Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pam Bondi Out at U.S. DOJ; Iran's Military Capability Largely Intact; Zelenskyy Help in Reopening Strait of Hormuz. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired April 03, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

Sources tell CNN that about half of Iran's missile launchers are intact and they pose a risk to the entire region. U.S. President Donald Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general, leading to questions about who will lead the Department of Justice. And astronauts on the Orion spacecraft leave Earth's orbit, setting them on a trajectory towards the moon.

MALE 1: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: We begin this hour with an exclusive report on the war with Iran. Three sources tell CNN that roughly half of Iran's missile launchers are still intact despite the daily attacks by the U.S. and Israeli military. Now, this is according to recent U.S. intelligence assessments. You can see the damage from one of the latest missile strikes right there in central Israel.

The sources say thousands of one-way attack drones also remain in Iran's arsenal. A Pentagon spokesperson calls CNN's reporting completely wrong.

Meanwhile, Iran is reporting at least 8 people are dead and 95 injured in a U.S.-Israeli strike on a bridge west of Tehran. President Trump posted on social media that there's, quote, "much more to follow."

I want to bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Abu Dhabi. So Paula, let's start with our reporting on Iran's military capability. What are we learning and what's been the reaction?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, just talking about the capability they still possess here in Abu Dhabi, we've just had our third emergency alert within the last hour, the last one just a couple of minutes ago. So that's really testament to the fact that they still have this capability.

So this is reporting from three sources talking to CNN who have seen U.S. intelligence assessments compiled over recent days. And they say that what this tells us is that roughly half of Iran's missile launchers are still intact. Also saying that thousands of the one-way attack drones, about 50% of their capability, is also still intact.

Now, they may be considering and counting some launchers that may have been buried in strikes but are still intact but unavailable at this point.

Now, it's very different to what we're hearing from the Trump administration. We heard from the U.S. President as recently as Wednesday talking about the severe degradation that the military had suffered at the hands of the U.S. and Israel, saying that weapons factories and rocket launchers have been blown to pieces. Very few of them left.

Now, this assessment, according to these sources, also says that the coastal defense cruise missiles are also a large percentage are still intact as well. We know that the U.S. and Israel have been targeting the navy, but this would be consistent with less attacks on those actual coastal defenses.

Now, we've asked the White House for comments. They have said that this is anonymous sources desperately wanting to attack President Trump, pointing out, as we've heard from the Secretary of Defense, that the number of projectiles that have been fired are down about 90% since the start of the war. The Pentagon spokesperson calling the report completely wrong.

Now, what we have seen in Iran overnight and early this Friday morning is we have seen one bridge which was about 40 kilometers, 25 miles west of Tehran being struck and destroyed.

Now, we understand from state media that some 8 people have been killed in that attack, 95 injured. This was a bridge that was still being built. It was supposed to connect the capital to the city of Karaj, and it was still under construction.

Now, it's also images that have been posted on social media by the U.S. President with the comment, much more to follow. Now, we have been hearing from the Iranian Red Crescent about the casualty numbers in Iran. The latest we have from them is that more than 2,000 people have been killed, some 21,000 injured, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

[03:05:05]

They say that civilians are bearing the brunt of these attacks. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: I appreciate that. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Thanks so much.

Ukraine's President says his country is ready to play a role in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The key waterway used for transporting about one-fifth of the world's oil is largely shut by Iran. Bahrain is now pushing a proposal at the UN Security Council that would allow using defensive measures to secure traffic through the strait. Meanwhile, Britain hosted a virtual meeting of more than 40 countries

Thursday that explored how to turn up pressure on Iran to reopen the waterway? Ukraine's leader says Kyiv can be part of the solution.

Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Ukraine has relevant expertise concerning sea waterways, concerning the defense and reopening of maritime traffic. If partners were ready to act, we would consider how we can strengthen them, how we can apply our expertise, knowledge, and technological potential.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told the Army's Chief of Staff to retire immediately. General Randy George held the position since September of 2023. He previously served as the senior military assistant to former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Experts say General George's ties to the Biden administration didn't sit well with Hegseth, who has already positioned one of his top deputies to fill the role.

And Pam Bondi is no longer U.S. Attorney General and is no longer in charge of the Justice Department. She's the second member of President Trump's cabinet to be fired in just a matter of weeks.

CNN's Kristen Holmes picks up the story.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump fired his Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, saying that the Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche would be filling in during the interim period while they look for someone to fill that job permanently.

Now, in the lead-up to this actual firing, we had been told that President Trump had grown increasingly frustrated with Bondi over a number of issues, one being her handling of the Epstein files. Two, President Trump does not believe that Bondi has worked fast enough to prosecute some of his political enemies.

Now, President Trump first started talking about this idea of replacing Bondi back in January, and then it started to die down. Many people in the administration had thought that he had moved on from that until this week when he started calling allies saying that he wanted to replace her, floating different names, and then it became increasingly clear he was likely to do so. Wednesday night, President Trump had a meeting with Bondi that one source described as tough. They talked about her future in the role. And President Trump made clear that she was probably going to get replaced, but did float the idea of a potential other job within the administration or even a judgeship, sources told us.

Now, here's what President Trump posted after firing Pam Bondi on Truth Social. Said, "Pam Bondi is a great American patriot and a loyal friend who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year." Then he says, "we love Pam and she will be transitioning to a much-needed and important new job in the private sector to be announced at a date in the near future." Now, this is critical because, as you'll remember, Pam Bondi is now the second cabinet member in the last month to get fired, the first being Kristi Noem, to whom he gave a soft landing as a special envoy.

Clearly here, there is no soft landing for Pam Bondi as they move forward. Instead, she will be going into the "private sector." Now, Bondi thanked the president for her service on social media and said that she would be in that job for the next month, helping with the transition. There are a number of names that have been floated to become the next attorney general. One of them considered the lead is now the current EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin. But nothing is final. President Trump is still thinking through various names that he could put into this position.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

BRUNHUBER: War in Iran is in its fifth week with no clear end in sight. Next, a former top White House official talks about worst-case scenarios for ending the conflict.

Plus, new multinational troops have arrived in the capital of Haiti to help battle escalating gang violence. All details just ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:13:41]

BRUNHUBER: U.S. President Donald Trump tried to sell the war with Iran to the American public in his primetime address on Wednesday. He said the U.S. strategic objective Trump said that Israeli objectives are nearing completion, but he didn't offer a clear timeline for ending the war.

Former top U.S. national security official told CNN's Christiane Amanpour that finishing the conflict isn't just up to Trump. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: One of the things that we need to remember here, Christiane, is that Donald Trump and the United States doesn't get to determine on its own when this war ends. We can certainly determine when we stop military operations, but the Israelis get a vote and there's no indication that they're willing to stop. And the Iranians absolutely get a vote on how much more fighting they're willing to do.

And when you talk about bombing them into the Stone Age and you make it more about now the Iranian people, not just the regime, that makes it more likely that they're going to stiffen their spines and continue to fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And Kirby was also asked what would be the worst-case scenario after the war. Here he is about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIRBY: My worst-case scenario, and we kind of already alluded to it, is that the administration, for whatever reason, pulls the plug on this.

Look, I mean, we can all argue about the wisdom of launching these strikes at the time and the way that they were done. But now that we're in it, it's really important that the U.S. military be allowed to finish obliterating and degrading -- I shouldn't say obliterating -- degrading these military capabilities as best they can.

[03:15:07]

So what I worry about is pulling the plug early, leaving the regime still in power, and it is still the same regime, there has not been regime change, leaving them in power to continue to persecute their own population and to be able to propagate terrorism and a threat to the region. And then where we are? We are simply back to, again, mowing the grass.

So I worry about pulling the plug early and not letting the military finish its job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Well, things are going from bad to worse for more than a million people displaced by the fighting in Lebanon. Aid workers say many of them don't have access to clean water, medications, or medical care. Relief groups that operate there are struggling to keep up with the growing needs of displaced families, including some migrant workers who are now displaced for a second time. The head of the International Organization for Migration says they simply don't have a place to go anymore. She also says the mass displacement could lead to tensions and violence between communities in Lebanon.

All right. Now, to the Cuban capital Havana, where hundreds of people have been gathering to protest the energy crisis and the U.S. embargo, the bikers, roller skaters, and rickshaws rolled past the U.S. embassy. This anti-imperialist rally earned applause from the Cuban President.

Cuba is struggling with rolling blackouts and even collapses of the power grid after the U.S. imposed a fuel blockade several months ago. President Trump has demanded the Cuban government open its economy and institute reforms.

The first troops of an expanded multinational force known as the Gang Suppression Force arrived in Haiti this week. Backed by the U.S. and the U.N., they're expected to combat violent gangs which have terrorized the Caribbean nation for decades. In the days ahead of the troops' arrival, the gangs have stepped up

their attacks. Rights groups say dozens of people have been killed and thousands have been forced to flee their homes. A new UN report says at least 26 gangs control vital supply routes and have brought the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince to a standstill. The new force replaces the Kenyan-led multinational security support mission which ended last year.

Now, earlier I spoke with Harold Isaac, an independent journalist in Haiti who's been covering the developments. And I asked him about the latest gang attacks that appear to be spreading beyond the capital into the country's farming region. Here he is.

HAROLD ISAAC, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST IN HAITI: The gang crisis here in Haiti is really complex and has been so for the past few years. What we're seeing right now is pretty much kind of the exit road or ramp of the gangs fleeing the capital where they've been really challenged in the past few months. And as such, they are going for softer targets, if we could say in the heartland of Haiti.

BRUNHUBER: We've seen reports of communities forming their own self- defense brigades because they can't necessarily rely on the police. I mean, how's that playing out for ordinary Haitians who are caught in the middle of all this violence?

ISAAC: Well, these are desperate measures really by the population, especially when they're not getting the proper support from the state and from the international community.

And as such, these brigades, despite trying to challenge the gangs, have a hard time because they are not well-organized or they're not well-armed. But really, it has been a problem within Haiti, this dynamic, and the arrival of both the multinational security support mission, which was a couple of years ago. And now the GSF, the Gang Suppressing Force, was in an attempt to boost the police here and the armed forces and also try and not having civilians mobilized as militias to try and challenge the gangs.

BRUNHUBER: As the U.S. and Israel wage war with Iran, the price of oil is steadily escalating. And that's taking a heavy toll on airlines, especially those in Asia. Look at why and see how markets are reacting next on CNN. Plus, those fuel prices in Africa are surging as the war disrupts global energy supplies. South Africa is taking steps to ease the pain at the pump.

More on that coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:19:01]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to CNN. This is your Business Breakout. Let's take a look at the Asia markets. The Nikkei is up about 1.25%. The Hang Seng is down nearly 1%. Shanghai Composite is down 1%. And the KOSPI is up about 2.75%. And checking some of today's business headlines, the March jobs report

is due out in the coming hours. Analysts predict the U.S. economy will have added 60,000 new jobs last month, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.4%. That's an improvement from February. But experts warn the war with Iran could have a negative impact across the economy if it continues much longer.

Stocks in Blue Owl Capital fell Thursday after the private credit firm capped withdrawals amid a huge surge of redemption requests. The firm once represented a booming $2 trillion industry where lightly regulated non-banks lent money to risky companies. But it's lost 40% of its market value since January and is now considered an example of the industry's vulnerabilities.

[03:25:03]

The firm says its fundamentals remain resilient.

The war with Iran is driving the cost of air travel even higher. Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are hiking fares and canceling flights because of the rising cost of jet fuel. And the International Energy Agency says Europe will be hit by jet fuel shortages later this month or in early May.

I want to bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos, who is live this hour in Dubai.

So, Eleni, you're monitoring all the oil markets and the effect the Iran war is having on them. What are you seeing?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, Brent crude prices rallying significantly after President Trump's escalatory tone, frankly, and what many are reading into this as an extension, prolonging of the war by two to three weeks. And of course, this having a very significant -- sorry, my cameraman is trying to fix the light here.

But you've got Brent crude prices sitting at $109 a barrel. This is the international benchmark, Kim. But also importantly, WTI is sitting above Brent crude. It's sitting at around $112 a barrel and just goes to show the tightness that you're seeing in the global markets.

But I also just want to bring you up to speed on exactly what moves through the Strait of Hormuz. And it gives you just an idea, this isn't just about 20% of crude. This is -- includes jet fuel, it includes fertilizers, it includes LNG.

And importantly, on the jet fuel front, we're hearing of, you know, issues and supply constraints for some of these airlines around the world and some taking quite extensive measures. For example, Korean Air has said that it's shifting to emergency management mode to try and deal with the supply crunch that they're facing.

And then Cathay Pacific, really interestingly, if you look at the ticket pricing, for example, a flight from Sydney to London before the war would have cost you around $1,370 and now costs more than $2,000. And you're seeing this being applied across the board. There are surcharges being added on ticket pricing as we're seeing supply constraints of jet fuel.

And then importantly, if I take sort of a wider view of what this ultimately means, the longer this lasts for, the more it'll feed into inflation, the more you're going to see a big hit on emerging markets where we've already seen a depreciation of some of their currencies because they just don't have enough emergency reserves to tap into. And this causes demand destruction.

The International Energy Agency has now, you know, talked about trying to bring down the demand scenario to try and counter what we're seeing on the supply constraint side of things. And it really just leads to the point that you have to see the opening of the Strait of Hormuz or else, you're going to see see this energy shock, the supply shock, really having devastating effects across the world, one that we're already starting to feel.

And then importantly, the OECD is saying that global inflation, especially for G20 countries, is going to hit over 4%. And in a prolonged war scenario, Oxford Economics says that we're going to see oil prices of $150 a barrel and global inflation of 7.7%.

So any way you look at this, if the Strait of Hormuz doesn't open up, you're going to see a tighter supply scenario that is going to cause immense demand destruction.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. And we're about to hear more on that coming up with our guest, Eleni Giokos, in Dubai. Thank you so much.

Well, Eleni mentioned there the devastating effects of this around the world. In South Africa, the war with Iran is driving up fuel and fertilizer prices for farmers. They say they're struggling with higher costs and challenging logistics as the conflict has effectively closed the vital Strait of moves. South Africa, one of the continent's largest economies, is lowering the tax on fuel for one month to help offset the soaring prices.

I'm going to go live now to Johannesburg and senior political correspondent for Business Day, Thando Maeko. Thank you so much for being here with us.

So I understand South Africa's finance minister just cut the fuel tax, but the price of fuel is still up. So how are ordinary South Africans actually experiencing all of this right now?

THANDO MAEKO, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Earlier this week, the Minister of Finance, Minister Enoch Godongwana, cut the tax on fuel, but fuel prices still rose significantly, about 15% for the price of petrol and over 40% for diesel. So ordinary South Africans are definitely feeling the pinch. And if prolonged, let's say beyond the month or to -- next month, as in May and June, we could see prices rise even further than 15% and 40% for petrol and diesel.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, incredible. And we've seen, you know, pictures of long lines and stations running dry across the country. But the government keeps saying there isn't a national shortage and it's mostly panic buying. I mean, from your reporting, is the government right or is there a real supply problem here?

[03:30:00]

MAEKO: I mean, the panic buying was mostly before the cut on the fuel tax, which was this past Wednesday on April 1st. The government, by cutting the fuel tax, is hoping that the panic buying will stop, particularly on diesel, because diesel is unregulated by the state. The price of diesel is unregulated. Therefore, diesel retailers really set their own prices.

And what happened before the fuel tax cut is that retailers were hoarding most of their stock in anticipation for the price rise. And that led to a lot of panic buying, particularly among the coastal provinces and people and farmers in the agricultural sector, the ones that you mentioned, because they have larger tankers and are more able to buy large quantities of diesel and petrol than, let's say, the ordinary motorist or the ordinary consumer.

BRUNHUBER: All right. So you mentioned the date of June there. I mean, the government says the levy cuts temporary. The finance minister hinted it probably can't go past June. So what happens when that relief runs out if these fuel prices are still this high?

MAEKO: I mean, for the -- for tax revenue, it would shave off around R15 billion of tax revenue. Already the month-long reprieve for consumers is shaving off just about, I think, R6 billion for tax. And the government has not yet figured out really how to make sure that that shortfall is recovered.

We do know that the government has also said that they are working on other measures to protect the consumer should the war escalate beyond June, even towards May. But this is not -- we don't expect any direct fiscal support for, let's say, ordinary consumers, the ordinary man on the ground, and particularly for farmers, which you have mentioned that are already facing the pinch because the supply hit them -- the supply disruptions of oil hit them first before it hit other sectors of the economy.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. And I noted that the rand is down, I think, about 7% against the dollar since the war in Iran started. And, you know, the loss of revenue that you mentioned surely will have an impact on the economy as well.

But all of this just not hitting South Africa. We're seeing fuel price hikes across the continent from Ghana to Kenya to Zambia. I mean, why are African countries so hard hit by the war and the closure of the Strait?

MAEKO: I mean, a lot of African countries get their oil from countries in the GCC. What has happened in South Africa, though, South Africa, prior to the outbreak of the war, diversified its import partners. So most of its suppliers are in Nigeria, Angola, Brazil, and Ghana, although Saudi Arabia is still one of the major oil suppliers. It's just that if the war continues, because South Africa is the most industrialized country on the continent and is used -- and its infrastructure is used by most of the southern African nations to connect and to trade, it could cause major trade disruptions for those countries first before it reaches South Africa.

I mean, Africa came late to the party compared to its Asian counterparts, which have been directly affected since the war broke out on February 28th. But we see now, we could see a lot of ripple effects in Africa in the price of fertilizer, the price of oil, and so on and so forth. Yeah.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, that's right. Very few countries untouched by all of this. Really great to get your expertise there in Johannesburg. Thando Maeko, thank you so much.

MAEKO: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, it's a journey that no human has ever undertaken four astronauts are on their way to a historic trek around the dark side of the moon. When we come back, the progress the Artemis II mission has made so far. We'll have that coming up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:39:06]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check today's top stories.

Roughly half of Iran's missile launchers and attack drones are still intact despite daily strikes by the U.S. and Israel according to three sources citing a recent U.S. intelligence assessment. A Pentagon spokesperson calls CNN's exclusive reporting completely wrong.

Aid workers are growing concerned about the more than 1 million people displaced by the fighting in Lebanon. They say many displaced families don't have access to clean water, medications, or medical care. Some aid workers also say the crisis could lead to tensions and violence between various communities in Lebanon.

Pam Bondi is now the second member of Donald Trump's cabinet to be shown the door. The U.S. President says the outgoing attorney general will move to an important new job in the private sector. Sources say President Trump was frustrated by her handling of the Epstein files and thought she hadn't gone after enough of his political opponents.

[03:40:04]

The four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft have finally left Earth's orbit on their journey around the moon. The historic mission is the first in over 50 years in which astronauts will come within the moon's vicinity. The crew is expected to travel farther than any other mission, reaching over 400,000 kilometres from Earth. On their closest approach to the moon, they'll be just 6,600 kilometers from the surface.

Now, on Thursday, some of the crew reflected on how smooth the launch was the day before. They weren't expecting it to happen on the first try, but it did. And now, they're on their long trek to the dark side of the moon. Pope Leo XIV is presiding over the first Holy Week since he was

elected pontiff last May. He restored a religious tradition while also turning his attention to political conflicts. CNN's Christopher Lamb reports.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pope Leo's first Holy Week and lead-up to Easter, he is showing already a difference in style to his predecessor Pope Francis, who on Holy Thursday used to go to prisons or refugee centers to perform the foot-washing ritual.

Leo, however, coming to the Basilica of St. John Lateran behind me and washing the feet of 12 priests. In this sense, he's returning to tradition, washing the feet of priests, 11 of whom he ordained last year, perhaps wanting to show an encouragement to young priests, but also the more formal style of his papacy. Of course, for Catholics, the washing of the feet commemorates Jesus, his washing of the feet of his disciples. And in the church's theology, that is the instituting of the priesthood.

Now, Leo, in the coming days, also expected to speak out about his concerns of the war in Iran and the Middle East. On Tuesday, he told me he hopes that President Trump can find an off-ramp to end the war. We are expecting to hear more of that from the Pope, who is very concerned about the conflict in the Middle East.

So yes, differences in style to his predecessor Francis, but similar messages. Leo on Thursday emphasizing the importance of humility, saying that there's a tendency for people to feel powerful by dominating and feeling great when they are feared, pointed words perhaps that go beyond just Rome and enter into the political sphere too.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

BRUNHUBER: Well, that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. World Sport is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)