just have to be very clear, in my mind, that we are going to lay down the law in certain areas, as we did in the beginning of this conflict, on their nuclear program and enrichment, which threatens the United States of America and our allies, but being very clear of what is acceptable on their ballistic missile program, which they've been -- they've sped up and they've been incredibly aggressive about, including after we went after their nuclear program last year, which was very effective, I might add. Their terror financing program, which was a huge issue with JCPOA, that we didn't do anything to slow back their financing of Hamas or Hezbollah, Taliban Islamic Jihad and other enemies of the United States of America. And we've seen that only get worse.

I'm worried if they have more resources, they have more dollars in their pocket, they're going to use those dollars to obviously fund terror, and that threatens our democracy and freedom. So those are the areas where we started this conflict, we had very clear muscular views on, and it appears now that we're weakening versus strengthening our position, and we shouldn't do that.

KEILAR: Let's talk a little bit about Hezbollah, because you say that the U.S. seems to be selling out Israel in this agreement. Both Trump and Vance have been critical of Israel here recently, especially when it comes to their strikes in Lebanon, as they target Hezbollah there. And yet Americans, they want to see an end to this war.

And Israel is in conflict with Hezbollah and Iranian proxy. What could the U.S. be doing to serve American interests, but not be, as you say, selling out Israel?

GOTTHEIMER: Well, it's more selling out. I think what I said was selling out a very important ally to the United States in the fight against terror. And that second part in the fight against terror is very important when it comes to America's national security.

Remember that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization that is designated by the United States. They've gone after Americans, right, and attacked our people, not just our key allies. And what's happened now is Hezbollah has been continuing to attack, and they killed this weekend more Israeli soldiers.

[15:40:00]

Israel has responded. So now both sides are claiming to be in a defensive posture where one's attacking the other and back and forth. And I think Israel has made it pretty clear if Hezbollah, the terrorist organization, stops, that they'll stop. And obviously, I'd like to see, like most, an end to all the end of the conflict there. But I think Israel, just like us, is defending herself, just like we would if we were attacked.

But the broader picture remains the same. This is about America's national security and what we need to do to protect America. And we know who the terrorists are, who the bad guys are.

We know who's been funding and financing the terrorists over the years. That's Iran. We know they've continued to fund Hezbollah, a terrorist organization.

And we know that they're enemies of our country. So for me, it's all about strength for America and protecting our national interests against those who seek to do us ill and undermine our freedom. And that's where I worry about this broader agreement.

I want to make sure that when we walk away in the end, we haven't left Iran strengthened and us in a weakened position. That would be a terrible outcome and obviously would undermine our national security on the nuclear front, on the ballistic missile front, on the terror front. That's what we need to focus on.

And that means, of course, standing by our key allies who've looked out for our interests over the years.

KEILAR: Congressman Josh Gottheimer, thank you so much for taking the time with us this afternoon. We really appreciate it. GOTTHEIMER: No, I appreciate it. And I would just say one thing. Remember the Gulf countries have been our key allies as well, and Iran has attacked them over and over again.

So it's not just Israel, it's also the Arab nations who've been attacked. And we need to make sure that they're protected in the end from the Iranian regime. And I think that's an important thing to note.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly something to consider as we look to see where these 60 days go. Congressman, thank you very much.

Still ahead, the music industry losing one of the all-time greats. A look back at the life and legacy of record producer Clive Davis.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The music industry is mourning the loss of a legend. Producer Clive Davis has passed away at the age of 94. Of course, Davis helped launch and guide the careers of dozens of music icons, including Whitney Houston when she was just 19 and became perhaps his most famous discovery.

Her powerhouse vocals drew Davis in and can be heard in the remake of the song, "I Will Always Love You." Of course, the Bodyguard soundtrack that it appeared on was produced by Davis and Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(WHITNEY HOUSTON SINGING "I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU")

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I just want to let that continue so we can listen to that. Well, Davis worked across musical genres with top talents, including Janis Joplin, Barry Manilow, Alicia Keys, and saxophone great Kenny G. We spoke to Kenny G last hour as he recalled how Davis and his team took a chance on him after he performed on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNY G, AWARD-WINNING SAXOPHONIST AND CLIVE DAVIS COLLABORATOR: They really just embraced me and said, look, we're going to go fly around the country, we're going to knock on doors, and we're going to make these guys play this little instrumental that has no business on pop radio. And you know what? They did, and people responded to it.

Like I said, I really owe my career to him taking a chance on a sound that, again, had no place. There was no radio outlet for my sound. He just made that happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister has a look at Davis's life and legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLIVE DAVIS, MUSIC PRODUCER: I like music, but I was just a fan. This was totally by accident that I got into this field.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, The Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, Santana, and the list goes on. Clive Davis, known as the man with the golden ears, either discovered them or helped catapult them into music superstardom.

DAVIS: My parents died when I was a late teenager. I had no money to rise above the station. I studied law to become a lawyer.

The fates were good. Luck was in my way, and the firm that I went to work for represented Columbia Records. I became their general counsel for five years, and then overnight, I was made head of the company.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): His knack for finding talent was almost immediately evident.

DAVIS: A sense to revolution was in the works. I realized instinctively that this was a time that I had to trust and go with my instinct because the stereo revolution was over and music was changing, and I had to, it was going to be up to me, in effect, to move this company forward. And I think within the next two years from the signing of Janis Joplin and Donovan and Blood, Sweat, and Tears and Santana and then Chicago, and when they all hit one after another, and I was there making that judgment, and I saw them all come through, it obviously gave me confidence to keep going.

DAVIS: With me, it's just a natural gift, if you will, that I never knew I had. There's no metrics. There's no study.

It's just both a combination of common sense, trusting your ear and your instinct. How special is this?

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Janis Joplin was one of his first discoveries.

DAVIS: There, I had a connection with Joplin, whether it was trust, whether it was integrity, we had an instant connection.

[15:50:00]

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): And not only did Davis find all the right artists, he also found them the right songs.

DAVIS: Regarding Whitney, I was there when her career began. I discovered her when she was 19, and we embarked on this odyssey breaking every record in the record book. WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Davis was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1932. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he won four Grammy Awards, a Grammy Trustee Award, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

DAVIS: And if you're a survivor, and in show business, whether you're an artist or as an executive, you've got to be a survivor, and you've got to rise above cold periods, you've got to come back.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Davis married twice and had four children. In 2013, he released a memoir called "The Soundtrack of My Life." In it, he revealed that he was bisexual.

DAVIS: It wasn't that I was bisexual when I was married. This is something that only occurred after my second marriage failed. So for the first time, having failed in marriage twice, not related at all to sex, I opened myself up to the possibility of having a relationship with a person rather than their gender.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): And though his golden years were legend, he said recognizing opportunity was the real secret to his success.

DAVIS: I was really in the right place at the right time. It was luck. I'm not being modest.

It was luck that I got that opportunity. I think life is seizing those opportunities.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Elizabeth Wagmeister for that look at the life of Clive Davis.

Still ahead, history has been made. Argentina superstar Lionel Messi just became the World Cup's all-time leading goal scorer. Is he the greatest of all time? We'll discuss next.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. Today, a federal judge rejecting an effort by the alleged shooter at April's White House Correspondents' Dinner to disqualify D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche from the case. Attorneys for the alleged shooter argue that both Blanche and Pirro should be removed, citing their attendance at the dinner and Pirro's close friendship with President Trump.

The judge found that Pirro and Blanche were not victims in a legal sense that would trigger their disqualification or that their presence at the event meant they needed to be removed.

And in Brazil, authorities say they seized eight trucks carrying about 260 tons of timber that was allegedly laced with liquid cocaine. This happened yesterday near the Bolivian border. Officials estimating up to 50 tons of the drug could be hidden in that cargo. If confirmed, it would be the largest cocaine seizure in Brazilian history.

SANCHEZ: And Dusty May, who just coached the University of Michigan's men's basketball team to a national championship in April, is now headed to the NBA. Sources say he's going to replace Jason Kidd as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. May leaves Ann Arbor after two seasons, where he coached the Wolverines to a Big Ten tournament title, a Big Ten regular season title, and the program's first national title since 1989.

Staying with sports, how does the Goat top a hat trick at the World Cup? How about breaking the tournament scoring record and adding another goal on top of it? Well, now Messi is now the all-time leading scorer with 18 goals in his World Cup career.

KEILAR: He scored both of Argentina's goals during their 2-0 victory over Austria today. CNN's Don Riddell joins us on this. What a day for Messi, Don.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: That's quite the understatement. I mean, it's just absolutely extraordinary what this guy is achieving. Remember, the last World Cup in Qatar four years ago was supposed to be his swan song when he finally led his country to the World Cup title.

That was the trophy that was so elusive in his career, and a lot of us just assumed that he would go out on top. Not so. He's back this time, and frankly, he seems to be even better, despite the fact that he's going to be turning 39 later this week.

He's just turning it on again and again, and as you say, now breaking all these other records. Remember, in the first game a few days ago against Algeria, he scored a hat trick. That was something he'd never done in the World Cup before.

It came on his 200th international appearance, 20 years to the day since his first World Cup goal in appearance, and he followed it up with another brace today in this 2-0 win against Austria. By the way, it could have been another hat trick. He actually missed a penalty early in that game, but not to worry.

He still scored a couple of goals. No other player has scored for Argentina yet in this tournament. Five goals.

Messi scored all of them. This result means that they are now through to the knockout stage, so it doesn't really matter what happens in their final group game, at least in terms of their progression to the knockout phase. He now has the record, as you say.

Miroslav Klose's 16 goals was the mark. He's now too clear of that. It's quite likely that he'll break another record if he keeps going at this rate, because he is tied for the World Cup assist record with the Argentina great Diego Maradona on eight, so if he sets up a goal in their upcoming games, then he's going to have that record too.

It's looking like Argentina are a decent bet to go all the way and win the trophy again. And Messi, by the way, is doing this at the same time as his father is dealing with some fairly serious health issues, but that doesn't seem to be stopping Messi delivering these just joyful, extraordinary performances. Incredible.

SANCHEZ: So, Don, hate to put you on the spot, but there are some naysayers here in the studio that have been talking trash about Lionel Messi's accomplishments. Is he the greatest living player? What do you think?

RIDDELL: Living player? Yes, I don't see how it's a debate. I mean, the comparison is always Cristiano Ronaldo, but Ronaldo hasn't won a World Cup.

[16:00:00]

And you look at the way Ronaldo is playing in this tournament, very, very disappointing. I think a lot of people objectively would say he's holding Portugal back. It's the complete opposite with Messi. This whole team just wants him to succeed, and he's doing it.

KEILAR: Our floor director Pablo will have words with you, Don, but we agree fully.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much. "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts before Pablo starts throwing things at us.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much for joining us.

END