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Trump Announces Two-Week Ceasefire with Iran. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:12]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: A ceasefire with Iran. Both the U.S. and Iran are claiming victory. But has anyone actually won?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Iran has the strait permanently now, what -- what an error.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right, well, how long can this ceasefire last and where does the U.S. go from here?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What we hoped for was a better future for them, not an end of a future for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: President Trump threatened to wipe out a whole civilization. Did he go too far in that rhetoric, or was that what was needed to get a deal done?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has been the nightmare of all of our lifetimes that we never wanted to see happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And hope turned to fear. What the last 24 hours have been like for the people in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): The Congress has failed to do its job.

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CORNISH: And where is Congress? I'm going to talk to one lawmaker who is demanding that they return from recess.

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: -- has also shown is that we still have clear military, diplomatic, and maybe, most importantly, we have extraordinary economic leverage.

So, the president has told us not to use those tools. He's told us to come to the negotiating table. But if the Iranians don't do the exact same thing, they're going to find out that the president of the United States is not one to mess around.

He's impatient. He's impatient to make progress. He has told us to negotiate in good faith. And I think if they negotiate in good faith, we will be able to find a deal. That's a big "if." And ultimately, it's up to the Iranians how they negotiate. I hope they make the right decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right. That was just moments ago. Vice President J.D. Vance, he was speaking about the ceasefire that is now in place. We're going to talk today about whether or not that can bring an end to this war.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and we're going to start with this breaking news out of Iran.

Just before this deadline, President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, which included a pause in strikes and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan is inviting both the U.S. and Iran to talks on Friday.

Now, after midnight, the president took to Truth Social to give an update, writing in part, "There will be lots of positive action. Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process and will be loading up with supplies of all kinds and just 'hanging around' in order to make sure that everything goes well."

Iran's Supreme National Security Council sent a warning to the White House, writing, "Our hands remain upon the trigger, and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force."

Now, there are some Iranians asking why the Islamic regime agreed to the ceasefire in the first place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Why should we declare a ceasefire? As you see, there is written that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed. Why open?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): America has shown itself a hundred times till now. We have gone to the negotiation table twice when it attacked us and this ceasefire again foregoing and repowering itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, in a few hours, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will give an update on where things stand this morning.

And I'm bringing in CNN's Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi to give us the update on the start of today.

Can you talk about this off-ramp, so to speak? This offer from Iran and what that means for the Strait of Hormuz?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Audie, we're having a couple of different official reactions from Iran. The foreign minister saying that they have agreed on this ceasefire as long as attacks against Iran are halted.

He also pointed out, though, that the military will coordinate safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, when it came to the National Security Council, the top security council in Iran, it was a much more fiery message, claiming victory, as you would expect them to do.

Now, there's certainly -- there was a war of narrative here, as well. This is slightly propaganda, but I want to play this to you does show exactly what Iran thinks this deal is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Iran has achieved a great victory and forced America to accept its ten-point plan. America is committed to non-aggression, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all sanctions, termination of all resolutions of the Security Council and board of governors, payment of compensation to Iran, withdrawal of American forces from the region, and secession of war on all fronts, including against the Islamic resistance of Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, there's plenty in there that Washington is highly unlikely to agree to. The enrichment, for example, the lifting of -- of all sanctions. But that's Iran's position at this point.

Now, we've heard from the United States. Their proposal wants no more nuclear weapons, handing over the enriched uranium, and to completely reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

So, the two sides are still fairly far apart. But this is where the diplomacy comes in. This is why Pakistan's prime minister says that he's invited the delegations for both sides to come to Islamabad on April 10 to try and push this process forward.

And of course, there is one other issue that -- that we have to mention, and that is Lebanon. We heard Pakistan's prime minister say that this two-week ceasefire includes Lebanon.

We then heard the Israeli military and the political echelon saying it does not include Lebanon.

And we have been seeing attacks continue, airstrikes continue against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. So, that's another thing that we're looking for clarity on.

But certainly, where I am here in the Gulf region, there was a collective sigh of relief when people woke up this Wednesday morning and realized there was a ceasefire, albeit temporary -- Audie.

CORNISH: OK. That's Paula Hancocks, speaking to us from Abu Dhabi.

I want to bring in the group chat now. We've got great experts with us: Garrett Graff, journalist and historian; David Sanger, CNN political and national security analyst and of course, of "The New York Times" White House and national security correspondent, also the author of the "New Cold Wars: China Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West; and Becca Wasser, she's the defense lead at Bloomberg Economics.

So, here's where we stand. There is a temporary ceasefire. Open question: is Israel's strike on Lebanon or invasion of Lebanon included in that? We're going to know more today.

I believe Keir Starmer is going to be in the region. So, there's questions about Europeans. Mark Rutte coming to the White House.

So, it is -- feels like a pivot point. And I want to break it down militarily. Where are we, when you look at the temporary ceasefire and who's in charge of the Strait of Hormuz?

BECCA WASSER, DEFENSE LEAD, BLOOMBERG ECONOMICS: Well, right now it seems like Iran holds all the cards for the Strait of Hormuz still.

And they have said, in a very carefully worded statement, that they will allow for some passage through the strait with technical limitations. So, essentially, saying who they allow, what they allow to go through, and that the Iranian military is essentially determining that.

So, it seems like Iran is very much in charge of the strait.

But militarily, I think we are exactly where we've been. The United States has said that they've managed to do a lot in these high-volume strikes, but Iran has managed to do a lot with relatively little.

And we're sort of at this precipice where there's been a cessation of hostilities for now. But those could flare back up at any point in time.

CORNISH: Yes.

WASSER: And Israel is the wild card with Lebanon; could be the start of that potentially flaring back up. CORNISH: Yes. Go ahead.

GARRETT GRAFF, JOURNALIST AND HISTORIAN: Add one -- one thing to that too. One of the things that we are seeing is that Iran is going to be charging a $2 million per tanker tax.

CORNISH: Well, we know that's what they want.

GRAFF: That's what they want.

CORNISH: Don't know where this is going to go.

And this off-ramp. I was calling it an off-ramp, because the president said this is a starting point. It's not like he's accepted what some would consider maximalist demands from Iran.

GRAFF: Yes. But this -- this -- if this goes forward, this would be a --

CORNISH: Toll booth.

GRAFF: Toll booth that is split with Oman on the other side of the strait but could potentially be delivering Iran $1 billion of new revenue per week that would be directly translated into oil prices going forward.

CORNISH: Yes.

GRAFF: So, this -- this is a situation where it's, I think, not just sort of where we were, but a substantially worse position for the global economy than we were two months ago.

CORNISH: Which is what -- where a lot of the questions are now.

If you don't mind, David, I want to play for the audience one more time J.D. Vance, because he's in Budapest supporting Viktor Orban. But he also is going to be involved in these talks we're learning that Pakistan has helped organize.

And he, at the start of this comment -- and this happened just a few minutes ago -- said, we have a lot of leverage, the U.S., right now. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: -- the president has also shown is that we still have clear military, diplomatic, and maybe most importantly, we have extraordinary economic leverage. So, the president has told us not to use those tools. He's told us to come to the negotiating table.

But if the Iranians don't do the exact same thing, they're going to find out that the president of United States is not one to mess around.

[06:10:07] He's impatient. He's impatient to make progress. He has told us to negotiate in good faith. And I think if they negotiate in good faith, we will be able to find a deal.

But that's a big "if." And ultimately, it's up to the Iranians how they negotiate. I hope they make the right decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: A little bit of historical amnesia there.

The United States has been using its economic leverage on Iran in an effort to try to resolve a series of different issues, but mostly the nuclear issue, for 20 years now.

It's done sanctions. It's done sabotage of Iran's nuclear program. It has tried to make sure that the Iranians can't operate throughout the banking systems around the world.

So, the Iranians know exactly what the economic leverage is. And all those sanctions were in place before the war; stayed in place during the war; and they're in place now.

But I think the main thing to stay focused on here is what has changed now since the war started, since those negotiations ended in February.

CORNISH: Yes. And he's implying a lot. You know what I mean? And I know you wrote --

SANGER: So --

CORNISH: -- this morning that, you know, Iran has been able to absorb more than 10,000 strikes, right? It's proved kind of resilient in a -- in a way -- you're nodding -- that militarily, that maybe was unexpected.

But is the U.S. going to talks with more leverage the way he's describing? Did this diplomacy by ultimatum work?

SANGER: They are going to the talks with the leverage of having shown the Iranians what an incredible pounding can take, as Becca just described before.

But they're also going without the strait being wide open, which it was on the first day of the war.

Remember, the Strait of Hormuz was not the reason we went to war. It was a result of the war.

CORNISH: Right.

SANGER: OK? So, you've got to resolve the strait issue just to get back to where you were on February 28.

Then you go to the president's objectives on -- on the 28th. The first one was get all the nuclear material out of Iran. It's still there. It's exactly where it was before the war.

The second was greatly degrade or eliminate their missile stocks. Well, they've degraded a lot of them through the -- through the military strikes. But obviously, there's still a good deal there. And they continue to do damage until yesterday.

One of -- the third one was get rid of the navy and the air force. Check. That one's done.

But then came the regime change part, right? Where the president said to the people of Iran, step -- wait for us to go do this, and then come out and take over your government.

Well, the fact of the matter is, by negotiating with this government, with what is essentially the same regime with different people, he is, to some degree, abandoning that promise in saying we're going to do that.

CORNISH: Well, let me hold on, because we're actually going to have someone who knows a lot about Iran coming on to talk more about that. I'm glad you've set up those questions for us.

Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, from the stone age to the golden age. Did the president go too far in his threats on Iran?

Plus, new details about an ICE shooting during a traffic stop in California.

And we have a winner. Republicans will hold their seat in Georgia despite the hard fight from Democrats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAY FULLER (R), REPRESENTATIVE-ELECT IN GEORGIA: You better believe I'm going to go to Capitol Hill and be a warrior for each and every person in this room. And I'm never going to stop fighting for you all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[06:17:44]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing good ever comes from the United States attacking and bombing other countries.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't declare that as a win. That's a game. It's not a win. He had a ceasefire in a war that he started.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: President Trump claims this could be the golden age of the Middle East after announcing a two-week ceasefire with Iran. He's selling the agreement as a "total and complete victory." But what has the U.S. won? President Trump told the world he was

prepared to, quote, "end civilization" in Iran. He still might be. What message does that send to U.S. allies and adversaries who are openly questioning America's stability?

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REP. BECCA BALINT (D-VT): I don't know how to convey to my Republican colleagues any more than than I have already, they have to stand up to this. These are war crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, joining me now to discuss is Mark Wallace. He's president of United Against Nuclear Iran, but he's also the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Thank you so much for being here.

MARK WALLACE, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Thank you for having me on.

CORNISH: So, I've heard people are talking about the president's threats against bridges and power plants, decimation of a whole civilization.

Before yesterday, they were saying, look, these are war crimes he's talking about. This rhetoric is wrong.

Here we are today, after a ceasefire has been called. Do you think this diplomacy by threat, diplomacy by ultimatum is working?

WALLACE: Well, certainly, it's unconventional. Look, as a diplomat and as my friend David Sanger, who's on the -- on the panel with us would say, we've done things the same way for many years in Iran. We've watched this for many years.

And it's unconventional. That harsh, strong language might resonate well with -- in the region and with Iran. Certainly, it's disruptive.

A lot of us maybe don't like it, because it's not what we're used to, what we accept; and it's not what -- who we feel like, who we are.

What remains to be seen is what happens next. And that is both from a procedural and substantive manner.

I think we will closely watch. Will these negotiations actually occur in person? Will the Iranians show up? Will they drag it out and slow- walk it? We've seen these tactics from the Iranians --

[06:20:06]

CORNISH: Yes.

WALLACE: -- for many years with very maximalist demands.

CORNISH: What do you think will be -- what difference could be made by J.D. Vance being at the table? Up until now, this has been a conversation, I think, that involves Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law. They have not made the headway that they wanted.

What does Vance signal to you?

WALLACE: I think that J.D. Vance is another person that's been in the decision-making process. And I think you've seen Steve and Jared conducting these negotiations, proximity-based, meaning through intermediaries.

And hopefully, these will be direct face-to-face, and Iran will engage in a manner that we really have not seen them engage, really, for nearly five decades.

CORNISH: I want to ask you a question about the nuclear material. This has come up in both the us and Iran's plans.

The 15-point U.S. plan for Iran is believed to include no nuclear weapons; that they hand over their enriched uranium, as well as reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and limits on defense capabilities.

Iran, of course, is -- is not offering anything like that. Right? They think they're going to control the strait. They very much think they're still going to be enriching uranium.

As someone who cares about this, what would you like to see in this moment on the table?

Well, there are about 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium to 60 percent, really largely buried deep within those bomb sites.

Now, there was a lot of reporting that somehow, Iran would access that. And then there was reporting that it would take 1,000 U.S. soldiers and heavy equipment to dig it out.

The only ways to deal with highly enriched uranium is, in fact, to bury it, reprocess it, remove it, or use it in some manner.

So, I think right now, it's not an urgent issue. I think it's a longer-term issue. As President Trump said and I think what the intel community would tell you, is we have very good eyes on those sites. If they so much as moved a mound of dirt -- and it would require moving a lot of mounds of dirt to get to that fissile material -- I think we would know it and be able to take action.

I think it really is a longer-term issue, because we have pretty good eyes on those sites.

CORNISH: Mark, are we in a fundamentally different place than we were the day before the strikes?

WALLACE: You know, I think that whenever we look at a geopolitical threat, we look at it in three levels: strategic, urgent, and how lethal it is.

And Iran was maybe the only country in the world that was both [SIC] a strategic, lethal, and urgent threat to the United States and its allies. Look at its ballistic missiles, its desire to enrich uranium. I think the lethality, how lethal Iran is, has been greatly

diminished. The urgency of that threat has been greatly diminished.

I think the strategic issue remains mostly on the economic side because of the Strait of Hormuz.

And look, there's been, for nearly 50 years, a Strait of Hormuz tax on the global economy to the tunes of trillions of dollars. There has to be some path to internationalize with permanence and not building in a risk premium into the Strait of Hormuz for the international economy.

CORNISH: And that's a huge question mark going into today. Mark Wallace, thank you so much.

WALLACE: It is. Thank you.

CORNISH: So, after the break on CNN THIS MORNING, where's Congress? And even if they are around, can they do anything to rein in the president?

I'm going to be talking to a Democratic lawmaker a little bit later.

And I also want to show you this. A motorcycle bursts into flames. A group of kids run for their lives. We're going to talk about what one witness saw.

In the meantime, a good morning to West Palm Beach.

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[06:28:03]

CORNISH: It is 27 minutes past the hour. Here are five things to know to get your day going.

So, this is the face of Clay Fuller. He won a special election runoff to replace former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.

This race was a test for Republicans, who haven't really performed all that well in special elections since Trump took office.

For the voters, the economy and the rising cost of living were top of mind.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Having to make the money at hand adjust to these high prices of everything. Everything is just extremely high now. Even Girl Scout cookies that used to be $5 are $8.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm fortunate enough that, if it gets to $5, $6 a gallon, I can still get to and from work. But there's a lot of people here that can't. And the price of groceries, you see, I've seen people starve, go hungry.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: OK, so in Wisconsin, it was a different story. CNN projecting that Democrat-supported Judge Chris Taylor, a foreign policy director for Planned Parenthood who defeated conservative Judge Maria Lazar for a seat on the state supreme court.

And that win expands the Wisconsin's high court liberal majority to five justices. And it also guarantees liberal control until at least 2030.

It is sentencing day for the so-called Ketamine Queen, who provided actor Matthew Perry with the lethal dose that led to his death. Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison term for --for Jasveen Sangha.

She pleaded guilty last year to three counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

Now, I'm going to show you this: this motorcycle crash court in San Antonio. You're looking at home security camera footage and a group of children very lucky to be alive.

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ROBERT PEREZ, OWNER OF HOME SECURITY CAMERA: I saw that he had hit the curb, and then his motorcycle flew up in a fireball. And -- and fortunately, it didn't hit the children that were close by. But it looked like a very close call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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