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Trump Says An Agreement With Iran Now Complete; Interview With Representative Adam Smith (D-WA); Pre-Fight Program Starts At White House UFC Event. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 14, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Sara has got -- there's a different side to Sara.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, man.

O'SULLIVAN: That you now will see.

JIMENEZ: Tap out. Tap out. That hand speed.

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) Omar, I'm a lover, not a fighter.

JIMENEZ: I don't know, Sara. That hand speed was a little quick.

SIDNER: I do know how to do an elbow cut.

JIMENEZ: Donie, you better get out of it. Yes, you see? You see?

O'SULLIVAN: We're (INAUDIBLE) about Sara.

JIMENEZ: Sara Sidner --

SIDNER: I don't want all of Ireland coming after me. OK?

JIMENEZ: I was going to say. I was going to say, don't start a whole international geo conflict here.

Sara Sidner, take care of Donie O'Sullivan out there. Good to see you both. Stay dry hopefully. We'll see what happens with the weather.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JIMENEZ: All right, everyone, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

The breaking news tonight, President Donald Trump says an agreement has been reached between the United States and Iran, and that on Friday, Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz for shipping and the U.S. will lift its naval blockade, allowing ships filled with crude oil to pass through. Pakistan's prime minister says the agreement signing will take place Friday in Switzerland. Pakistan has been mediating these discussions.

Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance telling FOX News he will attend and that Trump might go as well as sources tell CNN that the president wanted an agreement before he left overnight for the G7 Summit, expected to happen this week in France. Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs says Iran will begin to enact the deal on Friday.

We're covering the story from all angles. For the White House perspective, I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who joins us now along with CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

Nic, I just want to start with you. How would you characterize the significance of this moment and what hurdles are there still left to be had here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Look, I think it was very significant that there was -- all sides now have said that the agreement and that they did this today, and not just for President Trump's 80th birthday. There was a real potential for escalation late today. Israel had struck at Hezbollah targets close to Beirut because Hezbollah had struck into Israel. That had happened earlier in the day.

The Iranians, it appeared, were preparing to follow through on commitments they'd given to support Hezbollah across what they see as a wide battlefield, and that they potentially were preparing to strike back. So getting this agreement to end the military hostilities is significant to get it done today. They've reached the agreement. But it's not the signing. The signing, everyone has agreed that it's going to come on Friday, this coming Friday. It's going to happen in Switzerland.

So that's significant as well. There's going to be technical level talks, preparatory talks, if you will, that will go on through this week. But I think this essence of trying to capture the agreement and not let it fall by the wayside and not let spoilers get in the way of it, and it's significant that we've heard from the Iranian deputy foreign minister as well, sort of going along with these details.

But he does say that Iran's commitment to the talks in the future, and this is the sort of language we've heard from Iran in the past, it is dependent on the United States ending the hostilities, as they've agreed to do, opening the Strait of Hormuz, as they've agreed to do. But the Iranian deputy foreign minister goes on to say, and we want to see our frozen assets, our continued involvement in further talks and negotiations.

Of course, these 60 days to talk through the details of the MOU, very difficult, very tough talks to be had. But the Iranians saying their involvement in that is going to be contingent on getting these frozen assets. And that, as we know, is something that's been a very sensitive point that President Trump has not wanted to get into so far. And of course, we don't have the details of this agreement yet because it has not been made public and it hasn't been signed yet physically. So that's where we're at. JIMENEZ: And, Julia, you know, the White House, obviously a major

portion of these negotiations, and we had heard in the days leading up to this that there was a projection of maybe there's going to be a breakthrough. We're expecting it this day. We're expecting it another day. What are we hearing from the White House, and how do we expect their posturing either to change or to be moving forward?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, we had heard repeatedly from the administration, from President Donald Trump yesterday that this was expected to be signed on Sunday, also his 80th birthday. It's Flag Day. It's the day those UFC fights are taking place there on the South Lawn. No doubt a big day for him. But it may not be happening when he had hoped.

But this does seem, of course, like a significant step forward now that both sides are saying that there is this agreement in place. And Trump's confirmation that there was an agreement with Iran, it came shortly after Pakistan, a key mediator in all of this, the prime minister took to social media and wrote in part that both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon.

[19:05:03]

The official signing ceremony is expected to take place on Friday, June 19th, in Switzerland. And Vice President J.D. Vance, he spoke on FOX News not too long ago, and he said that he does plan to be at that signing, but that the president could be there.

Now Vance also outlined some core points that are going to be within this agreement. He said that one of those is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, also lift that U.S. blockade there in the Strait of Hormuz. He also said that there was a built-in assurance that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, would never pursue a nuclear weapon. Of course, we've heard that throughout this process that that is Trump's number one red line.

And then that compliance would be central to implementation that the United States wants to be able to verify that Iran is holding up its end of the bargain. Then I also want to point up a quote from Vance earlier today and read that for you now. In this same interview, he said, "I'm not going to say that everyone is going to sing kumbaya tomorrow. It's going to take a little bit of time to learn the ways of peace. But I do think we took a major, major step tonight."

Now, there are still questions on exactly what is included in this memorandum, but our understanding is it's going to trigger that 60-day period, lead to more technical talks. And a Trump administration official has told our team that it would include some of those top line commitments when it comes to Iran's nuclear program. Vance pointing to some of that there as well.

JIMENEZ: And the world looking on.

Nic Robertson and Julia Benbrook, appreciate the reporting.

I want to bring in Congressman Adam Smith of Washington. He's the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, I appreciate you being here. I just want to start with this agreement. Not directly an end to the war, a step in that direction with a lot of complex negotiations still to come. I just wonder, how are you assessing things right now?

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): I just take it as a positive. I mean, this war has had such a devastating impact, obviously on the Middle East, but on the broader world. We've seen so many lives lost. The global economy disrupted. If there is a path to ending it, that is a huge positive. So, I mean, the mere fact that we've made the progress that has been talked about, and Iran has finally acknowledged that, I think that there's hope for that.

I mean, now it's also worth noting that, you know, this really makes it clear that this war accomplished nothing for the U.S., put us back right where we were on February 27th, and only in a worse shape, because we're fighting over opening the Strait of Hormuz. It really points out that the folly of having started this war in the first place, but ending it should be the priority now.

JIMENEZ: And when you look at sort of what have, generally speaking, been the United States' goals, obviously now it's getting the Strait of Hormuz reopened on the immediate phase of things, it's eliminating Iran's nuclear capabilities and also eliminating funding of terror proxies, CNN has new reporting this weekend that sources familiar with U.S. intelligence say in recent weeks, Iran has escalated efforts to seal off its cache of near bomb grade uranium collapsing tunnels, placing explosive mines at entrances.

Does that say anything to you as we look to this next round of negotiations, where, again, it appears to be starting at merely getting the Strait of Hormuz reopened?

SMITH: Yes, that's specific fact. Not really, it's just shows me Iran was trying to prevent us from being able to come in and take it. But the larger point, getting back to why this war was such a stupid mistake in the first place, it just sort of takes us back to where we were. And this was the whole point behind the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement that President Obama negotiated. Iran is a problem, there's no doubt about it. They support terrorist organizations throughout the region. Their ballistic missile programs.

We would love all of that to go away, but we don't really have a path towards making it go away. So President Obama made the smart choice. He said, Iran's a problem. I'd rather have Iran be a problem without a nuclear weapon than be a problem with a nuclear weapon. And so we cut that deal. And then Trump stupidly tore it up, and now he's sort of limping back towards something very similar to that agreement.

And by the way, the Strait of Hormuz was not previously on the table prior to this war. Iran had not dared to try to shut it down. Now they have this leverage point. We've put ourselves in a weaker position. And I just got to believe a whole part of it was, you know, people love to talk about Trump derangement syndrome. I think Trump had Obama derangement syndrome. You know, whatever Obama was for, he had to be against. And he took us down this path to, you know, to a conflict that has been incredibly deadly and has left the U.S. weaker at the end than we were at the beginning.

JIMENEZ: You know, we've heard from Vice President J.D. Vance saying this agreement means Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. It does seem we're a long way away from that in terms of having that settled. But in terms of actually following through on that and being able to ensure that, do you see a scenario in which we don't have international monitors in the same way that that was happening under the JCPOA?

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SMITH: Well, if we don't have international monitors, then we don't have a solid agreement. So yes, that's what you need. And that's what, you know, the JCPOA negotiated. Keep in mind, Iran has always said that they have no intention of building a nuclear weapon. Now, I don't believe them. Most people don't believe them. So we wanted some guarantee of that. That's what was negotiated with the inspectors, with the limitations, with everything that was put into place.

So, yes, no, I mean, if this is going to work, ultimately you would need inspectors to make sure that Iran stays within the parameters of that agreement. But again, we don't know the details here, but it's very, very clear that Trump is not on a path to get any kind of a better agreement than what we had under the JCPOA.

JIMENEZ: I want to ask you about another dynamic that's been playing out through all of this. And I want to start with an exchange with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had today when he was asked about U.S. military stockpiles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGARET BRENNAN, HOST, FACE THE NATION: If there is a crisis with the stockpiles right now --

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: No, there is not. That is a --

BRENNAN: -- and private industry. You have testified --

HEGSETH: That is a manufactured story that the media wants to peddle.

BRENNAN: -- to it in front of Congress.

HEGSETH: And ultimately, we are -- our stockpiles are great. And they only get stronger because of the way this president has --

BRENNAN: You testified under oath that it would take years to --

HEGSETH: The Biden administration that gave away ammunitions to the -- you don't have to read back to me what I testified. I speculated some munitions take more time than others. We've got lots of them. We're building more than ever before. The Biden administration gave away hundreds of billions to Ukraine. And so President Trump had to refill. And he has. And we have in real time. (END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Strikes with Iran, the ongoing war in Ukraine, supporting Israel as well. Do you believe there is a crisis with U.S. stockpiles?

SMITH: Well, what I believe is that we're overextended, that we have too big of ambitions in terms of what our deterrence posture has to look like. To have to have enough munitions to be able to fight and win a war with China, in China, while at the same time dealing with Iran, dealing with Russia, dealing with North Korea, to have this huge ambition, we need partners and allies, and we need a deterrent strategy that brings in partners and allies and diplomacy. Not just imagining that we're going to be able to build enough weapons to overwhelm our adversaries.

And absolutely, the Iranian war has made that more difficult by expending munitions in a war that, again, left us in no better place than when we had started. But it's more about a broader national security strategy that doesn't rely on overwhelming force. All of that said, we also need to work to build better, cheaper munitions. And there's a lot of positive things that are happening out there.

We're getting off of some of these more expensive legacy systems, finding ways to deal with drones in a more cost effective way. All of that needs to happen. But to imagine that we could build some kind of arsenal that's going to absolutely protect us from every threat we face, not to mention the fact that we have a $40 trillion debt. That's what I really worry about, is an unrealistic national security strategy.

JIMENEZ: Congressman Adam Smith, I appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

SMITH: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right. We're going to continue to follow the latest on this announcement of an agreement between the United States and Iran. Up next, the former Middle East and North Africa coordinator on the National Security Council will join me live.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:06]

JIMENEZ: Let's start with the breaking news. President Trump tonight touting a signing ceremony set to happen on Friday for an agreement with Iran. Upon the signing of the memo, the Strait of Hormuz is expected to reopen and the U.S. will lift its blockade of Iranian ports, as announced by the president.

I want to bring in CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk. He's also a former Middle East and North Africa coordinator on the National Security Council. Brett, look, I mean, there's a lot of details we don't know about

what's in this agreement, but you do have experience negotiating with Iran. How confident are you in what's been announced to this point?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, look, I give credit to the painstaking effort it takes to get anything done diplomatically with Iran. And if this is a -- I would call this a respite from what has been a very hot war and this crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. But honestly, it's hard to really analyze what we have here because we haven't seen the text. And until we see the text, it's hard to know exactly what's there. And I think I'd want to really see that text to kind of assess where we are.

Iran is putting out tonight through their state media their version of the agreement. And it's not surprising that both capitals, Washington and Tehran, will try to spin things in their favor to their domestic audiences. That's to be expected. But, you know, they are saying some things that are concerning, that the Strait of Hormuz will be basically managed by Iran and Oman. They continue to talk about not charging tolls, but charging fees.

They're getting some upfront unfreezing of assets, they're saying. We don't know. And they're also saying that sanctions on their oil trade will be lifted or suspended. And that would really be a windfall to Iran and would remove some of the incentive or the leverage for what is the real negotiation, which this agreement is a gateway to over the next 60 days over the nuclear issues, which are extremely hard.

There's a reason the JCPOA, which is a controversial deal, but there's a reason it was 159 pages long because, you know, it left nothing really to chance, at least attempted to, because you have a party, Iran, you really can't trust.

[19:20:13]

And this agreement apparently is an MOU about two pages long. So a lot of questions. Look, I think if the strait opens, that will bring economic relief, macroeconomic relief to the global economy, to the American consumers. That's a good thing. It will also bring relief to Iran, which is under significant economic distress, but not to the Iranian people, to the system in Iran and the Revolutionary Guard. And we know what they do with those resources. So jury is still out. I think we'll learn more here over the coming days, but I'm hopeful that we'll see the actual text of this agreement so we can, you know, analyze it.

JIMENEZ: Yes. You know, it's interesting sort of parsing through the individual statements of the leaders and the prime ministers and individual countries to sort of see what's being put in the statement. I mean, you talked about the tolls or service fees that might come out of the Iranian side. President Trump seemed to make it a point in his statement to say the Strait of Hormuz would open toll free, and so signaling a little bit of the tension that might lie in whatever negotiations happen in the coming days.

And I just wonder on that front, look, a lot can happen between now and next Friday. Are there any particular issues that you believe might be the hardest to overcome in making sure that announced signing Friday actually comes to fruition?

MCGURK: Oh, yes. Five days in this part of the world is a long time. And, you know, Henry Kissinger had a saying about a successful negotiation. You might feel good in the moment, but it's actually an admission ticket to even more difficult problems. And with Iran, that is particularly true because the implementation, the execution of anything you might agree on paper is extremely hard because we don't really have relations with Iran.

We don't have diplomats in Iran. This negotiation was not done face- to-face with Iran. It's done through intermediaries. And in the Middle East region, anything can happen, as happened today. Today, Hezbollah fired drones into Israel. Israel responded. That almost unraveled everything. And one constant here, and I think one -- I've been in four administrations I've seen all permutations of Iran policy.

The one constant that I've experienced is the Iranian, their foreign policy, you know, their direction. And the Revolutionary Guard is very constant. And it is to expand their -- what they call their axis of resistance, their proxy networks such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and others in Iraq. Ultimately get the United States out of the Middle East region. And ultimately, it is their goal to eliminate Israel.

So that is what they constantly try to pursue. It's very serious, and that is the constant. And so, you know, that is going to continue. And I think that will continue over the course of President Trump's second term here and whoever his successor is until that system in Iran really changes. And one outcome of this conflict, that system has not changed. If anything, they had a secession. They have a new supreme leader, and they are doubling down on all their, at least what they're saying and what they seem to be doing, doubling down on all those policies.

So again, this is a respite. This is not like -- I would not call this a peace deal or some final resolution to this very difficult issue, which has been with us for 47 years.

JIMENEZ: And as you point out, negotiating is hard when there's a lot of different parties involved. So even just the announcement from Iran and the United States and Pakistan, who's been mediating these, that seems to be on the same page feels like an accomplishment. But as you point out, it's just a ticket to the dance. A lot more work to be done here.

Brett McGurk, appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

MCGURK: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Meanwhile, ships carrying oil could be crossing the Strait of Hormuz on Friday. Could be. We're going to talk about that and more next here.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:28:20]

JIMENEZ: President Trump says an agreement has been reached with Iran and will be signed on Friday, a deal that would extend the ceasefire and kick off 60 days of negotiations over more complex nuclear negotiations. Trump says the Strait of Hormuz will also be reopened on Friday, assuming the deal is or this agreement is signed, and the U.S. would then lift its blockade on Iranian ports.

We're joined now by former spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, Hagar Chemali.

Hagar, what's your assessment of what we're hearing from all sides tonight?

HAGAR CHEMALI, FORMER TREASURY SPOKESPERSON FOR TERRORISM AND FINANCIAL INTEL: Sure. Well, I -- there are a few things going on here at once. So on one hand, President Trump and the administration is viewing this as a success because they wanted a deal. They very much felt the pressure of rising gas prices certainly, as we approach the midterm elections. And he was trying to achieve a number of things at once, trying to quell Americans on those high gas prices, trying to convey a message to the Iranian regime that there's a threat of force, to his words.

Trying to quell our partners in the Gulf who were really pushing President Trump to accept a deal and have stability, return to that region because it's important to their economy. So Trump was really laser focused on that, and that's what he wanted, and that's what he got. But unfortunately, the other side of it is that the U.S. comes off weak in the way we brokered this deal and how we come out.

President Trump has said many times publicly that he doesn't want Netanyahu to pursue any of the attacks in Lebanon. By the way, Hezbollah is pursuing attacks as well Israel. He doesn't want Lebanon messing up with the deal because the Iranian regime keeps saying that if there's any violence in Lebanon, the deal is off. And instead of telling Iran, well, listen, Lebanon is not on the table, President Trump is catering to that request and saying, OK, fine, I'll tell Bibi Netanyahu to slow down there. And that is a gift to Hezbollah.

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OSCAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: You know, you highlight, I think, the complicated nature of these discussions here because obviously, look, you have Pakistan mediating talks between the United States and Iran. You have what have been strikes back and forth between Hezbollah and Israel and Iran, saying that there can be no deal without a ceasefire and stopping of aggression in Lebanon as well.

We've got five days or multiple days until whenever this agreement is expected to be signed. Do you believe that is the most risky or the riskiest factor to any further progress between the United States and Iran? CHEMALI: I do. I do believe that Lebanon is really the wild card here,

and I do believe the United States can show real strength there and say, Lebanon is not your business. Iran regime, it's none of your business. The Lebanese leaders have said as much. They have been desperate to separate Lebanon from the Iranian regime. They do not want the Iranian regime negotiating on their behalf. And we don't want to be seen as selling Lebanon to Iran.

And I'll explain why. I know that it sounds crazy to make it sound like a ceasefire is not in Lebanon is not a good thing. That's not what I'm trying to convey. It's a ceasefire with no deal. It's just saying, all right, everybody stop. Which means that there's no explanation as to whether or not Hezbollah gets disarmed and who does that, disarming.

There's no figuring out what part of the of the territory has no Hezbollah and the Lebanese military controls. Theres no explanation as to the relationship between the Lebanese military and the Israeli one, and also the U.S. involvement, U.S. military involvement with the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Without hammering all those details out and just saying like, okay, okay, we're going to have a ceasefire in Lebanon. The only party that wins in that effort is Hezbollah, because it allows them time to rebuild and rearm, which undermines the peace process that's currently happening between Lebanon and Israel.

And I understand, I worked in National Security a long time. I understand that things are complicated and that countries and portfolios get deprioritized or sold because of something else happening. But this is a peace process, a peace deal on a platter being served to President Trump, who says he wants a Nobel Peace Prize. That is Nobel Peace Prize winning stuff.

So, I would be very careful, not just because it's a shame to lose that opportunity, but also because we don't want to convey to the Iranian regime that they have any control or power on that, much less anything else.

JIMENEZ: You know, before we learned of this announced agreement, we had heard from an Israeli source that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was seeking an urgent meeting with President Trump after the G7 Summit, expected to happen this week in France.

The U.S. and Iran started this war with joint strikes on Iran more than more than 100 days ago now. But how aligned are the United States and Israel on this to end it? And how critical will them, being on the same page be to actually to any sort of long-standing deal?

CHEMALI: Sure, that's a great question, actually. From what I understand, even with things, you know, rumors that we've heard in the press, the Israelis, when it comes to a deal with Iran, really do defer to President Trump, regardless of what their hopes were. Their hopes were the fall of the Iranian regime. But by the way, that was the hope of the United States administration at the beginning of this war as well. But the U.S. has different pressures that it's facing, obviously, like

I said, domestic ones, gas prices and so on. And so, the U.S. is not, doesn't have the tolerance that the Israelis do at this time for this war. But Netanyahu understands the value of the relationship with the United States and is willing to defer to President Trump on that.

But on Lebanon, it's different and Netanyahu is showing that with the continued strikes. The strike that took place today in Lebanon killed a very well-known Hezbollah terrorist, Mohammed Daqduq, who has American blood on his hands. And instead of saying, hey, thanks for that. This is somebody who's been wanted by the United States for, for decades. President Trump had said that he came out and said that that strike should never have happened because the Iranians were getting nervous all over again.

Like I said, that's not the that's not how you negotiate with the Iranian regime. You tell them to go pound sand. Lebanon is off the table. And so, we're going to see the daylight show, if you will. That might be a strong term, but were going to see those cracks and fissures between the U.S. and Israel really play out in Lebanon more than on the Iran deal, specifically. The Israelis understand why Trump wants this deal. They may not like it, but they're supportive.

JIMENEZ: You know, so much, even just with the announcement today, so much still to be learned in whatever details are part of this agreement and in whatever minute technical negotiations were expecting to happen over the course of this week.

By the way, as the G7 Summit gets underway and will likely be a main topic of discussion, Hagar Chemali, really appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

CHEMALI: Thanks.

JIMENEZ: All right, we'll have much more in the breaking news when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:56]

JIMENEZ: We're back with our breaking news. President Trump announcing an agreement with Iran both sides say that they have an agreement that they will sign on Friday in Switzerland and would go into effect that day. The Strait of Hormuz would reopen, and the United States Navy would lift its blockade of Iranian ports. But a lot has to happen before that.

Pakistan's Prime Minister closely involved in the negotiations, says both sides agreed to end all military operations, including fighting in Lebanon.

I want to bring in retired Army Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, who joins us now. So, General Kimmitt, now that the U.S. and Iran are preparing to sign an agreement in the coming days, do you think this war achieved its goals, or do you just need to see more? BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET) U.S. ARMY: certainly need to see more.

What we might have is somewhat of an enhanced ceasefire. Agreed to, but in terms of war termination or peace negotiations, we're a long way from that.

JIMENEZ: Do you think to this point, I should say, do you think the war has deterred Iran in any different way from their nuclear ambitions than they may have faced prior to the military engagement?

KIMMITT: You know, that's a great question, because that's why we went to war. All these other issues about Hezbollah, Lebanon, Israel, the Strait of Hormuz, that in many ways are secondary to the fundamental issue why we went to war, which is the Iranian nuclear program.

We'll have to see. There's some discussion about the 300 kilograms of uranium dust that they have, HEU. There's a question about will we be able to inspect those sites to make sure they're not stashing away in the final agreement? It will be interesting if they are willing to talk about their nuclear infrastructure, a significant number of centrifuges.

So, if we can achieve in negotiations what we have yet to achieve by military force alone, then I think it will be considered a success.

JIMENEZ: Can you, you mentioned some of those other factors. Obviously, Israel, Lebanon factoring into this, the Strait of Hormuz has obviously become a flashpoint and pressure point as part of this war as well. But part of this deal is an end to fighting in Lebanon. That said, is Israel really bound by this agreement, if primarily it's between the United States and Iran? I guess bottom line, how do you see Israel factoring into whatever is agreed to between the United States and Iran?

KIMMITT: Yes, it's a very good question. The fact remains is that the United States and Israel have overlapping interests, but they don't have identical interests. And certainly, the case that, the Lebanon conflict is secondary to our objectives, but it's primary to the objectives of Israel. So, whether Prime Minister Netanyahu will agree to the demands made by President Trump, or if he will agree to the demands being made by his political right-wing, I think that's uncertain at this point.

JIMENEZ: You know, the President says the Strait of Hormuz will open on Friday upon the signing of the agreement. But he also notes that there are mines that would need to be removed. And just, I guess from a practical standpoint, what does that actually look like? It's my understanding that that would take a good bit of time.

KIMMITT: Well, we've already got underwater drones clearing them around the Strait of Hormuz, around the Omani territorial waters, and that's how were moving many of the ships out now, but it needs to be fully demined. It's good to see that some of our allies are out there, because they have far better, mine countermeasure ships than we do. They probably by a factor of ten, we, for the most part, retired ours and they are increasingly building theirs. But to your point, it will take a couple of months for a Strait of

Hormuz that would be considered cleared of mines, but more importantly, acceptable to the insurance companies before they'll allow those ships to fully go through the Strait.

JIMENEZ: And those are some of the key thresholds that at this point, again, to lay it out, we are just opening the possibility for more negotiations than from there. If one is actually struck, then there would be a period of de-mining, as we understand, but also a period of where these companies would need to gain confidence that this is indeed passable.

From a military standpoint, obviously, the U.S. Naval blockade is sort of the counter leverage to closing the Strait of Hormuz for the most part. But what would a sort of pullback posturing process actually look like? Because I can't imagine it would just be everybody go home immediately. Is there sort of a step back that would satisfy this deal, but also kind of ensure that this deal moves forward accordingly.

KIMMITT: Yes, I mean, it's very simple. That's a big ocean and those ships can, they're not linked arm in arm like a football line. They can easily load those tankers pass through that blockade that they've set up. So, it's just basically giving them permission to go through. That's very, very simple.

One thing you did say about the Strait, we are opening the Strait of Hormuz, but President Trump also said toll free. I listen and read Iranian press all the time and they believe that they have now established a new protocol where, yes, they will open up the Strait from their point of view, but they will still have the authority to impose this new protocol, which includes extortion, which they call tolls.

So, I think we still have even if it's open, the Iranians will do everything they can to continue to try to extract money, to allow ships to go in and out. What they believe is, is now this new protocol of their Strait of Hormuz.

JIMENEZ: And it's a preview of, I think, what will be a tension point. I mean, even in President Trump's statement today, he took the time to specifically say a toll free reopen Strait of Hormuz when we've seen posturing from Iranians, as you've pointed out, hey, maybe it's not a toll, but it's a service charge or something like that. But we will see. General Mark Kimmitt, appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

KIMMITT: Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: All right, meanwhile, a busy night at The White House with a UFC fight also scheduled to get underway. We're live in the crowd. We'll take you there, coming up.

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[19:51:22] JIMENEZ: We're expecting to see the President at any moment as he

attends the first of its kind UFC fight night at The White House, which is about to get underway. The pre-fight program, in fanfare just started a short time ago. These are live pictures that you're seeing right now.

President Donald Trump and First-Lady Melania will soon take their seats near the octagon that's been put up on the South Lawn, as you can see there, these championship cage fights are intended to honor the 250th anniversary of Americas founding, but the event also falls on President Trump's 80th birthday, which is today.

CNN's Sara Sidner and Donie O'Sullivan are at the event that has brought UFC fans from across the country to Washington, Sara, I still see you're in the octagon. Hopefully Donie is still standing somewhere because I don't see him in the shot. But what are you seeing right now out on the ellipse?

SIDNER: Donie is recovering, but he's going to be here in a few seconds. And he will tell the tale of what happened when the lights went off and the camera moved away.

I do want to show you the scene now. It is starting to get a little darker. We're about nine minutes away from the beginning of fight night. Basically, on tap on the South Lawn of The White House. Right now, the U.S. Army band downrange is jamming out. You can see the crowd is really filling in. Tens of thousands of people have shown up here to watch this. There are about 4,000 people that are stuffed onto the south lawn. Those are the VIPs, if you will, who are getting to see it in person.

But all around us are, you can see huge screens, so you can't miss what's happening and then you have the backdrop of Washington and the monument and the beauty of Washington. And yes, there has been a lot of controversy surrounding this.

Some people are really angry that this is happening on the South Lawn, which has been torn up by the UFC. But the UFC says, look, were spending $60 million, this is not being paid for by taxpayers and we will replace everything. But I want you to get to know one of the fighters. These fighters have some incredible stories. They have fighters from about 170 or so countries that take part in the UFC. This fighter, though, is from the U.S. his name is Michael Chandler. He's been fighting since he was 14 years old, and he will be on this White House card tonight, hoping to put a notch on his belt. Listen to what he says about training and what his life has been like.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: I've seen what some of your workouts look like.

MICHAEL CHANDER, UFC FIGHTER: Empty the tank.

SIDNER: I would say brutal.

CHANDLER: Yes, brutal. BRUCE BUFFER, UFC ANNOUNCER: Iron, Michael Chandler.

SIDNER (voice over): Dubbed "Iron" by fans, 40-year-old Michael Chandler is ranked 13th in the UFC lightweight division and has spent nearly half of his life as a professional fighter.

CHANDLER: I think moderation is for cowards. You know, I throw myself into the fire as hard as I can in order to increase my potential, increase my ceiling. You hit that point where you can't go any longer, and then you go a little bit further.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Okay, so Donie's here, proof that I'm a lover, not a fighter, and didn't hurt him. His arm is a little messed up.

O'SULLIVAN: You don't see the bruises, the bruises --

SIDNER: You can't see the bruises.

O'SULLIVAN: I'm badly, I'm badly, badly bruised. Inside and out, I will tell you.

SIDNER: But Michael Chandler, by the way, told me that you're always a little bit hungry and a little bit tired. So that's how he trains. And he's 40 years old, so, he's been doing this since 14. I mean, the man's been a little bit hungry, a little bit tired for a long time, but it also makes you a good fighter because if I'm a little bit hungry, I get pretty angry.

O'SULLIVAN: I'm always hungry and tired, and I can't fight at all. So, but I will say, I mean, having been here all weekend talking to people from the Lincoln Memorial on Friday night where they had the ceremonial press conference, obviously, here at the ellipse last night, there was a ceremonial weigh in. And of course, tonight we're going to have the big fight.

It's been a very surreal weekend here in Washington, D.C. I mean, you know, this this feels like a UFC event, right? And nobody here is really talking politics. Very few MAGA hats. Even this does not feel like a political event. It might feel, I think, a little differently at the VIP zone, where I'm sure we'll have a lot of MAGA personalities and things. But in terms of, you know, people watching at home and many people think it's disgraceful for all of this to be happening in Washington, D.C.

For the fans of the UFC, they are absolutely delighted. This is a dream come true for them. But I will say on top of everything, it is I mean, that's the White House just right there as we look through the.

SIDNER: You walk under feet away. I do want to just show you this. The thing that everyone is really worried about, if you will pay enough, my dear, and show Mr. McRae, our photographer Ronny is showing you the sky and it's starting to come in. The clouds, they're worried about thunderstorms, but so far, it's dry. A little humid, and it's pretty good fighting weather. We'll see what happens -- Omar. JIMENEZ: Thunderstorms are just part of your intro to the octagon.

When you walk up, that's just what that's just what happens. You know, it's an intimidation factor, Sara. Good to see you both. Maybe the first live shots -- yes.

SIDNER: Intimidation, this is this is how they start.

JIMENEZ: Yes, I love it, I love it. We'll see you guys later. Good luck out there. And hours from now, President Trump is going to leave for a major summit with world leaders in Switzerland and it comes just a short time after he announced this agreement between the U.S. and Iran, we're covering it from all angles. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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