Return to Transcripts main page
Erin Burnett Outfront
Iran Ramps Up Strikes; Seizing Kharg Island?; Trump: "Taking Cuba". Aired 7-8p ET
Aired March 16, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:27]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, Iran ramping up strikes tonight even as Trump claims Iran has been obliterated, as allies snub Trump's calls for help tonight.
Plus, Trump will not rule out seizing Iran's Kharg Island. So, what kind of U.S. special forces would this take? What are the risks? And why has Trump been talking about taking out this eight-square-mile island since 1988?
Plus, more breaking news. Trump says he's open to the idea of, quote, "taking Cuba" as the country's electric grid collapses amid a U.S. oil blockade. The entire country of Cuba tonight, we understand, without power.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good Monday evening. I'm Erin Burnett, and welcome to this special edition of OUTFRONT, "The War with Iran".
The breaking news Iran, ramping up this hour tonight, massive explosions in the heavily fortified Green Zone in Iraq where the U.S. embassy is located. In fact, that embassy compound was actually hit after a separate drone hit a nearby hotel. So, we understand that is happening now.
Also, a drone strike hitting a fuel tank near Dubai International Airport. Jaw dropping video there. When you see that in the distance, thick black smoke, that's the world's busiest airport.
Again, it's still just dropping to think about where we are flights turned around in mid-air, the airport shutting down again temporarily.
Those strikes coming, though at the same time that Trump claimed that Iran has been obliterated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our powerful military campaign to end the threats posed by the Iranian regime continued in full force over the past few days. They have been literally obliterated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURENTT: Well, Trump may say that. Iran, though remains defiant, and the strait of Hormuz is still closed to U.S. And European ships for roughly three weeks roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply has been at a standstill now, and driving up the price of oil, of course today, again closing above $100 a barrel.
Tonight, Fox News asking if Iran's navy has been destroyed, though. Why is the strait still closed?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Now that you've announced that the U.S. has destroyed all of Iran's mine laying ships, why can't the U.S. just immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz?
TRUMP: Well, we could, but it takes two to tango. We have to get people to take their billion-dollar ship and, you know, drive it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Now, of course, no one wants to send their ship. And more importantly, the human beings on board those ships through the strait, tanker operators are not sending their ships through the Strait of Hormuz because tankers have been attacked. I was talking to one tanker CEO and he said the crew, the crew, the crew, and at least one crew member has been killed already in this war. So, Trump is asking these ships to just sail through despite massive risk to human life.
At least 20 vessels have been attacked in and around the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, including two tankers in Iraqi waters where as I said, at least one person was killed and a horrific death. With all that, that flame and burning fuel or naphtha on the water surface.
And Iran is leveling more threats tonight, warning it may strike the world's largest aircraft carrier in the Red Sea. That is the USS Gerald R. Ford, also now telling personnel working at U.S. facilities in the region to evacuate. Now, Iran is not specifying which countries or facilities they may be targeting. So, it's a broad threat, but it's defiance now has Trump scrambling to seek help, to seek some sort of an alliance to try to open the Strait of Hormuz.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the strait far more than ours. So, we want them to come and help us with the strait. I think we're going to have some good help, and I think we're going to be disappointed in some nations, too.
You know, the prime minister of U.K., United Kingdom yesterday told me I'm meeting with my team to make a determination. I said, you don't need to meet it with the team. You're the prime minister. You can make your own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Of course, there are laws and rules and structures that in some countries they follow. And Trump's calls are falling on deaf ears.
Here's the British prime minister responding to President Trump's comments today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We will not be drawn into the wider war.
We cannot allow the war in the Gulf to turn into a windfall for Putin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: By the way, it already has, right? I mean oil prices going up shadow fleet being activated of Russian oil floating around, and all of a sudden, they're minting money.
[19:05:04]
But Keir Starmer is not alone. The German chancellor saying this war is not a matter for NATO. The European Union's top diplomat said, quote, this is not Europe's war.
So, let's go to the gulf Nic Robertson live in Kuwait, where there are reports of more strikes today. Alayna Treene is at the White House and Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv.
I want to begin, though, with you, Nic. Iran not backing down from attacks on its neighbors. You saw that today. The world sees that on those images from the Dubai airport, the Green Zone, and obviously not backing off Hormuz either.
Sounds like --
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: So here in Kuwait City, in the last couple of hours, two rounds of sirens going off. And I got to tell you, Erin, just looking at the population here they've taking it and they're just moving on. They're not running for cover because they believe that the missile systems, defense systems here in place in Kuwait can protect them.
Kuwaiti government saying six drones were fired at Kuwait today. They intercepted three of them. One fell in open area. The other two did impact, but no structural damage.
But just look up and down the gulf here. Iran has been keeping up with its barrage. Look at Saudi Arabia there. They had three -- 13 drones up and around the town that's got a large Saudi airbase used by the U.S. Air Force in the center of the country, also in the east of the country. The oil fields are in Saudi Arabia, 15 drones as well, intercepted there. Kuwait saying that they had today a number of ballistic missiles and drones that they've also intercepted. And as you were mentioning before, in the United Arab Emirates, in
Dubai early in the morning, the international airport there, one of the oil storage facilities at that international civilian airport damaged fire, smoke billowing out of it for a long time, they've had a number of drones and a number of ballistic missiles fired at them as well.
And the message ramping up from Iran, Iran saying, because the USS Gerald Ford is in the red sea, that puts targets potentially in the Red Sea in danger along that coastline there, of course, the Red Sea actually a place Saudi Arabia can and is exporting some of its crude oil, crude oil from down the Red Sea, past the Houthis in Yemen. But if Iran starts ramping up and striking there, was that the rhetoric that we were hearing from the from the Iranian military or not, was it -- was an implicit threat? We don't know.
But it potentially would therefore spread the war the conflict into the red sea, threatening that limited supply of crude oil and wrapping the war right around the Arabian peninsula.
BURNETT: Yeah, right. We're taking it all the way further, further south. We were actually down, down there on the red sea this weekend.
Nic, I just want to say, obviously, you know we had a little bit of a glitch there at the top to everyone, just to remind how incredibly rare it is to even be able to get a shot, to be able to get this kind of coverage out of the Gulf and specifically out of Kuwait, where Nic is tonight. Nic, thank you very much.
And everyone's here with me.
Colonel Leighton, so this -- this -- this issue, the images of the Dubai airport again today, right? I think that brings it home to everyone around the world. U.S. embassy, the most heavily fortified embassy in the world, in the Green Zone in Iraq, again, a target and yet Trump says we don't need anybody. We're the strongest nation in the world even as he's making it very clear that the United States desperately needs help when it comes at least to Hormuz.
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, absolutely. And in fact, everybody needs somebody. And this is the key thing here. Alliances are critically important, especially in an operation like this, because we just don't know the local culture as well as some of the people in that region do.
We also don't have some of the skill sets that, for example, the British or the French can bring to bear because they know that region well too, from their past they have a different focus than we do, but that is a complementary focus. And it's especially prevalent in the intelligence field, but also in operations. So, it becomes critically important for us to have that alliance and to actually be able to work with these countries. Because if you don't, you get -- you basically run in blind and that becomes a real problem.
BURNETT: I mean, the German chancellor, Charlie, today, we will not take part in this war. I mean, you know, in a sense a few years ago that to be the response from Germany to U.S. military operation would sort of be unthinkable. And yet, I suppose it's not surprising now.
CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, this is not a NATO operation. I mean, what's happening right now, this this ex post facto coalition building, this was all supposed to happen prior to the commencement of hostilities not after. And of course, the Germans have had a challenging history in terms of military intervention since the Second World War.
But still, this is outside of NATOs area of operation. They were not properly consulted. Key allies in Europe, certainly even key allies in the Gulf were not properly consulted.
[19:10:01]
And just feel -- I just feel like there is no thought given or not enough thought given to secondary and tertiary effects or of responses, and things are playing out right now were completely foreseeable and predictable. But as the colonel said, we need allies and we shouldn't be trashing them. And the president regularly badmouths them. And now he says he needs their help and he says he doesn't need their help. I mean, he's shifting --
(CROSSTALK)
DENT: Kind of shifting messages and objectives are really stunning to me.
BURNETT: So, Karim, how confident does Iran feel about its control of the Strait of Hormuz right now? And when that comes down to, you know, those perhaps Russian derived missiles that they may have, you know, being able to hit it from the coast, you know, I suppose in some sense a game of chicken as to whether the U.S. sends something in there or not, but how confident does the Iranian regime feel?
KARIM SADJADPOUR, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: At the moment, Erin, it feels that Iran -- feels very confident about its chances of continuing to succeed in this asymmetric war. Obviously, Iran is no match for the United States militarily but asymmetrically, all Iran needs to do is survive. The U.S. needs to overwhelmingly win.
Iran is using 20,000 drones to go after $100 million tankers filled with hundreds of millions of dollars of cargo. They have the global economy hostage. And so, you know, at the moment, Iran feels that their most important ally here is American public opinion. And the more this war continues, the less President Trump will have a mandate to continue to fight it.
And ultimately, he's going to have to -- he's going to have to accept some type of a ceasefire with this regime still in place.
BURNETT: Which is incredible in a sense, to think about, right? You have a, you know authoritarian theocracy, but hyper aware of U.S. Democratic public polling and what that means, right? It's worth emphasizing that.
I mean, Colonel Trump was asked today whether he was surprised about Iran's striking the Gulf, right? Dubai airport being, you know, example number one.
Here's what Trump said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No, the greatest experts, nobody thought they were going to hit. They were -- I wouldn't say friendly countries. They were like neutral. They were they lived with them for years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You know what's amazing? I was talking to a senior government official and one unnamed Gulf country who said -- they explicitly told the Trump administration they were going to be hit. They explicitly said that, and they said that's why they didn't want the war. And they were adamant about that. And they were very, very loud about that.
Now, of course once it started, then they're saying, well, you got to finish the job. Okay? But the point is that for anyone to say that the Trump administration and wasn't well aware that the Gulf was going to be hit, that just defies basic reason.
LEIGHTON: Well, it defies not only basic reasoning, Erin, but it also defies history. Our experience, our U.S. experience in the Gulf indicates very clearly that the Iranians are going to hit back asymmetrically, just like Karim was mentioning. These are the kinds of things that become critically important because the Iranians are going to punch with really -- what seem to be limited weapons, but they target them in a very effective way, and they go after economic targets and political targets and military targets in all of these areas.
And they've done it very successfully. They do it with their drones. They do it with their missiles, and they do it with cyber. And that's the kind of thing that should have been absolutely crystal clear to the president at this point in time.
BURNETT: Does it shock you, Karim, that it -- that it wasn't?
SADJADPOUR: It frankly did because it was so telegraphed by the supreme leader. They said on so many occasions that if we're attacked, we're going to regionalize this war. And I think all of our partners in the Persian Gulf were bracing for impact. They were worried that -- you know, it was going to be a hit and run operation. And they were going to receive the blowback.
So, it really -- I suspect that most people at the Pentagon and State Department and CIA would not agree with the president that they were surprised by the fact that Iran attacked its neighbors.
BURNETT: Which -- and I guess the headline would be, Charlie, if he really was surprised, right? If he's being honest about that, that that's a stunning lack of people either breaking through to him or not telling him the reality, or I mean either one is disturbing.
His use of the word "obliterated" tonight, he said they're obliterated now he was referring I suppose perhaps to the navy. He's been talking about that actually for over two weeks now. But, of course, we all know that word was used in June after the nuclear facilities. You know, when he said tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were spectacular, military success, the key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.
Okay? Obliterated, crushed, all these words that have been used. But does it have any credibility anymore to anyone?
DENT: I don't think so. Look, the failure of this whole operation, like the military has performed professionally and very capably. They do their job well.
[19:15:00]
BURNETT: Yes.
DENT: The failure has been on the political and diplomatic side. The fact that the president of the United States did not make a case to the American people or to the Congress, I think has really kept the American public from supporting this effort the groundwork was not laid to do all the things that we are doing.
That's why people want to get out now. They want to get out fast but, of course, we can't get out quickly because the enemy has the say, and they're going to use these asymmetrical responses to keep us bogged down as long as they can.
So, I mean, so nobody should be surprised by any of this. The closure of the straits, the attacks on the Gulf countries completely foreseeable. It's not credible.
BURNETT: I guess you could go back to the Greeks, in pandora's box. Theres a reason that those allegories exist. I guess we opened it.
All right. Thank you all very much.
And next, the breaking news continues. New reporting just in that Iranian officials have reached out to President Trump's team. Obviously, could be very crucial information but I guess it comes down to what are they requesting. What's Trump's response? New reporting from the White House.
Also breaking, new video of a deadly strike in northern Israel. We're going to go to the ground. They were just pounded there by a barrage of rockets and drones and Trump on a collision course with China's Xi Jinping over Iran. So who's going to blink first here?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:41]
BURNETT: Welcome back to a special edition of OUTFRONT, "The War with Iran". The breaking news right now, we are just learning this hour that Iran has reached out directly to the United States. Iranian officials, we understand, have reached out to President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as others within the Trump administration, attempting to reopen a diplomatic channel regarding the war.
Let's go straight to Alayna Treene, who broke this story. It's obviously a major development.
And, Alayna, you're at the White House. So, what are you learning about these communications? You know who's and are they taking this seriously at the White House?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is the way it was put to me. I spoke with two White House officials, Erin, who said exactly what you're saying, that the Iranians have tried to reach out to the Trump administration, but specifically Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, someone who has been in close contact with Steve Witkoff throughout the president's second term, has tried to reach out and reopen diplomatic channels with the Trump administration.
However, I was told that Witkoff specifically has not responded to Araghchi and also is not currently talking with the Iranians right now.
I should note, though for their part, Araghchi says -- he's pushed back on this essentially saying that his last contact with Witkoff was prior to this war.
But all to say, for my conversations with these officials they say that as of now, the president is rebuffing these efforts, and he's advised his team that he is not currently interested in reopening negotiations with the Iranians.
This is what one senior White House official told me. They said, quote, "The president has said he is willing to talk, but not at this time as he wants to see Operation Epic Fury continue unabated."
Now, part of this as well is not just the Iranians, I'm told who have reached out, but also that there are some U.S. allies in the Middle East who have also been in touch with the white house, offering to try and mediate talks between the United States and the Iranians about, one, trying to find an off ramp to this war. But two, potential negotiations on Iranian nuclear program.
But again, so far, they have been told to hold off and a lot of this you know, one official said, pointing me to what we heard the president say today, this idea that the president believes he's not sure is their argument of who is in charge in the regime. We heard the president today kind of, you know, open this idea saying, I heard, you know, that the new supreme leader might not be alive. That is something they're using to say that the president doesn't know who's in charge until he does, they're not sure if they want to have direct communications with the Iranians at this point.
BURNETT: All right. Alayna Treene, thank you very much. Obviously, significant. I'm just thinking back to a meeting this fall with the Iranian President Pezeshkian, that I was at along with a group of reporters, when he expressed his feelings about Steve Witkoff and how Iran did not take him seriously. We'll see now.
While President Trump is saying that the U.S. has already, in his words literally destroyed nearly everything on Iran's crucial Kharg Island, it's an oil exporting island. The oil infrastructure, though they have not touched. They say they took out the military installations. Trump is making it clear that he will take more action on the eight square mile island off the coast of Iran, if needed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And as you know, we attacked Kharg Island and knocked it knocked it literally destroyed everything on the island except for the area where the oil is -- I call it the pipes -- we left the pipes. We didn't want to do that, but that we will do that. We can do that on five minutes notice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Five minutes notice. Well, back with us at the magic wall, our military analyst and retired Colonel Cedric Leighton.
So, Colonel Leighton, when Trump says the United States has literally destroyed most everything on Kharg Island, you know, just thinking -- I've been on a different island than this around an island in the Gulf. These are flat, flat sand spits in a sense.
So, what did Trump hit, you know, given that topography?
LEIGHTON: So, what he hit basically was the airfield right here. And then you have things like salmon placements in areas like this, the surface to air missiles. And also potentially artillery and other areas like this. So, these are the kinds of things that they would go after. And these are the target sets that an island like this would have because what you're talking about here, Erin, is an island that handles about 90 percent of Iran's oil exports.
[19:25:01]
So, it's basically a transshipment terminal and what he's doing here is he's taking out the military aspect of this. And that's why the target set looked like this.
BURNETT: All right. So, and as you're pointing out, not everything -- some of this is just going to be pure oil infrastructure, which they didn't take all of that out. I know that they'll say a lot of that is vital to the IRGC, but also would have civilian use. So, what are the biggest, biggest targets left? I'm just looking at some of those so the remaining look like oil storage.
LEIGHTON: Right. So that's exactly it right here. So what you're looking at here is like this oil tank farm in this area right here. This is an area where he could absolutely hit that.
Then the other thing that you have are these jetties right here. So all the ships that come in, all the tankers that come in, they would use these jetties in order to unload the oil and then take it out of the area into the Persian Gulf from Kharg Island, all the way down through the strait of Hormuz, and then out to be exported to various other countries.
BURNETT: Okay, so now just looking at this, by the way, I'm just looking at Kharg Island and the fact that it's high up, right? Some of these other ones that I was talking about were down here, right? So, it's far from the straight, but it's up near where the oil terminals, where they're going to be, where they're going to be doing exports from.
So, Trump's talk has not ruled out and is obviously there's been a lot of talk about the marine expeditionary unit, right. And whether that would play a role in potential boots on the ground. But he's very much been open to seizing it all together. Yes. Okay what does that look like from every perspective, but also
given where it's located all the way up there.
LEIGHTON: So, if, let's say it's the marine expeditionary unit, they would have to come through the Strait of Hormuz or be airlifted into a place like Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, and then go after Kharg Island. Now let's take a look at Kharg Island. They would come in here. These are the jetties that we talked about earlier.
The airfield right here, they would probably do something like move into an area where they could take over the airfield, potentially take over this area because they could use it as a landing craft area for U.S. or allied landing craft and they could also potentially move in from this area to come into the beach this way. And then they would basically have a landing field. So, kind of think a smaller version of Normandy and D-Day.
BURNETT: What it sounds like you're saying they destroyed the airfield itself. Right?
LEIGHTON: Right.
BURNETT: So this would have to be a water approach.
LEIGHTON: So -- and when you look at the airfield, this is exactly what they did here. So, they took out headquarters buildings. And they also ended up what we call cratering the runway so what they did is take out the areas right here. So that aircraft, when they taxi, they can't taxi the full extent that they need to take off. And they certainly can't land on a shorter runway like this.
So that's what they ended up doing in this particular case. And it was highly effective from a military standpoint.
BURNETT: Right, right. And I guess that's unusable for now, at least for Iran.
All right. Colonel Leighton, thank you very much. It's just -- it's just fascinating to look at all these details.
And next, we have breaking news from Israel. Northern Israel just hit with a barrage of missiles and drones. Rescue crews scrambling to treat the injured now. We're going to take you to the ground there next.
And more breaking news, President Trump is now talking about seizing another country Cuba, as Cuba's power grid collapses tonight, leaving the entire country in the dark.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I do believe -- I'll be the honor of -- having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be good -- that's a big honor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:32:55]
BURNETT: Breaking news, new video of the devastation of Lebanon as the death toll increases to at least 886 people killed, a stunning tragedy. More than a million are displaced according to officials in Lebanon. And in a joint statement tonight, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the U.K. are calling for immediate de- escalation as Israel is so far expanding its ground operation.
Jeremy Diamond is OUTFRONT in Tel Aviv,
And, Jeremy, just obviously the strikes just escalating may not even capture what's happening there on the ground tonight.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's absolutely right, Erin. Certainly, Israel and the United States have been pummeling Iran with airstrikes in recent days. In fact, they're expanding their strikes because of the fact that they've destroyed so much of Iran's air defenses.
And here in Israel, we're continuing to watch one wave after the next of ballistic missiles being fired at Israel. Just moments ago, air raid sirens sounding in northern Israel warning of yet another incoming Iranian ballistic missile. We saw earlier today, not only barrages of Iranian ballistic missiles, some of which were outfitted with cluster munitions that made impact and caused damage across the country, but also a Hezbollah rocket in northern Israel that struck near the town of Nahariya in that part of the country, injuring several individuals.
But meanwhile today, what we've seen is an expansion of Israels ground operation in southern Lebanon, sending troops into several more of those villages along the border where the Israeli military is aiming to, they say destroy Hezbollah infrastructure to try and make the situation more stable for northern Israeli residents living along that border.
It is another step by Israel to go deeper into southern Lebanon but certainly not the kind of all out ground operation that we know the Israeli military is preparing for, in which the Israeli prime minister is currently considering, and which tonight were hearing multiple European countries urging Israel not to take that step. Instead, we know that there are discussions about the potential for the direct diplomacy between Israel and Lebanon.
[19:35:04]
So far, none of that is really gaining traction. But in the meantime, we are seeing the continuation of Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, including in the Lebanese capital. All of that now resulting in a huge toll in Lebanon. More than 800 people killed, of which at least 100 are believed to be children, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
And the Israeli defense minister today, saying that hundreds of thousands of people in southern Lebanon who have been displaced, they won't be allowed to return to their homes, he says until the residents of northern Israel can be safe from the threat of Hezbollah -- Erin.
BURNETT: Jeremy, thank you very much. Just thinking about those 100 children.
All right. Now, Gene Seroka joins me. He is the executive director of the port of Los Angeles, which is the busiest port in the United States. But he previously lived and worked in the Middle East, where he was based in Dubai. So you have that experience to bear, Gene, along with, of course, the ships that you are dealing with now where this is the number one issue.
President Trump wants to have warships escort tankers through the strait, at least 20 vessels have been attacked. You know, I was talking to shipping executive. I've been talking to him constantly. But you know, today he said, we've got our ships stocked with enough food, we believe for a month, and they're stuck, and we're not moving them because these are crew and were not going to send them through because crew, they could -- they could be killed.
You're speaking with shipping executives. Are they going to send their ships through?
GENE SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LOS ANGELES: Good evening, Erin.
No, they're not. There's no interest in risking the safety or lives of the crew on board those vessels. And now that were in day 17 since the war began its likely more than 2000 vessels that normally would have crossed through that strait, carrying energy products, fertilizer, aluminum, and the all-important retail goods that go into the Arabian gulf for their consumers there.
But this discussion about starting to use caravans to bring ships through the strait has not been met with applause by the private sector, shipping companies.
BURNETT: No, I mean, they're putting human life first and foremost, right? Just not -- there's not something you put a price on, sending a tanker through a 21-mile strait war zone, right? It's not even -- it's not even an insurance issue.
So how is this bleeding through? You know, when we talk, you say day 17, okay? And we know that that oil then obviously feeds through into gasoline prices, jet fuel prices, all of those things. Youve got the impact on chemicals and all those things go into the goods that then ship on the cargo and come to the port of Los Angeles.
So, it's a long process, but it is a chain. And we're starting down that chain. Where do you think we are as it moves?
SEROKA: Well, right now, Erin, in the Trans-Pacific trade, which makes up 95 percent of our business at the nation's largest port, we've seen the ship fuel prices double during the past two and a half weeks.
BURNETT: Wow.
SEROKA: The fuel component is now upwards of 30 percent of the entire shipping cost. An importer or exporter here in the United States is going to pay. So those costs are escalating and they're real.
BURNETT: Wow. The ship -- the ship fuel prices have almost doubled. And obviously we'll see is that starts to hit the prices of the things that they're shipping, right? Because it affects the entire shipping costs. We're seeing surcharges from airlines, for example, already. The Trump administration says the war could go on for another two to four weeks.
I mean, let me just say that with a caveat of that, that that timing has moved around so much that that the only thing that matters in the markets is that the market wants it to end soon, but no one has any idea when it will or what an end looks like. Okay? That's the fact. No matter what anybody wants to say.
But if it ends in two to four weeks, and I suppose by that, that means a Strait of Hormuz opens and it is safe to transit. Okay? If that happens, then when do we return to, quote/unquote, "normal".
SEROKA: With this many ships? Again, both inside the Arabian Gulf and those that want to transit from the outside westward, it's going to take weeks, if not months to unravel this and try to get all of these different commodities, ships and companies working on a supply chain that's in sync. It will take a long time, even from that one day.
And I'm not sure, Erin, right now that were going to have one day where it's an all-clear sign that comes through. This is going to be a progression, and it's never a straight line in situations like this. And this is really amped up.
BURNETT: Yeah. No, you're right. I mean, just imagine those tankers. I mean that they're just going to line up and say, okay, things are great. Now we can just go through right. I guess -- you know, what you're saying is very important because I think just to bring it home, it's not going to happen that way.
Gene, thank you so much. I always appreciate your time.
And President Trump tonight is now talking about seizing another country, Cuba. He says he can, quote, do anything he wants with Cuba.
[19:40:03]
So what specifics are on the table here tonight?
Plus, Trump and China in a tense showdown tonight over Iran. Beijing censors are allowing some shockingly critical videos about Trump to spread. We have a special report, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:45:00]
BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump tonight in the Oval Office suggesting he's open to, quote, "taking Cuba".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I do believe I'll be the honor of -- having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be good honor. That's a big honor.
REPORTER: Taking Cuba?
TRUMP: Taking Cuba, in some form, yeah. Taking Cuba. I mean, whether I free it, take it. I think I could do anything I want with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump would not say whether any U.S. operation in Cuba would look more like the war with Iran or what happened in Venezuela. This comes as "The New York Times" is also reporting tonight that the Trump administration is telling Cuban negotiators that its president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, must go.
OUTFRONT now, the Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley, who's on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Senator, so President Trump just said, I believe I'll have the honor of taking Cuba. It's a big honor. I'll take it in some form. He says, yeah, I mean, whether I free it or take it, I think I can do anything I want with it.
Is that -- is that how you see it? As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that he can do anything he wants with Cuba?
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): Well, there is a moment of significant leverage regarding Cuba, because after the oil was cut off to the island, their power grid has now collapsed completely. So, it's a moment where America has some leverage as to whether we let more oil in. And in that regard, I really think his team has been considering the Venezuela model that is having Miguel Diaz-Canel step aside and have somebody who might be more inclined towards reforms that the Trump administration would like to see enacted.
This is not -- I mean, this is not a discussion that's happened in the Foreign Relations Committee. We've had virtually no oversight. We should be holding conversations about that, as we should on many other things. But those conversations have not happened. BURNETT: It sounds like what you're saying -- obviously, you're frustrated. You don't have the role that you should have, but that perhaps in this case is this something you would support that the U.S. would have this moment of leverage if used appropriately, to get a new leader in place?
MERKLEY: Well, I can't say I would support it without a lot more information about what's being planned here. I really thought Obama was on the -- President. Obama was on the right track when we opened trade relations. I think the positive influence that would have occurred with ongoing interactions with the United States would have been far more productive in reforming the island than this strategy of essentially starving them of energy until their economy collapse. And then just saying, we'll just trade one leader for a next up leader.
It's not clear that that will actually serve our interests at all. And it certainly -- people in Cuba are certainly struggling right now.
BURNETT: Well, I mean, civilians, right, human beings, as we have seen every one of these cases are suffering, right?
MERKLEY: Yes.
BURNETT: When no power -- I mean, it's -- that is a terrible thing.
President Trump is speaking out also about Iran's retaliation specifically against neighboring gulf nations since the start of the war. And I wanted to play for you, Senator, what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: No, the greatest experts. Nobody thought they were going to hit -- they were, I wouldn't say friendly countries. They were like neutral. They were -- they lived with them for years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That's obviously not true. That the Gulf countries had made it very clear to the administration that they -- that they would be hit, right, that they said, this is the first thing that's going to happen. So that's what they said. And that is, in fact, what has happened.
Are you surprised by the fact that the president is saying this? I mean, I guess what I'm saying is, do you believe him? And if you believe him that he doesn't -- that he didn't think they were going to be hit, does that mean no one told him the truth or that he ignored it? Or do you think he's not telling the truth here?
MERKLEY: It's basically completely at odds with his first explanation of when the war started saying, hey, we're going to see retaliation from Iran against American installations, which of course are scattered all over the Gulf. So, it would have been retaliation against a whole set of nations. And that's why this was based on Netanyahu planning to hit ballistic missiles and then anticipating that Iran would respond by hitting things throughout the region. And that's why we had to go in and be part of on the front end. That
was his argument at the very beginning. So, no, I think his arguments change every single day. And he's got some really big problems here first of all, is he strengthened the hard line government and betrayed the reformers.
The second is there's 1,000 pounds of 60 percent uranium still unaccounted for, that this war has not addressed.
And third, Iran has shown that the use of drones and cruise missiles gives them significant influence, including the ability to shut down oil flowing through the straits of Hormuz. So, there's a lot going on there as well as the regional attacks.
BURNETT: I wanted to ask you about Kharg Island. You know, Colonel Leighton was just showing us exactly what's been hit there and what hasn't and what potentially could be the plan. If there is a plan for boots on the ground, there.
[19:50:03]
Trump today said that the U.S. has literally destroyed everything on Kharg Island except for those oil facilities. But he's left open the door for the future.
And in fact, Senator, this is amazing, he has been talking about seizing Kharg Island since at least 1988. All right, 1988. This is incredible. It's not as though he knew where it was and he was talking about seizing it.
In an interview with "The Guardian", he was promoting his book, "The Art of the Deal", and he said, this is 1988, quote, I'd be harsh on Iran. They've been heating up -- beating us psychologically, making us look like a bunch of fools, one bullet shot at one of our men or ships, and I do a number on Kharg Island. I'd go in and take it.
What does that say to you, Senator? I mean, this has been on his mind, this specific island Kharg Island that he knew by name since 1988.
MERKLEY: Well, I think a lot about the marines that he's sending over to the region right now. There are only two logical explanations for that. One is taking Kharg Island, and the second is Isfahan, where nuclear materials may well be buried under the rubble.
But because Kharg Island carries that 90 percent of the oil that Iran produces, it's really a chokehold over Iran. So, the idea has always been kind of floated that if you control that island you can really extract enormous concessions from Iran because it wouldn't be able to transport and sell their oil.
The president's -- he's also threatened to respond by taking out the pipes and the tanks, oil pipes and tanks and blowing up the -- if that -- if that happens, that takes away the strategic value of controlling Kharg Island in terms of negotiations with Iran.
BURNETT: Yeah. All right. Senator Merkley, thank you very much.
MERKLEY: Thank you very much.
BURNETT: And Trump and China facing off tonight over Iran. So, who will back down first?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:00]
BURNETT: Breaking news , President Trump needs Chinas help to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Beijing not playing ball tonight, leading Trump to threaten he is delaying his trip to China to meet with Xi Jinping. This comes as the Chinese have been openly mocking Trump over the war in Iran.
Will Ripley is OUTFRONT in Taiwan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no issue with civilians.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you attack the Minab school?
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This A.I. video from Iran's embassy in China is going viral.
CHARACTER: Lie, lie.
CHARACTER: Lie!
RIPLEY (voice-over): Beijing's heavy handed government censors are allowing videos like this to spread, magnifying the narrative that President Donald Trump is evil and dishonest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't hit the Minab school. America doesn't have tomahawk missiles at all.
RIPLEY (voice-over): A preliminary U.S. military investigation found the strike was likely American. China is seizing on the moment -- condemning the war, claiming the moral high ground.
CHARACTER: Let me keep everyone safe.
CHARACTER: Sounds great.
RIPLEY (voice-over): This state media video shows the U.S. putting other countries in a cage.
CHARACTER: Relax. Sometimes security comes with a little control.
RIPLEY (voice-over): As the war escalates, so does the trolling.
President Trump's White House prayer circle with religious leaders flooding Chinese social media, censors are allowing a tidal wave of viral videos and memes mocking that moment in the Oval Office.
The caption on this political cartoon reads, "A Nobel Peace Prize winner who devours kids." Other cartoons in Chinese state media ridicule the rising price of oil. They say President Trump is adding fuel to the fire in the Strait of Hormuz by asking countries, including China, to send warships.
Chinese state media is reporting Trump's threat to postpone his meeting with President Xi Jinping later this month.
China's foreign ministry is urging all sides to de-escalate, saying Beijing and Washington remain in communication about Trump's visit to China.
An opinion piece in Communist Party mouthpiece "Global Times" says Washington is asking who will send warships. Beijing is asking how to stop the war.
Users are flooding state media with comments like these: Seems like Trump knows he wont be able to come to China, so he's lining up an excuse for an off ramp. Let me translate that. I'm out of options. Somebody help!
The U.S. originally wanted to use Venezuela and Iran. Two major oil producing countries, as bargaining chips for a deal now, the U.S. crippled their own strength.
All of those anti-U.S comments, too many to count, spreading freely across China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: You know how often China censors our reporting on this program, but that story, every single second has been allowed to air inside China, Erin, as China calls for calm and the Iran war, Beijing is still flexing its military muscle near Taiwan, 26 Chinese warplanes flew around this island over the weekend, ending a nearly two week lull. The flights followed a speech by Taiwan's president defending sovereignty activity dropped again on Monday.
Some analysts think that Beijing is avoiding a bigger escalation before that possible Xi-Trump meeting later this month, if it happens.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much.
And tonight, we are hearing from the family of one of the six U.S. service members killed when their refueling plane crashed last week over Iraq.
The husband of Air Force Sergeant Ashley Pruitt of Kentucky tells OUTFRONT, quote about her, "She was the best of us. An amazing wife, mother and friend. Always thinking of others and their needs before her own. She was able to handle any challenges, thrown her way and raised everyone around her while she did it. And all the while with a smile on her face that warmed the world. Her loss will forever be felt by those that knew and loved her." Ashley Pruitt was 34 years old, and there were other Americans killed in that tragic accident. Major John Klinner, Captain Ariana Savino, Captain Seth Koval, Captain Curtis Angst, and Technical Sergeant Tyler Simmons. We're thinking of all of their families in their time of profound grief.
Thank you for joining us.
"AC360" begins now.
