Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Trump Threatens Increased Attacks on Iran in 48 Hours if Strait of Hormuz Not Opened; Search and Rescue Operation Underway to Find Pilot of F-15 Fighter Jet Shot Down over Iran; Artemis II Crew Halfway to Moon; Gas Prices in U.S. Reach Four Year High as U.S.-Iran Conflict Continues; U.S. Jobs Report for March Better than Most Economists Expected; Analyst Claims U.S. Has Upper Hand in Conflict with Iran; College Basketball Prepares for Final Four of March Madness Tournament. Aired 10-11a ET.

Aired April 04, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:00]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SECURITY GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Time is running out. Fresh threats today aimed at Iran from President Donald Trump. What he wants to happen in the next 48 hours.

Plus pressure at the pump, U.S. gas prices ticking up again today. How drivers are feeling the pinch this holiday weekend.

And later, space selfie, a solar array ring camera is set to capture new images of the Artemis this afternoon as the crew hits the halfway mark of this historic journey. We're live at Mission Control in Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

GOLODRYGA: Hello, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Bianna Golodryga in for Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with the war in Iran, where a frantic search and rescue effort is underway for a missing U.S. service member. New video verified by CNN shows a low flying aircraft apparently searching for that crew member of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down in Iran. It's unclear if the search aircraft is American or Iranian.

Sources say a second crew member of the downed F-15 was rescued, but the losses for America's military are continuing to grow. A U.S. official says Iran shot down another Air Force plane. An A-10 Thunderbolt II like this one seen here in the image, was struck by Iran on Friday, forcing the pilot to eject. The pilot was later rescued. The Iranian military taking responsibility for both hits as it vows to regain full control of the skies over Iran.

CNN is covering every angle of these rapidly unfolding incidents. Chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance is in Qatar for us, and correspondent Julia Benbrook is at the White House. Julia, let's begin with you. Let's get to the latest on the search for

this U.S. service member. We also hear President Trump responding to both these downed planes, what impact they may or may not have for his future plans, and another threat from the president. What's he saying?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, we'll start with that threat that we heard from the president today. He is reiterating a threat that he has made repeatedly throughout this, that he could target Iranian power facilities if they do not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his fast-approaching deadline. He has said that time is running out.

I want to pull up that post today. This came in an early morning social media post on his Truth Social platform, and he said this. He said, "Remember when I gave Iran ten days to make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait? Time is running out, 48 hours before all hell will reign down on them." He then ended the post by saying, quote, "Glory be to God."

Now, Trump has made this threat numerous times, like I mentioned, and when he first started saying this, it was late last month, and he gave a 48-hour deadline. But then he pushed that several days and then added 10 days, setting that at April 6th right now. But Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has long had a hardline stance when it comes to U.S. policy with Iran, he said that he spoke with Trump on the phone today and that he's confident that this deadline is going to stick, that he believes the president will use overwhelming force if they continue to impede the strait.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Julia, stand by for us. I do want to go to Matthew Chance now in Qatar for us. Matthew, update us on the search for this missing pilot.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey, Bianna. Well, look, there's not been a lot of updates coming to us from the U.S. side, but there have been sort of updates from the Iranian side, Iranian media saying the search operation for that second crew member, from the F-15 Strike Eagle that was shot down over Iran on Friday, they're saying that's continuing. They're saying that there is a reward on offer. They've restated that idea that a reward would be paid for anybody who brings the crew member to the authorities. And they've denied reports that they have actually already captured that that crew member. And so that's the situation from there.

There's also been remarks in Iranian media, basically, about the entire situation.

[14:05:03]

Officials calling it a bleak and humiliating Friday. The fact that two planes we now understand as well as a helicopter, according to reports, the two planes were downed. A helicopter was hit by fire. The Iranians calling that a bleak day and vowing to, in their words, regain full control of the of the airspace over their country. They said that they've got these new weapons, modern weapons systems that were developed by their own scientists, and that's enabling them to do that.

Clearly, the Iranian side as the search and rescue continues, or search operation continues by both sides, are trying to make as much propaganda value out of this -- these couple of incidents as they possibly can, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: No doubt. Matthew Chance in Doha for us.

I want to go back to Julie at the White House. How is President Trump responding to this?

BENBROOK: Well, in an interview, a phone interview with NBC News, he said that this incident was not going to affect ongoing negotiations with Iran. But he declined to comment directly on the search and rescue efforts. In a separate interview with "The Independent," he was asked about what things could look like if that crew member was captured or harmed by the Iranians. And he said this, he said, quote, "We hope that's not going to happen."

Now, the White House has already called a lid here, which means that as reporters we do not expect to see the president again today. But that doesn't mean we won't hear from him in social media posts, how he often does like to communicate some of this big news.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, as he's already done this morning. Julia Benbrook, thank you so much.

Let's continue the conversation. With us is retired Lieutenant Colonel Jason Harris. He's a former Air Force pilot and squadron commander. Colonel, thank you so much for taking the time. So as a former combat pilot yourself, just walk us through the difficulties, perhaps, that this operation entails operating in hostile enemy territory over the skies of Iran as this search and rescue mission is now entering its second day.

LT. COL. JASON O. HARRIS, RETIRED AIR FORCE PILOT: Yes, any time that you're operating in a hostile environment, there are a lot of things that you have to consider. And for me, you know, I reflect back on every time I operated in hostile environments, you know, every time before we stepped out to fly that mission, we made sure that we had a full brief and we made sure that we understood not only the inherent dangers, but we also understood what the training was that was in place, as well as the combat search and rescue forces that were in place in the event of some something like this happening where we would have the necessity for those rescue operators to come in and try to find us.

GOLODRYGA: And we know that pilots are trained for situations like this. Obviously, we hope that it never comes to a situation like this, but to have to eject from a plane over hostile territory, they are trained to survive, evade, resist, and escape. Colonel, as the hours tick by and we at least publicly do not know the whereabouts or the condition of this pilot. What does that tell you about where things stand right now and where he could possibly be?

HARRIS: Well, first and foremost, my heart and prayers go out to the family of this entire crew. My heart and prayers go out for the rescue operators that are out there searching for this crew member. And so the thoughts that come to mind is, you know, like you said, we are trained for this potential, this potential situation, and we're trained to make certain that we stay out of contact with enemy forces. We're trained to figure out how to position ourselves in a way that would allow those combat search and rescue forces to come and get us.

And so, you know, right now, I would imagine that those combat search and rescue forces, they are doing everything that they can to make certain that they bring back and repatriate this American airman with honor. And I imagine that that American airman, they are doing everything that they can based on their training to ensure that they are able to evade and that they are able to make contact with those search and rescue forces so that they can come back home safely to their families.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, we know the number one mission here in situations like this is to never leave a fellow soldier stranded and alone there and left behind. So that is the utmost priority. And of course, our thoughts are with his family, and we hope that he is found safe and unharmed.

As we heard from Matthew Chance, we've seen a lot of Iranian propaganda on their state run media now, in fact, offering bounties and rewards for this pilot. So how does that exacerbate and add to the urgency in your view of this search right now?

[14:10:00]

HARRIS: You know, of course, any time there's propaganda happening, anytime that there is a bounty on someone's head, it absolutely increases the urgency, not only for that member that's in harm's way, but also the level of urgency that that search and rescue team is operating under. And so you can imagine that they are doing everything in their power to get to that person as soon as they can, because they recognize that the level of rhetoric, the level of posturing that the enemy forces are doing will contribute to how that rescue operation will be handled. And so it is absolutely imperative that they get to that person as soon as they can, recover them as quickly as they can, and get them out of harm's way. Because the more time elapses, the more dangerous the situation becomes.

GOLODRYGA: Now, two things can be true at the same time. Both Israel and the United States have made clear now over the past month and five weeks, now, more than a month, that we have pretty much air superiority and dominance over the skies of Tehran and really reduced any capability of their air defense systems. But now Iran's military is claiming that they used -- and again, this is coming from their state propaganda, but they are claiming that they used new domestically produced air defense systems to down this F-15. How worried would that make the U.S. military and Cent Com at this point? Would they have anticipated that, if this is true, Iran does have these capabilities?

HARRIS: You know, I'm not specifically privy to what the Cent Com commander and Cent Com leadership is looking at as it pertains to any type of additional weaponry that the IRGC may have. But, you know, regardless of whether you have air dominance or not, there are always varying levels of weaponry that your enemy could have. There are the sophisticated weapons that we typically deal with, with regards to radar guided systems, and typically those things are taken out at the start of a combat operation. But there's always the potential and possibility for far less sophisticated weapons. And then there's also the possibility and the potential that someone has that golden BB moment where they take a shot and they happen to get lucky. And it's quite possible that some unsophisticated weapon was utilized with regards to this aircraft, and that was what caused that aircraft to be shot down, potentially.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. I mean, the U.S. and Israel have both proved that they have been able to avoid this situation thus far into the war, which many analysts would say is quite a success. But of course, once we have a plane down, once we have pilots missing, the focus is on finding them, saving them, and bringing them home safely.

Colonel Harris, thank you so much, appreciate your expertise.

HARRIS: Thank you so much for having me.

GOLODRYGA: And still ahead, gas prices topping $4 and climbing. What drivers are saying as the price hikes keep getting worse.

Plus, the Artemis astronauts are now more than halfway to the moon. New details about the plumbing problems aboard the Orion and the crew's critical plans for day four.

And for teams, one stage. The men's final four tips off in just hours. What the coaches are telling CNN before the biggest weekend of the tournament.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:18:04]

GOLODRYGA: More than halfway to the moon, the crew of Artemis II are on the fourth day of their historic mission. The astronauts are getting ready to take a selfie of the Orion spacecraft with the moon or the earth in the background. The image will come from the perspective of the solar array wing.

They are also dealing with yet another malfunction of its wastewater system. Overnight, they had to rely on contingency collapsible urinals while Mission Control continued to troubleshoot.

CNN correspondent Randi Kaye joins me now from the Johnson Space Center in Houston with more details. Randi, it's hard to square how something this expensive, this detailed, this technological can also be facing problems that average Americans deal with every single day, and that is a toilet that's not functioning properly.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, exactly. And it's not as easy to fix it all those hundreds of thousands of miles away, that's for sure. But they are still looking at how to fix that today, now that the astronauts are awake. The problem that we understand from the folks here at Johnson Space Center is that there's urine frozen in the line, and they can't vent it out of the capsule right now. So they're having to use these urine bags, unfortunately. So they do hope to get that fixed.

But they also have other things on tap today just as important. They're probably going to do another burn, which will help them fine tune their path to the moon, at least that's scheduled. And then they're going to also test how to manually pilot the capsule. Pilot Victor Glover will probably do that. Again, they don't expect to have to do that in this mission, but it's good for them to know just in case.

We did get a very rare look, Bianna inside Mission Control here in Houston today. Earlier today we got inside. We were able to spend about an hour or so there. This is the nerve center where they stay in contact 24/7 with the astronauts with the Orion capsule.

[14:20:04]

They even monitor their heartbeats. They watch their every move. And what they're really going to be watching is the big deal on Monday. The big show is the lunar flyby on day six. At some point on Monday, they expect to go by the far side of the moon. Now they are going to see some amazing things there. They expect to see this massive crater. They're going further away from earth than anybody before. It sounds really exciting, but it's also pretty nerve wracking, because they're going to lose contact, very likely, with Mission Control for about 40 minutes during that lunar flyby. And I asked one of the flight directors in Mission Control about that today. And here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: What is the anxiety level like during that period when you'll lose communications with them during the moon flyby?

JUDD FRIELING, ARTEMIS II FLIGHT DIRECTOR: I wouldn't say it's anxiety. We know they're going to end up on the next side of the moon. And, uh, like I said, we'll take a take a break, a breather, probably, you know, some, uh, some, some good, uh, you know, times to, to reflect, and we'll meet them on the other side.

KAYE: Isn't it uneasy, though, without the communication? You've got to be a little bit uneasy.

FRIELING: Well, we know why. We know why were out of communication. So I wouldn't be uneasy. We have loss of communication events, you know, on ISS all the time. It's not a big deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: So incredibly calm about losing mission -- losing contact with this Artemis II mission. And they are going to, again, actually, Bianna, briefly lose contact during reentry. But they are prepared for this. They are ready for this. And just a few quick observations about Mission Control. It was really

amazing to be inside there at this nerve center where it all happens. It's no longer all men. Back in the day, they could smoke and put their feet up on the desk. You don't see any smoking anymore. No more ashtrays. It is really an incredible thing to see in person, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, Mission Control, long the pride of Houston, Texas, my hometown. Randi Kaye, so cool that you're there covering all this for us. Thank you.

And coming up for us, a strong jobs report just surprised economists. We'll tell you what's behind the good numbers and what impact the war with Iran is expected to have in the weeks ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:00]

GOLODRYGA: Well, surging gas prices rose to more than $4 a gallon this week. And right now, the national average for a gallon of regular gas is $4.10. Just a week ago, the average price was 12 cents less. Now, this is the first time since 2022 that prices have climbed past that $4 mark, and the increase is hitting just as drivers take to the road this holiday weekend. CNNs Gloria Pazmino is along the New Jersey turnpike. Gloria, how is the spike in prices impacting holiday travel?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, I can tell you that if you are driving around the tristate area, it is very likely that you might stop right here at this intersection in the New Jersey turnpike. And it's also very likely that you might want to stop right here to fill up your gas tank, because prices in New Jersey are just a little bit lower than what you might find in New York City.

Now, here's where prices are at this moment. The current average is at $4.10. The weekly average is at $3.98. And compare that to the monthly average a month ago, which was at $3.20, all according to AAA. Now, gas prices have soared by 37 percent since the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, which started on February 28th.

Now, the biggest driver of this increase is, of course, the conflict in Iran. That has created a massive disruption in supply, which has affected global oil markets. It has reduced availability, it has increased the price of crude oil, and that has increased the price of gas. And this is all happening as we are about to enter a major travel season here in the United States. Right now, we're in the middle of spring break. For a lot of people, it's also the Easter holiday this weekend. And summer is around the corner, also a time when a lot of people will be taking to the roads.

So we've spoken to drivers who told us that for some they are trying to make adjustments where they can, but many told us they just simply have no choice

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS BRANDAO, DRIVER: I'm holding the pump and it doesn't end. It's $130 to fill up this car. No choice. I just have to fill up the tank. There's nothing I could do. You got it. I need the car. I need to get from point a to point b.

DOROTA WALLACE, DRIVER: It's definitely getting tougher. I don't drive much, but whenever I do drive, I definitely feel it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, Bianna, as I said, prices are just a little bit lower here in New Jersey, but compare it to California, which has some of the highest prices right now. They're seeing $5.92 a gallon. And then compare that to Oklahoma, which has the least expensive gallon right now, $3.29, of course, below $4, which is unlike a lot of what we're seeing across the entire country.

And of course, the biggest question in drivers' minds is, when is it all going to start going down? But experts warn that even if the conflict in Iran ends anytime soon, it is likely that global oil markets will take at least a few months, if not more, to stabilize again. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: Bringing prices at the pump to four-year highs. Gloria Pazmino, thank you.

Well, we learned Friday that the U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in March, nearly triple what economists were predicting.

[14:30:03]

It shows that the U.S. businesses were picking up the pace of hiring before the war with Iran escalated. We also saw the unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.3 percent. Now, behind the numbers was a pop of almost 90,000 jobs created in health care and social assistance combined, with manufacturing and construction also adding to the month's total. It follows a steep loss of 133,000 jobs in February.

So what does this all mean? Let's bring in Dean Baker. He's a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. Theres a lot of detail in numbers to get through here and break down. Dean, welcome to the show. But the headline numbers, we should say, beat expectations. Wage growth, though, slowed at 3.5 percent. Aggregate hours actually fell as well. And we are still talking about creeping inflation. So bottom line, are workers making any real ground at this point?

DEAN BAKER, DISTINGUISHED SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH: It doesn't look like they're making much ground. Again, we're always trying to put together the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle, what's going on in the economy. And the report undoubtedly was better than most of us, including me, had expected. But again, you mentioned the wage growth. That's not a good story. Wage growth has been slowing. And with wage growth slowing and inflation picking up, we'll get data on inflation next week, but I don't know anyone who doesn't expect to see an uptick in inflation. I mean, we know this. We know gas prices are up. Other prices are up. That means workers are at best treading water. And obviously many,

many are falling behind. So that doesn't look like a particularly good story. Again, the job growth is better than expected. It's good to see the unemployment rate edge down a little bit. But important thing to keep in mind, that data was from the first half of the month before we were really seeing the impact of the war.

GOLODRYGA: Right. And as we've seen, concerns about what higher energy prices and commodity prices in general, beyond just oil and gas, mean for consumers around the world. So assuming we take the president at his word and this war ends over the next two to three weeks, perhaps month, what are you looking for then in next month's report?

BAKER: Well, I think next -- I'd be very surprised if next month's report is not a lot worse than this one. I'd be surprised, in fact, if we have positive job growth at all. So again, if you try to think about what's going on in people's minds, their habits, this was from the first half of the month. People were seeing higher gas prices, a little over three at that point. Now we're looking at over four. If people had made plans, they had vacations planned ahead of time, they're going to go ahead and do that. Maybe there was a little bit of a hit in terms of going out for dinner or going out for meals. We'll see much more of that. Come, come the April data.

Also, something hasn't gotten as much attention as it deserves. We've seen a big spike in mortgage interest rates. We're flirting with four percent -- six percent mortgage interest rates last month, or back in February, I should say, before the war. Now we're getting close to seven. That's already had a huge impact on home buying, and that's just going to get worse.

So I'll be very surprised if the April data doesn't look a lot worse than what we just saw for March.

GOLODRYGA: So if you are the Federal Reserve right now, if you are Jay Powell, what are you thinking about in terms of next steps, whether or not we will see an interest rate cut, as they had forecast for later this year?

BAKER: Well, I'll be shocked if at their next meeting that they lower rates. I think they're going to stand tight. And just given how much uncertainty it is, I think, you know, the inflation pressure is incentive to raise rates. I'm always a skeptic on that because I go what's that going to do exactly? I won't go into detail, but it's not. The impact of raising rates on inflation is very, I'll just say, indirect. In terms of do you want to boost the economy? Well, when you have an inflation rate that's high and rising, probably you don't want to lower rates.

So my guess is he's going to stick where -- with rates where they are for the foreseeable future. Where we're looking, you know, as we get to the second half of the year, totally anyone's guess, because that's really going to depend on what happens with the war and what a postwar, hopefully postwar world looks like.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. A confluence really playing out between geopolitics and the economy. Dean Baker, thank you so much. Good to see you.

BAKER: Thanks a lot for having me on.

GOLODRYGA: And still ahead for us, 48 hours. That's how long President Trump has given Tehran to make a deal or reopen the Strait of Hormuz before, quote, "all hell reigns down." With the threats ramping up, is there a way out of the war? We'll discuss up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:39:26]

GOLODRYGA: Right now, an intense search and rescue operation is underway for the crew member of a U.S. fighter jet that was shot down over Iran. The other crew member was safely rescued.

Also today, President Trump renewing his threats to Iran, saying Tehran has just 48 hours to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz or, quote, "all hell will reign down."

With me now from Doha is Muhanad Seloom. He's an assistant professor of International Politics and Security at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Muhanad, thank you so much for joining us again. So you wrote a piece in Al Jazeera a couple of weeks ago that really generated a lot of attention, because your conclusion and thesis at the time was that the United States strategy against Iran was working.

[14:40:09]

A few weeks have passed now. Iran is clearly showing that it can still inflict damage through asymmetrical warfare. We have the downing of these two planes. We have Iran rejecting peace negotiations at this point. And yet another threat from President Trump and a deadline of 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Given everything that's transpired since, do you still believe your original thesis holds today?

MUHANAD SELOOM, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DOHA INSTITUTE FOR GRADUATE STUDIES: Well, it is, I think, because the United States still has the upper hand in terms of military power. I would say that we are at the conversion point of this war. The military campaign has achieved what it set out to achieve. Iran's conventional deterrence is shattered. Its supreme leader has been killed, along with so many other leaders, you know, including 40, I think 40 plus leaders on the first day, but also since then, over the last five weeks, so many other leaders have been killed. And this has, obviously affected the command and control of the Iranian regime, specifically the IRGC, which is leading this war.

But then all of this has to be translated into some kind of a political outcome. And I think what President Trump has been giving to the Iranians, to the Iranian regime, as ultimatums, he's trying to translate this and convert this into some kind of a political deal or a peace deal. But I don't think that the U.S. now is at a weaker point compared to where it started on the 28th of February. What I see from here is that the United States has the upper hand, has

been, you know, delivering on its set goals inside Iran in terms of the Iranian nuclear capabilities, ballistic missiles, and other conventional deterrence capabilities of the Iranian regime. And now they're trying to translate this into some kind of a political deal.

What the Iranians are doing, what is their strategy, is basically to drag this on, making sure that the -- raising the price and the cost on the attacking side, which is the United States. And let's not forget that the United States is -- on the ground. It has not been, you know, all this campaign has been conducted through the air, and the United States does not have any troops on the ground in support. These bases that are in the gulf region, by and large, they have not been activated or used by U.S. forces. And this could change if the Iranians or the Iranian regime keeps attacking GCC countries.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Well, the us does not have troops on the ground yet. But, as you know, that the U.S. has been increasing its troop presence and adding more assets to the region over the last few weeks, potentially gearing up for any sort of land invasion there, whether it's to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or whether it's to seize the 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. So we'll see whether that fits into President Trumps two to three week timeline before declaring victory.

I do want to ask you about another piece that you've just written in "Foreign Policy," because you argue that Iran's military is collapsing. But Javad Zarif, who is Iran's former foreign minister, just published a piece in "Foreign Affairs" claiming victory and demanding total sanctions and reparations relief. Your new analysis say that's coming from a place of desperation. Just explain how.

SELOOM: Well, Javad Zarif is basically, he's the former Iranian foreign minister, and he's also close to the, to the IRGC leadership. But he's also in a in a comfortable position to claim plausible deniability. Yet everybody who knows Iran or experts on Iran know that Javad Zarif is speaking for the regime. And to put out, you know, a plan, a peace plan in details what he thinks that declaring victory would be, what I see from where I stand, and also what, you know, if we compare where Iran was a few months ago, what I see is basically a regime under extreme pressure.

Their infrastructure has been, you know, damaged severely. And what I mean here, the military side. And their civilian infrastructure is being threatened. The United States is yet to attack civilian targets. Most of the targets attacked so far are either related to nuclear facilities or military facilities. But, you know, infrastructures could be targeted. And this is not the first time.

[14:45:02]

Whether that is right or wrong, whether that's a war crime or not, that's a different discussion. And there have been people talking about that. But on the ground, this could affect the regime. And the regime does not want the whole country to collapse. They already have enough challenges. So what they're pushing now is basically their own offramp before things get out of hand, especially that Iran does not have any kind of support, regional or international.

You know, we keep -- I think this point is not being focused on as much. Iran does not have any allies in the region no more. It used to have people in the governments in the region, in the GCC Arab countries standing by them. But that is, that is not there anymore. You can see that Qatar refused to play the role of a mediator. And we have been hearing this over the -- Pakistan as well. Pakistani efforts did not materialize. Saudis are, you know, staying awake, Turkey as well.

So what we see is basically that Iran had to go and send its former foreign minister. And also he was the advisor to the -- he was the vice president for strategic affairs, to write in an American outlet to talk to the Americans directly, offering them some kind of a plan, something that they could claim victory on.

After all, you know, it's not -- because most of the talk was about the United States needing or, you know, the Trump administration needing an offramp. But what I see here is basically Iran, because Iran is in a really not in a very good position in terms of military capabilities and also in terms of diplomatic leverage, as well as their economy is collapsing. So what they're trying to say is that, you know, kind of, you know, of an offramp where we can claim victory, and also give the United States the same, if you like, courtesy. But this would leave out -- are going to be happy with that.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. We sadly have run out of time. I see your point about Iran losing its allies or any of its partners in the region. But, you know, the concern among the GCC nations is that if the U.S. leaves this war prematurely, that support and faith in U.S. allyship is also in doubt. So a lot more to untangle. We'll be following it all in the weeks to come. Professor Seloom in Doha for us, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:04]

GOLODRYGA: The NCAA men's basketball final four faces off tonight in Indianapolis, with Arizona playing against Michigan and UConn taking on Illinois. Joining us now from Indianapolis is CNN's sports anchor Coy Wire. Coy, on Friday, I know you caught up with each of the coaches of the final four teams. Tell us what you learned.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Oh, maybe more than we could have ever hoped for. Listen, this is about to be on. We have entire schools, students, alumni, millions of fans cheering on the same event at the exact same moment. That's the magic of the final four. And it's extra magical for these four coaches who get to have their family by their side and on their sidelines. We asked their sons all about their dads. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW HURLEY, UCONN GRADUATE ASSISTANT: Obsessive, I would say obsessive. He's driven. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But also funny.

HURLEY: At times.

CHARLIE MAY, MICHIGAN GUARD: He's just always telling me to treat everyone with kindness and respect, no matter who they are, status, anything. And usually it repays you in life.

TYLER UNDERWOOD, ILLINOIS ASSISTANT COACH: It means the world. I mean, I think growing up I was his biggest fan. And you know, to be able to play for and be a part of this here now as a staff member, lifelong memories, I'm so proud of him. It's been a special journey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right, it is not just a game. It's a shared experience bringing families and fans together. Turns out all of these coaches are characters. I asked them what their spirit animal would be. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DUSTY MAY, MICHIGAN HEAD COACH: Wow. A spirit animal. You got me. Let's go wolverine, keep it simple.

WIRE: What are the qualities of that.

MAY: Small and terrorizing.

WIRE: Feisty?

MAY: Feisty, yes.

BRAD UNDERWOOD, ILLINOIS HEAD COACH: I'm a lion. I'm a lion. I'm, I'm going to try to be the be the king of the jungle. That's what you do when you're here in the final four, right? You try to win them all and go for the jugular.

TOMMY LLOYD, ARIZONA HEAD COACT: How about this? I say my spirit animal is our equipment manager, Brian (ph) Brigger (ph). You got a great culture when people that no one else sees on a day-to-day basis are the most popular people in the program. And Briggs (ph) is by far the most popular guy in our program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Now, UConn Coach Dan Hurley, Bianna has a different animal giving him strength, a dragon. He superstitiously wears the same red dragon underwear for every game. They are 18 and one in this tournament. Look out, it's UConn versus Illinois tipping things off tonight. Then it's Michigan-Arizona for a chance at a spot in the national title game on Monday. It will be awesome.

GOLODRYGA: Coy, you make me laugh every time you are on with us. That was a really cool assignment, and I don't even know who I'm rooting for. I wish they could just both win. This is going to be an exciting, exciting game. Thank you so much. Good to see you, my friend.

WIRE: You got it.

GOLODRYGA: Well, in January, the Department of Justice charged more than two dozen people, including 20 college athletes, for allegedly fixing NCAA division one games. But point shaving scandals in college basketball are not new.

[14:55:]

A new CNN flash doc looks at how, in the past, these schemes were often tied to the mob. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not a member of organized crime. I have a liquidation business that involves family portraits.

MICHAEL FRANZESE, FORMER CAPTAIN, COLOMBO CRIME FAMILY: Michael Franzese and I was a caporegime, or capo in the Colombo family, one of the five New York mafia families. So I was born into the life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the mob. Sports betting was a central business for them.

FRANZESE: I had several bookmakers that were working under me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would provide them with protection from the other mob families and the muscle to collect all the money due them.

FRANZESE: People don't realize how easy it is to manipulate the outcome of a game. They don't realize it. You can make a lot of money, a lot of money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: "Money Madness, College Basketball at a Crossroads" airs Sunday at 8:00 p.m. on CNN and on the CNN app.

All right, more ahead for us on the desperate search for a missing American service member after a fighter jet was shot down over Iran. At least seven manned aircraft have been lost in this war so far despite claims from the Trump administration such as this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: They have no anti-aircraft equipment. Their radar is 100 percent annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)