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Trump: U.S. And Iran To Sign An Agreement; New York Celebrates Knicks Victory; "Peace Deal" Reached Between U.S. And Iran. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired June 14, 2026 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is "CNN Breaking News."
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the "CNN Newsroom," everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. We're going to start with some breaking news.
President Donald Trump says the U.S. and Iran are on the cusp of signing an agreement. Trump telling CNN political global affairs analyst and Axios reporter Barak Ravid that the signing is still set to take place today despite a delay over Israel's recent strike in Beirut. Now, Iran's military disputed that claim, as they have through a lot of this process. But according to a U.S. official, this memorandum of understanding will kickstart 60 days of more negotiations where the two sides can keep working through some sticking points like a long-term deal on Iran's nuclear program. If the agreement is signed today, it would also be on President Trump's 80th birthday. Trump is marking tonight with a White House fight night on the South Lawn in just a few hours that we are also following.
For more on White House perspective, though, I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook who joins me now. So, Julia, what is the latest on where this potential agreement stands right now?
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Donald Trump has said that this agreement with Iran is scheduled to be signed on Sunday. And as you pointed out, he says that he does believe that that is still on track at this time. We are now, though, more than three hours away from when he told Fox News that it could be signed within two to three hours. We're also waiting on official guidance and timing from the White House on this. There has not been a lot of clarity on exactly when this could take place.
CNN did just spot Vice President J.D. Vance arriving at the White House. He and other cabinet officials are expected to be there for the UFC fights, but that could mean they're close if an agreement is reached. But there are still lot of questions here. Iran has not committed to signing anything today, and there are differing accounts on exactly what is included in this deal. A Trump administration official says that it would then trigger that 60-day period for technical negotiations, but it would also outline commitments on Iran's nuclear program, including its highly-enriched uranium. But taking a little bit of a step back here to what Trump posted earlier today, he called on Israel to not strike Lebanon as the U.S. and Iran negotiate this memorandum of understanding. He said that the strikes that morning in Beirut should not have happened, especially as this deal that he has been working on appears to be closer.
I want to pull that up for you now. In it, he said this in part. He said, we are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks on Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace, adding -- quote -- "let's not blow it." We do not know at this point when or if this memorandum will be signed on Trump's timeline.
JIMENEZ: You know, a big question now, you know, this is again would be an agreement to sort of open up that period of more negotiations. But ultimately, something has to happen with the Strait of Hormuz at some point. I mean, that has been the stated goal of the U.S. and it has been the leverage of the Iranian regime. Do we know what is expected to happen with the Strait of Hormuz if an agreement to open that 60-day period is actually signed today?
BENBROOK: Trump has very confidently said that it would open immediately, but he has not provided a lot of details, and it would likely be a bit more complicated than that. In an interview with CBS earlier today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, he repeated that, saying it would open immediately. But then he said the U.S. blockade would stay in place for a little while as the strait opens and that it could take a while for this process to -- quote -- "fully mature" is what he said. So, then he said the process would start immediately.
JIMENEZ: All right, Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting. I want to bring in former deputy assistant secretary of state, Joel Rubin. He's also the author of the new book, "Saving Democratic Foreign Policy." So, Joel, I want to start with an Israeli source telling CNN that prime minister of Israel, Netanyahu, is seeking an urgent meeting with Trump after he returns from the G7.
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How aligned is Israel with the U.S. on an end to this war and how important is it if they're not?
JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR HOUSE AFFAIRS, AUTHOR: Yes, Omar, it's great to be with you. For Israel, this deal is like a pale shadow of the deal that President Obama negotiated a decade ago. And so, that's very concerning to the Israeli leadership. That is not what they bargained for when they entered into the military action against Iran several months ago.
And I think the other issue that we were just talking about earlier is there's a lot more than just this nuclear program that the Israelis are concerned about. There's the question about Hezbollah strikes against northern Israel, the missile program that Iran has. These are just issues that nag and nag and nag. And for the Israelis to see the president committing to a very short-term agreement that doesn't even talk about those issues is very concerning.
JIMENEZ: And we're still waiting to see the details of what any sort of actual final agreement would actually look like in terms of real negotiations in any sort of deal. But again, what we're waiting for now is even just an agreement to open up a period of negotiations. And, you know, you bring up the Hezbollah piece of all of these.
Last weekend, Israeli strikes on Beirut prompted, you know, an escalation by Iran. We're monitoring some back and forth strikes between Israel and Hezbollah this weekend as well. How central is what's happening in Lebanon to the overall U.S.-Iran agreement?
RUBIN: You know, Omar, there's a lot of factors that are going into the overall troubles in the region beyond just this nuclear issue. There's the Strait of Hormuz. There's the Hezbollah war. These need to be dealt with. And I think for the president, if he doesn't deal with them, it's going to undermine any agreement, any short-term agreement that he believes he can get right now in the Strait of Hormuz.
You know, Hezbollah launched strikes into northern Israel, which is why the Israelis retaliated into Beirut. That's not going to stop because he says, I hope they stop. He has to actually have an agreement to negotiate to end those issues. And if not, then we're going to likely be in the same place in a couple of months that we are in today.
And so, I fear that while it's the right process in the immediacy to get a deal to open up the strait and move to nuclear talks without having a fuller extended horizon focusing on these other issues, we're just going to end up seeing ongoing spoiler opportunities for groups like Hezbollah and the Houthis to just undermine any agreement if the Iranians are unhappy at the table.
JIMENEZ: You know, President Trump says the signing will still happen today. That remains to be seen as Iran has pushed back on this timeline as they have repeatedly, as you mentioned, over the course of the past few days. But can you just help us put into perspective the significance of this signing if it happens? Because, again, it just opens up this process for more complex negotiations. How are you thinking about this here?
RUBIN: Well, negotiating with Iran has been a devilish task, to be honest. It has been over two decades worth of negotiations by multiple administrations, Republican and Democratic-elect. The Bush administration had an ongoing process that led into the Obama negotiations and took years.
And so, then when President Trump ripped up the nuclear deal in 2018, we saw President Biden couldn't even get the Iranians back into an agreement. So, to just get some type of an agreement on paper that both sides sign on to, that will be a positive in the idea that there's at least some structure for negotiations.
But, again, the reason I'm concerned is that because these broader issues matter, they can't just be wished away or the president can't just say, I hope it's over and it should stop. They need to be dealt with, too. And they need to be dealt with immediately as well.
But within the broad scheme of negotiations with Iran, it seems like we are now in a 20-year ongoing negotiation and are many ways no better off today than we were even a decade ago when that nuclear deal got in place. It did stop their nuclear program, but here they are now with the nuclear program nonetheless at their fingertips.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, while we've been talking about Israel, Lebanon, U.S. and Iran, I mean, a lot of what's happening here is rippling out to many other countries, not just across the Middle East, but Europe as well in terms of oil prices and, of course, raising gas prices here in the United States as well. President Trump heading to the G7 summit this week, making this appearance on the world stage at a time, again, when the effects of the war are being felt around the world.
What do you believe is the most important thing to come out of the G7 or what are you looking for to come out of this summit that you believe will be significant either for President Trump, the United States or beyond?
RUBIN: Yes, Omar, from an American perspective, we have basically walked away from our allies, the Europeans in this case, the NATO allies in this Iran discussion.
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They were always with us at the table. It added to our power at the negotiating table and created leverage that the president has chosen to move away from. Now, he missed an opportunity when he went to China and met with Xi and did not get the Chinese to play any meaningful role in pressuring Iran to give up some of its moves in the Strait of Hormuz when he went there in April. So, now, here we are again.
And I think with NATO, for me, President Trump needs to get the NATO allies on board, the G7 allies in this case, to put a statement forward that says they are supportive of a negotiation process, that they will be in the room, that there are these other issues that have to be dealt with before any sanctions relief goes forward, and that they will be supporting the process to get there.
That pressure mechanism needs to be turned on. It's not being used by the president. He's allergic to dealing with Europeans diplomatically and it has weakened his hand. And we see the results, which is that with the Iranians, basically, the president is on his own, flailing in these negotiations, maybe going to an auto pen today to try to sign something with the Iranians and upsetting our Israeli allies at the same time. So, he needs to reassert American leadership. This G7 venue is an opportunity to do that.
JIMENEZ: A lot of factors at play. We will see if something is actually signed today. Again, it would just be an agreement to open up a period of negotiations. Joel Rubin, appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.
RUBIN: Appreciate you, Omar. JIMENEZ: All right. Meanwhile, back in the United States, in the Big Apple, the Knicks are NBA champs and it's an extra special win for one college coach. Coach Jay Wright joins us next. We'll talk about it. Plus, will Mother Nature knock out tonight's UFC fight at the White House? We're live as fans are ready for whatever happens. And then later, Senator Mitch McConnell now hospitalized in Washington. We'll have the latest on his condition. Stay tuned. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."
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JIMENEZ: In case you hadn't heard, a historic night for the New York Knicks. This is the moment the Knicks finish the Spurs on their home court, ending a 53-year-long drought, winning their first championship title since 1973.
Now, look, the game was deep in the heart of Texas. But New Yorkers made it a party all night long. Fans flooding the streets of the city. Police did have to step in as some in the crowd got a little out of control. They arrested 63 people last night. Ten officers were injured. We saw fireworks going off there near Times Square. Some school buses and police cars were set on fire. And a teenager was shot in the foot in all of the commotion and celebration.
I want to bring in now though former Villanova head basketball coach, Jay Wright, who not only coached three of the current Knicks players but in 2016, all three helped Villanova win an NCAA championship, including NBA Finals MVP Jalen Brunson. Two of them won a championship a few years later. Coach, what did this mean -- what did this win mean to you?
JAY WRIGHT, FORMER HEAD BASKETBALL COACH, VILLANOVA: Well, good to be with you, Omar. You know, you're like -- you're like a proud parent. You know, you're just sitting back and watching young people that, you know, you've known since they were 14, 15 years old, and you're watching them grow into men and leaders and really set their own standards and put a great city on their back, a great basketball tradition. It was -- it was really heartwarming.
JIMENEZ: You know, recruiting is such an underrated part of any college basketball coach's responsibilities. I know you know that. And I know that when Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart were on your squad, there was a lot of thought that went into them being there and how they would fit into what you were trying to do. What did you see in them then that you thought would make them right for what became that national championship team?
WRIGHT: Well, if you're honest, it all starts with talent. I mean, we saw talent right away. But there was a uniqueness about each one of them. Josh Hart was one of the greatest competitors that we'd ever recruited in high school. He was like that in AAU ball when he was 15, 16 years old, just an incredible competitor. Mikal Bridges, as a young guy, was very, very talented, yet played on
a team where he was extremely unselfish, did all the little things, would do anything to make his team win. And Jalen was Jalen in high school. Just what you see in the NBA is what you saw in college and what you saw in high school. Just a great leader, took his teams to incredible heights, state championship in Illinois.
But what was a common thread through all of them was really wonderful parents that always supported the coaching staff. They were old school in a way that when either one of them and all three were the same, all three, their parents, when they struggled, would say to them, hey, what does the coach say? Listen to the coach, which sounds simple, but it's rare. They were the most coachable guys we've ever had.
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JIMENEZ: So, you saw glimpses of the Villanova trio and the next trio as you're watching these playoffs?
WRIGHT: Oh, definitely. They have -- all three of them have a commitment to their teammates. And I could see it in OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns. They had all developed the same type of attitude. I think that's what Leon Rose and William Wesley were putting together when they brought in Jalen initially to start this build. All of those guys played in a way that -- they were coachable. You know, Tom Thibodeau started this.
And then when Mike Brown came in, these guys respond to coaching. They respond to each other. They don't have to be the star. They're going to play to win every game. And you can see it in different games. One game, Mikal would score a lot. One game, Josh would score. Sometimes, it was Karl-Anthony Towns. Sometimes, it was Anunoby. They didn't care. And they played that way all season. And that's what Leon Rose really built in this program. And Jalen is the perfect leader for that type of mentality.
JIMENEZ: You know, coach, there is a really interesting parallel I noticed last night. Now, I reminded of it seeing you here. You know, when you won the national championship back in 2016 on that Chris Jenkins buzzer beater, everybody in the arena is going crazy, everyone watching on T.V. is going crazy. And you're just -- you say bang, and then you're just stoic, and you go over to, I think, shake the other coach's hand.
And in this game, I don't know if you saw Jalen Brunson. When the buzzer hits, everyone is going crazy, everyone is losing their mind. And Jalen Brunson, stoic, goes over to shake Spur's head coach Mitch Johnson's hand before first celebrating. I see you nodding. Did you notice that at all? What would you say that is?
WRIGHT: I did. It was funny. It kind of surprised me because I wasn't thinking of how they were going to celebrate. I just wanted that game to be over. I wanted them to win. But when I saw him do that, I know it's a thought, it's a humility. That -- that could be me. I could be on the other side of this. And I also know it's a great respect for the Spurs and a great respect
for your opponent. It is hard -- it is hard to play at your highest level and be as competitive as you possibly can be unless you really respect your opponent.
And I know Jalen and all of the Knicks had great respect for the Spurs, the organization. But this specific team in how they competed, they were never embarrassed or down when they were down in games, which they were down in every game because they knew the Spurs were good, but they weren't going to give in and they weren't going to back down.
I think what you saw at the end was Jalen first thought being, hey, I respect those guys, respect your opponent, respect the game. That could be me on the other side. And it has been me. And I'll respect them first, then I'll go celebrate with my teammates. I've got all night and all year to do that.
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JIMENEZ: Well, coach, I still don't know how you kept your composure after that 2016 win and those initial moments. Your explanation makes sense with Jalen. You respect your opponents. But it was incredible to see from top to finish. I know you're feeling like a proud parent, too. Coach, appreciate you being here. Thanks for taking the time.
WRIGHT: Thanks, Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right. And we've been following some other news going on, including we've got some breaking news about Iran. We're going to update you on when we come back.
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UNKNOWN: This is "CNN Breaking News."
JIMENEZ: All right, we've got some breaking news for you. Pakistan's prime minister says an agreement between the United States and Iran has been reached. And President Donald Trump telling "The Wall Street Journal" he plans to issue a statement shortly announcing the agreement between the two countries.
We're covering this from all angles. I want to bring in CNN's Nic Robertson and Julia Benbrook, who are both here with us. Nic, I just want to start with you. What are we learning right now about this?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We're getting the first of the details about what's happening. And I think the most significant detail we're getting is that the Pakistan's prime minister has said that an agreement has been reached and that both sides have declared an immediate and permanent termination of all military operations. That, he says, includes Lebanon. And that's very important at the moment because, obviously, tensions have been raised over Lebanon because of Israel's strike at Hezbollah targets in the southern suburbs of Beirut during the day. Sources have been telling me that that has really incensed and angered Iran. So, that's a very important line there, that this is now a complete cessation, including Lebanon. So, it does seem to be a real effort here by the mediators to put a cap on this. So, agreement reached.
Now, an official signing ceremony. It says, in the prime minister's tweet, Shehbaz Sharif's tweet, it will be on Friday, this coming week, in Switzerland, it says. And with the agreement in place, he says that the mediators will now begin a series of meetings, sort of pre- implementation, foundational, he says, for the technical talks that will come as a result because we understand that once the signing has happened, that's when you get into this 60-day period of what's called the second phase of negotiations around this memorandum of understanding, the details of which haven't been released.
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This is just a statement saying that an agreement has been reached, but not the details of it. And the Pakistan is going on to thank both the United States and Iran for their efforts in doing this as well, thanking Qatar. We know that Qatari diplomats have been in Tehran today to try to bring this into land. So, their efforts sort of ongoing or have been through the day in Tehran. And thanking Saudi Arabia and Turkey as well, who've been playing a role behind the scenes in the diplomacy that has been going on.
But this is -- it seems to be a big moment, but it also -- we've been to this before, it's not signed yet. The agreement has been reached. And I think the mediators here are really trying to make sure that there is no breakdown in what they've achieved so far because the threat of escalations of tit for tat violence, missile exchanges, that's very real and it has been very real through this afternoon and this evening. Now, that seems to have -- seems to be an end to that. That's what the Pakistani prime minister is saying.
JIMENEZ: And, of course, a lot can happen between now and Friday, especially as we've seen the president criticizing the back and forth strikes between Israel and Hezbollah and as Iran has declared Lebanon essentially as a red line in these negotiations. Julia, just at this point, what are we hearing from the White House?
BENBROOK: Well, President Donald Trump, he just very shortly ago did an interview with "The Wall Street Journal" and they said that we should expect to see a statement from Trump on this imminently. This follows kind of a pattern that we saw yesterday as well. Pakistan, obviously a key mediator in all of this. The prime minister posted yesterday that he believed a framework could be agreed to within 24 hours. We then saw a post from Trump saying that something would be signed on Sunday.
That brings me to another point here. Trump has repeatedly said that this was going to be signed today. In fact, just hours ago, he told Fox News that it could be signed within two to three hours. That is not what's happening. The Pakistan prime minister is confirming that there is a deal, it has been agreed to, but it is going to be signed on Friday, June 19th, in Switzerland.
And we had learned from officials familiar that the decision to sign this virtually, which is what we had expected, had come about in part because they wanted to move this quickly. They wanted to avoid any last-minute changes, any last-minute spoilers. And mediators were concerned that the longer this went on, there was more of a chance that this agreement could be upended.
And it's important to note that this is in some ways going to be a deal to make a deal because this memorandum of understanding, once it is signed, it would then trigger a 60-day period that would then lead to more technical talks. It would also, though, we expect, outline commitments when it comes to Iran's nuclear program. Very important to note, everything I just outlined there, that's according to a Trump administration official. Iran has a different view of some of these items, so it will be really interesting to see the text, exactly what is in this deal that has now been reached.
JIMENEZ: And just to set the table here for folks, a lot of countries involved, but to lay out what the president's sort of schedule is this week, he's set to go and meet with leaders at the G7 summit. We know from an Israeli source to CNN that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested an urgent meeting with President Trump on the tail end of those meetings as well.
And Nic, I just want to ask you because we've got a lot of countries involved here, U.S., Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Pakistan, of course, in a mediation role. Can you just lay out how significant the Israeli- Lebanese Hezbollah dynamic right now is to the overall U.S.-Iran health of any deal moving forward?
ROBERTSON: The Iranians have insisted that there has to be a ceasefire in Lebanon, that Israel must stop striking Hezbollah targets inside of Lebanon. And Israel has said that Hezbollah must stop striking inside of Israel, particularly along that northern border area, but they've been striking deeper into Israel.
And this is, politically for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, really tough on the home front because there's a real sense that he hasn't been able to, the IDF hasn't been able to entirely neuter, if you will, the Hezbollah threat, that Hezbollah is still capable of firing missiles into Israel. So, it's very sensitive in Israel.
But Iran has made a really big play out of this since the get-go about the ceasefire. If you remember, as we went back into this ceasefire at the beginning of April, there was this backwards and forwards, was Lebanon part of it. President Trump put a huge amount of pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop military offensives inside of Lebanon so he could get a U.S.-Iran ceasefire up and running.
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That's what has happened. My understanding of the talks that have gone on is that Iran is not only demanding that there is a ceasefire in Lebanon, but that Hezbollah should be, rather than forced to put their weapons down, get rid of their weapons, should be able to keep their weapons.
Now, that was something, I understood, maybe a month or so ago, we don't know if that has changed, but there is a real effort by Iran to keep Hezbollah as a force, political and military presence inside of Lebanon and, therefore, a potential threat to Israel, and understanding, of course, that for so many years, decades now, Hezbollah has been a hugely important proxy for Iran to exert pressure on Israel. So, it's clear that they want to keep that in some strong shape and form.
So, that's where the sort of Lebanon piece fits in. But as Israel struck Hezbollah targets in and around the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah's understood to have their strongholds, that, you know, from an Iranian perspective, because only in the past week, they said that they would -- they consider that part of the same front, part of the same war, and they even struck back at Israel when Israel did a similar type of set of strikes just a few days ago, about a week ago. So, it was really on the cards potentially at this moment for Iran to follow through on its commitments to Hezbollah and launch missiles at Israel.
Now, the Pakistan's prime minister has sort of put -- drawn a line under that. I think just to underscore how sensitive that was, how close we may have been to that scenario of Iran striking back at Israel, Iran closed the airspace in the west of Iran. Of course, that would be the flight path for missiles on their way to Israel. So, things in the latter part of today did seem to get pretty tense on that front.
JIMENEZ: And as we've been speaking, President Trump posted on social media, the deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete. Congratulations to all. I hereby fully authorize the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz and simultaneously herewith authorize the immediate removal of the United States naval blockade. Ships of the world, start your engines. Let the oil flow.
Julia, you know, on multiple fronts here, it seems that, including the naval blockade and trying to prioritize the Strait of Hormuz getting back operational again, this is what President Trump is announcing. But how much of a priority has that been internally within the White House in terms of trying to get something out of either an agreement or any sort of deal?
BENBROOK: Well, the Strait of Hormuz has been one of the big areas that Americans are really feeling this, the pain at the pump. The price of gas has skyrocketed since this has all started. And those issues really did start there in the Strait of Hormuz following those first joint U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran, now months ago.
But Trump has said that as soon as this agreement is signed, even this just memorandum of understanding, this first part, that the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately. He has said that very confidently. And then in this post here, he says that he authorizes the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz. But it will likely be a little bit more complicated than that. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, he was asked about this on CBS Today. He repeated it will open immediately, it will start immediately, and then stepped back a little bit, saying that that blockade will stay in place as the strait is opening, that it will take a while for this process to -- quote -- "fully mature," is how he said it, it could take a couple of weeks to get everything going again but that the process to start all of that would begin immediately.
And on the timeline of all of this, Omar, we have heard so many predictions throughout this entire conflict since those first strikes happened. Trump said that this would end soon repeatedly. We heard it could be a couple of days. We heard it could be several weeks. And then there have been kind of these starts and stops when it comes to negotiations.
And just an interesting point because I know later in the show, you'll be speaking about the UFC fights, that's probably the first time we'll see Trump after this announcement. It has kind of brought me back to -- in April. I was covering this trip as Vice President J.D. Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, they went to Islamabad for these talks, more than 21 hours of talks, and Vance gets up there to say that they are leaving without an agreement at this time. While that was going on, I was actually in Miami covering Trump because he was at UFC fights there. Just an interesting parallel as we process through all of these.
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But no doubt he wanted a big win today. He is going to tout this as a win. But it's not happening on his 80th birthday. It's not happening on the day of the UFC fights like he wanted it to.
JIMENEZ: And Nic, you know, you pointed out some of this earlier. We have a long way to go between now and Friday. Can you just lay out some of the factors that might complicate actually bringing this announcement to fruition of an actual deal or process moving forward?
ROBERTSON: Yes. We still haven't heard from the Iranians saying that they've reached this agreement as well. What we have heard is from the president speaking about the need for national unity, speaking about the need for critics to stop criticizing the negotiators, that the country needs to sort of act from a position of sort of long-term strategic interests from its economic capability, from its sort of strategic capabilities.
So, you've had this narrative from the president in Iran trying to sort of -- who's viewed as a more moderate, who's sort of trying to sort of pave the way for whatever deal may come. But you've also heard these very hard line statements that have been coming not just from the sort of military national security side in Iran, but talking about their desire to continue to extract some sort of financial recompense for the Strait of Hormuz. They belief that they've won control of it through the war and that this is something that they wouldn't want to give up. So, I think there's going to be so much that is necessarily going to be packed into these 60 days of discussions once a memorandum of understanding is signed. But look, let's take a whole cold, hard reality check here. It has taken 60 days plus, plus since the ceasefire came into existence, the beginning of April, to get to this point, to get to a point where two out of the mediators and one of the sides can say that there is an agreement. The other side seems to be slipping in that direction. On the simplest of things, to say we can open the Strait of Hormuz, let's see how that works.
But the really hard stuff, the technical detail of, you know, how much of that 400 kilograms of highly-enriched uranium is Iran willing to see shipped off of its soil? How much is it going to demand to dilute itself? How much in what it considers war reparations and damages and frozen assets is it going to insist on having? You know, what's going to be the situation going forward? What's going to be the precise -- precise language around Iran's commitment not to pursue nuclear weapons in the future? What sort of timeline is there going to be on it?
And one very, very senior diplomat in the Middle East talking about this issue told me, you know, I don't care what happens to the highly- enriched uranium as long as it's diluted or removed, and I don't care about what Iran says about its willingness or not to pursue a nuclear weapon. What I want, a very senior diplomat said, is a long-term, never-ending international inspection of whatever Iran is doing in the nuclear field. These kinds of things, to negotiate this out in 60 days, I think that is somewhat dreaming. It's an aspiration to make a ceasefire hold and work. There's a lot to be done in those 60 days. It's going to be beyond tough.
JIMENEZ: A lot to be done, as you mentioned. A lot of big questions to be answered as well. Stand by for us. I want to bring in Alayna Treene for us who's in Geneva, Switzerland covering the president's expected visit to the G7 Summit this week. Alayna, do you have a sense of how this news is reverberating among diplomats out there or how this changes the dynamics of the president's trip?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Yes, look, I think there's no question that the president, Omar, really wanted one, this agreement to be struck on his birthday, but also before he heads to -- excuse me, to France for this G7 Summit with a number of European leaders. I remind you that this was going to always be a subject to conversation when he touched down in France, in Evian-les-Bains for this summit.
And this has also been a subject of major consternation between the president and many of these foreign leaders, including the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, including the prime minister of the UK, Keir Starmer, a number of others, of course, as well, particularly the president's frustration with them for refusing to get involved in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
From my conversations, Omar, with White House officials and Trump administration officials, they had really wanted him to go into the summit in a position of strength, particularly when it comes to this war with Iran.
[17:45:04]
And I think having this agreement reached, of course, it still needs to be signed. And until you have those signatures on paper, nothing is finalized. But the fact that this has been reached and announced not only by the president of the United States, but you saw this from the prime minister of Pakistan, of course, the key moderator, in all of the lens to that, and this is definitely being seen internally among the president's team as a win here.
Now, as for how this will be recognized and received, I think there's no question that many of these European leaders who the president is going to be meeting with in the coming days want this result. They want an agreement. They want that this to be settled, of course.
And I think Nic walked through this really well and explaining that there's still much that needs to be done. One, I think, you know, we have not seen the text of this. They have announced that an agreement has been reached, but we have not yet seen the text of specifically what this memorandum entails despite, of course, all of our reporting on what the United States has said it would entail, including, you know, an agreement to dismantle Iran's nuclear program, an agreement on obtaining and destroying their highly-enriched uranium, on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the president saying that they will end the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports immediately. But we need to see, of course, the details that is laid out in this specific text.
But despite that, I think a key question is what's going to happen in this now 60-day period. Once this memorandum of understanding is signed, they say on Friday, in Europe and Geneva, that triggers a 60- day period. And that's going to be a very, very crucial period to see how this is actually implemented. From all of the conversations, Omar, that I have had with officials, that is going to be, you know, they described it as highly technical negotiations, highly technical talks.
That is going to be a crucial period for the specifics on how they go about really implementing this plan and also the enforcement mechanisms in place for ensuring that Iran holds up to its word. And, of course, the Iranians looking for the United States to do that as well.
So, there's still a lot that needs to be discussed, and that will be discussed here on the ground in Geneva in the coming days, but definitely something that is being celebrated internally between the president and his team right now.
JIMENEZ: Yes, something that had been telegraphed in terms of some sort of announcement or some sort of breakthrough for being today in particular. Alayna Treene, really appreciate the reporting in Geneva ahead of President Trump's G7 Summit visit in France, as you point out.
Nic Robertson, I want to ask about the role of Pakistan because it's not the first time they have played party to negotiations among all the parties here, I guess, in this war, in this conflict. Specifically, I remember you were in Islamabad, if I'm not mistaken, around this first round of -- a previous round of talks, excuse me, back in either April or around that time. What is the role of Pakistan and why Pakistan in terms of helping facilitate these discussions?
ROBERTSON: I think one is that Pakistan has a good relationship. Asim Munir, the field marshal, the most powerful figure in Pakistan, has a good relationship with President Trump. And I think in the Middle East, countries were looking around to see who could play a mediating role. And for Pakistan being a neighbor of Iran.
You know, Iran is a Shia nation. That's, you know, the sort of minority group of Muslims. Sunnis and Shias are the main groupings most people would be aware of. Iran is a Shia country. And about 20 percent of Pakistan's population are Shia. And a number of the leaders in Pakistan are also Shia and also have a good relationship with Iran.
So, there was a good fit there. Pakistan has a strong military relationship now, military treaty, in fact, as of late last year, with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, of course, had a diplomatic rapprochement back in 2023 with Iran. That was something that was brokered by China.
So, I think when the countries in the Middle East and the Gulf were looking for who could fill that role, Pakistan really sort of wanted a step up and did step up and has put a huge amount of energy into it. You know, they've obviously hosted that meeting with J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner on the weekend of the 11th and 12th of April.
You know, I was there. It was talks all the way through the night. It began sort of early afternoon and it concluded about seven o'clock in the morning at that press conference where J.D. Vance came down and said, look, we just don't have an agreement, we have not heard from the Iranians that they are willing to commit not to have a nuclear weapon, there were a number of other issues.
[17:50:01]
So, there was a real near miss, and I think the mediators then thought, wow, we really thought we had it in the bag and it was all going to come into land. But for various reasons, it didn't. That sort of set the tone for what we've seen afterwards whereby, you know, you get the Iranians complaining that the United States shifts the goalpost. They agreed to something, and then the U.S. would shift the goalpost. That's how the Iranians framed it.
But those Iranian negotiators, Ghalibaf, the speaker of Parliament, the foreign minister, Araghchi, when they went back to Tehran, they were lambasted there widely because it was felt that they were sort of giving away too much. So, both sides here had constituencies that they needed to bring along. And everyone spoke about, you know, you have a ceasefire on the sort of Wednesday or Thursday, you have talks at the weekend. That's just way too quick to get substantial agreement.
We've had now 60 plus days of talks to get to this moment. And I think that speaks to the effect that Pakistan has had to try to bridge the gaps, to narrow the gaps, to offer something here, to tell the other side, you know, you can do this, we can get the other side to move here.
You've had Pakistan's interior minister in Tehran on several occasions. You've had the field marshal in Tehran for a number of days where he met at one point with the head of the IRGC, the sort of most powerful military figures in the country. Arguably, the most powerful -- most powerful figures in the country are in Iran, are the IRGC.
So, Pakistan really, you know, didn't sort of sit back in their capital and try to talk to both sides by phone. They ran around. They put in -- they put in the legwork. So, you know, they would hope that out of all of this, it at least shows them as a country that can bring stability in a region that they typically have been blamed for being at the heart of disputes with India, with Afghanistan along their border region. This was a real bright moment for Pakistan. They'll be very proud if they can land it.
But, you know, as we've said here, Iran's commitment, Iran has not said we've reached this agreement. They've not said we'll be in Switzerland on the 19th, June the 19th, on Friday. So, I think we're still waiting for that. I think the mediators will be confident that's going to happen. But it has been done by degrees, little bit by little bit, setbacks, setbacks, and small steps forward and persistence. I think that's -- you know, from the view that I've had of the process, that's what I've seen.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, throughout all of these, Pakistan has seemed to project a bit of optimism, especially in the last few days. I mean, the prime minister saying even just yesterday, we're closer to a peace deal than ever before, finalization likely expected in the next 24 hours. And so, it did see there was momentum there.
But we've been this precipice before. You know, tracking over 30 times as President Trump has said that the United States and Iran were on the verge of a breakthrough. As you point out, though, we still do not have the Iranian perspective on how much they plan to participate in what is being announced by Pakistan and the United States.
Stand by for me. I want to bring in Dana Stroll, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. As we've been talking about, this announcement of a deal of sorts and a potential signing set for Friday with mediation meetings sort of happening along the way from now until then, what concerns do you have? What is your reaction to what we know so far?
DANA STROUL, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, MIDDLE EAST: Well, first of all, we still haven't seen the text of this MOU. And we know that the MOU was really just an agreement to keep negotiating. As you point out, there's going to be mediator meetings all week before an official signing, presumably next Friday.
But then the real work actually begins because the agreement, as much as we understand it, since no one has seen the piece of paper, is this is an end the U.S. naval blockade, Iran opens the Strait of Hormuz. So, a minimal deal, open for open. And everything related to the big files, the nuclear program, all of those technical discussions get kicked down the road for a minimum of 60 days. So, first of all, we just don't know what's in this agreement and whether there's sanctions relief up front and what Iran commits to with respect to its nuclear program. And second of all, as we saw today, there's a lot of spoilers on all sides. So, there are probably people within the Iranian regime who don't want to see this agreement go through.
We could see more attacks in the Strait of Hormuz as news of this trickles down. We could see Iran's proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon play spoiler. It's going to require immense discipline from Israel if they choose not to respond, if they work with the United States on this and, of course, really deft diplomacy by the Trump administration.
[17:55:01]
JIMENEZ: You know, one thing that's interesting is the Pakistan prime minister, as he was sort of projecting optimism yesterday, said that there was preparation of an electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after some of those talks. And a lot of the thinking around that was, well, let's just get it signed, there's not enough time to organize logistics, and so much can go wrong while you're organizing the logistics, let's get that signed. And yet here we are a day later, and we actually have laid out plans, at least announced plans, for a signing ceremony with those days in between for mediation.
And so, I guess my question is, yes, we haven't seen a text of a deal, we haven't seen the particulars of how this will move forward, but what should the priorities be for the White House here? And I guess we'll workshop the Iranian side as well to build something that you believe would be able to last.
STROUL: Well, the first priorities should be getting two-way traffic going in the Strait of Hormuz. The global economy is at a standstill. The countries, especially at the Gulf Cooperation Council there, they need to rebuild their economies, need room to breathe. We have stranded ships on both sides here that need to get out. That's a humanitarian crisis. There are traumatized societies both across the Middle East and, of course, innocent civilians inside Iran. So, the priorities are humanitarian aid, allowing people to get some breathing space here, and get economic activity and life flowing again.
And then the big priorities are the nuclear program, the whole point of U.S. policy for decades now. Multiple presidential administrations have been ensuring that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon capability. We've tried diplomacy. Now, the Trump administration has applied an overwhelming amount of conventional military force. But we know that there's still a pile of enriched uranium inside of Iran. We need to see a public document that actually commits that they clarify they will never seek a nuclear weapon.
So, the next thing, the next priorities are this nuclear weapons program, their ballistic missile arsenal, their support for terrorism, all the big files that have been on the table and a subject of international consensus. That's a concern for a long time now. JIMENEZ: As part of what President Trump posted on social media, he said he fully authorizes the toll-free opening of the Strait of Hormuz and authorizes the immediate removal of the United States naval blockade. Just from an operational standpoint, what is the difference between putting out a statement versus who is actually monitoring how that naval blockade in theory would be actually lifted and what goes into actually getting that done?
STROUL: Well, first of all, a statement on Truth Social is not an executive order that goes through the Pentagon all the way to U.S. Central Command to give instructions about exactly what the disposition of that naval presence should be.
And just this morning, on one of the Sunday talk shows, we had a Secretary Pete Hegseth talking about a commitment to maintaining a certain level of military force in the region so that if the Iraq (INAUDIBLE) to not be holding up their commitments under this MOU, we can snap that naval blockade back into place, which means that for some period of time, the Pentagon is going to have to maintain a pretty serious level of U.S. military posture, both air power and sea power in the Middle East. So, I think probably news of this is trickling down across the bureaucracy, but those forces are going to have to stay relatively close.
JIMENEZ: A whole lot more to follow. Dana Stroul, really appreciate the time and perspective. Everyone, stay with CNN. Much more of our breaking news right after the break.
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