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Trump And Iranian President Sign Hard Copies Of Agreement; 14- Point U.S.-Iranian Plan Aims To End War, Reopen Hormuz; Trump And Iranian President Sign Hard Copies Of Agreement. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 18, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everybody, thank you so much for joining me. I'm Paula Sandoval live in New York. And here's what's coming your way here on CNN newsroom.

President Trump saying that he has signed a document that could lead to peace with Iran. We have a live report from the region.

Also, a stunning change of tune from Luigi Mangione's lawyers. What we know about the new claim that they've submitted to the court.

Also, fans here in New York, they are already gathering again preparing to celebrate the Knicks big win, again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love my Knicks. And I'm with them through the good, the bad and the ugly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: We'll introduce you to that super fan who's joining thousands expected to line the streets of New York City ready for victory parade.

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

SANDOVAL: All right, everybody, let's begin with questions about the U.S.-Iran agreement to end the war and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump, you see him stepping off of Air Force One just a few moments ago as he returned to Washington after attending the G7 summit in France. And that's where he signed a hard copy of the agreement in Versailles. Iran's president has also signed a hard copy of that plan.

This 14 point memorandum of understanding, it aims to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel has continued with its strikes. It will also get traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, at least only for the next 60 days. It also lifts the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. But it leaves a lot of details to be addressed during the next 60-day period of negotiations.

And that includes, of course, Iran's ballistic missile program, not to mention their nuclear program. Here's what Iranian officials and President Trump are saying this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. They can't develop it, buy it, they can never have a nuclear weapon.

ESMAEIL BAGHAEI, SPOKESPERSON, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY (voiceover): Iran-U.S. Memorandum of understanding is now officially complete and finalized. In the 60 days, the other party should not increase military presence in region or issue new sanctions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right, now that you've heard from both sides of this agreement let's head over to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who's following developments from Abu Dhabi. Hey, Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Polo. Well, we're hearing mixed reaction at this point when it comes to this memorandum. We've heard, for example, praise from Canada's prime minister. We've heard just this morning as well from the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, saying that this deal creates an opportunity to ensure Iran never ab a weapon.

But we have heard criticism from within President Trump's own party. In fact, the former Vice President Mike Pence even using the word appeasement at one point. So, there is definitely a mixed response.

What we see at this point is that there is the promise of financial benefit for Iran that is undoubtedly undoubted when you look at this 14 point plan. One thing in particular, of course, is the Strait of Hormuz. That was something that the U.S. President had insisted on, that it is opened immediately. But what we're hearing is response from the parliament speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf.

I want to read you part of this. He says, quote, "Payment of service fees for passage through the Strait of Hormuz has been formalized in the memorandum of understanding."

Now this is a key part of it because if in fact Iran does start charging fees in the future for vessels transiting this critical waterway, it would be considered a major concession by the United States. Now what it says at this point is for the next 60 days only that the Strait of Hormuz will be open with no fees. It then says there will be discussions between Oman and Iran to define future administration and maritime services. Those two countries, of course, are on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz.

Now also we know that Iran has brought Lebanon into this agreement. I'll read you another part of Ghalibaf's quote. "We told the mediator that the issue of Lebanon and the blocked frozen funds were among the main axis of the negotiations."

[04:05:22]

We know because Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister has made it very clear that he did not want to see Lebanon and the fight against Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of this deal. But it is very much part of the deal. We understand from President Trump as well. He said it has not been easy to get to this point as he was signing the memorandum and also said that he was send it onto Israel. So clearly, even though they were in lockstep at the beginning of this war, the ending of the war is on U.S. terms and Israel is finding out about it after the event.

Now another point to, to bring to you as well is when it comes to the negotiations that are expected to start on Friday in Switzerland, the first stage of these talks between the U.S. and Iran, they will be going for 60 days according to this memorandum. Now President Trump was asked about those 60 days and to that he said that the 60-day deadline, he said, I don't view it as a hard deadline. Just as long as they're behaving, I really don't care that much.

So, an interesting response to the fact that this was supposed to be negotiations for 60 days when a final agreement would be in place a short a time that many experts doubted that these tricky subjects could be decided within that time frame. But what we will see on Friday in Switzerland, according to the Swiss government speaking to Reuters, is that the U.S. and Iran will be starting these discussions. We know the mediators as well.

According to this report, Pakistan and Qatar are likely to be present as other as well as other involved countries to this memorandum. Polo.

SANDOVAL: And so begins the next chapter of negotiations. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for following every step of those talks.

And of course, as Paul mentioned, Iran's parliamentary speaker says that Lebanon was one of the main topics tied to the negotiations with the U.S. and he said the discussions focused on Lebanon affected the pace and also the direction of these talks, especially after an attack on Beirut southern suburbs. Israeli strikes are significant still being reported inside of Lebanon even after these talks.

You can see here some of the smoke that could be spotted rising on Wednesday in the southern part of the country. U.S. President Trump says, "Israel," quote, could do better when it comes to its military actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The president also added that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could use a quote, softer touch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not saying they shouldn't protect themselves. I'm saying when two drones are shot into the desert and drop harmlessly. You don't have to knock down buildings in Beirut. They could behave better and frankly, they could do a better job.

I love them as a partner. They were terrific. But they could do a much better job with Hezbollah on that. I don't think they're doing well."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And Russian state media is now reporting that Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in two years. I'll show you some video that shows a huge explosion and some black smoke rising in the air after a key oil refinery was hit.

Moscow's mayor says that Russian forces shot down nearly 200 drones, but the attack still managed to damage infrastructure, start fires and also send debris raining down in areas across the capital region. The Ukrainian air force is saying that Russia fired back overnight, launching a missile as well as a drone attack.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hagseth, currently in Brussels for the NATO defense ministers meeting. He addressed the summit just a short time ago alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. He said that the U.S. understands the threats of this moment and that is ready to do something about it. The U.S. Defense Department says that Hegseth will be pushing for NATO allies to increase defense funding to 5 percent of GDP, among some other issues that the secretary is raising.

Let's go now to CNN's Sebastian Shukla again, who's standing by in Berlin as he continues to follow this summit. And Sebastian, just a little while ago, we heard from the defense secretary. Did he expand more on what kind of commitments he's seeking from -- from European partners?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Well, I think there's been a case of doubling down here and reminding the NATO allies about what -- what their commitments ought to be and what the United States wants to see from the other members of the alliance. Because don't forget, Polo, the U.S. Administration under Donald Trump has been very, very clear with the -- with the NATO alliance saying that America is not prepared to be the guarantor for absolutely everything and NATO's defensive capabilities. It wants to be able to focus on other security issues elsewhere on the planet.

[04:10:09]

The Indo Pacific, focusing on China and for the Europeans to be able to defend themselves. That's not to say that they want to remove themselves from the alliance altogether. The U.S. has maintained that it is very committed to the alliance. It just wants what the U.S. calls burden sharing the to be greater.

Take a listen to what the secretary had to say a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Our allies must step up. President Trump has been very clear on this point for many years in over two administrations. And for too long NATO has been a paper tiger and a one-way street, no more. And that's what the Hague summit is all about.

That's what defense spending commitments are all about. Transforming NATO back into a real-world military alliance that's focused on hard power and real deterrence, a NATO 3.0.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA: So that we hear there from the Secretary of War talking about what the U.S. really wants NATO alliance to become. And they think that by pushing NATO military spending upwards, by forcing the burden sharing on the other nations, that they will be able to make up for the capability -- for their own defensive capabilities. As for the rest of the summit today, I think there will be a lot of focus on Ukraine. There is a Ukraine Defense Contact Group which is now chaired by the UK and Germany that will also talk about all of the issues to do with that war.

But in particular what the alliance members will be really looking for here is talking about exactly the gaps that they need to fill, which the U.S. has said they are going to withdraw from, particularly from their defense posture, which effectively means the pool of assets that the alliance has to rely on when it comes to strategic bombers, comes to jets, comes to naval assets, submarines that they can call on at a time of conflict because the U.S. are drawing down. The Europeans need to step up and now they need to talk about where they need to plug the gaps. Polo.

SANDOVAL: Sebastian Shuklo with that live report from Berlin -- from Berlin. Thank you, Sebastian.

Time to shift gears and let's get you the very latest on some of the World Cup highlights. England fans, they are cheering for Harry Kane, who scored twice in the team's 2026 debut. It was a heck of a heck of a game. I know I was watching. As they beat Croatia 4 to 2. Kane now tied for the most World Cup goals of all time by a player from England.

The Democratic Republic of Congo scoring the equalizer in stoppage time for a 1-1 draw with Portugal. This is the Congo's first World Cup appearance, get this since 1974.

And Ghana, they've notched their first win of the tournament. Another stoppage time goal made the difference in this match versus Panama. Ghana winning 1 nil. And Uzbekistan scoring once in its World Cup debut. But they were no match for Colombia, who came out on top three to one in that match.

Massive and full slate of World Cup matches are scheduled for the hours ahead, including cohosts Canada and Mexico, the Czech Republic taking on South Africa in Atlanta. Switzerland will be facing Bosnia and Herzegovina in Los Angeles. Canada and Qatar, they are looking for their first win in Vancouver and Mexico will be taking on South Korea in Guadalajara. Well, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. It has

weakened as it moves north of the Gulf Coast. But across the Midwest, intense tornadoes are snapping some of these trees in half and leaving widespread damage in several states. We'll have details for you in a moment.

And a little later this hour, the New York Knicks Superfan. This New York Knicks Superfan on what was an unforgettable scene season that ended with her favorite team raising the trophy. She waited decades for this moment.

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[04:18:08]

SANDOVAL: Look at the damage that was caused by a tornado that struck the village of East Springfield, Illinois. It also ripped off part of that elementary school roof, scattering parts of a classroom and snapping some of these trees you see there.

All of this part of a tornado outbreak underway across the Midwest and more of some of these storm systems are expected. According to meteorologists, several destructive tornadoes have torn through parts of at least five states in the region.

But tornadoes are not the only severe weather that's facing that's threatening parts of the country. Meteorologist Melissa Nord has more on Arthur that weekend storm that is still bringing the risk of major flooding to parts of the Gulf coast at this hour.

MELISSA NORD, METEOROLOGIST: The remnants of Arthur move further inland on Thursday. That's going to send a lot of deep tropical moisture further northward, leading to a flood threat across the Southeast. Look at this plume of moisture in those red and purple colors. That's deep tropical moisture that leads to heavy rainfall rates and that can mean more flash flood warnings issued throughout the day on Thursday.

We already saw over 100 flash flood warnings the last three days combined issued. There could be more here across these Gulf states and through the Southeast. So you can see forecast radar. Thursday morning moving through Mississippi, Alabama, a lot of areas of heavy rainfall.

That rain spreads eastward. So that threat for flooding pushes into places like metro Atlanta and central Georgia by the afternoon. We're not done with Arthur's moisture on Friday. More that moisture gets hung up across the Southeast. So repeated rounds of heavy rainfall are likely.

Now, that little area across southern Mississippi, Alabama, still, we could see additional rainfall amounts, 4 to 8 inches locally, over 10 inches of rain possible. Remember, turn around. Do not drown.

Now on the northern side of this front where Arthur's moisture is getting hung up, we got some storms again on the way for the Mid Atlantic into the Northeast. Some of these areas are under a level 2 threat of severe weather and that could mean damaging winds are in the cards later on Thursday.

[04:20:05]

High temperatures in the 80s, not quite as hot in the Southeast with that rain coming in from Arthur. But to the north where we saw some severe storms in the Midwest on Wednesday, we'll see a little cooldown with highs in Chicago in the 70s.

SANDOVAL: Well, polling stations, they are now open. In Northwest England where a critical by election is currently underway. An electorate of about 76,000 in the Greater Manchester area of Makerfield are now casting their votes for a new member of Parliament. Here's why this is important.

The outcome of this election, it could affect the direction of the Labour Party and also the fate of the prime minister. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill say that they have no idea when they might hear from President Trump's pick to be the next Director of National Intelligence. The President abruptly canceled a hearing for Jay Clayton on Wednesday. He's also insisting that he will not sign a must pass national security bill unless Congress passes his voter ID bill, the so called Save America Act.

In the meantime, Bill Pulte will be taking over as acting DNI on Friday. His appointments has come with plenty of controversy over his lack of intelligence and experience, or I should say his intelligence experience, which actually is required by law, as well as his steadfast support for President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long do you expect Bill Pulte to be acting DNI?

TRUMP: Well, as long as it takes to get everybody else approved. I mean, they were doing a rush act and we didn't get anything for it. Look, he's a very legitimate guy. He's very smart. He's a brilliant guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: He says legitimate, but is he qualified? You see, Pulte has previously served as a federal housing official in the Trump administration since last year. Not intelligence.

Stocks, short term bonds, even gold, all falling after the Federal Reserve announced it was holding interest rates steady. The Dow falling 507 points, nearly 1 percent as you see. According to FedWatch traders, they're now pricing in a 45 percent chance of a rate hike come October. The announcement from the Fed, it came after Kevin Marsh's first meeting as chair in Washington. That's where we find CNN's Matt Eagan.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Kevin Warsh has long called for regime change at the Fed. Today he made clear that he is serious about that. He's not calling for subtle incremental changes. He's calling for sweeping changes. And Warsh said that he's promising a, quote, "new chapter and fresh thinking." And he launched five different task force that could change how the Fed does everything from, from communicate to the public to manage its massive balance sheets, even how it's measuring the health of the economy. And the change here was immediate. This Fed statement was almost unrecognizable with the last one.

It removed the forward guidance that investors have long used as a guide for what the Fed might do next. And the statement was incredibly succinct.

It was less than half as long as the last Fed statement. And one analyst said it might have been the shortest Fed statement on record.

Now the other thing that really stood out to me is something that was actually the last line in the Fed statement where the committee said that they will, quote, "deliver price stability." And Warsh, he repeatedly mentioned this during the press conference, noting that for five years now the Fed has missed its 2 percent inflation target. And he vowed to fix that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN WARSH, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Inflation has been running well ahead of the Fed's long stated inflation goal of 2 percent. That's been going on for more than five years. Persistently high prices are a burden for the American people. But the recent past need not be prologue.

I am pleased to report that members of the FOMC are unambiguous and unanimous. This committee will deliver price stability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: And yet, despite that emphatic statement, the Federal Reserve is not moving to fight inflation. At least not yet. Even though inflation is at a three-year high, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged, as was widely expected on Wall Street.

So, the Fed is not delivering those interest rate cuts that the White House wants, but they're also not delivering the rate higher hikes that some of the inflation hawks want. However, the Fed did signal that an interest rate hike could be on the way. Nine Fed officials are penciling in at least one interest rate hike by the end of the year and that would be designed to try to get inflation back down.

Now this is a big change from March when the Fed was penciling in at least one interest rate cut. Bottom line here, Kevin Warsh he made clear that he wants to make significant changes to the Fed and that he is serious about fighting inflation. Now we'll wait and see whether or not all those changes work to get inflation back down. Matt Egan, CNN, Washington.

[04:25:20]

SANDOVAL: And President Trump officially signed the U.S.-Iran agreement, saying that it wasn't easy. What we know about the memorandum of understanding and also how it will be implemented. That's coming up.

Plus a new legal strategy from Luigi Mangione. The man accused of shooting and killing an insurance company CEO will tell you what his defense team is now attempting as they try to keep him out of prison for the rest of his life. The latest details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Coming up on 4:30 a.m. here on the east coast. And we want to get you back to our top story. President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart, they have now hard copies of that 14- point agreement.

This document aiming to end the war and to also reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But it leaves the future of Iran's nuclear program up for discussion later.

Pakistan, a key mediator in this and its prime minister says that the agreement is already in effect. But we're also hearing some conflicting reports from the White House and from Tehran, as CNN's Kristen Holmes reports.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There already seems to be some confusion around the signing of this document and whether or not that 60 day negotiating period has officially kicked off. I was just told by sources that President Trump, while at this dinner in the palace of Versailles, signed a hard copy of the agreement. He then sent a photo or that photo was sent to the Iranians.

Now what we are being told by U.S. official and I want to say this very specific.