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House Approves War Powers Resolution for the Third Time to End Iran War; Remembering Mahsa Amini Four Years After Her Death. Aired 3- 3:45a ET

Aired September 16, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, and this is "CNN Newsroom."

The U.S. House votes to rein in Donald Trump's war powers as a sobering report reveals an approaching rise in inflation as the war with Iran drags on.

And four years after the death of Mahsa Amini, the Woman, Life, Freedom movement lives on in Iran. We'll be speaking with an expert about the current plights of women in Iran.

And the U.S. military admitting for the first time that it has weapons in space. What that could mean for the future of global relations is next.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: Let's begin this hour with yet another rebuke of President Trump's war with Iran by members of Congress.

On Tuesday, late Tuesday, the House voted for a third time to approve a measure that would require the President to end the war. And the vote saw three new Republican defections, with seven in total now joining the Democrats' efforts. It's still unclear though whether the Senate would approve this latest attempt to end the war, but Democrats plan to try later this week.

And the U.S. Congressional Budget Office is now estimating that the war with Iran has cost the American taxpayer roughly $38 billion. And that figure does not include the cost to repair U.S. bases and facilities that have been damaged during the war. And most of the price tag comes from the cost to replace all of the munitions that the military has used.

The CBO estimating that total was nearly $22 billion as of early August. And Iran's foreign minister is meeting his Chinese counterpart in Beijing today. Iranian state media reporting that the two are expected to discuss key regional and international issues, among other things.

And this comes as the U.S. Secretary of State and Oman's foreign minister say that they too discussed the situation in Iran during a phone call on Tuesday. The call took place one day after plans fell through for a meeting involving Oman, Iran and other Gulf countries over the Strait of Hormuz.

And today also marks four years since the death in Iranian police custody of Mahsa Amini, she's a 22-year-old Kurdish woman. She died after being detained by Iranian authorities and taken to a so-called re-education center, accused of not abiding by the country's conservative dress code, specifically wearing her hijab too loosely.

And her arrest and death in custody sparked nationwide protests known as the Women, Life, Freedom movement. At the time it represented one of the most significant challenges to the regime since the 1979 revolution.

But the mass demonstrations were brutally suppressed by the Iranian governments and security forces. More than 550 people were killed and almost 20,000 others arrested.

To discuss all of this we're joined now by Ambassador Melanne Verveer. She's the executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and also the former U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women's issues. Madam Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us.

MELANNE VERVEER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE FOR WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY, AND FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE FOR GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES: Well, thank you, Polo. It's good to be with you.

SANDOVAL: If we could begin perhaps with just what's happening today in Iran, even in the face of war, does the Women, Life, Freedom movement remain alive?

VERVEER: Well, it does.

And I think it's wonderful that this anniversary is being marked in the midst of the war that is continuing, because the young woman Amini Mahsa died, was killed, actually, four years ago today. And her death sparked an enormous protest movement. And it was a call for exactly that.

There had been and continue to be repression, terrible repression of women in Iran. And the mandatory hijab, the compulsory hijab, was one of the manifestations of that repression, but there were so many others.

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And what is interesting on this anniversary, in the midst of this war that continues, for example, ten NGOs, organizations that cover the breadth of society, from oil worker associations to nurses to retirees to women's groups, issued a statement on this anniversary basically saying that they continue to vow to continue this effort for equality, for freedom, for economic security, and for an end to repression.

And we also know that there were some Kurdish women in prison who have marked a hunger strike today. So this vital movement in the midst of everything that's happening continues to resonate throughout the society.

SANDOVAL: I'm so glad you mentioned Mahsa Amini's death. Her name alone became sort of this rallying cry for the masses in Iran years ago, hoping for more independence and freedom. What are some noticeable changes, Ambassador, on the streets of Iran today, especially after Amina's death in the custody of Iran's notorious morality police?

VERVEER: Well, you know, it's interesting. Women, especially women and children, disproportionately are impacted by war. There's a terrible humanitarian crisis that's ongoing.

The economic situation is very severe, very high pressures on livelihoods, a shortage of products. Inflation is very high, life is very difficult. In fact, women have to manage that empty table, so to speak.

And the repression, regrettably, perhaps not surprisingly, but even with all of the other attention that the Revolutionary Guard is focused on today, they are continuing to surveil, to monitor, to detain, to imprison, to brutalize women and other members of society who exhibit any kind of mannerisms or protests against what they consider inappropriate.

And in fact, in that message that was issued, those organizations said that the regime should stop justifying repression by virtue of the fact that there is an ongoing war and there is a security environment, that that is no justification for repression. So in fact, the repression continues, and it is in many ways intensified.

SANDOVAL: What would it take? Obviously, this regime, as you point out, continues to repress its people. It is nonetheless perhaps being tested by the war.

Ambassador, what do you think it could take to perhaps see yet another movement on the streets of Iran, and that it would hopefully lead to even more change?

VERVEER: Well, the spirit of the people is there. There is no doubt that the gaps between the regime and the masses of people is enormous. They are not happy to make an understatement with the conditions in which they live and the repression that they suffer from.

Regime change is something they have longed for, and their efforts that in many ways seemed hopeful not that many months ago, as the beginning of the end, have turned out to be a little different. And it's very difficult to predict where all of this ends up.

SANDOVAL: Yes. We'll certainly be watching it closely. Ambassador Melanne Verveer, thank you so much for your perspective and of course for your ongoing work to defend the rights of women around the world. VERVEER: Thank you very much.

SANDOVAL: A top Pentagon official has confirmed that the U.S. has deployed weapons in space, saying that the country is ready to defend against threats wherever they may exist. It's the first public acknowledgement after years of warnings of potential space threats by China and Russia. Our Brian Todd has more.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An extraordinary acknowledgement by a top U.S. official of the presence of U.S. weapons in space. This is believed to be the first time that a U.S. official has ever acknowledged the presence of American weapons in space.

This came from Air Force Secretary Troy Meink at a conference outside Washington, saying that the U.S. has deployed weapons in space and will use them to defend American forces. Menke said the United States now has, quote, "on-orbit space control weapons" capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action.

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Now, Meink did not provide specifics about the weapons. And when he was pressed on specifics, he refused to give any details.

He was vague, possibly because there are treaties in place restricting the placement of certain kinds of weapons in orbit, including the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which bans nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in orbit. It does not ban the use of conventional weapons in space. It is also not known exactly when these American weapons were deployed into space.

CNN has reached out to the Space Force for comment on this. China and Russia have been challenging America's dominance in space in recent years.

The U.S. military has repeatedly warned that China and Russia are testing new offensive space capability, like Russians' satellite constellation training missions, as U.S. officials phrased it. U.S. officials say that this Russian system could demonstrate attack and defend tactics for combat in space. Also, U.S. officials saying that China is developing what they call a nuclear-capable partial-orbit hypersonic missile.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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SANDOVAL: Joining me now is a former NASA astronaut and retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dr. David Wolf. It's great to see you. Thank you so much for joining us.

DR. DAVID WOLF, RETIRED U.S. AIR FORCE LIEUTENANT COLONEL, AND FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Thank you, Polo. SANDOVAL: So, Lieutenant Colonel, just emphasizing for our viewers,

this is the first public acknowledgement that the U.S. has weapons in orbit. Do you think that that statement from U.S. senior officials is at least in part meant to be more of a deterrent for other nations?

WOLF: Well, so, I believe everybody's well known that weapons have been deployed in space by all parties for quite a while. And deterrence is critical here. And the critical element of deterrence is that it's believable, it's credible, and it is real.

And that needs to be balanced against the geopolitical landscape, which favors escalation. And then we need to balance those so we don't cause a misinterpretation or false detection that triggers a disaster.

SANDOVAL: Forgive me, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink did not provide any specifics. But I'm just curious, from your perspective, what should America expect the destructive potential of these weapons to be? In other words, what's the range of possibilities and the capabilities?

WOLF: Well, from very low battlefield level, which would probably not be considered strategic at this level, all the way to overwhelming capabilities of destruction that could change our way of life on the planet. That's if we had a runaway, non-de-escalated deployment of the weapons.

SANDOVAL: I'm also curious, what does U.S. intelligence generally show about space-based weaponry efforts when it comes to other nations? Is this some sort of new space race, you think?

WOLF: Well, it's not, I don't want to go into real detail, but you don't need to clearly understand this. This is not as new as it sounds.

The reentry vehicles, MIRVs, for decades have been way hypersonic, Mach 24 even levels. That's a natural reentry speed. But they're not as maneuverable.

Hypersonics generally refers to more maneuverable multiple Mach vehicles to make a more complicated problem for the target to solve in order to avoid attack, usually being a defensive missile.

SANDOVAL: Nations take lessons also from just the ongoing state here on Earth to try to develop what would probably be a more stable space policy, you think?

WOLF: Yes, it's really important that we learn the lessons from all the decades of past wars, where deterrence is balanced against geopolitical landscapes.

Wars broke out, it's human nature, we know that. So as we escalate into space, which is inevitable, and America has to be on top of that, and we have really a great policy for the world, a whole global policy. We have to balance that global against the natural tendency to escalate into space and balance it hopefully so the deterrence is effective on all sides. SANDOVAL: And as we heard, there are some limits, there's some

treaties in place. I wonder if you could just give us a snapshot of what some of those are.

WOLF: Yes, well, there's the Outer Space Treaty and weapons deployments treaties, there's several of them. And they do limit deployment.

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But all countries know that there's secret business going on up there. And we can't just let the other countries run away with that.

I'm not saying we violate treaties, but we don't sign all the treaties completely. We're more honest about our deployments in America. Many countries do sign those treaties, and we know they're deploying such weapons.

SANDOVAL: It is absolutely fascinating, and we're grateful for your perspective in allowing us to tap into your expertise. Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Dr. David Wolf, really appreciate your time.

WOLF: Thank you very much, you're welcome.

SANDOVAL: And there's still much more ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," including an update on the Trump administration's foiled efforts to restrict mail and voting. How the president is reacting to the Supreme Court's rejection in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: Poland is reinforcing security at its border with Ukraine after recent Russian drones, after one particular struck nearby. The country's defense minister says that the government's decision comes as Russia's actions, quote, "threaten the security of all of Europe."

And two Russian strikes hit near Ukraine's border with Poland over the weekend. One hit a train near where a group of former security officials and world leaders were traveling. Russia's defense ministry claiming that the train had been transporting military cargo.

CNN is also following reports of another train hit by Russian strikes today. Ukrainian Railway says that because of an early warning, all passengers and crew were safely evacuated before that strike.

In the meantime, European officials have gathered in France. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is giving her annual address to the E.U. Parliament as we listen in.

All right. She's currently discussing multiple topics, including Europe's economy, A.I. and border security as well. Not sure if we want to listen in here, but again, these are some live pictures that are coming out of France as we continue to see the E.U. chief there addressing and essentially offering her State of the Union, her Union, the Union speech there.

We'll continue to monitor, of course, bringing in developments there as she continues to call for solidarity in that address.

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URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Honorable members, Europe cannot remain an industrial powerhouse if its energy prices are structurally too high. When Russia cut us off the gas, we fought back. Our supplies are now more diversified, and we invested in our homegrown, clean energies, and this is renewables and nuclear.

But then came the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and again, we bitterly felt the cost of our general dependence on imported fossil fuels. And let me just give you one figure. Since the start of the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, imported fossil fuels cost us an additional 90 billion euros, without a single molecule of energy in addition.

So we need to double down on our affordable and homegrown clean energy, be it renewables or nuclear, be it biomethane or others, technologically neutral. But these energies must give us independence and drive down energy prices. For this independence, we need to electrify Europe.

Our goal is to double the share of electricity by 2040. With this, Europe could cut its fossil fuel import bill by 260 billion euros per year. But we also need to ensure that the electricity we generate is available.

Last year, we installed more than 80 gigawatts of renewable capacity. Good. But six times more capacity is still waiting to be connected.

What a waste. And this is why we need the grids package so urgently. We must invest faster, we must speed up grids connection, we must develop storage. In short, let's make Europe's future electric, this is a must.

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SANDOVAL: All right. We're listening to those remarks coming from the head of the -- from E.U. chief Ursula von der Leyen.

We're going to continue to listen to her remarks. It's highly anticipated speech coming from that official. Of course, we'll bring you more as it continues to develop there out of Strasbourg, France.

Meanwhile, election officials across the U.S. have been expressing their relief after the Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Trump's plans to restrict mail-in voting. Despite the ruling, the administration insists that it will keep pursuing alternate paths towards voter reform.

CNN's Maddie Gannon has the latest from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MADDIE GANNON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everyone from state and local election officials to President Donald Trump himself was anxiously awaiting this decision from the Supreme Court on voting by mail just ahead of November's midterm elections. And on Tuesday, Trump did not hold back in his criticism of the Supreme Court's rejection of his proposed changes. Just two justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, supported the plan.

In a searing post on True Social, Trump accused the Supreme Court of letting the country down. He added without evidence that it will make it easier for Democrats to cheat in elections.

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And Trump also argued that these are not the same Supreme Court justices that he interviewed to be on the bench.

The Trump administration wanted changes like adding barcodes to ballots, requiring states to give voter rolls to the federal government, and allowing the U.S. Postal Service to reject mail ballots in some instances. The Supreme Court gave little explanation for its rejection of Trump's limits. But it comes as many state and local election officials have been expressing concerns about implementing these changes so quickly before an election.

Those opposed to the changes, like California Attorney General Rob Bonta, are celebrating.

ROB BONTA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: He just secured an important victory in front of the United States Supreme Court blocking a final rule by the United States Postal Service that would have upended mail voting throughout the United States of America.

GANNON: Bonta also said the Supreme Court decision means that the election this November will be, quote, "business as usual." But it marks a loss for Trump, who has long criticized broad mail-in voting practices despite using the voting method himself. President Trump is also pushing for other election changes through legislation called the SAVE America Act, but it's been unable to pass the Senate.

At the White House, I'm Maddie Gannon.

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SANDOVAL: All right, another story that we're following closely here.

U.S. President Donald Trump's hand-picked Kennedy Center board has voted to temporarily shut down the performing arts venue. And the move came just hours after a federal judge blocked efforts to add President Trump's name to the landmark ruling that congressional approval is required.

And Trump says that the center should remain closed unless his name is restored. The administration plans to appeal that ruling.

And we'll be right back with more. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, and these are today's top stories.

The U.S. House has voted for a third time to approve a measure that would require President Trump to end his war with Iran. And this latest vote saw three more Republicans, seven in total now, join the Democrats' efforts to end the war. And that includes two representatives in Iowa who are both facing competitive races in the November midterms.

And President Trump is voicing his anger over the Supreme Court's decision to block his efforts to restrict mail-in voting. He slammed the ruling in a lengthy social media post, again calling mail-in voting a corrupt disaster. Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department would abide by the ruling but will not stop its pursuit of voter reform.

A Kremlin spokesperson says that President Trump's idea for a ceasefire on energy site attacks is, quote, "a very good idea." Both Russia and Ukraine have been targeting each other's energy infrastructure and fuel stations in recent weeks, even after President Trump claimed both sides had agreed to stand down on those attacks, strikes continued. Dmitry Peskov says that while the proposal is a good idea, it won't solve all the issues.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman has announced a major development in the high-profile murder case against Nick Reiner.

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NATHAN HOCHMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We did speak with Nick Reiner's siblings. They made their views very clear. We took that their views into consideration in ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty.

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SANDOVAL: Reiner faces two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his parents, legendary director Rob Reiner, and his wife, Michelle. The couple was found dead with apparent stab wounds in their Brentwood home last December. Nick Reiner has pleaded not guilty.

The investigation into the death of Hayden Panettiere is examining whether she got counterfeit drugs from a Southern California dealer. That's according to a source familiar with the investigation. The actress had a cardiac arrest in an apartment in Greensboro, South Carolina about a month ago.

Panettiere had spoken publicly about her struggle with substance abuse. The source says the pending toxicology test will be critical in helping investigators determine whether the 36-year-old ingested a counterfeit narcotic.

U.S. lawmakers are putting pressure on the White House to answer for the growing costs of the U.S. war with Iran and rising concerns over A.I. Hear what the Treasury Secretary had to say in his very tense hearing on Capitol Hill.

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[03:35:00]

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Here are your business headlines.

Economists are widely expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in the coming hours amid concerns about persistently high inflation. It would be the Fed's first move higher in three years and could signal the start of a new hiking cycle over the next few months. The 10-year Treasury yield rose on Tuesday to its highest level in 19 years and if the Fed surprises analysts by holding rates steady, it could accelerate the sell-off in the bond market, pushing yields even higher.

Republicans failed on Tuesday to get the Senate to pass a key bill aimed at regulating cryptocurrency. Democrats say the bill, known as the Clarity Act, did not go far enough in preventing public officials like President Trump from trading crypto or in safeguarding assets from future financial crashes. According to the Office of Government Ethics, President Trump has made more than $1 billion in crypto- related income.

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Skyrocketing fuel prices are sparking protests around the world as the U.S. war with Iran continues to rock the global economy. In the south of France, dozens of fishermen blocked a major fuel depot on Tuesday. Protesters have also taken to the streets of Portugal, Guatemala, Syria and the Philippines in recent days.

And in a sometimes contentious Capitol Hill hearing on Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the Trump administration. At least the Trump administration's war with Iran, even as lawmakers pressed him on surging energy prices for U.S. consumers. Well, he also faced questions about the administration's approach to A.I.

(inaudible) with more from Washington.

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent interrupted multiple times on Capitol Hill Tuesday by anti-Iran war protesters.

Bessent, making an appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, defended President Donald Trump's handling of Iran. But lawmakers grilled Bessent on the conflict's upward pressure on oil

and energy prices.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: I was trying to get you that report eventually.

Let's close out though with Ed Sheeran. He has lost all four of his supporting acts in the wake of Macklemore being dropped from the lineup on his loop tour. Music producer Phineas, Irish singer- songwriter Aaron Rowe and Danish pop band Lucas Graham and Sheeran's live backing band have all withdrawn from the concert series in solidarity with the rapper.

He was removed after appearing at Sheeran's New Jersey show earlier this month and making Free Palestine comments on stage. Macklemore says the venues pressured the tour to drop him. Sheeran insisting the decision was made by his tour promoter and the venues and not him.

I want to thank you so much for watching and with your patience with that technical trouble as always. "World Sport" is coming up next, and I'll be right back with you at the top of the hour with more news.

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