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Iran Says It Is Closing Hormuz Strait After Israeli Attacks In Lebanon; Vance Heads To Israel For U.S.-Iran Peace Talks; More Rain In Forecast For Waterlogged Central U.S./Gulf Coast; Iran Says It's Closing Hormuz Strait After Israeli Attacks In Lebanon; Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) Discusses About Interim Iran Agreement; Vance Heads To Switzerland For U.S.-Iran Peace Talks; Trump: Multiple People Arrested For "Vandalizing" Reflection Pool; Peeling Material, Algae Plague Renovated Reflecting Pool. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 20, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:11]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I am Omar Jimenez in New York. We are going to start with a little bit of breaking news.

Vice President J.D. Vance has just departed Washington for Israel, where further talks with Iran are set to take place as Iranian state media reports that Iran's delegation has landed in Zurich, but ahead of negotiations, Iran is accusing Israel of violating a ceasefire in Lebanon that prompted Tehran to say it was closing the critical Strait of Hormuz, but the United States Central Command is disputing that claim, saying Iran doesn't control the Strait, adding that earlier, marine traffic was flowing through the waterway while U.S. Forces monitor the situation.

I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who joins us now from The White House.

Julia, we just heard from Vice President Vance a short time ago. What is he saying ahead of these talks with Iran?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar, Vice President J.D. Vance is on his way to Israel now as preparations for these talks with Iran begin. Now, his travel plans changed throughout the week. We thought he might go to Switzerland a couple of days ago, but those plans seem to even be in flux a bit this morning, as he was speaking with Fox News, he said that the next steps would be planned after the principles from the Iranian government, as well as the Qatari and Pakistani governments had arrived.

Vance did say it was his understanding that the Iranians were there on the ground. CNN has confirmed that that delegation is there. So now what are those expectations for these talks? Vance said that this will likely take place for a couple of days. They are going to start at this very high level, of course, with him there, and then the technical teams will stay on to work through some of those details.

But he went on to say this, "I can only be there for a day or two. I think we are going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are two big things that I think we are going to be focused on," adding, "I am sure the Iranians are going to have issues they would like to discuss as well."

Now, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are already there on the ground. They have been dealing with some of the technical aspects of the negotiations, and the administration has said that so far, those things are going well.

A reminder that this Memorandum of Understanding is really just a starting point. It then kicks off this 60-day time period for negotiations to tackle some of the bigger issues, like Iran's nuclear program and the fate of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

One piece that was addressed in that Memorandum of Understanding was the Strait of Hormuz. And as you pointed out, Iran has recently said that it has once again closed that critical waterway. The U.S. Military is pushing back on that, saying that it will continue to make sure that vessels can pass through.

JIMENEZ: Definitely something to watch, especially as these talks get underway in Switzerland. What actually changes outside of these rooms where discussions are being held?

Julia Benbrook appreciate the reporting from The White House.

For more on what is happening in the region, I want to bring in CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Once again, we see the Lebanon front and the conflict there between Israel and Hezbollah disrupting the attempted negotiations at this point between the U.S. and Iran.

We saw another deadly day in Lebanon. Israeli air strikes in Southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people, according to the Ministry of Public Health there. Meanwhile, the Israeli military says one soldier was killed early Saturday morning and Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in Southern Lebanon.

Because of the Israeli strikes, Iran said they are shutting the Strait of Hormuz and this is the second time in two days they have taken steps after what they see as Israeli violations of the ceasefire.

[18:05:07]

And because of what we see on the ground, that is continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, it seems this issue may keep coming up over and over again, disrupting potential U.S.-Iran talks when there are only 60 days and counting now to try to get to a more permanent ceasefire and expand upon the Memorandum of Understanding.

At least part of the problem here depends on what ceasefire you're looking at. Israel sees itself as abiding by the terms of the June 4th ceasefire, that which Hezbollah rejected allowed Israeli forces to remain in Southern Lebanon and allowed the Israeli military to continue to operate in Southern Lebanon and work against Hezbollah infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah and Iran are pointing at the latest ceasefire signed with the United States, which is supposed to be a permanent end to all hostilities, including in Lebanon. It is that ceasefire agreement with the United States that President Donald Trump signed just days ago, that Iran is saying Israel is violating.

But it is this complex situation that the U.S. is going to have to figure out if it wants to get a smooth rhythm of negotiations going on, a very limited timeline to get to a more permanent agreement with Iran.

Oren Liebermann, CNN in Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Some crucial context from Oren Liebermann. I want to bring in CNN global affairs analyst, Kimberly Dozier right now. So I just want to ask about these conflicting messages to start off that we are hearing from the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, because, one, whatever the situation actually is right now, if Iran is still able to shut down the Strait whenever it sees fit, does the U.S. have enough leverage in these negotiations to ultimately get what it wants out of a final deal?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it certainly doesn't have a lot of leverage over what Iran does with the Strait, at least not right now. But two things can be true at the same time, in that there are a couple of different routes you can take through the Strait right now. There is the one that hugs the Iranian coastline, where you have to have Iranian permission and then there is the one opposite on the opposite bank, hugging the Omani coastline, where the U.S. Military can escort ships through.

Iran is really messaging over the head of the U.S. Military to all those private shipping companies, the insurers who backed them, saying, we've just declared it closed. Do you want to take a chance when we say it is closed because you go through, that means it is open season on you.

And you're absolutely right that the U.S. doesn't seem to have leverage over Iran because it didn't defang Iran's ability to control the Strait in its military operations.

JIMENEZ: You know, when you look at sort of how delicate things are at this stage of the negotiations right now, one of the complicating factors has been Israel and Hezbollah and the back and forth that we have seen in Lebanon there. How should the U.S. be engaging with Israel at this moment?

Do you think the Trump administration should be taking a harder stance with the country? DOZIER: Well, the Trump administration signed this deal, apparently thinking it could get Bibi Netanyahu and the Israeli military not to fire back when fired upon. That was a big gamble. Now, there is another player in this, in that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, has a number of officers advising and essentially in control of Hezbollah's military wing.

So, you know, ostensibly, Iran could also put pressure on Hezbollah not to fire south, but just to make things more complicated on the Iranian side, you've got the government side, which is backing some sort of a deal and negotiation and really pushed for this Memorandum of Understanding and has shown up in Switzerland. And then you've got the military side, which can use Hezbollah at any time as a spoiler.

So on both sides, yes, The White House could pressure Israel. One part of Iran could pressure Hezbollah or order Hezbollah to stop if it decides to.

JIMENEZ: You know, as part of these negotiations, it seems at points, there has been a lot of talks about tolls and whether they may or may not be used. Iranian officials have at times referred to them as service fees as opposed to tolls. But bottom line, some form of payment for passing through the Strait. And President Trump posted this earlier today saying "There will be no tolls in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the ceasefire period. No tolls after the 60-day period unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America should the deal not be completed for services rendered as the guardian angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present and future reimbursement of costs."

Just -- I mean, he is suggesting if there is no deal, the U.S. would implement a toll in the Strait of Hormuz.

Is that even possible? How do you even see that dynamic playing out here?

[18:10:10]

DOZIER: -- to block the Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz, something it hasn't been able to do thus far, and that would also essentially turn the U.S. into pirates in control of what is supposed to be an international waterway and that would complicate it when the U.S. objects to China doing the same thing in waters, say, between China and Taiwan that the world says are international waterways and China says that it owns.

So, you know, it might have felt good to type that out and post it on Truth Social, but I don't see him enacting that.

JIMENEZ: Kimberly Dozier, appreciate the insight as we monitor these delicate talks moving forward. Thanks for being here.

DOZIER: Thanks.

JIMENEZ: All right, still ahead, President Trump's framework for an agreement with Iran facing major backlash from some members of his own party. We are going to talk to a Republican Congressman, Carlos Gimenez, all about it.

Plus, extreme flooding hits neighborhoods in multiple states, but there may be even more rain to come. We are going to take a look at the forecast there.

And then could a more than a century-and-a-half old tradition in New York City's Central Park soon be over? We are going to explain the new push to ban horse drawn carriages.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:57]

JIMENEZ: We've got more rain in the forecast for the Central United States and the Gulf Coast, parts of which are still underwater after days of record breaking downpours there.

Now, both Louisiana and Mississippi saw more than a foot of rainfall over the course of just 12 hours. You can see some of the devastating impact of the flooding there. I mean, some areas under a flash flood warning, with new showers expected to fall on top of already rain soaked soil and then serious flooding that came from Tropical Storm Arthur killed two people in Texas earlier in the week.

Heavy downpours dumped more than four inches of rain on Dallas, flooding across low-lying areas and the town. Arthur produced at least seven tornadoes as well in Southern Louisiana, including one that destroyed four homes in Jefferson Parish south of New Orleans.

CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar has a look at what is ahead.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: More than 15 million people are under that threat for severe storms, mainly across the central portion of the country. But there could even be a few strong to severe thunderstorms down along the Gulf Coast, where yet again, we are going to be looking at additional rainfall and this area does not need any more rain. You're looking at rainfall totals just since Monday, so not even a full week.

Look at all of the pink color you see here, that shows areas that have picked up at least ten inches of rain just since Monday and there is even a few tiny white pockets there, indicating at least 20 inches of rain.

Now, we are not expected to add a tremendous amount of more moisture today. But really, when you think about how saturated that ground is, it is not going to take much to trigger additional flooding concerns along the Gulf Coast region and that is through the remainder of the evening hours tonight and even into the overnight.

You also have that cluster of storms that has been ongoing across areas of the central U.S., that is slowly making its way over into the Midwest as we head into the day on Sunday, and will continue to make its way across, even as we go into the day Monday as well.

By that point, really kind of focusing more on the mid-Atlantic and the northeast. But Sunday and Monday, additional storms yet again across portions of the Southeast, where they just simply do not need any more rain.

Just through Sunday, again, you can see widespread totals of about an extra one to two inches, but there will be a few spots that could pick up three, four or even five on top of what they've already had.

JIMENEZ: All right, Allison Chinchar, appreciate the forecast, and we want to show you this because we are learning new details about a deadly fire that broke out at a beach resort in the Dominican Republic.

Local authorities and well, first of all, you see just how devastating the fire is that we are talking about. Local authorities say an Italian woman was killed and at least nine other people were injured in this massive fire at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Hotel on Friday.

Authorities had to evacuate 1,700 tourists from the resort. I mean, you can see why, based on the amount of flames and the intense smoke as well. Emergency officials said flammable palm roofs and high winds intensified the spread of these flames. The cause of the fire is now still under investigation, but scary scenes nonetheless.

Meanwhile, up here in New York City, tonight, horse-drawn carriage rides in New York City have been temporarily suspended following the tragic death of an 18-year-old tourist. The victim died Wednesday after his horse carriage bolted through Central Park without its driver, and he is believed to be the first person to die in a horse carriage accident since they were introduced in Central Park more than 150 years ago.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now from New York. And, Gloria, the tragedy is renewing calls to ban these rides.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Omar. In fact, the horses are expected to be off the street, at least through the weekend, while the union provides some refresher trainings to their workers. But this effort to ban the horses from the park has been going on for several years, and now, after this really sad tragedy, supporters of the ban, as well as animal welfare advocates, are hoping that their cause has some new momentum.

[18:20:06 ]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAZMINO (voice over): It was supposed to be a leisurely horse-drawn carriage ride in New York's Central Park, but video shows it quickly turned deadly after the horse became spooked and took off with the Mahajan family inside.

Eighteen-year-old old Romanch was killed after trying to help his mother, who was thrown from the carriage. The Mahajan family traveled from India to celebrate Romanch's high school graduation and were enjoying a day in the city when the carriage driver stopped to photograph the family, he stepped out of the carriage and the horse took off.

The teen's father told "The New York Times," "They clung desperately to each other inside the carriage as the horse sprinted, but when Romanch's mother fell out of the carriage, he jumped after her to help and his head hit the pavement."

The driver chased after it but wasn't able to catch the out-of-control carriage, which didn't stop until it hit another coach and fell to its side. Eighteen-year-old Romanch later died at the hospital.

PAZMINO (on camera): Now, days after this shocking incident, Central Park horse carriages are temporarily off the job. On a regular day, you would have seen them lining up here, stopping at the water trough to drink before picking up their passengers. But now the union representing the drivers says they are conducting an investigation.

PAZMINO (voice over): The carriage accident is the first human fatality in more than a hundred years of the industry operating inside the park. A string of horse-related accidents, eight just in the past 13 months has reignited calls from animal welfare advocates, elected officials and the Central Park Conservancy to finally ban them.

CHRISTOPHER MARTE, NEW YORK COUNCILMEMBER, DISTRICT ONE: We had a death two days ago. A week ago, we had a horse that collapsed for ten minutes and died, and a month before that we saw a driver be taken in a stretcher.

This is long overdue. Are we going to wait for another death or are we going to take action today?

PAZMINO (voice over): The carriage drivers argue their livelihood will be destroyed.

CHRISTINA HANSEN, SHOP STEWARD, TW LOCAL 100, CENTRAL PARK CARRIAGES: We just are devastated that this happened. People in our business have been doing this for decades. This is their small business -- these are their small businesses.

PAZMINO (voice over): The iconic carriages are a major tourist attraction for those who want to see some of the city's most famous landmarks.

JILL MICHAELS, NEW YORKER: It has historically been available for a long time, and I just think it is part of the ambiance.

PAZMINO (voice over): Efforts to ban and reform the industry have spanned three mayoral administrations, including legislation requiring mandatory vacation time for horses, temperature limits and keeping the carriage rides inside the park.

It was supposed to be a once in a lifetime trip for the Mahajan family. The memory of their son now memorialized on a Central Park bench.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PAZMINO (on camera): Omar, the rest of the Mahajan family sustained minor injuries during that accident, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani has opened the door to a ban, saying that he wants to work with the union and the workers to get horses out of the park, protect workers' jobs, but ultimately end the practice of horse drawn carriages inside Central Park -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Gloria Pazmino, appreciate the reporting.

Still to come, several Democratic-led states now taking major steps to protect their elections from the federal government. Why some Democrats say President Trump's "shocking statements" are raising alarm bells ahead of November.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:27:58]

JIMENEZ: Some Democratic states are working to prevent potential election interference by the Trump administration. Five states -- California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland and Washington State have passed legislation in an effort to shield their elections from potential interference. They say, it is in response to Trump's rhetoric about voting fraud and the administration's increasingly aggressive moves to reshape election procedures.

I want to bring in CNN national reporter, Fredreka Schouten who joins us now. So what types of legislation are these states passing, and what are they trying to prevent?

FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, CNN NATIONAL REPORTER: Well, what they are trying to prevent is election interference as you mentioned, Omar.

I mean, President Trump, since he has returned to The White House, has tried to unilaterally change the conduct of elections. He has done executive orders that try to curb mail-in voting. He has tried to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. That is, you have to show a birth certificate or a passport to register to vote.

His administration has tried to gain access to voter rolls with sensitive information, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth, in an effort to look over states' shoulders to make sure that they are cleaning them up. And his department -- his FBI, for instance, also seized election materials from the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia.

So all of that has been raising alarms, so has his language. For instance, he was asked recently by a reporter whether he might send ICE or the National Guard to polling locations and what he said is that he would, "do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections."

So states have been responding with a couple of kind of laws that deal with certain threats. One of them is just establishing that law enforcement should not be near polling places unless asked to be there by election officials. So they have created buffer zones 100 feet, 250 feet saying you shouldn't be there. Now, of course, there are exceptions. I mean, if a police officer is chasing someone down a street past a polling location, obviously that's okay, but they are trying to send a message and put the federal government on notice that this is not going to be acceptable.

[18:30:21]

The other class of laws sort of deal with policing and guiding the conduct of local and state election officials. For instance, Washington state has made it a felony to disclose information that's on the voter registration file of local officials. The -- the idea here is that a local official can't sort of hand this information over to someone, because in that state, it really is under the control of the secretary of state.

So, what Washington state lawmakers has -- have said is, you've got to -- you can't hand this off. You've got to turn this -- these requests over to the secretary of state. Along the same lines in -- in Connecticut, there's a new law that says if an election official has received a subpoena or a warrant, please let the attorney general know.

JIMENEZ: All right, Fredreka Schouten, really appreciate you breaking that down for us. Good to see you.

All right, on our top story, Vice President Vance preparing to meet with negotiators in Switzerland to push for an agreement with Iran. But not all Republicans are happy about the proposed framework for a deal. We're going to talk to Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez about that dynamic next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:36:10]

JIMENEZ: We're following all the breaking developments in the Middle East. Iran alleging Israel violated a ceasefire in Lebanon, prompting Iran to say it would close the Strait of Hormuz, though the United States is arguing against that and saying that's not the case. Meanwhile, officials from the U.S. and Iran are expected to meet in Switzerland for more diplomatic talks, days after both sides signed an interim agreement. But that agreement in its current form is facing some sharp criticism from many Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Everything I've heard about it causes me concern. I'm interested in learning more about it, but I think it's certainly a mixed bag at best.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Some of the criticism of the MoU is valid, I think. But here's the way I look at it, without the MoU being signed, there's no pathway to diplomacy to end the nuclear ambitions of Iran. SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): It's going to leave Iran stronger. It's

going to leave our allies weaker. And it may commit U.S. taxpayer dollars.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): History demonstrates that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is an exceptionally bad idea. And -- and I think, unfortunately, the President is receiving some -- some really bad advice on this deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: I want to bring in Florida Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez, who joins us now. He serves on the House Armed Services and Homeland Security secretaries (ph).

Congressman, I appreciate you taking the time. I just want to start with getting your reaction to what your Republican colleagues said there. Do you have any concerns about the U.S.'s interim agreement with Iran?

REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): No, I'm sure -- I mean, look, I -- I have concerns about it, and -- and I agree with a lot of what my colleagues are saying because of the history of this regime for 47 years. They -- they're hard to deal with, and even when they -- they sign on the dotted line, they don't mean it. They always break their deals, and so you've got to be on them the -- the whole time. And then, there's -- they think that, you know, we break the deals, not a big -- not a big problem because nobody will follow up on it. Nobody has the courage to follow up and make us do what we said we were going to do.

That -- that's where I think it's a little bit different this time because you're facing a little bit different of a president, a president that's already demonstrated that he will use force and that he will use force again. And so, while I have concerns about the language, et cetera, it does say that this is a 60-day negotiation period, and -- and then this -- this sets a framework for that.

So, let's see what -- I'm -- I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, but, you know, I'd be less than honest with you if I didn't say that I -- that I had some concerns about it.

JIMENEZ: Is there anything in particular that concerns you?

GIMENEZ: Well, look, it's the 60 days on the -- the Strait of Hormuz that they -- they will be open, you know, to free commerce for 60 days, and then the Iranians are saying that, yes, they're going to work with Oman to see how they establish some kind of a toll.

I was heartened by a -- a Truth Social post that the President said that the only toll that he will tolerate will be a toll that will be imposed by the United States to pay for the expenses to keep the straits open. That indicates to me it's a signal to Iran that says, you're not going to be charging any tolls. If you do, then we're going to come in and force the -- the Straits open, regardless of what you do, and then we're going to charge the toll just to make sure that the American taxpayer doesn't flip that bill. I think that that's -- that's pretty strong statement.

But, again, you know, how do -- how are we going to guarantee that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon? How are those things going to be enforced? And I agree with -- with Senator Cruz, you know, it's a bad idea to give billions of dollars to people that want to kill us. However, if they exhibit good behavior, which would be a very interesting thing after 47 years, then maybe they can have access to some capital, but it has to be under the auspices of a very, very rigid inspection system that guarantees that -- that Iran will not now or in the future ever obtain a nuclear weapon.

[18:40:16]

JIMENEZ: Yes. I mean, do you see any other way out of -- out of the war or any meaningful progress forward without Iran getting some sort of financial support?

GIMENEZ: I think that that's -- that's the leverage that we have. And so, I think the greatest leverage that we have actually is the blockade. And -- and that, you know, that's strangling them financially is a very good tactic working very well with -- with more kinetic kind of options that we have. And so, you know, we're going to ease up on -- on the blockade and say, you know, if you play along with us, you know, if you -- if you exhibit good behavior, then you're going to get rewarded. If you exhibit bad behavior, then you're going to get punished. And I think that's the only way that you can deal with Iran. And we have to meet it -- we have to meet it every single time.

And so, they're just looking to wait us out, which is what they always do, hoping that, you know, either elections, politics, et cetera, gets in the way and stops the American president from doing what that American president really needs to do in order to secure not only the Middle East, but security of the entire world.

JIMENEZ: I want you, you know, one of the -- one of the complicating factors here, obviously it's not just the United States and Iran here. Obviously, they're central in their negotiations. But what's happened between Israel and Hezbollah and the back and forth that we've seen there, it's pretty apparent that it can directly affect those talks.

I want you to listen to Vice President J.D. Vance's message to Israel earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time. And he happens to be the head of state of the world's superpower. If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Do you agree with that message to Israel? And does the U.S. need to take either further or stronger action with Israel to ensure they are committed to ending this war in lockstep with the U.S.?

GIMENEZ: I mean, yes, but listen, it takes two to tango here. And so, you know, Hezbollah is a proxy of Iran. And so, when Hezbollah is continuing to launch rockets into Israel, it's at the behest of Iran, okay? And so, Israel has every single right in the world to defend itself. And so, no, I -- I don't particularly agree with the Vice President on that particular message. You know, it's -- Israel has a right to defend itself. Then, we should be pressuring Iran to pressure Hezbollah to stop bombing or, you know, launching rockets into Israel so Israel doesn't have to take those measures of retaliation against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

So, to me, it seems like Iran is really trying to sabotage the whole thing by telling Hezbollah, go ahead, start launching rockets into Israel. We know what Israel is going to do. And then we have an excuse not to come to the table. We need to tell Iran that we're not -- we're not going to tolerate that.

JIMENEZ: But even at various points, I mean, we've seen President Trump get upset with -- with Israel, seemingly, in his view, sort of disrupting the process that the United States has with Iran. Are you concerned that even if Hezbollah does continue firing, which they have not shown any indication that they would stop, that Israel's continued response would disrupt the U.S.-Iran talks to a point of no return?

GIMENEZ: It may. And, again, that that would be at the behest of Iran. So, I'm -- you know, I'm pointing the fingers. You know, unfortunately, I disagree with the President and the Vice President on this. The finger should be pointed at Iran, not -- not at Israel. Israel is basically just trying to defend itself.

Could you imagine if some -- if -- if we had, let's say, across the Mexican border, the cartels were launching rockets at us, how long we're going, you know, to tolerate that? We would not tolerate that at all. And so, why would we expect Israel to tolerate it? They're not going to tolerate it. Their -- their number one job is to protect their citizens, and -- and they're doing that. And so, does that complicate the issue? Absolutely. But, you know what, I believe Iran is trying to complicate the issue.

JIMENEZ: Before you go, I just -- I just want to ask about Cuba quickly, because earlier this week President Trump seemed to float a possible intervention, and at one point he even compared Venezuela and Cuba, saying, quote, the difference is Venezuela has oil, Cuba doesn't, Cuba has nice property, and they have nice shoreline.

I just wonder what is your response to that, and do you think Congress needs to play a bigger role in any major military intervention in Cuba?

GIMENEZ: Well, I don't know.

[18:45:02]

Look, Cuba right now, I think, the -- the policy that we're -- we're pursuing with Cuba right now is maximum pressure. The Cuban regime is at its weakest point in -- in over 60 years. They haven't had an election in over 65 years. It's a -- it's a threat to the national security of the United States. And so, I'm going to trust the president to do the right thing.

The people of Cuba deserve freedom. They deserve democracy. And America needs to have a Cuba that doesn't pose a threat to it. Right now, we know that they have over 300 drones that probably can reach into the southern United States, southeastern United States. They've got multiple, you know, listening stations, spy listening stations for Russia and China. We know they deal with Iran and Hezbollah. It's just -- it has been -- has always been, is today and will be if the regime stays in place, a national security threat to the United States, plus the fact that the -- the regime is a communist regime, which is incompetent, and they're stealing from their people.

There's $19 billion in reserves that they could use -- could be using right now to help the Cuban people, but the regime keeps it in its pockets because they're a bunch of thieves. And so, again, you know, I'm Cuban born. I -- I want to see a free Cuba, but I want to see a free Cuba that's also not a threat to -- to the security of the United States.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And we'll have to see what moves forward in that fashion, if in the same way as Venezuela or something much more spread out. We shall see. \Congressman Carlos Gimenez -- Gimenez with a G. Good to see you. Thanks for being here.

GIMENEZ: Yes. All right. And you're Jimenez with a J, right?

JIMENEZ: Yes, there we go. There we go. Good to see you.

GIMENEZ: Okay. Good to see you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right.

GIMENEZ: All right.

JIMENEZ: Coming up for us, the iconic Reflecting Pool in the nation's capital dealing with some issues, both new and old after a multimillion-dollar renovation touted by President Trump and paid for by taxpayers. We'll talk about what's going on here next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:32]

JIMENEZ: New tonight on Truth Social. President Trump says the United States Park Police have arrested multiple people for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflection Pool. The President has previously said, though without evidence, that the pool was vandalized.

For several days now, crews have been removing clumps of algae from the water and are also dealing with a blue coating peeling off the pool's floor. You can see some of it here. President Trump is also linking the etching of 8647 into the grass on the National Mall to the alleged pool vandalism, which in new images appears bolder after the Interior Department attempted to cover up the numbers. CNN's Tom Foreman talked to visitors at the Lincoln Memorial for their thoughts on the problems with the pool.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For a couple of protesters and a chorus of the curious, the Reflecting Pool glistening green is D.C.'s hottest new tourist distraction.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a total waste of tax dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It looks pretty gross.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's terrible.

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FOREMAN (voice over): The most recent issue, portions of what appear to be that brand new blue liner coming apart.

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FOREMAN (on camera): This is what we're talking about, and I'll try not to disturb anything but just show you pieces like this flapping up from the bottom where some tourists are even coming along and tearing them away as souvenirs.

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FOREMAN (voice over): It was supposed to be memorable in a different way when the White House fast-tracked the renovation through a no-bid contract for $14 million, seven times the cost originally pitched, President Trump insisted it would be better than anything any previous president had tried, leaving the pool clean, pristine, and with a fresh new paint job just right for the nation's 250th birthday.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It'll be blue water, dark blue. We call it American flag blue because that's the name of the color that we chose, American flag blue, can't do better than that.

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FOREMAN (voice over): But the algae came on so fast and furious, just as it had for years, and just as outside experts said it likely would, that official claims the water is now crystal clear seemed laughably false.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I see is green, so, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No blue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No blue. There's nothing. It's just bright green.

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FOREMAN (voice over): The company that installed the new liner says it had nothing to do with the water, but amid claims that the liner may be failing in places added, there are several things that we've got to address when we come back for maintenance, and anything like that will be addressed if it's a problem.

For now, pumps are working around the clock to push oxygen into the water in hopes of preventing even more algae growth, and dozens of workers are vacuuming up the green goo dawn to ducks.

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FOREMAN (on camera): The thing is, algae comes in microscopic spores that can live in water that otherwise looks clean, and that means that even as these workers are clearing out the old algae bloom, a new one could be coming right behind it.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

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JIMENEZ: All right, Tom Foreman, thank you so much.

When we come back, how Ukraine's new mid-range drones are changing the country's fight against Russia. We'll have the details ahead.

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[18:59:24]

JIMENEZ: Tomorrow night on CNN, an audacious engineering feat puts New York on the map as a global trading superpower in the early 1800s. And it's the focus of the new CNN Original Series, "This Land." Here's a preview.

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KATE MCKEEVER LOUGHMAN, DESCENDANT OF PATRICK COONEY: Patrick Cooney was my relative who came over from the coast of Ireland. He was one of the laborers who was actually doing a lot of the digging of the original canal. We don't have any idea what Patrick Cooney looked like. There are no pictures or sketches or portraits.

[19:00:00]

There aren't very many records of the laborers along the canal. I think a lot of their names have been lost to time.