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Iran Strikes Retaliated Following the Killing of Its Security Adviser Ali Larijani; Trump Unveils Three Arab Countries to Assist the United States in Securing the Strait of Hormuz; Judge Orders Reinstatement of VOA Employees and Journalists One Year After it was Shuttered by U.S. President Trump. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired March 18, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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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. It is 10:00 a.m. in Baghdad, Iraq, where the U.S. Embassy compound has come under attack for the second consecutive day.

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Local security officials tell CNN the area was targeted by at least four projectiles, including two drones, with at least one landing in the vicinity of the compound. Earlier Tuesday, air defense systems intercepted another projectile aimed at the embassy. There is some damage around the embassy, but no reports of casualties.

Now to Lebanon, where a new video shows extensive damage from an Israeli strike on alleged Hezbollah targets in Beirut. The IDF had ordered the evacuation of the neighborhood early today.

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A video from an Iranian news agency shows what it says are missiles fired toward Israel in retaliation for the killing of top national security adviser Ali Larijani. He and the leader of an Iranian paramilitary group were among those killed in an Israeli strike late Monday. And authorities in central Israel say at least two people were killed by what appeared to be a cluster munition strike, several neighborhoods and a train station were damaged.

Earlier I spoke with an expert on the significance of Israel killing Tehran's top national security official and paramilitary chief and what it means for the fate of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROF. OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN QATAR: Well, the head of the besiege, the commander Soleimani, was not popular in Iran, and his death is unlikely to be mourned by many ordinary Iranians. Larijani's death is a different story. He wasn't necessarily popular, but he was a figure within the deep state, and I think it's important to note that he was extremely pragmatic and practical.

He knew the inner workings of the system, and he was responsible for many of the top decisions that the state was taking, particularly in relation to the nuclear file and the conduct of the war. He was extremely pragmatic, so I wonder if his killing was deliberate on the part of Israel to ensure that a voice that was pragmatic and practical is removed at this critical juncture.

CHURCH: And why do you say that?

KAMRAVA: Well, you know, obviously what we have seen is a divergence in the objectives of Israel and the United States. President Trump seems to be, although he is unwittingly escalating the war, he seems to also be looking for an off-ramp.

The Israelis have different objectives. They want to foster a popular uprising in Iran, which is not quite in the American calculus. And so what we're seeing are two very different approaches to the conflict and the war, at least insofar as the Iranian theater is concerned.

On the one hand, the Israelis are continuing with the so-called decapitation campaign, whereas the Americans are focusing on almost purely military targets.

CHURCH: And what is the likely thinking right now of the people living in Iran as this war continues? And of course, the death toll rises. I mean, I know, you know, we're talking about more than 90 million people, so they're all not thinking the same way.

But with the contacts that you have inside the country, what are people thinking about this war and where this is going?

KAMRAVA: Iran is suffering from a national trauma, a trauma that started back in December when the government started indiscriminate killing of protesters.

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And that national trauma has only been deepened with the war at the end of February. And what we see is the pervasiveness of death and destruction across the country. And so there is very little mood to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian New Year that's coming up and many Iranians are anxiously waiting to see what happens next.

CHURCH: And on that, I mean, what is Iran's likely future right now as it continues to strike back across the Gulf region and use its considerable leverage over the Strait of Hormuz by waging this global economic war, which seems to be its more powerful arm of this war, doesn't it?

KAMRAVA: Absolutely. The Islamic Republic is fighting for its survival. This is the most critical existential crisis it has faced since its inception back in 1979.

And what we see is, at least from Washington's perspective, regime change is no longer in the cards. But certainly a serious degrading of Iran's military capabilities is what Washington, at least, is hoping for.

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CHURCH: President Trump is lashing out again at U.S. allies who are refusing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He met on Tuesday at the White House with Ireland's prime minister, where he said he's not ready to end the war with Iran yet, but claimed the U.S. will be leaving in the near future.

The U.S. military says it dropped 5000-pound guided bombs on Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. And President Trump now claims the U.S. no longer needs any help in getting the vital oil shipping route reopened.

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DONALD TRUMP. U.S. PRESIDENT: I think NATO's making a very foolish mistake. And I've long said that I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So this was a great test, because we don't need them, but they should have been there.

REPORTER: Are you rethinking the United States' relationship with NATO possibly getting out?

TRUMP: When they don't help us, it's certainly something that we should think about.

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CHURCH: President Trump says Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are now on board to assist the U.S. in the Strait of Hormuz, but he has not said in what capacity. The diplomatic adviser to the UAE President says discussions on a collective plan are ongoing, and any contribution from the UAE would likely be part of a broader international initiative. Threats from Iran have resulted in the effective closure of the vital waterway since the conflict began, spiking fuel prices around the globe.

And for more on this, let's bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos. So, Eleni, what is the latest on what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz and, of course, the far-reaching impact of the closure?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, for its part, the UAE, Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the President, says that the UAE is planning to play a role and willing to play a role in securing the Strait of Hormuz if it is part of an international effort. So, we're talking about an international coalition that comes together.

President Trump hasn't been able to secure that just yet. So, we're still talking about the closure remaining for now, at least until there's a decision on the policy front. For a lot of these countries, it's a political question, it's a military question.

And, you know, how would they respond? Would it be defensive naval escorts? Would they, you know, start attacking Iran? These are the questions that are on the sort of minds of a lot of the countries that are looking to try and figure out whether they want to start with these naval escorts.

But here's the thing. I mean, a lot of people are asking, is the Strait of Hormuz actually closed?

And it's quite an interesting question because there have been 90 vessels that have passed through the Strait since the 1st of March. Just for context, usually around 60 to 75 tankers pass through the Strait on a daily basis. The experts that I've been speaking to have told me that even if you have naval escorts, you'd need around 8 to 10 destroyers to assist around 5 to 10 vessels daily.

So, we're still not talking about reverting back to normal volumes. The other thing that's really interesting is the clearance of some vessels to pass through the Strait. Iran says there's a caveat that everything traded on the Strait needs to be done in Chinese yuan.

But also, Iran has clearly given permission to some tankers to move through. And there are Iranian tankers that have actually passed through, but also India-flagged as well as Pakistan-flagged tankers that have gone into the international market. The question is, are we going to see an increase of this?

Iran has threatened to strike any U.S. and Israeli-linked vessels attempting to pass through the Strait. It's an open question.

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But I want you to take a listen to what the Lloyds intelligence expert had to tell me about just how shocking it is that the U.S. wasn't prepared.

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RICHARD MEADE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, LLOYD'S LIST: I find it incredulous that the U.S. would go into this conflict not understanding the direct threat that Iran poses to one of the world's most important energy choke points. There are no ships moving through this. Less than 90 in nearly three weeks.

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GIOKOS: So the question is, what happens from here, Rosemary? Are we going to see a coalition formed? Are they going to be able to escort tankers?

That's an open-ended question. And, of course, timeline. That's another one that we need to answer.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. Eleni Giokos brings us that live report. I appreciate it. With the Strait of Hormuz blocked to ships, ground transportation is

providing a lifeline to the Gulf region. Hundreds of trucks are bringing vital food and medical supplies into Kuwait each day from Saudi Arabia. CNN's Nic Robertson is at the border and has our report.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: These trucks here are the new lifeline bypassing the Straits of Hormuz. The Straits of Hormuz closed for oil getting out of the Gulf, closed for goods that would normally be coming in.

And right now, these convoys coming out of Saudi Arabia, going into Kuwait, they're bringing in food, they're bringing in medical supplies, they're bringing in all the equipment that would normally get to Kuwait and other Gulf countries normally get there by ship or by air.

The Iranians have closed the Strait of Hormuz. The airspace is closed because of all the missile strikes that are going on. And if you come round here, you can get an idea of all the different products that are on their way into Kuwait.

Now, officials there aren't talking about food shortages yet, but people in Kuwait tell us, look, we're a desert kingdom.

We're in the desert. It's a desert country. And we need to import 90 percent of our food.

So this lifeline here that the Saudis say is passing about 900 trucks a day, 9000 trucks gone through from Saudi to Kuwait, they say, since the war began, is absolutely vital. And it gets more vital the longer the war goes on. It's part of the Gulf solidarity.

These trucks here are driving in from Saudi Arabia from about 1000 miles away, about 1800 kilometers across the whole of the Arabian Peninsula, from Saudi's western coast, from the port city of Jeddah on the Red Sea. They can do that because the Red Sea isn't blockaded. It's not under fire at the moment, which means there's a way to get all this equipment, all this food, all these medical supplies into countries like Kuwait.

But right now the Iranians have already started threatening the Red Sea with potential strikes because the USS Gerald Ford, the aircraft carrier, its battle group, are in the Red Sea at the moment. So this lifeline, vital, going to get more important if the war continues, but because the Red Sea now appears to be potentially under threat, even this way of getting around the siege of the Strait of Hormuz that Iran has put in place, even this could be under threat too.

Nic Robertson, CNN, from the Saudi-Kuwait border.

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CHURCH: Still to come, U.S. President Trump muses about taking over Cuba as the country slowly restores power from a nationwide outage. We are in Havana. That's next.

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CHURCH: Cuba has a new warning to the Trump administration. Its President says that any attempt by the U.S. to take control of the island nation will be met with, quote, "impregnable resistance." This message comes after President Trump on Tuesday suggested potential U.S. action could be happening soon.

Cuba is struggling to restore electricity following a nationwide blackout. The country's power grid collapsed Monday, weeks after a U.S. blockade of oil effectively shut off supplies. CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports from Havana.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After more than 24 hours of an island-wide blackout, power is coming back to many parts of Havana. Still there are other parts of the city, many parts of the island, that are still without any electricity, and the underlying causes of this blackout, an aging electrical system that is collapsing an oil blockade on the part of the Trump administration on this island.

Those are still there. The power could go out again at any point. That's really the concern here.

And so the Cuban government says they are negotiating with the United States. They are trying to work out some kind of deal. But we've heard Donald Trump say that he plans on taking Cuba, essentially being the one to call the shots here.

And Secretary of State Marco Rubio say that, in his opinion, the officials in charge of this island are unable to resolve the problems that they have here and that they need to leave.

So while talks are going on, it is clear that the Cuban government is being pushed to do much more than up until now they have been willing to do. And very soon officials here could be facing an ultimatum from the U.S.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

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CHURCH: Joining me now is Philip Brenner, Professor Emeritus of International Relations at American University. I appreciate you being with us.

PHILLIP BRENNER, PROF. EMERITUS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Glad to be here, Rosemary. Thank you. CHURCH: So after weeks of President Trump's oil blockade of Cuba, its power grid collapsed, putting most people in the dark. But a top Pentagon official told the Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that he's not aware of any plans to invade Cuba, despite Trump saying Monday that taking Cuba would be a great honor. How likely is it, do you think, that the U.S. will do this, despite being embroiled in a war with Iran?

BRENNER: It's very unlikely.

First, the United States does not have the capability at this point to invade Cuba with half of its air force and most of its sea power over near Iran. But more than that, Cuba has a very large military that still operates. And it would be a terrible land war if the United States tried to invade Cuba.

It might attack Cuba, try to take out one or two military bases, but that would get them very little. And I think that in fact it would undermine the goals of the United States in trying to find a solution to this problem.

CHURCH: Now the Trump administration has been calling for regime change in Cuba with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Cuba needs new people in charge. If that is indeed what the U.S. plans to do, who would they likely put in charge?

BRENNER: Well, in fact, Marco Rubio has moderated what he said. He said in St. Kitts two weeks ago that he's willing to accept economic change and that democratic change could come later. And so I think what they're hoping for is to perhaps remove the President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and work with another leader.

And there are plenty of leaders to replace him. In fact, he doesn't have that much significance. He is not one of the most powerful people in the government.

CHURCH: So what will likely happen next in Cuba, given the U.S. has a chokehold on the island nation, and how would you describe life there for most people right now?

BRENNER: Well, it's coming close to a humanitarian disaster. The lack of oil means that people don't have electricity for basic needs, refrigeration, pumping water. They can't get around in buses or cars.

They can't, hospitals aren't functioning properly because they don't have enough workers to come in. And so life is very tough at this point. It's really, the United Nations calls it a humanitarian catastrophe.

And so, and this is largely due now to the U.S. blockade on oil to Cuba. But I think the United States doesn't want, in fact, to create a total collapse because it would fear the migration that would come.

And so I think both countries are trying to work out some kind of deal that would mean a greater opening by Cuba to more foreign investment. And in fact, yesterday, on Monday, the Cuban government agreed to allow Cuban Americans to invest in Cuba, which they weren't allowed to do before.

CHURCH: And just as we saw in Venezuela and then in the war in Iran, it appears that any U.S. takeover of Cuba, if that happens, would be without consultation with Congress. What's your response to that possibility?

BRENNER: Well, I think in this case the Congress, I think in this case the Cuban Americans in Congress would very much oppose any agreement with Cuba. And so, in some sense, it makes it easier if Congress is not involved.

This would not be a takeover in a military sense. This would be an executive agreement. And presidents do that all the time.

CHURCH: Philip Brenner, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it, and your perspective and analysis.

BRENNER: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Still to come, how rising costs due to the war with Iran could soon be felt well beyond the gas pump. We'll go live to Hong Kong after the break.

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CHURCH: A senior U.S. intelligence official has stepped down from his post over his opposition to the war with Iran. Joe Kent was appointed by President Trump and had been serving as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center. His resignation marks the highest profile rebuke yet of the war effort from someone inside the Trump administration.

In his resignation letter posted on X, he wrote, "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation. And it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."

President Trump had this reaction.

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TRUMP: I read his statement. I always thought he was a nice guy. But I always thought he was weak on security.

When I read his statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: President Trump has confirmed that his planned trip to China this month is now postponed amid the war with Iran. He told reporters on Tuesday the new meeting date will take place in five or six weeks. This comes as the U.S. has urged Beijing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, but China's Xi Jinping has not committed to that.

Iran's effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has locked up roughly 20 percent of the world's oil since the U.S. and Israel launched their war nearly three weeks ago. And consumers around the world are starting to feel the effects.

So let's go to CNN's Ivan Watson, who's off the coast of Hong Kong. Ivan, how is the closure of the Strait impacting global shipping and energy prices?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think we're seeing it with the cost of oil going up above $100 a barrel. And that's because Iran has made clear it will target commercial shipping. Ships like this, which last month was, this very ship was in the gulf and it--

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CHURCH: All right, we're clearly having issues with Ivan's shot. We'll see if we can reestablish connection there. Let's see if we can, do we want to try and go back or we're going to move on?

Looks like we're having issues there. All right, let's move on now.

U.S. President Donald Trump says Britain's King Charles will head to Washington for a state visit very soon. But the President's clash with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the war with Iran could put that visit at risk.

Some in Britain are questioning whether it would be wise for the King to press ahead. Though not confirmed, he's widely expected to travel to Washington in April to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. On Tuesday, a Downing Street spokesperson declined to discuss future royal engagements and stressed the details of the visit have not yet been confirmed.

Still to come, patience is wearing thin as security lines at U.S. airports get longer. Why this travel nightmare might not be ending anytime soon. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Let's go back to CNN's Ivan Watson who's off the coast of Hong Kong. And Ivan, we were just discussing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and of course its impact. What can you tell us?

WATSON: The problem is that Iran has targeted ships like this. This is an LPG tanker that was in the Gulf in February and transited through that choke point, the Strait of Hormuz, before the eruption of hostilities. A ship like this is 159 meters long, it costs tens of millions of dollars even without its cargo.

And there have been at least 16 suspected attacks on international shipping since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran. Most recently there was a tanker ship hit off the UAE on Monday, a cargo ship from Thailand that was hit trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Last week three of its Thai crew members are still missing.

And then there were tanker ships, for example, off the coast of Iraq that were hit and Iran claimed to have targeted them with undersea drones. And what's happened is that ship owners and shipping companies are afraid to send their ships through with this threat because there's about 20 crew members on board every one of these vessels and tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars at stake.

Iran has made it very clear it will continue to target shipping. Look at this statement from Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. He says, quote, "The Strait of Hormuz situation won't return to its pre-war status."

Since all of that oil supply, 20 percent of the world's oil can't come out, that's part of why we're seeing higher prices at the gas pump. That's part of why jet fuel costs more and why plane tickets are costing more right now and that will trickle down through the global economy.

The Trump administration is calling on other countries to help reopen the strait. He's asked China, Japan, South Korea, members of NATO countries. Nobody is volunteering to help right now.

The threat that Iran poses is asymmetric. While the U.S. Navy has destroyed dozens of Iranian warships, Iran still has drones and sea mines.

And look what a target this is. It's huge, a sitting duck in a narrow channel like the Strait of Hormuz. Protecting it with an escort would require warships and aircraft overhead, a lot of resources which aren't yet in play.

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In the meantime, Iran is trying to impose conditions. It says it's negotiating with some governments to potentially allow tankers through when they buy their oil using Chinese currency, the U.N. trying to impose conditions while also threatening international shipping.

And there is some evidence that some countries have secured side deals. Pakistan and India have both gotten ships through the Strait of Hormuz safely over the course of the last week. There's a Hong Kong ship that went into the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

But until this threat to shipping and to the seafarers who work on board ships like this goes away, expect the logjam to continue and for these energy prices to stay sky high. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Alright, our thanks to Ivan Watson bringing us that live report off the coast of Hong Kong. I appreciate it.

Let's check the business headlines for you.

An Iranian source tells CNN that Tehran has been speaking with eight countries outside the Middle East to offer safe passage of oil traded in the Chinese currency, the U.N. The source, who did not identify those countries, also says Iran is considering a broader approach that would involve managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to reinstate more than a thousand employees at the Voice of America by next week. They were put on administrative leave last year as President Trump sought to dismantle the U.S.-based broadcaster and other government-funded media agencies. The court order mandates that VOA reporting and broadcasting must be restored by Monday.

The TSA's acting administrator warns some U.S. airports could be forced to temporarily close if the partial government shutdown continues. The agency also reports at least 366 officers have quit since the start of the shutdown. Those officers have been working without pay.

NASA confirms that a bright fireball that crossed over several U.S. states was a meteor. Video captured this extremely rare shooting star crossing the daylight sky in the eastern U.S. The American Meteor Society says daytime fireball sightings are unusual since they have to be brighter than those at night. NASA says they burn as bright or brighter than Venus.

The fireball was observed from Virginia all the way to Ohio. It triggered a sonic boom heard in the Cleveland area when the fast- moving meteor broke through the sound barrier.

I want to 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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