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Trump Says, U.S. Airman Safe and Sound After Rescue Operation; Trump Says, Time is Running Out for Iran to Reopen Hormuz; Pope Leo to Celebrate Easter Sunday Mass at St. Peters. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 05, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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[03:00:00]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

We're beginning with breaking news from the war with Iran. President Donald Trump has announced that the second missing American crew member whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran has been rescued by U.S. forces. President Trump posted this to his Truth Social account earlier saying in part, we got him, my fellow American. Over the past several hours, the United States military pulled off one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history for one of our incredible crew member officers, who also happens to be a highly respected colonel and who I'm thrilled to let you know is now safe and sound. President Trump added that the service member sustained injuries, but he will be just fine.

Well, that high-stakes search began this week after an F-15 Strike Eagle Fighter jet was shot down in the region. CNN's Jim Sciutto reports the airman got in touch with the U.S. military from behind enemy lines on Friday, which then set the stage for the dramatic extraction operation. Another crew member was rescued alive shortly after the crash and is now receiving medical attention.

Let's bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos, who's standing by for us in Dubai? Good to see you again, Eleni.

Both the U.S. and Iran were racing to find this air. We heard so much about that. Can you just take us through what was actually involved?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so there was an absolute race here for. The Iranians, you know, the downing of the F-15 on Friday was a win. Then when we saw the initial rescue of the first crew member, that was really an important moment. And then we saw Iranians also shooting at one of the Black Hawk helicopters that was able to leave Iranian territory, but then there was a big question around what happened to the second crew member.

Iranian State T.V. sent out an important message and saying that anyone that had any knowledge of the location of the crew member would receive a prize. So, that then transpired into President Trump announcing importantly that dozens of U.S. aircraft were sent into Iran to locate and extract the U.S. crew members.

So, this is an important moment because President Trump initially had said that this wasn't going to derail talks with Iran. But we also heard from military analysts that, you know, Iran finding this crew member would've perhaps been a bargaining chip for Iran at a moment where President Trump is continuing its threats against Iran, a deadline that's looming, Ben, frankly tomorrow for Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz.

And then importantly, what we've also seen, just how danger and you know, importantly, you know, treacherous this rescue mission was. We know the military architecture behind, this doesn't only involve sort of the intelligence, the military intelligence, but also communication structures, also clearing the area in order to conduct this rescue mission.

So, this is an important moment as we still see escalatory language being used by both sides.

HUNTE: I do want to talk a bit more about the Strait of Hormuz as well, because there is so much going on in this region. How are you expecting the next few days to look?

GIOKOS: Well, we know that there's this deadline that ends tomorrow Monday at 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time. President Trump has changed that deadline numerous times. Initially it was 48 hours, then it was five days, then a ten-day window extended to engage in diplomatic talks.

There's still a lot of, you know, questions around whether both sides are engaging in any kind of conversation or exchanging of messaging. But President Trump has made it clear that all hell will break loose on Iran, and that threat was around critical energy infrastructure. Iranians, the IRGC responding that the gates of hell will open up if the president of the United States makes good on his threat towards targeting those structures.

Now, we've also seen over the past weekend chemical facility was targeted in Iran. A nuclear facility was targeted in Iran as well. So, it's a tenuous situation that we are seeing, but tomorrow's going to be very telling. Remember, we've also seen a military buildup in the region. We still have no question answered in terms of potential boots on the ground and what stance the U.S. is going to take.

[03:05:00]

But we know that the threats have been very serious towards Gulf regions and we've also seen, you know, targeting towards the UAE, Kuwait, for example, and various other countries in the Gulf region as we wait for this deadline.

HUNTE: Okay. Thank you so much, Eleni Giokos. We appreciate that. I'm sure I'll speak again soon. Thank you.

CNN's Brian's Todd is in Washington with the latest From there, because there's obviously so much to talk about with this. Brian, thank you for being with me again. What's the latest now? What more are U.S. officials saying about how this rescue mission actually unfolded?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ben, from our reporting this morning and from our reporting the last couple of days, we're piecing together details of what clearly was a very dangerous rescue mission and was in fact a real race between U.S. forces and Iranian forces on the ground in Iran, in this remote area where they were searching for this missing airman. President Trump posting some details just a short time ago. Also just a short time ago, a second U.S. official confirming to me that that second crew member had been rescued, that the rescue operation has been completed.

But the details coming this morning from President Trump do give you some insight into what was involved, at least a little bit in this rescue operation. The president saying this, what he called this brave warrior, was behind enemy lines, in the treacherous mountains of Iran being hunted down by our enemies, who were getting closer and closer by the hour.

And we have to put this in the context that, you know, this rescue comes after, you know, more than a day of uncertainty over the airman's fate from Friday into Saturday, where Iranian state media had reported that rewards for this person's capture were being offered to people in the area if they could get to them first. We had reports that Iranian tribesmen in that remote area had fired on U.S. helicopters that were involved in the search. So, this was indeed a real race against the Iranian forces by the U.S. forces to try to get to this airman, which, of course, we are learning this morning has been successful on the U.S. side.

The president also giving this detail, quote, at my direction, the U.S. military sent dozens of aircraft armed with the most lethal weapons in the world to retrieve him. The president saying that this airman, who is a -- he identified as a colonel but did not identify his name, this colonel sustained injuries, but that he will be just fine, according to the president, so you have that.

Those details from the president of the United States were also pressing U.S. officials this morning to give us a little bit more detail on the rescue operation itself. There were reports of a firefight involved. We're trying to get details of that, and, you know, just maybe how this airman was possibly able to communicate with U.S. forces while he was being hunted down, or at least hunted by the Iranian forces who were in that area, Ben. We hope to get those details in the coming hours.

HUNTE: Okay. Well thank you so much for staying up so late for us. We do appreciate that, Brian, thank you again.

For more analysis, we are joined by a Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar. He's speaking to us from Doha. Thank you so much for being with me, sir. I do appreciate it.

The search for this airman was unfolding as both U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders were trade in threat for several days. Now that this airman has actually been recovered, does that make it more likely that the U.S. pushes forward militarily, or could it open a door to diplomacy?

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN QATAR: Either. It could go either way. There could be either escalation or de-escalation. It does afford both sides. An opportunity to deescalate it affords an off-ramp, for both sides, for both Iranians who can claim that they've downed an American jet fighter and for the Americans who can say we've rescued our airmen, and so diplomacy does have a chance at this point.

HUNTE: While you're saying that we have heard such strong rhetoric from both sides though, including warnings, that the region could spiral further. How seriously are those threats being taken where you are?

KAMRAVA: Well, it is taken extremely seriously. Here in Qatar, actually, there's been relative calm for now going into two weeks. But right next door, United Arab Emirate, Bahrain, Kuwait, as you've been reporting, they've all been hit. And the damage in all of these places and also Saudi Arabia has been extensive, and that's the problem this region. Whether it's the regional states of the Persian Gulf or Iran or the United States, or Israel, for that matter, cannot afford a prolonged war. Civilians are suffering, civilian infrastructure is being destroyed. And so the alternative to diplomacy is quite unpalatable.

HUNTE: Let's talk a bit more about the rescue itself, because the rescue involved U.S. forces operating inside Iran. We don't know about the civilian impact just yet, but how significant is that from Tehran's perspective, do you think?

[03:10:00]

KAMRAVA: Well, it's quite significant. As the report -- as your reporter just mentioned, the Iranian government had offered a reward for the capture of the U.S. airman alive. And so this would've been very strategic asset that Iran would've had.

Nonetheless, in circumstances like this, all sides resorts to rhetoric and propaganda. And I would not be surprised if both the Iranians and the Americans will twist the developments of the last 24 hours or so into some sort of rhetorical victory for themselves.

HUNTE: So, tell me honestly, how is this playing across the Gulf right now? Do you think that regional governments are bracing for more escalation, or are they going to be trying to deescalate behind the scenes?

KAMRAVA: Well, we have not seen, at least publicly, any effort to deescalate the conflict. Everybody's calling for secession of hostilities. But in terms of tangible efforts and tangible diplomacy, the Qataris, for example, who've been renowned negotiators and have a successful tracker (ph), they said they're not necessarily involved. And so all eyes really are on countries like Pakistan and to a lesser extent on Turkey, and somewhat on China to see if any of these outside powers, rather than the regional states, can somehow foster some sort of mediation and negotiations.

HUNTE: And just to finish up, let's also talk about the Strait of Hormuz, because we are hearing continued concerns around there. How real is the continued risk of disruption there in the coming days?

KAMRAVA: It is extremely real. And the closure of the Strait of Hormuz poses challenges not only in terms of the flow of energy resources, but now food imports and food security. States here, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, are extremely reliant on food imports and not all kinds of food and other equipment can be brought in through air cargo. And so that closure is extremely important and disruptive.

And I should also add that closing the strait, or at least harassing shipping, is significantly easier than keeping it open. And so that's a real pressure point and an advantage that the Iranians have currently.

HUNTE: All right. Mehran Kamrava, thank you so much for now. We appreciate you being with us. Thank you.

KAMRAVA: Thank you.

HUNTE: Our breaking news coverage will, of course, continue as we monitor the latest details on the rescue of a U.S. airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran.

Stay with CNN. See you in a moment.

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[03:15:00]

HUNTE: Welcome back. Let's return to our breaking news. A U.S. airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran has been rescued. U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media that the colonel is now, quote, safe and sound. The U.S. military carried out what Trump called one of the most daring search and rescue operations in the U.S. history that all began on Friday after the U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle Fighter jet was shot down with the two crew members ejected. The other was rescued shortly after the crash.

Earlier, my colleague, Polo Sandoval spoke with CNN Military Analyst and former U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton about the rescue mission. Here's a part of their conversation.

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COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: This mission is a very complex one. And when you think about conducting this flying mission while you're flying at, you know, several hundred miles an hour, sometimes at low level, it's a very stressful job. And then to have, you know, this incident occur where you're shot down and then you have to escape, evade, and you have injuries, the fact that he made it out is absolutely fantastic. So, there's -- you know, we're -- you know, as an Air Force -- fellow Air Force person, you know, I definitely salute him and I definitely salute all the crews that were involved in this rescue.

The key thing about this, I think, Polo, that, you know, when you look at the risks involved, and we have to remember that those risks are considerable. Even when we have basically air superiority over a piece of territory like Iran or parts of Iran, there's still risks involved. And so we have to be very careful with how things unfold in this case.

But the fact that they, you know, were conducting the mission to, I think, the best of their abilities and that when this happened, when this accident happened, they were able to basically recover from this and we were able to get him out as well as, of course, the pilot before that. That is, you know, absolutely good news and, you know, we were very proud of the professionalism that these airmen exhibited as well as the rescue crews exhibited.

So, it's, you know, good day for the Air Force and it a good day for the U.S. military.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and for the country, as the president points out.

Back to that last point though, Colonel, do you expect the Air Force, CENTCOM, really just all forces involved to look at the situation that brought us here in the first place and reassess perhaps its aerial approach in this conflict?

[03:20:02]

LEIGHTON: Yes. Usually, when a situation like this occurs, they take a time to, you know, step back. Now, that might not mean stepping back from the volume of attacks or things like that. Those attacks might still continue, but the approach will be different. And as they refine the approach, the processes known as mission planning, as they plan the missions and they create what's known as an air tasking order, which basically lists the targets that they're going after, they also have to figure out the routes that they're flying. And that's part of that mission planning process. And that process has to be really intricate.

So, what they're going to do is they're going to demand even a more rigid, more finite intelligence so that they can figure out what kind of threats they're really dealing with here. I think those threats are evolving. And so this is going to be a challenge for the intelligence professionals who are involved in this operation.

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HUNTE: I do want to talk more now about this dramatic rescue operation, because it was very dramatic, with retired US Navy Commander and Pilot Richard Kolko. Richard, thank you for being with me.

What would that rescued airman have been dealing with on the ground in those hours after ejecting behind enemy lines? It sounds crazy.

RICHARD KOLKO (RET.), U.S. NAVY COMMANDER: It sounds like a movie script and it probably will be someday, but I'm sure that this aviator was very stressed. But he had to resort back to his training that he probably got early in his career. That said survival, evasion, resistance, escape. And he had to do the first two parts of that. He had to survive, first of all, the ejection. He had to survive a safe landing on the ground. And then he had to start an evasion plan. So, obviously, there were people out there looking for him both from the U.S. and from the Iranian side. So, he resorted to his training.

All aviators and some other forces go through that, what's called SEER training, but they do it early in their career, you know, how to evade, you know, once you land, what are you going to do? They teach you, mostly you should move at night, how to get away from your equipment, but take the gear that you need, create distance, being observant.

But one of the things is you had this training very early in your career. I went through it as a pilot in the Navy and it was a tough training. It's a tough, tough class. And one of the things is you're sitting in the auditorium at the end of the class and the instructors are debriefing you and talking to you and you're saying, you went through this, you survived this, you learned a lot. But one of the important things is you have to remember this.

So -- and this -- if this -- he's a colonel. It's been many years since he probably went through that training. But he had to be able to recall that training, put that training to use, he did, and then the amazing efforts by the U.S. forces and his life was saved. That had to be a harrowing couple of days on the ground there.

HUNTE: As you say, this moment really is being celebrated as like a big, massive American moment. At what point do you think we're going to hear more about who this member is?

KOLKO: I think he's got to go through what's called an integration process. That's part of the entire phase. They'll bring him back. It will be medically checked out. We read some, you know, that he may have had some severe wounds. So, obviously, that has to be taken care of first.

The U.S. will probably, you know, let us hear a little bit about the person and what happened, but there's operational security needs that are there, as well as not giving up anything because there's attack packages going on every day over there. So, they don't want to give up the efforts and the techniques that the U.S. uses, especially these U.S. Air Force P.J. is, as I'm sure the colonel referenced before of some very, very highly trained forces, a very small group of men and women in the Air Force that are trained to do this very specific, very dangerous mission.

You heard that they said they dedicated hundreds of people to go out to rescue one person. There's not a lot of countries that would be willing to do that. But the U.S. is, we don't leave a person behind, and this is a fantastic ending. And we saw the president say that they were tracking him from the moment that he ejected. That's what happens in the -- even the seat that he ejects in has a locator. So -- and plus there were AWACS airplanes in the air that they knew where he was. And then when he lands, he carries a combat radio that has a GPS on it, secure texting communications. So, they knew where he was. Obviously they couldn't make that announcement to the public, but what the forces did, what the combat search and rescue team did is very, very impressive.

HUNTE: Can I also ask about what you think happened while he was on the ground and trying to avoid capture? What do you think was going on there?

KOLKO: Well, part of his pre-flight brief attack brief would include this, you know, what happens if you get shot down depending on where their mission was. You know, a simple thing of, you know, where the enemy might be, what direction would you start moving, you know, away from any hazards, and you have to have that in your mind.

[03:25:01]

It can change the moment you hit the ground because things may be very different. You may not be in the position you are, but you want to have that first idea of what you're going to do. The parachute deploys. Your beacon goes off. You land. You detach from your parachute, the coke fittings, get out of there and then, you know, which way do you want to run first.

But, again, they train you mostly to move at night. You'll be much way easier to spot during the day. We know he was in the mountains. That's very difficult terrain. And it sounds like he was able to get away from the aircraft seat and anything else and find a place to, you know, lay low while he obviously followed a communications plan.

You wouldn't sit there with your radio on 24 hours a day and risk the enemy possibly picking up signals. There's a radio plan, a communications plan. You may maybe on the quarter hour, half hour, every two hours where you're reaching out, you know, and then you get information from that combat search and rescue team what direction to move.

But you have to look at how big this package was. This would've been satellites, aircraft, signals intelligence, maybe people on the ground that are helping, all kinds of information and intelligence is going into that Command Center, and that provides information to that downed airman and this amazing ending to this story.

HUNTE: And it is very amazing. We'll leave it there for now. Richard Kolko, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Okay, still to come, what we know about the operation to rescue a U.S. airman shot down over Iran when we return. See you in a moment.

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[03:30:00]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories. A missing U.S. airman whose fighter jet was shot down over Iran has been rescued by U.S. forces. President Donald Trump announced the rescue in a social media post just a few hours ago. Trump said that the service member sustained injuries but will be just fine. Another crew member was rescued shortly after that crash and is receiving medical attention.

Meanwhile, Washington and Tehran are exchanging new threats. U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media to warn, quote, hell will rain down on Iran if it does not reopen Strait to Hormuz by Monday. Tehran has responded in full, threatening to open, quote, the gates of hell on the U.S. and Israel if they continue to strike its infrastructure.

NASA has released new photos of the moon taken by the crew aboard the Orion spacecraft. The stunning photos left the astronauts awestruck as they continue their historic journey through space. They are now two thirds of the way to the moon, closer to that silvery orb than they are to Earth.

And let's go back to our top story. The U.S. president says the second airman shot down over Iran has now been rescued. Donald Trump posted on social media about the search operation saying, the U.S. military sent dozens of aircraft to retrieve him.

The high-stakes search began on Friday after the F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iranian territory. It was the first time that a manned U.S. aircraft was shot down since the U.S. and Israel began their war with Iran.

CNN's Jim Sciutto tells us what we know so far about the operation.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: President Trump announcing a successful search and rescue operation for the second member of that F-15 crew shot down over Iran on Friday. This difficult operation, a dangerous one, the president said, it involved dozens of aircraft and we know that they were rushing against time.

I had been told that the U.S. received a communication from this missing airman on Friday evening and indications that he had been injured, which added to the urgency of the search and rescue operation, but also we know that Iranian authorities were trying to get to this pilot first, Iranian state T.V. even going so far as to encourage residents in the area to locate the pilot, report the pilot's location, and offering a reward to do so.

So, we know that there was a race here, a race against time to get him to treat those injuries, get them out of the country safely, get the pilot before Iranian authorities or the military were able to do so. And we should also note that search and rescue operations are highly dangerous operations. You have a lot of aircraft involved. Many of those aircraft flying low and slow, the helicopters that would do the extraction, the fixed-wing aircraft that would help locate. They did of course have fighter cover, but, again, a dangerous operation, a difficult one over time with, thankfully, a safe outcome for this missing airman.

Jim Sciutto, CNN, Tel Aviv.

HUNTE: Let's speak to Ali Vaez, the Iran Project director at the International Crisis Group. He's speaking from Geneva. Thank you so much for being with me, sir. I appreciate that.

Now, that this U.S. airman has been rescued, does that remove one immediate pressure point or does it actually change nothing about the broader moves of this conflict. What do you think?

ALI VAEZ, IRAN PROJECT DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: It is good to see you. I don't think it changes much. Of course, it is a win for the United States. It is a setback for the Iranians who were hoping to gain additional leverage over the U.S. But the reality is that all the fundamental problems still remain in place, most important among them, the closure of the Straits of Hormuz and the pending deadline of President Trump that unless things change until tomorrow evening, D.C. time, that he is going to significantly escalate.

[03:35:02]

And, unfortunately, the diplomatic track also doesn't seem to be making a lot of progress at this point.

HUNTE: As you say, the U.S. is really celebrating this. This is massive news here. From Tehran's perspective, how significant is it that the U.S. forces were able to carry out this rescue mission inside Iranian territory?

VAEZ: Well, it certainly demonstrates that U.S. military capabilities are miles, if not hundreds of miles away from what Iran can do and achieve. But it also demonstrates one more thing, which I think is important to take into account, which is the fact that even during the rescue operation, the Iranians could still attack U.S. military assets. And that means that if this happens again, if this war continues, that there are additional fighter jets that have been shot down and there are additional needs for rescue operations, this would put more Americans in harm's way without necessarily bringing the United States closer to its strategic object.

Let's remember that by this point in the war, Iran was supposed to have no air defenses, was not able -- was supposed to not be able to shoot down American fighter jets and was not able to even engage in this kind of firefight with U.S. Special Forces.

HUNTE: Well, thank you for that. I want to speak now about the Strait of Hormuz. We know about the latest deadline, of course, but we have been here before and discussed another deadline before. So, what do you actually think is going to happen next?

VAEZ: Well, look, the reality is that the Iranians have found their superpower, which is choking off the Strait of Hormuz. And they see it also as a potential leverage, not just in these negotiations or to end the war, but even in the post-war period in order to basically be able to push through the reconstruction. Because that is the only source of revenue that they can count on, which is not necessarily dependent on the United States providing them sanctions relief. And given how cynical they are about utility of negotiating with the Trump administration or its reliability as a negotiating partner, this is a leverage that I don't think that the Iranians would easily give away.

And also at the end of the day, we should remember that it's not a problem that has an easy military solution. Of course, the U.S. can put boots on the ground, but to get the waterway completely safe for normal traffic, that would mean months and months of heavy fighting. And even at the end of that, one or two drones fired from much more inland could still disrupt the traffic.

HUNTE: We are seeing threats and counter threats too, from both sides, including warnings that the whole region could spiral. How close are we right now to this wider regional conflict?

VAEZ: Oh, we are very close. Because if the U.S. either puts boots on the ground or escalates against Iranian energy infrastructure, two things are very likely to happen. One is the closure of Bab el-Mandeb, which is another choke point providing access to the Red Sea. That's where two thirds of Saudi energy is now being exported to Asia. And if that chokepoint is also cut off, then oil prices will go above $200 a barrel and we will have a global economic meltdown.

And the second thing that is very likely to happen is Iran would torch energy infrastructure in the rest of the region. Both of those things would have tremendous economic implications for the world and would see this conflict escalate even further.

HUNTE: Yes. Neither of them sound very good, do they? We will see what happens next.

Ali Vaez, thank you so much for now. I appreciate it.

VAEZ: A great pleasure. Thank you.

HUNTE: Onwards, we will take you live to the Vatican where Pope Leo will be leading his first Easter mass as pontiff in the hours ahead.

And the Artemis II mission is now closer to the moon than it is to Earth. When we return, we'll have the latest for you on the mission and get an inside look on how spacious the Orion capsule really is. I love that. That and so much more after this break.

See you in a moment.

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[03:40:00]

HUNTE: Welcome back. Worshipers are gathering in Vatican City for Pope Leo's first Easter Sunday mass as pontiff. The service is set to begin in the next hour.

On Saturday night, Pope Leo led the Easter vigil and echoed his calls for people to work to towards peace and reject the divisions of war. Well, that would be nice, wouldn't it?

For more, I want to bring in CNN's Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb, who's joining us live from Rome. Thank you so much for being with me, sir.

It is Easter Sunday in Rome. What can we expect to see today?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ben, there's a lot of anticipation building here. Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square for this Easter Sunday mass around the altar where Pope Leo will preside at the service. There are thousands of flowers that have been arranged as they are, you know, each Easter Sunday to kind of evoke a sense of joy because, of course, Easter Sunday is, you know, the highlight of the church's year.

Pope Leo will be out here a bit later to celebrate the mass. And at midday, he's going to appear on the balcony of the basilica behind me and give his customary Easter Sunday address where he's likely to focus on the various conflicts that are taking place around the world.

Of course, this is, as you said, Pope Leo's first Easter. We have seen him in recent days kind of being more outspoken about the need to end the war in Iran. I mean, I spoke to him on Tuesday and asked him what his message for President Trump would be about the war, and he said that he hopes that President Trump can find an off-ramp to end the conflict.

[03:45:09]

So, I expect we'll hear more of him on those topics later this morning. Ben?

HUNTE: These are some pretty tense, and I guess many would say quite depressing times. Do you think that the pope's message can actually break through this message of hope and optimism?

LAMB: Well, I think it depends on how strongly he wants to speak about these matters. I mean, he is a more reserved, mild mannered character than his predecessor, Pope Francis, who would often break into the news with things he said. But I do think at this time, people are looking to Pope Leo for that global statesmanship and for that message of hope.

And I think, you know, the fact that he is so different from the political leaders, the fact that he's not someone who's always seeking to be in the headlines, the fact he is a bit more shy and reserved, I think, in a way, people kind of respond to that. And he does have a certain authenticity about him.

And, you know, we've seen him during these last few days, I think, become more outspoken. And, you know, on Good Friday, for example, we saw him carry the cross around the coliseum. He was the first pope to do that in decades.

So, we are seeing him do more and speak more, but it is obviously a question of how outspoken he wants to be too. Ben? HUNTE: Yes. Well, I'm not going to say no to positivity in these times. Wow.

Christopher Lamb, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

Onwards, the Artemis II mission is now closer to the moon than it is to Earth. NASA says the spacecraft has traveled two thirds of its way to its main goal. That's despite having a relatively quiet journey so far.

They did, of course, have some technical difficulties with their toilet. I'm sure you know that using the restroom is more complicated in space due to the lack of gravity. But NASA says that a toilet is back up and running. Good news for all involved.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, NASA released more stunning photos taken by the crew. Instead of focusing on the beauty of Earth, this time, the photos captured the moon as they draw closer to it.

The crew aboard their Orion spacecraft are testing out the capsule as it takes them to the far side of the moon. But how crammed or spacious is it?

CNN's Tom Foreman explains how this capsule is roomier than it appears.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is life like for the Orion crew right now? Well, I can tell you it is busy and it's really interesting. Let's get rid of the service module for a moment here, although it will stay with the crew capsule for almost the entire mission. I just want to talk about the crew capsule now though, and give you a sense of what they're dealing with.

First of all, this is a big capsule, 23,000 pounds at liftoff, more than 11 feet tall, 16 feet wide. So, that's big. And the interior is bigger than anything NASA has put up in the space since the space shuttle. But this is all a relative thing. If you were to come inside here, you would say, well, they have a lot to get in here too.

All four people have to live here. They have to have places to be strapped in or sit. They have communications equipment, they have control equipment, they have emergency supplies, medical supplies, food, water, waste facilities, exercise equipment, even some things for entertainment. So, yes, it's a lot to get into this space, as spacious as it is.

If you look at this NASA video, you can get a sense of what it would really be like inside. Although I should point out, you're not stuck to one space. Remember, in microgravity, they can use all of this space to do what they want to do.

Still, it's four people in this space for ten days. That's not a whole lot of room, and they have to all work in concert to make it work properly. And interestingly enough, that includes sleeping at the same time. Yes, that's right. At the same time, they will all strap in for the night, close their eyes, and they will sleep and dream as they drift through the cosmos from the earth all the way up to this historic return to the moon.

HUNTE: All right. U.S. forces have rescued the second crew member from a fighter jet shot down in Iran. Still ahead, a message from President Trump about what he calls one of the most daring rescue operations in the country's history.

See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. Let's get you up to speed with the latest from Iran. President Donald Trump says the second crew member from a U.S. fighter jet shot down in Iran has been rescued. He posted on social media that the colonel sustained some injuries but he is now safe and sound. The post also said the rescue effort involved dozens of aircraft and he called the operation one of the most daring search and rescue efforts in U.S. history.

Iran announced on Friday that it shot down an F-15E fighter jet. The plane's other crew member was rescued earlier.

Polo Sandoval spoke with CNN National Security Analyst Alex Plitsas. He's a former Pentagon official and U.S. Army Special Operations veteran. He reveals the daring steps that were taken to rescue that airman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NAITONAL SECURITY ANALYST: This will go down as probably one of the most harrowing rescue operations in U.S. military history for operating behind enemy lines to getting a U.S. aviator who was down on the ground. What we're hearing is that this involved hundreds of special operations forces to the point where several aircraft actually got stuck and were potentially blown in place with additional aircraft sent to replace them to get the folks that were on the ground.

The aviator is said to potentially have navigated up mountain up to about 7,000 feet while injured and kind of had to remain there out of sight, you know, trying to get in touch with U.S. forces with a beacon being located or activated to make sure that the U.S. knew where they were.

[03:55:10]

There were Iranian forces that were in hot pursuit, so to speak, as the president put it out towards the end. That obviously became, you know, more difficult as more U.S. forces came into the area because at that point you can't really hide the noise and all the folks operating there.

And so it was very harrowing towards the end, and, again, very successful operation that prevented this from turning into a strategic bargaining chip for the Iranians. This was a tactical operation. You know, it was meant to take out a bombing target. Obviously, that went south when the aircraft went down and it could have turned from a tactical bombing run into a strategic opportunity for Iran, and this mission prevented that from happening.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Okay. Well that's all I've got for you for now. Thanks for joining me and the team for the past two hours. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I'll be back at the same time tomorrow. There is so much more CNN newsroom just after this. See you in a few hours.

Kim, over to you.

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