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Iran Disputes Trump's Claims on Agreement; Trump Says Hormuz is "Open" but U.S. Blockade Will Continue; Iran War Causes Jet Fuel Shortages; Albanian Political Protests; Nearly 6 Million in Haiti to Face Acute Food Insecurity. Aired 3-3:25a ET

Aired April 18, 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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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hey everybody. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. It is great to be with you starting the weekend. And here's what's coming your way here on CNN NEWSROOM.

A warning from U.S. president Donald Trump that the truce may not be extended if Iran does not agree to a deal. For Iran's part, one official says that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed unless the U.S. sends (ph) its naval blockade.

And Pope Leo, wrapping up his visit to Cameroon. Next stop for the pontiff, Angola.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: And we do want to begin this hour with conflicting messages and confusion swirling around the state of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. President Donald Trump now says that he may not extend that ceasefire after it expires on Wednesday if there's no peace deal.

Iranian officials telling CNN that they expect the next round of talks to happen in Pakistan on Monday.

President Trump claiming that Iran has, quote, "agreed to everything."

But Tehran is pushing back on that. A senior Iranian official saying that Trump's claims that Iran will make concessions, including forfeiting its uranium stockpile, those claims are false.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, they got to say something different because, you know, they have people that they have to cater to also. I really don't have -- just doing the thing that's right. I'm just saying it like it is. We have a situation I think that is going to be very beneficial. And

the main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. You cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon and that supersedes everything else.

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SANDOVAL: Our team of reporters covering this story from all angles, Leila Gharagozlou is standing by in London. But first, let's go to CNN's Eleni Giokos, joining me from Dubai.

Eleni, to you, we saw oil prices perhaps take a drop there after the Iranians announced that the Strait of Hormuz were -- was open again. Give us a sense of what's actually happening, though, in that strait.

Are we seeing ships move again?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a really good question. And just on this grand announcement, this declaration that the Strait of Hormuz is open, we saw markets responding aggressively.

A huge drop in oil prices; at one point they were down around 14 percent. That's starting to reverse because, you know, reality is very different to words and rhetoric that comes through not only from the Iranian side but also from the side of the Trump administration.

I want to show you an image now that is depicting what's happening live in the Strait of Hormuz. Now we're seeing some movement, which is really interesting. And the red dots are basically indicative of tankers that are carrying fuel or crude or any other related products and they have been able to transit through the strait.

Now they've gone through the Iranian checkpoint.

The question is what's going to happen when they hit the U.S. Naval blockades?

We're still trying to ascertain, are these vessels in any way linked to Iran?

Because if they are, they would then be stopped by the U.S. Navy. But I also want to show you another image where this was taken in the early hours of this morning, showing traffic through the strait.

You had a dozen vessels heading toward the strait there, then stop some of them turn around.

Now the question is, did they get a warning message from the Iranians?

And what made them stop?

What deterred them from making the transit as a whole?

Now let's talk about the conflicting messages, because ,frankly, there's been so much contradiction. You had, on one end, the finance -- the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, saying it is open but there's an Iranian-designated route that vessels need to take. Then you had the parliamentary speaker, Araghchi -- sorry; Ghalibaf

coming out with something completely different, saying that if the U.S. Naval blockade is still going to be in place, then the strait is not going to remain open.

And then also saying there's a designated route and, importantly, Iranian authorization, that is still the same as we saw previously. So vessels that want to transit need to engage directly with Iranian authorities.

Now that could cause compliance issues, reputational issues for some of these shippers. And that's why we're not seeing massive movement through the strait. That all being said, a lot hinges on what happens in the next round of talks.

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But certainly from a markets perspective, they took it as good -- as good news. The International Energy Agency keeps talking about just how long it's going to take to unwind this huge energy crisis that has hit not only the world but, frankly, you know, markets here in the Middle East. They say it's going to take two years to fully unwind.

You've got Brent crude that's up slightly today, up 1.7 percent. And WTI also up just below 2 percent. And really just showing that all these contradictory messages are having an effect on how markets are responding, how people are looking at this.

And importantly, shippers need clarity. They want to know the threat has been eliminated and they have free passage and free movement. And that is not clear at this point, Polo.

SANDOVAL: They have waited for weeks waiting to find out what would happen next. And now very much a he said/they said situation. So Eleni, thank you so much for helping us try to make some better sense of what's happening there right now. Thank you.

Eleni Giokos with that live report.

Let's go to you now, Leila. clearly the clock is ticking here. We saw this play out. I mean, we were on air last weekend when those -- when they failed to reach an agreement in Islamabad. And now there's perhaps renewed hope that they could finally strike a deal. Give us a sense of what we could expect come Monday.

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: So we are kind of seeing a situation in which Iran's not backing down from its red lines, which means that it's unclear what we're going to see in those negotiations.

And we have these big sticking points like the nuclear issue, Iran's nuclear program, Iran's missile program and its regional role. So it's very unclear how things are going to go. I think it's going to really depend on who comes to the table.

Now we don't know who's going to really be leading those. We're assuming that it's going to be the same teams that we saw the other week in Islamabad.

For the Iranian side, that's going to be Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf; Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister, and Ali Bagheri, who is also a nuclear negotiator. He was a key player in the JCPOA deal.

We also know that the Iranians, in the last round of talks, brought in technical experts, who are going to be key to get any nuclear issue over the line. Now there has been some back-and-forth. President Trump recently talked about Iran's uranium. Let's take a listen.

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TRUMP: We're getting along well, but who knows, who knows with anyone, but who knows with Iran in particular, this process should go very quickly. Hopefully that most of the points are already negotiated and agreed to.

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GHARAGOZLOU: Now the Iranians have said that they have not agreed to any concession and they have said that they're not going to be an exemption under international law. They're not going to be put aside and have to not follow anything other than international law. So we're not sure where this is going to go.

Now I will say, for the Iranians, it is quite a issue of sovereignty when it comes to the nuclear program. It is tied to their national identity. It is why it's a red line and we're unlikely to see them shift on this.

So it remains to be seen how they're going to close these gaps. Obviously, the ceasefire deadline is coming up and president Trump says he's not going to extend it.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

CNN's Leila Gharagozlou with that live report; also our thanks to Eleni Giokos as well.

Thank you both so much. Have a good day.

Aviation companies, they're currently calling on the governments to come up with a plan B if they start running out of jet fuel. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, it could create shortages in Europe within weeks as we just discussed.

Also, Richard Quest, we want to go to him now as he explains why airlines may potentially have to start making some pretty tough choices soon.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It's being called a sobering warning that European airports and aviation fuel supplies could be only a few weeks from running out.

Whether that's four or six weeks, nobody really wants to say. But the reality is that airlines are pretty soon going to have to start making decisions. Which flights are they going to prioritize?

If their fuel suppliers say, look, we've only got so much fuel. We can't supply everybody.

Then we'll start to see what's already happened with some airlines like United in The United States, which has announced a 5 percent cut in its flying program. It is stopping the least profitable routes, is what you would expect.

In Europe at the moment, they're still talking about changing aircraft, retiring fleets, maybe cutting back certain routes. But if this goes on much longer and the supplies continue to dwindle, then the real choice will have to be made.

Do we fly that one?

Do we fly that one?

Or do we cancel that one?

And then passengers will be left with Hobson's choice.

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Take it or leave it. It's pretty much like the airlines are doing when it comes to fuel -- Richard Quest, CNN, London.

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SANDOVAL: Oh, have some pictures out of Lebanon. It's just past 10 am there in the capital city. Some of these live pictures where you could see there's currently a fragile truce between Israel and Hezbollah. It is largely holding.

But Israel says that its troops will stay in its security zone in southern Lebanon, despite that ceasefire being in place and that it will also continue demolishing homes in the areas that are reportedly used by Iran-backed Hezbollah.

And now the truce is in place, many residents are deciding to rush back to their homes in southern Lebanon. And that's despite Israeli forces urging them not to do that.

Lebanese officials say that Israeli strikes killed at least one person on Friday after the truce went into effect. Lebanon's president says permanent agreements should be the next objective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOSEPH AOUN, LEBANESE PRESIDENT (through translator): I am ready to bear the full responsibility of these choices and I am ready to go wherever necessary to liberate my land, protect my people and save my country.

Today, we negotiate for ourselves and decide for ourselves. We are no longer a card in anyone's game nor an arena for anyone's wars and we never will be again.

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SANDOVAL: Thousands of supporters of Iran-backed Houthi rebels demonstrated in Yemen's capital on Friday amid that ceasefire in Lebanon that we just discussed. They wanted to show solidarity with Lebanon after the temporary truce with Israel went into effect.

The group targeting Israel and shipping in the Red Sea with missiles late last month and Israelis responded with airstrikes against Houthi infrastructure and killed a number of senior Houthi officials but none of the top leadership,

The International Monetary Fund has announced that it will likely provide Venezuela with financial support as it seeks to reengage with the petro state. The news is seen as a key diplomatic victory for acting president Delcy Rodriguez. It would be the first time that the IMF has engaged with Venezuela since 2019.

Reacting to the decision, Rodriguez said that unblocked assets would be used to fund public services in that country.

DELCY RODRIGUEZ, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): It is a victory for Venezuelan diplomacy because we are recovering not only the responsibilities we have within the organization but also the rights and frozen assets that our country has in this organization.

This will allow us to invest immediately in public services and the recovery of the national electrical system, which is so important and has been hit by sanctions. The recovery of the water distribution system is also very important.

So basic services will be addressed immediately with these resources that were blocked at the International Monetary Fund.

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MARIA CORINA MACHADO, VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): We will return and I know that soon I will be able to welcome each and every one of you and reciprocate the immense honor you have bestowed upon our entire country.

The keys, as you say, open doors and today they symbolize as the Venezuelan nation's opening up to freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: You just heard from Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, speaking in Madrid on Friday after receiving the city's ceremonial golden key, she presented there to the leader. The Nobel Peace Laureate's visit to Spain, it's all part of a broader European tour.

While in Spain, Machado met the country's conservative and far right leadership. She's using the trip to drum up support for her opposition party and its role in Venezuela's still uncertain future. She has not returned to Venezuela since receiving her prize last December and is currently under investigation there.

Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez saying that Machado declined to meet him and his government during her visit despite being extended an invitation.

Mr. Sanchez said that she did not consider the proposed meeting to be, quote, "opportune."

And currently we're monitoring the situation right now at this -- at -- as of in the coming hours. So we are expecting to see prime minister Sanchez and Brazilian president Lula da Silva spearheading a gathering of the global left in the city of Barcelona.

That summit aimed at defending democracy, multilateralism and also the mobilization of left wing movements against the far right, we're told.

Political demonstrations, they took a chaotic turn in Albania.

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SANDOVAL (voice-over): Protesters, you see them here, hurling petrol bombs at the offices of prime minister Edi Rama in Tirana on Friday. They demanded his resignation and also accused him of corruption.

Police using these water cannons and also pepper spray to try to disperse the crowds, increasing political tensions. They come after a special prosecution unit indicted Ramos' former deputy on corruption charges. Albania is seeking to fight corruption and organized crime as it tries to join the European Union by 2030.

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SANDOVAL: Authorities in Mexico City, they're being accused of mishandling more than 1,000 bone fragments as the country struggles to trace tens of thousands of missing people.

Mexican media reporting that the fragments were discovered recently and are being processed to find out if they're human remains. Mexico has more than over 130,000 people who are still missing, many of them possibly linked to decades of drug violence and cartel activity in that country.

The founder of one of the activist groups criticizing authorities that -- they actually said serious irregularities had been covered up.

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JAQUELINE PALMEROS, FOUNDER, UNA LUZ EN EL CAMINO (through translator): We have documented opacity, incompetence and serious irregularities in the handling of the remains and bone fragments. These are being covered up without an adequate technical methodology.

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SANDOVAL (voice-over): A sea of faithful. Up next on CNN NEWSROOM, Pope Leo's Africa tour, drawing some massive crowds. We'll tell you where he's headed to next.

And also coming up, a humpback whale stranded off the German coast. We'll have the latest, an update on its rescue operation. Stay with us.

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SANDOVAL: Tens of thousands of people taking to the streets in Lisbon on Friday to protest the government's controversial labor reforms. The center right government wanting to change the labor code to address structurally low productivity there. Eurostat data showing that Portugal has the fifth lowest productivity in the E.U.

Trade unions in Portugal say that the proposed reforms would erode the rights of workers, worsen job security and depress wages.

Nearly 6 million people in Haiti could soon deal with a life threatening lack of food. A newly published assessment says that the country is currently in a grip of a deepening humanitarian crisis. About 5.8 million Haitians are expected to face acute food insecurity in the coming months.

And those numbers are staggering. That is more than half of the population in Haiti. The crisis has been fueled by gang violence, mass displacements, economic strain and repeated disruption to markets and farming.

Also, armed groups have been expanding their control throughout parts of the country and the result has been the displacement of nearly 1.5 million people.

Well, Pope Leo XIV heading to Angola in the coming hours, his next stop on his 10-day Africa tour. This is going to be now home to one of the continent's largest Catholic communities, where he's expected to go.

But for the moment, the pontiff is still in Cameroon after visiting Algeria earlier this week. On Friday, he visited patients at the Catholic Hospital in Douala. Pope Leo offering his blessings and also prayed with both patients and staff at that facility.

Large, enthusiastic crowds have turned out to greet the pontiff during his time in Cameroon and also throughout much of his tour.

And stay with us. Much more on the way. Don't go anywhere.