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IAEA Chief Says No Tangible Proof of Iran's Active A-Bomb Program; Israeli Official "Skeptical" of Diplomatic Talks with Iran; CNN Investigates Israeli Strikes on Key Iranian Officials and Their Civilian Toll; OPEC+ Is Increasing Oil Output Gradually; New Strikes as Israel-Iran Conflict Enters Second Week; Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil Released from Detention; Heat Dome Causes High Temps across U.S. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired June 21, 2025 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, new strikes in Israel and Iran, even as talks are set to start in Istanbul. What the diplomatic outlook is right now.
It comes as the White House slow rolls its response to the conflict when Trump says he could make up his mind on whether to get involved.
Plus, a Palestinian student activist is out of an American prison. We'll break down the ruling that led to Mahmoud Khalil's freedom.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: An Iranian official says the latest round of Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran's nuclear research complex in Isfahan. A strike on a residential building in the city of Qom killed two people and injured four others, according to Iranian state media.
The city is close to Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant. In Israel, people took shelter from the latest Iranian missile launches. Iran is denying Israel's claim that it's been forced to cut back on missile launches because of dwindling stock.
A senior Iranian official tells CNN that Iran is using more advanced precision missiles and doesn't need to fire as many of them.
In Holon, just outside of Tel Aviv, a building caught fire. Israel says it was hit by shrapnel from an intercepted missile.
And on Friday, European diplomats held talks with Iran in Geneva, hoping Iran will return to nuclear talks with the U.S. Well, president Trump says his decision on whether or not the U.S. will strike Iran could come in less than two weeks. CNN's senior White House correspondent, Kristen Holmes, has more.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump stopping to talk to reporters about the conflict between Israel and Iran on the way to his New Jersey golf club in Bedminster.
Saying this about calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asking him to stop the fighting for at least a brief period to bring Iran to the table.
TRUMP: Well, I think it's very hard to make that request right now if somebody is winning. It's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing. But we're ready, willing and able and we've been speaking to Iran and well see what happens.
HOLMES: And now this, of course, again, was in response to the Iranians saying that they would talk to the U.S. directly about diplomatic conversations about a possible nuclear deal but only if the U.S. got Israel to stop its attacks on Iran. So it doesn't sound like that's going to happen.
Now President Trump was also asked about this two-week period. He said it was enough time to get people to come to their senses but also said that was the maximum amount of time indicating that something could happen in terms of U.S. involvement before the two weeks was over.
And one more interesting thing to point out that happened is he once again went against his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who back in March said that Iran was not developing a nuclear weapon, saying she's wrong emphatically she is wrong.
Of course, we have been reporting that there has been somewhat of a rift, at least from President Trump, when it comes to his DNI, because he believes that she is, quote, off message -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Well, Kristen Holmes mentioned president Trump says his Director of National Intelligence is wrong about Iran's nuclear capabilities. He was asked about that again on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: What intelligence do you have that Iran is building a nuclear weapon?
Your intelligence community has said they have no evidence that they are at this point.
TRUMP: Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that.
QUESTION: Your Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
TRUMP: Well, she's wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, Gabbard claims the media is taking her congressional testimony about Iran out of context.
In March, she told members of Congress that Iran is, quote, "not building a nuclear weapon," end quote.
She posted this on social media on Friday saying, quote, "America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months. President Trump has been clear that can't happen. And I agree."
Well, the U.N. nuclear watchdog has reached similar conclusions as Gabbard before she changed her tune, the agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, spoke Friday about whether Iran has an active nuclear weapons program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL MARIANO GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: We have confirmed that Iran does have, even now, enough material for several warheads.
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But this should not be equated with a nuclear weapon. We do not have, at this point, if you ask me, at this point, any tangible proof that there is a program or a plan to fabricate to manufacture a nuclear weapon. There are different scattered activities here and there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, Iran filed a complaint at the United Nations against Grossi on Friday, accusing him of failing to condemn Israel's military action. According to an Iranian news outlet, the complaint also took issue with his approach to what Tehran calls its peaceful nuclear activities.
Israel's foreign minister says his country had no choice but to strike Iran. Just hours before Israel launched its operation Rising Lion, the U.N. agency found Iran in breach of its nonproliferation obligations. That was the first time in 20 years Tehran was in that position.
The Israeli minister visited the site of an Iranian strike in Haifa on Friday and said that Tehran simply can't be trusted.
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GIDEON SA'AR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: We know from the record of Iran they are not negotiating honestly.
And we just read it from the last report of the IAEA that stated they are reaching all their commitments. So personally, I'm skeptical with regard to their intention and honesty. We have no other option but to remove this existential threat by ourselves. And this is what we are doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Iran's foreign minister is in Istanbul today. These are live pictures coming to us right now. The foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are meeting together. They're expected to focus on Israel's strikes against Iran, including those targeting nuclear sites.
Well, Sanam Vakil is the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. She joins us live from London.
Thanks so much for your time.
SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
KINKADE: So as we go to air, Iran's foreign minister is meeting with those leaders from 57 Muslim majority nations in Turkiye. This is an emergency summit, certainly signaling how rapidly this conflict is escalating in the region.
Under what circumstances would we see other nations getting involved, whether it's supplying Iran with weapons or taking steps that could expand this into a broader regional war?
VAKIL: Well, I think right now for the countries of the Middle East, the number one priority is to push for de-escalation, if not a ceasefire, and encourage all pathways back to the negotiating table.
The worst possible outcome for the region, all Arab states and Turkiye, includes the war spreading and involving counterattacks or strikes across the Middle East.
So this meeting today in Istanbul, bringing together the Organization of Islamic Countries, is a very strong signal and important to see what communiques come out that the region stands opposed to this war and is looking for de-escalation.
KINKADE: You've written extensively about Iran's domestic political landscape.
Is this conflict likely to strengthen the regime, particularly in light of Israel's suggestions that it could lead to regime change in Tehran?
VAKIL: Well, obviously, this is a conflict, a war that is still very heated. And it's hard to see how, in this moment, the Iranian structure will change. I think it will change inevitably, because it was always on the course of change with Iran's supreme leader being 86 years old. Change was coming.
But regime change with an aerial operation from another country isn't likely in the cards. What I think the Israeli government is trying to achieve is to weaken and destabilize the Iranian government in the hope that there is unrest and fragmentation inside Iran.
And in this moment, that is also unlikely. The Iranian government, of course, is trying to build solidarity inside, using rhetoric and trying to build momentum, calling this a national struggle.
And Iranians from across the spectrum, of course, feel very angry that they are being subject to war. It doesn't mean that they have suddenly legitimized their government.
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But we have to wait and see how things unfold. It's very dangerous for Iranians themselves. Obviously, the regime is in a very fragile and difficult situation. But the spillover effect of unrest in Iran for the region is also dangerous. And that is what's driving this meeting in Istanbul.
KINKADE: I want to ask you about potential U.S. involvement, because president Trump has said he'll announce his position on the U.S. role in this conflict within two weeks.
From your perspective, what should the United States be doing both militarily and diplomatically right now?
VAKIL: Well, I think the president needs to make clear what his goals are.
He continues to flip flop. And I think without showing consistent and strong leadership, the United States looks as if it is being drawn into a conflict, a war that is eerily similar to the 2003 Iraq war. And it contradicts president Trump's own criticisms of that war.
He stood in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, just about a month ago, repudiating past American regime change activities in the Middle East, calling for peace and partnership and getting dragged into this war with no offramp, with no clear outcome and an agenda.
And there's also uncertainty if a bombing campaign of Iran's Fordow facility will in fact be successful. So there are many unknown outcomes here.
And I think that's very dangerous for the president of the United States. It will compromise America's legitimacy if things do go wrong. But certainly it compromises trust in the United States, I think, at a very critical moment globally.
KINKADE: And just quickly, what is your assessment of how close Iran actually is to nuclear weapons capability, technically and politically?
VAKIL: I think that Iran has the know-how; it's had the know-how for quite some time. It also has much of the needed components. But the Islamic Republic has committed to not weaponizing its program.
On June 15th, it was heading to the diplomatic negotiating table because, ultimately, it was using the elevated levers of its program to try to obtain a deal and sanctions relief, which is what it ultimately needed.
What worries me deeply is, however, this crisis ends, we might very well see a more militarized Iran. It might not be the same structure of government. But certainly the thinking will be embedded that Iran needs further security. And it could come through a weaponization of its program when it's rebuilt.
KINKADE: All right. Sanam Vakil, appreciate your analysis and perspective from London. Thanks very much.
VAKIL: Thank you.
KINKADE: While some of Israel's strikes on Iran were precise, others have leveled entire buildings. Coming up, a scene investigation takes a closer look at how civilians have been impacted.
Plus, the Israel-Iran conflict driving up global oil prices. Russia's president shares how oil producing countries in OPEC are responding.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
Israel's military says it shot down several drones in a fresh wave of Iranian attacks. New video out of Israel shows a building on fire in Holon, near Tel Aviv. Officials say it was hit by shrapnel after a missile was intercepted. No injuries were reported there.
Now this comes after Israel targeted Iran's largest nuclear research complex overnight. The facility in Isfahan has been struck by Israel before. An Iranian official on state media said there were no threats of hazardous materials leaking out but warned people to avoid the area.
Israel's strikes have not only taken out top Iranian leaders, they've also caused civilian deaths. CNN's Katie Polglase breaks down the human toll at the locations where top Iranian officials were targeted.
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KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hitting the heart of Tehran, Israel's campaign expands every day. CNN has been analyzing these Israeli strikes using satellite imagery, video and publicly available data.
We found somewhat extraordinarily precise, taking out key regime members in their own apartments, while others destroyed whole buildings, killing and injuring civilians. This video shows an apartment building hit by missiles in Tehran on June 13th. We geolocated it to this residential street in the center of the city. We then cross-referenced the location with a list of addresses of key
political and military figures, from a public database leaked by activists. The address matched that of a nuclear scientist, Ahmad Reza Zolfaghari. Iran confirms the scientist's death.
But aftermath footage shows the human toll could be far greater than one person. A whole building turned to rubble.
That same night, this residential building collapsed after a strike, though it's unclear if it was Israel's intended target or collateral damage. The building is here in Chamran, an upmarket Tehran neighborhood and just 1,000 feet away, is a military complex. Multiple buildings, all belonging to Iran's ministry of defense and still standing.
Once again, aftermath footage indicates the likelihood of a heavy civilian toll. Medical staff reported at least 40 people died in this attack, including as many as 15 children.
By the second day of its assault, Israel claimed it killed over 20 members of Iran's security apparatus, including senior commanders. Over the following days, they hit more key institutions.
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Like this oil depot on the outskirts of town. An Iranian state broadcaster under fire while live on air.
But throughout the civilian toll grows, these strikes, which we geolocated here to Orchid, a wealthy neighborhood in central Tehran, killed a young Iranian poet along with her entire family.
The strike was likely targeting Abd al-Hamid Minoushehr, the head of nuclear engineering at a university, who, according to Iranian media, lived in the building.
As rescue workers dug through the rubble of his home, his university confirmed he had been killed.
Israel's recent strikes on Iran follow their operations in Lebanon and Gaza. That also took out key military and political leaders.
Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, pictured here in Gaza in this now infamous drone video seconds before his assassination.
But the civilian toll once again prompts questions around Israel's proportionality and decision making on striking targets in such densely populated areas -- Katie Polglase, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: As Iran and Israel continue their volley of attacks, retired U.S. Army major general Mark McCauley explained his take on the conflict. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAJOR GENERAL MARK MACCARLEY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): The fundamental obligations on the part of military planners is to reduce collateral damage. And that's one of the benefits, so to speak, of our smart weapon systems, meaning we have the ability now with the type of cruise missiles and even drones to pinpoint an individual.
That individual is eliminated and nothing else in the close proximity is harmed. In this case, with the fuselage of attacks on both sides, the probability of hitting civilians has increased multidimensionally.
And so we're beginning to see that this war has a direct impact on those who are living civilians, not members of the military, in both Iran and Israel.
And can we stop it now?
The only way you stop it is, at some point, either we have a negotiated settlement or one side raises their hands. And to use a term brought forth by president Trump, this "unconditional surrender," at least as it pertains to the weapons of mass destruction, the nuclear capabilities of Iran.
Israel is beginning to come up short in terms of its sophisticated missile systems, especially on the air defense side. There are conversations now between Israel and the United States. And those conversations relate to, we need additional force packages in order to defend our cities against the onslaught of Iranian missiles.
This is why, if you look at how this conflict could be waged not only for the next two weeks and hopefully people come to their senses and I -- there's no comment as to the probability of that.
But if this is waged over the course of time, a couple of months, a year, a couple of years, then, all of a sudden, you're going to have Iran moving forward, continually shooting whatever it remains in its inventory and trying to pursue what we call attack approach, meaning you kill with 1,000 cuts.
Meaning you're not able to take out Israel instantaneously. But if you prolong this agony for years and years, even the people in Israel will reach that point of complete frustration and urge their own government to move quickly to negotiations.
We could establish no-fly zones. So you could basically have a no-fly zone at the north of Iran and a no-fly zone toward the south. Anything that penetrates that would in fact be removed by either us or NATO aircraft, assuming that there is some form of agreement that would be effective.
Of course, if you get this super GBU-57, the great bunker bomb, as I talked earlier, while we look at this as a game changer, I'm just suggesting that that weapon system has not yet been used in actual combat.
So we don't know if that thing will reach 400 feet. It might. And then we can all stand up. The Israelis can stand up and start cheering that they have accomplished their objectives. If they don't and there's residue of nuclear material, enriched material, way down in the bowels of Fordow, then this war could go on forever.
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KINKADE: Well, Russian president Vladimir Putin says the group of oil producers known as OPEC+ is increasing their output due to the conflict between Israel and Iran.
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But they're doing it gradually. Iran is the third largest oil producer in OPEC and analysts fear that hostilities could disrupt supply and increase prices. Mr. Putin told the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Friday that the conflict has driven up oil prices but not enough for OPEC to intervene.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): We see that the current situation in the Middle East related to the conflict between Iran and Israel has led to a certain increase in prices.
Well, this growth, in the opinion of our experts, is not significant. Well, what it is now, $75 per barrel and it was $65. It rose by $10 and has stabilized at this level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Well, Israel and Iran are trading deadly missile strikes. We'll look at how ordinary people are responding to the dangers after the break.
Plus, CNN speaks with an Iranian presidential official who says the U.S. could end the conflict between Israel and Iran with one phone call.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you with us.
Israel and Iran have been trading blows in new military strikes as their conflict enters its second week. An Iranian official says the latest round of Israeli strikes targeted Iran's nuclear research complex in Isfahan.
The video shows the Iranian city of Qom. Iranian state media say a strike on a residential building there killed two people, injuring four others. The city is close to Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant.
[04:30:00] Iran is denying Israel's claim that it's been forced to cut back on missile launches because it's dwindling stock. A senior Iranian official tells CNN that Iran is using more advanced precision missiles and doesn't need to fire as many of them.
CNN's Nic Robertson was in Haifa, northern Israel, as an air raid warning sounded. This is what he saw.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And we're going underground now.
LEONID REZNICK, HEAD OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, HAIFA MUNICIPALITY: We're going underground.
ROBERTSON: Into this bunker.
REZNICK: Exactly. It's a bomb shelter bunker.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's Haifa's war room.
ROBERTSON: It's very quiet in here right now.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Almost 24 hours since the last missile strike.
REZNICK: We are trying to let the people at least to go to their houses to buy something and to be a little with the families.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): We don't know it then but they'll soon be running back here. Haifa's missile response and resiliency in their hands. Back out on the streets, people enjoying the lull until the sirens go off.
ROBERTSON: People are running for the shelters. The sirens have just gone off. It's the middle of the afternoon here and everyone's going to try and take shelter.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Iranian missiles have killed three people here in the last week.
ROBERTSON: We're just going to follow the people where they're going to a shelter.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's a desperate rush.
ROBERTSON: So we've followed everyone and this is where we've come to. It seems like it's an underground car park underneath a shopping mall.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Life on hold. People with babies and pets waiting, scouring their phones for news of what's happening above ground. A week of missile strikes taking its toll.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My first time here. ROBERTSON: Really. Why now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just couldn't stay at home anymore. I was too scared.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): And with good reason, while were underground, a missile struck about a mile away.
ROBERTSON: Just arriving on the site less than an hour after the blast. You can see here water pouring out, the damaged cars here as well. This is a scene of the aftermath of a strike here. And it's -- looking at the damage, it's big. Just turning the camera over here, you can see here the building has been blasted, rubble everywhere.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Already, the rescue teams coordinated by the war room on site. Sniffer dogs to locate those trapped in the rubble. Drones to scour the debris. Then the rescue teams looking for unexploded missiles. The city's mayor, who runs the war room, one of the first officials to arrive. Where is diplomacy not working fast enough?
ROBERTSON: President Trump waiting two weeks to make a decision, what do you think about that?
MAYOR YONA YAHAV, HAFIA, ISRAEL: It's too much.
ROBERTSON: Why?
YAHAV: Because we have no time. You see what's going in the middle time?
ROBERTSON: Well, there's more destruction.
YAHAV: They have to sit now and negotiate and design a treaty. It's not a big deal and do it.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Israel's foreign minister next on the scene. For him, a deal with Iran nowhere near in sight.
ROBERTSON: And what's your understanding of the diplomatic talks between the Iranian foreign minister and the European foreign ministers in Geneva?
Are they making progress?
What is your assessment of what's happening there?
SA'AR: Well, frankly, I was always skeptical with regard to diplomatic talks with the Iranians because they are misleading. And even until now, we hadn't heard anything from them which hints they want to change direction.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): By morning, the roads here will be open again, the path to lasting peace still blocked -- Nic Robertson, CNN, Haifa, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Earlier, CNN spoke to Gershon Baskin, a former hostage negotiator, about the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the Iran-Israel conflict. Take a listen.
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GERSHON BASKIN, FORMER HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: There are no winners here.
It's clear that the Iranians are losing more than the Israelis are. But this is not a win for Israel. When the entire population of Israel is locked down in bomb shelters one or two or three times a day and billions of dollars of damage has been done to infrastructure, to buildings, to homes, to a research center at the Weizmann Institute, to a hospital.
So I think it is appropriate for the president to use diplomacy. He said he's going to end wars to try and get the parties back to the table. We don't know what a deal would look like.
But it is not unreasonable to expect Iran to demand to have some enrichment capabilities, at least to 3.5 percent for civil nuclear energy. That would be a reasonable request.
It would have to include what was agreed to in the original deal done by President Obama that enriched uranium beyond the 3.5 percent be removed from Iran.
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And that's part of a deal that the Iranians accepted in the past and they could probably accept once again.
Israel has done significant damage to the Iranian military, to the Revolutionary Guards, to the scientists who run the nuclear program. But at the end of the day, it is the enrichment facility which determines if Iran has enough nuclear material to produce a bomb.
Israel probably can do significant damage but not totally destroy it. And only United States has the capability of doing that, I think.
Israel has not an unlimited supply of defense rockets for protecting the skies of Israel. And we've seen how Iranian missiles have penetrated the Israeli defense capabilities.
According to what's been in the Israeli media, the amount of defensive missiles being shot by Israel is at a faster rate than Israel's ability to produce more missiles or to get them from other sources like the United States.
So there's a calculation that needs to be done by Israel on how long they can carry out this operation. Additionally, there's a question. We don't know what Iran has up its sleeve and how many weapons, ballistic missiles, they have, their ability to shoot.
I think, though, that every day that goes by is a risk to innocent people who are getting killed on both sides of this conflict, probably more in Iran than in Israel.
And there's a question of, do we need to continue to carry out this war?
Or can we move it to the diplomatic path that was started by the United States before the war began?
The sixth round of talks were supposed to take place in Oman before Israel launched its attack against Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, demonstrators marched in Beirut's southern suburbs and other parts of Lebanon Friday to show their support for Iran in its conflict with Israel.
Many chanted slogans or waved the flags of Iran, Lebanon and the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah. Israel's defense minister warned Hezbollah against getting involved in the conflict on Friday. The group has made no explicit pledge to join the fighting.
But on Thursday, Hezbollah's leader said it will act as it sees fit against what he called brutal Israeli American aggression against Iran.
CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is the first Western journalist to enter Iran since the latest conflict began. He spoke to an official with the Iranian presidency about the escalating tensions with Israel and what happens if the U.S. gets directly involved.
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MAJID FARAHANI, OFFICIAL WITH THE IRANIAN PRESIDENCY: I think that Israeli thought that they can be win for example in two or three days.
But now you see that the control is with Iran. And in every attack to Iran will be -- there will some missiles to Israel against. And as I know Iran announced that. Until these attacks has continue, the missiles will continue.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What about President Trump?
President Trump says he wants to give diplomacy a chance. What diplomacy do you think can happen now?
FARAHANI: United States President Trump can easily stop the war by only one telephone to Israel. But I don't know why he didn't do that. We believe to all part of diplomacy. So I think if Mr. Trump order to Netanyahu to stop the attack, the diplomacy can be start again easily.
PLEITGEN: Do you think Iran is willing to speak directly to the Trump administration now?
FARAHANI: Directly or indirectly is not important. The important is that Iran believe to civilian dialogue. PLEITGEN: The U.S. has talked about using a gigantic bomb called the bunker buster against the installation in Fordow. What would happen if America bombed Iranian nuclear sites?
FARAHANI: If America involved to the war, Iran predicted all choices and we are not hand backed and there are so many options. And as I know all these options are on the tables.
PLEITGEN: So you think that American military bases, for instance, would be under threat that Iran would use its militias?
FARAHANI: There are so many -- there are so many options. Not only these. It is only one option. There are so many options and all options has been planned very carefully.
PLEITGEN: Do you think that Iran would be willing to give up enrichment --
FARAHANI: No.
PLEITGEN: -- and, for instance, join a consortium?
FARAHANI: No, no. Iran announced that so many times the enrichment, we will do the enrichment and we don't accept the statement of enrichment. Maybe the enrichment can be lower.
[04:40:02]
But we don't stop it anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, after months in custody over an immigration fight, pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was finally freed from an ICE detention center. We'll have the details next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back.
A Palestinian activist who has been at the center of a long-running deportation fight is now free. You may remember the arrest of student activist Mahmoud Khalil on Columbia University's campus back in March. On Friday, Khalil was released on bail from an immigration detention center in Louisiana. CNN's Mark Morales has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was released from ICE custody. This now ends an over 100-day saga for Khalil, who was taken into ICE custody outside of his apartment near Columbia University. Now lawyers representing both Khalil and the federal government had to
come to an agreement for his release.
Part of that agreement includes Khalil giving up his passport. He is getting a certified copy of that, that passport back. He's also getting a copy of his green card.
He's limited to travel to only a handful of states that include New York, New Jersey, Louisiana. He's not allowed to travel internationally and this all stems from a judge ruling that Khalil was both not a danger to anybody in the community and also not a flight risk.
The judge was also commenting about the duration of time that Khalil was in ICE custody, mentioning that it was highly unusual to continue to detain Khalil because he was no -- he was not considered a danger or a flight risk.
The federal government tried to push back in with their lawyers, arguing that this could open the door to what they call the usage of magic words.
[04:45:02]
Where if anybody wanted to get out of any situation, they could use the First Amendment as a shield in order to protect themselves from any enforcement action.
But the judge pushed back, saying that Khalil has made it very clear that he protested before he was taken into custody. He plans on protesting now. After he's released and at least in Khalil's case, it's not magic words -- Mark Morales, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: U.S. President Donald Trump says negotiations with Harvard University could soon result in a deal. In a post on social media, Mr. Trump said the school had, quote, "acted extremely appropriately," unquote.
After a round of talks with the university, however, sources say there is no final agreement yet. It comes as the federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard's ability to host international students while legal challenges continue.
The administration targeted the school earlier this year over antisemitism allegations on campus.
As ICE raids spark fear and protests around Los Angeles and the country, there are mixed reports about an incident at the Dodger Stadium on Thursday.
The L.A. Dodgers say ICE arrived and requested access to the team's parking lot but the federal government has a different version of how that interaction unfolded. CNN's Josh Campbell has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There are still conflicting accounts about what exactly occurred on Thursday outside the L.A. Dodgers' baseball stadium in Los Angeles.
We do know that a group of federal agents were seen outside the stadium. A group of protesters then arrived. And then members of the Los Angeles Police Department were brought in to provide separation between those two groups. Now here's what the L.A. Dodgers baseball team claimed in a social media post.
They said that, "This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots. They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization."
They said Thursday night's game would go on to be played as scheduled. Now ICE, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, came out very quickly, denying that that was them.
They said in a social media post, "False. We were never there."
Now the Department of Homeland Security also came out with a statement, saying, quote, "This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. Customs and Border Protection vehicles were in the stadium parking lot, very briefly unrelated to any operation or enforcement."
Now there are questions for DHS after that statement. First, as we look at some of the images of those agents, for those of us who have been covering these various immigration raids around the Los Angeles area the past few weeks, that team seen on video looks very similar in makeup to some of the immigration arrest teams.
You have a group of agents that are in unmarked vehicles, with vans that are often used to transport people who are arrested. Many of those agents wearing masks.
Now CNN did hear from a community member who claimed that this person was at a Home Depot home improvement store on Thursday and actually followed a group of agents who had conducted a raid there to this location at Dodger Stadium.
This person said that they actually asked one of the Border Patrol officers there, "What are you doing?"
That person allegedly said, "We are processing people that we arrested."
We're also learning from the "Los Angeles Times" that they have obtained photos indicating it appears two vehicles, at least, that were at that Home Depot store were also at the location outside Dodger Stadium. That information coming to them from a community member.
The identification of those vehicles was made by comparing license plates. So again, a lot of questions for DHS. Their statement indicated that those agents outside the stadium weren't involved in any type of operation. So we're waiting for additional information -- Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.
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KINKADE: U.S. vice president JD Vance was in Los Angeles Friday defending the administration's use of the National Guard in response to the protests against immigration raids by ICE.
That comes after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a pause on a lower court ruling that president Trump should give up control of thousands of troops that had been federalized in L.A. The vice president tried to say state and local officials weren't doing their jobs.
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J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you enforce your own laws and if you protect federal law enforcement, we're not going to send in the National Guard because it's unnecessary.
But if you let violent rioters burn great American cities to the ground, then, of course, we're going to send federal law enforcement in to protect the people the president was elected to protect.
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KINKADE: Vance seemed to take a swipe at California Democratic senator Alex Padilla, who was forcibly removed from a news conference held by Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem last week.
Vance called Padilla "Jose" instead of Alex, although he has served alongside him in the U.S. Senate. The vice president's spokesperson responded by saying he must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.
Well, a heat dome over much of the United States will be sending temperatures soaring into the triple digits this coming week.
[04:50:03]
Just ahead, what Americans can expect and why it's so important to find ways to cool off.
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KINKADE: A sunken luxury superyacht was lifted off the seabed near Sicily on Friday. The top of the Bayesian's hull is now visible and the salvage crew plans to lift the boat fully out of the water later today.
The $40 million superyacht sank in less than a minute last August amid hurricane force winds. Seven of the 22 passengers died, including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, whose company owned the superyacht. Investigators will examine the wreck to determine what caused the vessel to sink.
Here in the United States, nearly 100 million people are under heat alerts. The first dangerous heat wave of the season started in the Great Plains states and is expected to spread eastward, all thanks to what's called a heat dome. Meteorologist Tyler Mauldin explains what's ahead.
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TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The summer's first heat wave is upon us, thanks to this massive heat dome that is expanding across the eastern two thirds of the country. This big blue H puts a lid on the atmosphere.
[04:55:02]
The air underneath it sinks, it compresses and it heats up to temperatures like this.
When you combine the air temperature with the humidity, you're looking at temperatures that will feel like they're well above the century mark. Case in point, Washington, D.C., by the time we get to Monday and Tuesday of next week, it will feel like 108 degrees.
Records?
Yes, we're going to see records be broken later this weekend and early next week, probably extending into mid to late next week too.
Now when you do take the heat and the humidity, that's going to stress your body out. It's going to put a lot of stress on you, especially when we don't see the temperatures cool down all too much during the morning hours.
So make sure if you don't have to go outside over the next seven days, don't do that. If you do have to go outside, play it safe. Find plenty of shade and make sure you drink plenty of water.
What's riding the northern edge of this heat dome?
It is a lot of thunderstorms. We are looking at strong to severe thunderstorms potentially over the weekend across the Great Lakes on into the Northeast.
Main threats here, strong winds, large hail and yes, the potential for some isolated tornadoes -- back to you.
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KINKADE: Our thanks to Tyler.
One of Hawaii's most active volcanoes put on a spectacular show Friday.
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KINKADE (voice-over): This is a close-up video of the latest eruption from Kilauea on the big island of Hawaii. At its peak, the hellish display sent lava about 1,000 feet high with plumes of volcanic smoke at more than 20,000 feet high.
Occasional fountains of lava have been erupting since late December. So far, nearby populated areas have not been threatened. And since those earlier fireworks, the eruption paused as white smoke billowed from the crater. Tremors in the region have also decreased.
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KINKADE: Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Lynda Kinkade. That was that edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I will have much more news at the top of the hour. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.
