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Trump Warns "Clock Is Ticking" For Iran As Peace Progress Stalls; Trump Targets Political Rivals Ahead Of Midterms; Ukraine Launches Largest Drone Assault On Moscow; Cubans Prepare For 'Invasion' As Tensions Escalate; Thunderstorm And Tornado Threat For Millions In Central U.S.; CDC To Deploy Resources To Ebola Outbreak In DRC And Uganda; Cruise Ship Hit By Hantavirus Outbreak Docks In Rotterdam. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 18, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

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[04:00:27]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey everybody, thank you so much for starting your workweek with us. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York, and this is CNN Newsroom.

Time is of the essence. Donald Trump's patience appears to be wearing thin as the U.S. president weighs his options in ending the war with Iran.

Plus, Cuba in crisis. The U.S. escalating tensions with the island nation as Cubans grapple with worsening humanitarian conditions and Ukraine launches its largest attack on Moscow in over a year, while the Russian president gets ready to travel to Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterpart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: Hey, let's begin with U.S. President Donald Trump as he issues a new warning to Iran as he considers resuming military strikes. He posted on his Truth Social account that if Iran doesn't act quickly, there won't be anything left of them, wrote the president.

And this threat comes just one day after Trump met with his national security team discussing the path forward when it comes to the war. Sources are telling CNN that the Pentagon has prepared a series of military plans should the president decide to resume those strikes.

We're also told that Trump is expected to meet again with his national security team in the coming days. And top Iran officials say hosted the Pakistani interior minister and underscored what they describe as the US's destabilizing presence in the region. CNN's Oren Liebermann joining me live from Jerusalem as he continues to follow the very latest. Oren, it's almost noontime in Tehran. Is Iran responding to this latest threat from the White House?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it doesn't look like it, at least certainly not in a diplomatic sense. Iran has been expecting the possibility of that the U.S. and Israel would resume military strikes against Tehran and against the regime itself.

So from where we sit, it's not like they're sitting in an uncomfortable position. They knew this was very possible. And as the U.S. and Iran remain very far apart on what would constitute an acceptable deal for a permanent ceasefire, there is a very real possibility that Trump makes the decision to resume strikes against Iran. And that's the point we're at now.

Trump has issued more threatening language on social media. We have certainly seen that before. But CNN has spoken with members of the administration who've said that Trump's patience really is wearing very thin, and that led to the threats that we saw on social media.

He met with his national security officials over the weekend. He'll meet with them again early this week as he decides whether to make that critical decision to resume strikes against Iran, and if so, in what fashion. The Pentagon has prepared different possibilities, including, according to sources, the possibility of striking energy and oil infrastructure in Iran. The risk there is that Iran will reciprocate and strike energy and oil infrastructure throughout the Gulf region.

And we'll see an even greater shock to the energy industry around the world and almost certainly an even greater shock to U.S. gas prices. And Iran knows that very well. So, too does Trump, and that leaves us where we're sitting now.

Trump also spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend. We didn't get a readout of the call, but I think it's safe to assume they discussed Iran. Israel's position is very clear. They always thought negotiations would fail and are very much ready to resume strikes against Iran. But that's a decision that relies on Trump.

Meanwhile, Pakistan, who has acted as the mediator here, has tried to create a window for diplomacy here. The Pakistani Interior Minister was in Iran meeting with the chief negotiator and speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, as well as the Iranian president.

But at least from what we've learned of the meeting, it doesn't seem like there is any great leap forward in negotiations. In fact, according to Iranian state media and semi-official state news, the Iranian message to the Pakistani interior Minister was that they see the U.S. as the destabilizing presence in the region.

So it doesn't really seem, Polo, like they're about to get back to the negotiating table and strike a deal. And that means Trump has a very crucial decision to make. SANDOVAL: Hard to believe those failed talks in Pakistan already happened well over a month ago. So much has happened since then. Oren Liebermann is always grateful for your reporting.

Several U.S. states are currently holding primary elections on Tuesday, and U.S. president Donald Trump is pulling out all the stops to punish his critics, even if they're in his own party.

Trump critic and Kentucky House Representative Thomas Massie up for reelection.

[04:05:00]

And the US President is sending Secretary of State Pete Hegseth to Kentucky to campaign for his opponent. Massie says he thinks he knows why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I'm the one they haven't been able to bully. So they're putting all the brunt and the force on me. But you can tell that I'm ahead in the polls and they're desperate. That's why they're sending the secretary of war to my district. That's why the president's losing sleep and tweeting about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: However, the president's outsized impact on the midterms it's pretty clear after Republican Senator Bill Cassidy lost the primary race for his Louisiana seat on Saturday. And this comes just five years after Cassidy voted to impeach President Trump over the January 6th insurrection. A political reporter explaining why Trump seems to be on a vindictive rage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINTONG BUREAU CHIEF, ATLATNA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: I think he's emboldened, quite frankly. He was very successful in taking out those Indiana Republican senators who stood in the way of redistricting. He's now been successful with Cassidy.

Quite frankly, in a year where Republicans have not had a lot of success, they can point to where they are successful is when Trump weighs in and says, this is what I want to happen.

And I think there are plenty of Republican candidates and incumbents that are looking at this and saying, hey, I got to stick with Trump, even if in my heart of hearts I don't agree with everything he does. They don't feel like they can speak out. Matter of fact, they feel like if they do speak out, if you do vote their conscience, they'll be punished. I don't know if that that's a way to keep a democracy going, but quite frankly, that is what our Republican Party is today. It's all about loyalty to Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: And crowds gathered on Sunday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for a day long prayer event that was backed by the White House. The celebration, dubbed Rededicate 250, a National Jubilee of prayer, praise and Thanksgiving. It's raising some constitutional concerns and questions about the separation of church and state. And the event was funded through a mix of taxpayer funds and private donations.

It included appearances by leaders like House Speaker Mike Johnson and even a video message from the president himself as he appeared to read a Bible verse.

The two shipping giants are suspending services to and from Cuba amid the ongoing blockade by the US. Together, they handle as much as 60 percent of Cuba's shipping traffic. The French company CMA, CGM and Germany's Hapag-Lloyd cited President Trump's executive order issued back on May 1st. The measure broadened sanctions on companies and individuals providing any assistance to Cuba.

And as the blockade against Cuba continues, the island's energy crisis seems to be worsening and the population continues to struggle with those blockouts. All of this has essentially led to some social unrest in some parts of the island. And this also comes as Cubans prepare for a potential US invasion and for the possible indictment of their former leader, Raul Castro.

Joining me now is Ed Augustin. He's an independent journalist based in Havana. Ed, thank you so much for joining us again to give us a better sense of what people are experiencing there.

ED AUGUSTIN, FREELANCE JOURNALIST: Yes, thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Given the perhaps increasing potential for a military conflict, describe the level of frustration or perhaps what regular Cubans are feeling. We know during the latest round of protests that some even told our reporting teams that they're angry with their own government for not being able to keep their infrastructure afloat in the face of the crisis that they've experienced for months now.

AUGUSTIN: Yes, it's quite paradoxical in a way, because if you look at it in any objective way and if you speak to serious analysts, the proximate cause for the huge power cuts that are happening and the lack of transport and the decreasing food production is and only can be the near total petrol blockade that the Trump administration has had on Cuba. That's now into the fourth month. I mean, if we think about this logically, capitalist, socialist, communist, well managed, badly managed, no country can function without energy. But that's not the way a lot of Cubans are feeling.

Cubans have got a pent up frustration, lots of them over many decades. This is a non-democratic system. It's a system sometimes that's not particularly good at dealing with frustration because there's no meaningful vote, as many people would feel. And an awful lot of people here blame the government for the crisis.

That was the idea behind the U.S. sanctions at the beginning. There's an infamous State department memorandum from 1960, the year that the sanctions started, that said that U.S. policy towards Cuba should aim to bring about, quote, hunger, desperation and overthrow of government.

And we're seeing that a lot of Cubans, we don't know if it's the majority, there are no polls here are blaming the government equally. A lot of Cubans, especially older Cubans, especially Cubans towards the east of the country that's always been the bastion of support.

[04:10:02]

I was there last week, blame the United States. So I think that there's a lot of opinions here in Cuba about who is really to blame fundamentally for this.

SANDOVAL: So that's -- so older Cubans, as you described, essentially growing frustrated with perhaps the Trump administration. So is it the younger Cubans who you speak to who are more concerned about the internal issues?

AUGUSTIN: Yes, I think that's fair analytically to say that the younger you go, the more people blame the government for everything, for all the economic problems, and there are many. And the older you go, people are more likely to blame the United States. And there's good kind of political and sociological reasons for that. Right.

The younger generation has grown up. I say younger. I'm 40 from my age down, ever since the 1990s. That's after the Soviet Union collapsed and all they've known is hardship and from their point of view, broken promises that there will be a better future and a government that promises equality.

They have seen inequality rise and in the last few years explode, whereas the older generation lived through a huge period of transformation where there were, you know, political rights infamously were hugely constrained and curtailed.

But in terms of education, the right to health, the right to housing, the right to electrification, it's quite ironic to speak about that these days when there's so many power cuts, but this government in the 1960s gave millions of people that never had it before electrification and food. The people that live through that, that are 60 plus now, tend to be a lot more supportive of the government.

SANDOVAL: I wonder if we could just pivot over to the CIA chief's visit to Havana last week. My colleague Patrick Oppmann reporting that the Cuban government basically tried to assure that Cuba does not pose a direct threat to the US. But that argument essentially fell on deaf ears, perhaps nearing the island, closer to direct conflict with the US.

In speaking with Cubans, is there concern that this perhaps could be inching them closer to seeing U.S. military intervention?

AUGUSTIN: I think that in the last week, there's increasing concerns that U.S. intervention is a real possibility. It's kind of a cliche here in Cuba, and your colleague Patrick put it in his article very well, that people say, Cuando Vienna, los americanos when the Americans come, because it's been, you know, the government's been warning for it forever in terms of people's lives. Right.

This government's been in power for 67 years, but the threats have been so repeated by the President of the United States and the attempt from the Rubio State Department. Marco Rubio's the first ever Cuban American to be the head of U.S. diplomacy have been so repeated in terms of trying to cast Cuba as a threat to U.S. national security.

No evidence supported for that claim. But clearly, if you want to invade a country, you need a pretext, and Cubans are wise to this.

So there is fear. There is fear from regular Cubans, I know that there might be war, that they might be in danger. People are very, very scared and with good reason.

SANDOVAL: If we see the U.S. government indict former President Raul Castro, do some Cubans there see this as a point of no return when it comes to diplomatic efforts?

AUGUSTIN: From what I've been hearing, the government might see that as a point of no return. They've been keen, the Cuban government. This is to maintain diplomatic channels with the United States. But some sources tell me that the government might see that if the indictment goes ahead and it's due to be unsealed this Wednesday, that might mean from the government's point of view, all negotiations are off.

I think it's important to draw a distinction between Cubans that are anti-government and Cubans that are pro-U.S. intervention. This government has lost an awful lot of legitimacy in recent years because living standards have nosedived so much. But there are many Cubans who that are anti-government but are also nationalists.

Nationalism runs very, very deep in Cuba, as it does in many Latin American countries. And I've spoken to quite a few people the last few weeks that say, I don't want this government, but if the Americans invade, I'll fight.

SANDOVAL: Some Cuban officials, even telling CNN that they would sacrifice their own lives if needed in the event of a potential conflict. Joining us is Ed Augustin. Thank you so much for your time, as always, and your perspective.

AUGUSTIN: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Severe weather currently threatening a large part of the United States. Over a dozen tornado reports and more than 100 hail and wind reports were already recorded on Sunday in parts of eastern Nebraska all the way through western Iowa.

Some volatile thunderstorms are in the forecast across much of the Plains states and Midwest through Tuesday. Neologist Melissa Nord has your forecast.

[04:15:03] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The severe threat intensifies on Monday after already seeing confirmed tornadoes on Sunday and baseball sized hail in some of the thunderstorms. Now for Monday, we have a level 4 out of 5 risk of severe weather. That includes near Wichita up to Topeka, Kansas in that red color on the map and that level two risk in yellow stretches as far east as Chicago and Detroit. Or we could see damaging winds possible with these clusters of thunderstorms.

There's already going to be some early morning leftover remnants of storms ongoing first thing on this Monday. But then as we wait and watch that daytime heating get underway, that will initiate new rounds of thunderstorms to develop Monday afternoon. And even you can see some of these starting to pop up over Kansas there. By mid to late afternoon they might start more discreet as supercell thunderstorms with large hail and tornadoes the greatest threat, then as we get later into the overnight Monday becoming more of a damaging wind threat there.

And then for Tuesday, not done with thunderstorms yet. Level 2 risk of severe weather from Dallas up to Detroit. Now on the backside of this, west of this dry line, we're expecting strong winds and also really dry air. So fire conditions, the conditions are really prime for any spark that ignites to spread very quickly.

You notice in that pink color. Amarillo, once again, extreme fire conditions likely with some of this wind gusts in the afternoon 40 to 50 miles per hour. And in front of this system, record heat, we saw records set on Sunday. We'll see more Monday and even Tuesday pushing further towards the East Coast.

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SANDOVAL: Commuters in suburban New York may see some impact this week as workers for America's largest commuter rail system continue their strike. Long Island Railroad Transit workers, they have been on the picket lines since Saturday. Sunday, negotiations between union representatives and railroad management, they went into the night, but they still have not been able to reach a deal on wages, health care contributions and work rules. And that's why many commuters are going to be returning to work in the coming hours.

It'll be the first weekday of this strike and officials say that extra trains will be on standby to try to keep up with demand. Shuttle buses will also be provided to bring residents from Long island to subway stations in Queens. So it's going to be a really tough commute for some.

A deadly Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. It has the world on notice. Coming up, the latest on the international efforts to help the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda try to contain that spread.

Plus, a cruise ship that was hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, it will soon be docking in the Netherlands with those last remaining crew members on board can expect as they finally get a chance to disembark. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:21:39]

SANDOVAL: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently mobilizing resources in Central Africa in response to the deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. It also says that efforts are currently being made to relocate a small number of Americans directly affected by this outbreak who reportedly may have been exposed to the virus.

Health officials are saying that at least 80 people have died among more than 200 suspected cases. And there are currently no approved vaccines or no treatments for this rare strain of the virus that seems to be driving this outbreak.

The cruise ship at the center of the deadly hantavirus outbreak is arriving at port in the Netherlands after weeks at sea. Dutch officials have been getting ready and preparing some quarantine facilities for the 25 remaining crew members and two medical staff who have been on board.

The ship will then undergo a full biomedical cleaning as well as a full disinfection. And global health authorities continue to monitor the contact and also contact trace those who have already stepped off the ship, including a newly announced presumed positive test for one of the four Canadian passengers.

So what happens next? Let's go to CNN senior international correspondent Melissa Bell joining me live from Paris. Melissa, a little over a week ago you were on the Canary Islands reporting on really many of the passengers who were disembarking, going through the proper process there. Will this stage look fairly similar?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think so. What you're going to see in the next couple of hours when the MV Hondius stops in Rotterdam after its journey from Tenerife, Polo, will be those 25 remaining crew, passengers mainly, plus a couple of medical personnel who will be disembarked in small groups, just as we saw in Tenerife when the 120 passengers and some of the crew members were disembarked safely.

They're brought out in small numbers and then on to their homeward destination where we continue to hear, as you say, some of those positive cases being found. You mentioned the passenger in Canada now confirmed to be one of the cases.

That's going to be what they're going to be looking for, for these crew members now to be disembarked in Rotterdam. So they'll come off in small groups and then they'll be tested. If they're negative, they'll be sent on to their homes for this 42 quarantine isolation period, where they have to stay at home. They can go out for small brief walks over the course of the day, but they have to stay at a fair distance from other people and, of course, protect themselves.

So their ordeal is not quite over. At least their return to life as it was is not quite over. But this is, of course, the situation just as it was in Tenerife that continues to be monitored by the World Health organization, with some 20 countries now having people inside them who are isolating and being very closely monitored for signs of this and his train of the hantavirus, even as the World Health Organization continues to monitor this particular outbreak linked to the MV Hondius.

Polo, you mentioned a moment ago, this new health emergency that's been identified in Africa, in sort of northwestern Congo and Uganda, now declared by the World Health Organization a health emergency of international concern.

We've also been hearing from the top African health official, the head of the CDC there, who's described himself as being on panic mode. And that is because, as you mentioned, this particular strain of Ebola is particularly difficult to contain.

[04:25:05]

There is very little to do against it. And the fact of its spread so quickly has really got these health officials on panic mode. And the health of the world -- in the case of the World Health Organization, once again having to monitor a public health emergency. Polo.

SANDOVAL: Add to that, no vaccine. So as the health official said, really it's about combating this for now with information and nothing more. Melissa Bell in Paris, thank you for that live report.

Following a drone attack by Ukraine, Russia has fired back with a wave of strikes overnight. We'll tell you why this wave of strikes is so significant.

Plus, a complex underwater recovery mission is underway in the Maldives, a dangerous one at that. The latest on the search for the bodies of four Italians who died in a cave diving accident.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. President Trump is currently weighing his options on how to proceed with the war with Iran. And despite his preference to settle the conflict diplomatically, sources are saying that the president is more seriously considering resuming strikes in Iran. CNN's Alayna Treene reports from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALAYNA TRENNE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump, fresh off his high stakes visit to China earlier in the week, convened a meeting with his top members of national security team on Saturday. He met with members including The Vice President JD Vance, the CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his special envoy Steve Witkoff, among others, at his golf club in Virginia to discuss the path ahead on the Iran war.

[04:30:2]

Now, this meeting came just one day before the president posted on Truth Social quote for Iran.