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Trump And Iran Announce Deal To End War; Oil Prices Slide After U.S.-Iran Deal Announced; Trump Hosts UFC Cage Fight On The White House Lawn; President Trump Heads To G7 Summit In France; Ukraine And Moldova Enter First Phase Of EU Membership Talks; Swiss Voters Reject Proposal To Cap Population At 10 million.Trump and Iran Reach Agreement, Includes Reopening of Hormuz; Trump To Depart for G7; Swiss Voters Reject Proposal to Cap Population at 10M; Iran National Team Arrives in U.S. Ahead of World Cup Debut; Australian Shark Attack Spark Push for More Drones. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 15, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:47]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church here in Atlanta. And we are following breaking news out of the Middle East.

The U.S. and Iran announced they finally have an agreement after months of negotiations and stalemates. A formal signing of the memorandum is expected to take place in Switzerland on Friday. Once signed, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and the U.S. will lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

President Donald Trump says the agreement with Iran would ensure that the vital waterway will be permanently toll free. But since Iran had not imposed tolls before the conflict, this would effectively restore conditions that existed before the war. President Trump took to social media to tout the memorandum, saying in part, quote, the leaders of the region have for the first time found a president who can help them achieve real peace. So let's bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann. He joins us live from Jerusalem.

Good to see you, Oren. So what do we know about what's in this agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran to end the war and what's still to be worked out?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Rosemary, despite all of the bravado and celebration from President Donald Trump and from the administration on the imminent signing of this deal on Friday, at least that's the expectation. We still don't know what's in it. We haven't seen the text. The U.S. hasn't released it. Iran hasn't released it.

Just about the only thing both sides agree upon is that it will open the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. will lift its blockade of Iranian ports. As you pointed out, Trump celebrated this as permanently removing the tolls from the Strait of Hormuz. Except that was a problem that didn't exist until the U.S. and Israel started this war. So this really just resets the conditions until before the war.

What else the agreement contains? Well, frankly, as of right now, that's anybody's guess. And there is sure to be a lot of spin both from the U.S. and from Iran until we see the text, which will hopefully happen on Friday. During the signing of the agreement, Iran has claimed that it involves the unfreezing of billions of dollars in assets. Trump has made claims about highly enriched uranium, about the nuclear program.

So we don't actually know what of this is true because nobody has released the text of the agreement. And that'll be key to understanding what's happening and what will happen as the U.S. and Iran enter 60 days of negotiations to try to get towards a final agreement.

Right now, it's simply about resetting one of the world's most critical waterways to the way it was before the war. Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Oren, what is the view from Israel on this agreement, given strikes on Lebanon had been a key sticking point in the talks?

LIEBERMANN: Well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke with Trump last night, has long been skeptical of Iran's intentions behind these negotiations and never believed they were negotiating in good faith. Netanyahu has made it clear that Israel preferred continuing the war in Iran, continuing the war in Lebanon, believing that the Iranian regime was at a weak point. So we'll see what this means for Israel. That's one of the other elements we don't know here.

What are the restrictions on Lebanon? What is the ceasefire it imposes on Lebanon, and to what extent will Netanyahu abide by that agreement? He's not a party to this, and he's been cut out of most of the negotiations, if not all of the negotiations, simply having his own conversations with Trump one on one.

Iran has demanded that Lebanon be a part of this ceasefire, that it be a regional ceasefire, not simply the U.S. and Iran. Israel had tried to prevent that from happening, had tried to separate the Lebanon front from the Iran front, but had failed to make that happen. And it seems Lebanon will very much be a part of the ceasefire. We just don't know how.

CHURCH: All right, our thanks to Oren Liebermann joining us live from Jerusalem with that report. Appreciate it.

Well, we are hearing from political leaders around the world. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented on the deal, saying in part, quote, this is a hugely important step forward in ending the war, ensuring regional stability and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

[01:05:00]

For any peace to endure, it is essential that the commitments made, particularly in relation to Iran's nuclear program, are robust, verifiable and fully implemented.

The prime minister of Qatar also welcoming the agreement, saying in part, we extend our thanks to our brothers in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, as well as to all regional and international parties that contributed to creating the conditions that conducive to reaching this understanding. We look forward to all parties engaging in the forthcoming negotiations in a positive and constructive spirit.

Well, news of a peace agreement had an immediate effect on global oil prices. And if the Strait of Hormuz is indeed reopened, those prices could drop even further. So here's a look at where they stand this hour. Brent crude is down almost 5 percent at 83.26 and WTI is down 5 percent. It's now at 80.60.

Now these are among the lowest oil prices we've seen since March. Markets in the Asia Pacific region are reacting to the news as well. The Nikkei, Sol Kospi and Hang Seng have all been trading higher in recent hours. Some analysts say even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens immediately, it could take months for trade flows to return to normal.

But the U.S. could see a drop in fuel prices in as little as a few weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM KLOZA, CHIEF ENERGY ADIVSER, GULF OIL: It's pretty easy to predict that we're going to see lower numbers in the next couple of weeks. We're already down about 10 cents overnight and the retail profits have been much higher than normal. The refiner profits have been much higher than normal, now probably come down to more normal levels. So, I wouldn't be surprised if the average price in the country is $3.75 later this month or even before July 4.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now is Amena Bakr, the head of Middle East Energy and OPEC Insights for Kepler. Appreciate you joining us.

AMENA BAKR, HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST ENERGY AND OPEC INSIGHTS, KEPLER: Thank you so much for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. So as we just reported, oil prices dropped in response to news Sunday of that agreement reached between the US And Iran to end the war and open up the Strait of Hormuz. What do you expect to see in the coming hours when U.S. markets open?

BAKR: Well, as you said, it was expected that once the final announcement is made around a deal being signed and the strait being reopened, the market would immediately trade those headlines and we'd see prices where they are today. But it doesn't mean that the fundamentals changed.

Underneath it all, we still have a supply shortage. And as you said, that it is going to take months to return back to normality. We still need to see the restart of production in the Middle East. We still have vessels that are trapped in the Persian Gulf that they need to get out of the strait, unload, and then come back again. So it's not an immediate process. And again, we're yet to see if Iran will hold control over the Strait.

What we're potentially celebrating here is returning to the status quo. We didn't have the situation before the war, so -- and we're just looking at a recovery or returning to pre-war levels, which isn't going to be an instant process.

CHURCH: And I wanted to ask you about that. I mean, pre-war levels were around $70 a barrel. How long do you think? I mean, are you willing to go out on a limb and guess how long it might take to get to that point?

BAKR: I don't think we are going to get to that point. I mean, the lowest that we're trading, I mean, we might go down to $80 perhaps if on Friday, indeed have a deal signed. But quickly, I expect prices to react to the fundamentals or the reality of the situation that, you know, we're not going to get this instant production. It's not a tap.

But to be honest, I have been surprised at the level at which markets were just reacting on sentiment rather than fundamentals throughout this conflict. There were lots of predictions around, you know, oil hitting 120, 150, but we didn't see that because of just, you know, traders reacting to the sentiments rather than reality.

CHURCH: And as the U.S. and Iran prepare to sign that deal to make it official on Friday in Switzerland and open up the Strait of Hormuz, what impact has this war already had on energy and oil prices and supplies across the globe? Has it been a permanent mark, a scar? Perhaps.

BAKR: It has been. I mean, it's a great reminder of how fragile energy security is and how important Middle East production is to the world. And I think this is a lesson where a lot of countries are going to be looking to refill their strategic stock, looking to diversify their energy sources.

[01:10:08]

And I mean, just again, holding importance that we can't have tolls on waterways that benefit the entire globe and ensure energy security. So these are all kind of lessons learned. And I hope that a lot of politicians don't have a short memory when it comes to this.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And we talked about price, but how long do you think it will take to return the flow of crude to normal levels and of course, for trade to fully resume? Because all of this takes time, doesn't it?

BAKR: Yes, of course. I mean, currently right now we have around 530 vessels that are trapped. Around 60 of them are crude vessels. So that's potentially around 120 million barrels. And just putting these numbers into context, that's just five days of normal crude flows through Hormuz because initially we had around 20 million barrels flowing through there. So these vessels need to go unload and then come back again. And then

we need a restart of the production and that's going to take three to four months. And I think we're just going to see the impact of this going into next year, Q1 or Q2 next year. So I do expect prices to remain at elevated levels. We're talking maybe $90 a barrel going into 2027.

CHURCH: And what's your biggest concern as we work toward Friday, the signing of this and of course toward the end of the year to the new year when it comes to the way ahead?

BAKR: Well, my biggest concern is just, you know, understanding that whatever they're agreeing on is real and it does materialize on the ground because we've seen this before. We've seen announcements around, you know, the straight opening and things returning back to normal. But when we look at our tracking, data, monitoring and so on, we're not seeing anything move so far. So I really hope that there's a real resolution. There are no tolls and Middle Eastern production manages to recover at a, at a faster pace.

CHURCH: Amena Bakr, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it. And your analysis.

BAKR: Thank you.

CHURCH: Thank you. And do stay with CNN. We will have more on the agreement to end the war in Iran throughout the hour. And we'll tell you whether Swiss voters decided to become the first country in Europe to have a population limit. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[01:17:05]

CHURCH: Story, the U.S. and Iran say they've reached an agreement to end their months long conflict. The deal is to take effect on Friday. It will include the Strait of Hormuz reopening to shipping. Tehran says 60 days of nuclear negotiations will begin once the U.S. meets three commitments which include ending the naval blockade, ending military operations against Iran and releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds. A U.S. official says no funds will be released before Iran implements its commitments.

Well, hours after announcing an agreement with Iran, Donald Trump joined thousands of people to watch UFC fighters brawl inside a massive cage just steps away from the White House. The event is just now coming to an end.

We're actually looking at live pictures here and the President had a ringside seat to watch all the action. He had long promised to bring the mixed martial arts event to the White House as part of the country's 250th anniversary celebration. But it also fell on Trump's 80th birthday.

The UFC paid $60 million in production costs, but U.S. taxpayers will be footing part of that bill. Well, earlier, our senior political analyst Ron Brownstein explained what political benefit the president may be hoping to gain from that UFC event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There is certainly a lot of overlap between the UFC fan base and the Trump electoral coalition. And in 2024, Trump clearly benefited from his association with kind of cultural developments that appeal to particularly young men who don't regularly vote and associating with the UFC and appearing on podcasts and all of these different ways.

He was able to kind of situate him himself in a cultural space and able to talk to voters who probably don't pay a lot of attention to us or to political news in general. The complication he's got, and I think that is still a positive for him.

The complication is what I was just talking about, though. He was elected above all because voters, including those same voters I'm talking about, felt like their cost of living was out of control. And one of the problems he has now, only about five months away from the election, is that not only do voters feel like he has not solve the problem, many voters, a majority of voters consistently in polls, say he has not focused enough on the problems he's seen more focus on his own causes, his priorities, his grievances.

And there is the risk that this is seen as just kind of another count and that him focusing on something that makes him feel good rather than on the problems that are making them feel stressed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And once President Trump leaves that UFC event at the White House, he's expected to be headed to France for the G7 summit, where he will undoubtedly hear from Western leaders about their thoughts on the agreement reached between the U.S. and Iran.

[01:20:02]

But he could face some friction when talk turns to issues of trade and the war in Ukraine. Israel is not a member of the G7, so Benjamin Netanyahu will not be in attendance. But an Israeli source says the prime minister is pushing for an urgent meeting with President Trump when he returns from the summit, presumably to discuss the negotiations with Iran and how they could impact Israel's operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

A deadly overnight Russian attack sparked a massive fire at an historic Ukrainian monastery in central Kyiv. Video shows flames raging in the monastery as crews battle the fire. The monastery is almost a thousand years old and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed and more than 20 were wounded during the Russian attack.

We're at these live pictures as we bring you this story. And at least five others were killed in a separate attack in the northeastern city of Kyiv.

Well, the Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump by phone on his 80th birthday Sunday. The two presidents apparently spoke for nearly an hour discussing relations between the U.S. and Russia.

Trump also spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who also wished him a happy birthday. Zelenskyy said he and Trump discussed efforts to end the war between Ukraine and Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PERSIDENT (through translator): We have one wish for President Trump, all Ukrainians do, that peace can finally be achieved, so that we can achieve this success together with America, together with all our partners. And President Trump's words today were absolutely correct, particularly regarding our Crimea. It all started with Russia's seizure of Crimea. And if there had been strong leadership back then, this whole war simply would not have happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the U.K. intercepted a shadow fleet oil tanker as it attempted to pass through the English Channel on Sunday. In a post on social media, Mr. Starmer said the tanker was on its way to Russia and that stopping the vessel helps Ukraine in its ongoing war. The ship is temporarily anchored off the south coast of England.

Meanwhile, the European Union will be holding initial membership negotiations with both Ukraine and Moldova on Monday. Ukraine's membership has previously faced opposition, mainly by Hungary's former leader, Viktor Orban. Orban was a staunchly pro-Russian leader who opposed providing European aid to Ukraine. But the country's new prime minister, Peter Magyar, reversed course and lifted Hungary's refusal of European help.

Switzerland has rejected a far-right proposal that would have capped its population size at 10 million as a means to limit immigration. Early Results show nearly 55 percent of Swiss voters oppose the idea while 45 percent were in favor. The referendum was put forward by the right-wing Swiss People's Party, which says uncontrolled immigration is hurting the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS AESCHI, SWISS PEOPLE'S PARTY VICE PRESIDENT: 45 percent Of the Swiss population said yes to limit immigration, to do something against those big problems that we have with illegal and criminal asylum seekers. So very strong sign to our government to change its policies, a very strong sign to the other parties as well, and a very strong sign to the large lobby organizations.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Foreigners make up 28 percent of the 9 million people in Switzerland. Opponents of the plan said it would hurt the economy by ending the free movement of labor between Switzerland and the European Union.

Protests in Albania are moving into a third week. Thousands of people marched in the streets of the capital. The so called Flamingo Revolution started as a fight against a planned luxury development on an environmentally sensitive coastline. The project is being led by Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner. Demonstrators are now calling for the resignation of Albania's prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDIT NALLBANI, ECONOMIST: And I see that all over Europe and all over the world there are people wanting to come to Albania and to protest for Albania because, you know, enough is enough and this is the time that we need to take Albania back and to make it great again.

OISI QAZIMI, PHOTOGRAPHER: This prime minister should leave. And it's not about any more flamingos. It's about health care, it's about education.

[01:25:00]

It's about people getting poorer and poorer every day. It's about people leaving their country because they don't want to live here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A former Italian army general is launching a new far right political party called Futuro Nazionale. The anti E.U. pro-Russia party was officially inaugurated in Rome on Sunday. Roberto Vannacci touted its nationalist agenda from migration to labor policies. He accused Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of going soft and called his party, quote, the real right. He also says the group already has 100,000 paying members.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has seen one of its biggest single day jumps in Ebola cases since the current outbreak began. Government data released on Sunday shows 72 new cases documented in 2014. That brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to almost 800, with 181 deaths.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization announced a $518 million partnership to help fight Ebola over the next six months.

Still to come, what we know about the agreement between the U.S. and Iran and what are the next steps after its signed. We'll take a look. Stay with us.

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[01:31:03]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone. The U.S. and Iran say they have reached an agreement and will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday. The U.S. president, Donald Trump says the U.S. will lift its blockade on Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz will reopen once the agreement is signed.

Meanwhile Iran's deputy foreign minister says one of the Iran's top priorities during the 60-day negotiations that follow will be the lifting of all sanctions. He says Iran plans to make sure the U.S. sticks to the agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAZEM GHARIBABADI, IRANIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): This Memorandum of Understanding was reached despite a complete distrust of our enemies. We have no trust in the enemy. Our trust lies in our military strength, our diplomatic capabilities, and the support and unity of our own people.

That is why the implementation of this Memorandum of Understanding is extremely important. We have specific plans in place to monitor the implementations of U.S. commitments under this memorandum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Julia Benbrook brings us more details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump says an agreement with Iran has been reached. His announcement came shortly after Pakistan, a key mediator in all of this, took to social media.

The prime minister, writing in part, "Following intensive talks, we are pleased to announce that the peace deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been reached. Both sides have declared the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon. The official signing ceremony is expected to take place on Friday, June 19th in Switzerland."

Now, this is different than what Trump previewed earlier in the weekend. He said repeatedly that it would be signed on Sunday, which is also his birthday. It's flag day. It is the day that the UFC fights were taking place there on the south lawn.

But now both sides have said that this agreement will be signed in the coming days. There are still some questions, though, about what is included in this Memorandum of Understanding. But it is our understanding that it would kick off a 60-day time period for technical negotiations.

And according to a Trump administration official, it would include an outline of commitments on Iran's nuclear program, including how the highly-enriched uranium would be handled.

Now, Vice President JD Vance, while speaking with Fox News, he outlined some of the core things that happened in this deal.

Number one, being that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened and that the U.S. blockade there would be lifted, that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon and that they would not pursue one. And then also that compliance would be central to implementation, that the United States will want to verify that the proper steps are being taken throughout this process.

When it comes to the signing, Vance says that he does plan to be there, but the president himself could be there.

Julia Benbrook, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Our Sophia Saifi joins us now live from Hong Kong. She's reported extensively from Pakistan. So Sophia, Pakistan thanked Qatar for mediating the U.S.-Iran agreement. But it also played a significant role itself in bringing the two sides together and getting to this critical point, didn't it?

What can you tell us about Pakistan's involvement in reaching this deal?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN: Well, Rosemary, Pakistan's been involved from the very beginning. The first announcement of the very first ceasefire was on the 8th of April, which was made then as well by Pakistan's prime minister, also mentioned Lebanon back then.

[01:34:45]

SAIFI: And ever since, you know, there were in-person talks for the first time since 1979 in Islamabad between the United States and the Iranians. Vice President JD Vance was in the country.

There's, of course, been a huge lack of trust between the Americans and the Iranians. And it's just this really sweet spot, really in history, as people might look at it moving forwards or looking backwards, that Pakistan's Field Marshal, Asim Munir, has a very strong relationship both with President Donald Trump, who called him his favorite field marshal many times.

But on the other side, he's also developed a very strong relationship with the IRGC. He's visited himself Tehran two times in the past two months. When it came to kind of getting to the very end of negotiations between Iran -- between the Iranians and the Americans.

Pakistan's interior minister has visited often as well. Iran's foreign minister came to Pakistan. Pakistan has a lot of -- there's a lot at stake when it came to Pakistan really making sure that these negotiations amounted to something.

Pakistan's foreign minister has just put out a post on X in which he said that this was a reassuring breakthrough for global markets and the international economy, especially for developing countries who are most affected. But what was happening between the United States and Iran, especially

when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz being blockaded and how that was affecting global markets and developing countries, especially, for example, in Pakistan, where there were lockdowns with regards to conserving fuel, et cetera.

Pakistan has a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia that if the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was attacked, Pakistan would then intervene. That obviously became quite problematic when Iran was doing strikes on Saudi territory.

So there have been many, many strains that have affected and led to Pakistan really -- getting really diving deep into making sure that these negotiations came to something.

And, you know, there has been an announcement of a ceasefire previously back in in April. They said that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened.

So we're just going to have to wait and see what happened on Friday and whether we get to Friday in Geneva as well, Rosemary -- and then moving forward.

CHURCH: Sophia Saif, bringing us that live report, appreciate it.

Joining us now is CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. Appreciate you being with us.

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Great to be there, Rosemary. Thank you.

CHURCH: Absolutely.

So let's start with the U.S.-Iran agreement that was reached Sunday evening and will be formally signed on Friday in Switzerland. What is your assessment of this Memorandum of Understanding?

THOMAS: Well, I think at this moment, I think the emphasis is really on the question of memorandum, right. And in 60-days' time, we'll see how this process unfolds.

Obviously, it's a positive development as President Trump heads to the -- to the G7 meeting. And certainly the guests, plus the G7 members will be enthusiastic about the fact that this conflict generated by President Trump looks like it may be coming to some kind of closure.

And I think that it's crucial going into these discussions where the G7 members very much want to be able to focus on issues that are also important to them involving Ukraine and so on.

And it will allow them to focus on this by maintaining a kind of positive atmosphere in the presence of President Trump and this recent development, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. And I mean, on that, sources did tell us that President Trump wanted the agreement in place before he headed to the G7 summit with European leaders.

What impact will this agreement have on the summit, do you think? And of course, the reception that President Trump will receive.

THOMAS: Yes. Well, there has been throughout his time in office, previously and currently now, the G7 meetings have been incredibly turbulent and ultimately have always evolved around the sort of performance presence of President Trump and how that will play out.

At the last meeting, he left early. In this particular case, they're eager to have him there and to be focused on agenda items that apply to the Europeans, but also the broader global members that will be there and represented.

So the fact that the Iran question that has so disrupted the global -- the global economy and placed all of these leaders under tremendous pressures based on military participation, disruption to the economy, and so on and so forth, this will be a positive development.

But it yet again, positions President Trump, which is exactly what he wants at the center of these discussions.

The key diplomatic skills of the leaders present there are going to be to get him to focus on a broad range of other issues, ranging from Ukraine, ranging from appeasing his rhetoric and support of the far- right parties in Europe and elsewhere.

[01:39:53]

THOMAS: And getting him to focus on important matters of international trade that are front and center around artificial intelligence, economic stability and so on moving forward.

And so in this particular case, I think it's a deeply-committed diplomatic offensive to work with this president, to realize that his role is indispensable in these particular debates and to try and appease him and move forward so that there can be a productive outcome of this particular occasion on this meeting, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Dominic, I do want to turn to another issue. The Swiss immigration vote, where Swiss voters rejected a proposal to cap the population at 10 million. Why do you think the motion failed?

THOMAS: Yes, it's such an interesting referendum in a way, because it had so many parallels and it's been compared to the Brexit situation.

And I think both sides of it are important. It was a vote purely driven by a far-right attempt to instrumentalize emotions and feelings around immigration. And that's precisely what drew supporters to leaving the European Union in the case of the U.K.

I think in this particular case, that experience of the U.K. and the way that the post-Brexit period has unfolded meant that at the end of the day, cooler heads prevailed and they realized that beyond these emotional debates, the economic and social realities of Switzerland today are not and do not correlate with that narrative of the far- right.

There's a realization of a demographic shortfall of an aging population, of the need of international workers. and so on. And the absolute reality that the stigmatization of non-westerners in Switzerland just simply does not lie with the majority of the population that is well aware of the fact that the majority of foreign nationals are not from these areas, that they've been trying to sort of stigmatize.

And at the end of the day, they rejected that. And I think that's an important step in Europe today, where so many of these far-right parties are shaping the debate in elections and in upcoming elections.

CHURCH: And what does this signal to you? Could you see what happened in Switzerland happening elsewhere in Europe?

THOMAS: Yes. Well, what's so interesting in just simply the European landscape is the sort of the inconsistency around these questions. Because the broader narrative and playbook of the far-right is one that was recently rejected in Hungary.

They attempted to pass a referendum in Switzerland. We know that next year the French elections are very much going to be driven by the far- right narrative of immigration.

We know in the U.K., with the upcoming by-election (ph), that will determine a potential challenger for Keir Starmer. Reform U.K. is very much playing on tensions around immigration that have unfolded in Northern Ireland, in England and elsewhere at the moment.

So we see sometimes these debates being rejected, and at other times tremendously of appeal to voters. And moving forward, it creates uncertainty, but it is very much still on the front agenda of elections in Europe.

CHURCH: Dominic Thomas, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate your analysis.

THOMAS: Thank you.

CHURCH: Thank you.

Still to come, more on the deal between the U.S. and Iran that could finally reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Our breaking news coverage continues next.

[01:43:06]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: President Donald Trump says the U.S. will lift its naval blockade, and the Strait of Hormuz will reopen as part of an agreement reached with Iran. The two countries are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday, kicking off 60 days of negotiations. Iranian officials say the next phase of talks depends on Washington

releasing billions in frozen Iranian funds, among other things. A U.S. official tells CNN that no funds will be released without Iran implementing their commitments.

The Iranian national team arrived in the U.S. on Sunday, just hours before President Trump announced the agreement with Tehran. This marks the first time in World Cup history that a host nation is at war with one of the participants.

The Iranian players faced multiple challenges ahead of the tournament, including visa delays, travel bans and their practice stadium being moved to Mexico. This comes as Iranian-Americans debate whether to cheer on the team or not.

Here's what one Iranian-American protester outside the team's hotel in Los Angeles had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOROUSH KRUMARSI, PROTESTER: How they can go to the choose the team that comes with the flag of Islamic Republic and national anthem for the Islamic Republic. This regime has occupied Iran for 47 years and destroyed Iran's culture. Everything in there.

That's why we are -- we try to -- revolution and change the regime in Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The group stage of the World Cup is starting to heat up as teams look to gain an early edge.

In Houston, four-time World Cup winner Germany made the biggest statement of the day, dominating Curacao, seven goals to one. This was the island nation's first World Cup game, and it's the smallest country ever to appear in the tournament.

[01:49:50]

CHURCH: Ivory Coast grabbed a dramatic 90th minute winner to beat Ecuador 1-nil in Philadelphia.

Japan faced off against the Netherlands in Dallas in one of the most entertaining matches of the day, scoring a late equalizer to secure a 2-2 draw.

In Vancouver, Australia joined the United States at the top of Group D after a 2-nil victory over Turkey in that team's first World Cup match in 24 years.

And Sweden trounced Tunisia, winning 5-1 in their opener. This is Sweden's 13th World Cup, but their first appearance since 2018.

Well, the Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions for the second time in their franchise history. The Hurricanes shut out the Las Vegas Golden Knights three to nothing to capture their first NHL title since 2006, winning the series four games to two

Hurricanes' rookie, goaltender Brandon Bussey blocked 22 shots by the Knights. Carolina Captain Jordan Staal was named most valuable player.

Well, after months of fighting. Washington and Tehran reached an agreement to end the war in Iran. Just ahead, we will have details on how soon we could see ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz again.

Back with that and more in a moment.

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CHURCH: Our top story right now. The U.S. and Iran have reached an agreement to end the months' long war. The deal is expected to be signed on Friday in Switzerland.

When that happens, Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz for shipping and the U.S. will lift its naval blockade.

Vice President JD Vance tells Fox News he will attend the signing and says President Trump may be there too. The U.S. and Iran have offered conflicting accounts of the next steps after the signing ceremony.

Well, recent shark attacks in Australia are renewing concerns over beach safety. Now, some officials are calling for more eyes in the sky, hoping technology can help track shark movements along the country's busy coasts.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery has our report.

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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More eyes on the water. A shark attack in Sydney is causing some officials to change how they monitor a popular beach for sharks.

On Saturday, witnesses at Coogee Beach say they were in shock when a large shark attacked a woman about 30 meters or 100 feet from shore.

NICOLA LOGAN, LOCAL SWIMMER: We had the shark alarm go off and then we looked out and thought it was initially, as you do, like a false alarm. And then we saw just a massive pool of blood and a lady kind of motioning to swim, lots of splashing and then a ski paddler was out trying to bring her in.

MONTGOMERY: Police say the woman suffered serious arm and leg injuries. And shark experts say it's not typical of most attacks because it happened on a sunny day in clear water.

MARCEL GREEN, SHARK PROGRAM LEADER, DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRIES AND FISHERIES: That wasn't murky water. It was crystal clear. She was swimming between the flags, you know, doing everything right.

MONTGOMERY: Many Australian beaches use drones to help watch for sharks, but Coogee Beach had restrictions on their usage because of its proximity to the Sydney Airport. [01:54:46]

MONTGOMERY: After the attack, the ban was temporarily lifted, with some officials saying it should be a permanent change.

TARA MORIARTY, NEW SOUTH WALES MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE: We want more drones in the skies above our beaches. They are the things that help us to monitor sharks faster and spot them faster, and be able to track them as they move in and out of beaches. But none of this is perfect.

MONTGOMERY: Learning how to coexist with sharks is becoming more of a priority, especially after a series of shark attacks this past month in Australia, in which three people were killed in separate incidents.

Over the past ten years, according to the Australian Shark Incident Database, the country averaged about 2 to 3 fatalities a year. But factors like population growth and climate change are increasing chances for encounters between sharks and people.

The latest attack in Sydney defies many of the usual warning signs of shark attacks. But experts say incidents like these are statistically low.

Witnesses at Coogee Beach say they're rattled by how quickly a day at the beach turned into a swimmer's nightmare.

MICHELLE DONOGHOE, LOCAL SWIMMER: Completely shaken because we're in the water here all the time. We train here, we swim out in that very spot pretty regularly. So yes, just in shock.

MONTGOMERY: Hanako Montgomery, CNN.

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CHURCH: The dogs of New York helped celebrate the Knicks' NBA championship. The Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 on Saturday.

This was the scene the next day at the Madison Square Dog Park. Basketball fans decked out their dogs in orange and blue, along with New Yorkers across the globe. Most of the humans showed up in Knicks regalia as well.

Saturday's win saw the Knicks secure their first NBA title in 53 years. New York fought back from a double-digit deficit for the second time in the series.

But it was a cat that stole the show during a production of Romeo and Juliet in Turkey last week. As Romeo dies, a curious feline decided to check things out and play with the star-crossed lovers there.

Juliet remained in character, mourning the loss of her love, but people in the audience couldn't hold back their laughter. The cat eventually made itself at home on a stage prop.

I want to thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. And we'll be back with more of CNN's breaking news coverage right after a short break.

Stay with us.

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