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Some U.S. Allies Reject Donald Trump's Calls to Secure Iran's Strait of Hormuz; Cuba Suffers Total Collapse of their Energy Grid Leading to a Nationwide Blackout. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired March 17, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers from around the world, I'm Rosemary Church. We are now entering day 18 of the war with Iran.

And across the Middle East there have been fresh strikes, including in Iraq. Video coming in from Baghdad shows an explosion in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy there. Iraqi officials say the Embassy and a hotel were targeted by drones and an oil field in southern Iraq also came under attack.

Meantime, Israeli tanks could be seen inside southern Lebanon as the IDF expands its ground operation there. Several Western leaders have warned against a major offensive, saying it could lead to, quote, "devastating humanitarian consequences." Since Israel intensified its attacks on Hezbollah amid the wider war with Iran, Lebanese officials say more than one million people have been internally displaced.

All this as President Donald Trump lashes out at U.S. allies for rejecting his call to send warships and help the U.S. secure the Strait of Hormuz. The vital waterway has been effectively shut down by Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched the war. On Monday, President Trump refused to name the countries that he claims have agreed to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We have some that are really enthusiastic. They're coming already.

I have that from a number of them, and I'd like to say their names, but frankly, I don't know if they would want me to or not.

My attitude is we don't need anybody. We're the strongest nation in the world, we have the strongest military by far in the world. We don't need them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: CNN's Ivan Watson joins us now live from Hong Kong. So, Ivan, what is the latest on that attack on the U.S. embassy and hotel in Baghdad?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There were a number of these attacks. The chief of the Iraqi armed forces is condemning this. Very spectacular footage, not only of what seems like a drone strike hitting inside the green zone close to the U.S. embassy in the heart of Baghdad, but also of anti-aircraft fire, clearly trying to shoot down these lethal munitions and you're seeing explosions there at the Al Rashid Hotel, also in the green zone.

Now, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad has repeatedly come under attack. I believe it was hit by at least two drones that struck nearby it on Saturday.

And there's even footage of a drone kind of flying through the gates of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Iraq is home to a number of pro- Iranian militias. And this is not a one-way battle.

Dozens of fighters from the Popular Mobilizations Forces, which include these kind of pro-Iranian factions, have been killed since the U.S. and Israel launched their joint bombardment of Iran a bit more than two weeks ago. And there have been attacks on U.S. military installations and allied installations, such as a French base in the north of Iraq, where a French soldier was killed last week.

The fighting also continues in other parts of the Gulf. There was a commercial ship that was hit off the coast of the Emirati port of Fujairah early this morning. Minor structural damage reported.

But there's also a fire that authorities were trying to combat at an oil zone in Fujairah as well. And those are just some of the latest examples of the drone and missile strikes all around the Gulf targeting infrastructure and shipping that has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, helping drive up oil prices to levels not seen in at least 40 years and effectively stranding shipping, with the exception of some countries that seem to have gotten waivers from Iran, such as Pakistan and India, which have successfully had several ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days.

CHURCH: And Ivan, what more are you learning about the expansion of Israel's ground operation in southern Lebanon?

WATSON: It is underway, apparently. Israel announcing it was expanding on Monday, naming a second division of ground troops that are involved in these incursions across the border into southern Lebanon.

[03:05:09]

Already, Israel declared large parts of southern Lebanon, even beyond the Litani River, to be effectively kill zones where the Israeli aircraft and artillery can strike at will. According to a previous ceasefire, Hezbollah was supposed to stop operating in this area, and the Lebanese government and army was supposed to push the militia out of there and claimed to have been making some progress. But we're hearing reports of ground clashes in border towns and

villages between Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli military, which has also maintained and continued its bombardment of southern Beirut and the Beqaa Valley.

The civilian death toll continues to rise in Lebanon, with more than a million people displaced by these attacks. More than 880 civilians killed. Among those, Rosemary, more than 100 children in Lebanon have been killed by the Israeli bombardment thus far.

CHURCH: Ivan Watson, many thanks for bringing us up to date on that situation from your vantage point there in Hong Kong.

Well President Trump says he will soon announce the countries that have agreed to help the U.S. reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But his comments come as key European leaders ignore their reluctance to enter the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Like the United States and Israel, we want to see an end to Iran's nuclear and missile programs. But we will not take part in this war, we have said this from day one.

That remains the position of the federal government. This also means that as long as the war continues, we will not participate in ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz by military means.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We will not be drawn into the wider war. We cannot allow the war in the Gulf to turn into a windfall for Putin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Over the weekend, President Trump warned that NATO faces a very bad future if the alliance does not assist the U.S. in helping to reopen the vital waterway. This, despite his previous stance that the U.S. doesn't need allies who, quote, "join the war after we've already won." But on Monday, the President blasted the alliance for not backing U.S. naval forces in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We defend all these countries. And then do you have any mind sweepers? And they say, well, would it be possible for us not to get involved?

I've been saying it for a long time.

This is the greatest thing to come out of this. We spend trillions and trillions of dollars on NATO to defend other countries. And I always said, but if it ever comes time to defend us, they're not going to be there.

Many of them would not be there. And we're going to have to start thinking more wisely in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we are learning new details about Iranian strikes on a key oil facility in the United Arab Emirates. CNN's Eleni Giokos is live this hour in Dubai, and she joins us now. So, Eleni, what more are you learning about this strike on a tanker and storage facility in the UAE?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, what we heard this morning is the U.K. Maritime Trade Organization spoke about this tanker, reported this tanker being struck just off the coast of Fujairah.

Now, this is a key bypass route to the Strait of Hormuz. This would make it the 21st tanker and vessel that has been attacked since the start of the conflict. And really consequential as you're hearing this news and a lot of rhetoric coming through from the United States about trying to get this coalition of nations to try and escort tankers as well as vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

And it just shows just the threat of a strike would deter shippers from passing the Strait that normally handles around 20 million barrels of oil per day. But also importantly, I want to talk about the Fujairah oil terminal.

Again, this is sort of a release valve for oil products to get into the international market that doesn't need to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, it's about an hour and a half away from where I am in Dubai. And as you can see, it's on the Omani side.

So, that means you can sort of load your crude as well as refined products into the international market. Why this is consequential?

We've seen multiple drone attacks on Fujairah oil terminal in the past few days. And we've seen damage, we've seen the smoke, we've seen the fires, authorities say getting those under control.

But it has around 70 million barrels of capacity. It is the largest of its kind in the Middle East. It has clients like Vitol, Glencore, as well as PetroChina.

[03:10:07]

It moves key refined products into the international market. So, you take this capacity out of the industry. We're talking about higher oil prices in the long term because we don't know what kind of damage we're talking about here.

So, when this is over, you're again going to be looking at a much slower supply of specific goods. I want to take a look at the oil price, which of course is settled specifically on Brent at over $100 a barrel, WTI also increasing.

As we wait to hear sort of what will happen and mitigation will come into play to try and alleviate some of what we're seeing in the Strait of Hormuz. Those prices still very much elevated, causing concern. The other big thing that happened in Abu Dhabi this morning, we saw a massive, authorities actually suspended operation at the massive Shah gas field in Abu Dhabi because of a drone strike there as well.

We saw another critical piece of energy infrastructure attacked since the Saudi week and that was the race refinery, the largest again of its kind in the region. So, continued efforts by the Iranians to strike these strategic energy assets, which of course is going to play a very big role in terms of what we see on the oil price, Rosemary, for days and perhaps weeks to come.

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Eleni Giokos with that report from Dubai. I appreciate it.

And for more on how the conflict is impacting Iran's food supply, let's bring in Ishan Bhanu, a lead agricultural commodities analyst at Kpler. I appreciate you joining us.

ISHAN BHANU, LEAD AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES ANALYST, KPLER: My pleasure.

CHURCH: So, as this war continues, Iran is facing potential food shortages with ships carrying supplies like corn, wheat and soybeans, unable to move through the Strait of Hormuz to feed its population of 93 million. But Iran has control over that vital waterway. So, why isn't it letting those and other food supply vessels through?

BHANU: That's a good question. Iran cannot really pick and choose here because vessels are not just coming to the region because of the possibility of attacks, but also much higher insurance costs and perhaps unwillingness of sailors to come to the region as well. So, they can't really pick and choose to just allow vessels that they want to come to deliver to themselves.

CHURCH: But Iran is letting some of the tankers through, isn't it? It's letting some of its oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz. So, why wouldn't it let those ships carrying food supplies?

BHANU: The ships carrying food supplies choose not to come there. Just rephrasing it. But Iran imports a lot of corn from Brazil and wheat from the Black Sea.

A lot of this corn that comes from Brazil is basically large bulk carrier vessels coming to the Gulf, which will choose not to come to the region until they have clarity on insurance and security.

CHURCH: So, just to clarify there, these supply ships are choosing not to because of the dangers involved in trying to pass through that critical waterway. So, if this shipping disruption continues for another, say, three weeks or more, which is what we're being told, it could be longer than that, how serious could food shortages get for Iran, do you think?

BHANU: So, Iran, fortunately, is looking at a wheat harvest next month, which takes care of about 60 percent of its food needs. So, in terms of staple supply, Iran will be okay for a while. But they will see a price inflation because of lack of food imports, such as corn and soybean meal, into the country.

But I wanted to talk to you about the bigger issue of food supplies to the GCC countries because of lack of container vessels coming into the region.

CHURCH: Right. Talk to us about that and what are the consequences here?

BHANU: Sure. So, because of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the largest container port in the region, which is the port of Jabal Ali in Dubai, has lost access. The second largest port in the region is the Khalifa port in Abu Dhabi, which is half the capacity of Jabal Ali, which has also lost access.

[03:15:00]

So, these two ports combined were the major food import hub for about 50 million people that live in the Arabian Peninsula, in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait. So, the loss of access to these ports will be very challenging for the countries there because they don't have much agriculture of their own and they depend on a daily supply of imported fresh food and ingredients, which has suddenly halted.

CHURCH: Right. Very important part of this story. Ishan Bhanu, thank you so much for talking with us and explaining this to us, we appreciate it.

BHANU: Thank you.

CHURCH: Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of a deadly airstrike on a hospital in Kabul. We will have the latest on the escalating tensions between the two countries after a short break.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Afghanistan says a Pakistani airstrike on a Kabul hospital has killed at least 400 people. Daylight has revealed the extent of the damage to the hospital that authorities say primarily treated drug users. At least 250 people were injured by this strike.

CNN producer Sophia Saifi is in Islamabad and joins us now live. So, Sophia, what more are you learning about this attack on a Kabul hospital?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Hi, Rosemary. Yes, I mean, we've been getting information from our reporter on the ground in Kabul that this was a facility, a hospital, a medical facility in the city of Kabul.

We're getting first-person accounts from patients that were inside the hospital who have been telling CNN that they were engulfed by flames and had to get off their beds and run off. And in the morning, we've been told that they are still recovering bodies from the rubble. We're still efforting efforts to find out, you know, when the funerals for the dead will begin.

This is a number, of course, shared by the Afghan Taliban. The Pakistanis have come out and said that these are precision airstrikes. And it is misreporting by the Afghan Taliban that this was a strike on a medical facility, on a hospital.

So, this conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan is the deadliest that it's ever been. And it's been going on since the 26th of Feb. last month.

There have been massive numbers that have been shared by both sides that have not been independently verified by CNN. But what we do know from the Pakistanis, for example, is that they are claiming that these were precision airstrikes on munitions depots that happened in Kabul, two in Kabul, and four in the province of Nangarhar.

The Afghan Taliban have also called this a red line. The Pakistanis, a couple of days ago, there were drones that were shot down over the capital city of Islamabad. The Pakistanis called those a red line as well.

So, the tensions and the conflict across Pakistan's western border with Afghanistan has been mounting for quite some time. The Chinese have come in and called for de-escalation. The U.N. has called for de- escalation and an adherence to international law.

We're still going to have to wait and see if this engulfs the region further because, as we know, on Pakistan's western border, there is, of course, the Iran conflict ongoing as well. So, we're going to have to wait and see if this becomes something bigger or if there will be a ceasefire called any time soon. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Sophia Saifi in Islamabad, many thanks for that live report. I appreciate it.

Well President Trump has been seeking China's help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease the global oil crisis, but so far, Beijing is not playing along. Now, Trump says he may postpone his upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping by a month or so.

CNN's Mike Valero joins us now live from Beijing. Good to see you, Mike. So, what more can you tell us about this?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We can tell you that there seems to be relief. I think that's the biggest takeaway from this side of the world, relief that this meeting probably is not going to go ahead as scheduled. And why we say there's this feeling that's palpable is because we didn't get the sense, Rosemary, we did not get the sense, just to enunciate better, that any deliverables were solidified, that both sides, especially the Chinese side, were telegraphing that they needed more time to work through details of these very intense negotiations. I mean, this is the most complicated trade relationship in the entire world.

So, ahead of this very critically high-stakes meeting, which was scheduled for March 31st, Air Force One wheels down, meetings on April 1st and 2nd here in this town, they, of course, had to contend with whether tariffs would come down any further. There are still tariffs that the United States put on China from the first Trump administration that have to do with fentanyl precursor chemicals, China, of course, wants those gone.

They want greater access to advanced American A.I. chips. America wants China to buy more of its soybeans.

When you think of so many huge contingencies of Trump voters who are farmers in the Midwest, they're hurting because China's government is buying soybeans. But no private companies are buying soybeans like in the olden days, or in the past regime, I should say, of old soybean purchases before this latest trade war that we're talking about here.

[03:25:10]

So, a lot to contend with. No big blockbuster deals like with Boeing, for example. So, this gives both sides more time to hammer out what exactly they want to concede and what they can agree upon after this rancorous trade war that was in full steam a year ago.

So, certainly, investors are digesting that. Also, investors, we should add on this side of the world, Hong Kong and Seoul in positive territory, Shanghai, and Tokyo ending the day down as we wrap up the trading day here.

But there was significant optimism that oil is getting through the Strait of Hormuz. Certainly, Iranian, Russian, Chinese ships.

Sophia, who you just saw her reporting the Pakistani ships, are getting through the Strait of Hormuz as well. So, optimism there. But, again, as we wrap up the trading day, oil up. Brent crude, we're talking about, up more than 3 percent to $105, $104 a barrel.

It's kind of seesawing in that range. It's not at the high that we saw on March 9th of very close to $120 a barrel.

But there's concern with the attacks that Eleni was talking about earlier in the hour against the oil fields in the UAE, that they still could be a protracted problem. It's not going to be in the background of this summit, at least if President Trump has it his way. With this summit, though, the big headline of the day in this corner of the world, postponed.

Date to be announced, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Mike Valerio, joining us live from Beijing with that report. I appreciate it.

Iran is taking aim once again at U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf. Just ahead, we will get a look at the latest attacks on Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Back in just a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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CHURCH: U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf region are under attack once again from Iranian drones and ballistic missiles. Tehran took aim at Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Monday and early today.

And Iran is now threatening to target U.S. assets in the Red Sea region. CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: So here in Kuwait City in the last couple of hours, two rounds of sirens going off. And I've got to tell you, just looking at the population here, they're taking it and they're just moving on.

They're not running for cover because they believe that the missile systems, defense systems here in place in Kuwait can protect them. Kuwaiti government saying six drones were fired at Kuwait today.

They understated three of them. One fell in open area. The other two did impact, but no structural damage.

But just look up and down the Gulf here. Iran has been keeping up with its barrage.

Look at Saudi Arabia, they had 13 drones up and around the town that's got a large Saudi air base used by the U.S. Air Force in the center of the country. Also in the east of the country, the oil fields there in Saudi Arabia, 15 drones as well intercepted there.

Kuwait saying that they'd had today a number of ballistic missiles and drones that they've also intercepted. The United Arab Emirates in Dubai early in the morning, the international airport there, one of the oil storage facilities at that international civilian airport, damaged fire smoke billowing out of it for a long time.

They've had a number of drones and a number of ballistic missiles fired at them as well. And the message ramping up from Iran.

Iran saying because the USS Gerald Ford is in the Red Sea, that puts targets potentially in the Red Sea in danger along that coastline there. Of course, the Red Sea, actually a place Saudi Arabia can and is exporting some of its crude oil from, out down the Red Sea, past the Houthis in Yemen.

But if Iran starts ramping up and striking there, was that the rhetoric that we were hearing from the Iranian military or not? Was it an implicit threat? We don't know.

But it potentially would therefore spread the war, the conflict into the Red Sea, threatening that limited supply of crude oil and wrapping the war right around the Arabian Peninsula.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Millions of Cubans are facing a nationwide blackout after the collapse of the island's power grid. Now a new threat from President Trump could complicate efforts to get those lights back on.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Let's take a look at the business headlines now.

Tech giant NVIDIA has announced a wave of new software and hardware updates, including new tools for building A.I. assistance based on OpenClaw, the latest craze across Silicon Valley. NVIDIA says it's expecting at least a trillion dollars in revenue for its A.I. chips through 2027.

TSA agents have now missed their first full paycheck due to the partial U.S. government shutdown. The agency says hundreds of its workers have quit since the shutdown began just over a month ago. The staffing shortages have led to security wait times of two hours or more, in some cases at major airports across the country.

New data suggests Iran is still exporting millions of barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz despite the conflict. This comes as fuel exports from other Gulf nations remain paralyzed.

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Analysts estimate Iran has shipped nearly one million barrels per day since the start of the war. President Trump has yet to rule out future U.S. strikes on Iran's oil infrastructure.

President Trump has again set his sights on Cuba, threatening to take over the island as it deals with a crippling nationwide blackout. Millions of people are in the dark right now after the island's power system suffered a total collapse. It's the first blackout since the U.S. effectively shut off the flow of oil to Cuba.

On Monday, President Trump called Cuba a very weakened country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be a good honor. It's a big honor.

REPORTER: Taking Cuba.

TRUMP: Taking Cuba in some form, yes. Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I can do anything I want with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more now from Havana.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cuba is once again in an island- wide blackout. Something that has happened frequently enough over the years this time feels different because it is the first time since an oil embargo put in place by the Trump administration has led or contributed to this kind of island-wide blackout, affecting 10 million people at the moment.

The Cuban government says they are working to restore power. The question is, can they?

Because according to their own admission, no oil has come in for three months now. We have seen longer and longer blackouts as this crisis has developed.

You know, where I live sometimes gets up to 20 hours in the last several days. We've seen people going out at night to protest, banging pots and pans. In one small town in the east of Cuba, people actually attacked the Communist Party headquarters over the weekend, tried to burn down the headquarters before police came in and firing shots in the air broke up that protest.

But people are on edge here. People are wondering if the government can hold on. Certainly the Trump administration has said they believe that the government here is in its final hours and that they should make a deal with the U.S. to allow some of that flow of oil.

But the Trump administration is calling on the government here to make major concessions. No sign that that would take place and whether or not they could do it in time.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And here's something you don't see every day. Farmers in India have resorted to wearing bear costumes to scare away monkeys from eating their crops.

Villagers in the Istanbul region or district say the unwelcome guests frequently raid homes and farmland. Forest officials say while the costumes may offer temporary relief, they would rather catch the monkeys and release them in the jungle.

And thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Enjoy the rest of your day. World Sport is coming up next

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