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G7 Leaders Praise Trump for US-Iran Deal; Iran Exports First Crude Oil Shipment In Two Months; 4 States, DC Head To Polls In Key Primary Races, Runoffs; Tight Security Planned For New York Knicks Parade; FBI Foils Alleged Plot To Attack The White House UFC Event. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 17, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:08]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, everybody. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. And this is CNN Newsroom. G7 leaders say that they support President Trump's agreement with Iran as they get ready to meet in moments. They also have some key questions about the document that remain.

Plus, the main takeaways from Georgia amid Donald Trump's efforts to dominate Republican primary elections with endorsements there and Lionel Messi scoring the first hat trick of the 2016 FIFA World cup to lead Argentina to victory.

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

SANDOVAL: Hi, everybody, welcome. It is 4:00 a.m. here on the East Coast, 10:00 a.m. in Evian, France, and world leaders there. They are getting ready to meet for the final day of the G7 summit. U.S. President Donald Trump set to meet with Egypt's presidents as well as India's prime minister. And this after a working session on economic growth.

You see there again, 10:00 a.m. as those leaders are getting ready to initiate one of those sessions along with the leaders of development countries. We'll bring you developments as they come there.

And later today, the president will also be heading to the Palace of Versailles for dinner before eventually making it back here to the United States. And on Tuesday, President Trump did sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

G7 leaders declaring on unwavering support for Ukraine. And they also agreed to increase the delivery of air defense assistance. They also committed to strengthening sanctions on Russia. Let's go now to CNN senior international correspondent Melissa Bell in Evian, France.

Melissa, President Zelenskyy leaving France with a G7 commitment. How about any commitments from President Trump himself? MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that's what's remarkable is the fact, the headline this morning really polo, that the G7s have managed a joint declaration on geopolitical issues that had not been expected. The French presidency's expectations had been extremely low and it had not been planned that there would be the usual G7 joint declaration.

And yet we have it already. It was published overnight and it includes this new fresh commitment of the G7, therefore, including President Trump, who is name checked three times in that Ukraine part on the G7 unwavering support to Ukraine, essentially agreeing polo on the idea of both more weapons to Ukraine, but also more pressure on Russia.

And that really, given the divisions of the last few months, is quite remarkable. This is what President Zelenskyy had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: First of all, he was very positive that they can help us more with missiles. And this is a big challenge really, because the production is not so big as our needs. The production is in the United States. I raised the topic of licenses. I addressed it to President Trump. We need licenses to produce missiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: President Zelenskyy, they're speaking about the time that he managed to grab with the American president on the sidelines of that summit. It essentially delayed the rest of the day's proceedings, but it was essentially we heard the French president as he greeted the Ukrainian president.

We heard the two men in the sort of off mic moment court that was caught in the end very vaguely speak about the need to get that bilat between President Zelenskyy and President Trump. The fact that it happened, of course crucial, the fact that it went so well, actually unexpected.

So, I think what you're going to see now, beyond that question of the renewed push for getting weapons to Ukraine and the renewed push for fresh sanctions on the part of the G7, on Russia, is a renewed push for peace talks. Now, Europeans very keen this time to have a seat at that table. And whilst it may take some months, they are confident as a result of what's happened here in Evian, that some fresh talks could even be considered by the autumn.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Melissa Bell in Evian, France. Our thanks to you and your entire team for all of these days of coverage there for that crucial summit. Let's stay also in the G7 and the leaders there who say that they do support the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Iran.

The secrecy around the Iran agreement is causing some tensions abroad as well as here in the United States. But President Trump says that he plans to release the text in the next couple of days. [04:05:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not release it before Friday.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, because I'd like to get a formal setting first before we do that, but I have no problem with that. It's good document. Actually I'll not only release it. I'll probably have a press conference and read it to you word by word.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: We'll see if that happens. Meanwhile, in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has reportedly exported its first crude oil shipments in two months. President Trump says that the vital waterway is supposed to reopen and that the U.S. will lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports after the formal agreement signing ceremony that's scheduled for Friday. CNN's Paula Hancocks following this from Abu Dhabi.

In terms of what we expect in the coming days, Paula, just bring us up to speed.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, what we've been hearing from U.S. officials is that they say they're working quickly to release the text of this agree, but they also have said that it is intentionally vague in its wording, that it's not too detailed so that according to these officials, Iran is able to sell it domestically and also so that they can create an environment where the more technical, the more detailed talks can begin over the next 60 days once it is formally signed on Friday.

Now, we also heard from one person who's seen the text pointing out that it doesn't really show what the back channels are talking about at this point. It doesn't specify about, for example, the highly enriched uranium which we know that the United States wants to be part of either diluting or taking out of Iran.

But these back channels have been progressing and have gained agreement from the Iranian side. So really what we're hearing from, from U.S. officials is that it is understandably vague, as they say, in its wording, but we are hoping to be able to bring it to you shortly.

Now, we also understand that there is some backlash when it comes to lawmakers in the United States, also some backlash when it comes to whether or not President Trump has promised too much in just this early stage. We did hear that some of the leaders at the G7 have seen the text.

We understand the Canadian prime minister, for example, has read it. Speaking to CNN, he spoke of it being a game changer, saying that he was very pleased with the text.

Now, meanwhile, we are also monitoring here what is happening in Lebanon. Of course, there are concerns that this could be a spoiler for any wider U.S.-Iran deal. There are reports of an airstrike in southern Lebanon, according to state media in Lebanon. We are asking the IDF about this, but we have been hearing the U.S. president be quite critical against Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, mentioning once again in France a warning to the Israeli prime minister. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've had a very effective relationship. Without us, without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel because no other president was willing to do what I did. I've had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, Iran has also said that they demand the Israeli military withdrawal from southern Lebanon, something which Israel said will not happen. Polo.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Paula Hancocks with that live report from Abu Dhabi. Thank you, Paula.

Here in the United States, we are getting a better idea of what ballots for November's midterm may actually look like after a night of primaries and runoff elections across the US. Let's start in Georgia. CNN projecting that House Republican Mike Collins will challenge Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff for his seat.

And in the governor's race, CNN projecting billionaire Rick Jackson will be winning the Republican nomination there. His opponents had the backing of both President Trump and current Governor Brian Kemp. That's something that Jackson was quite proud to say that he didn't need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK JACKSON, GEORGIA REPUBLICAN GUBENTATORIAL NOMINEE: Like I said then, I'm the only candidate who doesn't owe a thing to the political establishment. I don't care what special interests want, how much they beg, how much they give me. I can't be bought and I won't back down.

Tonight you made your voice heard loud and clear. Tonight we did more than win a runoff. Tonight we proved the people of Georgia are in charge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:10:03]

SANDOVAL: Let's check in on these primaries and head over to CNN's Dianne Gallagher.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Trump wins and loses in Georgia runoff races Tuesday. A marquee matchup for a key Southern state Senate seat is set. As CNN projects Republican Congressman Mike Collins will win that runoff race. He will now try to unseat the incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.

MIKE COLLINS, GEORGIA REPUBLICAN SENATE NOMINEE: Know we're Republicans now. Now we stand united around one mission. That's right. And y'all know what the mission is. It's to put a Republican in that seat and get rid of that Jon Ossoff in November, return this seat to the people of Georgia. And I look for forward to helping and getting the help and working to do just that.

GALLAGHER: Collins received an 11th hour endorsement from Trump on Sunday over his opponent, former University of Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley, who was endorsed by Georgia's popular governor Brian Kemp. Collins owns a trucking company and he's the son of a former congressman.

He has represented Georgia's 10th district since 2023 and has been a longtime staunch supporter of President Trump, including false claims that he won the 2020 election. After the GOP race was called, Ossoff released a blistering statement calling Collins, quote, a notorious bigot, antisemite and extremist.

Now in the GOP governor's runoff race, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones boasted a double endorsement from Trump and Kemp. But it was not enough as CNN projects that health care billionaire Rick Jackson will win the GOP nomination in that race.

Jackson dumped more than million of his own fortune into the race, casting himself as a conservative outsider. He will face the Democratic nominee in that race who locked her nomination up about a month ago in the original primary. And that is former Atlanta mayor and Biden administration official Keisha Lance Bottoms. Dianne Gallagher, CNN, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Dianne. Let's keep talking primaries now and head over to Natasha Lindstaedt, who joins me to discuss. She's a professor of government at the University of Essex. Hey, Natasha, it's good to again.

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Nice to see you too.

SANDOVAL: So just recapping again on Tuesday when it comes to Georgia, voters are deciding Trump endorsed candidate Mike Collins will be the one to face off against Democrat Jon Ossoff in the Senate race. But then you have the Trump backed Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who lost his chance to be the state's Republican nominee for governor. How do you see all of this, these latest rounds of primaries shaping what we're bound to see come November?

LINDSTAEDT: So with the state of Georgia, and that's a state that Trump doesn't have a lot of popularity. It's only about 38 percent of Georgians approve of him. So this is really more of a battleground state. And I think the results show that he doesn't have a complete hold over the Republican Party, though his endorsement still really matters.

You saw that it was sort of a mixed picture for him. So he was able to get or at least support getting Mike Collins across the line in the Senate race, and his endorsement appeared to matter there. But it didn't matter as much in the governor race, where his candidate that he was trying to support, Burt Jones, who had a lot of different issues and baggage that he was coming with, was just simply outspent by Rick Jackson, who, as the report already mentioned, spent over 100 million.

I mean, that was just really, really difficult to fight against because there was just an onslaught of ad that Georgians were seeing again and again about the issues with Burt Jones moving to the Senate race with Mike Collins.

I mean, this is actually good news from John Ossoff's perspective for him. He saw Derek Dooley as a tougher candidate. Dooley had more support in the suburbs and would have competed a little bit better with Jon Ossoff in those areas where Ossoff has more command, whereas Mike Collins is more popular in the rural areas. That's where his stronghold is.

And so while this is going to be an incredibly tight race, it's a little bit better for Jon Ossoff to go against Mike Collins, who he sees as more extreme and who also isn't very good at fundraising, only having a couple million. And John Ossoff is pretty good at that. So it was a win from John Ossoff's perspective.

SANDOVAL: Let's actually just stay on that given Ossoff's likely advantage here, do you think that Democrats at the national level will focus quite a bit on what is still a highly competitive Senate race in Georgia?

[04:15:03]

LINDSTAEDT: This race is going to be incredibly expensive come November. They're going to be plunging a lot of money into this because this is the one key Senate seat that Republicans are really hoping to pick up. And so Ossoff is popular amongst Democrats, but it's just a really tough state to win because, as we've mentioned, it's a battleground state with a lot of divisions. And so they're going to want to pour a lot of their energy into this race.

And of course, it just bodes for what the popularity is of the Democratic Party and Brand (ph), if they can manage to pick that off. Ossoff is, as I mentioned, much happier to go against someone who is more extreme. And that's one of the issues --

SANDOVAL: Yes.

LINDSTAEDT: -- with these primaries. While Trump endorses some of these candidates and sometimes they win, and often they do, they don't tend to do as well when it comes to the midterms because they are so extreme that they turn off voters who may have not voted in the primaries who want a candidate that is more moderate.

SANDOVAL: Before we let you go, I want to get your thoughts also on this memorandum of understanding that we're also waiting to see. We could potentially see it in a few days time, according to the Trump administration. Amid concerns that it will lack specifics and firm commitments for Iran, how worried are Republicans right now, especially those in the Senate, who may be faced with this decision of possibly lifting sanctions on Iran?

LINDSTAEDT: I mean, that's an excellent question because at the moment, there just really are a lot of unknowns about how this is all going to play out. At the end of the day, Trump claimed that the Obama deal, that the deal that Obama made with Iran to address their nuclear program, he promised that this is going to be much better than that deal.

And we've yet seen any kind of evidence of that. And instead, it's been an incredibly expensive exercise, costing billions but also really reducing the amount of military weapons and arsenal that the U.S. has. So it's not clear what the benefits are going to be of it yet. And it was incredibly costly on U.S. consumers at a time when cost of living is incredibly important for voters. They signaled this again and again. Gas prices went way up.

Now they're somewhere above $4 a gallon on average. But this wasn't really a huge win for Republicans eyeing the midterms. It wasn't something that America asked for, particularly with Trump claiming it was going to be no more wars. So with all this uncertainty, it's going to be more difficult for Republicans to sell this as a huge win.

SANDOVAL: It will certainly be greatly scrutinized. Not only that memo, but also whatever sort of product we could see from these 60 days of technical negotiations. Natasha Lindstaedt, as always, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your perspective.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Authorities in Laredo, Texas, they say that one person is dead after a small jet crashed onto a highway there. At least five others were injured. You see what remains there of the aircraft. The plane left Mexico Tuesday evening headed for Austin, Texas.

Police there on Laredo say that a local control tower received a report of mechanical issues before losing contact with the aircraft. A flight tracking website showing that the jet actually made a smooth descent into the Laredo area before its signal cut out. Well, you see there, it eventually crashed about 4 kilometers or 2 and a half miles from the Runway. You see first responders and others there desperately trying to get to any potential survivors inside.We'll keep you posted.

Well, some of soccer's most elite superstars, they are putting on a show at this year's World Cup. Still ahead, Argentina's Lionel Messi put himself in the tournament record books.

Plus, U.S. Federal officials say that they stopped an alleged plot to target the White House's UFC events in order to start a so called revolution. Details on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:22:49]

SANDOVAL: And it was quite the star studded day on the pitch as countries worked their way through the World Cup's opening group stages. Some of the pictures that are coming here out of the Kansas City Stadium where Argentina silenced Algeria with a 3 nil shutout and as Elizabeth Perez reports, Messi did not disappoint.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH PEREZ, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I came to Kansas City to cover my second World Cup match and we ended up witnessing pure history at the feet of Lionel Messi. The Argentinian superstar scored a hat trick helping Argentina begin the defense of the title they won in Qatar 2022 with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Algeria.

With that three goal performance, he simultaneously surpassed Kylian Mbappe, Gerd Muller and Ronaldo Nazario and tied the record of the German Miroslav Klose of more goals in World Cup history with 16.

Kansas City had become Buenos Aires since Monday and on Tuesday night this City stadium felt like an extension of the monumental in Nunez thanks to the infectious joy and nonstop chant from the fans.

What's next for Messi and Albiceleste in the tournament? We'll continue following Argentina's path through the rest of the World Cup and we'll see how the journey unfolds. Reporting from Kansas City, I'm Elizabeth Perez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: In earlier Jordan and Austria they wrapped up a pretty hard fought opener. It was Jordan's World Cup debut but the team's defeat was ultimately self-inflicted. A known goal in the second half gifted Austria a narrow lead which they managed to expand with a goal in stoppage time to solidify a 3 to 1 win.

Another action on Tuesday, Norway cruising past Iraq in a 4 to 1 beatdown at this stadium in Boston. Norway star striker Erling Haaland scoring two goals in the first half of the first World Cup game.

[04:25:00]

And at New York New Jersey Stadium, France beating Senegal. Two goals from France superstar Kylian Mbappe, boosting his team to a very comfortable 3 to 1 victory. And security will be tight for Thursday's NBA championship parade for the New York Knicks, of course. Here in New York, a law enforcement official says that every spectator will be screened before entering the viewing areas.

All floats and the vehicles also expected to be inspected. And there's also a sanitation official that says that about two dozen garbage trucks that will be used to block some of those side streets and the access to the parade route. We're told that the plan mirrors other large scale events like the Israel Day Parade that we saw just a few weeks ago here in the city. But with far bigger crowds expected for the massive Knicks celebration.

And the gigantic structure that was built for the UFC event on the White House South Lawn, it is coming down. It may take several weeks for it to actually happen. Crews started dismantling the so called claw lighting rig as well as the octagon down below.

Scotts Miracle-Gro, which actually was one of the sponsors of the event, has committed $1 million to the National Park Service to support restoration efforts for the grass that was destroyed because of this massive setup. The federal agents say that they foiled a plot to launch a violent attack at that very event.

One of the suspects is just 19 years old. He and several others were charged with conspiracy to murder and commit an offense against the United States. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An energetic, crowded UFC event at the White House with President Trump in attendance, members of Congress and VIPs, all potential targets of an alleged planned attack using drones and snipers. And according to the Secret Service, there are still suspects on the loose.

According to a federal law enforcement official and criminal complaints obtained by CNN, a group of alleged online extremists planned and coordinated an attack at Sunday night's UFC fight on the White House lawn in order to, quote, jumpstart a revolution in the United States. But they were thwarted.

MATTHEW QUINN, U.S. SECRET SERVICE DEPUTY DIRECTOR: It was a serious threat. It was an active plot and it's ongoing.

TODD (voice-over): According to a criminal complaint, the plan was to, quote, stage a demonstration on the north side of the White House, then detonate drones the arena, forcing the attending crowd to evacuate, where the group would act as snipers to conduct shootings of the members of the crowd and HVTs high value targets, including, quote, both wealthy people and politicians.

Retired FBI agent Richard Kolko says it's not likely the alleged attackers could have enacted their plot in full, but they could still have inflicted some significant damage.

RICHARD KOLKO, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: If they had brought firearms, brought explosives, come to the area, found out where the perimeter was and gone forward and carried out some sort of attack, people could have died, people could have been hurt and it could have been very, very serious.

TODD (voice-over): According to court documents, the online group were ex-military, Christian based and anti-government with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish views. The Justice Department has charged five people across California, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio in the alleged plot.

The investigation began when the mother of a 19-year-old in custody, Tycen Proper alerted authorities that she was concerned about her son who she says was communicating with radical people online and amassing an arsenal of weapons.

KOLKO: This mom did exactly the right thing. She knew something was up with her son, something was wrong, and she picked up the phone, made the call and probably saved lives.

TODD: The charges include conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. As for the one defendant, Tycen Proper, the criminal complaint does not say that he purchased any drones, but it says he did purchase multiple firearms and ammunition. Tycen Proper has not yet entered a plea. CNN has tried to reach a public defender listed for him.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: With the U.S. and Iran agreement that is still under wraps, at least for now. But President Trump claiming that his deal with Iran is better than former President Obama's, the one that was finalized back in 2015. An expert weighs in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]