Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Iran Disputes Trump's Claims on Agreement; Trump Says Hormuz is "Open" but U.S. Blockade Will Continue; Venezuelan Migrants in U.S. Left with No Consular Support; Lebanese President Calls for "Permanent Agreements"; Russia Targets University Students for Military Recruitment; Shakespeare's London Home Site Now Identified. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired April 18, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

President Trump expresses optimism about a deal with Iran, though he's also threatening to end the ceasefire if talks break down. We'll have a live report from the Middle East.

Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is completely open but warns that could change. We'll have the latest on the crucial waterway and its impact on oil prices and stocks.

Plus the concerns surrounding the anti-AI movement following the attack on Sam Altman's home.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber

BRUNHUBER: We begin with conflicting messages and confusion swirling around the state of the U.S.-Iran ceasefire. President Trump now says he may not extend the ceasefire after it expires on Wednesday if there is no peace deal. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Maybe I won't extend it but the blockade is going to remain. But maybe I won't extend it. So you'll have a blockade and, unfortunately, we'll have to start dropping bombs again. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. I think it's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Iranian officials tell CNN they expect the next round of peace talks to happen in Pakistan on Monday. President Trump claims that Iran has, quote, "agreed to everything"

but Tehran is pushing back.

A senior Iranian official says Trump's claims that Iran will make concessions, including forfeiting uranium stockpiles, are false. Now only a handful of ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz Friday, despite Iran's foreign minister saying it was now open to commercial vessels.

Tehran is threatening to close the vital waterway again unless the U.S. lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. Our team of reporters is covering all angles of this story. Leila Gharagozlou is standing by in London. But first want to go to CNN's Eleni Giokos, joining me now live from Dubai.

So Eleni, what are you reading in all this back-and-forth?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, there's the back-and-forth in terms of rhetoric and words and narratives that have the potential to completely move markets aggressively.

Like we saw the big selloff in the oil price yesterday on the back of this grand announcement around the Strait of Hormuz finally being open. But, of course, it always comes with caveats.

And the Iranian parliamentary speaker Ghalibaf posting this morning, saying that around this whole notion of opening the strait, it still has to be in Iranian designated routes. And, of course, with Iranian authority that has been given, you know, giving the permission for vessels to transit.

So we've got, you know, all this stuff around the narratives. But I want to look at it from a quantitative perspective. I want to look at the actual numbers and the data.

If I see what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz this morning, it's quite interesting to see a little bit of traffic. And there's four tankers that we've identified that have been able to transit completely unchallenged.

But when you dig deeper, experts are telling us that these four tankers are part of Iran's shadow fleet and two of them have been sanctioned by the United States. Now as they head down toward the Gulf of Oman, they're technically going to be coming head-to-head with the U.S. Naval blockade.

So what happens there?

Are we going to see warning messages sent to them and then turning around?

U.S. CENTCOM says that 21 vessels to date have been sent back to Iran. In the meantime, we've got this other graphic that shows 12 vessels that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz stopping in their tracks and then turning around.

Did they receive warning messages from the Iranians?

We still don't know.

But the question is, you know, what are the parameters around opening up the Strait of Hormuz for president Trump?

It really is one of those important focal points. And, of course, one of the big points of discussion come the next round of negotiations. And, of course, for Iran, it's a massive lever that they have against the global economy and, of course, against the United States as well.

So while we're seeing all this, president Trump is also thinking about it very differently. Yesterday, he was thanking Iran for opening up the strait. And he also said this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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.

[04:05:00]

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right. So, importantly, one thing that is on the negotiating table is what happens with Iran's nuclear enrichment. And the other important point is what happens with the Strait of Hormuz.

And these are going to be the key priorities. Kim, come those negotiations. Which side is going to budge first is important. But for now we're seeing vessels testing the Iranians in terms of that checkpoint in the Strait of Hormuz. And the Iranians testing the U.S. Naval blockade.

BRUNHUBER: All right. I appreciate that. Eleni Giokos, thanks so much.

I want to build off of what Eleni was talking about there. So I want to bring in CNN's Leila Gharagozlou.

So on these negotiations, I mean, the clock is ticking here.

What more do we know about the upcoming talks?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: So we do know that obviously, they're going to be in Islamabad. That's according to Iranian sources to CNN. We are expecting to see the same team led by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf,

the speaker of parliament; Saeed Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister, and Ali Bagheri Kani, who is a seasoned diplomat and nuclear negotiator.

Now it was said that in the last round of talks in Islamabad, the Iranians brought in technical experts. It's expected that they will do so again. These technical experts on either side are going to be really critical to getting any deal over the line, particularly on the nuclear issue.

Now the Iranians have their red lines. They haven't shifted on those lines. So we're having -- we're going to see some discrepancy between the Iranians and the U.S. on their missile program, Iran's regional role and the nuclear program.

Despite these red lines and not really seeing any movement, president Trump says that this process is getting along well. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And this process, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GHARAGOZLOU: Now the Iranians haven't been as optimistic on this. They have said that they haven't agreed to anything. They haven't made any concession. I do think it's also important to note that, while president Trump may want this to go quickly, these things take quite a lot of time.

Past nuclear negotiators, including on the Iranian side, have said, if you look at the JCPOA, it took many years, rounds of track negotiations and hundreds of hours of face-to-face negotiations to come up with a deal.

So it is very unlikely that we see something big come out of Monday. However, with the ceasefire deadline looming, perhaps we'll see some framework and an extension of the ceasefire. But we still don't know where things are going to shake out. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. Leila Gharagozlou, thank you so much.

Well, oil prices plunged and stocks soared after we learned that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopening. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell more than 9 percent Friday, at one point hitting its lowest level since March 10th.

And U.S. gas prices are starting to come down but the national average is still hovering above $4 a gallon. That comes after the Dow soared more than 800 points Friday, recouping all of its losses since the war with Iran began. For more on recent market movements, here's our David Goldman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: All right, so stocks that are really nice day to day, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both surging to record highs. The Dow not far behind. And it means that we are going to have a situation now where markets are going to be expecting something different from the oil market.

They're not necessarily watching are prices higher, are prices lower. In fact they might not even be watching the oil market at all. Earnings have been really, really strong for the stock market in recent days. AI is a driving factor for why stocks are higher.

If this peace deal holds with the United States and Iran and, crucially, if the Strait of Hormuz remains open to oil traffic, the market might have completely moved on. Now oil prices, we know, have been pretty high over the past many weeks as this war has gone on.

Certainly we're going to be looking for those to be falling over the next several days and weeks. But there's a lot that needs to happen for those to come back down to where we were before the war started.

First of all, the street needs to remain open and then all those production facilities need to come back online. That's going to take some time. It's not going to be right overnight like we've seen with that huge stock gain that we had.

[04:10:05]

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Pope Leo XIV will soon depart for Angola, the next stop on his 10-day Africa tour. It's home to one of the continent's largest Catholic communities but for now, he's still in Cameroon. That's where we see these live pictures right now as he prepares to celebrate mass at the airport in one of the nation's capitals.

In about three hours he'll board a flight to Luanda, where he's due to meet with the president, along with civic and church leaders. I want to bring in CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb, who's traveling with the pope and joins us now from Yaounde, Cameroon.

So, Christopher, what more can you tell us about what's happening right behind you there and this leg of the pope's trip?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, Pope Leo has just arrived here at the airport for the final mass of his time here in Cameroon. As you can see, a lot of people here. It's a festive, joyful atmosphere. People cheering, singing as the pope arrived.

There's a sense that the pope's visit has brought a lot of hope to a country that has struggled a lot with conflict. Pope Leo traveled to the heart of the conflict zone here in Cameroon in Bamenda on Thursday. He has made impassioned appeals for peace, reconciliation.

And also, of course, it's a country that, despite its material wealth, 40 percent of the people live in poverty. So Pope Leo, trying to bolster the community, here to support the Catholics who, of course, make up around 30 percent of the population.

A lot of them are out here and, you know, you can hear -- but there's singing, there's a lot of joy and the mass is due to start with Pope Leo at any moment. I think it's also important to emphasize that, you know, Africa is a place where the Catholic Church is growing.

It's a constant so important to the church that Pope Leo leads. And he does seem very at ease here. He, of course, was a missionary in the global south in Latin America for many years before he became pope.

And here in Africa, he seems in his element, outside of the Vatican, amongst the people in a part of the world which is so important to the Catholic Church. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, Christopher, we're just enjoying that singing, as a bed of music behind your live hit there. That was great. Thanks so much. Christopher Lamb joining us. Appreciate it.

All right. Still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, we'll look at how Venezuelan migrants are struggling to self-deport with no consular help and costly online scams. We'll hear a family's plea to return home. Stay with us

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:15:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is visiting Spain as part of a broader European tour. She spoke about her hope for Venezuela's future after receiving Madrid's ceremonial golden key on Friday. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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)

BRUNHUBER: While in Spain, Machado met with 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. Now Machado declined to meet with any leftist leaders during her visit, including prime minister Pedro Sanchez.

Promoting self-deportation has been a consistent theme of the Trump administration's migration policy. But for many, particularly Venezuelans who are without consular support in the U.S., the costly process has been painstaking. Many are left stranded. CNN's Carolina Peguero spoke to one such family sitting in limbo in Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pedro speaks to his family in Venezuela from a motel in Miami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

PEGUERO (voice-over): His story and that of these Venezuelan migrants is unusual in a country where thousands are fighting to stay. They are trying to go back to their country but they can't.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

PEGUERO (voice-over): They arrived in Miami from various cities across the U.S. And what was supposed to be a brief layover ahead of a flight to Caracas became the start of many overnights at the airport terminal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language).

PEGUERO (voice-over): Pedro says he purchased a travel document online to get home. Turns out it was fake. So now he is relying on family in Venezuela to obtain a permit for him to return home.

And with no operational Venezuelan consulates in the U.S., all he can do is wait. After days at the airport, relief came from Hermanos de la Calle, a Miami-based nonprofit that takes in families in need of shelter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because we respond to vulnerability, we've been bringing these families in.

[04:20:00]

As long as we can have them or as long as we can figure out what to do next.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

PEGUERO (voice-over): U.S. authorities tell CNN all three have registered to self-deport but they currently lack the proper documentation, despite signing up through the CBP Home app. Rumors of ICE detaining other migrants in their position deter them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language). PEGUERO (voice-over): DHS states that it only detains those illegally present in the country who chose not to self-deport. While the shelter continues to house families in need, Pedro (ph), Jennifer (ph) and Laila (ph) wait for answers -- Carolina Peguero, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon on Friday to protest the government's controversial labor reforms. The center right government wants to change the labor code to address structurally low productivity.

Eurostat data shows Portugal has the fifth lowest productivity in the E.U. Trade unions say the proposed reforms would erode workers' rights, worsen job security and depress wages.

The recent attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altmans home is exposing a dark side of the anti-AI movement. The growing fears that AI could take jobs and harm the economy have some people openly supporting violence against tech executives. As CNN tech reporter Clare Duffy found, those sentiments are raising major concerns across the industry

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH CORRESPONDENT: I spent some time looking into the suspect in the attack on Sam Altman's home, Daniel Moreno-Gama, and the online reaction to this incident. What I found is that there are corners of the internet where people were cheering this attack, calling Moreno-Gama a hero.

Saying that it was justified because of the risk that AI poses. And this appears to be representative of a radical flank of the anti-AI or AI safety movement that increasingly may be moving from anonymous online comments to dangerous in-person violence.

Just three days before the attack on Sam Altman's home, an Indianapolis council member had shots fired into his home after a data center was approved in his district.

Moreno-Gama also spent time in online spaces discussing AI safety risks. Prior to this attack, he at one point suggested Luigi (ph) and tech CEOs, an apparent reference to the accused killer of UnitedHealth care CEO Brian Thompson.

He also posted in forums dedicated to pause AI and stop AI. Those are more mainstream organizations that have disavowed this attack.

And I spoke with PauseAI CEO Maxime Fournes.

He told me, "Our response to this is going to be to double down on what we've always done -- peaceful, lawful advocacy."

He said, "I think it's very important that movements like ours, which are entirely peaceful, stay on top of what's happening because there could be much darker movements that start rising."

So obviously a very troubling trend here and I think it's going to be interesting to watch how the AI companies respond.

Whether they decide to start engaging even more with these more moderate, peaceful groups in an effort to address what are real concerns around this technology, including how it could impact the economy, our jobs, the environment.

So it's going to be interesting to watch the response from the AI companies here but obviously a very troubling trend. The suggestion of violence against the people who work in this space. Back to you

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: There are still many questions around the U.S. and Iran peace talks. President Trump pressures Tehran to make a deal. Still ahead, we'll have a report from the region and my next guest will help analyze the latest developments.

Also, from the front of the class to the front lines of an ongoing military conflict, still have the concerns over whether Russia is targeting university students for military services. Stay with us.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:25:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

Israel says it will keep some residents from returning home in southern Lebanon despite the ongoing ceasefire. Senior military officials say the IDF will set up a so-called yellow line to mark areas held by Israeli troops; 55 Lebanese villages will be inside that line and off limits to civilians.

Now that's happening just as many displaced residents are rushing back home, defying Israel's warnings not to return. More than a million people have been displaced by IDF operations in Lebanon.

That's happening as Lebanese officials accused Israel of violating the ceasefire. U.S. president Donald Trump has floated the idea of hosting Israeli-Lebanese talks in the next week or two. Lebanon's president said on Friday that permanent agreements should be the next objective. Here he is.

(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.

[04:30:03]

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: President Trump's putting pressure on the upcoming peace talks with Iran. He says he may not extend the ceasefire with Tehran if they don't make a deal.

The president early expressed confidence both sides were close to reaching an agreement. He said the potential deal would involve the U.S. taking control of Iranian nuclear material and that's a point Iranian officials have disputed. Here's the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We'll go in with Iran and we will take it together and we will bring it back, a 100 percent of it, back to the United States. If we don't do that, we will get it in a different form, in a much more unfriendly form.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Iranian officials tell CNN they expect the next round of peace talks to happen in Pakistan on Monday. CNN's Nic Robertson reports from Islamabad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it seems like the hardliners are taking exception to two things. One, they don't feel that the foreign minister's statement on the Strait of Hormuz was strong enough. They've added some conditions on it: where the commercial ships have to go, no military vessels and also that they have to get permission from the IRGC in Iran.

We've also heard, subsequent to that, the chief negotiator, Ghalibaf, the speaker of the parliament with his own set of tweets saying everything, all seven points that president Trump has tweeted about today or put on social media about today are false.

He is speaking here about president Trump's claim that Iran has given up enrichment, that Iran is willing to give to the United States its highly enriched uranium, the nuclear dust that president Trump talks about.

He's saying as well that -- the speaker is saying that the war cannot be won on lies. And he goes on to say, if the United States' blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues, then Iran will just shut the strait down again.

So this really seems to represent, you know, the tussle in Iran between the hardliners and the moderates. And it does seem that the negotiators now at the front of this, the foreign minister, the speaker of parliament, are feeling that heat from the hardliners.

I think, on the upside, what we've heard from the Pakistani foreign minister, who've been the mediators in all of this, they're saying 80 percent done. That means 20 percent left to go. Sources I'm talking to are saying that they're hopeful that more progress can be made.

And there is -- we're learning from sources that there is expected to be talks here again in Islamabad in the coming days, potentially as early as Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, for more on the U.S. and Iran peace talks, I want to bring in senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies, H.A. Hellyer.

Good to see you again. Thanks for coming on with us here. So in a way, it seems like we're reading two different scripts right now. The mediators in Islamabad sound pretty hopeful. President Trump's basically saying the deal is already in the bag but Iran is calling that total fiction.

How do you square these two things?

HA HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE AND SECURITY STUDIES: Thank you so much for having me. Always a pleasure to be on the program.

I think that this is something that we've seen for quite, quite a long period now where Donald Trump is presenting a certain narrative and the Iranians are presenting another. The mediators are just trying to be optimistic, I think, in order to try to get the mediation going and continuing.

I think the reality is, is that you have massive gaps between the two sides. I think there is actual real momentum toward negotiations but I think that momentum is fragile.

I think that when you saw a ceasefire in Lebanon, when you saw that tweet from the Trump administration, from Donald Trump himself telling the Israelis that they needed to back off, which was very poignant because there have been multiple ceasefires agreed with the Israelis over the last few years.

But the Israelis keep on striking, maybe at a lesser tenor but they still they still strike. And Trump put out that tweet. I think that that represents something of a diplomatic space that's opened up.

There was a conditional Hormuz for reopening as well. But all of these things are fragile. All of these things could be reversible within a few hours. So the core deadlock I think hasn't changed. The U.S. demands zero enrichment. Iran refuses that, offers time-bound suspension.

Iran still hasn't conceded on any of the strategic red lines, the nuclear issue, missiles, proxies/allies and Hormuz leverage. So there is.

(CROSSTALK)

BRUNHUBER: Let me, let me jump in because then you express a bit of optimism that there is movement but you know, those red lines that you talked about.

[04:35:00]

There are the key issues. And so far there doesn't seem to be any movement unless you take president Trump at his word that Iran has agreed to hand over its enriched uranium, which Iran is flat-out denying.

HELLYER: So let's be clear. This there's reason for optimism, only because, in comparison to where we were a few weeks ago, things are much better. There isn't an all-out war. There is -- it is indeed relative. But I think an important distinction. Right. We've seen talks take place.

Actually they were the highest level that we've seen between the United States and Iran during the Iranian regime, with the vice president, JD Vance going. We've seen, more or less, a stop of the war when it comes to Lebanon.

No, there hasn't been progress, I think, on the key issues. But I didn't expect there to be that anyway.

I wanted to see, is there -- is there a progress on actually having discussions around them?

And in that regard, there is. There is progress in that regard because they are actually talking about it. They've had one round in Islamabad. They've agreed to have another round of talks soon. All of that I think is good. Of course, it's not remotely sufficient but you have to start somewhere to get somewhere.

BRUNHUBER: You, you touched on the strait. I mean, we heard earlier from our reporter saying that Iran is threatening to shut the strait again.

I mean, what would happen if they were to close it again?

How central is the strait, to this, especially with the, with the U.S. and this counter blockade that they have, how central is that to the negotiations, do you think?

HELLYER: I think this is really a tactical issue, if I'm honest. I don't think that there's any scenario where the Iranians could continue to use the Strait of Hormuz as a point of leverage within peace time without the full cooperation and engagement of the sultanate of Oman. And I don't think the Omanis are going to do it.

I think the Omanis have already expressed very clearly they're not interested in doing that. They're not interested in, quote-unquote, a "toll booth" on the Strait of Hormuz. And the entirety of the Gulf Arab states, all of them, I think, would reject this.

And frankly, the world more generally that would see this as being threatening to maritime security. I just don't see the Iranians being able to use this past a certain point. What they have done already is proven that they can actually effectively close the strait.

But that's an-- I think that's a one -- a one-time trick in the sense that you can't use that in peace time. You can only say that, if there's war, that you can expect this to happen. In the past, every expert, I think, that really knew anything about Iran expected that it would happen but they weren't sure because it never happened before.

Well, now it's happened. So they know that. But I don't think that's something that can really be used too much going forward. it's certainly putting a great stress on the economic situation worldwide. So it is an ongoing tactical point right now.

But I think that the main strategic issues that need to be overcome are going to be the nuclear file, are going to be the missiles issue, are going to be discussions around proxies. And by the way, proxies will come like third place.

And, you know, I'm not sure that they're going to stop discussions on other issues. As a result, I think that, if we are going to see some a deal, I suspect it won't be in this round. And I do suspect that it will focus on nuclear and missiles as opposed to even getting to the issue of proxies. And the Strait of Hormuz point, I think, will fall away.

BRUNHUBER: Well, so listen, we're just getting in some word now that the spokesperson for the joint military command. The Iranian joint military command says that strait has returned to its previous state, which is closed and that it's under strict management and control of the armed forces.

Now we have in the past heard different things from different branches of the Iranian government.

I mean, what do you make of that?

Do you take that, you know, for face value, that the strait is effectively now closed?

And what are the implications if that's true?

HELLYER: So I consider the strait to be effectively closed because the Iranians are not allowing free passage. And the way in which they're allowing passage right now is to say, OK, you can come through our particular -- I won't say sovereign territory but going up closer to the border with Iran. And, of course, that's IRGC controlled.

[04:40:02]

Now having said that, again, the way in which authority is unfolding in Iran at present is not chaotic. It's not all over the place. I think that you do have formal ultimate authority being with Mojtaba Khamenei. OK.

You also have, of course, operationally, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And I think that the IRGC is in a far more supreme position than it used to be. So in terms of what's been stated there, I would take that at face value.

I don't think that anybody should really doubt that. I do think that again, it's a tactical issue. I don't think that this is something that is going to be able to stand indefinitely. You've also seen the Brits and the French say that they're going to take a force to the Strait of Hormuz to act as a defensive mechanism.

I think that that's going to be something that adds to the political pressure. I'd be surprised if it ever had to actually be used. But simply, the declaration from other powers that they intend to do this, once the Iranians see that's serious, I think that will also put another element of pressure into the mix.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, yes. Potentially an important development. But as you said earlier, things do change by the hour. Really appreciate getting your take on all of this as it happens. H.A. Hellyer, thank you so much.

HELLYER: My pleasure. Thank you so much.

BRUNHUBER: Growing tensions in Russia's education system. Some fear Russia is quietly escalating a campaign to pressure university students into joining its military as Moscow looks to sustain recruitment for its four-year long war in Ukraine. Clare Sebastian has more in the CNN investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is not a war- themed computer game. It's a recruitment video designed to convince students to join Russia's drone forces.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): You were told you were wasting time on video games says this clip but there is a place where your experience is especially valuable. The videos which began appearing on university websites and social media pages around the start of the year all advertise military contracts in Russia's newly-formed unmanned systems forces.

Here you see a gamer on the left, a drone operator on the right. One university captioned it "Choose the right skin."

SEBASTIAN: But behind the flashy PR, there is a darker side to this. Few students will speak out publicly but some of those we have reached, have told us anonymously that the pressure on them is rising.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Everything changed this year, wrote one student. All the top people in the university are now calling on students to go to war. Students at risk of failure are a common target, hardly consistent with an effort to form an elite brigade. In this video, sent to CNN by one student, a woman tells the group, "If I were you I would consider an option to join the drone forces. It will be as if your missing credits never existed."

Another student told us on a single day, in February, his university almost expelled a third of our group and forced them to sign a contract on the spot to keep their place. Through videos, posters and in-person meetings sometimes with soldiers serving in Ukraine, students are being promised an easier war experience, a one-year fixed term, an opportunity to serve far from the front line, huge payouts and high-tech skills and yet --

ARTEM KLYGA, RUSSIAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER: Everything is a lie. It's a simple contract with the Russian army without deadline, without special term.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): This is the small print. Russia's 2022 decree on mobilization, which was never canceled, states every military contract remains in force until that decree is revoked, no exceptions and no guarantees experts and anti-war activists say that the drone unit is where they'll end up. GRIGORY SVERDLIN, FOUNDER, IDITE LESOM: As soon as the person signs the contract, he is literally a slave of Ministry of Defense and he can be sent to whatever unit Ministry of Defense will need.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It is not clear yet how many students have been recruited so far. The Russian Ministry of Defense has not responded to CNN's request for comment. But none of the students we spoke to are buying it.

I don't find this nonsense convincing, wrote one. I'm deeply opposed to the military propaganda.

Among my classmates, no one is considering signing a contract, even those in a very difficult financial situation, wrote another.

Russian losses in Ukraine have been mounting in recent months, its system of enticing soldiers with huge salaries and bonuses under increasing strain.

KATERYNA STEPANENKO, RUSSIAN TEAM LEAD, INSTITUTE FOR STUDY OF WAR: There's a lot of estimates in terms of the recruitment getting more expensive for the Kremlin.

[04:45:05]

Which is why coercion is becoming more prominent (ph).

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The main battle for peace is inside you, claims this recruitment video. Russia's internal battle for manpower is escalating -- Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And the Russian defense ministry didn't respond to CNN's request for comment. After the break, sky-high gas prices are threatening one America great

-- one of America's greatest traditions, the family road trip. We'll get some insight along the iconic Route 66, as small towns and businesses gear up for its 100th anniversary. Stay with us

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:50:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BRUNHUBER: I want to go to Germany now, where rescue efforts continue in the quest to free Timmy the whale. He's been stuck on a sandbank for nearly three weeks, with rescuers now trying alternative methods to move him back to deeper waters.

Want to bring in CNN's Sebastian Shukla, who joins us live from Poel, along Germany's Baltic coast.

Sebastian, tell us, what's the latest there?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yes. Good morning from this Baltic island of Poel in northern Germany, along the Baltic coast here.

What I want to show you, Kim, is the beginnings of parts of this rescue effort. Today, behind me, you will see the German Lifeguard Association, in their yellow and red suits, in these dinghies and speedboats, that are soon going to be finding their way out toward Timmy, who's stranded on that sandbank out there.

Hopefully we'll be able to show those live pictures we have of Timmy. He's being tended to by a group of conservationists, a private consortium led by a couple of multi-millionaires who are endeavoring to free Timmy from this saga, which began with his first stranding at the end of March.

And since then he's been on a course of various different beachings along this part of the German coastline. The hope today is that they will finally be able to get him buoyant off this sandbank and moving back toward the North Atlantic.

But the way they want to do that is an incredibly elaborate operation.

The idea here is to be able to try and blast the silt almost, with the pressure washer, out from underneath him, where he's stuck; insert a sheet underneath him and then attach or affix effectively what's been described as almost like a pair of armbands to make him buoyant.

And then they are literally going to drag him through the Baltic Sea, around the coast of Denmark, through the North Sea and then finally, hopefully release him back into the wild of the North Atlantic.

But Kim, as I say, this has been such an ordeal. It has captured the attention of perhaps this whole region, if not the entire nation. And I know that Timmy has been brought to the hearts and minds of many around the world.

What we are hoping and everybody here is hoping is that today is a really good day for Timmy, for conservationists and for the wildlife and this particular whale in particular. Everybody here is obviously just hoping they're able to utter the words, Timmy is free.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, such a compelling story, Sebastian. So many people rooting for him. Sebastian Shukla, I appreciate that. Thank you so much.

Fifteen penguins have been released into the sea in Argentina following months of rehabilitation by a conservation group. The creatures came into the care of conservationists after suffering from dehydration, malnutrition and hypothermia.

Conservationists released them together as they're social creatures that tend to migrate in groups.

A chance discovery in an archive has revealed the exact location of the London home of William Shakespeare, exactly where the Bard lived in London had been a mystery for centuries. James Frater went along to investigate the site of this historical discovery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES FRATER, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): It's long been known that Shakespeare owned a home in London. But where exactly has kept academics guessing for centuries.

That is until now. It's generally believed that somewhere between the river and Saint Paul's Cathedral here in Blackfriars in these narrow streets that his property used to be. This modest blue plaque cautiously declares that the playwright purchased lodgings near this site.

But in new research by Lucy Monroe at London's King's College, this plaque is actually spot on. This is exactly where Shakespeare lived at 5 St. Andrews Hill.

So what did his house actually look like?

Monroe says the property was L-shaped, not massive but relatively substantial. And it would have sat above the gateway to a 13th century friary that used to stand here. Seventeenth century Blackfriars would have been a lively mix of people, gentry rubbing shoulders with an increasing number of tradespeople according to Monroe.

In her research, there were tennis courts nearby, there was a bowling alley and many, many other entertainment venues. But also, there was the pub just next door where perhaps the bard enjoyed a drink or two.

Crucially for Shakespeare, it was less than a five-minute walk from the Blackfriars Playhouse.

[04:55:00]

And just across the river from the famous Globe Theatre.

The original house didn't survive the great fire of London in 1666 and is one of the reasons why the exact location has remained such a mystery. But at long last, no plague upon any houses as we now know exactly where his house stood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The first round of the NBA playoffs will tip off later today. The Phoenix Suns held off Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors in their play-in game Friday night. Their reward is a series against the defending champions, Thunder.

And the Orlando Magic trounced the visiting Charlotte Hornets in their play-in game. Orlando takes on the top-seeded Pistons in Detroit starting on Sunday.

All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment