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World Leaders Discuss Ukraine Today At G7 Summit; U.S. And Iran Reach Agreement But Key Questions Remain; Politics Loom Over Pitch As Iran Plays Group Opener In L.A. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 16, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:09]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey everybody, good morning. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York and here's what's coming your way here on CNN Newsroom. Donald Trump is now meeting with world leaders at the G7 Summit in France after announcing an agreement that could potentially set the stage for an end to the war with Iran.

Plus, a U.S. military aircraft crashes just moments after takeoff in an incident that officials are calling tragic and unsurvivable.

And also, we'll tell you about a tiny nation that's shocking the world in their World Cup debut. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

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

SANDOVAL: And we do want to begin this hour in Evian, France, also day two of the G7 Summit. Ukraine is high on the agenda for leaders of the world's biggest economies. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joining the session at the invitation of French leader Emmanuel Macron. The summit's host is lobbying G7 members to solidify their support for Kyiv and also potentially to force Russia to negotiate an end to that war that's been raging for five years now.

Let's bring in CNN senior international correspondent Melissa Bell who is joining us from France. Melissa, so in the last hour we saw the Ukrainian leader welcomed by his French counterpart. Tell us what we expect in the hour ahead.

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The French president making his way through the gardens of the hotel all the way to President Zelenskyy's car as he arrived and then walking back with him towards the crowds of waiting journalists and into the building where the G7 leaders plus President Zelenskyy are now seated around that table to begin these discussions.

Really the hope of Europeans specifically because it is they that have been the most concerned about President Trump's distraction by the Middle East over the course of the last three months, really hoping to redirect his focus back towards the war in Ukraine. President Trump himself spoke to this yesterday, Polo, as he arrived and held those bilateral meetings with the French president and then a press conference alongside him saying that this is a war that had to end, that he had had this fruitful conversation with the Ukrainian and Russian presidents on Sunday before leaving for the G7, that he believed that it was now time to bring peace to the country.

Twenty-five thousand people a day being killed, he pointed out, most of them soldiers. This had to stop. Now this is also the dearest wish of Europeans. However, what they are very keen on is that this particular round of negotiations, should they be able to find a way to kickstart them with the Russian president, they want to be a part of, they want a place at the table that they were denied in earlier rounds of these discussions. You'll remember earlier on in President Trump's first term, they were excluded.

Their argument, Polo, that it is they that essentially keep Kyiv afloat financially, therefore they want to be part of these talks. Worrying to Europeans is the idea that President Trump might exclude them, but also we understand the news that his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, could shortly be heading to Moscow. That's something that we understand. They will be wanting to ensure that this time the agenda of the talks, the composition of the teams negotiating any future peace talks will include them, and they'll have their say in that.

It comes, of course, just after Sunday when we saw again overnight those deadly missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, that strike also, Polo, on one of the UNESCO-protected monasteries in the Ukrainian capital that did so much damage. Eleven people were killed, an urgent reminder of the need to bring peace, at a point when Europeans are also unanimous in pointing out that on the battlefield Ukrainians have been tending to get the upper hand. They believe that this is time. It is time, therefore, to sit down and start talking for peace. Here's to the question whether President Putin is willing to do that. Polo?

SANDOVAL: The world closely watching as those leaders sit at that roundtable, and you better believe that so is Vladimir Putin, especially with Zelenskyy with a seat at that table. Melissa Bell, thank you so much for bringing us up to speed as always.

U.S. President Donald Trump is touting his memorandum of understanding with Iran at the G7 Summit. The agreement was signed digitally with an official ceremony that's expected to happen on Friday. The President says that it is expected to prevent Tehran from having a nuclear weapon, and the President also claiming that the Strait of Hormuz will be completely reopened come Friday.

[04:05:09]

Well, the agreement itself, it has not yet been released publicly, but Vice President J.D. Vance discussed some of the details on that document in his conversation with my colleague Jake Tapper on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So the MOU, Jake, is about a page and a half, so it is a very general document, but this has been very much part of the conversations that we've had with the Iranians, and on a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase. The important thing about this agreement, Jake, is that everything, from what Iran gives us on the nuclear program, and of course that's the most important thing, is the commitment, verifiable, to never building a nuclear weapon, all of these things come along with benefits if Iran delivers and nothing if Iran doesn't deliver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: All right, joining me again is CNN's Paula Hancocks following this up from Abu Dhabi. Paula, you heard the Vice President's remarks just now as he describes this as a general document, but then you hear the rest of what he had to say, and he really sees this as key in setting a roadmap to possible peace in the Middle East.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Polo. I mean, we've heard from both Iran and the United States that this is a step in the right direction. We heard from the Iranian President, Pezeshkian. He posted on social media saying, the agreement reached is a significant step towards halting the war and initiating negotiations. Also pointing out, though, that a final agreement has not yet been formalized.

We also heard from the Iranian Foreign Minister, though, pointing out the level of distrust in this document, saying that we've had a history of broken promises and non-implementation, but we are hearing that they are pushing forward. From the Trump administration as well, obviously very positive words about this, effectively this letter of intent, a page and a half, we understand, at this point.

But, of course, the fact is it hasn't been published. We haven't seen it. As far as we know, the leaders of the G7 with the U.S. President at the moment have not seen it either, so it's difficult to know exactly what has been digitally signed already. For example, when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, we've heard the U.S. President say it will be permanently toll-free. We then heard his Vice President say that there is an expectation that it would be toll-free, but the exact details needed to be hammered out in the technical negotiations.

And then what we've heard from Tehran is that they will control passage of vessels and apply fees if necessary. So there is certainly plenty of room for spin on all sides as to what they believe is in this document. But what we have been hearing from the Vice President is that there will be a very key verification process, that they will have to have compliance, that they will verify along the way that Iran is keeping its word, and then at that point they will be able to, as you said, tap into the oil wealth and join the world economy, speaking there of unfreezing assets and potentially lifting sanctions as well.

Tehran would like to see it the other way around. They would like to see significant, in fact they have talked about $24 billion of frozen funds to be released, and then they would push the process forward. Polo?

SANDOVAL: CNN's Paula Hancocks is always grateful for your reporting.

Let's keep the conversation going now and head over to Mehran Kamrava, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar. Thank you so much for joining us.

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROF. OF GOVT., GEORGETOWN UNIV. IN QATAR: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: So based on what you've seen thus far, and perhaps more on the questions that you have about what we haven't seen yet, since this thing hasn't been released publicly, talking about the agreement, are you expecting anything that would be seen as a potential breakthrough? I mean, we've heard from other experts who expect to be, quite frankly, underwhelmed when the administration releases this memo.

KAMRAVA: Exactly. I think once again we have had a historic opportunity here to bridge the gap between Iran and the United States to come up with some sort of a grand bargain between the two sides, and I think neither side is willing to take that important leap of faith. So this Memorandum of Understanding outlines a framework for negotiations, and we've been here many times before.

[04:09:54]

In fact, on the two previous occasions, in June of 2025, and then again in February of 2026, those negotiations were really blown out by war and attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran. So we're at the start of a hopeful process, but I think the road ahead is quite fraught, I have to admit.

SANDOVAL: So considering this complete lack of trust on behalf of both sides, and as you put it, that neither side wants to take this leap of faith, what do you see as attainable goals for President Trump during these 60 days of technical negotiations that we're supposed to expect?

KAMRAVA: It appears that the broad outlines of some agreement have been reached. Iran is willing to suspend its enrichment program for something in the magnitude of 10 to 15 years. President Trump wants 20. And of course, Iran wants release of its assets and the lifting of sanctions. And the Americans have said that that's a possibility depending on actions taken by Iran.

So we're at a hopeful start, but I think we have to be wary of the Israeli wild card. Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing serious domestic backlash. He's got a very tough re-election campaign ahead of him in the coming months. And this -- he's not a fan of this agreement, so he might sabotage it as he has successfully done in the past.

And I think for both President Trump and for the Iranians, the stakes are so high and the possibility of losing face in front of their constituents is so high that they also might renege on some of the key points of the agreement.

SANDOVAL: And just to expand on that last point, do you think that any potential sabotage, as you put it, from Benjamin Netanyahu would come in the form of continued strikes against targets in Lebanon? KAMRAVA: Absolutely. The Israelis have already said that they will not withdraw from southern Lebanon. And I think that's an important point for the Iranians. It's not necessarily so much withdrawal from Lebanon completely, but at least attacks.

And as long as Hezbollah continues to exist, that gives Prime Minister Netanyahu an opportunity to continue the war in Lebanon and therefore create problems for the Iranians and the Americans.

SANDOVAL: Yes, despite not being officially a part of these negotiations, Israel is certainly a very important component in the potential success rate of this outcome. I also want to talk a little bit about what we heard from Vice President J.D. Vance, who told CNN on Monday that one of the reasons that the U.S. has been able to get Iran to sign on to this memo of understanding is because of what's happening on the Strait of Hormuz. Listen to how the Vice President put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: But the good thing about the way that we've set this up is that we have the leverage here. We have the ability to welcome them into the world economy if they perform. We also have the ability to say, you know what, you don't get anything if you don't meet your end of the obligation. I don't think they'll ever say this, but one of the reasons why they made this agreement is because they recognize they're losing that leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. That's a card they can play.

They played it once, but you can't play it every day indefinitely or you start to lose it. And I think they saw that that leverage point was getting weaker and weaker, which is why we've been able to strike this agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So that second part, Professor, I wanted you to hear the Vice President essentially suggesting that Iran is losing bargaining power when it comes to the Strait. How do you see it? What's the reality on that crucial waterway?

KAMRAVA: I think the Vice President is not incorrect, actually. The Iranians have shown a history of overplaying their cards. And yes, indeed, for them, Hormuz Strait is an incredible leverage, but they cannot continue to blockade traffic through it at the risk of alienating their neighbors, a set of neighbors that are already adversarial towards Iran. Countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular.

[04:14:57]

And so the Iranians, while they have a leverage, they cannot overplay their hands. And I think the Iranians are quite aware of the need to allow traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in a very speedy fashion.

SANDOVAL: And does that look like that could result in a positive development when it comes to the Strait then, given what you believe is the situation on the Strait of Hormuz?

KAMRAVA: Yes, absolutely. I think what we're seeing is that the Iranians are quite keen to allow the -- to let traffic through the Strait of Hormuz because if there's, you know, something of the magnitude of 20,000 sailors are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, thousands or hundreds of ships are on either side of the Strait. And I think it's also important to remember that Iran itself is suffering from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the blockade.

So they're quite keen to have the Strait lifted. If I may just add one more point, I live here in Qatar and 100 days into this war and the conflict here in the region, we're beginning to see tangible consequences of the closure of the Strait. Supply chains are horribly interrupted and the Iranians are quite aware of that and they're keen to get that supply chain, get those supply chains re-established again.

SANDOVAL: Yes, impacts around the world here in the U.S. oil reserves at the lowest that we've seen. Mehran Kamrava, as always, it's a pleasure. Thank you so much for your insight.

KAMRAVA: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Military officials are currently investigating what caused a B-52 bomber to crash shortly after takeoff in California. At least eight people were killed in that crash. CNN's Josh Campbell has more on what we know about the investigation so far.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Truly harrowing images coming out of Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles where the U.S. military confirms that a B-52 heavy bomber crashed after takeoff around 11:20 a.m. local time on Monday. Now, in an update, the U.S. military says that eight crew members were on board. They do not believe that this would have been a survivable incident. Authorities gave an update on the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. JAMES HAYES, DEPUTY COMMANDER, 412TH TEST WING: It took off and immediately after takeoff crashed and burst into flames. This was a mixed crew of military, government civilians, and government contractors. After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable. At this point, we don't have any indication as to what the cause was of this. We won't be able to release that information and we don't have an ability to get that anytime soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, there's still questions about the circumstances of this incident. We don't yet know if the crew actually radioed some type of distress. Again, you look at those images, truly harrowing. You don't really see much of the aircraft left intact at all. This particular type of aircraft, the B-52 Stratofortress, is one that has been in use for decades. The U.S. military says that it has been involved in global military operations. It's capable of carrying an array of ordnance, including nuclear weapons, including precision-guided weapons. It's important also that the last fatal incident involving this B-52 took place back in 2008 when six U.S. Air Force crew members died when one of the aircraft went in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guam.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

SANDOVAL: Well, national teams are leaving it all on the pitch to kick off this year's World Cup. Still ahead, a recap of Monday's biggest matches, including Iran's highly anticipated debut on U.S. soil.

[04:19:01]

Plus, Donald Trump calling it one of the most incredible evenings in the history of the White House. Now, hear what attendees have to say about the UFC event that was hosted by the President on Sunday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Monday saw another day of exciting World Cup action as teams vie for an early advantage in the group stage. For just the second time in FIFA history, all four scheduled matches they ended in a draw. And maybe the most shocking result out of all of them was this one. Cape Verde holding off European champ, Spain, for a nil- nil draw in Atlanta. This was Cape Verde's first World Cup appearance and also an early stumble for Spain, which is seen as heavily favored to win them all.

And in Los Angeles, a thrilling match between Iran and New Zealand ending in a two-all tie. It marked Iran's tournament debut on U.S. soil, which will go down in FIFA history as the first time that a contestant is at war with the host nation.

And the team's participation and presence in the U.S., it has some fans conflicted. Ahead of the game, hundreds protested outside of SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. In the last hour, I spoke with "L.A. Times" sports writer Kevin Baxter. Here's his take on how the political backdrop is affecting players on the pitch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN BAXTER, SPORTS WRITER, LOS ANGELES TIMES: This Iranian team, it fought back twice from one goal deficits to wind up with a draw. A pretty good effort by a team that has really, you know, sort of, you know, been put upon since it came into this World Cup. As you mentioned in the setup, the first team -- first time a World Cup qualifier has played in a nation with which it is currently at war.

But, you know, the bigger picture with all the political stuff going on in this World Cup, and certainly Iran is at the center of that, but we had a player from Ghana not allowed to enter Canada. For some reason, he can enter the United States and play the games that Ghana will play here. We had the referee from Africa, the Somali referee, unable to enter the United States after FIFA had invited him to referee here. Conversely, Canada invited him there.

My point is, politics has become such a big deal about this, and the Iranian team not being able to stay in the U.S. is a big part of that. But there should be concern going forward that FIFA now has crossed the Rubicon, that in 20, you know, when we go to Morocco in 2030, what if the Moroccans say, you know what, Israelis can't come in, journalists, officials, players, they can't come into Morocco. What can FIFA say at that point? Because it's allowed this kind of stuff to go on here.

[04:25:21]

The Iranian, the pre-revolutionary Iranian flag being banned from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, you know, that again opens a whole can of worms to what can countries, host countries, do in the future if they want to take a political stand against teams. I, you know, I just think that this is a really bad precedent. The Olympics and the World Cup are supposed to be about politics.

Of course, we know that's not true. But now, you know, it's not even -- we're not even giving that, you know, a good show that that's the way we're supposed to go.

SANDOVAL: Well, Kevin, on that note, as I'm sure you heard, "The A.P." is now reporting that Iran's coach after the match described his team as the most repressed in the World Cup. And he called on the FIFA and on FIFA's president to essentially help them out here. So, you know, to your earlier point, is there anything that the Football Association can actually do to, in this case, help Iran's team with visa issues or, of course, these travel restrictions that have forced them to immediately return to Mexico?

BAXTER: Well, you know, one of the things that happened, people forget, four years ago, the Iranian team, there were protests in Iran during the World Cup in Qatar four years ago. And a couple of players on the Iranian team spoke out in support of the demonstrators. And they refused to sing the national anthem before the first game in Qatar. That was a scandal. The team did, in that case, side with the protesters.

This time, you know, famously, the protesters in L.A. say they did not. But FIFA can definitely, you know, step in here. First of all, Donald Trump or the Trump administration during the first term in 2018 signed a document saying that all teams, individuals, officials, fans would be allowed into the U.S. for the World Cup. Now, all of a sudden, they've decided that a qualified team cannot stay here.

So FIFA can definitely step forward and say, look, you signed these documents. This is part of our reason for being that these teams are allowed in. FIFA has decided, for whatever reason, not to take on Donald Trump. They've taken on everyone else. You know, for a while, there was a ban on water bottles coming into the stadium. They've taken over stadiums. They run the concession stands now. You know, they run the broadcasting rights.

They're in charge of everything. So they can certainly make a point that these players need to be allowed to stay in the country, that Iran needs to have a fair shot. Another thing with Iran, when the war started in February, they suspended their domestic season. The vast majority of their players play in the domestic league in Iran. So a lot of these players haven't played more than a couple of competitive games over the last six months.

This Iranian team, the fact that they were able to get a draw again against New Zealand, a team that has never won a World Cup game. You know, I'm not trying to laud the Iranian team, but as a sports writer, looking at what they did was pretty phenomenal when you take into account what they had to do to get here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Well, it was delayed by the weather and surrounded by some controversy. But AFC Fight Night at the White House did, in fact, happen. It happened on Sunday night on the South Lawn. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pomp, circumstance and a lot of punches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're a part of the greatest sporting event in history right now.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Thousands of fans took to the Ellipse to watch the fights on gigantic screens.

O'SULLIVAN: For the people who said there shouldn't be a cage fight at the White House, what do you say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They might be right, but since it's here, we're going to be here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't agree with everything Donald Trump has been doing this term, but I'm here and I'm enjoying the moment.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The crowd was overwhelmingly male.

O'SULLIVAN: Is this your first UFC event?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

O'SULLIVAN: What you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Entertaining for sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was entertaining, yes.

O'SULLIVAN: The beer is good.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): In the fan zone, there was little talk of politics, and MAGA hats were few and far between.

O'SULLIVAN: You're obviously a Trump fan. You're a UFC fan, too?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I became a UFC fan because I saw Trump coming to the events, and I figured this has got to be something that I'm missing out on. I thought it was too rough, too masculine, too mean, but these guys shake hands afterwards and they're friendly. I think it's the greatest thing to see.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): A few hundred yards away on the South Lawn, a few thousand VIPs gathered under the claw, U.S. military personnel who had been given tickets alongside the entire Trump family and a host of MAGA loyalists and billionaires.

[04:29:55]

Among the big names, Meta CEO and MMA enthusiast Mark Zuckerberg. And David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount Skydance, whose company owns the broadcast rights to the UFC, and on Friday received clearance from the Trump Justice Department --