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Trump Again Insists Iran Nuclear Sites "Obliterated"; Israel: Iran's Nuclear Program Set Back By Many Years; Trump Says He Is With NATO "All The Way" Following Summit; Trump: United States Might Provide Patriot Missiles To Ukraine; Gaza Humanitarian Situation Worsens As Fighting Grinds On; Pressure Building Up To Expand Iran Ceasefire To Gaza; Gaza Humanitarian Situation Worsens as Fighting Grinds on; Israel Says Iran's Nuclear Program Suffered Systemic Damage; Trump Claims Victory With Israel-Iran Ceasefire Holding; U.S. Congressional Briefings on Iran Thursday and Friday; Trump Praises Defense Spending Increase by NATO Members; Trump Speaks With Ukraine's Zelenskyy at NATO Meeting; Republicans Debate Megabill With Key Issues Unresolved; Trump Bashes Fed Chair Over Reluctance to Lower Interest Rates; Police Clash With Protesters in Kenya; New CDC Panel Chosen to Support RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Views; Crew of Private Space Mission to Dock at ISS Thursday. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 26, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:38]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome. I'm Polo Sandoval, coming to you live from New York.

Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM. Top Trump administration officials, they are sticking by their claims that Iran's nuclear facilities were, "obliterated". What Iran and Israel have to say about that.

Plus, NATO leaders putting on a charm offensive for President Trump at this week's NATO summit. We'll be breaking down the results of those talks.

And the war in Gaza continues to rage on as yet another humanitarian crisis continues to grow. Well speak to an aid worker in Gaza tonight.

Welcome to the show. U.S. President Donald Trump, he is back on American soil after a forceful defense of the U.S. strikes on Iran. during his time at the NATO meeting in the Netherlands. The president once again insisting that Iranian nuclear facilities were, as he put it, totally obliterated by the U.S. military over the weekend.

New assessments from Israel now concluding that Iranian sites suffered systemic damage and the program has been set back several years. Trump's CIA director, also saying that the -- that there is now a body of credible evidence that shows severe damage. Even Iran's foreign ministry says that the nuclear installations were, "badly damaged".

Meanwhile, President Trump, says the U.S. will meet with Iran next week about a potential nuclear agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We may sign an agreement, I don't know. To me, I don't think it's that necessary. I mean, they had a war, they fought. Now, they are going back to their world. I don't care if I have an agreement or not. We -- the only thing would be asking for is what we were asking for before about we want no nuclear, but we destroyed the nuclear.

In other words, that's destroyed. I said, Iran will not have nuclear. Well, we blew it up. It's blown up to kingdom come. And so, I don't feel very strongly about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's now bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks, who joins us live from Abu Dhabi at this hour.

Paula, the CIA, Iran, both saying that they were severely or badly damaged, but not, as the president has put it obliterated.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, we're certainly seeing different intelligence reports, or I should say, evolving intelligence reports from the U.S. side. We have heard, most recently from John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, saying that there is new intelligence and that he does appear to be moving towards the opinion of the U.S. president, not talking about it being obliterated, but certainly badly damaged.

I'll read you part of the statements that that he gave, saying that he does believe it has been severely damaged and "new intelligence from a historically reliable source method that several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed and would have to be rebuilt over the course of years."

Now, we're hearing a very similar assessment from Tulsi Gabbard as well of the Director of National Intelligence, saying that she believes that three of those nuclear sites which were targeted, and that was Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, would need to be completely rebuilt, and she also said that, that would take a number of years.

Now, just a day earlier, there had been an assessment, an early assessment, called an early Defense Intelligence Agency report that suggested that there was only damage enough to set back this program a matter of months. Now, it's not unusual for early intelligence assessments to be, excuse me, to have subtle differences, especially in the first 24-48 hours, we're hearing from other officials, according to two sources familiar with this matter, that it could take days or even weeks before a more rounded view and a more careful view of the exact damage is able to be ascertained.

But of course, U.S. officials may never be able to go to these cites to see for themselves exactly what the damage is. Now, we are hearing from the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog that they want to resume their relationship with Iran as soon as possible.

[02:05:09] This could be one way of assessing the damage to the nuclear facilities. But we've also seen on Wednesday that the parliament in Iran has voted to end that relationship and to stop cooperating with the IAEA. There was a lot of criticism from Tehran towards the U.N. nuclear watchdog during the fighting between Israel and Iran, assessing that the IAEA had given information, which the U.N. nuclear watchdog rejected.

But we do know that, that needs to be ratified, that decision to pull out of the IAEA by the supreme National Security Council. But of course, if that does happen, that would make it even more difficult to assess exactly where the nuclear program might be in Iran, and there are concerns among many experts that Iran may now feel that it needs to push towards building nuclear weapons, building that nuclear bomb, which it had not done up until this point, feeling that, that may be the deterrent it needs.

There are also, of course, the questions of whether or not Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium ahead of the U.S. strikes. They had certainly been telegraphed for many days beforehand, in which case that would not have been destroyed.

But we are seeing a move from the US intelligence agencies closer to the position of the U.S. president, but certainly at this point, we're not hearing the official quotes that they have been obliterated, which is what President Trump is very insistent about. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Yes, no doubt, a wealth of questions and concerns, as you point out in the region. CNN's Paula Hancocks, breaking it all down for us live from Abu Dhabi.

Meanwhile, we are learning more details about Israel's campaign in Iran. The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff now says that ground commando units actually operated covertly inside the country during the 12-day conflict. Now, he said that those units, along with the Israeli Air Force, were able to carry out "deception tactics" that helped Israel gain control of Iran's airspace and other areas.

Now, the head of Mossad is thanking agents involved in the operation, and said, Israel will continue to monitor Iran's activities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BARNEA, DIRECTOR, MOSSAD (through translator): We will continue to keep a close and watchful eye on all of Iran's projects, which we know in the deepest detail. We will be there just as we have been until now.

I would like to say to you, it is done. It is accomplished. But we must not forget that there are still 50 hostages in the Gaza Strip, 30 deceased, 20 still alive, and it is our moral and ethical duty to bring them back home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Joining us now from Tel Aviv is former Israeli military spokesperson and retired Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. He is also a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies, Jonathan, it's always great to have you.

LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS (RET.), FORMER SPOKESPERSON, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES INTERNATIONAL: Thank you. Good morning.

SANDOVAL: Good morning to you.

Let's stay on this -- on these Israeli ground commandos that operated inside, as we just heard, certainly just a fascinating angle to what we've seen play out the last 12 days, and just some remarkable work there, clearly. Obviously, assuming that, at least, that those commandos have since returned. Would it be unusual for Israel to explore the potentially deploying, or at least exploring this kind of avenue, to try to get eyes on the ground, especially in a covert way, to try to independently confirm the status of Iran's nuclear program.

CONRICUS: Yes. So, good morning, and thanks for having me on.

I think it is quite remarkable. You know, giving the distance here, we are talking about, the shortest possible distance is around 750 miles. But I think it's fair to assume that Israeli Special Forces, they operated far beyond that, and that is indeed pretty unprecedented. I think you're correct. They are now back home and safe. Otherwise, I don't think that the Israeli chief of staff would have spoken about it, because that would, of course, been jeopardizing them. And I think it's safe to assume that Israel had various capabilities deployed on the ground.

We remember seeing the movie of the Mossad agents operating in the during the first hours of the June 13. And now, the IDF is revealing that additional assets, together with Mossad agents who were scattered all around Iran, but military assets were there.

Now, regarding having boots on the ground to verify now, that I think is doubtful.

[02:10:02]

I don't think that, that is something that Israel would be risking, because now it's a different security environment, and to have boots on the ground now for the purposes of verification, isn't something that I think is likely. I think, Israel is doing BDA, using other means, listening to the Iranians, using various technological tools, communications, computers, cyber, and of course, looking at things from the air with drones and with satellites and a few other sources.

SANDOVAL: Yes, just to emphasize that last point, we have heard those reports of the Israeli regime essentially increasing -- essentially hunting down any potential vulnerability right now within their country.

(CROSSTALK)

CONRICUS: The Iranians. Yes. Yes. SANDOVAL: Correct. The Iranians.

Now, in terms of the Israeli intelligence, I'm wondering, Jonathan, what does that tell us right now about the current state of Iran's nuclear program?

CONRICUS: So, what Israeli intelligence is, you know, busy and focusing on is to collect as much as possible information, reliable, non-political information, if you will, to really assess the amount of damage that was done holistically to Iran's nuclear weapons program, not to one certain facility. I know that there is been lots of talk about certain specific facilities Fordow, Natanz, Isfahan, which is where the American bombers and Tomahawk missiles struck.

But what Israel is doing is taking a broader look and trying to understand how deep and how substantial the damage was. And so far, and these are not final conclusions, but so far, the professional assessments of Mossad, IDF, and Israeli atomic agency, which are three independent bodies, is that there was systemic and long-term damage inflicted. I haven't heard an estimate yet, if it's many, many months or years, but I think that the initial feedback within the Israeli professional system, not amongst politicians, is that the operation was successful when it comes to dialing back the Iranian nuclear weapons program.

SANDOVAL: Jonathan, if we could just shift our attention to the other conflict, Israel's war with Hamas, does Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now count on more support given the actions of the last two weeks to give him perhaps more freedom, to revisit not only a peace deal in Gaza, but also to get the rest of the hostages, home.

CONRICUS: I think Israelis are hoping, and, you know, praying for some kind of halo effect that Hamas, which is a proxy of Iran, sees that Iran was defeated by Israel, and that they understand that continuing the war, continuing to hold on to hostages and creating the suffering is a bad thing for them, and that they would surrender, give up the hostages and end the war.

Many people are hoping for that. I think Israel is getting ready to apply more military pressure in order to impress that upon Hamas. But I have to say that I'm not very optimistic about it, because Hamas's decision making so far, they have not had the interest of Palestinians close to heart, and they have shown extreme cruelty. And to be honest, they are very irrational.

So, I don't know if this will be the case. I hope that it will be the case, because I definitely would see, you know, continued suffering end in Gaza. I think that Israel is ready to move on, to start the day after in Gaza, to bring in lots of food assistance and to start rebuilding.

None of that is possible as long as Hamas remains in power, and the sooner Hamas surrenders, the better for everybody, specifically for Palestinians.

SANDOVAL: Yes. No doubt, across the board, interests are high. Jonathan Conricus, as always, we really appreciate your perspective, your analysis. Thank you.

CONRICUS: Thank you for having me. Good morning.

SANDOVAL: Of course.

CONRICUS: Well, President Donald Trump says that the U.S. will, "save" Israel's Prime Minister, who is facing corruption trials at home. The U.S. president also said that he was shocked to hear that Israel is continuing with what he described as a witch hunt against the Israeli prime minister. The case against Mr. Netanyahu, it has been underway for several years now. He is facing charges of bribery, fraud and also the breach of trust in three separate cases. The prime minister denies any wrongdoing.

And President Trump says that he is with NATO as he described it all the way after the alliance agreed to increase its defense spending during its summit in the Netherlands. And he also reaffirmed his support for NATO's collective defense pact, known as Article Five, essentially the linchpin of the organization.

For more now, we turn to CNN's Clare Sebastian.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a summit that, in many ways, did everything that NATO had worked so hard to deliver. President Trump came, there was no real drama, and all 32 allies signed on to a final statement, committing to spend five percent of GDP on defense, a number that, of course, President Trump himself had called for, albeit with some countries suggesting they may not get that.

[02:15:04]

But this required a mammoth charm offensive from Secretary General Mark Rutte, including some comments that were so extreme in their level of flattery that he was forced to explain himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: They are not going to be fighting each other. They've had it. They've had a big fight, like two kids in a schoolyard. You know, they fight like hell. You can't stop them. Let them fight for about two, three minutes. Then, it's easier to stop them.

MARK RUTTE, SECRETARY GENERAL, NATO: Then, Daddy has to sometimes use strong language.

I think it's a bit of a question of taste. But I think he is a good friend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Now, for an alliance formed in part to counter the threat from Russia. The fact that Ukraine, now in its fourth year of a full- scale war against Russia, was not mentioned in that final statement was striking, and I caught up with Finland's president, Alexander Stubb, shortly after the statement came out, and got his reaction. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER STUBB, PRESIDENT OF FINLAND: What we're trying to do with Ukraine is basically to work towards a ceasefire, and then peace negotiations. And the fact that it is not mentioned doesn't mean that it wasn't touch. I mean, in virtually every intervention in the room, we somehow mentioned Ukraine. For me, if you look at NATO and its basic function, Ukraine is the litmus test. If Ukraine doesn't win, NATO loses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Well, it wasn't all bad news for President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. He got what he described as a long and substantive meeting with President Trump. And coming out of that meeting, President Trump even criticized Vladimir Putin, calling him misguided and admitting that his ambitions may extend beyond Ukraine. So, NATO is now thrust into a new era. Can it ramp up defense spending enough to deter Russia? And what will the U.S. do if it doesn't?

Clare Sebastian, CNN, in The Hague, the Netherlands.

SANDOVAL: Let's get more analysis now on the summit, bringing in Alex Goncharenko. He is a member of Ukraine's parliament, joining us live at this hour from Strasbourg, France.

Alex, it's good to have you.

OLEKSIY GONCHARENKO, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Hello, good morning.

SANDOVAL: Good morning to you. I know that you've said in the past that it was your hope that Ukraine would join NATO. But you've since put that aside, at least for now, and really focusing on increasing military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Do you feel, Alex, that the war received the attention that it deserved among NATO leaders the last few days?

GONCHARENKO: First of all, I think really the best solution is Ukrainian membership in NATO. And the idea of creating security in Europe by having Ukraine as a kind of a buffer zone between Russia and NATO countries, it just failed. That is the reality, it failed. So, we don't need to have such a buffer. We need Ukraine to be inside NATO.

Unfortunately, now we see that NATO leaders and first of all, United States are not ready for this. But I think the day will come, and it's even strategically, would be a mistake not to have Ukraine inside NATO, because Ukraine has the strongest infantry today in the world, and just to take have it aside, not inside, I think it will be a mistake.

Speaking about intention, I think that events in the middle is definitely they took a lot of attention. I hope they are really finished, and I hope that the world will come back to basics. And basics is that Europe and civilized world is attacked by Russia, and President Trump, yesterday confirmed that Putin's ambitions are far beyond Ukraine. That's what exactly we were telling for years, that Putin is not going to stop on Ukraine, and they do what said in the community, a final community of Summit, that Russia is a long-term threat. I think this is a right definition,

SANDOVAL: And it was just 24 hours ago were reported on the latest round of attacks from Russia, particularly the one in Dnipro as well. So, that is clearly an indication that lives continue to be lost.

Do you believe that these amped-up attacks also increase? It should be increasing the sense of urgency for United States and other nations to continue to supply Ukraine with what it needs in this war?

GONCHARENKO: Definitely. Unfortunately, we clearly see that Putin feels himself emboldened with the wavering of American support, with all these debates between our allies. Unfortunately, he is emboldened with the way he is treated by President Trump. And because of these, his rhetorics, Putin's rhetorics becomes more aggressive. Putin's actions become more aggressive.

I think, unfortunately, that June would be one of the worst months during the whole this full-scale invasion from the point of view of number of civilian victims, because every day, Russia attacks Ukrainian cities and towns, killing people in dozens, sometimes. In dozens. So, it is really bad. So, I hope that everybody will realize that.

[02:20:04]

And first of all, President Trump, that Putin understands on the one language, language of strength.

And before President Trump will put a real pressure on Putin, Putin will continue to kill, to disrupt, to make chaos in the world.

SANDOVAL: Yes, certainly some sobering analysis that if Putin continues to exploit opportunities, then, we could potentially see some of the worst fighting still ahead. Alex Goncharenko, we are so grateful that you're able to join us. Appreciate your perspective.

GONCHARENKO: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Of course.

Well, the cease fire between Israel and Iran is holding for now. But now, political pressure seems to be mounting to expand that truce to Gaza, or the humanitarian situation there continues to worsen. We're going to break that down and hear from somebody inside Gaza in just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Palestinian and Israeli authorities say that several people were killed in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, but they have differing accounts on exactly what happened. The Palestinians saying that at least three people were killed and seven wounded during a series of attacks by Israeli settlers.

[02:25:01]

Israeli military, however, would only say that several people died, without specifying whether they were Palestinian or Israeli.

Now, the IDF said that their forces arrived after Israeli civilians set properties on fire. Social media video that's been geolocated by CNN shows a home and a vehicle in flames. The IDF said that they returned fire after being met with gunfire and rocks, adding that five Israelis were arrested.

But now, pressure seems to be building up to finally put all that violence and suffering to an end. But will that happen? And an Israeli group representing hostages and their families say that it is time to use the momentum from the cease fire with Iran and expand it to Gaza.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid is now on board with the idea U.S. President Donald Trump says the strikes on Iran could potentially help lead to a diplomatic breakthrough in Gaza.

And officials in Qatar who have been mediating in the talks between Israel and Hamas say that they are hoping the negotiations will resume in the coming days. Again, President Trump saying that he will meet with Iran next week.

For more now, we are joined from Gaza by Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson in Gaza for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Olga, it is so good to have you on with us. Thank you.

OLGA CHEREVKO, SPOKESPERSON, OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS, GAZA: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Of course, you have worked in Gaza already for many, many years. You can give us a better idea of what's happening. But also, I'm curious if you may be able to give us a status, currently, in terms of the aid flow into Gaza. Can you tell us where that stands at this hour?

CHEREVKO: Sure. What I can tell you is that the aid remains to be at a trickle level, because what is needed is much, much more, and how much, and what is entering Gaza is woefully insufficient to really address the needs here of the people. We, I think, at this point, have hit probably the lowest level of despair we've ever had.

People, are starving on a daily basis. I don't recognize my own friends every time I don't see them for a few days, and then I see them, and they have gone more gaunt and more thin, and it just the light is going out of their eyes.

SANDOVAL: And on that topic, and in hopes of hopefully restoring that light, Olga, we have heard from officials, we have heard from regular people, and many with high hopes that with the cease fire holding between Israel and Iran, that, that could potentially renew hopes that the Gaza civilians may finally experience a peace of their own. And the hopes range from very low to high. Where do you stand on that spectrum in terms of what we could potentially see with hopefully more attention now being focused on Gaza?

CHEREVKO: I mean, that is certainly our hope as well, and we are doing everything that we can to continue keeping the focus on Gaza and making sure that everyone who is listening is and who is able to make a difference actually takes action and stops this nightmare that we've been living in.

SANDOVAL: The IDF has been very public in saying that it now wants to shift focus back on to Gaza in its efforts to topple Hamas, as they describe it. For the civilians that are caught in the middle of this, does that mean that the situation will continue to grow more dire, especially when it comes to just people struggling to feed themselves?

CHEREVKO: Well, it certainly has been growing more dire by the day, not only in the sense of people starving on a daily basis, but also the fact that they are being squeezed into an ever-shrinking space in Gaza and now only about 17 percent of Gaza's territory is really accessible for people. We have mass displacement, continuing with people moving into every available space. If you look on the beach, there is no space. You cannot see the sand. It's full of tents.

In any part of Gaza, even the jetties are full of tents. And, of course, the conditions in which people are living are absolutely appalling, and it's a public health crisis. It's a human dignity crisis.

SANDOVAL: A few days ago, just yesterday, that we were -- we had the reporting on dozens of people killed near a food distribution near an aid distribution site, certainly a reminder of what continues to happen.

How much faith you think should people around the world have that the international institutions or that the United States will take action and address that nightmare that you just -- that you just described for us, the famine?

[02:29:57]

CHEREVKO: Well, I think this is the only thing that we can hope for, is that they will indeed address this nightmare, and no person in the world should ever wake up in the morning and face the choice of starving or risking their life and possibly being killed trying to find something to eat.

And this is what people are facing here. And I've spoken with even women who've told me that they have gone to these areas with -- I spoke to woman who went with her nine-month pregnant friend, trying to find something to eat just so that they don't have to watch their children starve in front of their eyes.

SANDOVAL: What are some of the priorities for your organization right now, in terms of the resources that you are hoping to get to the people? We've heard the reports of folks not even having the most essential things, not even have water to drink. What is it that your organization is really focusing on right now to try to lessen the impact on people? CHERENKOV: So, of course, the obvious, which is food and water. We -- about 80 percent of water wells and reservoirs are inaccessible to us right now. So, that means that dying of thirst is another reality that will be very, very clearly manifested here. More than three months, no fuel has entered, which means we are at such low levels of fuel that there will be immediate loss of life because health facilities will -- more health facilities will shut down. Only less than 40 percent of health facilities are partially operational now. More of them will shut down. Equipment will shut down. Water pumps will shut down. And this will, of course, mean another layer of crisis.

And same thing with shelter materials, for example. They've also not entered for over three months. And if you see the types of shelter that people are using to live in, if they have any shelter, if they're not sleeping in the street, which we have a lot of, it's horrifying.

SANDOVAL: All of this time later, and yet that flow continues to be, as you describe it, a mere trickle, certainly eye-opening now and hopefully, more attention on the region as the ceasefire in another part of the world continues to hold. Olga Cherevko, thank you so much for what you're doing and for keeping us posted on the situation on the ground.

CHERENKOV: Thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: Well, still ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," President Trump will soon try to rally support for his so-called Big Beautiful Bill, but some Republican lawmakers, they're still not sold on it. We're going to take a closer look at the latest sticking points of the legislation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:36:03]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. You're watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I want to get you back now to our top story. President Donald Trump says that the U.S. will meet with Iran next week about a potential nuclear agreement, but says that he doesn't really care if they reach a deal. This as he continues to insist that nuclear facilities in Iran were "obliterated" by last weekend strikes. He made those comments at the NATO Summit in the Netherlands.

Trump did concede that initial U.S. intelligence assessments on one site found damage could be limited or, as he put it, could be very severe. But then said additional intelligence collected shows it was obliterated. So, which is it? We also heard a similar message about obliteration being echoed by his defense secretary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, (R) UNITED STATES DEFENSE SECRETARY: As Iran's nuclear program is obliterated and somebody somewhere is trying to leak something to say, oh, with low confidence, we think maybe it's moderate. Those that dropped the bombs precisely in the right place know exactly what happened when that exploded. And you know who else knows? Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And on that note, a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry says that their country's nuclear sites have been badly damaged. And in Israel, the military chief of staff says that Iran's nuclear program suffered systemic damage and was set back years. It's also going to be a very busy rest of the week for President Donald Trump as he is now back into the United States and will be looking to capitalize on his foreign policy success and try to shore up some support for his domestic agenda.

CNN's Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny reporting.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump returned to the White House on Wednesday evening after a whirlwind trip to the NATO Summit in the Netherlands. The president taking something of a victory lap after a fragile ceasefire was still holding throughout his trip in the Middle East. Now, there are many questions about the intelligence assessments of the Iranian nuclear program, but the president spoke very forcefully how he believes Iran will stand down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If you look at the before and the after picture, everything above is burned black, the trees, everything. There's one building, but that's a building that sunk substantially into the granite so that the fire goes right over it. It was -- I believe it was total obliteration. I believe they didn't have a chance to get anything out because we acted fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: The president and the White House and the entire administration, however, very defensive about early intelligence reports that suggest that the word obliterated may have been overstated by the president. As he said, the nuclear program was effectively wiped out. Now, Congress is demanding classified briefings. Those are scheduled to take place on Thursday, so certainly more to learn on that.

But overall, the President taking a much more congenial tone toward his NATO allies, speaking in positive terms about the defense spending agreements reached by every country except Spain. The president also meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy behind closed doors. Clearly, not wanting that image to remain and perhaps not to agitate Russian President Vladimir Putin. That remains, of course, one of the central challenges facing his administration.

But the White House is working to make a major pivot on Thursday, back to the domestic policy agenda. The president's spending and tax bill is having some issues in the Senate. So, the president inviting Republican lawmakers to the White House to try and get that jump started, he still would like that passed by the July 4th holiday. All of this as new questions and, of course, all eyes are on the Middle East hoping that ceasefire holds.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

SANDOVAL: And in the coming hours, President Trump is set to host what the White House is calling one big, beautiful event as they put it. He's trying to rally support for his sweeping domestic policy agenda, as we just heard.

[02:40:00]

But some Senate Republicans still aren't sold on what's in the bill, with the July 4th deadline that's still coming. CNN's Manu Raju picks up that story.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump is demanding that Republicans fall in line and push through his massive domestic agenda within days, but there are still significant divisions in the Senate and in the House to get the Bill over the finish line. This Bill is sweeping in nature, a multi-trillion dollar overhaul of the United States tax code and pump hundreds of billions of dollars into new programs for defense and for border security projects.

It would add -- provide -- call for new energy drilling across the country and new work requirements on social safety net programs. But it is those deep spending cuts in particular that have divided Republicans, both in the Senate and in the House, and over a number of issues, but namely on the issue of Medicaid. That is the huge entitlement program for the disabled and for low-income individuals. And there are concerns from Republicans that the cuts that are being called for could lead to many losing their health insurance in their states and in their districts.

And particularly, the concerns over the Senate's plan impacts on rural hospitals. That is a huge issue that is now dividing Republicans in the Senate and is unclear how they'll ultimately resolve that, get those members in line without alienating the more conservative members who are worried about the budget deficit impacts of this Bill and actually pushing for even deeper cuts. But one key Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who is up for re-election in North Carolina next year, told me that that plan needs to change in dealing with how far to cut in Medicaid or he could vote against it.

SEN. THOM TILLIS, (R-NC): I think that the Medicaid cuts are directionally right, but I think very difficult for the states to absorb. And we've just got to figure out a way to achieve what we're trying to do, bend the curve.

RAJU: But right now, this could have a big negative impact on North Carolina, the Medicaid Cuts?

TILLIS: I think, current estimates are about $38 billion over 10 years. That's a big -- that's a big impact. I don't think anybody believes that the current text is final. So, I don't believe anybody would vote for it in its current form, we've got a lot of things that we're working on.

RAJU: But beyond Medicaid, there are other issues that are dividing Republicans, including how to deal with tax breaks, state and local tax deductions. That is something that has been pushed by particularly New York Republicans who are trying to increase the amount that taxpayers can deduct from the local levies that they face every year. But there are many Republicans, particularly in the Senate, who say that it's too expensive and they will not go along with the deal that was cut by those New York Republicans and the Speaker of the House to get their plan across the finish line by a single vote before Memorial Day.

That is one of those complicated sticking points that they still have to figure out in order to get this through both chambers and into law. But, how this ultimately gets resolved is unclear. Whether they'll actually have the votes to even begin the debate, which could occur as soon as Friday, that key procedural vote, whether -- how that gets there is still an open question at this moment.

But there are so many other major issues that are part of this Bill, including a $5 trillion increase to the national debt limit. That is something that has deficit hawks, including Senator Rand Paul, threatening to vote against it, showing that the Republican leaders and Donald Trump have very little margin for error to get his major agenda bill across the finish line.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

SANDOVAL: All right. Let's say in Washington where Donald Trump has stepped up his attacks against the Federal Reserve Chairman. Remember, this is the same man that he picked back in 2017. The president for the last several months has been berating Jerome Powell. He's arguing the Fed's reluctance to cut interest rates is costing the federal government hundreds of billions of dollars in interest. Well, on Wednesday, Trump suggested that his list of potential replacements for Powell has been narrowed down to as many as four people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He's an average mentality person, let's say low in terms of what he does, low -- low IQ for what he does. Yeah, I know within three or four people who I am going to pick, I mean, he goes out pretty soon, fortunately, because I think he's terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: During his semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress on Tuesday, Chairman Powell warned that the national debt is unsustainable and it will eventually be a problem for the United States. Much more still ahead here on the "CNN Newsroom," including more violence in Kenya on the anniversary of some deadly protests. Still ahead, a report on the chaotic scenes that are unfolding on the streets of Nairobi.

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SANDOVAL: A grim anniversary in Kenya was marked with even more deadly violence in the streets. Kenyan police fired tear gas and water cannons at roughly thousands of protesters marking one year since dozens were killed demonstrating against a controversial tax bill in that country. Amnesty International saying that at least eight people were killed on Wednesday. Now, CNN could not immediately verify that figure of casualties, but has asked the police service for comment. I want to go now to CNN's Larry Madowo, who shows us the chaotic scenes on the streets of Nairobi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what happens when the police come, people scatter and disappear. There are tear gas all around us, tear gas all around us. Fabs (ph), they're going to come that way. They're going to come that way. [Foreign Language] People are not seeing this in real time because the Kenyan government has banned local radio and TV stations from broadcasting this live.

But it's a scene unlike any I've ever seen here. A year ago, many protesters were killed here and many of them have come back to honor their memories and to call out the government for not dealing with police brutality and also for not paying attention to their needs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here today to remember my fellow comrades who lost their lives at these streets, but the police who killed the Gen Zs last year, the day like today, they haven't done anything about those police officers.

MADOWO: This is a major highway that's completely blocked out. There's stones everywhere. This road is important for another reason, it leads directly to President William Ruto's house, the State House, and some protestors have threatened to go there and to depose him, to remove him from office. And the police are determined to make sure that does not happen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't need Ruto as our president. Ruto is a corrupt leader and we don't need him in Kenya. [Foreign Language] Ruto must go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ruto must go.

[02:50:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all have only our phones. We are peaceful. Our hands are up, but we have been -- but we have been cornered and we are afraid for our lives.

MADOWO: This should be a busy street in Nairobi. It's in the heart of the city. Instead, it looks like this with those explosions, those bangs that have been ringing off for hours. A year after the deadliest day of protest in Kenya, these people are back to say their demands have not changed and the government has not changed, the two sides not speaking to each other. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: That was CNN's Larry Madowo reporting. And with that, a quick break. More news after that break. We'll be right back.

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SANDOVAL: The American Academy of Pediatrics says that the new advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are an "embarrassment." The comments coming after the seven-person committee met for the very first time on Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the previous panel earlier this month over alleged conflicts of interests and he also says that the new members are highly credentialed.

[02:55:00]

The new advisers say that they'll be studying children's vaccine schedules. CNN Medical Analyst, Dr. Jonathan Reiner spoke earlier with CNN about why this panel may have been chosen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: The panel is largely picked to basically support Mr. Kennedy's feelings that vaccines are unsafe. Many of the people on this panel have very well-stated opinions about, particularly, the COVID vaccine or mRNA technology writ large. And again, they're filling roles to support his longstanding vaccine skepticism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And as that panel had its first meeting, protests were gathering in Atlanta, some holding signs that read "Save the CDC," "Public health saves lives," and "make ACIP great again." Now, that's a reference to the panel's name, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

And finally, the Axiom Space Mission 4 is set to dock at the International Space Station in just a matter of hours with a first of its kind crew on board. You remember, we covered the liftoff here yesterday. This historic private mission boasting the first crew members with people from India, Poland, and Hungary on board that Space Station. Along with them is former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, now an employee of Axiom Space.

The crew is expected to be in space for two weeks and conduct roughly 60 experiments before returning to Earth. Their launch was delayed as the Space Station crew attempts to fix a small air leak in one of its modules.

And with that awesome picture, I want to thank you for joining us. I'm Polo Sandoval. I will be right back with more "CNN Newsroom" right after this break.

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