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Israel: Iran's Nuclear Program Suffered Systemic Damage; Renewed Hope for Gaza Ceasefire, Hostage Releases; U.S. Homeland Security to Close Many Asylum Cases. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired June 26, 2025 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, members of the Trump administration continue to back up the president's claims about U.S. military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. CIA Director John Ratcliffe says that a body of credible evidence shows severe damage and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard reports, quote, Iran's nuclear facilities have been destroyed. Even Iran's foreign ministry weighing in a spokesperson saying that the nuclear installations were, quote, badly damaged after repeated attacks by the U.S. and Israel.
While Israel itself is also offering up its initial assessments, CNN's Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond has that.
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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, as President Trump continues to insist that Iran's nuclear program has been totally obliterated, Israel is out with two new assessments of the damage to Iran's nuclear program. We heard first from Israel's Atomic Energy Commission, which claimed that Iran's nuclear program has been set back by, quote, many years. That assessment, interestingly, was shared not only by the Israeli prime minister's office, but also by the White House, making clear that this was intended to try and bolster some of those claims by President Trump.
But then we also heard from Israel's top general, General Eyal Zamir, the chief of staff of the Israeli military, who said that according to Israeli military's initial assessment of Israeli and American strikes to Iran's nuclear programs, once again saying that Iran's program has been set back by many years. He said that the damage that has been done to that program was not just that of a pinpoint strike, but rather a, quote, unquote, systemic blow. He said that the program has suffered severe, broad and deep damage, saying that it has set back the program by many years.
Now, this doesn't address the question of those stockpiles of enriched uranium, which Iranian officials have claimed were moved away from some of those sites. Still some questions about exactly where that stockpile is, whether it was lost in those strikes. And that will also, of course, be critical to knowing how far back Iran's nuclear program has truly been set back.
And it's also clear that a lot more information still needs to be gathered. And that was clear in those U.S. intelligence assessments, that these are early assessments that will require further investigation going forward using various types of intelligence. But ultimately, the Israeli prime minister has made clear that should Iran try and reconstitute its nuclear program, that Israel will act to prevent it from doing so, leaving open the possibility clearly of future Israeli strikes in Iran, even as this tenuous ceasefire has now set in.
The other question in Israel is what this ceasefire between Israel and Iran could deliver in terms of a potential ceasefire and hostage release deal regarding the Gaza Strip. And that's for a few reasons. First of all, the Israeli prime minister finding himself now perhaps in the strongest political position in the wake of this ceasefire between Israel and Iran, in the wake of Israel's military successes there, something that was broadly popular with the Israeli public.
Could that give the prime minister more leeway to strike a deal with Hamas, perhaps even a deal that would end the war altogether and bring back the remaining 50 hostages?
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And of course, on Hamas's side as well, there are new calculuses that they will have to make too, given the damage that has been made to their number one sponsor, and that is, of course, the Iranian regime. And so the Qatari mediators are now saying that they have been in contact with all relevant parties.
President Trump also weighing in, saying he believes the momentum is now on the side of heading to that ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The coming days and weeks, of course, will be critical to seeing whether or not that can be achieved.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
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ANDERSON: Well, joining me now from London is the Prime Minister of the United States, Fawaz Gerges, Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, also the author of "The Great Betrayal, The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in the Middle East," which is a jolly good read. I very much suggest it. Fawaz, it's good to have you.
I want to pick up where Jeremy sort of left off there, and I do want to talk about the wider story here, which might be any talks or deal on Gaza. Before we do that, we reported earlier that Trump is saying any further talks, negotiations with Iran may now not be necessary because of what he describes as his comprehensive success in those U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
So question to you, if Iran is left isolated and weakened, but enraged with no diplomatic deal with the U.S., doesn't that present a long term military dilemma for the U.S. and Israel and a continuing cycle potentially of regional violence and conflict? FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, yes, I agree fully. But first, what we need to say is that there is no clarity. So we have to really caution our viewers.
This is really a moving target. It's very difficult to read President mind, Becky. On the one hand, he says, yesterday, that the United States and Iran will be meeting next week to talk about the nuclear program and a nuclear agreement.
On the other hand, he says there is no reason for an agreement anymore, because the United States destroyed Iran's nuclear program. But if I were in Tehran, regardless what President Trump says, could I take the word of the President's very seriously, after what has happened after the great deception by the United States and Israel, and the war of the 12 days war.
Here, what I -- what I read about the Iranian leadership, I think the priorities in Iran today is not really for an agreement with the United States or restarting the negotiating about this nuclear program. I think the priorities are internal. First of all, how do I fill the vacuum and the top leadership position, military and security forces? Secondly, how do I put my house in order? And thirdly, how do I hunt for the infiltrators, the spy, the American and Israeli spies, who have infiltrated the decision making process?
What we are seeing in Iran now is really an intensifying internal security operation in order to find out the gaps and the vacuums in the security decision making process.
Another point, Becky, for your own viewers, we have not heard from the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in more than a week. And many Iranians are saying, because he is the top decision making process, he is the commander in chief. So the reality is, we have to wait and see what's the balance of power within Iran itself, the decision making process. And secondly, we have to hear from the Supreme Leader, the commander in chief.
And then we can talk about possibilities, scenarios the morning after and what Iran's options and choices vis-a-vis the United States and Israel and its nuclear program as well.
ANDERSON: Yes, you make -- yes, you make a very, very good point. Meantime, if Donald Trump abandons negotiation of Iran's nuclear program, and to your point, I think what you're saying is we don't know whether this is just sort of his art of the deal.
You know, he's throwing this stuff out there, you know, for negotiation purposes to conceal what he's really thinking. We just don't know why it is that he said we're talking next week, but I'm not sure we need an agreement at this point. But let's just sort of park that for a moment.
How do you think that any sort of concept of a grand deal that we had thought that he wanted to address for the entire Middle East might pan out at this point? I'm thinking very specifically of the Hamas-Israel ceasefire and hostage deal, which we are hearing -- and I've spoken to the Qataris.
[04:40:00]
I mean, they are very optimistic at this point that talks may get back on track very quickly to effort some sort of conclusion.
GERGES: Well, I think the ceasefire between Iran, on the one hand, and the United States and Israel could really be a catalyst for basically a ceasefire in Gaza as well. The vibe, all the signs point to a particular breakthrough. The Americans are saying that progress has been made.
Hamas is saying that they are intensifying their talks with Qatar and Egypt. The Qataris and the Egyptians are a bit hopeful, and there's a big debate inside Israel. In particular, you know, the families of the hostages and the supporters and the Israelis would like to bring the hostages home and end, you know, the war in Gaza.
At the end of the day, Becky, one lesson we have learned in the past two years, without American pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, without President Trump exerting pressure on Netanyahu, I doubted very much whether Benjamin Netanyahu will end the war in Gaza.
But let me turn my point on its head and say that Benjamin Netanyahu now, his interests lie in basically making a compromise in Gaza. He's in a very strong position, and the pressure domestically is overwhelming. And he wants to stay in power so he could really make a deal in Gaza, not ending the war, but basically pulling out most of his forces from Gaza, bringing the hostages back, and calling for elections, which most likely will ensure his political survival because Israel's war against Iran has increased Benjamin Netanyahu's popularity in Israel.
All in all, I would say the likelihood of a ceasefire deal is 50 plus, as opposed to really 40 or 50 minus.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Fawaz. As ever, Fawaz Gerges is out of London for you.
And as the focus remains on the back and forth over the intelligence, it is worth noting this analysis in The Economist, quote, This maddening uncertainty over the state of Iran's nuclear program after the U.S. strikes, quote, is not a bug -- it is an inherent feature of this kind of air war and bombing operation. And it highlights a deeply uncomfortable question. If Iran's leaders cling to power and continue to pursue a clandestine nuclear program, dealing with it will require America's long-term military commitment to the region. Question is, is it really up for it?
We've got a lot more to come on CNN, including an exclusive report on a planned policy change by the Trump administration that could impact hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers. More on that is after this.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ANDERSON: Well, CNN has new exclusive reporting that U.S. homeland security may be getting ready to close hundreds of thousands of asylum cases, putting all of those people at risk of immediate deportation. Details on that from CNN's Priscilla Alvarez.
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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Trump administration is planning to dismiss asylum claims for potentially hundreds of thousands of migrants in the United States. This latest effort targeting asylum seekers who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully and have since applied for asylum. Now, according to U.S. law, people who are seeking protection from violence and persecution in their home country can claim asylum in the United States regardless of how they arrive to the country.
But the administration is trying to strip them of that process, essentially taking away the opportunity for them to seek asylum in the United States and instead making them eligible for deportation.
On that latter point, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been delegated the authority to order what is known as expedited removal. In other words, fast track deportation proceedings.
That is an unprecedented move, according to experts who say that typically falls under U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, essentially instead placing the federal agency that manages federal immigration benefits at the center of the president's deportation campaign. Something that is likely to have a chilling effect for the many immigrants who are trying to obtain relief in the United States. And also a cause of concern for attorneys who say that those who may have their asylum applications dismissed shouldn't have been in that position to begin with.
But of course, all of this is part of the president's sweeping immigration crackdown, which has included trying to reach new historic numbers of arrests on a daily basis and also stripping protections from those already in the United States.
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: A private space flight on track to dock with the International Space Station. Why the crew will make history after this.
[04:50:00]
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ANDERSON: Billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancee, former reporter Lauren Sanchez, was seen leaving their luxury hotel in Venice yesterday, days before what will be their lavish multimillion dollar wedding. They're expected to tie the knot on Saturday, despite protests in a city that some locals say is flooded with way too many tourists. Bezos and Sanchez are celebrating with A-listers from show business, politics and finance who have been flying in on 90 private jets.
Oprah Winfrey and members of the Kardashian family among the latest to arrive at the famous city of canals.
Protesters include a self-described anonymous anti-capitalist who sent a mannequin of Bezos floating through Venice's Grand Canal on Tuesday was clutching an Amazon box and fistfuls of fake cash.
[04:55:00]
Another group called for a canal floating through Venice's Grand Canal on Tuesday was clutching an Amazon box and fistfuls of fake cash. Another group called for a canal blockade near the reported wedding venue.
The Axiom Space Mission 4 is closing in on the International Space Station and is set to dock in a couple of hours with a first of its kind crew on board. The historic private mission boasts the first crew with members from India, Poland and Hungary to board the space station.
Along with them is former astronaut Peggy Whitson, now an employee of Axiom Space. That crew expected to be in space for two weeks and conduct roughly 60 experiments before returning to earth. Their launch on Wednesday was delayed as the space station crew tries to fix an air leak in one of its modules.
Well thank you for joining us. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi for you. I'll be back with more news after this short break. Don't go away.
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