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Trump Hints More U.S.-Iran Talks; Israel, Lebanon Hold Direct Talks For the First Time in Years; CNN Celebrates 10 Years of Advocating an End to Modern Day Slavery through My Freedom Day. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired April 15, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church, just ahead.

A glimmer of hope. President Trump hints that more talks between the U.S. and Iran could happen within days, but major sticking points appear unresolved.

Israel and Lebanon hold their first direct talks in years as the situation on the ground gets more dire by the day.

And with Pope Leo on his tour of Africa, Donald Trump has a new spat, this time with the Italian Prime Minister.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

And we begin with the latest developments on a potential second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks. President Donald Trump teased that something could be happening over the next two days as the two countries try to hammer out a deal.

According to a U.S. official, future talks are under discussion, but nothing has been scheduled at this time. Tehran, for its part, says it will continue participating in talks despite believing Washington is, quote, "not trustworthy."

Sources tell CNN that Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to lead the talks if they take place. And Vance says he's committed to fighting for the grand bargain that Trump wants with Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I'd say in Pakistan, we made a ton of progress. But the reason why the deal is not yet done is because the President, he really wants a deal where Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon. Iran is not state sponsoring terrorism, but also the people of Iran can thrive and prosper and join the world economy.

I think the people we're sitting across from wanted to make a deal. And I know the President of the United States told us to go out there and negotiate in good faith. That's what we did. That's what we're going to keep on doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: All this as the U.S. military says it is continuing to blockade Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf. But tracking data shows multiple Iran-linked ships have transited the Strait of Hormuz since the blockade started.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Prime Minister is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey as a push to promote peace efforts in the region.

So let's begin with CNN's Eleni Giokos, she joins us live from Dubai. Good to see you again, Eleni. So what is the latest on the U.S. Navy blockade in the Strait of Hormuz?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And it's really interesting.

So some vessels have made it through the straits. And that choke point, that sort of the tight area, that is obviously been one of the biggest points of leverage for Iran that's been blocking off 20 percent of the world's oil supply. But then it's really interesting.

Once they hit the Gulf of Oman, and we've got some of the tracking data really showing this, one vessel that we were looking at yesterday called the Rich Starry, which is sanctioned by the United States and has links to Iran, that eventually made a U-turn.

I want you to see this marine tracking data. It shows it had passed through the straits and then stops and then turns around.

Now, according to U.S. CENTCOM, and they posted this on X, they say that more than 10,000 U.S. sailors, marines and airmen, along with over a dozen warships, dozens of aircraft are executing the mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports.

During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the U.S. blockade. Six merchant vessels complied with direction from the U.S. forces to turn around to re-enter Iranian ports on the Gulf of Oman. And tracking data specifically of this Malawian flagged vessel that has links to Iran shows that it did do this U-turn and clearly heeding warnings from the U.S. Navy.

Now, according to Lloyd's List, they've been tracking all the movement within the straits. They say that U.S. CENTCOM is offering limited details around the parameters of its enforcement strategy, but a lot of these vessels, Rosemary, are turning off their AIS transponders. That's the most important way to identify the vessel, to identify the flag and also to see where it's headed.

[03:05:02] So we've seen some interesting movement here, but U.S. CENTCOM has said that this pertains to vessels that are moving from Iranian ports and Iranian territorial waters. They offer a little bit of detail in terms of how exactly they're embarking on this blockade, which seems it's pretty obvious now it's in the Gulf of Oman.

They're saying there's 12-plus Navy ships that are involved in this, 10,000 service members, 100 fighter and surveillance aircraft. They also have the ability to board a vessel if these vessels do not heed the warnings to turn around.

So this U.S. Naval blockade in full force right now, we haven't seen any movement of other vessels coming from friendlier ports. That's going to be an interesting development.

In the meantime, and it's important to note that over the last 45 days or so, there have been 453 vessels that have transited the straits and have left the Gulf of Oman. But on a daily basis, you'd normally see around 130 vessels transiting the straits. So this is just a trickle.

Experts say that since the U.S. Naval blockade came into force, the little traffic that we had seen throughout the war where shippers had to directly negotiate with Iranian forces for transit, that's come to a screeching halt. Again, we're waiting for more news in terms of how the enforcement is working, but all the shippers are currently on high alert and facing a double dilemma.

Do they negotiate directly with Iran and Iranian forces where Iran says it still has control over the straits and specifically the Persian Gulf side, or do they negotiate directly with U.S. Naval forces?

So there's a lot of hesitation and reticence because of the fear of mines that have been placed in the straits. And then importantly, a fear of attack, like Iran has said, if you don't negotiate directly with Iranian forces, you could face some kind of repercussion. And then the U.S. Navy being in place right now, this is all ahead of what could possibly be a second round of in-person talks between Iran and the United States and hopefully finding some way forward in terms of opening up the strait that has really crippled not only Asian economies that rely so much on the oil that moves through the strait, but also the rest of the world, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Indeed. Eleni Gikos, bring us that live report from Dubai. Many thanks to you.

Let's turn to CNN's Nic Robertson now, who joins us live from Islamabad where the U.S.-Iran talks took place over the weekend. So Nic, what more are you learning about the potential second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran and what are the expectations here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it's kind of what a difference a day makes, because yesterday here the rumors and speculation were that, you know, if there were going to be talks, they might be at another location in a European city somewhere closer to the United States, easier for their delegation to travel to, you know, they face a plane, an overnight flight and were immediately into negotiations. The Iranian team had fled two hours, had a good night's sleep and were pretty fresh going into those talks.

So there's a lot of speculation. But then Donald Trump, the U.S. President, of course, weighs in with communication with the "New York Post" and suggests that Islamabad definitely is the location and the talks could be in the next couple of days.

Look, when J.D. Vance, Vice President, left Islamabad, his last words were, we've given a best and final offer to the Iranians, the ball's in their court, essentially. It's up to them.

So is President Trump's comments to the "New York Post," is that actually just trying to put pressure on Iran to come back to the negotiating table? If, as Eleni is pointing out there, that the U.S. blockade isn't as effective as it might originally have been anticipated to do, does that put pressure again on the U.S. side to get back into talks?

I think the sense here from the talks over the weekend was that a lot of ground was covered, was that the Iranians had made compromises, the Iranians criticized the U.S. side saying that they'd shifted the goalposts.

So the actual deal may be a little closer than people imagined. And the sort of media agency of Pakistan had really hoped that the U.S. side could come and stay at the table for longer. They felt that the problems were so complex, if the talks went longer, then the deal could have been landed. But I think a platform of understanding and seeing where both sides are, meeting face-to-face at the table, has built something. And I think it does appear that there are behind-the- scenes efforts underway to try to bring the two sides back to the table here in Islamabad, precisely when the next couple of days may be a little bit ambitious.

The Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister here are in Saudi Arabia today, they're going on to Qatar for meetings, top-level meetings there, on to Turkey after that, not expected by the current plan to be back until the weekend.

[03:10:04]

And it will take Pakistan a couple of days to kind of put everything in place here to be ready for talks. The deadline is due to expire for the ceasefire six days from now. That would seem like a natural timeline to try to put the two sides in a room again and get a deal.

Something is happening. It's behind the curtains, if you will. Potentially they can pull it off for a second round of talks, but it's not locked in yet.

CHURCH: All right. The world is hoping, of course. Nic Robertson in Islamabad, many thanks for bringing us up to date on that.

So, Israeli and Lebanese officials have agreed to hold more direct talks following Tuesday's meeting at the U.S. State Department. Lebanon called for territorial sovereignty and a ceasefire to alleviate the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict. And while Israel conceded both sides were on the same page on the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, Israel refused to commit to a ceasefire.

The Lebanese health ministry says Israeli strikes killed at least 35 people in the past 24 hours. An estimate more than 2100 people have been killed since March 2nd. Officials believe that includes more than 160 children and nearly 90 health workers.

Despite diplomatic efforts, many Lebanese people displaced by the conflict believe their future is bleak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMED DOGHMAN, DISPLACED FROM SOUTHERN LEBANON (through translator): The current situation is hopeless. There's no, we don't see any glimmer of hope for the future.

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CHURCH: CNN's Jennifer Hansler brings us the latest from the U.S. State Department on how Tuesday's high-level meeting unfolded.

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JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SR. NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Israel and Lebanon agreed to hold another round of direct negotiations in the future following Tuesday's U.S. mediated talks here at the U.S. Department. The two sides had not sat down directly in decades and Tuesday's meeting, which was at the working level, lasted roughly two hours.

Ahead of the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to set expectations that this would be a long process, but he expressed hope that it could ultimately lead to a permanent and sustainable peace.

Now the stakes around these talks are incredibly high. Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange attacks and Israeli strikes have killed scores of civilians. Hezbollah has said it would not accept any sort of agreement that came out of these negotiations, and they were not part of the discussions here in Washington, D.C.

Speaking after the meeting, Israel's ambassador to the U.S. said he had a wonderful two-hour exchange with his Lebanese counterpart. However, he did not commit to a ceasefire. Lebanon said she did raise the need for a ceasefire in today's discussions.

She also said that this initial meeting had been, quote, "constructive." The U.S. State Department said in a statement after the meeting that the two sides had agreed to meet again at, quote, "an agreed-upon time and venue." However, further details about this next round of direct talks were not initially given.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world had its eyes on Washington, D.C., calling for de-escalation in Lebanon, all of this happening as the U.S. continues to try to broker an agreement with Iran. Jennifer Hansler, CNN, the State Department.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come on "CNN Newsroom," Pope Leo is getting ready for the next stop on his tour of Africa. We will explain why his visit to Algeria included a very personal pilgrimage. Back in just a moment.

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[03:15:00]

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CHURCH: Ukrainian officials say at least five people were killed and dozens more injured after a Russian missile strike hit the southeastern city of Dnipro. Officials released this video showing what appears to be paramedics providing aid on Tuesday. But both the location and date of the video have not been verified.

The strike comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Norway signing an agreement on defense projects. As part of the deal, Norway will help produce drones for Ukraine and Kyiv will share data and other information in return. Norway is one of Kyiv's most vital allies, contributing some $28 billion to the country between 2023 and 2030.

Well President Zelenskyy continues his tour of diplomatic meetings today. In the coming hours, he is set to meet with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. But yesterday, he was in Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

CNN senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen has more on the importance of that visit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's highly significant for both the Ukrainians and the Germans, especially right now, as a lot of things are really in flux in international politics. On the one hand, of course, you have a lot of the attention drawn away from the war in Ukraine, which is absolutely still going on full steam because of that military confrontation between the United States, Israel and Iran. And that, of course, has real consequences for the Ukrainians on the battlefield.

And one of the things that they're very concerned about in Kyiv is whether or not they're going to have enough interceptor missiles to counter Russian ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and, of course, also drones.

[03:19:57]

The Ukrainian President was talking about the Pearl Program, which is, of course, a program by which European NATO partners buy weapons from the United States. A lot of those are ammunition and these interceptor missiles, and then give those to the Ukrainians. And, of course, especially as far as interceptor missiles are concerned, there is now a big question mark because the U.S., Israel and other countries used so many to counter Iranian drones in that military confrontation.

So one of the things that we're seeing today was the Europeans and especially the Germans, of course, today and the Ukrainians going out and saying, look, we want to start producing more of this ourselves and there's going to be deeper defense cooperation. And that's also, of course, a signal to the Russians as well that the Ukrainians, the European partners, in this case, first and foremost, the Germans are saying, look, we're in this for the long run.

Ukraine is going to get support from European nations and the Germans for an extended period of time. One of the things that was very important in that as well was the election outcome in Hungary this weekend. German Chancellor Merz praised the Hungarians for what he says is a move back towards European unity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: In less than two hours, Pope Leo XIV is expected to head to Cameroon, the second stop on his tour of Africa. The Pope is wrapping up a visit to Algeria, where he honored the saint who inspired him to become a priest and who was known for speaking out against war.

Meanwhile, President Trump is taking a new swipe at the leader of the world's more than one billion Catholics, posting, quote, "Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a nuclear bomb is absolutely unacceptable," unquote.

Earlier, he told an Italian newspaper that the Pope doesn't understand Iran's nuclear threat and shouldn't be talking about the war. But Italy's Prime Minister, who President Trump had previously praised, is standing by Pope Leo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIORGIA MELONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): What I said is what I think. Those statements, particularly regarding the pontiff, were unacceptable. I expressed and continue to express my solidarity with Pope Leo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump began attacking the Pope on Sunday, calling him terrible for foreign policy. CNN's Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb has our report from Algeria.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Vatican seeking to align under the incident that saw President Trump launch an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo.

Leo here in Algeria showing his determination, though, to continue to speak about peace, about Christian Muslim relations, that he is not, as he said on the plane here, going to be intimidated by the Trump administration.

Whilst here in this Muslim majority country, he has been emphasizing interfaith harmony. He's come to the northeast of Algeria, to Annaba, for a very personal pilgrimage to pay tribute to Saint Augustine of Hippo, the spiritual father of the religious order that Leo is a member and former leader.

Leo going to the ruins of the basilica where Saint Augustine served as a bishop in the late fourth and early fifth centuries, planting a tree in the ruins to symbolize peace and interfaith harmony, and coming to the basilica here in Annaba for the final major event of his visit to Algeria.

Now on Wednesday, Pope Leo will travel to Cameroon, the second country on his four-country tour of Africa, the longest trip of his pontificate.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Annaba.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, CNN's My Freedom Day shines a light on the fight to end modern-day slavery. We will take you to a school outside London which has made the event an annual experience for its students. Back in just a moment.

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[03:25:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

U.S. President Donald Trump has hinted that U.S.-Iran peace talks could resume this week. Sources tell CNN that Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to lead a potential second round of negotiations with Iranian officials, Tehran says it will continue to take part in talks despite saying Washington is not trustworthy.

Meanwhile, Israeli and Lebanese officials are signaling a willingness to continue direct talks. Negotiators from both countries noted progress during Tuesday's meeting at the U.S. State Department. But despite Lebanon's plea, Israel is still refusing to commit a ceasefire amid its fight against Hezbollah.

Pope Leo is preparing for the second leg of his Africa tour, he's heading to Cameroon next. After spending time in Algeria, the Pope made a personal pilgrimage to St. Augustine's Basilica where he helped plant an olive tree. Leo XIV is a member of the Augustinian religious order and is the first Augustinian to become a Pope.

[03:30:05] Young people around the globe are taking part in the 10th year of CNN's My Freedom Day, a student-driven event to raise awareness of modern-day slavery. Last hour, we took you to England, where students created impressive art pieces showing what freedom means to them.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz spoke with their teacher about the history of My Freedom Day at their school.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A day of beautiful and moving performances for My Freedom Day here at Queen Anne School has just ended. We have a quiet theater and I now have the opportunity to speak to the teacher and the man behind having My Freedom Day here at this school four years in a row.

Mark, thank you so much, first of all, for speaking to us. I have to start by asking, I mean, these were beautiful performances. So much effort, time, energy, and thought has gone into them.

Why has the staff, students of the school, dedicated four years -- four consecutive years, to My Freedom Day?

MARK GERARARD, TEACHER, QUEEN ANNE'S SCHOOL: Well, firstly, it's an issue that doesn't seem to be going away. If anything, it seems to be increasing and intensifying. So, we as a school community feel like we've got to keep the message fresh, to keep the message, to keep reminding people of how unfortunate and desperate certain people are living in the world at the moment.

So, we have stories, for example, from January, February this year, of just within 50 miles of this school, children being exploited. So, we need our students to be aware of that and we need our students to be able to protect themselves and avoid dangerous situations.

ABDELAZIZ: And what's been so extraordinary to watch is just how much effort has been put into these performances. We've watched these gorgeous dance performances, these very moving, dramatical theater performances. Students have read poetry that they have written themselves.

How did you encourage students to take part in something that might have seemed distant to them at first?

GERRARD: Well, I think a great starting point is to make the students consider how lucky they are to have the freedoms to express themselves. There's a lot of opportunities at this school.

They can dance, sing, perform, act, and not everyone in the world has that opportunity. So, the ability to express that feeling, that's a great starting point.

ABDELAZIZ: And they also heard from a survivor, Sabrina. She was extraordinary, she was so open and honest about her experience. That's also a very difficult thing for young people to hear, though.

Why is it important to hear directly from a survivor?

GERRARD: I think it is important because when you tell a story in a third person, the students might struggle to relate to the life of that person. But when there's somebody actually sitting there who's been through these things and survived it and got through it, I think that really hits home with our students.

Our guest speaker today said that this could happen to anyone. And I think that is the key message that our students need to take away, that this could happen to any of us.

We've all got to be vigilant, we've all got to be careful.

ABDELAZIZ: And what's been so beautiful about watching My Freedom Day here at Queen Anne's School has not just been seeing the skills and the talent and the energy that students have been put into these performances, but also to recognize that they want to be a part of the solution when it comes to modern day slavery.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, just outside London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Follow the hashtag My Freedom Day on social media and check out cnn.com/myfreedomday to learn more about the worldwide event to raise awareness of modern day slavery.

Still to come, tech giant Amazon is spending more than $11 billion to ramp up its satellite network and try to catch up with SpaceX. The details just ahead.

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[03:35:00]

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Welcome back to CNN. Let's check the business headlines.

The International Monetary Fund has revised down its forecast for global economic growth this year due to the Iran war. The IMF says it expects global growth of 3.1 percent, and inflation is expected to rise to 4.4 percent if the conflict is short lived. But if the war continues, global economic growth would come in at only 2 percent this year and could trigger a recession.

Shares of major U.S. airlines rallied Tuesday on merger speculation. Reports say the CEO of United pitched a potential merger with American Airlines to President Trump a few months ago. The deal would create the world's largest airline, but many question whether it can win regulatory approval, American and United are not commenting yet.

One lucky raffle winner has walked away with an original Picasso for the price of a night out in Paris. The prize was Picasso's head of a woman, which is worth at least $1 million. The winner, a 59-year-old software engineer, was picked at random in this year's One Picasso for 100 Euros contest, which raised money for Alzheimer's research.

Amazon has announced a multi-billion dollar deal that will help it better compete with SpaceX. The tech company says it's buying satellite giant Globalstar. The deal will help Amazon reach its goal of deploying more than 3000 satellites by 2029.

[03:40:10]

Clare Duffy explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: This $11.5 billion deal is all about Amazon trying to put itself in a better position to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX, especially as SpaceX prepares for an IPO later this year.

This satellite connectivity business is still new, but is really growing quickly. But the ability to provide people cell service, text message service, internet service through a satellite rather than by connecting to a traditional ground tower has become really popular with consumers who live in rural areas or who like to travel to rural areas, who like to hike.

It has also become very important in emergency services. And when you look at a company like SpaceX, it has also given Elon Musk significant influence over global conflicts. We've seen these sort of back and forth about whether SpaceX should turn on satellites in places like during its war with Russia.

Now, this is going to allow Amazon to grow its satellite business called Leo. It's going to continue to remain a much smaller player than SpaceX. But the company's goal is to have thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit by the end of this year.

Globalstar, this company that Amazon is acquiring, also brings a partnership with Apple where it provides emergency satellite connectivity for iPhones. Amazon says that will continue and even expand into watches in the coming years.

Amazon is paying handsomely for this. They are paying $90 a share for Globalstar, 30 percent premium on where the shares closed at the time deal talks were reported. And I think that gives you a sense of just how much potential they see in this business.

Amazon is talking about this giving consumers more choice. They're looking for a competitor to SpaceX.

I think the question is just how quickly they can scale up this business. Can they become a real viable competitor to SpaceX? And will we see more acquisitions like this in this space as companies look to compete with Elon Musk?

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Powerball is crossing the pond to the U.K. The American lottery game will join with the U.K.'s national lottery this summer. Pending approval by the U.K. Gambling Commission, it's the first time a lottery outside the U.S. will contribute to the Powerball jackpot.

Officials are hoping the joint venture will build larger jackpots that attract more players. Powerball is already played in 45 U.S. states as well as Washington, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The new agreement won't affect how the other large U.S. lottery game, Mega Millions, operates.

I want to thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "World Sport" is coming up next.

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[03:45:00]

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