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High Stakes Negotiations in Pakistan over Iran War; U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Deal Impacts the Gulf; China to Ship Weapons to Iran; Artemis II Astronauts Return to Earth; Israeli and Lebanese Diplomats to Meet Next Week; Near Collision Avoided at LAX. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired April 11, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta, ahead on CNN NEWSROOM

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. U.S. and Iranian delegates are in Pakistan for possible talks to resolve their deadly conflict. We're going to get you a live report from Islamabad on those diplomatic efforts.

HUNTE: And as important as the history made is the safe journey home to celebrate it. We'll bring you the successful conclusion of the Artemis II mission and a look at what comes next.

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ANDERSON: High-stakes talks between the U.S. and Iran expected soon in Islamabad and Pakistan. But Iranian media reporting that Iranian officials have not signaled a final decision on whether the talks will actually proceed.

These negotiations come during what has been a fragile two-week ceasefire. President Trump has warned he will renew an intensify military action in Iran if a deal isn't reached.

Well, just a little while ago, vice president JD Vance touched down in Islamabad. He is leading the U.S. delegation with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The speaker of Iran's parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is leading the Iranian delegation, which includes the foreign minister.

Let's get you to Islamabad now, where CNN international diplomatic editor and my colleague, Nic Robertson, is standing by.

So Nic, firstly, when can we expect these talks to start?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Realistically, this (INAUDIBLE) the anticipation. The venue is set. The security is set. Indeed, some of the roads (INAUDIBLE) now been (INAUDIBLE) indicates everyone in their place. (INAUDIBLE) around the -- just the content of (INAUDIBLE) just the

agenda at the talk but the venues --

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ANDERSON: Nic, I'm going to see whether we can get your mic sorted out because you -- can't particularly hear you at the moment. But we will try and get that sorted out.

Let me get you to our guest. Ahead of these talks, president Trump said that the Strait of Hormuz would open with or without Iran's cooperation. Despite the ceasefire, only a handful of vessels have been able to pass through what is that critical waterway.

Hundreds of ships are still stuck in the Gulf, with thousands of crew on board those vessels. The strait is critical to the global economy. Vast supplies of oil and natural gas have remained choked off from markets, driving up prices and threatening shortages.

Well, here's a look at where things stand right now. WTI and Brent are trading -- let's see if we can bring up those prices for you. Not sure that we've got them as of yet.

Well, let's -- we'll come back to those prices. Joining us now from Doha in Qatar is Mehran Kamrava, who is the professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar.

The comms with Nic a little bit dodgy there. But the suggestion seems to be that these talks should start in the coming hours. There is a deficit of trust but extraordinarily high stakes for, frankly, the entire world in these talks in Islamabad.

What's your overarching assessment of what's possible today?

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY/QATAR: You know, Becky, you're absolutely right. There is definitely a deficit of trust, particularly among the Iranians toward the American delegation.

On two previous occasions, right in the middle of negotiations, as substantial progress had been made, Israel attacked Iran. And the negotiations were derailed.

And there's full anticipation this time by the Iranian delegation that something like this would happen again. There is nonetheless a determined effort by both sides, to make these negotiations work.

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Because the stakes are so high and because, for neither side, failure really is an option.

ANDERSON: So let's talk about what the real flashpoints are here. And there are a number of them, not least, of course, the Strait of Hormuz. The Gulf region where you and I are, has been resoundingly clear that the U.S. must achieve a full reopening of the strait with no tolls or restrictions.

Otherwise, as a prominent Saudi commentator, Ali Shihab, puts it, quote, "The U.S. will have legitimized extortion at one of the world's central economic arteries. That would not be a deal. It would be a strategic defeat."

He suggests threatening enormous sanctions on Iran. I wonder what you believe the options are diplomatically, today and otherwise, to break Iran's chokehold on that strait.

KAMRAVA: Well, I think we have to wait and see whether that's a maneuver and position designed for negotiations or whether it is one of those demands that the Iranians are unwilling to give up on.

And my gut feeling is that it's one of those pre-negotiation positions that Iran is willing to negotiate over because I think they might be on shaky legal ground, certainly on -- they would alienate a lot of their neighbors, even more so than they have up until this point. So I think we have to wait and see what the precise negotiations are.

But as you mentioned, this is one of those really tough points, control over the Strait of Hormuz. And the others, of course, are the American demand that Iran give up all enrichment activity and also the sanctions.

So we have, really, three intractable issues. And so, you know, president Trump might say, well, the goal of the team is to close the deal. But I think there's some really tough negotiations ahead.

ANDERSON: I want to just stick with the strait because "The Wall Street Journal" reporting today -- and I want to get your assessment of this.

"The Wall Street Journal" reporting that some Gulf officials are weighing refusing to ship oil through that strait while it is under Iranian control, a de facto oil embargo. That would shift the onus of the problem beyond the Gulf and force other nations to intervene.

Just expand on how much a move like that could change the calculus for the international community.

KAMRAVA: As you know, countries like China, Japan and South Korea get the bulk of their oil from the Persian Gulf, both in terms of petroleum and natural gas. And so if this were to happen, it would be a tremendous leverage that the Persian Gulf states would have.

The states of the GCC would be able to really play their card in the international political economy. But I think it's important to also mention that these states do have international obligations. There's a lot of ships right now in the Strait of Hormuz that are lined up, waiting to go through.

And the extent to which Iran is going to be able to demand either a fee or some coordination or some control over the strait is really at issue. And I think, you know, again, we're back to that position, where we might see who's going to blink first, the Iranians or the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

ANDERSON: It's certainly become a great tool for the Iranians, of course, which they -- you know, wasn't in play ahead of this most recent conflict.

To your mind, how much is the Gulf perspective a consideration in today's talks?

We know Pakistan has thanked Saudi Arabia, its close ally, the rest of the GCC, Egypt and Turkiye for their support. And Gulf nations certainly have leverage with Washington, given the trillions committed in investments just a little less than a year ago by Qatar, where you are; the UAE, where I am, and by Saudi.

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How involved are they at this point?

KAMRAVA: There's tremendous fear across the GCC that the United States might strike a deal with Iran that would completely neglect the concerns of the Arab states of the region. And so they are lobbying really hard to make sure that that doesn't happen.

And I think, for the Arab capitals, the presence of -- or the fact that vice president Vance is heading the negotiations is all the more of a concern because he's known to be an isolationist among president Trump's close advisers and aides.

And so I think there's a lot of concern and a lot of behind-the-scenes effort to make sure that GCC concerns are heard and not neglected in the negotiations that are happening.

ANDERSON: You hear here in the UAE and around this region and insistence that the Gulf's regional security is baked into, embedded into any deal going forward, which, of course, means looking at the ballistic missile program, looking at the Strait of Hormuz, looking at proxies around the region and indeed, looking at the nuclear file.

That is certainly resonant around this region, which has been attacked, it believes, recklessly and in an unprovoked fashion. It now wants to see its voice, of course, reflected at the table as well.

Mehran, it's good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

The perspective from Doha in Qatar, of course, is incredibly important. More from the Middle East coming up. I want to get you, though, back to Ben in Atlanta now.

HUNTE: Thank you so much.

Now to a CNN exclusive. According to sources familiar with recent U.S. intelligence assessments, China is preparing to send a shipment of weapons to Iran. That is despite the ongoing fragile ceasefire, which it helped to broker. China says these claims are untrue and that they have never provided

weapons to any country party to the current conflict. Two sources say the weapons China is sending include shoulder-fired anti-air missile systems. These types of weapons pose a major threat to low-flying aircraft.

Let's keep talking about it and bring in CNN's Will Ripley live in Taipei, Taiwan, for us.

Will, tell us more.

What more can you tell us about this intelligence and how seriously is it being taken right now?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ben. As you mentioned, China is denying this. But if this reporting from our CNN Washington bureau is correct, if what these sources are telling us is true, this could be a major escalation in terms of China's support for Iran beyond selling dual use equipment.

That we know has been happening, happening throughout this conflict. This U.S. intelligence indicates that China may be preparing an air defense weapons shipment to Iran, possibly in a matter of weeks, according to sources familiar with the intelligence.

And the systems, as you mentioned, are these shoulder-fired anti-air missiles known as man-portable air defense system or MANPADS. And how these things work is one or two people can operate them. They point at a low-flying helicopter or a low-flying aircraft like the F-15 that was shot down in Iran last week.

And once there's a tone that sounds that the heat system, the heat of the aircraft has been detected, they just pull the trigger essentially. And this heat-seeking missile will lock in.

And unless the aircraft can deflect this missile with a flare, which has mixed effectiveness, you have a scenario where, you know, somebody has decent enough aim and they've got the heat-seeking missiles.

This device, you know, and a few hundred thousand dollars worth of military weaponry can take down a multi-million dollar high-tech aircraft system. So it's obviously a huge problem for the U.S. and its allies if Iran were to get their hands on more of these.

And what this intelligence says is that Iran, which had been claiming that this new defense system is what helped them shoot down that fighter, it says that China wouldn't want the world to know that they're doing this, obviously.

So the shipments could be possibly routed through third countries to hide their origin. This would be a big deal. We know that China has been working to try to mediate the ceasefire, they say, making more than two dozen phone calls from their foreign minister to their various counterparts throughout the region.

Working behind the scenes to push Iran to de-escalate. We have these major talks coming up in Pakistan in a matter of hours.

But if this ceasefire were to fall apart and during this time of calm, Iran receives more weapons and is able to reassemble their capabilities, get their stockpiles back up, you know, in place, it could be a big problem for the United States after this ceasefire collapses, if it does. And, of course, everybody is hoping that diplomacy will work out.

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But the two sides have a lot of sunshine between them in terms of what they're coming to the table asking for.

But I do need to read you this, Ben. This is from a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, a very clear denial of this CNN reporting from the Washington bureau.

It says, quote, "China has never provided weapons to any party to the conflict. The information in question is untrue."

They go on to say, "As a major responsible country, China consistently fulfills its international obligations. We urge the U.S. side to refrain from making baseless allegations, maliciously drawing connections and engaging in sensationalism. We hope that relevant parties will do more to help de-escalate tensions."

Now you know, China, unlike Russia, which has actually been providing military intelligence to Iran throughout this conflict, helping them find targets across the Middle East to launch their drones at China, has been claiming to kind of be, you know, almost neutral in this.

Even though they are a longtime ally of Iran and they're heavily dependent on Iranian oil buying, some might say 80 percent to 90 percent by some measures of the oil coming through the Strait of Hormuz, more than a million barrels a day being purchased just by China alone, so they have a lot of incentive to keep Iran happy.

But at the same time, they want to look like this peacemaker to the global community. So if this reporting is correct, that would certainly put that image that China is presenting in jeopardy. But again, China, Ben, firmly denying it, saying the reporting is not true.

HUNTE: There is so much going on for now. Appreciate it. Will Ripley live in Taipei, thank you.

Still ahead, splashdown; the astronauts of the Artemis II mission are back on Earth after their historic journey to the moon. All the details next. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Cheers and celebrations at NASA as the astronauts of the Artemis II mission return to Earth.

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HUNTE (voice-over): The crew splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California, on Friday, shortly after 8 pm Eastern time, 5 pm on the West Coast, after flying around the moon and traveling farther from the Earth than any human ever has before.

They will reunite with their families in the coming days and we do expect to hear from them directly in the next week or two. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez is in San Diego with more on the historic Artemis II mission.

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MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Artemis II astronauts have safely returned back to Earth and the stats of their historic journey are now in.

We're learning that the crew flew over 700,000 miles and reached a peak velocity of over 24,000 miles per hour. All of NASA's predictions and their calculations were spot on. We also know that the capsule landed within one mile of the target.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new chapter of the exploration of our celestial neighbor is complete.

GONZALEZ (voice-over): A historic moment watched around the world. The four astronauts aboard Artemis II returning home to Earth.

LORI GLAZE, ACTING ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR, EXPLORATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT MISSION DIRECTORATE, NASA: We sent four amazing people to the moon and safely returned them to Earth for the first time in more than 50 years.

GONZALEZ (voice-over): The Orion capsule landing off the coast of San Diego Friday evening. But to get to this moment, the crew endured a high stakes journey, traveling more than 30 times the speed of sound at temperatures between 4,000 and 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AEROSPACE ANALYST: The air molecules outside the capsule will be so hot they will split apart creating what we call plasma.

GONZALEZ: This marks the end of a 10-day journey where the crew traveled to the far side of the moon, reaching deeper into space than any human has traveled before and capturing stunning images of the moon's surface. KELSEY YOUNG, ARTEMIS II LUNAR SCIENCE LEAD: And ultimately, we're building toward a moon base to establish a sustained presence on the lunar surface. GONZALEZ: The crew will undergo a series of medical exams and NASA says their bodies will go through a transition after being in space.

SCOTT PARAZYNSKI, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Maybe a little bit of wobbly legs for the first three to four hours after landing but it's not the equivalent of say a long duration International Space Station flight in terms of the rigors on the body.

GONZALEZ: Families of some of the crew members say they couldn't be more proud of this moment.

VICTOR GLOVER SR. FATHER OF ARTEMIS II PILOT VICTOR GLOVER JR.: It makes me really, really, really proud of the fact that I know that there are probably millions and millions of young people around the country and around the world that will look at him and point to him and look at their mom and dad and say, I can do that.

GONZALEZ: Now this mission wasn't just solely about getting to know more about the moon. NASA conducted several experiments, including one where they took bone marrow tissue cells and took them up to space to see how space travel affects the human body -- reporting in San Diego, California, I'm Marybel Gonzalez.

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HUNTE: Well, in our last hour, I spoke with former NASA astronaut and mission specialist David Wolf. He described the significance of the Artemis II mission. Have a listen to this.

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DAVID WOLF, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT AND MISSION SPECIALIST: It's so exciting that we're back in space. We're a planetary society that has the capability to go to the moon.

And our intention is to go to Mars, to bring the other countries of the world with us and do what humans are inherently need to do. And that's explore and understand where we came from and where we are going.

HUNTE: From what we are learning so far, how did the actual spacecraft and its life support systems perform with the astronauts on board in deep space?

WOLF: Really, really well. I haven't seen the actual numbers but you can just tell they exceeded performance, minimum requirements and probably much higher, really performed well. I've flown, I've been in six or maybe seven separate spacecraft and you can just see that these, this one, they were very comfortable in there.

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HUNTE: Tell me about how you feel that this mission was actually received.

Do you think it got the attention that they were expecting, maybe more, maybe less?

WOLF: Well, how could it get too much more attention?

There are some distracting news items happening at the same time. And this happens to be an apolitical item that everybody's behind. We love advancing our culture and our human culture together. This is an area we all agree on, I'm pretty sure.

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HUNTE: After the break, the latest on the high-stakes talks in Islamabad, where the U.S. and Iran are trying to broker peace. We'll speak to a foreign policy specialist about the challenges both sides will need to overcome to reach a lasting deal.

And as the war of Iran continues, it's raising new questions on Capitol Hill about president Trump's fitness for office. After the break, why one Democrat is calling for Trump to take a cognitive test. See you in a moment.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. Let's get you a check of today's top stories.

And U.S. vice president JD Vance has arrived in Islamabad in Pakistan for peace talks with Iran. Vance leading the U.S. delegation along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and president Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The Iranian delegation, which has 71 people, arrived in Pakistan earlier on Saturday.

China is preparing to send a shipment of weapons to Iran, despite the fragile ceasefire.

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That is according to sources familiar with recent U.S. intelligence assessments. Sources say the weapons include shoulder-fired missile systems, which are a major threat to low-flying aircraft. China denies these claims.

Well, despite this ceasefire, only a handful of vessels have been able to pass through what is the critical Strait of Hormuz. Hundreds of ships, as you see here, are still stuck in the Gulf, with thousands of crew on board.

U.S. president Trump has warned that the strait will reopen soon, with or without Iran's cooperation. Well, for more on these peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, I want to bring in Kamran Bokhari. He's a strategic forecaster and senior resident fellow for the Middle East Policy Council. As we understand it, these talks are expected to start anytime soon. I

haven't heard from Islamabad that they are actually underway as of yet. But we do still believe that they are on track.

I'm keen to get your thoughts on the state of play in today's talks and how you assess the strength of the respective positions, that of Iran and the U.S., going into these talks?

KAMRAN BOKHARI, STRATEGIC FORECASTER AND SENIOR RESIDENT FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST POLICY COUNCIL: Well, thanks for having me, Becky. Look, if the vice president of the United States went to Islamabad, he didn't do so without some basic understanding that there is a good chance that these talks will succeed.

Likewise, you don't have the speaker of parliament, who's now the de facto, you know, ruler of the country, given the decapitation strikes and the elimination of top leadership, he's there as well.

So this suggests to me that both sides are taking this very seriously. Now that doesn't mean that, you know, these talks will necessarily be successful.

I suspect that, at the very least, if these talks are to move forward, then something specific has to come out, some baseline understanding has to come out of these talks, which were reported to be both direct in nature and indirect. So not everything is going to be solved today. But you know, it's a start.

ANDERSON: You have argued that Pakistan is not just an interlocutor today but can, and I quote here, "shape perceptions on both sides and influence how Washington and Tehran see the process."

Can you just expand on that?

BOKHARI: Yes. look, I think that this argument of mine applies a little more to Iran than to the United States, largely because Iran here is the weaker party and has a lot more to lose and is strategically lonely in its environment.

And Pakistan is its only bet right now. There aren't any other countries that can effectively mediate with the United States. And that gives the Pakistan a lot of space. And if the 11th hour, you know, agreement to come and meet in Islamabad today is an indication, it does show that the Pakistanis were able to convince the Iranians.

And likewise, you know, as this process matures, I mean, going from just relaying messages, it gets to a point where, you know, even the Americans say, OK, so what do you think about, you know, the response from the other side?

This isn't a mechanical thing. This is an organic process.

ANDERSON: That's fascinating. And certainly Pakistan, as a neighbor of Iran, of course, with a, you know, significant Shia Muslim population, has a huge interest in this conflict coming to an end and there being some peace around this region. When it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's biggest bargaining chip,

you could argue, what, if anything, can loosen its chokehold?

Do you assess that the Gulf states -- and I'm here in the UAE -- could play their trump card, excuse the pun, by refusing to ship any oil, for example, as long as Iran controls the strait?

BOKHARI: So I think that the word "disruption" is probably more apt because control connotes that there is like a physical, if you will, capability with naval ships to physically blockade the thing.

I think what's happening here is that the Iranian ability to fire missiles and drones across the Gulf creates a situation where the strait becomes impassable by commercial ships. But having said that, I think that we're in a new space right now. I mean, what was prior to February 28th doesn't exist anymore.

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First, the unthinkable has happened. Something that used to be a theoretical construct, which is the idea that Iran would attack its energy-rich Gulf Arab neighbors and now that's create a new reality.

And the same applies to the inability of ships to traverse through the strait. So this is something, in my opinion, which is probably going to be the hardest part of this negotiation, I think, given past U.S.- Iranian nuclear negotiations.

There's a lot more clarity on how, for instance, you can get to zero enrichment but how do you come up with a situation where Iran still, possessing the capability to fire drones and missiles, will move forward?

Likewise, you know, will this happen again, where Iran decides to, OK, you know, I need something and therefore I'm going to go ahead and make the strait impassable again?

So this is the most -- toughest part.

How do you physically deal with this?

And I think the Gulf states in the long run will try to come up with ways where they reduce dependency on the strait for their energy exports.

ANDERSON: The advisor to the UAE president, Anwar Gargash, described to me this past 40 days being the worst case scenario, to your earlier point, when considering sort of, you know, the strategic calculus around this region over the past two decades.

He said this, what we've just seen, is the worst case scenario. Now they also see the UAE is incredibly resilient, resourceful and will come out of this stronger at the nth degree. But I'm curious for your reaction to our exclusive reporting that China is preparing to send a weapons shipment to Iran.

China's denied these claims as sensationalist.

But what is your assessment?

And how does or would that fit into the delicate balance that China has been striking in this conflict?

Gets an incredible amount of oil, of course, from the Strait of Hormuz. And that's been tough although those tankers have been getting through, cleared by Iran. This is all, of course, ahead of Donald Trump and Xi's expected talks mid-May.

BOKHARI: Yes. I mean that's a really interesting report that came out, that, you know, the Chinese are supplying weapons. I can see how the Chinese would want to perception-shape here and say, hey, look, we have leverage here ahead of the talks with the president of the United States to try and gain leverage.

We have to understand what is far more important for China in the current moment is supporting Iran, its goal or is -- its own economic situation, its own political economic situation.

And improving that, reaching an understanding with the United States on trade and investments and technology transfer and just reaching an overall, you know, strategic understanding with the United States, I think that's far more important.

And this Iran situation is them trying to buy leverage on that bargaining table. There were reports a few days ago of, you know, potential shipments of sodium perchlorate, which is the precursor material for solid fuel that the Iranians use in making their ballistic missiles.

Now we have to assume that, after 12,000 plus airstrikes, the capability of the Iranian regime to build or produce those ballistic missiles in the current moment is not what it used to be. So these are, you know, unclear, reports.

And I think that there is a sophisticated game being played by the Chinese, where they come out and deny it but they leave the other side hanging on the question of what if?

And that creates space for them to negotiate -- well, their position is, well, if you want us to play ball, then, you know, we have certain tasks as well.

ANDERSON: And it's interesting we're having this discussion. I spoke recently to someone who is very well informed on geopolitics, works out of this region. His judgment I respect.

And he said to me, be focused on two key dates coming up, May the 14th, which, of course, is the U.S.-China meeting, if that happens. Donald Trump and Xi and the -- and July the 4th, of course, 250 years of independence. That will be celebrated in the U.S. And his point was that will be a key focus for Donald Trump.

[05:40:00] He will have wanted to leave what is going on here behind him, he said, and focus on, you know, his -- what he will deem incredible accomplishments in what is an incredibly important year for an America First project. So I think that's just worth noting.

Kamran, it's good to have you. Thank you so much for joining us.

Well, coming up, Lebanese and Israeli diplomats set to meet next week to discuss a possible ceasefire. This is, to a degree, a twin track against what we are seeing here in Islamabad. How Israel's continued bombardment could impact those talks.

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ANDERSON: Fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah threatens to derail U.S. and Iran peace efforts at present. But Israeli and Lebanese diplomats are set to meet themselves on Tuesday in Washington to discuss their own ceasefire.

Now Hezbollah has urged the Lebanese government to refrain from negotiating with Israel. This comes after days of intense bombardment during the ceasefire with Iran. Since the latest conflict started, at least 1,800 people have been killed. About 6,000 have been injured since the start of the latest conflict.

There are some more than a million people displaced in Lebanon, according to the health ministry there. Well, joining me now from Tel Aviv is Gideon Levy, who is a columnist for "Ha'aretz" newspaper and a former advisor to the former Israeli leader, Shimon Peres.

It's good to have you today. And quoting those numbers, just lest we forget, the impact on the general population, both in Lebanon and, of course, in the border towns in northern Israel, of what is this ongoing and deadly, deadly conflict?

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How seriously do you believe Israel is taking these talks with Lebanon, when skeptics have suggested this could just be a smokescreen or stalling tactic to appease president Trump?

What's your view?

GIDEON LEVY, COLUMNIST, "HA'ARETZ": I can't prevent joining the skeptics, one, because the picture is very clear.

Would Israel be really interested in those -- interested in those talks?

It could have started it a few months ago and prevent all this bloodshed, which we are facing now. Israel is doing so only to please -- to make Donald Trump puts the pressure on it the smaller. I don't understand why Donald Trump just calls Israel, not just asks

Israel to take more moderate measures but really ask Israel to stop it because the continuous of those bombardments is risking the negotiation with Iran the stability. It doesn't serve anything.

And I wonder, why isn't there more pressure on Israel to stop it at once?

ANDERSON: You've sharply criticized prime minister Netanyahu over the years and, in a new column writing that, quote, "Israel emerges from this war more scarred than it appears to be, weaker and more ostracized than it went into it.

"Iran emerges battered but strengthened and rewarded sevenfold."

Look, not everybody is going to agree with you by any stretch of the imagination that Iran has emerged stronger out of this. But I just want you to explain for us the sentiment, the -- why you wrote what you wrote. And if you can just give us a sense of the sentiment inside Israel right now.

LEVY: So first of all, I tend to agree with what you quoted. I still think the same. I think that Israel had some military achievements, which, by the end of the day, are quite meaningless because, by the end of the day, this war didn't achieve none of the declared goals.

But really none of them -- I don't have to mention all of them; every one of your viewers know them by heart by now -- nothing was achieved. And on the other hand, we are going to pay a hell of a price.

First of all, this 1.5 months of bloodshed, tension really traumatizing weeks for most of the Israelis, if not all of them. And obviously on the other side. In the same time, economy was paralyzed. The education system was paralyzed.

But for the long run, what exactly did we achieve?

I know what we lost. I'm very afraid that, after this war, we are going to lose America. And this should worry the Israelis much more because the game plan started by now. And it will get faster and harder from day to day.

The United States is going to blame Netanyahu for this war, because now it's very clear that it wasn't a success story, as they are still trying to portray. In this case, Israel is going to pay the price, especially under Donald Trump, who, for him, everything is either black or white.

This should worry Israelis much more than the few military achievements which can be corrected very fast.

Now you ask about the spirit in Israel. It's, as usual, very different to my mood and very different for my perception. But I think that there are second thoughts. This war started, I must remind you, Becky, with a North Korean figure of support; 93 percent of the Israeli Jews supported this war. I mean, I can't think about any topic which in any democracy gets such

a majority, maybe in Belarus, in the elections in Belarus.

This support starts to be smaller now because people start to ask, what was it all about?

But still a majority thinks that this war was either inevitable or very successful. Very few think that it would have been much better. If we would have prevented this war, Israel would have been in a better place, as I believe.

ANDERSON: It's always good to get your perspective, Gideon. Thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Gideon Levy is in Tel Aviv.

I'm Becky Anderson, live from our Middle East programming headquarters in Abu Dhabi. Ben Hunte will have more news for you after this short break. Stay with us.

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[05:50:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

A powerful storm is lashing Hawaii, bringing over a month's worth of rain to parts of the island. The storm has lasted for several days now and flash flood watches are in effect for most of the Hawaiian islands through Saturday morning local time.

CNN affiliate Hawaii News Now reports one community on Oahu's North Shore was forced to evacuate due to the rising waters. This all comes as Hawaii is obviously still recovering from major storms just last month. Those storms triggered the state's worst flooding in 20 years.

The FAA is investigating a close call at Los Angeles International Airport after a passenger jet almost crashed into two trucks near the runway. It happened late on Thursday night as a Frontier flight was preparing for takeoff.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, ground.

Do you see this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had two trucks just cut us off. We had to slam on the brakes not to hit them. It happened so fast both of us were just like, holy shit, and we slammed on the brakes. I'm going to have to call the flight attendants to make sure everybody is all right in the back. It was real close. Closest I've ever seen.

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HUNTE: The pilot who you just heard from says the plane was on a nearby taxiway when the trucks drove out in front of the jet.

[05:55:00]

The FAA says vehicles are supposed to give way to the planes but air traffic controllers don't communicate with drivers to warn them of when planes do take off. No one was injured, luckily and the flight took off normally.

The Trump administration has unveiled images of a new monument that they say will commemorate the United States' 250th birthday.

On Friday, the Commission on Fine Arts received these renderings of the proposed triumphal arch. The images show the 250-foot arch with gold accents and a golden statue of a winged Lady Liberty holding a shield and a torch on top.

The Trump administration wants the arch built between the entrance of Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial. But a veterans group is suing to block those plans.

Japanese and American officials gathered in Washington, D.C., for a ceremonial planting of 250 cherry blossom trees. The trees are a gift from Japan, symbolizing the enduring bond between the two nations.

The new trees add to the thousands of cherry blossoms that are already at the Tidal Basin. The first trees were gifted by Tokyo's mayor in 1912. The trees attract visitors annually to the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which wraps up this weekend.

A popular grocery chain is expanding into the pub business. German discount store Lidl is building its first-ever pub in the suburbs of Belfast in Northern Ireland. The pub will be next to an existing Lidl store and have a liquor store, too.

Well, all right, that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I'll be back with you tomorrow. For our viewers in North America. "CNN THIS MORNING" is up next. And for the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES." See you soon.