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Holly Dagres is Interviewed about Iran's Supreme Leader; Hegseth to Hold Iran Briefing; Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) is Interviewed about Iran. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired June 26, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

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AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. Thank you for waking up with me here on CNN THIS MORNING.

It is 6:30 a.m. here on the East Coast. And here's what's happening right now.

The CIA citing new intelligence, they say, proves the U.S. severely damaged Iran's nuclear program and would take years to rebuild. This comes just one day after President Trump said the intelligence was, quote, "inconclusive." Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is holding a briefing in the next few hours.

Today, the Supreme Court is expected to issue new opinions on outstanding cases. While we don't know which or how many opinions will be released, there are ten cases left, which include birthright citizenship, LGBTQ books in schools, and racial gerrymandering, just to name a few.

And soon, closing arguments begin in the trial against Sean "Diddy" Combs. Prosecutors are no longer pursuing attempted arson and kidnaping theories. Those were part of the racketeering conspiracy charge against Diddy. So, the jury is expected to begin deliberations on Monday.

And this just in, we are now hearing from Iran's supreme leader for the first time since the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran was announced. It comes as questions have been swirling about his whereabouts. The ayatollah had not been seen or heard from publicly in nearly a week until just moments ago. It was in a statement published in Iranian state media, also on his X account. The supreme leader declared, quote, "victory over the fake Zionist regime," and also claimed Israel's government, quote, "almost collapsed and was crushed under the blows of the Islamic Republic."

Now, his supporters have filled the streets in Tehran following the ceasefire, echoing his claims of victory, even as one senior government official gave this cryptic response when asked how the leader is doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Many people are worried about the health of the supreme leader. How is he doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This concern is a valuable one. We should all be prayerful. Those who are responsible for protecting and safeguarding the leader are certainly fulfilling their duties properly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now, Holly Dagres, senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Also author of "The Iranist" newsletter.

So, we brought you on thinking, like, where is this person, and now there's a statement. What do you make of -- of maybe how it was said, not so much the content?

HOLLY DAGRES, CURATOR, "THE IRANIST": Well, I think the fact that it -- it was just a statement and not a video or audio is very telling that this person is still in hiding in a bunker somewhere in Tehran presumably. And so, there have been some concerns about whether he would be alive or dead. And this is supposed to be confirmation of that, though we don't have any visual of him.

CORNISH: Yes. You know, there's been this question about the blowback and the -- and the fallout of this war with Israel. CNN reporting finding that there are growing fears of an imminent crackdown on reformists and anybody kind of calling for any kind of change. And then people being accused of mercenaries of Israel. It's interesting because, obviously, Israel did have immense intelligence kind of dominance in this situation. But what do you make about how the regime is going after people now?

DAGRES: Well, I think the biggest worry amongst the Iranian people is that the Islamic Republic is going to be taking revenge on them. And this is exactly what's starting to happen. We've had over 700 arrests, not even in the capital, Tehran, but other cities. Three have been executed. There's been prominent dissidents in Iran, activists like Hossein Ronaghi that have been arrested. We also have a dual Swedish- Iranian citizen that's been on death row for years, Ahmadreza Djalali, who is at risk of imminent execution.

[06:35:01]

So, we're going to be seeing a lot of this in the weeks and months to come.

CORNISH: Is this because they do fear the threat of regime change? Obviously, they took a hit in terms of leadership. But what do you make of sort of the concerns and hopes some have for regime change?

DAGRES: Well, I would say much of the Iranian people want this regime gone. And I don't just say this at a personal feeling or anything, but this is what the Iranian people have been calling for years and we saw this -- CORNISH: Yes, you pointed out multiple protest movements over the last decade.

DAGRES: Yes. Most recently, of course, the 2022 woman life freedom uprising that didn't succeed in its push for positive change because it wasn't backed by the international community.

And so, Iranians have been stuck with this regime. And now, even if they were to protest, they're going to be facing big worries, not just this major crackdown we talked about, but presumably mass executions, things we've seen in the 1980s.

CORNISH: Yes.

DAGRES: So, this is really worrisome for Iranians.

CORNISH: It's interesting, the supreme leader, they're saying maybe there might be video later today as we speak. He's also saying that the U.S. gained nothing from the attack. I do want to talk about that for a second because right now, within the U.S., Donald Trump is trying to make it very clear that he has destroyed their nuclear capabilities and we haven't really heard anything out of Iran.

DAGRES: Well, as you noted, President Donald Trump has said that he has obliterated the program and we're still waiting on more intelligence assessments. But some of the preliminary findings are suggesting we actually have not obliterated the program and that they've moved the material. And I think the Iranians have publicly come out and said that they've moved their enriched uranium.

And so, that's very worrisome. That means if they really choose to rebuild their program, they have that capability. But, of course, we've noted that the Mossad has been treating Iran as their playground for years. And more recently, during this war, they have command of Iran's airspace. And, of course, it seems like they have command of their ground to an extent.

So, it is still worrisome that it's not gone in its entirety, but we'll have to wait for more of the assessments coming out of the intelligence community.

CORNISH: The supreme leader might be making an appearance on state media. I don't know if we'll have that now. But how important -- he's 86, right? And people were talking about succession plans. But you've also talked about how the government in Iran is set up to protect its current regime structure.

DAGRES: Sure. Yes. So, for starters, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the longest reigning dictator in the Middle East at the moment. And he is the second supreme leader the Islamic Republic has had in its 46-year history. And if he were to pass away or be killed, there is an 88-member assembly of experts that gets to decide succession. And they essentially operate like the college of cardinals. So that's, like, just to give you a sense about where that goes with the supreme leader and directions. There's rumors that he's chosen a successor, especially in the --

given the events of the past two weeks with the war, but it, of course, we won't know that until he passes away.

CORNISH: All right, Holly Dagres, we're going to have you back, as we've talked about looking for indicators of regime change and other things. I appreciate your time. Thank you.

All right, I want to go back to that U.S. intelligence after the bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities by U.S. fighter pilots. Today, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will actually hold a briefing at the Pentagon. President Trump says it is, quote, "in order to fight for the dignity of our great American pilots."

Now, this comes as he tries to shift focus from the damage done to the pilots who carried out the strike.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I got a call that the pilots and the people on the plane were devastated because they were trying to minimize the attack, and they all said it was hit, but, oh, but we don't think it was really maybe hit that badly. And they were devastated. They -- they put their lives on the line.

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CORNISH: Joining me now, Colonel Cedric Leighton, CNN military analyst.

Colonel, what are you going to be listening for today? I mean, will it be significant if the president focuses purely on the people who carried it out, the service members who were there, versus the intelligence?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Audie, good morning.

I think that would be significant because the intelligence is the key here. Nobody is denigrating the pilots. Nobody has said that they did anything incorrectly or, you know, that there was any malfeasance there. They -- they did their mission. They did their job. So, this is going to be interesting. It has the hallmarks of potentially being basically one of those sessions where there's a lot of lambasting going on. But this -- you know, the key thing really is the intelligence. And one of the things we have to watch out for, I think, is whether or not they go beyond what was in the -- parts of the DIA report that we have, whether or not they go beyond the statements that came out yesterday from the director of the CIA and the director of national intelligence, that basically said that the damage was far more extensive than originally reported in the first battle damage assessment that -- that we've seen.

[06:40:19]

So, that's -- that's, I think, what we -- we hope for. And we hope that there's a more substantive aspect to this. And I'm looking for some hints that they have a more thorough BDA analysis that's out there.

CORNISH: You're referring to the battle damage assessment. And it's interesting, one of our panelists was saying, look, I don't know the details or how it works, but we know political language.

Is this all about semantics? Is there a military kind of analysis difference between obliterated, very damaged, severely damaged? Are we reading too much into it, or are you listening to these terms as well?

LEIGHTON: Well, I'm definitely listening to these terms, Audie. Obliterated is not a military term that is used in this context. So, basically, what they're looking for is various -- in a military setting, when you do battle damage assessment, you're looking for things like this object, this target was destroyed or it was degraded to a certain percentage. And they actually have percentages.

So, for example, let's say you hit a -- an electrical power station. How far, you know, can it -- how long will it take before it resumes operation? Has it been degraded? To what percent has it been degraded? How much power can it still transmit? So, that's the kind of thing that we're looking for. So, you know, I've seen reports where they say things like it's been 50 percent degraded. That's the kind of thing that we're looking at. And, you know, absent those kinds of assessments, we really don't have a good handle on exactly what happened.

And this is a difficult target. This is a challenge. There's no question about it. And it's basically how we can, you know, how the intelligence community can overcome these kinds of, you know, these kinds of challenges when it comes to the assessment and --

CORNISH: Yes.

LEIGHTON: And then conveying that, not only to the White House, but also to the American public.

CORNISH: That's Colonel Cedric Leighton. Thanks so much.

LEIGHTON: You bet.

CORNISH: Still ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, is the president's massive legislation agenda going to get through Congress? Former interior secretary, Congressman Ryan Zinke, is here to talk about the state of that bill and what he hopes to learn from a classified briefing on the U.S. strikes in Iran.

Plus, more from the group chat after this.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've collected additional intelligence. We've also spoken to people that have seen the site. And the site is -- the site is obliterated. And we think everything nuclear is down there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right, here's what we know. The CIA has released an assessment of the U.S. strikes in Iran. It paints a complex picture. CIA Director John Ratcliffe, in a statement, says the agency obtained "credible intelligence indicating Iran's nuclear program has been severely damaged" by the strikes. He did not provide details. He also said that "several key Iranian nuclear facilities were destroyed."

President Trump has described the strikes as causing, as you heard, total obliteration of Iran's nuclear facilities. As CNN has been reporting, an initial analysis by the Defense Intelligence Agency says the strikes likely only set back Tehran's nuclear ambitions by a matter of months. That's also why members of Congress are demanding answers.

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REP. JASON CROW (D-CO): Donald Trump has a long history of distorting and, you know, putting his own take on U.S. intelligence assessments, regardless of what it actually says. And, you know, we are going to see in the days and weeks to come the truth and the reality of these reports and these assessments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: This afternoon, the Senate will receive a briefing on the attack, while the House is scheduled to get its own tomorrow.

Joining me now, Republican, and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Congressman Ryan Zinke.

Congressman, thanks for being here today.

REP. RYAN ZINKE (R-MT): Great to be with you.

CORNISH: Now, I have to be honest, you're also here because you're, of course, a former Navy SEAL, commander of SEAL Team Six. And there is this interesting thing happening where the Trump is -- where Trump is saying, the fact that you are questioning the results here means you're actually questioning the actions of the service members. Help me out. Is that how military people think?

ZINKE: No, but it's a 13,000-pound bomb. And as a SEAL, we operated with what we call DUGs (ph), deep underground facilities. And I can tell you, when you put a 13,000-pound chape (ph) charge on a facility, just the overpressure, nothing can survive that. No person. But also, you know, how do you confirm it. Because you likely have a contaminated site. It has nuclear material in there. It now has uncontrolled nuclear material. You know, subsurface. So, this has been a problem with Iran all along is they -- they haven't been transparent. They don't allow inspections of sites. Even to go back and go into that site when it's probably likely contaminated would -- would be, you know, a very difficult task.

CORNISH: Yes, but what I hear you doing is talking about the complexities of this and the questions.

ZINKE: Absolutely.

CORNISH: What I do not hear from the president is talking about complexities and the questions. He's saying that the act of talking about this is destructive to the mission, so to speak.

ZINKE: Well, I think some of it was because Donald Trump said it there was pushback. Whatever Donald Trump says, there's always pushback. In this case, I'll go back to, look, this is a 13-000 pound bomb going into a bunker. It's not going to survive. That site is -- is -- is going to be destroyed.

[06:50:02]

Now the question is, well, did they move it? Did they not move it? There's also, you know, HUMINT, there is -- there is --

CORNISH: Yes, human intel.

ZINKE: Human intel.

CORNISH: Yes.

ZINKE: But also signal intelligence. What do the Iranians say afterwards? You know, what did they say leading up to it?

CORNISH: And we may actually hear from the supreme leader in just moments. Again, there was a statement today.

But I think what's interesting is that you -- what I hear people responding to critics is the past. They recall what happened after Iraq, or going into Iraq. They recall these past so-called forever wars and the intelligence reporting out of it, anyway, that led to it.

So, I mean, is it not fair to have skepticism? And is that what you hear from lawmakers who want to know more?

ZINKE: I think there's always -- a hit like this, that, in nuclear sites, does it prevent, does it stop, how long would it -- would it prevent Iran from, you know, redoing what they did in the past? And did they change their behavior? I think those are fair questions.

Every time you hit a target, there's always an initial analysis. How bad. And then you have to look at the signal intelligence. What are the -- what are the Iranians saying? What are they saying about it? What the chatter is. And all this gets kind of wrapped up into what actually happened. Our best assessment.

Is it 100 percent? Never. Not unless you can confirm it. And -- and you're not going to go back into those sites, I don't think, because of the contamination. But it's clear that if they did move it, there will be another hole, because we're not stopping. I think --

CORNISH: So, what do you think the defense secretary has to say to assure the American people of what's going on here?

ZINKE: I think, at the end of the day, it's this, is Iran going to change their behavior? Is Iran going to continue to pursue enrichment of uranium? Is Iran going to continue to pursue a nuclear weapon? If they change their behavior, then the world will open up and it will be a lot safer place. But if they don't change their behavior, the president has been very clear, they will not have a nuclear weapon. And if they moved it, you know, by chance --

CORNISH: Yes.

ZINKE: Then there will be another hole. And this will not stop.

CORNISH: Right.

ZINKE: Because we will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, no matter where it is.

CORNISH: So it has direct implications, right?

ZINKE: Absolutely.

CORNISH: We don't just want to know because, like, we want to bother the president. We want to know because it has implications for further action by the U.S. or Israel.

ZINKE: And it has to be confirmed. And confirmation means transparency. It means opening up and allowing inspection of sites to the degree you can. Again, I don't think we're going to be able to go into that site again --

CORNISH: Yes.

ZINKE: Just because of the contamination. It's going to be a Chernobyl, you know, down underneath, but it is contained.

CORNISH: And you are expecting to hear something from this intelligence briefing? I know some Democrats have complained that they were not briefed ahead of the military strikes. I have to say, just like as a voting person, I don't want intelligence to be partisan.

ZINKE: I think -- I think the key leadership was -- was notified. But to have a -- the general Congress be notified of specific strike details prior to, I think we've all seen how much of a leak process and how bad it is in the House. People just run to the media all the time. So, I agree -- I agree with that.

You know, post-strike, I think there should be a briefing. Certainly, Congress has a right to know what's going on and what the policy should be going forward.

But again, does it change Iran's modus of operandi? Is it going to change their behavior? If it doesn't, there will be other holes. CORNISH: I want to ask you about the president's agenda, the big,

beautiful bill, so to speak, which is making its way through the Senate right now. I notice you getting a lot of praise for conservation groups, for helping to get the provision out of the bill that would have sold public lands.

ZINKE: Well, and -- and public lands did not get us into debt.

CORNISH: No.

ZINKE: And selling it is not going to get us out. But, you know, public lands are a magnificent -- probably the envy of the world in America. And whether public lands are in Utah or Montana or Maine, they belong to all of us. And all of us deserve a say on their highest and best use.

And I agree, there -- there are segments (ph) of land that probably should be looked at. But affordable housing is tens of acres. It's not millions of acres.

CORNISH: Right.

ZINKE: And there's a public process to it, you know.

CORNISH: But if every lawmaker goes and saves the thing they love, in the end, the math doesn't work. Like, how do you get a bill that works if everyone goes and saves the thing that they love?

ZINKE: Well, I can tell you, on this one, America loves their public lands. It's not even a close issue. And once -- once you sell land, it's gone forever. And God isn't making any more land. So, the way I look at it is this, is that I represent Montana. But as a former secretary of interior, I understand the importance of having our public land and the outdoor experience, you know, for the generations to come.

And again, you know, there's a process to it. When I was secretary, I subtracted, I added, I exchanged land, but there was a process to it. The -- most of the -- of the west were former tribal lands.

[06:55:03]

And so, you have to consult with our tribes.

CORNISH: Yes.

ZINKE: You have to make sure there's a public comment.

CORNISH: So, do you expect this bill to pass by July 4th or whatever this date is?

ZINKE: I think it'll be close. It'll be interesting to -- what comes back of the Senate, whether or not the House will accept it. If it has public lands, it's problematic. And that's a poison pill. But it's not on me. It's not -- it's on someone putting public lands into it. We got it out of the House. It went over to the Senate. If they put it back in, it's going to be a poison pill.

CORNISH: OK, Congressman Zinke, thank you so much for being here.

ZINKE: My pleasure.

CORNISH: Always appreciate your time. Thank you.

OK, it's now 55 minutes past the hour. Here is your morning roundup.

More faulty citations plaguing RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board at the CDC. A study slated to be the focus of their first meeting linked to vaccine preservative to consequences in the brain. It appears the study doesn't exist. The author cited says he never published that study. He did, however, publish a different paper under a different title, which came to dramatically different conclusions.

And popular dating app Bumble announced it is laying off 30 percent of its employees. The company says it will save $40 million a year to invest in technology development, boosting productivity. It's the latest warning sign that younger users are not that into online dating anymore.

And moments later, a private space crew docked at the International Space Station. The Axiom space mission marks the return to human space flight for astronauts. They're from India, Poland and Hungary, and they're expected to be in space for some two weeks.

And the Dallas Mavericks select Cooper Flagg is the first pick of the NBA draft. The six-foot nine, 18-year-old just finished his freshman year at Duke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER FLAGG, NUMBER ONE OVERALL NBA DRAFT PICK: This is a dream come true. Things I've been dreaming about since I was a little kid. So, to share this moment with people like that, my family, first of all, and then Coach Scheyer, you know, it's incredible. There's no -- there's no words I can use to describe it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Flagg is the second youngest NBA draft pick ever, second only to LeBron James.

And also this just in, we are getting video of Iran's supreme leader. This is the first time we're hearing from him since the U.S. attacked Iran and a ceasefire was put in place. It's important to note, we do not know when this was filmed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI KHAMENEI, IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER (through translator): I would like to congratulate the great nation of Iran. I want to congratulate them for a few reasons. First, I would like to congratulate them for victory over the fake regime of -- the Zionist regime. With all those claims that the Zionist regime were making, they almost were crushed under the blows of the Islamic government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right, group chat is back.

Bringing back Holly Dagres.

We were just talking about this. Where is he now? We are seeing an image. We haven't verified the image. What are your instincts as you're watching it?

DAGRES: Well, he looks exhausted and very worn out. And I would -- rightfully so, given the events of the past two weeks, this war. And I think it's noteworthy that they're showing his face. I think they wanted to make a point that this man is alive, that the supreme leader is still around because of a lot of the conversations on the ground, like the questions about where is he? Is he still alive?

CORNISH: Right.

DAGRES: So, I think this was like a signaling that the Islamic Republic is still functioning for the time being.

CORNISH: Yes. And, Jasmine, I don't know to you, but the timing, the timing happens just when the Trump administration had planned to have their own kind of show and talk about this.

JASMINE WRIGHT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "NOTUS": Yes. Yes.

CORNISH: Netanyahu, in Israel, is also dealing with a corruption trial that has resurfaced.

WRIGHT: Yes.

CORNISH: Can you talk about the timing going into this week?

WRIGHT: Yes, I mean, I think so much of what Iran is doing is also playing to their domestic audience. And so, for the White House's perspective, they're constantly trying to figure out what is for the domestic audience in Iran and what is for them, what they should be responding to. And so I'm sure that you're going to hear the president respond to some of these claims, potentially. Maybe we'll hear some at the 8:00 a.m. But they're constantly trying to sift through what they need to be consuming as they try to deal with this issue, and what should be kind of left to the wayward for Iran and the Iranian people.

CORNISH: Yes. Evan.

EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "NOTUS": I think that this issue, when you're looking at this whole thing with Iran, it is just a fascinating time to see, us all in America, talking about this country again, talking about this -- this region of the world again, and what we're trying to do with it as it -- as our country is trying to, you know, our country is trying to engage with it.

Today, at 8:00, I'm quite fascinated to see how the White House will try to finally put this to bed. They clearly really care a lot about this moment and about how these strikes have been covered.

[07:00:03]

And I think that we're going to see today just what that spin is going to look like.

CORNISH: Yes.

Jerusalem, last word to you.

JERUSALEM DEMSAS, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, "THE ATLANTIC": I just think it's -- it's hard when no one in America wants to see this war. When -- when -- after 9/11 there was a groundswell of frustration and anger from -- genuinely from the Democratic public that wanted to see action in the Middle East. That's not where we are right now. Most people don't want to see, let alone boots on the ground, they don't want to see much more action in the Middle East, another forever war.

CORNISH: All right, thanks to the group chat. Thank you, guys.

And thank you for being with us. I'm Audie Cornish. We're going to have this news continuing with "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" right now.