Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

US And Israeli War With Iran; 98th Academy Award. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired March 15, 2026 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:44]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome to CNN's breaking news coverage, I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. And welcome to our viewers here in the US and around the world. We are continuing our coverage of the US and Israeli War with Iran, now in its third week.

President Donald Trump now urging other countries to help keep the critical Strait of Hormuz secure, and he now has a very blunt message for NATO. In an interview with the Financial Times, he warned NATO faces "a very bad future" if US allies failed to assist in securing the strategic waterway. He spoke more about that while returning to Washington aboard Air Force One just a short time ago. Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: We are talking to other countries about working with us on the policing of the Strait. And I think we're getting good response. If we do, that's great. And if we don't, that's great. Remember, like as an example in many cases in NATO countries, we're always there for NATO.

We're helping them with Ukraine. It's got an ocean in between us. Does it affect us but we've helped them. It'd be interesting to see what country wouldn't help us with a very small endeavor which is just keeping the straight up.

SANDOVAL: Yes. I know it's a little difficult to make out there, but the President is essentially saying that he claims that so far they're getting a good response, that the US always there for NATO, expects them to be there for the United States essentially. Again, that's just a summary of some of his remarks a short while ago aboard Air Force One.

China, it is one of the countries that President Trump is urging to help address shipping disruption sparked by the war. And he now says that he may have to postpone a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Israel says that it's planning at least three more weeks of its campaign against Iran with "thousands of targets remaining."

Israel's military claiming that it struck more than 200 targets in Iran over the past day, with the IDF saying that operations are taking aim at what it called Iran's ballistic missile capabilities and air defense systems. Inside Israel, police say that at least three people suffered minor injuries after a cluster missile struck Tel Aviv. You can see how close somebody was to the impact site.

CCTV footage showing that moment when the missile landed on a street on Sunday. Iran claims to have fired about 700 missiles and more than 3,600 drones at US and Israeli targets since the war started.

Let's go now to CNN's Ivan Watson, joining me live from Hong Kong. Ivan, let's talk a little bit about the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump, just a short while ago aboard Air Force One, even calling on NATO allies, as he put it, to step up and help the United States secure that valuable, that critical waterway.

I mean, is he getting any sort of response from either NATO or other allies?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like it's in the very early stages of this, so we don't know. It is in the global economy's interest to have this straight open as fuel prices around the world are surging with oil and the most expensive it's been in nearly four years.

I'm struck by President Trump's terminology here, where he says that reopening the Strait would be a very small endeavor, and yet it does not appear to be one that the US military or the Trump administration was prepared for now that we're more than two weeks into the joint US- Israeli bombardment of Iran. And to underscore the threats here, look at this footage of Thai crew members, some 20 crew members, of a cargo ship that was struck last Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz. These men safely arriving back in Bangkok after their ship was damaged.

Three crew members of that vessel are still missing. And that is one of more than a dozen cargo ships that have been damaged by different types of attacks in the Gulf and in the Strait of Hormuz over more than two weeks now, and underscores how dangerous and difficult it is to try to secure this area. Now, just a week ago, President Trump was saying that he didn't need British aircraft carriers to assist in this war, and now he's put out a public appeal to countries like the UK, China, France, Japan, South Korea and others to help out.

[23:05:00]

The Japanese government has said there would be high hurdles for it to try to contribute. There have been kind of -- the UK has been perhaps a little bit more open as a very close US ally to perhaps assisting in some way. And some European countries, for example, have come to the aid of Gulf countries that have been hit by Iranian drones and missiles over the course of the past two weeks trying to protect their allies.

But a big question still looming and, one, this is evidence again, a call for help to keep the strait open more than two weeks after launching this war is evidence that the American war planners were not prepared for this scenario. SANDOVAL: And just a few moments ago, we covered just a few of those strikes. Ivan, what else, what other kind of activity have we seen in the last few hours?

WATSON: Sure. There has been some kind of a drone strike on a fuel depot at Dubai International Airport. The authorities say that the fire has been successfully contained, but they've temporarily closed that very busy airport. We have a description from a passenger who was supposed to be getting on a flight to New York describing, in his words, about a thousand people sitting on floors as all the flights were canceled and postponed, with Emirates Airlines saying, do not go to the airport, please, right now.

So another example of disruption there for travel and transport. The Israeli government says it bombed Iran about 200 times. Iran says that the death toll inside Iran continues to grow, more than 1,300 civilians killed, and hundreds of health facilities and pharmacies as well as tens of thousands of residences.

The Israeli and US government say that they've been targeting locations that can be used for manufacturing drones and missiles, and that are part of the government's military infrastructure. Meanwhile, Iran has said that it has fired thousands of drones and some 700 missiles. One of those impacts killed a Kuwaiti border force major in Kuwait who was a soccer national, former national soccer team member.

There's been mourning there. There have been cluster munitions that hit in Tel Aviv, in Israel, and hit a residence of US diplomats there, prompting the US to condemn Iran with for targeting diplomatic and military structures. Though, the US is very actively carrying out a campaign to try to destroy Iran's military right now.

Both sides are accusing each other of the same crimes almost on a daily basis right now.

SANDOVAL: All right, Ivan Watson, thank you so much for that report. Meanwhile, in Iran, crowds that were seen chanting "death to America" and "death to Israel" after strikes rained down near a rally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: In this video, which was verified by CNN, a religious singer is performing in front of this large crowd in the city of Hamadan. They were there to commemorate those who they call "martyrs of the Ramadan war." After strikes were seen near the city, the singer then started with those chants. Meantime, Iran's foreign minister spoke to CBS News over the weekend and said that his country will not back down in this war.

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: We never ask for a ceasefire and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes. And this is what we have done so far and we continue to do that until President Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: Iranian media reporting that the US-Israeli strikes, they've damaged more than 54,000 civilian units across the country since the start of the war. And that figure, which CNN cannot independently verify, that's according to Iran's semi official Tasnim News Agency.

The outlet reports more than 29,000 residential units are damaged across multiple provinces as well as hundreds of medical and health facilities nationwide. According to them, 16 medical workers have reportedly been killed and nearly 100 injured in the strike so far.

All right, let's get some analysis now. Joining me is Kian Tajbakhsh, Visiting Assistant Professor at New York University's Program on International Relations. He's also a former political prisoner inside of Iran.

[23:10:11]

He joins me live from New York. Kyle, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.

KIAN TAJBAKHSH, VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S PROGRAM ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: So we have seen a purported statement from Iran's supreme leader, but still no visual of him. What does that tell you about Iran's current leadership?

TAJBAKHSH: I think it means a couple of things. First of all, that as far as the new supreme leader is concerned, he is reportedly deeply injured, so he must be hospitalized. And also he is probably afraid of being assassinated by Israeli forces that have threatened to assassinate any new leader, just as they did with the Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon.

So I think what it indicates on the positive side for the regime is that, it indicates continuity in the external and internal behavior of the regime. That is to say, it's going to continue its aggressive posture, its antagonistic posture towards the United States and Israel. And in respect to society, it's going to maintain a very firm hand and it's going to continue its brutal crackdown, if necessary, continuing the maybe 10,000 people that were massacred before.

So I think the supreme leader at the moment is a stand in. He should be seen as a symbol or a stand in for the entire regime, which is really a combination of the IRGC, which is the military wing, political elites, economic elites, and also the clerical elites. So that's what the regime really is. And he now has a symbol, the regime has a symbol, but I think it's going to frustrate his supporters over time if he doesn't show up soon.

SANDOVAL: Staying on the IRGC for a moment, there are certainly many that may have underestimated this, maybe seen this as a quick win for the US and its allies when it comes to taking on this regime. Yet here we are three weeks in, and it seems that the regime still has a very good card to play. And that is certainly that chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, it's causing what widespread and global disruptions, I should say.

In your view and your experience, I mean, can you speak to the resilience of this regime that we should recognize is certainly battered but still certainly holds some leverage?

TAJBAKHSH: Yes. I mean, I remember when I was incarceration in Iran, I was in prison for being a democracy activist. And also I was held hostage as an American citizen in which I was ultimately negotiated my freedom during the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

I was up close and personal with a lot of the IRGC officers, not only senior officers but also middle rank officers. And actually the middle rank officers are important because they're the ones who are going to sort of go up into the new leadership positions as the leadership either retires or is killed.

So, what they showed me and told me is that, we are deeply committed to defend this regime. We are not afraid of a military fight against the United States. We believe it is our divine duty and obligation to fight to the death. So they are religious fanatics.

I mean, that's an uncharitable way of saying it. Let's say that they're deeply, deeply committed. But it is the case that I think what it tells me is their resilience is not only just bravery, it is an ability and willingness to actually think of martyrdom as something which is something noble and something to be expected.

The second point about resilience is more strategic and logistical, and that is that the IRGC in the 1980s changed their doctrine into what was called a mosaic doctrine. And essentially made a decentralized, they decentralized the central command and control structure into the 31 provinces in Iran. The reason why I think you're still seeing missiles being shot and you're seeing a lot of crackdown, in other words, Basij militia in the streets, is because these independent province level IRGC officers have the autonomy to make decisions. And it's possibly they the ones that are mining the Straits of Hormuz.

This is a double edged sword for the Iranian regime actually. In the short term, it gives them resilience, but in the long term, even in the next month or so, they will be severely degraded both in terms of morale and in terms of the ability to have a command from top. So I think that the Straits of Hormuz is being mined by one of these independent groups, maybe without direct communication with the center.

But I think that over time their ability to continue will be weakened because they can't communicate with the other groups.

SANDOVAL: No, that's absolutely fascinating. You're describing what could be an essential splintering of this group that could serve to not beneficial, as you mentioned. I have just a few more seconds with you, I wonder if we can close on the civilians on the people inside of Iran.

You're a former political prisoner, you're a democracy activist. They're facing a growing humanitarian crisis and a brutal regime, what are your concerns at this hour going into the next week?

TAJBAKHSH: My biggest concern is that, ordinary people, and I speak with family pretty much every day when they can call out. That's the only way we can hear from them, is that they shelter in place, wait till the end of this military operation. And then, if there is an opening, they might take to the streets.

But, you know, being here in New York, I'm not going to speak for people inside Iran. They have to decide when the balance between anger and fear tips to their favor. And that's something we won't be able to see for another few weeks.

SANDOVAL: Kian Tajbakhsh, that's a great point to end on. I really do appreciate your insight, and sharing your experience and your story with us. Thank you.

TAJBAKHSH: Thank you very much.

SANDOVAL: The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz that we just discussed, that is sending oil prices soaring to their highest levels. Their highest since 2022, actually. Brent Crude, the global benchmark that surpassed $106 a barrel earlier, right now about $104 a barrel. And the US oil also spiking, the surge causing US gas prices to rise some 24 percent since the start of the conflict. And that's according to the AAA auto association.

President Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, they discussed the importance of reopening this Strait of Hormuz. This is the US administration is really ramping up pressure on other countries to try to help safeguard that strategic waterway.

Look at the map. According to the UK Maritime Trade Operations, the Strait remains under critical threat. Tehran's near total closure of the narrow waterway, it has stopped oil tankers from transiting and actually eventually pushing energy prices higher worldwide. Let's go to CNN's Tom Foreman to break all this down for us.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This conflict is far away. The United States produces a tremendous amount of oil and gas. So why is it affecting your corner gas station? Because we're talking about another part of the world that also produces a lot of petroleum products. Places like UAE, Saudi Arabia, huge producer, Kuwait, Iraq, and yes, Iran as well.

And almost all of that has to come out through this body of water and through the Strait of Hormuz. About 3,000 ships a month, 20 million barrels a day. And Iran is putting so much pressure, military pressure, on those ships with a threat of attack that they're effectively closing the metaphorical gates here and saying nothing can get out from this area at the time. How are they doing that?

One of the ways is with the threat of mining the area, which is believed to be underway in some fashion there. We don't know exactly what kind of mines they're using at this moment or how effective they would be, but we know what they have. For example, they have these. These are called influence mines. They sit in the water and they wait for ships to pass overhead. If they see a small boat, they may let it pass, a medium-sized one, let it pass, but they see one of those big tankers that they're after, that's when they'll blow up.

We don't really know how effective they can be, but we know they've already disrupted the flow here immensely. Now, most of this is going out to go to Asian countries, principally China. Why would that affect you? Because oil is traded on a global market.

Let me fill the back of -- hangar here with a bunch of barrels representing all the oil being traded in the world right now. And because of the trouble around the Strait of Hormuz, 20 percent is now being held up. You simply can't take that out of the market without affecting manufacturing and shipping, and trade. And, yes, what you're going to pay when you try to fill up your car.

[23:20:05]

SANDOVAL: Our thanks Tom Foreman for that demo. We do want to check in now on how the markets are reacting to the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Checking in on some of the pre-market Futures in the US.

You can see they appear to be pretty much up across the board, this despite those looming concerns that we just discussed about the oil markets. When you look at most Asian markets, they did appear to fall, at least most of them except for that critical Hang Seng which you see there on the rise at this point. Again, just another indicator of those pressures from the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, we'll be breaking down how Americans are feeling about the war with Iran as the conflict enters its third week. And a little later this hour, I'll be joined by an entertainment expert to dive into the big winners at Sunday night's Academy Awards. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage. Economists, they are now voicing concerns over the war with Iran, arguing that oil disruptions in the Middle East could spark a recession. President Trump and some of his administration officials, they are more optimistic, saying that they expect the conflict will end within weeks, they say, and that the economy will rebound.

[23:25:07]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WRIGHT, US ENERGY SECRETARY: There's no guarantees in wars at all. I can guarantee the situation would be dramatically worse without this military operation to defang the Iranian regime. This is short term pain to get through to a much better place.

I think that this conflict will certainly come to the end in the next few weeks, could be sooner than that. But the conflict will come to the end in the next few weeks and we'll see a rebound in supplies and a pushing down of prices after that.

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, US NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: We expect that the global economy is going to have a big positive shock as soon as this is over. And we're still being briefed that it would be four to six weeks from the beginning and that we're ahead of schedule.

MARGARET BRENNAN, CBS NEWS: A big positive shock, four to six weeks. So this is a April 9th scenario you're talking about. You're going to see some kind of --

HASSETT: The President will decide if they no longer have the capability of blackmailing us and harming our neighbors. And once he decides that, then he'll call an end to the war.

SANDOVAL: And all this comes as the Israeli military told CNN that it is currently planning for at least three more weeks of its campaign in Iran. President Trump, he has been given a number of conflicting timelines, giving a number of conflicting timelines for when he believes that the war will end.

In fact, many polls are now showing a majority of Americans, they quite skeptical of US military action in Iran. A recent NPR PBS News/Marist poll now showing 56 percent of Americans oppose military action. You see there, 44 percent seem to support it.

A Quinnipiac poll also showing a majority of Americans oppose the war with Iran. But also found a pretty sharp political divide with 85 percent of Republicans supporting the military action, but just 7 percent of Democrats in support. For more reaction on these numbers, I'm joined now by CNN senior political reporter Stephen Collinson. And, Stephen, it's great to see you.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Hey.

SANDOVAL: We heard in the last hour from David Sanger. You know, he talked about this degree of irony now with President Trump now calling on some of these allies that he had previously criticized and now not really tapping into those alliances. Now, however, he's really reaching out.

I mean, can you speak more to that dynamic at play?

COLLINSON: Yes, it's extraordinary. Just a week ago, the President told Britain, the special relationship friend of the United States, not to bother sending any ships because he'd already won the war. Then we had this escalation in the Strait of Hormuz and the difficulty of reopening that strait. Now, the President is calling for Britain, France, even China to send battleships to the region to try to help the US Navy reopen the Strait.

I think practically this is unlikely to work because if the US Navy isn't willing to go through that strait right now, it doesn't seem very likely that America's allies, with their far smaller militaries, are going to be willing to escort ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, that very strategic passageway through which about 20 percent of the world's oil flows every single day. The other point about this, of course, is if you cast your mind back a few weeks during that big showdown over the President's attempt to get hold of Greenland, he was very unflattering about the efforts of the allies to help the United States, the NATO allies in past wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That has led to a situation where there is very little domestic constituency in many of these countries to send help to the offensive part of this operation.

Now, sooner or later, the price of oil could go so high that these countries have no choice but to join President Trump in trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But what I think this shows us is that, predictions that you've just been airing that the war could be over in weeks and everything's going to get back to normal, well, that seems to be undercut by the very words of the President this evening.

And then, there's also the possibility of the President declaring a victory, and then leaving the regime in place in Iran. If that's the case, as we've heard from other military analysts, Stephen, and you know this very well, too, is then the President would have to find a way to sustain that kind of presence in the Strait of Hormuz to allow for these ships to pass freely if the regime is still in place. I mean, do you think that the President would be prepared for that?

COLLINSON: Well, that's exactly the point, because the President does have a record in all sorts of arenas, not just foreign policy, of declaring a victory and then moving on to the next crisis that he often incites himself. I think there's two problems in the war with Iran in declaring a victory.

[23:30:10]

It's no kind of victory unless the Strait of Hormuz is opened. That is going to take time for the US to take out missile batteries in Iran, seaborne drones, mine laying equipment. That is going to be a complex task. It could require American ground troops to do raids into coastal districts around the strait. There's the whole issue of Kharg Island, whether the United States tries to take over that critical node of Iran's oil and economic infrastructure.

Then you've got the question of Iran's uranium stocks, highly-enriched uranium that it spun in the centrifuges and its underground nuclear programs. The President said those programs earlier this year and last year were obliterated. But the highly-enriched uranium is there.

If Iran is able to retain that, there's going to be worries in the United States about its security, and there's always going to be the possibility that at some point it could resume its nuclear program. So the President started this war ostensibly on the goal of getting rid of the nuclear program. If the highly-enriched uranium is still there, it's going to be very difficult for him to declare victory, and for that victory to be seen as credible by not just American voters, but every other power around the world, and including the regime in Tehran.

SANDOVAL: Stephen, I have just a few seconds with you here. In your latest write, you also point out another factor here which is the political factors inside of Iran that make it very difficult to predict a timetable. Just in the few moments I have left with you, I mean, what should viewers know about that dynamic?

COLLINSON: Yes. Well, we've not seen any implosion of the regime so far, which the administration hoped would be the case. Remember when he launched this war, the President said that Iranians would have a once in a lifetime chance to throw off repression. Even inside the administration right now, there doesn't seem to be an expectation that's going to happen soon because of some of the things that the President and other officials have been saying. I think that's a disappointment.

Although we cannot know what will happen in the future once the fighting stops, we don't know what kind of damage the regime has sustained. But at this point, it seems there is sufficient officials and military infrastructure, and intelligence infrastructure for them to remain defiant.

SANDOVAL: It was just a few weeks ago that the President was calling for the regime's unconditional surrender, yet here we are still. Stephen Collinson, thank you so much for all your insight and for that opinion piece.

And making history at the Oscars. After the break here on CNN NEWSROOM, I'll be joined by an entertainment expert to highlight tonight's big winners, maybe some surprises.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Well, the Academy has spoken, and celebrations, they are now kicking off for this year's Oscar winners, the newly crowned best and brightest of the film industry. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "One Battle After Another."

SANDOVAL: There it is, this year's Best film in the eyes of the Academy. Tonight's big winner, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. It won Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also raked in some other wins including for Sean Penn as Best Supporting Actor.

Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" had earned a record breaking 60 nominations. It won for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Cinematography. And the Best Actor Oscar, that going to Michael B. Jordan, who's actually played twin brothers in that film.

And no real surprise, Jessie Buckley, she won for Best Actress in her emotional performance as a grieving mother in "Hamnet," becoming the first Irish winner of the Best Actress category.

Let's discuss all this and much, much more, I head over to Segun Oduolowu, television host and Emmy award winning entertainment journalist. He joins us from Los Angeles, ground zero right now for the party. Segun, thank you so much for joining us, SEGUN ODUOLOWU, TV HOST/ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: Polo, thank you for

having me. And you said it was groundbreaking in some areas but it also, if you're a sports person, it was kind of chalky. The favorites won.

I was upset that Ryan Coogler didn't win for Best Director or that "Sinners" didn't win for Best Picture, but can you really quibble with Paul Thomas Anderson and "One Battle After Another" having, you know, having people nominated in the major categories right along with "Sinners."

So, yes, I felt that the Academy missed the moment, but it made up for it with Michael B. Jordan's speech and "Sinners" making a record with the first female cinematographer winner in the history of the Academy.

SANDOVAL: That was significant. So, you know, your assessment, no major surprises. Any upsets, though, any additional upsets?

ODUOLOWU: Well, "Frankenstein," you know, this was a Netflix film and it's in there with heavyweights like "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners." And it's winning for costume, it's winning for makeup. And then you start to think, oh, wait, that's Guillermo del Toro.

He makes incredible looking movies. Sure, "Frankenstein," Jacob Elordi, 14 hours in the makeup chair. Yes, that should probably win for Best Makeup. But it was surprising because where it was released on Netflix, it didn't have the same type of push, the same type of attention that "One Battle After Another" and "Sinners" did, or "Marty Supreme" being in theaters, Frankenstein didn't have that, but they still walked away with some gold statues. So kudos to good filmmaking wherever you're going to watch it.

SANDOVAL: You mentioned Mexico's Guillermo del Toro. I mean, there's the international element at play, too. I'd love to get your thoughts on this. The Academy, about a quarter of them are international voters. How do you think that played a role also in some of what we saw Sunday night?

ODUOLOWU: I think it played not a major, but it does play a role, right? We don't want to say that it played a huge role. But when you start seeing the first Irish winner, when you start seeing even people in the category like Wunmi Mosaku, or actors and actresses from all over the world, Wagner Moura, being seen and coming out there and speaking.

[23:40:00]

And then the people that were touching the stage, they come from different backgrounds. Zoe Saldana was a presenter. Oh, gosh, Penelope Cruz's husband, Javier Bardem. There's a lot of foreign influence within the Oscars or within the film industry, and that needs to be represented.

It needs to be seen, because that's what makes the tapestry so rich. It's why when you go to a film, you can feel as if you're seeing either someone that looks like you or represents where you come from. Even Conan O'Brien turning to the camera and speaking in Spanish. Yes, the Los Angeles part was funny when he spoke in Spanish, but it does illustrate the point that we're being watched in 32 countries and that's important.

SANDOVAL: His Spanish is pretty solid, by the way. Also, the Academy Awards wouldn't be the Academy Awards without some of those moments of activism, some of these political statements that are made by winners, nominees, presenters, et cetera. There was that moment when the mother of a Uvalde school victim from the school shooting actually had her moment in front of the mic.

I wonder if there are any other moments that really stood out to you, any of those meaningful moments?

ODUOLOWU: Well, Javier Bardem, as I said, walking to the microphone and the first words out of his mouth are "free Palestine." The gentleman who won for the documentary, speaking in Russian, that we need to end wars everywhere for our future and the sake of our children. Those were powerful moments.

Everything else with, you know, digs, it digs at our current president, like you expect that from Hollywood. And honestly, it's kind of trite because you're not only preaching to the choir, you're the pastor in the pulpit. Like that's your church. There's nothing brave to me when you're in a room full of people that are like minded to say something in that way.

If you take it to the street and I see you protesting, and I see you marching, then your activism speaks more to me. The mother from Uvalde, that is powerful. Like, she's got real, you know, skin in the game. Like this is important to her, like she's lost someone dear to her, that is important.

Because these are rich actors wearing diamonds and couture clothing, saying things that are convenient. It wasn't convenient for that mom. So take the stage then, say what you feel. But for the actors and actresses that will go on private jets and $350,000 gift bags trying to understand where you are, the documentarians, I love what they said.

The high paid actors and actresses, par for the course. It's such a good point, mom paying tribute to her little girl, Jackie. I made a note of it saying that her little girl, her light and her life. And hearing that from a mother who lost her child, it certainly has potential to last much longer than what we heard from some of the more notable names.

I will say, and we do have to leave it here, but the In Memoriam segment, I could fill a whole hour when it comes to that. I thought that was absolutely remarkable, the way they did that, and pay tribute to the late director Rob Reiner and his wife. Thank you so much --

ODUOLOWU: So, Barbra Streisand is singing about Robert Redford "The Way We Were," are you kidding me? It brought tears to our eyes.

SANDOVAL: Yes, exactly. Absolutely. That was such a powerful moment. Segun, thank you so much for watching this with us and for letting us pick your brain a little bit. Thank you.

ODUOLOWU: My pleasure, Polo. I'm going to go party.

SANDOVAL: Do it. Do it. Wish I was there with you. Have fun. All right.

We're going to still get to a lot more on the way. Officials now looking into the family of the suspect who rammed a truck into a synagogue in Michigan. Up next, what Israeli officials are now telling CNN about the brother of the individual that was involved.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:46:55]

SANDOVAL: Well, we're learning more about the man who drove a vehicle into a Michigan synagogue. The Israeli military now saying that Ayman Ghazali's brother was a Hezbollah commander. CNN's Gloria Pazmino with the update.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And we had actually reported a few days ago that Ayman Ghazali, the man who law enforcement say drove a vehicle packed with explosives into a synagogue in Michigan, had actually been previously flagged in US law enforcement databases for having a suspected connection to known members of Hezbollah. And now we are learning more about that connection.

We are told that Ghazali had a brother. He's been identified by the Israel Defense Forces as Ibrahim Muhammad Ghazali. And we are told that he was a Hezbollah commander who was killed in an IDF strike on March 5th. Now, this is according to a spokesperson for the IDF who said that day struck a Hezbollah military building believed to be used to store weapons.

And in that strike, Ghazali, the brother of the man who drove this vehicle into a synagogue in Michigan last week, he was killed during that attack. We know that this incident remains under investigation by federal authorities here in United States. And that attack on the synagogue in Michigan unfolding as one of several incidents that authorities are investigating as acts of terrorism ever since the beginning of US military action in Iran. Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

SANDOVAL: Former US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg now criticizing President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the loss of US servicemembers in the war with Iran. In an interview on CNN's STATE OF THE UNION, he also criticized the administration's planning and execution of this war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, FORMER US TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: What I'm worried about is not the soldiers and the people who are serving. What I'm worried about is their political leadership like Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump. You know, we lived through a war that was sold to us on false pretenses when I was younger. This war has not been sold on any pretense. The President just went ahead and did it.

Here's the biggest thing that has not changed since the war in Afghanistan or the war in Iraq. The biggest thing that has not changed is who pays the price. We have now seen 13American servicemembers killed. And when you prepare to go to war, the thing you think about, the thing you most dread, is your family being the ones to get that knock on the door.

More than a dozen American families have now gotten that knock on the door. And the President has basically assured us that there will be more where that came from. And while they're paying the ultimate price, every American is paying some price. Right now, mortgage rates are up because of this war. Food is going to be more expensive because of this war.

And of course, the price of gas that we're paying at the pump is more expensive because of this war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:50:04]

SANDOVAL: Buttigieg did serve as a US naval reserve intelligence officer and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Ukrainian teams are in the Gulf region assisting countries facing Iranian attacks. Speaking to CNN's Fareed Zakaria, President Zelenskyy also said that Russia has been providing Iran with drones according to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Russia gave drones already, the Shaheds. They are using Iranian licenses, you know, that they built and produced a lot of drones. They gave them. I have 100 percent facts the day that Iranian regime used against American bases and against our Middle East -- in Middle East, I mean, and Middle East neighbors of Iran, they used these drones. We saw intelligence shared with us some details and it was Russian details in these Iranian drones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: In this interview, the Ukrainian leader also highlighted growing concerns in Kyiv that the conflict in the Middle East will divert US attention and weapons from their ongoing war with Russia.

Well, Mother Nature at it again. CNN tracking severe thunderstorms slamming the eastern half of the United States. Your forecast after a short break. Don't go anywhere. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:55:17]

SANDOVAL: More than 100 million people in the eastern half of the United States are currently facing the threat of severe thunderstorms, even the potential for tornadoes. The sprawling storm has everything bringing feet of snow blizzard conditions throughout parts of the Midwest and also parts of the Great Lakes.

Also expected are some roaring winds and even fire weather concerns in the Plains and Rockies. The greatest risk of tornadoes that exists with storms in parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. The storms are expected to continue well into Monday and that means some potential travel trouble.

Here's another reason why you should probably plan ahead if you're going to be flying out this week. Hundreds of TSA airport security workers, they are quitting their jobs during the ongoing partial government shutdown, likely because they're not getting paid. More than 60,000 workers, they went without their first full paycheck over the weekend.

Transportation Security Sean Duffy, he tells Fox News that at least 300 workers have already left their post and their call outs, those numbers are doubling. He's warning that the situation could get even worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY: These are men and women who don't make a lot of money. And some of them are making choices to go, you know, whether they're driving Uber or, you know, waiting tables, they have to put food on their family's table. And in these places where this is happening, you're seeing really long lines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Appreciate you joining us on CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I'll join you again in just a few moments with another hour of coverage. Don't go anywhere.