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Trump: More Talks With Iran Expected This Week; Pezeshkian: Iran Had Agreed Not To Develop Nuclear Weapons; 5 Men Held On Suspicion of Terror; Explosives Offenses; China's Xi Describes Giant Pandas as "Envoys of Friendship"; Pope Leo Leaves Lourdes on Last Leg of France Trip; Germany Marks Fall with Legendary Oktoberfest. Aired 1-1:45a ET

Aired September 28, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:52]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello wherever you are in the world. You are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show, a possible fresh start in talks. The U.S. President says talks with Iran could pick back up this week. Five men are in custody in the U.K. after authorities arrested them near an air base used by U.S. long-range bombers, and now they are being held for suspicion of terror and explosives offenses.

And they're here. Two pandas are in the U.S. after a long trip from China to engage in some panda diplomacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome. We begin with the tensions in the Middle East and the U.S. war with Iran. President Donald Trump says he expects Washington and Tehran to resume talks this week.

His comments to Axios come one day after he rejected Iran's latest proposal to reopen the Strait to Hormuz. Global crude oil futures are still high as talks remain on pause. Now, seven months into the war, President Trump still claims a U.S. victory is imminent and that a nuclear-free Iran is well worth the cost of this conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to win this war very soon. And as soon as we win it, it's going to go. The oil will go down, way down to what it was before the war. And the key is Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

That's the key to the whole thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Iran's president says Tehran is ready for talks on its nuclear program and other issues, too, but would not accept bullying or coercion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (voiceover): Of course we agree. We had already reached an understanding on this in our previous talks. They struck it down. We're not supposed to develop nuclear weapons. Within the framework of the NPT and the other existing frameworks, all of these issues are matters that can be agreed upon.

Unfortunately, they are disregarding the rights that international law grants to all countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Earlier, I spoke with CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas on whether diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran is actually still possible. Here's a part of that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: We are certainly looking at some diplomacy this week. And so, what do we mean by that? Well, the U.S. and Iran are allegedly going to talk. There hasn't been a formal agreement that is going to happen yet.

And the discussions now are almost identical to where we were right before this round of conflict kicked off. This latest round, that is, and that is that the United States and Iran had sort of come to an agreement in terms of that 14 point plan that a memorandum of understanding that was going to time sequence when sanctions would be lifted and there'd be some financial relief tied to Iranian behavior.

The Iranians have come back and, as the -- our ambassador, the UN said, they're demanding everything up front, which so far doesn't work. So negotiations at this point are largely going to focus on the sequencing of events and whether or not the Iranians are willing to move.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: U.K. authorities are keeping five men in custody on suspicion of terror and explosives offenses. They were arrested in England on Sunday near an air base used by U.S. long-range bombers in the war with Iran. The men have not been publicly identified, nor has a possible motive been disclosed. CNN's Nic Robertson brings us a closer look at the ongoing investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voiceover): Seated hands behind their backs, the men believed at the center of a suspected terror plot at a military base in the U.K. used by the U.S. Air Force. According to President Donald Trump, they'd been under surveillance.

TRUMP: We had them under view for a long time, and we got them. ROBERTSON (voiceover): By early morning, the base was secured by military police as bomb disposal teams searched three suspect vehicles.

RICHARD OCONE, ASSISTANT CHIEF CONSTABLE: A 400 meter cordon has been put in place around the vehicles while the Army's explosive ordnance disposal unit examined them as a precaution. Around 85 households have been advised to evacuate while these examinations take place.

ROBERTSON: RAF Fairford has been used by the U.S. as an Air Force base for years, is home to their Global Strike Command and was recently used for long range bombing missions against Iran. Iran has recently threatened it with attack.

ROBERTSON (voiceover): The base that today had U.S. Air Force B-1 Lancer bombers near the perimeter fence had been on alert for the past week, according to local residents. Police say one of them spotted something unusual.

OCONE: Right around 12:45 a.m. today, Sunday 27 September, police received a call relating to three suspicious vehicles traveling towards RAF Fairford. Armed officers responded.

[01:05:04]

ROBERTSON (voiceover): Some of them evacuating 85 nearby families to a local leisure center as concerns grow. Who was behind the alleged plot?

TRISTAN WILKINSON, COSTWORLD DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER: We did have a direct threat from Iran about six weeks ago, so they called out RAF Fairford specifically. So, I think the community have been as well as the security services, have been on an increased level of vigilance.

I think that seeing people getting out of vans at the dead of night in a very quiet place where that's unusual is going to trigger something. So, I'm incredibly grateful to whoever called the police and didn't decide to ignore it.

ROBERTSON (voiceover): For now, the police investigation will focus on the possibility of explosives, and the five men in custody. They will have two weeks before they need to charge them. Nick Robertson, CNN, Fairford, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: In Ukraine, residents of a nine-story building are recovering from drone strikes which set their homes on fire. Officials say at least five people were killed in Russian attacks across the country on Sunday. Drone strikes killed two people in a market on the outskirts of Kyiv. Two more were killed in a bombing near Ukraine's border with Russia and another person died after a drone struck their car in a Kharkiv.

South Korean officials are demanding an apology from Ukraine along with an official explanation of what happened after it says confidential details on the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea were disclosed to the public. South Korea says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made that information public during his address to the United Nations General Assembly last week, but he did so with no prior warning. South Korea also claims Ukrainian officials later denied that there was a confidentiality agreement to begin with.

Beaches and restaurants are closed along Mexico's northern Pacific coast as the area awaits the arrival of Hurricane Polo. The storm is expected to make a landfall in Baja California on Monday night, potentially as a Category 3 hurricane.

It is also expected to bring winds of more than 100 kilometers an hour to the popular tourist spot. Forecasters predict that Polo could drop 10-20 centimeters of rain across the region, bringing the potential for life-threatening flooding and mudslides.

There is much more to come here on CNN Newsroom including we'll be diving into the outrage over housing costs in Spain and how the plight of an 87 year old woman sparked massive protests. See in a moment.

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[01:12:21]

HUNTE: Welcome back. The elderly Spanish woman who was forcibly evicted from her Madrid apartment this week is urging supporters to fight so they avoid her fate. Over the weekend, tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Madrid and other Spanish cities too. They are demanding solutions to the country's vast housing crisis.

Carme Arcarazo is the spokesperson of the Barcelona Tenants Union and is an urban and housing researcher. She joins us now from Barcelona. It's good to see you.

We have seen thousands of people take to the streets after the eviction of this 87-year-old woman. How much has this case become a symbol of Spain's wider housing crisis?

CARME ARCARAZO, SPOKESPERSON, BARCELONA TENANTS UNION: Yes, exactly. Right now, Spain is in the midst of A huge housing crisis. People are spending more than half of their income in rent, and we often face insecurity. And when our contracts end, people are often evicted or they have to leave their house because their contact no longer continues.

And the case of Mari Carmen has become a symbol. No, she has. She's a woman that is not only a symbol of the housing crisis, but also of the resistance. She's someone that refused to leave her house and showed the impact of investment funds and the importance that people resist and organized.

So that's why she has become so famous. And since her -- since her eviction, hundreds of thousands of people are out in the streets.

HUNTE: I have to say, that news did make us really sad here to see the images of her being carted out of her home. Protesters have just spent the night camping in Madrid, with more demonstrations expected. How much pressure is all of this genuinely putting on the government right now?

ARCARAZO: Well, after years of inaction, it seems like Tuesday, Pedro Sanchez government will present a decree. But the next 24 hours are crucial because we could be talking about a decree that actually changes things, that takes important measures. For that's what we have called decreed Maricarmen, which includes four important measures. But it could also be another announcement, another void announcement with measures that don't really work or are not brave enough.

[01:15:00]

What we think this decree that will be pushed like that will be probably approved on Tuesday. What we think it should include are four key measures. The first one would be open-ended contracts, or basically the ban of no-fault evictions. The second would be a rent freeze.

The third measures against fraud and like loopholes that tenants lost phase. And finally anti-eviction measures. These four elements we think are key, and that's what the streets are asking for. In Madrid, hundreds of thousands of people went out to the streets, and today Pedro Sanchez will be in Barcelona.

So there's a demonstration this afternoon in front of the congress place where he will be at so that people, yes. Ask him to pass decreed Maricarmen and not like a watered-down version of it. We think we are at probably one of the most important moments of his entire term and we really hope that he's brave enough to actually take measures that work.

As you may know --

HUNTE: Carme, are you there? We may have lost Carme, unfortunately. Obviously, we're hearing about housing situations in Spain, and we will definitely try and get her back when we can.

For now though, let's go to a break I guess. See in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:21:23]

HUNTE: The British -- oh. No, we're not going there. Extreme weather. Let's go to that, has killed at people across Nepal, and 11 others are missing. Severe flooding swept through some areas of Nepal on Sunday, damaging homes and leaving destruction in its wake.

And there is still more potential of flooding as more severe weather is still expected. Let's bring in CNN's Hanako Montgomery, who has been tracking this story for us from Tokyo. It is so good to see you, Hanako.

We are hearing that the death toll from this extreme weather in Nepal has now risen again. How bad are conditions right now?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ben, we know so far that at least 14 people have died from this extreme flooding that we've seen hit Nepal over the weekend. And you can see videos of that flooding. In one video, I believe that you can see on your screens right now, a house falls in after being battered by just a downpour of rain. And of course, again, some of those gusts of wind. And you can see people also running away from -- from that home.

And in some other video we've seen of the flash floods, we can see homes partially submerged as rivers overflow and just cause a huge, huge torrent of water go -- go downstream. And in another video, we've seen also rescue workers try to pull people out from waste deep water.

And Ben, we have to remember that this extreme flooding event that hit Nepal over the weekend comes just weeks after another extreme weather event hit the Himalayan nation. Flash floods that left at least 1,400 people dead and more than 5,000 people still missing. I mean, Nepal has not even recovered from that latest climate disaster, and yet it's grappling with yet another extreme weather event. And over the weekend, Ben, we also have gotten reports about an avalanche that hit one peak in Nepal on Sunday, leaving at least 14 people missing.

We have confirmed from one of the organizers of this expedition that at least two bodies were recovered from this avalanche, but again, 14 people still remain missing. We also know from this trekking company that all those individuals missing are Nepali nationals. They were kitchen staff who were organizing an expedition that was set to take place from October 1st. They were at base camp, getting in there early again, trying to set up this tourist expedition for travelers when this avalanche hit.

Now, again, according to this trekking organization, an avalanche of this magnitude, of this size has never hit this specific peak. But -- and they've never seen anything like it. This is the first time they've seen an avalanche of this magnitude.

But again, this is just example after example of what Nepal has been going through week after week as extreme weather is battering the country, leaving scores of people missing and even more left dead due to this extreme weather, Ben.

HUNTE: And of course, on top of all of that, more severe weather is still expected, too. What will you be watching for over the next few hours?

MONTGOMERY: Yes, Ben, we are getting reports that rescue helicopters have been dispatched to this specific peak where the avalanche hit. It's called the Himlung Himal Peak. Now, we have seen some videos of those helicopters be in that general area, but we are told that because of that severe weather, because of inclement weather that is expected to continue over the next few hours, perhaps even days, it's been very difficult for those helicopters to land and actually get supplies, get people to those parts that were severely affected. We're also told that because of communication lines, because it's in such a remote area, it's been very difficult to get really just a full picture of who might need rescuing, of the actual conditions.

[01:25:26]

So, Ben, we are looking for more videos, more updates about these rescue operations that are expected to take place over the next few hours. Again, that inclement weather and those concerns about just poor connectivity could hamper rescue efforts even further. Ben.

HUNTE: Okay. Hanako Montgomery, live for us in Tokyo. Thank you so much.

Police in South Africa were on a manhunt to find suspects in three deadly shootings. The separate attacks happened on Saturday night. More than 30 people are now dead, and so far, no arrests have been made.

One of the shootings took place at tavern outside of Johannesburg. Seventeen people were killed, and 15 others were wounded there. That very same night, 10 people were fatally shot at an entertainment venue in the Western Cape. And another grisly crime scene with four deaths was discovered in the same area. One police commissioner said a business dispute could be driving the violence there. As I said, no suspects have been identified, but organized crime is on the rise in South Africa.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is pledging to fight for major social care reform. The announcement came during Burnham's first Labour Party conference since taking office. He believes that social care should be free at the point of use and that the cost should be spread across the population. But Burnham said he would not present his full plans for reform until the next national election, which is currently slated for 2029. That delay will give his Cabinet time to tackle pressing concerns about government spending and the cost of living ahead of next month's budget.

Let's talk pandas Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are finally here in Atlanta. The male and female giant pandas arrived from China on Sunday morning, part of Beijing's panda diplomacy. They will live at Zoo Atlanta for the next 10 years, home to the most successful panda breeding program in the U.S. Seven cubs were born at the animal park between 2006 and 2016. Visitors will have to wait about a month, though, to see those bears as they have entered a routine quarantine period.

Earlier, I spoke to Ho-fung Hung, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, and he shared what the pandas arrival may mean for U.S. and China relations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HO-FUNG HUNG, PROFESSOR IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: China has a long history of panda diplomacy to actually loan panda to U.S. zoos and zoos around the world for fees. And in the past, it has been kind of beneficial to both sides, the host and China, because China can get kind of a rental fee of pandas and use it for conservation and research, and then the zoos can increase visitors. But in recent years, when China-U.S. relation has been kind of

deteriorating. So, there's a lot of discussion about whether the pandas renewed it like in a Disney zoo, that they sent back to China and went back to D.C. So this time is a kind of a good development that two extra pandas being sent to the U.S.

HUNTE: As you mentioned, China has used pandas as a symbol of friendship for decades now. Does panda diplomacy still have the same soft power impact that it once did, though? What do you think?

HUNG: I think the return in terms of the soft power of China has been diminishing because back in the 70s, back in the 80s, there's a lot of curiosity on the part of the U.S. about these killed animals. So it generated a lot of publicity. But nowadays China is not short of other means of soft power, from the Labubu to coffee chain to AI models and all that stuff.

So the pandas no longer draw that many clouds because many more zoos in the world also have pandas. So financially, particularly during the pandemic, there has been a lot of schools struggling to covering the cost of hosting a panda and paying China. So not only in the U.S. but around the world, a lot of stores are actually thinking about whether it is still financially sound.

But this time around that Atlanta so definitely is very excited. We'll see how it goes.

HUNTE: We have seen China's panda loans become more complicated as relations with Western countries have deteriorated. How were you feeling about this news? Were you very surprised that these pandas did suddenly get announced they were moving to America?

HUNG: I think that it is. It speaks a lot about Xi Jinping and Donald Trump summit because the panda renewal of the loans like in the D.C. zoo, in other zoo in the world, and also sending panda back to D.C. So they have usually done a lot at this kind of leader-to-leader level.

[01:30:19]

But this time around that Xi Jinping and Trump has a lot to talk about. But it seems that the fact that they put pandas in the kind of announcement after the summit that as a kind of a highlight show that actually that the summit itself doesn't have a lot of deliverables, so much so that this panda were put into the announcement and highlighted.

So, it shows that these submitters actually didn't achieve a lot of concrete things. But the panda is a good thing in the end, but it is not quite appropriate I think compared to other summits before her to be highlighted in a kind of as a result or achievement of the summit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: There is so much more to come here on CNN Newsroom including many nations have fall traditions, but nowhere does it quite like Germany. Just ahead, get ready to lift a mug. We're headed to Munich's Oktoberfest. All right.

[01:31:13]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back.

We are bringing you live pictures from Lourdes, France. Pope Leo XIV is departing for the northwestern city of Metz. He will address political leaders there before returning back to Rome.

It's been a very busy few days for the Pope as we've been telling you in our programs. And it's very exciting to see what happens next. And he's on his plane right there. Love that.

Ok. Our Christopher Lamb has more on his trip so far. Let's hear about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: We have seen big crowds turning out for the first American pope in France. It might be a very secularized culture here, but there have been hundreds of thousands for Pope Leo. The mass in Paris was extraordinary, with around 800,000 people turning out.

And here in Lourdes also big crowds for the mass on Sunday morning. And then this evening, a more intimate and, you could say, prayerful event down at the grotto in Lourdes. Pope Leo leading a procession, a torch-lit procession down in the most spiritual and holy part of Lourdes, which is a major pilgrimage site. It is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year from all over the world.

Now the Pope has been following a jam-packed schedule here in France. He has met with abuse victims and been facing up to the abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church in France.

He's also been speaking out against assisted dying. That is a law -- the Assisted Dying Law that was passed in France recently. And to do so in Lourdes is very significant, because this is a place where people who are sick and terminally ill come to. So the Pope's been emphasizing that as well.

And on Monday, the Pope will travel to Metz on the France-German border, where he will deliver a very important speech to political leaders in Europe. We're expecting it to focus on unity and peace.

And he is keeping up really, you know, a hectic schedule as he finishes a four-day trip to France that has been really historic and has drawn this incredible turnout.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: The southern hemisphere is not a place that you would typically find large populations of people with red hair. But for a few hours in Santiago, Chile on Sunday, redheads quite literally ruled the road. It was part of a three-kilometer fun run celebrating the redhead

community. Whether naturally red or dyed red or spray painted red or bewigged.

Nearly 1,000 participants running the streets of Chile's capital got to experience a taste of life as a redhead.

How exciting.

The full harvest ushers in folk traditions all across the globe, including this Russian festival. It's known as battle of the giants. And that's because pumpkins are involved that are absolutely massive.

Let me have a look at this. Wow. Yes. There they are.

These massive gourds are being turned into boats, as you see. And then the race is on for paddlers in costumes to row swiftly across a pond in Moscow.

The festival also showcases more than 200 massive vegetables shown off by proud farmers.

[01:39:42]

HUNTE: Now to Germany for Munich's legendary Oktoberfest celebrations, organizers say nearly four million people have already visited the world's largest beer festival at the halfway mark. The party ends on October 4th.

City officials say beer consumption is down slightly so far. Got to do better there. But the number of stolen glass beer mugs to date is strong at 52,000 stolen mugs.

Visitors say they are, of course, having a fantastic and fabulous time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The best thing is that we're all getting together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We simply meet up and we do that on a Sunday morning because it's simply nice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: And that's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

"WORLD SPORT" is coming up next.

I will see you again next week.

And we're going to leave you with some live pictures of the Pope on his plane heading to Metz in France.

See you next week.

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