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U.S.-Israel War with Iran; CNN Founder Ted Turner Has Died. Aired 10-10:15a ET
Aired May 06, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Well, welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson
in Abu Dhabi, where the time is just after 6:00 in the evening. It is 10 am in Washington.
And a source tells CNN that the United States and Iran may be moving closer to an agreement on a short memorandum to end the Iran war, though there is
caution that talks have fallen apart, of course, before.
Plus, Trump gets his revenge at the ballot box against lawmakers in the U.S. state of Indiana who defied his pressure to redraw the state's map.
I'll explain what that means for the November midterm elections.
And next hour, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will appear before a House committee to discuss his past ties to the convicted sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein.
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ANDERSON: Well, the rhetoric is flying as we get word of the possibility of diplomatic progress between the U.S. and Iran. A regional source telling
CNN the two sides are moving closer to an agreement on a short memorandum to end the war.
There is, though, skepticism. And at the same time, U.S. president Donald Trump is lobbing new threats at Tehran. Oil prices are lower on hopes that
the war could finally end. The back-and-forth is dizzying. This hour, we will try to pinpoint just where the diplomatic process stands.
First, let's quickly get you up to date on the flurry of developments over the past 24 hours. On Tuesday, as American military officials assured the
world the ceasefire with Iran was still on, we learned from secretary of state Marco Rubio that the U.S. considers the first phase of the war over.
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MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. I'm not going to,
you know, we're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, that was Tuesday but Project Freedom, the U.S. mission to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, was full steam ahead, according
to Rubio.
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RUBIO: The primary responsibility for this Project Freedom is on the United States because we're the only country that can project power in that
part of the world the way we're doing now.
We're the only ones that can do it and we're going to do it as a favor to the world. Understand this. This is a favor to the world because it's their
ships that are stranded. It's their fuel supplies that are stranded.
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ANDERSON: Well, hours later, however, Mr. Trump announced he was pausing that operation at the request of Pakistan and other countries, citing,
quote, "great progress" toward a final agreement with Iran.
Well, today, Wednesday, the hard sell is back. President Trump posting that if Iran does not take the deal that is apparently on the table, the bombing
will begin anew, more intense, he says, than it was before. CNN's Kevin Liptak joining us from the White House.
Kevin, what's the latest on this memorandum of understanding, all this framework, if you will, from your sources?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right. And they describe it as a relatively simple document, one page long, essentially saying that the
war is over and putting off for the next 30 days more detailed negotiations on all of the sticking points that have been holding up a broader deal.
Whether it's about Iran's nuclear program, about lifting some sanctions, unfreezing some Iranian assets and, of course, about the future of the
Strait of Hormuz. And so it's a very short memo.
And I think it does give you a sense of how eager president Trump may be to get something signed that officially ends this conflict. You're hearing a
measure of optimism from White House officials.
But I think it's worth pointing out that we have been in this place before where president Trump, some of his aides project the talks are successful,
that they think that they're nearing a conclusion, only to see them essentially all fall apart and all collapse.
And so all of the, I think, requisite cautions in some of that optimism but still a measure of forward progress that you're seeing now. And, of course,
that is why president Trump just yesterday called off Project Freedom, which was his, you know, less than 48-hour-old mission to move ships
through the Strait of Hormuz.
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He said that that was at the request of the Pakistani mediators as they try and get this agreement over the finish line.
It was also interesting earlier today to see the Pakistani prime minister write on a social media that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin
Salman, had also put in that request to end Project Freedom, to try and get these negotiations over the finish line.
And so where this all heads from here I think remains to be seen. It sounds as if papers are still being sent back and forth as the two sides work to
finalize the language. You know, on a document this short, it's almost certain that every word, every letter is going to be contested and going to
be gone back and forth between the two sides.
But if they can agree to something, I think the hope is that eventually all sides will come back to the negotiating table, potentially in Islamabad or
some other third city, to try and hammer out all of the final details that would put a permanent agreement in place.
But to be sure, those questions about nuclear enrichment, about a potential moratorium on Iran enriching uranium, what happens to the stockpile of
highly enriched uranium that is still inside of Iran, all of these questions that haven't been able to be resolved until now.
Still, I think a lot of sticking points about where exactly all of that will head. President Trump today suggesting that if this agreement isn't
reached, he would restart the conflict, saying that assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is a sentence that is confusing, to say
the least.
He says that if they don't agree, the bombing starts and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity. That I think is contradicting
somewhat what we heard from Rubio yesterday, saying that Operation Epic Fury is over, that all of its objectives have been met.
President Trump, I think, trying to clarify here that if an agreement isn't reached, that, yes, he would be willing to restart the bombing campaign
again, while at the same time making evident that he's very eager to see this deal inked. Becky.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Kevin, good to have you.
What happens to Iran's ballistic missile program, what happens to its proxies also two really important elements of any deal, certainly to the
region where I am. For more analysis on all of this, we're joined by Sina Azodi. He directs the Middle East studies program at George Washington
University and a regular guest on this show.
CNN Politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson in the house for us this hour as well from Washington.
Sina, let me start with you. Look, I mean, it would be an understatement to say that there's a healthy dose of skepticism from all stakeholders
involved, save, perhaps, the Pakistani mediators at this point.
The Iranian spokesman has called the memorandum or the memo, whatever this is, more a list of American wishes than a reality.
So what's your assessment of where we are at and whether Tehran will be willing to sign onto this?
SINA AZODI, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST STUDIES PROGRAM, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Its good to be with you, Becky. Look, Iranians can say
publicly many things. But at the end of the day, it is the negotiations, the private negotiations that they have with the Americans that matters.
I think president Trump's Truth Social post said, if Iran agrees to what has already been agreed to, I think this is a positive sign. It points to
the direction that potentially a deal is within the reach.
And based on what we've seen as a one-page memorandum, I think it has president Trump's signature all over it. He doesn't like detailed
negotiations compared to JCPOA, which was 150 pages.
And the fact that the president is going to China on May 14th, we should keep that also in mind that he wants to go there projecting power, being
able to declare victory. So all of that, I think, signal that a potential deal could be within the reach.
And also the issue of enrichment that has actually been proposed in that document. And we can discuss it further.
ANDERSON: Sina, stand by. I want to take our viewers, just to my colleagues in the U.S. We've got some breaking news there. Stand by.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The view on that is because the real hardliners aren't in the room. They don't have -- they don't have
the influence in the room or they don't have the same influence that they do when you're trying to draft up documents and marry them, match up those
documents.
And I think as well, what we're witnessing the president do, Epic Fury, the end of, according to secretary Rubio, Project Freedom put on pause, That is
being interpreted by the Iranians.
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We've heard from the hardline news agency that represents the IRGC, saying that this retreat has actually allowed them to examine the way forward.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST AND CORRESPONDENT: All right. Thanks, Nic. I'm going to go to you with some breaking news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Very sad breaking news indeed and, for me, very personally, sad breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM. Ted Turner,
Ted Turner has died at the age of 87. The innovator, an icon, a legend, he revolutionized the television business by creating the first 24-hour news
channel right here at CNN.
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