Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump: Strikes Are Going To Get "Really Bad" Unless Iran Negotiates; Trump: "We Cannot Give Up" ICE Traffic Stops After Two Deadly Shootings; Spain Defeats France 2-0 To Reach FIFA World Cup Final. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 15, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:31:57]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The breaking news this morning, you see oil prices up again as the U.S. launches a new wave of strikes on Iran. Gas prices up too, another three cents. You can see where they stand right now at $3.89, up from yesterday. Again, down from the highs of the peak of the war but still significantly higher than before.

Maritime security experts say Iran appears to have been preparing so- called blockade-busting vessels in the Persian Gulf as a way to evade U.S. forces.

Let's get to CNN senior business reporter David Goldman with all of this now. What's the latest you're seeing?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, it's a big enough story I've got my telestrator out. I mean, oil is up. It's not up a ton but, you know, we're still heading in the wrong direction.

And one of the things that is lifting those prices is the blockade because what you can do is you can blockade the strait, but you have to ensure that you're not letting the bad oil out, right -- the Iranian oil -- but you are letting the good oil through. And that's all the other stuff that's coming through. That's a difficult task.

One of the things that Iran is trying to do is spoof their ships so that they can get through without the U.S. detecting them. Right now there's 23 ships that Windward Security, which is one of these maritime security agencies, have identified as Iranian ships that are pretending they're something else. They're an Indian vessel. They're a Chinese vessel. Whatever it is.

Now, 10 of them actually have cargo on them right now bound for China and they can go in and out of the strait. There's lots of things that they can do. Iran has become an expert at evading U.S. sanctions. It's very important to understand that.

Now, 50 million Iranian barrels got out of the strait during the three weeks that we had that memorandum of understanding in just one single day. Right before the blockade, we had 10 million barrels come out. So Iran was able to get that oil out. It wants to do that because, check this out, 50 percent of the regime's revenue comes from oil. This is crucial to the Iranian economy and their ability to continue to do business in Iran.

China buys most of that. It's around 80 percent. So most of this is going to China. The big question right now: Does China even want this oil at the price that it's at right now? We'll see. Eighty-five bucks is a lot more expensive than the $71 that we were at just a couple of weeks ago.

BERMAN: And we'll see what happens if it sticks at this price as the situation seems to be something stabilized in this very violent back- and-forth right now.

GOLDMAN: Yeah.

BERMAN: David Goldman, the czar of the telestrator, great to see you. Thank you very much.

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you, gentlemen.

New this morning, President Trump threatening to strike Iranian infrastructure once again -- things like bridges and power plants -- next week unless Iran returns to negotiations. He is also not ruling out putting U.S. troops on the ground.

With me now, CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas, and CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh. Thank you both for being here.

[07:35:03]

Sabrina, I'll start with you. Trump talking about the -- maybe or considering or he has not ruled out putting troops on the ground in Iran.

Just out of curiosity, what would that entail? What might that look like if that were to happen?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I mean, that would -- there are many options that the military has likely presented -- particularly, Central Command has presented to the president when it comes to a ground force on the ground somewhere in Iran, probably to seize Kharg Island. It's not just about taking, like, an entity or an island like Kharg Island; it's actually about being able to hold it, and that would require a significant amount of manpower and dedication from our military to do that.

And Iran is a very big country and, as we're seeing, with a lot of capability. On top of that this is a deeply unpopular war and so even though the president might say that he's considering it, I think that the American public and certainly Congress does not have the appetite to send our men and women in uniform into further harm's way when it comes to this war.

SIDNER: Those are all good points. They're all things that we've seen in polling as well as far as the way that Americans feel about this particular war and certainly putting troops on the ground.

Alex, to you now. I know you have some good sources surrounding intel. Can you give me a sense of what you're hearing and what people are thinking about this idea that Trump has put forth to maybe have the U.S. somehow police the Strait of Hormuz and perhaps charge a toll, although he's kind of waffled on that back and forth. But it's something that he's considered several times.

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, DIRECTOR, COUNTERTERRORISM PROJECT, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: So the Iranians haven't given any indication that they are ready to either come back to the negotiating table or that they are willing to provide freedom of movement in the strait, which is what the understanding as coming out of the MOU, at least amongst the negotiators. But when they get back to Iran, my understanding is that the IRGC and the members of the national security apparatus there balked at that idea.

At the last meeting not that long ago -- a few days ago -- the Iranians and the Omanis got together because the Omanis control the other side of the strait. And I'm told that the Omanis presented a plan in which they said look, the southern corridor of the strait, we'll control. There will be freedom of movement. And then Iran, you can control your half and what you do is what you do.

The foreign minister said he needed to go back and get permission from the Supreme National Security Council and Iran answered a few hours later by firing on ships and then firing on Gulf States, and that was the response.

So at this point that was President Trump's idea he floated. It's the second time he mentioned, you know, concept of the U.S. and how getting revenue from this. The first time he reversed course quickly as well. There is zero support for that from the international community and from the U.S. business community, and from most folks in the national security community in the U.S. as well. So that doesn't seem realistic.

SIDNER: To you, Sabrina. Having covered, you know, several conflicts -- not this war on the ground but several conflicts on the ground -- I understand the international law requires militaries to only attack, like, military objectives.

When the president starts talking about attacking things like the, you know, infrastructure, whether it be bridges or whether it be the electric grid, how do you do this without breaking international law?

SINGH: Well, this is where it gets really murky. Um, you know, the U.S. military right now has been focused on military targets, but what they could expand out to are some of these dual-use targets. Targets like bridges that civilians and the military use to transfer -- it could be weapons. It could be, you know, civilian traffic. And that's where we get into this conversation of what violates international law.

When I was at the Pentagon, we had a center of excellence and individuals that were embedded with or combat and commands that were essentially advising our combat and commands and their leadership about different targets and what makes a military target a legitimate target.

Secretary Hegseth has essentially done away with this organization. And so this is a conversation that the Pentagon now is going to have to have with its lawyers. Now, we also know Pete Hegseth has purged many of those JAG officers from the beginning of his time.

So this is a real conversation, and I think that's why you're seeing many in Congress on both sides of the aisle deeply uncomfortable with this war and asking the president -- saying let's get Iran back to the negotiating table. Because the objectives of the war -- what originally started was addressing, you know, the nuclear program, the ballistic missile program that Iran has -- has now really shifted to this new phase of must being open -- being able to open the Strait of Hormuz. And so you're seeing the pressure building for the president to bring Iran back to the table.

SIDNER: Alex, to you now. You know, the president has said he's going to go hard on Iran over and over and over again. What is, you know, left really to strike that would make a big impact on Iran?

[07:40:00]

PLITSAS: So left to strike and big impact may not necessarily be the same. So there' still -- there were still about 3,000 or 4,000 targets left when it caused the bombing campaign and that's to take out the remainder of the original targets that Sabrina just spoke about.

At this point it looks like the -- what they're trying to do is degrade the capabilities along the strait for Iran to be able to attack ships, but it only takes a couple of drones or missiles to do that. But that's also why we're seeing them reimpose the oil sanctions and why the blockade is going into effect because military strikes in response to Iranian strikes on ships in recent weeks wasn't sufficient to get them to stop order back to the table seriously. So it looks like now it's a combination of both economic and military measures to try and bring them back to the table.

SIDNER: All right. I think the president, after the MOU was signed, said that the details will be easy. And we all know from this region in general that this is really hard stuff and here we are back at it.

Sabrina Singh, Alex Plitsas, it's always good to have you both on to talk us through all the difficult details -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Moments ago we just saw that President Trump is up and posting on social media and doing so seeming to be contradicting his border czar. Trump saying this. I'll read it. "We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.'s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools" and he's talking specifically, as you see, of "THE TRAFFIC STOP!" he writes.

It was just yesterday that DHS said that ICE would be pausing -- putting a pause on most traffic stops. This is important because there have been two ICE-related deadly shootings in just a week during traffic stops -- one of those in Houston, Texas. That's where CNN's Carolina Peguero is live for us this morning to talk more about it.

Is it clear what this now means for Houston?

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate.

Well, there is still a lot of questions unanswered and that's why over 100 residents here in Houston went to the City Hall to speak and express their frustration. They're wanting to seek answers in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's shooting and killing here in this community of Magnolia Park as the ongoing investigations continue and as federal agencies resist to collaborate with state and local officials here in the Harris County.

Now, as funeral preparations are underway for the family, we are hearing more information as far as the three men that are currently detained but that were with Lorenza Salgado Araujo in that van the day that shooting happened. And they were granted U visa certifications because they are key witnesses in this case and in the investigations and that means they cannot be deported.

Now yesterday we spoke with Lorenzo's sons, Ronaldo and Lorenzo Jr. and they are seeking justice, but they are also -- they don't want any more families to feel -- fear or have to lose any more family members or their loved ones in that ICE -- in the hands of ICE agents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALDO SALGADO, FATHER SHOT AND KILLED BY ICE: We also ultimately want to see, like, our end goal. We want to see that people, you know, that grew up like us for everyone to be able to live life without fear. People to be able to go out without fear. People to be able to drive without fear. Living in fear is now way to live and unfortunately that's how many people in immigrant communities live. And one day I want to live in an America where we don't have to look over our shoulder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEGUERO: And the Salgado brothers want an independent investigation. They also shared that their mother, who has been heavily impacted and distraught by their loss -- that she is grateful for the support that they have received as a family from the community. And she is inviting city members and residents to the public viewing of Lorenzo Salgado's funeral. That will be tomorrow, Thursday, and then they will have a private family viewing on Friday, Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, Carolina. Thank you so much for your reporting and bringing us that important conversation with his sons -- John. BERMAN: All right, from Houston to Maine where ICE agents involved in the killing of a 26-year-old were not wearing body cameras, just like in Houston. The Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition says Joan Sebastian Duran Guerrero was authorized to work in the U.S. and also had a Social Security number.

With us now is the mayor of Biddeford in Maine, Mayor Liam LaFountain. Mayor, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

I want to talk about your community but first, I want your reaction to the breaking news. After Homeland Security says it was going to pause most ICE traffic stops the president just seemed to reverse it. He wrote, "We cannot give up one of ICE's most important and effective crimefighting tools, the traffic stop."

This is where Mr. Guerrero was killed.

So what do you think of the president's reversal on this?

MAYOR LIAM LAFOUNTAIN, BIDDEFORD, MAINE (via Webex by Cisco): Thank you, John.

[07:45:00]

Well, I think the secretary was right that they needed a stop in these traffic tactics and these tactics that ICE are using. We saw what they result in here in Biddeford, and as I heard earlier on your program in Houston as well. So they need to stop and it can't be temporary. It needs to be permanent -- those tactics.

BERMAN: What impact has it had on your community? I know obviously the death of Mr. Guerrero -- the killing of Mr. Guerrero was the most immediate cause there. But the presence over time -- what impact has it had?

LAFOUNTAIN: Well, it's striking fear. I mean, there's a deep melancholy within the city. Um, fear among all residents, particularly immigrant residents, including those who are here legally.

BERMAN: Um, one issue again in Biddeford as was in Houston was that the ICE officers -- agents involved in the shootings were not wearing body cameras. Now I know you've said that officers in your own community -- the police -- you've got body cameras for them.

Susan Collins, the senator from Maine, said, "It's extremely unfortunate that the agent involved did not have a body-worn camera." But then she went on to blame Democrats. She said, "The Democratic government shutdown delayed enactment and implementation of these important safety measures."

How do you see it? Is that the reason to blame for these officers not wearing body cameras?

LAFOUNTAIN: It's unacceptable that they weren't wearing body cameras. Like I said before, in Biddeford, since 2018, every single police officer has worn a bodycam. There's no excuse for the federal government and agency like ICE that's interacting and using these tactics that they're not (INAUDIBLE) with body cameras. Unacceptable, period.

BERMAN: How do you feel that the investigation, as it is, is going right now? How much information do you have about that investigation?

LAFOUNTAIN: I do not have much more information than your network does or other media do. As far as I'm aware in talking to our federal delegation and to the governor's office, the state of Maine, the attorney general's office, an investigative unit is still involved. And that's what I want to encourage to see because we need a full, comprehensive, and thorough investigation that's transparent and involves Maine law enforcement, which Maine people trust.

BERMAN: Mayor, have you had contact with the Guererro family? How are they doing and how is your community doing this morning?

LAFOUNTAIN: I've had contact with representatives from the Guererro family, and I won't speak for how they're feeling. I have talked with numerous neighbors and members of the community and we're reeling right now. This is unlike anything that's ever happened in our community and it's a struggle.

BERMAN: Mayor Liam Biddeford -- Liam LaFountain of Biddeford, Maine. It's a lovely town. We know you're going through a lot right now. We're thinking of you. Thank you very much -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. One person has died and crews are right now searching for three missing people after a pontoon boat capsized near Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. Twenty people, most of them related, were onboard when the boat went down yesterday. Sixteen of them thankfully rescued, but one person ended up dying after being pulled from the frigid temperatures and choppy waters there. And as we mentioned, three people still missing. It's not yet known what caused the boat to sink but witnesses have reported a fire on that pontoon boat.

All right. Ahead, a worst-case scenario. A flood threat is hitting southern Texas hard. Dozens of water rescues have already happened, and another round of these severe storms is on their way.

Also, ESPN calls it the World Cup's best, angriest, and most chaotic rivalry. Today, England and Argentina playing for a chance to head to the final.

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:53:17]

BOLDUAN: The World Cup semifinals kicked off yesterday with a dominant performance by Spain, and also meaning a disappointment defeat for France. Spain is now waiting and watching with the rest of us though to see who the team is going to take on in the World Cup final, which will be decided today with a matchup between England and Argentina. CNN's Andy Scholes is here with us now. What's gonna happen?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, there. We will see, Kate.

But one thing is for sure, Spain just looked so impressive, you know. Not even Kylian Mbappe and France's high-powered offense could do anything against them. Spain now hasn't lost a match in regulation since March of 2024. It's 37 straight games unbeaten.

And they just completely controlled the game with France from the start. Spain scored on a penalty after Lucas Digne kicked Lamine Yamal in the box. That led to that penalty. Pedro Porro -- he then added a goal for Spain in the second half, and that was more than enough because Spain's defense was once again just rock solid. France's high- powered offense shut out for the first time in this World Cup.

Spain has only allowed on goal the entire tournament and they're now on to the final for the first time since they won it all back in 2010. They now await the winner between Argentina and England. And Argentina fans -- they've already taken over Atlanta as they look to become the first country to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil back in 1962.

Now, these two countries -- they have beef that goes back decades. In today's "What a Shot" we look at the most controversial moment in World Cup history. Diego Maradona's hand of God back in 1986. It was the quarterfinal between Argentina and England. Maradona scores with his hand. He then scored what is known as the "Goal of the Century" moments later. Argentina went on to win it all. England fans -- they've never forgotten that match and still complain about it to this day.

[07:55:08]

And the rivalry continued in 1998 when David Beckham was sent off on a red card and Argentina knocked England out once again. Beckham and England though did get some revenge four years later in 2002 beating Argentina, which helped eliminate them from the group.

Now these two countries have not faced off in the World Cup since that match 24 years ago. But England manager Thomas Tuchel knows this matchup is extra spicy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS TUCHEL, ENGLAND MANAGER: I think you cannot just say it's just another football match. Uh, but as a coach, we do exactly that -- focus on -- focus on what we can influence. We don't -- actually, me and my team -- between us, we don't speak about the historic events. We don't speak about the iconic moments. It's in itself iconic enough and the tension is big enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. And finally, we had the midsummer classic last night in Philadelphia and the Yankees' Cody Bellinger coming through. The bases loaded, a two RBI single in the first inning and that was good enough to earn him All-Star Game MVP because the AL pitching staff lights out. They struck out 15 National League batters. The AL would win 4-0.

And Kate, if you're like me and you nodded off somewhere, you know, in the fifth inning of that game, you didn't miss much because the game -- that was pretty much the score from the very start.

But you will not nod off today for England-Argentina. That game kicks off at 3:00 Eastern this afternoon. I'm going down to the stadium in just a little while, Kate. Super exciting. You know, all these Argentina games have been, like, 95 percent Argentina fans in the stands.

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

SCHOLES: Not going to be the case today. I bet it's going to be 50-50. All the England fans think it's finally coming home. They haven't won since 1966. We shall see.

BOLDUAN: I mean, it's going to be really -- I love it. Spicy is the right word. I did not appreciate the beef between these two countries on the -- on the soccer pitch, and now I'm obsessed with it, Andy. Thank you so much. But 3:00 -- that is basically my nod off time, so I can clear, J.B.

BERMAN: The whole Falkland Island thing, too.

BOLDUAN: Don't get me started.

BERMAN: This is all very, very serious to them.

All right. In Arizona, emergency crews called in for swift water rescues after several days of heavy rains. One driver climbed to the roof of the car as it was overtaken by the rushing water there. He was trapped until crews used a ladder to reach him. No major injuries reported there.

We've got new video of a wildfire engulfing a train in Canada with people inside. The train had been actually evacuating people from wildfire-affected areas in Ontario when it was overtaken by the flames. All the people who were on board did make it out safely.

So the House has voted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, advancing a bipartisan bill that would end the twice a year clock changes. Now, supporters say it would reduce sleep disruption and give Americans more evening daylight. I will tell you, opponents argue it will do mostly the opposite. That it's actually better for your sleep to be on standard time. Then there's just as many people, including scientists, who say the clock switch is really the most elegant and best solution of all.

The measure now goes to the Senate where it's very unlikely to pass. There are some senators adamantly opposed to it, like Tom Cotton.

All right. This morning astronomers say they detected a type of sugar in space. They found it in what they call the "interstellar medium," which is made up of thin clouds, and gas, and dust littered between the star systems. Now apparently, there's sugar in there and you can almost see it, right? This is all sugar. Specks of sugar.

SIDNER: (Laughing)

BERMAN: Oh, no. I'm now being told that's not exactly what that is. But apparently there is sugar out there. Now all we need is, like, what -- space coffee to put it all in.

SIDNER: I'd be like Pacman. Like, num, num, num, num. These are good. Like, num, num, num, num, num. I'm ready. I'm going to space. I'm good. I'm happy. I'm really happy.

BERMAN: It's so good to have you back.

SIDNER: All right. New this morning the U.K. taking another step in its fight against social media's impact on young people. The government has unveiled an overnight curfew for older teenagers, making some apps like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube unavailable to them between midnight and six in the morning. The curfew comes after the U.K. launched a sweeping social media ban for anyone under the age of 16.

CNN's Nada Bashir is joining me now. This is big. Tell me how it works.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well look, Sara, this is, as you mentioned, the next step after that initial announcement by the government last month. They will be banning social media access to all under 16 year olds. But this seen as sort of a phasing in for 16- and 17-year-olds, allowing them to have access but, of course, for that curfew to come into place between 12:00 a.m. midnight and 6:00 a.m.

And this would essentially prevent any sort of access to social media sites like Twitter, like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. But it would also add measures which would essentially prevent apps which allow for constant scrolling like, for example, reels on Instagram or on TikTok -- to prevent that from automatically being the case for teenagers using those apps.