Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Disputes Early U.S. Intel Report On Iran Strikes; Trump Attends NATO Leaders Summit In The Netherlands; Israel-Iran Ceasefire Appears To Be Holding. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 25, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:01:19]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson, live from our Middle East headquarters here in Abu Dhabi, where the time is just after 1:00 in the afternoon. Right

Now, Donald Trump is in the Netherlands for the NATO summit underway at this hour. He and top U.S. officials just spoke a short time ago and disputed the early U.S. intelligence report about the damage done by U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

President Trump, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, doubled down on their assertion that the strikes totally obliterated the Iranian facilities, and they slammed the alleged leak of that intel report, which suggested the strikes only set back Iran's nuclear program by a few months.

NATO's Secretary General Mark Rutte also praised and thanked President Trump for his decision to launch air strikes on Iran. We expect to hear more from NATO leaders in the hours ahead after their meetings, which are now underway.

Well, let's get you live to the Hague, where this meeting is taking place, and CNN's Clare Sebastian.

And ahead of the summit, how would you then describe the atmosphere there, Clare?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think what has happened ahead of the summit is that, well, on the one hand, we have NATO members who are at least in public, very supportive of this 5 percent target, almost all of them, and really do agree that Europe needs to shoulder more of the burden for its own defense.

I think, on the other hand, there are comments from Trump in the lead up to this that have plunged them into a very delicate situation where they've had to spend most of this morning as they've been arriving here at the summit, messaging around this, dancing around the controversial comments from Trump, including, for example, on Air Force One when he refused to fully endorse Article V, saying that there are many definitions for that. We heard, for example, the Dutch prime minister saying, actually, Article V is very clear.

He also called Spain a problem, that it was very unfair to the rest of NATO. Spain has objected to this 5 percent of GDP defense spending target, and, it says, negotiated some flexibility in the language of the final statement with NATO. And, of course, many of the leaders here this morning were having to discuss that and whether or not that sets a precedent, perhaps, for other members to slip back in their commitments.

Also, the fact that before this summit, Donald Trump on his Truth Social network, published text messages from Mark Rutte, the secretary general, which involved incredibly fulsome praise of the U.S. president, congratulating him on the strikes in Iran, which we heard Mark Rutte do again this morning, giving him full credit for that 5 percent pledge that we expect to see signed off today, and saying Europe is going to pay up big time, big in block capitals in the Trump style.

So, he was having to answer questions about that. We don't know at this stage if they had intended for those messages to be made public. But either way, look, this is a good moment for NATO. Donald Trump is here and he seems in a very upbeat mood.

Take a listen to what he had to say about that 5 percent target.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've been asking them to go up to 5 percent for a number of years, and they're going up to 5 percent, and that's a big -- from 2 percent. And a lot of people didn't even pay the 2 percent. So, I think it's going to be a very big news. NATO is going to become very strong with us. And I appreciate doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, look, the big event today will be the main plenary session of the 32 NATO members. The schedule has been somewhat condensed down. The speculation is, of course, that that was designed to fit with President Trump's schedule and the other big event that will be closely watched will be what we expect to be a bilateral meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelenskyy.

[05:05:05]

Ukraine has somewhat slipped onto the sidelines of the NATO summit this year, in stark contrast to previous years, during the full-scale war. And I think certainly NATO and especially President Zelenskyy will be trying to bring it back up, the list of U.S. priorities.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Clare. Thank you. Clare Sebastian reporting from The Hague.

We'll have more on the impact of the U.S. military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. So CNN first to report on a preliminary intelligence assessment produced by the defense intelligence agency that found that U.S. strikes may have said Iran's nuclear program, backed by just a few months and did not destroy its core components.

This is early intelligence, and it could change as more analysis comes in an Israeli assessment found less damage at the Fordow facility than expected, they say U.S. and Israeli strikes have set back the nuclear program by two years.

Well, in all of this, the ceasefire between Iran and Israel is holding.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is in London live with the very latest.

And Donald Trump was asked how he felt about the ceasefire, how it was going, and he said it was going very well. Salma, when asked by a reporter there just moments ago at The Hague.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And now that this ceasefire does appear to be holding naturally, people are asking what's the next step? How do you maintain the peace? How do you monitor and verify Iran's nuclear program, and how do you avoid any conflict in the future?

Now, as you read those intelligence assessment reports, these are early signs that the strikes on Iran's nuclear plants by both Israel and the United States have achieved limited results. Sources familiar with these assessments say most of the damage was actually done above ground.

You'll remember, of course, that the United States dropped more than a dozen bunker busting bombs, 30,000-pound bombs that were intended to destroy Iran's nuclear arsenal deep underground. Well, these assessment reports seem to indicate that that did not take place.

But president Trump is not hearing it, and his administration is pushing back against these assessments, describing anything other than a narrative of outright victory as an insult to President Trump and to the U.S. military, and even indicating that there may potentially be consequences for those sources who have leaked this information to CNN and other media outlets.

I want you to take a listen to what U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. ENVOY: Well, it goes without saying that that leaking, that type of information, whatever the information, whatever side it comes out on, is outrageous. It's treasonous. So, it ought to be investigated. And whoever did it, whoever's responsible for it should have been held -- should be held accountable.

There is no doubt that it was obliterated. So, the reporting out there that that that in some ways suggests that we did not achieve the achieve the objective is just completely preposterous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Regardless, Becky, I think most experts will tell you it is impossible to bomb a nuclear program out of existence. There does need to be some level of diplomacy in order to monitor and verify Iran's nuclear program going forward. And what's ironic, of course, is that President Trump was pursuing a diplomatic strategy right up until the point that he bombed Iran.

And we are seeing some signs that Iran is open to yet again engaging in talks with the United States. Iran's president has said he is willing to speak to the U.S. We've also heard from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has again pushed and called for diplomatic efforts to allow access in.

Now, we're also hearing from Iran that the IAEA may be denied access in the future. So, there's a lot to work out here. And for President Trump, who wants a quick and easy exit, it's not going to be so simple to find that off ramp given these assessment reports -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Salma. Salma in London.

And to that point that she just made about IAEA access going forward. Iran's parliament has just voted to suspend the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy agency. That's according to Iranian state media. That decision will now need to be ratified by the supreme national security council, headed by Iran's president.

On Tuesday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog had pushed for a resumption of its relationship with Iran, which had been paused after Israel's strikes.

All right. Look, still to come, a show of solidarity on the streets of Tehran as Iranians demonstrate in support of the country's armed forces. More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:14:21]

ANDERSON: An early assessment by the Pentagon's intelligence arm finds that the U.S. strikes did not damage Iran's nuclear facilities, as extensively as previously believed. The assessment may still change. It's important to note that as more information is gathered, but sources speaking to CNN say that these strikes likely set Iran back only by months.

The White House, though, is pushing back strenuously with the Trump administration sticking to the presidents claims that the strikes are completely and totally obliterated. Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities.

Here's Vice President J.D. Vance.

[05:15:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For 60 days, he negotiated aggressively to encourage that Iranian regime to give up those weapons peacefully. And by the way, he was more than willing to accept a peaceful settlement to that problem.

But again, this comes back to instincts. When the president realized that there was not going to be a peaceful settlement to that problem, he sent B-2 bombers and dropped 12 30,000-pound bombs on the worst facility and destroyed that program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Fred Pleitgen is on the ground in Tehran for you. And he spoke to Iranians at a demonstration supporting the country's armed forces.

And here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Iran's leadership is hailing the ceasefire between Israel, Iran and the United States as a victory for Iran. They say that they forced the U.S. and Israel into the ceasefire. They essentially say that President Trump came begging for a ceasefire because of Iran's strong response, not just to the U.S. bombing Iran nuclear installations, but, of course, also by firing missiles towards Israeli territory.

And the Iranians are saying that for them, they consider this to be a show of strength by their military. And the event that you're seeing right now is actually Iran's leadership saying, thank you to the military and thank you to the armed forces. We've been speaking to folks here on the ground, and many of them are hailing and praising the ceasefire. But others say that they're also critical of the ceasefire and feel that Iran's military should have fought on.

(voice-over): "Now we're obeying the commands of the supreme leader," she says. "Whatever he says, we will follow. If he orders jihad, we will follow. If he orders us to hold back, we will hold back."

"The ceasefire has not been something good or profitable for us, he says, because we should have finished the story. We should have totally wiped out Israel."

"We will crush their might," he says. "We'll throw a punch into the mouths of the United States and the Zionists."

"Our opinion is always peace," she says. "Now, it depends on them, how they behave."

One thing Iran's leadership has been very clear about is they say that Iran's nuclear program was not destroyed by those airstrikes conducted by the Trump administration. They say the knowledge of nuclear energy remains here in Iran, and that its nuclear program will certainly come back to life and even exists right now.

The other thing that the Iranians are saying as well, despite that the ceasefire is taking place, they do not trust the United States and certainly don't trust Israel. And they say at any point in time their finger is on the trigger. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, those strikes by Israel and the U.S. creating significant nationalistic fervor in Iran and some important context for you. It's rare to find public criticism of the Iranian government on the streets with most activists and opposition voices suppressed. So point being here, what you've just seen does not reflect the view of all Iranians today.

Well, joining me now from Geneva is Dina Esfandiary, the Middle East geoeconomics lead for Bloomberg Economics.

And let's just -- you have heard that last report by Fred, I mean, just what do you make of what is being said on the streets at that pro-government demonstration? And describe what you are hearing behind the scenes from others who would not have been in support of that demonstration, and whose voices are so often suppressed. What's the view on the ground?

DINA ESFANDIARY, MIDDLE EAST GEOECONOMICS LEAD, BLOOMBERG ECONOMICS: So first, I think it's good news that the government is putting in so much effort to sell the ceasefire, to view it as a victory, to say we have achieved what we set out to achieve. We stood up to the Israelis. We stood up to the Americans.

And the reason for that is if they're making such an effort to sell it internally and they're making such an effort to prove that they have won externally, then it looks like they're going to try to stick to the ceasefire. And that in itself is good news.

In terms of what I'm hearing from the ground. I think you're hearing a wide range of things, but its undeniable that airstrikes on Iran have had have boosted nationalism and have created a sense, at least a temporary sense of national unity. And standing up to an external enemy.

ANDERSON: The U.S. president just described this ceasefire as going very, very well. He was asked by reporters in The Hague, he's just arrived for the NATO summit there.

As you point out, Iran claiming victory, as is Israel, which says it completed all its goals in its operation over what has been this 12- day war, as Donald Trump describes it.

[05:20:03]

In the cold light of the first full day of no strikes after 12 days, what's been achieved, Dina?

ESFANDIARY: Well, from my perspective, honestly, not much. It looks like what was achieved was setting back Iran's program by a few months, as you mentioned earlier. But that is significantly less than what had been achieved with the diplomatic engagement of Iran and the 2015 nuclear deal that was signed with Iran, and that Iran was committed to implementing, and President Trump walked away from.

So, you've ended up in a situation where you have less constraints on Iran's nuclear program. Iran has also diverted some of its raw and enriched uranium, highly enriched uranium, to sites that the IAEA, the watchdog of Iran's nuclear program, doesn't know where and cant verify. And you have potentially reinvigorated a desire inside Iran to actually go for a nuclear weapon.

Now, that hasn't been done yet. Or at least we have no proof that that's begun. But if you were sitting in Tehran, what would you do right now? You would be thinking, well, if I had had a nuclear weapon, I wouldn't have faced this 12-day war.

So, I think that's where we are today.

ANDERSON: What's your perspective on how the U.S. administration, Donald Trump, very specifically has dealt with the Iranian officials that he is in either indirect or direct contact with? And what's your sense of how well or not the U.S. administration understands the psyche and thinking, the calculus of this Iranian regime?

ESFANDIARY: Well, I think that the U.S. administration is using the playbook of pressure, more pressure and even more pressure to get the Iranians to capitulate and to give in on some of their red lines. The problem is, if we look at the way that Iran has behaved in recent history, it has that that kind of tactic has never really worked. What works well on Iran is a combination of carrots and sticks. So, pressure, but also something that you would give to Iran in order for Iran to give in on aspects of its nuclear program.

Keep in mind that this nuclear program, although there is fatigue inside Iran, it is something that, you know, over the years has had broad support across the political spectrum. It was something that began under the previous regime of the shah. So, it's not just something that the Islamic Republic has pursued. It is a symbol of scientific advances, especially in the context of Iran being heavily sanctioned and facing real restrictions on its ability to procure parts of its program.

So it's really difficult for Iran to just turn around, put its hands up and say, you know what? We give it up after we've spent so much money, so much time and so much political capital developing it.

ANDERSON: So, what do you understand then, briefly, could be offered by the U.S. administration in any further talks that might be of benefit to this regime at this point? I mean, where do we go next?

ESFANDIARY: Well, there are some rumors that the Iranians are willing to return to the table, that the Trump administration is willing to meet with them. There has been some reports of the Trump administration continuing to meet with them indirectly throughout this war, and at least throughout the U.S. airstrikes. If that is the case, then that is good news to begin with.

I think ultimately there is one Iranian red line that remains everything else. Iran has indicated it's willing to compromise on. But the ability for Iran to continue to enrich uranium on its soil, now, it can be heavily constrained in terms of how it enriches it. So it could be at a low level with heavily controlled stockpiles -- all of that, I think, can be negotiated. But Iran's ability to enrich on its soil, I think, is critical for Tehran.

And so the Trump administration has to decide if its willing to give in on that or not for there to be a deal.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump just described his relationship at present as good. He described Iran as a smart country, and he said that he wanted a relationship with the country going forward. And he talked about the fact that they have this oil, you know, why wouldn't they be in good shape going forward?

I -- just briefly, in a word, does this government -- does this regime buy that?

[05:25:08]

ESFANDIARY: I actually think they do. I think they're watching closely some of the promises that the Trump administration is making, and also watching closely what's happening in Syria with the Trump administrations promises of sanctions relief.

And they believe that if anybody in the U.S. is able to deliver, then it's this administration. So, I do think that they pay attention to that kind of language.

ANDERSON: Interesting. It's good to have you, Dina. Thank you as ever. Dina Esfandiary.

All these cease fire between Israel and Iran does appear to be holding. Just ahead, we'll speak to Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson about the vital role that Gulf State played in getting the two sides to stand down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)