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Iran, U.S. Trade Threats Amid Renewed Strikes; Oil Prices Skyrocket; Trump Sends More Marines to Middle East; Civilians Bear Brunt Of Israel's Strikes on Lebanon. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired March 22, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:36]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Becky Anderson live from our Middle East Programming Headquarters here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

And we begin with the latest strikes in the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. A man trapped in a vehicle was found dead a short time ago after a missile hit an Israeli community on the border with Lebanon.

In central Israel, police and bomb experts are working to secure and isolate what they describe as impact sites of munitions within the Tel Aviv area.

Today's wave of attacks comes just hours after Iranian strikes on southern Israel, wounding dozens and prompting a mass casualty event declaration.

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening an enormous attack on Iran's energy infrastructure if Tehran doesn't allow free navigation through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joining us live from Dubai.

Eleni, Donald Trump then threatening Iran with an enormous punch on Iran's energy infrastructure should Tehran not, quote, "open the strait within 48 hours." It's not at all clear whether Iran will heed that warning. All signs are that they won't. The impact of that choke point and the effect of a shutdown in energy sites around the region continues to have a huge impact on the world economy. Asian markets will open first, of course, for Monday trade. What's expected?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are feeling it around the world already, I think, Becky. You can see inflation inputs basically across the board, whether it's energy, whether it's, you know, things like downstream products on jet fuel, other products across the world.

I think that speaking to a lot of corporates, they're really worried about what it's going to do to earnings down the line. And this is why we started to see a lot of concern coming through and even in the markets and the equities. But just focusing on President Trump's line on if the Strait of Hormuz is not open within 48 hours, that he's going to hit and obliterate power plants and he's going to start with the biggest power plant in Iran.

So, clearly giving them an ultimatum. Iran, for its part, coming up with a statement today saying that all vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz as long as they're not linked to what they say is the enemy. So, we're talking about U.S. and Israeli linked vessels.

Now, how they apply that rule remains to be seen. We've heard just another vessel was impacted by an unknown projectile just off the coast here in the UAE in Sharjah. So, we're seeing around 22 vessels that have already been impacted since the start of this war. And that, of course, creates a lot of nervousness from shippers.

Iran also saying that if any of its power plants are in fact targeted, that they will retaliate. And they're focusing on desalination plants, they say, U.S. assets, as well as other critical energy infrastructure. So, rhetoric definitely has been escalated. The big question is, is President Trump going to be happy with the line of, well, you know, anyone can pass through the Strait as long as it's not U.S. and Israel linked vessels? And then importantly, that whoever wants to pass through the Strait will have to coordinate with Iran for security guarantees.

In the meantime, we have heard that 22 countries have shown interest to assist in securing the Strait. How and when that will happen, still not answered. In the meantime, interestingly, over the weekend, we also heard President Trump saying that he wants to start winding down the war.

So, in terms of the inconsistencies we've been hearing, specifically from the United States, Becky, this, now 23 days into this war, the Gulf nations have borne the brunt of what we've been seeing in the strikes against the region, specifically on critical energy infrastructure.

ANDERSON: Eleni, good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

All right. That's the view there. We'll get you more now. I'm joined by Alon Pinkas, who's a former Israeli Consul General in New York, speaking to us from Tel Aviv today.

First, I do want to get your assessment of Iran's overnight strikes on Israel. Tel Aviv, southern Israel, northern Israel. Tehran says these are in part a response to Israel's attacks on their Natanz nuclear plant. Israel actually not responding to that suggestion. But as week four of this war begins, Alon, where are we at?

[05:05:11]

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: I'm sorry for the cliche, Becky, but we're at a crossroads because this could -- this could go on for two, three more days, but it could easily go on for two, three more weeks, perhaps even more. Depending on who controls escalation.

Now, you know, on the face of it, the one man who controls escalation is Donald Trump, is President Donald Trump. He could stop the war and he could protract the war. This is not up to Israel, but it is partly up to Iran because he's -- President Trump is sending mixed messages. As far as Israel is concerned, if the war ends now, there is little, perhaps even zero strategic accomplishments to be -- to brag about.

You know, Becky, there are two, I mean, I'm going 40,000 feet for a broader perspective here. There are two scenarios that can transpire with equal likelihood. One is that the regime has been so degraded militarily and so diminished politically that it is in fact on the verge of, the regime in Iran, that is.

It is in fact on the verge of collapse. It might take six months, it might take 12 months, but that's the end. OK, that's -- that's one version of reality, one that Mr. Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, would like everyone to think.

The second scenario is much more ominous, and that is that Iran, even though it has been defeated militarily, is strategically triumphant in the sense that it inflicted enormous economic slash energy cost on the world. The regime stays intact. In fact, it further strengthens its control in Iran.

And there is now an impetus or an added incentive to cross the nuclear threshold, even if it takes two to four years. That's the worst-case scenario. And the war right now, at least from an Israeli perspective, could go either way.

ANDERSON: Alon, which scenario then do you expect to play out at this point?

PINKAS: Unfortunately, the second one. I mean, look, I don't know how the war is going to evolve in the next few days. There could be a major escalation from the U.S., the seizing of the Isle of Hajj -- Hajj -- I'm sorry, the -- the bombardment of, as Trump boasted last night, bombardment of Iran's power plants in the event that they do not open the Strait of Hormuz for open navigation.

There's also a lot of hysteria there because, you know, the ripple effect of what's going on in Hormuz, you know, even antibiotics manufactured in India to be marketed to America needs LNG, liquefied natural gas that's coming from Qatar and on and on and-on-and fertilizers and what have you.

And so, if -- if Mr. Trump does indeed escalate this in the next few days and we don't know anything about what he wants to do, because not only is he sending mixed messages, but there is, you know, people ascribe to him some kind of a strategic ambiguity. No, there's no strategy. It works on guts. It works on feelings. It works on the last guy who spoke to him.

It works on the last bad poll that he saw. And it works on the price of gas in any gas station throughout the U.S. So, he can end this, but he can also escalate this. If he does escalate this, going back to your question, Becky, we're looking at the second scenario in which -- in which, you know, all hell breaks loose, but the regime stays intact. Barring, barring, and we need to qualify this, some major ground American ground operation in Iran. I don't see that happening, but who knows?

ANDERSON: Alon, I understand why you say it is up to one man, Donald Trump, at this point. You say it's not up to Israel. But firstly, Benjamin Netanyahu says the U.S. and Israel are completely aligned. I want to lean into your experience as a senior Israeli diplomat to the U.S. I mean, Benjamin Netanyahu says effectively he's the junior partner. We heard him talk about his role as he sort of, you know, the kind of subordinate ally in this, as it were. But is he really?

PINKAS: Well, there are two ways of looking at it. But before that, I just need to give you a fair warning, Becky, that there is an alert for a siren here in central Tel Aviv.

ANDERSON: Understood.

PINKAS: And if in the event that that happens, I will just move with the laptop. Don't worry about it. There are two ways of looking at it. One is -- one is that Mr. Netanyahu has prodded American presidents in general, but particularly Donald Trump since 2018, when he helped convince him to unilaterally withdraw from the JCPOA, the so-called Iran nuclear deal.

[05:10:12]

And he has done it again in June 2025 by asking him to cooperate with Israel in an attack on Iran, and has asked him again to launch this war. And that led to the criticism that this is a -- this is Trump being manipulated or conned or swindled by Netanyahu, who is cunning and mystic. OK.

But -- but with all due respect to Mr. Netanyahu's spectacular manipulation antics and qualities, you can't make an American president do this if the American president does not want to do this. There's no real pro-war lobby in America, against Iran that is, that would have pushed him in that direction.

So, you know, from an Israeli point of view, and Netanyahu bragged about this in the first 24 hours, he said, quote, unquote, "This is what I've yearned for -- for 40 years." From an Israeli standpoint, getting the U.S. on board at this point is critical from a Netanyahu perspective, because you never know what's going to happen in three or four or five years. Maybe an American president will be less inclined to entertain such an adventure.

From an American point of view, it's much more peculiar and even bizarre. What are America's interests in here? I mean, this is Trump who said in June 2025 that we, quote, unquote, "we obliterated Iran's nuclear program." This is -- this is Trump who said just a few days ago that there are no more targets in Iran.

So, what exactly and you see how unpopular the war is in America. So, what exactly is he doing here? And that -- that, you know, that sort of fuels the theory that Netanyahu controls it. But I think it's an exaggerated view.

Yes, Netanyahu has tried to convince America. Yes, he manipulated President Trump. Yes, perhaps he, you know, used all kinds of political leverage to do that. I doubt that that he imposed or foisted this war on Mr. Trump. And now --

ANDERSON: Yeah, I do have to ask whether we're asking the wrong question at this point. What are America's interests here? Difficult to explain. Should perhaps we be asking what Donald Trump's interests are here? Perhaps those two questions are very different questions.

Alon, thank you very much indeed for joining us. You and I will talk in the days to come, I know. Your insight and analysis is extremely important to us.

I want to get you back to Kim, who is in Atlanta now, for more of the day's top stories.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much, Becky.

Travelers faced long lines yet again on Saturday at airports across the U.S. As the government shutdown continues for more than a month now, employees have been expected to work without pay as the DHS remains unfunded by Congress. CNN's Rafael Romo has more from one of the nation's busiest airports.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The situation here at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has improved greatly over the last several hours.

It is completely different to what we witnessed here in the morning. This hallway, we had a line all the way to the atrium, three lines altogether, and then on the other side of the escalator, another three lines, people in wheelchairs were on the north side of the airport, also another line for people doing pre-check on the south side of the airport.

Now, as you can see, not too many people. This actually looks better than a normal day here at the airport. But the damage done this morning was great for many passengers who didn't know if they were going to make their flights on time. Many people who were angry, frustrated, desperate. We had an opportunity to talk to a couple of them, and this is what they had to say.

ROMO (on camera): How are you?

LEE GEORGE BARNES, TRAVELER: Frustrating.

ROMO: Frustrated, really frustrated.

BARNES: It's pandemonium out there. Nobody seems to know where to go. There's no organization. There's no clear lines of where people should go to queue to get to the next place. And there's no information. When I ask the staff around here, I say, how long is it going to be? I don't know.

AVISHAI HARRIS, TRAVELER: Honestly, it's kind of expected. This is the second time that we've had a government shutdown. I wouldn't expect people to come to work if they're not getting paid. So, it's kind of, what are we going to do?

ROMO: But the bottom line here is that the root cause of the problem hasn't really changed because we still have the impasse in Congress not getting funding to TSA, not getting funding to DHS. As a matter of fact, DHS says that more than 360 screeners have quit since the government shutdown began. And also, over the last several days, the absentee rate has been hovering around 10 percent. So, as long as those conditions don't change, it's anybody's guess what's going to happen here in the next few days.

[05:15:09]

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

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BRUNHUBER: And Rafael will be live here from Atlanta's main airport in about an hour with an update. So, stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, President Trump is threatening to send ICE agents into airports if a funding deal to end the partial government shutdown isn't reached.

Now, it's not clear yet what role ICE agents will have as they're not trained in airport security or screening. But Trump says he plans to send them in on Monday. And Democrats have condemned Trump's threat as negotiations with the White House and Senate Republicans continue.

People around the world are paying the price for the war in Iran at the pump. Still ahead, we'll tell you where crude oil prices stand right now and how much Americans are shelling out for fuel.

Plus, American farmers take an economic hit from the conflict in Iran. We'll look at how the war undermined their planting season, not just by raising fuel prices. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: The Iran conflict has caused oil prices to skyrocket, sending shockwaves through the global economy.

[05:20:02]

Have a look. Brent crude futures now stand at about $109 a barrel. That's a small retreat from Friday when they closed at over $112, the highest level since July of 2022.

West Texas Intermediate is currently at more than $98 a barrel. In the U.S., the national average for a gallon of gas stands at $3.94. That's about a dollar more than a month ago, according to the American Automobile Association. The conflict in the Gulf is causing huge problems for American farmers

who were already struggling to keep their heads above water due to tough economic conditions.

Agricultural companies warn that as much as 30 percent of some critical farming supplies are transported through the Strait of Hormuz. They add that American farmers are still waiting for some of the essential supplies as planting season approaches, and that's left them scrambling for liquefied natural gas and nitrogen fertilizer urea in time. In some parts of the U.S., farmers are seeing prices of the desperately needed supplies doubling.

All right, for more analysis on this, we're joined from Washington by agriculture expert Vanessa Garcia Polanco. She's also a government relations expert at the National Young Farmers Association.

Thanks so much for being here with us. I really appreciate it. So, on the fertilizer piece of this, just to start with, the U.S. makes most of its own fertilizer right here at home. So, break down for us why a shipping lane on the other side of the world still hits American farmers this hard.

VANESSA GARCIA POLANCO, AGRICULTURE EXPERT: Yeah, definitely. What we see is that American farmers are still heavily dependent on inputs for abroad, and that fertilizer is one of them. Even with all our domestic production, we have not been able to be completely self-reliant and self-sufficient.

And we have seen those shocks before. For example, when the war on Ukraine started, we saw also a spike in fertilizer prices. So, even when we would like to have more resilient, domestic resilient production for fertilizers, we're still heavily dependent on the ones from abroad.

BRUNHUBER: OK, so when the Strait of Hormuz shut down and fertilizer, not just fertilizer, but fuel prices as well, started going through the roof, I mean, what were farmers telling you?

POLANCO: We're definitely hearing that farmers are just more concerned about the increasing cost of production. Increase on fuel prices trickle down to increased prices and volatility in other prices against the food supply chain and in the production chain that farmers use. Anything that needs to be transported to the United States internally or domestically will see an increase in prices because it is just more expensive to transport.

That input for the farm, let that be mechanization, let that be fertilizer, let that be seeds, or many other inputs that farmers use, it's just more expensive to get it to where the farmer needs, where it's coming from. So, all that trickles down to an increased cost of production.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, OK. So, I mean, the cost is going up. I mean, many farmers here, I guess at this time, as I mentioned, it's basically planting season. So, what happens then if a farmer just can't get the fertilizer they need in time or they can't afford it? POLANCO: Farmers are really resilient. So, we hope and trust that they will be able to create some flexibility on the farm to maybe adapt to other inputs. But at the same time, that requires a lot of resources and technical assistance.

And farmers may not be able to pivot that fast in one growing season to that adaptability. What we may also see is that we may see the Department of Agriculture use their authority to increase domestic production. Again, we have seen this before when the war in Ukraine started and we saw over $200 million go to increase domestic production.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah.

POLANCO: At the same time --

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, just curious because you mentioned sort of the need to be flexible and to perhaps change crops and so on. I mean, that's easier, I guess, for bigger farms. Your group focuses a lot on the little guys, small farms and farmers who are just starting out. I imagine, you know, for them, they're going to get hit a lot harder by this than the massive corporate farms. Is that right?

POLANCO: No, on the contrary. Smaller farms tend to be more resilient and more adaptable because they're able to shift to all the geopolitical and market shifts better. When monoculture, bigger farms, it's harder for them to adapt. A big farm cannot change the crop that they're growing now. They may change their practices on how to manage their growing without fertilizers and different inputs. But actually changing a lot of their business plan, this lane, is hardly impossible.

BRUNHUBER: So then, you know, we're talking about farmers, but for folks at home, I mean, how does all of this end up affecting what we're paying at the grocery store or what will be available on our table?

POLANCO: Definitely. Farmers are really worried that they have to transfer the increase of cost to their consumers. That's something that they don't want to do. Every farmer that I talk to tells me, I don't want to have to increase my prices because I'm not going to break even, but I still have to make break even. At the same time, we are really worried that it's going to create more erosion in consumer confidence in our domestic production.

[05:25:22]

So, we are really going to probably see an increase in prices and food prices in the moment that we still have high inflation.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, something so many people can't afford with the rising price of gas and everything else going up as well. I want to end with this. The Farm Bureau is asking the White House and Congress for help. What's the one thing that needs to happen right now to -- to help keep these farmers afloat? POLANCO: We definitely need more financial assistance directly from the Department of Agriculture because farmers have a lot of economic uncertainty since last year, so this is only adding on. So, we would like to see action from the USDA and Congress as financial relief for farmers, not only tied to high economic uncertainty and tariffs in the geopolitical situation, but to really help farmers create a safety net that actually makes them viable.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, let's certainly hope there's bipartisan cooperation to help out our farmers because it affects all of us in the end, obviously.

Vanessa Garcia Polanco, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.

POLANCO: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, despite reservations, European leaders are weighing their roles in the widening war across the Middle East. We'll bring you the latest on where the conflict stands after the break. Stay with us.

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[05:30:06]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

Let's check some of today's top stories for you.

An Iranian media reporting that Tehran will target U.S. infrastructure in the region if its power plants are attacked. This comes after President Trump threatened to hit and obliterate Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Monday. Well, Iran effectively closed that vital waterway at the onset of this war, which has sent fuel prices soaring worldwide.

Oil prices not showing much sign of sliding as the fighting grinds on. Brent crude, the international benchmark, currently stands at more than $106 on the barrel, while the West Texas intermediate goes for more than $98.

Well, President Trump hasn't yet ruled out sending American troops into Iran. Meanwhile, thousands more U.S. Marines and sailors are heading towards the Middle East as the war with Iran enters what is now its fourth week. The latest deployment comes as Trump said he would consider winding down the war soon.

Well, some mixed messages there. Joining me to discuss Europe's reaction to the growing conflict is CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau from Rome for you this morning.

A very difficult place for the Europeans at this point. They didn't sign up for this U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, but they are certainly feeling the impact, not least in energy security and prices. What's the current sort of assessment from Europe as to what they do next at this point?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, you know, I'd have to say nerves are really rattled here, especially after Friday when Iran attempted to attack that Diego Garcia base out in the Indian Ocean, which is about 2,500 miles away.

Now, before that, I think here in Europe, people felt quite safe, even though there are about 275 U.S. bases across Europe, the most are in Germany, followed by here in Italy and in the U.K. And so, now you've got the idea that Iran has some sort of long-range capability with their missile program. And making things a little bit even more uncomfortable overnight is that the chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Force had this to say.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EYAL ZAMIR, CHIEF OF THE GENERAL STAFF, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES (through translator): Just yesterday, Iran launched a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 4,000 kilometers at an American target on the island of Diego Garcia. These missiles are not intended to strike Israel. Their range reaches European capitals. Berlin, Paris, and Rome are all within direct threat range.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And, you know, Becky, when you listen to that, obviously, that sounds very ominous. People are very worried about it. It's in all the papers today. It's hard to understand, though, if that's just some sort of provocation to get Europe to sort of wake up and maybe, you know, be a little bit more involved in this.

Of course, Donald Trump has -- U.S. President Donald Trump has been urging European leaders to be more on page with him, I guess, and to send more assets and things like that to the Gulf region, to the Middle East, to try to protect some of the fuel ships and things there. So, it's very mixed messaging, but there are nerves rattled here.

When you hear that sort of capability and that sort of warning, and you know that these bases are here all across Europe, people are worried whether -- whether that causes some of these leaders to react and do something about it. That, of course, is another question entirely. But people are paying attention, paying far more attention, I would say, today than they -- after what happened on Friday, maybe than they were in the last couple of weeks since this conflict began, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Barbie, good to have you. Thank you.

Well, Israel has nearly doubled the number of troops along its border since the start of the month. Tanks were spotted near the Israel- Lebanon border on Saturday. Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia, started firing into Israel after the U.S. launched its war with Iran alongside Israel. The fighting between Hezbollah and Israel has left at least 1,000 people dead in Lebanon. More than a million people have been displaced there since this current conflict began, with some families forced to shelter outside in makeshift tents, as you can see here, under what have been pretty inclement weather conditions.

I want to bring in Basma Alloush. She is the Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director of Public Affairs and Comms for the International Rescue Committee, joining us, I know, from Amman in Jordan this morning. Your organization is set up to respond to the world's worst humanitarian crisis, help people survive, recover, and gain control of their future.

[05:35:07]

I mean, those who are displaced in Lebanon today, as we speak, literally struggling to survive. Where do you assess the most acute needs today as you and I speak?

BASMA ALLOUSH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNICATIONS MENA AT IRC: Hi, Becky. Thank you for having me. As you said, it seems, you know, it's right now a very dire humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. There are only 10 percent of the million that have been displaced were able to seek shelters that have been organized by the government.

So, these are like public institutions that have been transformed to house people that have been displaced. Ninety percent of those of the remaining displaced have had to kind of seek shelter in makeshift arrangements, whether with families in overcrowded conditions or on the streets, as you pointed out.

Right now, the most dire needs are just people really need everything. And we are trying to respond to those needs as much as we can. But as you can imagine, it's Lebanon is already dealing with so much. And so this added crisis makes the response that much more complex and challenging.

ANDERSON: We're looking at images of people in tents. It's been raining there. It's cold. How long do you believe this is sustainable?

ALLOUSH: I mean, it's definitely not sustainable. It's barely sustainable, you know, over the past two weeks, let alone if this is going to extend any longer. Right now, we're looking at a potentially looming public health crisis.

You know, you mentioned people are out in tents, you know, rain water is accumulating around many people that I spoke to last week. We're talking about how their tents were destroyed, how they don't have access to clean water. There's no public restrooms that are available.

People, even those in shelters are often in very overcrowded conditions. And these are facilities that are not equipped for long term housing. There's no shower facilities, there's no washing machines. So, I think that the situation is definitely not sustainable for much longer.

ANDERSON: Basma, the U.S. and European nations, as we know, have significantly rolled back their foreign aid budgets. And I just wonder how an organization like yours continues to work with those who need your help most. And when you consider how reduced those other aid budgets are that might have, you know, got their funding from these Western government donors in the past.

I mean, what is your message at this point, given the images that we're just seeing in Lebanon alone, let's remember, you know, that's what we are focusing on today. There are a myriad of other humanitarian crises that we haven't even got to in this conversation. And what's your message at this point?

ALLOUSH: My message is for people to really try, you know, step up as much as possible and support organizations like the International Rescue Committee, and other humanitarian efforts that are really trying to respond to this crisis. I mean, we're trying to address the mental health issues that are going on the impact of this conflict on children. We're also trying to address the emergency healthcare needs that we're seeing exacerbated by this conflict.

So, I think, you know, as you mentioned, the Lebanon, you know, humanitarian response plan was only one third funded last year. So, we're already operating in a deficit. And so right now, any support that we can get will really go a long way in supporting the Lebanese families that are in need right now.

ANDERSON: Sadly, so many of these families in Lebanon will have experienced this not this time, perhaps once, twice, three times, could be more. And we're talking about kids being impacted here. I just wonder, as you assess the needs short term, you will be thinking about the needs long term. What are those? I mean, what is your assessment as an organization of the impact that a crisis like this has on families with kids who go through this on multiple times?

ALLOUSH: You, I mean, over 100, over 300,000 of those displaced are children. And the impact long term, I mean, there are many families who have had their homes destroyed. So, they have nothing to return to many of these children are dealing with severe distress, their parents are dealing with severe distress.

There, you know, there's a need for everything because people fled with very short notice and barely could grab anything with them. And so right now, what we're trying to, you know, highlight is that even though we're viewing this as a short-term crisis, and we're calling for all those involved in the violence to really stop and put the weapons down and allow people to recover.

[05:40:13]

But right now, even if the war ends today, there's still going to be long term issues and persistent needs because people just have nothing to return to and the scars of the conflict are long lasting. So, we really need to make sure that mental health issues and, you know, even lifesaving health care are absolutely prioritized.

Many of these children have their education disrupted. So, you know, you said it like multiple -- you know, displaced multiple times. So, many of these kids haven't even gone to school yet. So, making sure that there isn't a lost generation in terms of education, and supporting their -- you know, integration and future into society is absolutely critical. And we can't lose sight of that.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. It is 1:40 in the afternoon here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, 12:40 there in Amman in Jordan.

We'll have more, of course, after this.

(CHANT)

ANDERSON: People in cities outside the Middle East are protesting the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Hundreds marched in central Madrid on Saturday, holding banners and chanting slogans opposing President Trump and Mr. Prime Minister Netanyahu.

In India, administered Kashmir, where Muslims make up the majority. Protesters marked the end of Ramadan with demonstrations in support of Iran, strongly condemning the U.S. and Israel's actions there.

We'll stay with us on CNN. Kim will have more of the day's top stories after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:06]

BRUNHUBER: A federal judge has ruled that parts of the Pentagon's restrictive press policy are unconstitutional. The decision is a blow to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's attempt to control news coverage of his department. Our Brian Stelter has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey there, yeah, for more than a year now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been trying to impede news coverage of the Pentagon. But he's been met this weekend by some serious resistance. The federal judge has struck down Pentagon press restrictions that media lawyers said would criminalize routine reporting.

You might recall that last October, dozens of reporters handed in their press passes and left the Pentagon complex rather than go along with the new rules. Well, the New York Times subsequently filed a lawsuit to challenge the rules.

And on Friday, Judge Paul Friedman sided with the "Times," saying the Pentagon policy is unconstitutional because it violates the First Amendment. This ruling was cheered by a wide range of press freedom advocates. And now some beat reporters who were pushed out of Pentagon workspaces last fall are discussing how to get their credentials reinstated.

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents scores of journalists who cover the military, said in a statement, quote, "This is a great day for freedom of the press in the United States. It is also hopefully a learning opportunity for Pentagon leadership, which took extreme steps to limit press access to information in wartime."

And that last point is key because there's so much attention and so much scrutiny right now about the U.S. action in Iran. Reporters have many questions that are only sporadically being answered by military officials. At Hegseth's most recent press briefing, he mirrored President Trump's hyperbolic language about the media and made false claims about coverage. He called almost entirely exclusively on Trump- aligned right-wing outlets that the Pentagon has tried to prop up as a new generation of the Pentagon press corps.

But in reality, it is traditional outlets like "The New York Times" and "CNN," the "AP" and "ABC" that have been doing most of the original reporting about the military, in spite of Hegseth's many attempts to discourage that reporting.

This does go back more than a year at this point. His restricted press pass rules followed months of other actions, booting news outlets from workspaces and cutting off access to military officials.

And Judge Friedman says those rules have veered into unconstitutional territory. He wrote in his ruling that it amounts to viewpoint discrimination, quote, "not based on political viewpoint, but rather based on editorial viewpoint. That is, whether the individual or organization is willing to publish only stories that are favorable to or spoon-fed by department leadership."

So, it's about control, controlling the message and the messenger. But the court is trying to stop that, saying the restricted new rules must be thrown out and reporters must be able to freely access information, including leaks from sources who might not be authorized to share that information.

Now, on Friday night, Hegseth's press office said in response, we disagree with the decision and are pursuing an immediate appeal. So, he's signaling that he will continue to pick fights with the news media. But CNN and other outlets say they are monitoring the ruling closely with an eye toward getting those press passes back.

And Julian Barnes, the "New York Times" reporter who was named as a plaintiff in the suit, he wrote on X, this is a big win for the press, the public and the United States military, which fights better when observed by a robust press corps.

Brian Stelter, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has died at the age of 81. He served in the role for 12 years under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Mueller served in the Marines and was a Vietnam veteran, but is perhaps best known for leading the probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. While his investigation didn't find the Trump campaign guilty of collusion, Mueller didn't exonerate the president of obstruction allegations. Mueller's family says he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2021. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:52:47]

BRUNHUBER: Cuba is experiencing its second nationwide power outage in less than a week, leaving more than 10 million people in the dark. The power grid collapsed Saturday following Monday's island-wide blackout.

The U.S. began blocking fuel shipments to Cuba three months ago, and the island had been heavily reliant on oil from Venezuela. The Cuban foreign minister has said his nation is open to talks to end the fuel embargo, but on Friday the Cuban president said the country is preparing for a potential attack, comments that followed President Trump's threats of, quote, "taking Cuba."

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MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, CUBAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We are not sitting with our arms crossed. First of all, we recognize that there could be an aggression against Cuba, and we have unleashed a preparation plan to raise our people's readiness for defense in the interest of the war of all the people, which is our defense concept and which is a defense of conception. Not aggressive and to defend the country with the preparation and the preparation of all the people in defense.

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BRUNHUBER: Emergency crews and Hawaii's National Guard have been carrying out hundreds of rescues across the island of Oahu after a powerful storm dumped up to three months of rain in just 24 hours. Hawaii's governor says it's the most significant flooding the state has seen in decades. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH GREEN, HAWAII GOVERNOR: You know, we've had 40 to 50 inches of rain. It's the largest flood that we've had in 20 years. But we've had no loss of life. People have pitched in incredible work by our, you know, first responders. We have the National Guard called up. Over 200 people have helped us on that side.

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BRUNHUBER: Some stranded people had to be helicoptered from rooftops as flooding cut off roads and engulfed homes. More than 70 people, including a number of children, were airlifted from a youth camp after they were trapped by rising water.

The rare heat wave is breaking records for the month of March across the western U.S. And it's not done yet. CNN's meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Dozens of records have been set across much of the western portion of the country. All of these dots indicate one of those records. But it's not just daily records. These are all time March records for these locations. And more of them could be broken as we head through the rest of the day on Sunday.

[05:55:03]

They're also going to start to spread eastward. So, all of these dots you see here across the central U.S., portions of the Mississippi Valley and southeast, those are daily records that could be broken, not just Sunday, but some of the cases even Monday and Tuesday.

Here's a look at the forecast. Again, you'll start to notice more of that orange and red and yellow colors spread eastward. Really, the only cool spot on the map is going to be portions of the northeast and into the Great Lakes region.

Down to the south, this is where the warmer temperatures are going to be. So, Lubbock, Oklahoma City, Memphis, Jackson, all looking at those temperatures at least 10 to 15 degrees above average. Some of them do drop back a little bit on Monday, but many of them rebound right back up again on Tuesday.

Take a look at Dallas, for example, 94 for that high temperature. The average is 70. And when you look at the rest of the week for Dallas, you'll notice every single one of the next seven days is expected to be at or above, and sometimes significantly above, that average temperature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. Now to March Madness as teams tip off for a shot at the Sweet 16, the third round of playoffs of the U.S. College Basketball Tournament. The Texas Longhorns became the first double- digit seed to advance this year's Sweet 16.

And then after an upset over third-seed Gonzaga, Saturday's showdown between fourth-seed Nebraska and fifth-seed Vanderbilt came down to the final seconds. Have a look at this driving layout by Braden Frager, put the Cornhuskers on top, 74 to 72.

Now Vandy tried to land a half-court shot at the buzzer, but it didn't fall. Nebraska now advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time ever.

And the Michigan Wolverines are also moving on. After a dominant win over St. Louis, they entered the tournament as one of the favorites to win it all.

All right. That wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. CNN THIS MORNING is up next.

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