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Erin Burnett Outfront
Trump Backs Down From Threat Of "Whole Civilization" Dying Tonight; New Iran Statement: Will Coordinate Strait Of Hormuz Passage; Israel Has Concerns About U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Agreement. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired April 07, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:22]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, Trump stands down at the 11th hour, literally moments before his deadline, amid threats of obliterating a whole civilization. Iran at this moment, though, has still not responded. And we are awaiting word from Tehran.
Plus, MAGA revolting. Some of the same people instrumental to Trump's election now calling to invoke the 25th Amendment, removing him from office.
And Russia and China backing Iran on the world stage, betting against Trump in his war.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
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BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
And OUTFRONT tonight, we have this breaking news just coming in, as I said, literally at the 11th hour, Trump backing down after threatening that a, quote, "whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again." Horrific and unacceptable words, which just moments ago, at the 11th hour before his deadline, Trump now has essentially rescinded, obviously not deleting the post, but changing the outlook, saying, "subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz, I agreed to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double-sided ceasefire."
Now, it's important to note that the ceasefire is based on Iran opening the Strait of Hormuz. Right? And Iran has not, as I said yet formally, we're awaiting word from Tehran, but they have not responded to this and to what Trump is calling a double-sided ceasefire. Up until this moment, the president of the United States, who is right now inside the Oval Office, had made a horrific threat against the 93 million people living in Iran. Word of the ceasefire is coming as explosions meantime were heard in the UAE and Qatar, and in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted five missiles fired towards the eastern region of the country moments before Trump announced the ceasefire.
Alayna Treene is OUTFRONT, live outside the White House.
And, Alayna, what more are you learning about this? And you know where we are in this. How real this is and what it actually entails?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, I think your question is the big one, this idea of whether or not Iran has actually agreed to this, that's what the president says. This entire two-week ceasefire is really based on the Iran that Iran will agree to immediately reopening the Strait of Hormuz, at least for this two-week period, where they say negotiations are going to continue.
Look, I think, as you mentioned, this came just an hour and a half. This post from the president before his deadline to -- for Iran to either heed his calls to reopen the street or to bomb civilian infrastructure, bridges, et cetera.
And it all came down to what we saw from the Pakistani prime minister earlier today. I would note that, of course, they have been crucial in being mediators throughout this entire process. Passing negotiations, including today, I'm told, between Washington and Tehran to really see if they could stave off these really aggressive attacks that the president had been threatening.
What I can tell you as well, I've been talking to White House officials, administration officials throughout the day about this. And what was clear to me was that they were really hoping and pushing for some sort of diplomatic off ramp here. They did not -- they wanted to find some sort of way to avoid having the president not only move forward with these attacks, but they wanted to try to delay them or at least minimize the severity of them, is what I was told.
And that really aggressive language we saw all day was the president, these officials told me, trying to put maximum pressure on the Iranians. Of course, it appears now that he believes that it has worked. But we really do have to wait and see what the Iranians say, because throughout this entire war, really, we've heard many different things publicly from both the Iranians and here in the United States, the Trump administration.
One thing I want to say as well, I think a key question of this was not only did Trump agree to the ceasefire, but whether or not Israel also would agree to it, and if they would suspend their bombing campaign, and I'm told from a senior White House official that Israel has agreed to be a part of this ceasefire and that they are going to lay off on their attacks while these negotiations continue. But again, it really is going to matter to see what the Iran -- what the Iranians say at this point.
BURNETT: Yes, absolutely. Alayna, thank you very much.
As Alayna said, her reporting here, I know that Israel is part of the two-week ceasefire, crucial, as she points out, obviously, whether -- whether they were involved.
Everyone is here with me.
Colonel Leighton, let me just start with you. We're at the 11th hour. The president of United States put out a tweet that I -- I think that anybody who's honest would be ashamed of today and has now backed off of that. That's the outcome everybody wanted. It does mean, of course, that that's the threat that he was willing to level.
[19:05:04]
So, where are we? If Iran responds soon, we don't know what they're going to say. And they say that yes, they're going to do this for two weeks, what does it mean?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: So, basically, Erin, what we're talking about is a pause in fighting for both sides. And if that is the case, it gives them time to regroup, gives the Iranians time to regroup, gives the U.S. and Israel time to regroup as well.
BURNETT: Get more troops in the region for Trump.
LEIGHTON: Exactly. Get more troops in the region if they want to.
They also -- the Iranians, of course, also have the possibility of moving some of their weapon systems around. More missiles could be moved from their underground facilities and put in a place where they can be more accessible. So, these are the kinds of things that could happen. They could also start working on repairing some of the damage from the bombing raids. So, all of that is, I think, part of this two- week period.
BURNETT: Which, of course, is what Iran did last time. And, you know, being in the middle of a negotiation and saying he's going to let it run out is what Trump did.
Well, he's done multiple times, but he did it last summer. And then he bombed, right? So, it's very hard to know if anybody's good for their word here. There's nobody with a track record of that.
MAX ROSE (D), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: No. The only thing we do know for certain is what has happened over the course of the last three or four weeks, which is the fact that Donald Trump pushed regime change, a strategic goal, a lofty strategic goal, without any of the operational or tactical reserves to actually accomplish that.
And in the process, 13 bases of the United States nearly destroyed throughout the region, our alliances broken, the very trust in the United States virtually decimated, and tens of billions of dollars spent on a war that should have never been undertaken in the first place. Certainly not in this way.
BURNETT: Right. Well, I mean, their initial estimate was, what, $1 billion a day? So you'd be at $40 billion already, just off of the estimate that the Pentagon actually put out there.
Nazila, you know, I know you received messages, were able to get some from friends and family in Iran today. So, when they -- they are, I guess it would have been the middle of the afternoon and they see, maybe they even heard from you, right? I mean, I don't know, with the state of the Internet there being closed, what information was really able to come in when Trump threatened to wipe out an entire civilization. A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.
So now there is apparently a ceasefire. Is there any trust?
NAZILA FATHI, FORMER NEW YORK TIMES CORRESPONDENT BASED IN TEHRAN FOR TEN YEARS: That's a big question. The messaging was very unsettling. Iranians were holding their breath to see what's going to happen. Of course, it's impossible to destroy an entire civilization. And Iranians have been under heavy bombardment for 40 days now because it's after midnight and Iran 40 days of war.
BURNETT: Yeah.
FATHI: Major civilian infrastructure has been completely destroyed. But I think they were truly waiting to see how other regional countries are going to position themselves, because they knew whatever happens in Iran will have ripple effects for the region as well. So, I think when they wake up or if they're still up in Iran, they will be very happy or relieved that there is a ceasefire now.
BURNETT: Right. And as, Ryan, you know, we wait for Tehran's response. Of course, you know, what Trump had posted about wiping out an entire civilization and bombing all the bridges and power plants in the country -- you know, I know people have been talking about war crimes.
And I mean, obviously that's not something he's worried about. Okay? He doesn't see it that way. And it's not something that seems to concern him. But do the threats alone constitute anything?
RYAN GOODMAN, JUST SECURITY CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: So, if he had carried out the actions, I think even it doesn't concern him. It concerns the U.S. military all the way down. That's one important part of it. And it would have even amounted to, I think, a crime against humanity. That's the word for it, which is a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
The threat alone actually itself is a war crime. So, the Geneva Conventions prohibit threats of violence to terrorize a civilian population. I don't know any other way to define what he did, except to a threat of violence, to terrorize the civilian population. That is the Geneva Convention. The United States hasn't ratified that particular Geneva Convention treaty, but the DOD's -- the Department of Defense's law of war manual says we totally accept this as binding international law verbatim. They actually track the exact same language as the Geneva Conventions.
BURNETT: Colonel, there has been a lot of discussion today about whether members of the military and some of the most senior commanders would have gone along with this, right, if it was to go do this.
And I understand that perhaps there was an argument. Certainly, when you look at Kharg, you could say, okay, well, there's military use for it. And maybe there's also civilian benefit to something. So how does it count? Someone can play in gray area if they want to, but do you think that there would have been a refusal to carry out an order if this -- if this had come?
LEIGHTON: That would have been really the quintessential question of the Trump era, I think. And, you know, in this particular situation, I think it's somewhat doubtful that there would have been an en masse resignation or something like that, or a refusal to carry out orders. But I do think there would have been some people who would have said, no.
It really depends on a lot of different factors. I know what I think I would have done in a case like this, but it is -- there are a lot of -- lot of close calls in this, and it, you know, some of it, some people would make the argument, like you mentioned, Kharg, about 40 percent of Iran's economy is run by the IRGC. So, you can make an argument --
BURNETT: Well, you can't extricate the IRGC from the Iranian economy. No, that's the whole point.
LEIGHTON: And that's -- and that's part of the problem in making that decision. Because you look at that, you know, from a targeting perspective and you could say, well, a lot of this is dual use. And therefore, there's this problem. But that's' a very nuanced argument.
I think, you know, when the day is done, you look at this and you have to say, where is the greatest damage going to be? And if the greatest damage is going to be on the civilian side, or what passes for the civilian side, then you have to make a decision that says, I'm not going to.
BURNETT: And of course, Nazila, wiping out a civilization, okay, is a threat to -- is a threat to humanity, and all people living there, obviously civilians.
So, when you saw that post this morning, I will admit when I saw it, I was actually listening to NPR and I had to go. I said, it can't be real. And I mean, some people might say, well, how can you not believe that at this point? But I did. I went and checked it because I couldn't believe such a thing actually could have been said.
You're an Iranian-American. So, you know, you have family there, you have friends there. When you saw it, what did you think?
FATHI: Well, as you say, I -- I'm Iranian. I am very proud of my Persian Iranian identity. I'm also very proud of my American identity.
And this message just, you know, erodes the moral superiority that we claim to uphold here in the United States. And I think if there is one war that Trump has lost, it is the war of public opinion in Iran. Iranians were very pro-Western. Iranians were very pro-American. I highly doubt they stay like that after this message.
BURNETT: What is the impact of this, Ryan? I mean, I know we're going to talk about you got you have people, conspiracy theorists and others in MAGA land who turned on Trump today. And significantly so and said, 25th Amendment, this is it. I draw the line.
Alex Jones, Candace Owens, people have done that. Has anything really changed, do you think in this moment of what he did today?
GOODMAN: I think so. I mean, I think people were very worried that he would carry it out. There was a lot of reporting that he was speaking to his advisors about even calling it infrastructure day and things like that. So, the fact that we got this close to the line of something that is that catastrophic, I think, is a wake-up call for a lot of Americans, for a lot of people, for people on the Hill, from people in the military that I've heard from as well.
This really nearly crossed a line and a line in which I think people would have had to make life -- life decisions for themselves, career decisions for themselves as to whether or not to go along with it.
BURNETT: And then, of course, max, then you get to the practicality of people that will live in the moment. That's what the markets do. So, the markets, of course, right now in futures trading, they have gone up because guess what, Trump has backed off. And there will be some who will call it you know TACO, Trump always chickens out which is making way too light of it, but it is also a truth, which is that he makes giant threats that he does not follow through on.
ROSE: Yeah.
BURNETT: So it's one thing for everyone to say, well, nobody wanted him to do this, and it's another to say that the word of the president of the United States is now something that people do not think that they can take at his word, that they expect it to be just a quick trading opportunity every single time.
ROSE: I feel like the markets are a little culpable here because they allowed for 40 days of death and destruction, thinking that Trump just wasn't that serious, that Trump was sane. This was the definition of crazy. And the markets tolerated it.
And Trump basically only cares about the market response. He doesn't care about the civilian casualties that he's inflicting. But let's just take a step back and look at what happened here -- 40 days of unconstitutional bombing to, at the best of circumstances, bring us back to maybe where we were 90 days ago. We don't know for certain what's in this agreement, but I can tell you it doesn't represent an unconditional surrender of the Iranian regime, which is what he was apparently seeking.
BURNETT: Right.
And, Colonel, okay, this is -- this -- and again, we are awaiting a response from Tehran. But to this point, and I think this is really important for everyone, right? The Strait of Hormuz, I remember going there last summer during the last war. Okay? And that was because it was the place that if this, you know, escalated, Iran could close the strait and they didn't do it. Maybe Trump thought they never would. Now they have and they have established that they can do that, right?
They have established that they control the strait. So, if they're agreeing to open it, he is basically acquiescing in their ownership and control of it, is he not?
[19:15:00]
LEIGHTON: Yes. And the reason that this is so important is that this means that this is a strategic victory for the Iranians, because if they -- now that they've proven that they can control the strait, at least up to a point, they will then control commerce. They want to exact tolls on ships that go through there. We're talking about one million or two million per --
BURNETT: Panama Canal style.
LEIGHTON: Exactly. Panama Canal style.
The difference is, of course, the Panama Canal was built by man. The Strait of Hormuz is a natural occurrence, and so Iran wants to control that. Of course, we'll have to talk to Oman about that.
But who's the more powerful country there? Iran. And that is going to, I think, create a real change in the dynamic here. And in essence, you know, to what max is saying, you have a situation now where with all of this effort, the Iranians have actually achieved strategic victory if they continue to go through with this.
And the United States has done amazing tactical work from a military perspective, but has not achieved its strategic ends, which, oh, by the way, were changing all the time.
BURNETT: So, Nazila, I know it is too big of a question to answer in this moment, but as you look at it in this tiny sliver of a perspective that we now have with the potential of, of a two week ceasefire, if Iran agrees and opens the strait in however that's defined, does the regime -- is the regime strengthened by it?
FATHI: Definitely. Without doubt. And you know, they now have used the Strait of Hormuz as a leverage. And -- and they will keep it that way. All the other Iranian officials who were killed, they had spoken against using the Strait of Hormuz as a leverage. But the ones who are in power now, who are much more hardline than the previous ones, they did it.
BURNETT: I mean, that's incredible, Ryan, when you think about it.
GOODMAN: Yeah. And it's also shifted geopolitics as well. I mean, just in the last few days, a number of U.S. NATO allies have refused to give overflight rights or use of their bases to carry out these kinds of strikes. This is a rupturing of the kind of alliance that we need for so many other purposes, Ukraine and others. I think that's another repercussion that's happened, even to the point of not going all the way, but getting this close.
BURNETT: Yeah. Well, there is something where everyone was forced, I think, today to think about their own morals and what they think is right and wrong in a way that we are not frequently asked to do when it comes to policy. And every, every person was.
Thank you all very much.
And we are getting some more breaking news in here. Just getting word from Iran. The foreign minister just releasing a statement, and we are going through that right now. So we're going to have that for you as we get this response from Iran.
Also breaking, more missiles being intercepted across the Gulf, even in the wake of this announcement from Trump, we go live to the region.
And what is Trump's thinking at this crucial moment? New reporting from two top journalists who have spoken to him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:22:20]
BURNETT: Breaking news, Iran's foreign minister just responding to Trump's ceasefire announcement. I want to read part of it to you. He says, "If attacks against Iran are halted, our powerful armed forces will cease their defensive operations for a period of two weeks. Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran's armed forces, and with due consideration of technical limitations."
Obviously, those words are crucial there, and the Supreme National Security Council of Iran has also issued a statement that I have here, and I'll just show you a couple of the important lines here. One of them is that "the regulated passage through the Strait of Hormuz, under the coordination of the Armed Forces of Iran, thereby conferring upon Iran a unique economic and geopolitical standing," which sounds like in a translation, Iran saying that they see this as acknowledgment that they control the Strait of Hormuz.
Let's go to Zachary Cohen, our national security reporter here.
Zachary, what are you learning about this? We're just getting these dual statements, one from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and also from the Supreme National Security Council that I just shared part of. What else stands out to you here?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY & JUSTICE REPORTER: Yeah. Erin, the piece of this about the Strait of Hormuz really is the most remarkable thing, I think that jumps out immediately and says Pakistan has submitted the same to the American side. Said plan emphasizes fundamental matters, inter alia, the regulated passage through the Strait of Hormuz under the coordination of the armed forces of Iran, thereby conferring upon Iran a unique economic and geopolitical standing.
So effectively, that's reiterated in the tweet as well, saying that at least for the period of two weeks, the Strait of Hormuz will be open effectively, though, with coordination via the Iranian military. And it's important for people to remember that the Strait of Hormuz was not controlled in a literal sense by Iran prior to those U.S. joint -- Israeli joint military strikes that kicked off this entire conflict several weeks ago, Iran responded to those strikes by closing the Strait of Hormuz, and it appears that the ceasefire is predicated, at least in part, on the legitimization of Iran's control of that key waterway.
And that goes with an implication of if the waterway can be opened temporarily, Iran likely could reclose the strait should negotiations not progress in a way that they see fit effectively. So, it also says that talks between the U.S. and Iran should occur as soon as this week in Islamabad -- in Islamabad, Pakistan has been acting as the key primary intermediary country between the U.S. and Iranian regimes.
A lot to hammer out here, but the Iranian statement does seem to suggest that, in principle, at least, the Trump administration has agreed to the broad contours of their 10-point proposal, at least as a starting point for these negotiations.
[19:25:10]
And again, it's hard to overemphasize how important the Iranian control and demand that that control be legitimized of the Strait of Hormuz is. As far as a starting point for these talks.
BURNETT: Yes. And that, of course, may be the absolute deal breaker. And I'm just reading the final sentence here of the statement from the Supreme National Security council in Iran.
They say, "Our hands remain upon the trigger. And should the slightest error be committed by the enemy, it shall be met with full force." They also emphasize that this deal, such that it is, does not signify any termination of the war. Obviously, we're talking about a temporary ceasefire of sorts.
All right, Zachary, thank you very much. As you get more information, of course, I'm just going to bring you right back in here.
I want to continue now, though, with the Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who's on the Foreign Relations Committee.
And Senator Murphy just sharing this information, right? We've got the response here from Abbas Araghchi foreign minister and also from the National Security Council in Iran. But two things really stand out here. One, the safe passage that Trump is saying is going to be provided for two weeks as part of this kind of the central part of it through Hormuz. They're saying it's possible via coordination with Iran's armed forces, which obviously implies that Iran controls the strait.
And then from the National Security Council, they say this confers upon Iran a unique geopolitical -- economic and geopolitical standing in terms of them regulating passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
So, what are you hearing all this? SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I mean, listen, who knows what's going on?
Donald Trump lies every single day. Clearly, he's not telling the truth. But if you accept even part of the Iranian statement, Donald Trump has agreed to give Iran control of the Strait of Hormuz. That is extraordinary.
If you go deeper into the statement from the Iranian National Security Council, they claim that Trump has also agreed to Iran's right to enrichment, to suspend all sanctions against Iran and to allow Iran to keep their missile program, their drone program and their nuclear program.
Now, who knows if any of that is true. But if at the very least, this agreement gives Iran the right to control the strait, that is cataclysmic for the world, and it is just stunning that that's where we have gotten to that. Donald Trump took a military action that has apparently, at least for the time being, given Iran control over a critical waterway that they did not have control over before the war began. So, it just doesn't sound like there's actually an agreement, because when Trump is saying is totally different than what the Iranians are saying.
But if Iran has the strait permanently now, what an error, what a miscalculation this entire endeavor was.
BURNETT: I mean, the day began, Senator, with a post on Trump's social media website that I don't know. I don't know what you thought when you saw it. I have said that I did not think it was real, and I had to go check it because I -- I -- it was so stunning. But it began with a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. That is how the day began. Of course, this outcome that that is not going to happen tonight is one that everybody would want.
And yet the path to get here, where we are right now, how do you see it?
MURPHY: Well, I mean, listen, the president has promised to commit war crimes. He's promised to eradicate an entire civilization. We have never, ever seen that in the history of this country. That's why I and many other people have been talking for the last 24 hours about the 25th Amendment. It does seem that Trump has lost touch with reality, and we just can't accept a president who is literally promising to destroy an entire civilization to murder hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings that alone should be grounds for the removal of this president.
But he thinks, I guess, that the threat of mass scale war crimes has achieved some success. But as were learning in the last few minutes, the success seems to be that Iran has more power over global commerce than ever before in our lifetime. And so, the combination of the threat of war crimes, along with the outcome of this so-called ceasefire, it's just really hard to get your head wrapped around.
BURNETT: No, it is. And I was saying last summer along the Strait of Hormuz, you know, when the whole possibility was that Iran could escalate by doing something, it still seemed to many, although possible, unthinkable, right? And how the world has changed since then, just in such a -- in the reality has changed.
I want to ask you about one other important thing though, Senator, and that is obviously the military operation to which was astounding to rescue the downed U.S. airmen inside Iran over the weekend. You know, their performance and what they did is truly incredible.
[19:30:02]
And I'm sure every American is rightfully proud of that.
Secretary Hegseth speaks about this war in explicitly Christian terms, as you well know, and he does so frequently. He compared that airmen on Easter weekend to Jesus Christ. I wanted to play for you what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Shot down on a Friday, Good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Senator, what do you say to that? To that analogy?
MURPHY: Yeah. It's clear that for many in Trump's orbit, this is a holy war. And I think you have to pair what Hegseth said and has said, with Trump's threat to end the Iranian civilization, right?
This is a historic, proud civilization. The regime is evil. They have perpetrated great harm throughout the world. But the Persian civilization, a Muslim civilization, is a historic, proud civilization.
And the reality is that it is probably true that President Trump and others see this through religious terms, see there -- see good, see righteousness in eradicating a Muslim civilization from the world. That's disgusting.
And the reality of some of the rationale for this entire operation may be coming into focus. It never made sense as a national security matter. Everyone knew that beginning this war would almost certainly end up with Iran controlling the Strait of Hormuz and the American economy being held hostage by Iran. And so, maybe we're seeing some of the real rationale, the true objective, a war waged by a majority Christian nation, apparently against a majority Muslim nation -- again, something that I think most Americans would have thought unthinkable as a premise for war just a handful of months ago.
BURNETT: They certainly would have. Right. You think of Crusades as something in distant history. Thank you very much, Senator Murphy. I appreciate your time tonight.
And our breaking news coverage continues here, with Iran now claiming victory, saying that they forced Trump to accept their 10-point plan. New reporting here, as we are combing through these statements and what they are actually saying. Plus, Russia and China siding with Iran publicly on the world stage today.
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[19:37:01]
BURNETT: Breaking news, a U.S. official telling our Zachary Cohen the U.S. has paused strikes on Iran at this hour as we are learning more about the Iranian government's response to Trump's announcement of a ceasefire. There are a lot of unanswered questions, and the more you delve into the detail of these statements, there are more questions. The ceasefire had been predicated on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and that was the core of it from Trump's side.
The contents, though, of the 10-point plan that apparently Iran had submitted, that there's been this back and forth on are our seemingly unknown at this hour.
Matthew Chance is OUTFRONT in Doha.
Matthew, you know, just looking through this, though, it is very clear when you look at Iran's statement, both from the national security council and from the foreign minister, they say it again and again and again. They talk about the Strait of Hormuz in, quote, in such a manner as to guarantee Iran's dominance, right? They talk about lifting all the sanctions. They talk about unfreezing their assets. They talk about a whole lot of things in here.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, there's no question that from Iran's point of view, they have been -- they're basically going to going to assume control of the Strait of Hormuz from here on in.
I've just been wading through a document from the Supreme National Security Council, which is the top military body in Iran. And they've talked about one of the terms of the 10-point plan that is the basis for future negotiations with the U.S. is that they regulate that that process of transiting through the Strait of Hormuz. There's a few other things as well, which they've identified. They've not -- have not given us the full 10-point plan.
But there's two other points that they've highlighted that stand out. One of them is a withdrawal of all U.S. forces from bases in the region. Obviously, it's hard to imagine that the United States is going to agree to that. And a third point, they've announced -- all they've said is part of their 10-point plan is the lifting of all U.S. sanctions than the unfreezing of assets, which you can imagine might be done.
But throughout the whole of this, document, this, this reaction from that top military council in Iran, they're basically saying their war objectives have been achieved. That's why they've agreed to this ceasefire. They're saying the negotiations will be finalized in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan in the next 15 days. They also say those negotiations, those talks will start on Friday. But the whole impression you get is that Iran feels it has the upper
hand at this point.
BURNETT: Yeah, yeah. I mean, it seems very clear from that. And in many ways, as you talk about they want unfreezing of assets and properties abroad. But first and foremost, in terms of their control, they're now established control as they see it in the Strait of Hormuz.
All right. Matthew Chance, thank you very much. And we'll be going back to Matthew, who is in Doha, which had been prepared for massive strikes.
[19:40:00]
Spanish embassy there had actually told people to gather water and hoard water there in case they didn't have access to water for days because of how this could have gone tonight.
OUTFRONT now, two top journalists who cover President Trump, he has repeatedly spoken to each of them, one on one, including in these past days and weeks, these past 40 days of the war. "Politico's" White House bureau chief Dasha Burns and Michael Scherer, staff writer for "The Atlantic".
So, both of you bring a perspective to this that is desperately needed right now.
Dasha, Trump announces a two-week ceasefire with Iran, and he does so about an hour, literally, as I said, the 11th hour before his self- imposed deadline to end their civilization. So how much does Trump risk criticism? I mean, that's the outcome. As we've said that everybody wanted, right?
Nobody -- nobody said that this was an outcome that anybody desired. Okay. But you get there by Trump in the market term that that that seems somehow light for the moment, but yet also important that TACO term, Trump always chickens out, right? That then he could be accused of leveling a big threat and going back on his word in a way that only emboldens him to make even bigger threats.
DASHA BURNS, POLITICO WHITE HOUSE BUREAU CHIEF & HOST OF "THE CONVERSATION": Yeah, Erin, this strategy that he used here put him in a difficult position, because if he did go through with this, obviously huge risk to life, I mean, we all know what that could lead to. But what the outcome tonight means is he is risking that boy who cried wolf territory, if in two weeks, things don't go the direction that he wants, he has already turned the volume up all the way, there is no -- not much more left on the app after these last couple of days.
Now, if you take a step back, I spoke to him in the lead up to the beginning of this conflict, and then in the days following it, diplomacy at the outset of this did not work. Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner tried. They came back. They told the president they didn't feel that Iran was there in good faith. And then Karoline Leavitt said this to me in the briefing room a couple of weeks ago. Now, all of those people that were sitting across from the table, so to speak, are dead.
This time around, the stakes for diplomacy are much higher because in those early days, they really were looking at this in the same way as they looked at Venezuela. They thought this could be an in and out victory lap kind of operation. That is not what they got themselves into. And now you have suffering here at home on the economic front, you've got allies that are worried and concerned, and calling White House officials.
So, the whole context for the diplomatic negotiations now are so, so different. And I was told just in the hours before that Truth Social post that it was much more serious and much more likely to lead to, to this outcome. But you're right, what happens in the next two weeks is going to be so critical, whether or not this is looked at as a TACO moment or not.
BURNETT: Michael, you know, amidst all the conversation today, amidst even many of those who were instrumental in Trump's election, who have now called for the 25th Amendment, when you look at people like Alex Jones and others today, you know, calling for the annihilation of a whole civilization, right? A whole civilization will die, right, when he posted that. Do you believe that that threat to him was real?
MICHAEL SCHERER, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: I think what you have to do is step back. We're ending up with a deal that is not very different from what we would have guessed the deal would have been 10 days ago when he put a 10-day time frame on this negotiation. And since then, he has consistently, in a televised address to the nation, in a -- in a rude Easter Sunday tweet, in the White House press briefing room yesterday and the tweet this morning, up the ante increased the temperature, threatening more and more violent measures against the Iranian regime.
And he ended up where we would have guessed he would have ended up before -- you know, Iran -- control of the Strait of Hormuz and an end of the conflict, you know, on mixed terms for the U.S. So, what does he gain through it? I think we haven't heard from the president, but what the president is going to say is that it was his threats that got us to this deal. And I think he was building a story line so that he could -- he could exit this this conflict, you know, still is the aggressor, still is the dominant player.
And I think he believes that having made these threats, even though there's domestic political complications it likely strengthens his hand going forward. Doesn't hurt him. He's always been someone who looks for leverage and doesn't mind breaking social norms, legal norms, things like that to gain that leverage.
BURNETT: So, Dasha, the "Drudge Report" already trolling Trump over this, their website tonight, the top two headlines are "Trump unhinged" and "whole civilization will die tonight", which is now crossed out.
And again, Dasha, the seriousness of this moment cannot be overstated. However, what happens the next time Trump threatens Iran or another country like he just did?
[19:45:07]
BURNS: To Michael's point, this is going to be judged by the ultimate outcome and how he can spin it, how he can frame it, and if that is accepted by the American people, everything hinges on the next two weeks. That is the whole ball game. And if he comes out with something that is basically status quo that the U.S. could have had without going into Iran at all, that's not going to be very good for the president, especially given the economic consequences.
Look, we have to think about here at home, Erin, this was the moment April tax season when I was hearing for months from administration officials that this is when Americans will really feel the Trump economy. This is when the gears will really start turning in Republicans favor for the midterms. This conflict has completely upset the apple cart.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you both very much. And breaking news here, sources telling CNN that Israeli officials now have concerns about Trump's ceasefire. New reporting from our Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, from Israeli officials right now. We're going to go live there after this.
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[19:50:35]
BURNETT: Breaking news live pictures of the White House there on your screen where President Trump just moments ago announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, an hour before Trump warned that Iran would risk seeing its entire civilization die tonight due to American bombs.
The White House quickly announcing that Israel is also a part of the ceasefire. But sources are now telling CNN that Israel is raising concerns already here in these very few moments after this announcement.
Jim Sciutto is OUTFRONT on the ground in Tel Aviv.
And, Jim, what are you learning about the issues Israel has with Trump's ceasefire?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, let me begin with this, because just in the last minute, we've gotten yet another air raid warning here in Tel Aviv, indicating that if there is a ceasefire, Iran is still firing missiles in this direction. There was another one just about an hour ago.
So, keep that in mind as we define what a ceasefire looks like going forward. But Israeli officials from the start of this war have said that they would need to see two things to consider this war a success. One is a lasting limitation or end of Iran's nuclear program, including controlling those hundreds of kilograms of highly enriched uranium still buried underground, but also genuine regime change. And they don't see either. I know President Trump claims regime
change. No one here believes that that that is actually taking place, but also from Israel's perspective, they have not seen action, lasting action to restrict Iran's nuclear program. So, they are on board with this ceasefire because that's what their ally is demanding here. And they've always said that this is President Trump's war to lead, but they're doing so only with reservations because their definition of victory has not yet been met.
BURNETT: No, no. And of course, regime change has not happened. No matter what anyone says from the administration.
Thank you very much, Jim Sciutto.
And I want to bring in Seth Jones, former advisor to the commanding general of U.S. Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan.
Seth, you are so deeply sourced on this war and you've been meeting with administration officials. So, what are you learning about this ceasefire, even in the context of what Jim is just reporting now about Israel's concerns?
SETH JONES, PRESIDENT, DEFENSE & SECURITY DEPARTMENT, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, Erin, I am hearing very similar comments to Jim on the ceasefire. I think there's a lot of concern that the Iranian side is highly unlikely to stop its strikes against Israel. Same thing with some of Iran's partner forces, including the Houthis in Yemen, and the same with Lebanese Hezbollah, based out of Lebanon.
So, I think it's -- I think all sides right now appear to believe that this really won't be a ceasefire, that nobody's objectives have been achieved and therefore conflict will start sooner rather than later again.
BURNETT: Which is sobering. But I suppose when you start by saying you're going to wipe a civilization off the map, your backs in a corner.
The Iranian Supreme National Security Council released a response to Trump's announcement. Matthew Chance was going through some of this, but just at the heart of it, Seth, it says in part that the regulated passage through the Strait of Hormuz is under the coordination of the armed forces of Iran, thereby conferring upon Iran a unique economic and geopolitical standing.
All right. And the White House, when they put out their statement on this, says that this is all subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the complete, immediate and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz. In both cases, those two statements seem to concur on one thing, which is that it is Iran who controls the Strait of Hormuz.
JONES: Yeah, Erin, that is striking. It is certainly, as we've heard, a very different development from the way the Strait of Hormuz has historically operated. I can't imagine any gulf state is willing to accept that kind of a long term, deal or negotiation that a lot of the money for commerce coming through is going to go into Iranian hands that they will use then to rebuild their missile infrastructure, drones, and then rebuild all of the infrastructure that has been targeted.
By the way, the Iran parts of the Iran deal are going to be summarily rejected, I think, by both the Israelis and the Americans, because they're calling for full compensation from the strikes.
[19:55:09]
BURNETT: Right.
JONES: Withdrawal of all U.S. combat forces and a range of other things which just -- just aren't going to happen.
BURNETT: Right, right, from U.S. bases. And of course, we haven't even touched on the issue of the, the who, the highly enriched uranium.
Russia and China today, Seth vetoed an American backed U.N. Security Council to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. What are you learning about what Russia and China are doing?
JONES: Well, this is, you know, if people are wondering why the Iranians seem to be stiffening their spine, it's because they do have support from both Beijing and Moscow right now. Both of those countries are providing diplomatic support. They vetoed the U.N. Security Council resolution, which was trying to open up the Strait of Hormuz through coordination by a number of countries in the region, so summarily vetoed it.
But we're also seeing continuing aid. There's been numerous reports of Chinese weapons components, including to Iran's missile program being exported by vessels, including through the Strait of Hormuz to the Iranians. The Russians have provided detailed mapping to the Iranians of U.S. facilities and Israeli facilities throughout the region to strike. So, we're seeing lots of -- lots of Russian and Chinese assistance.
BURNETT: All right. Seth, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT next, breaking news just coming in from the White House. Details in a moment.
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BURNETT: We are back with the breaking news.
Trump and Iran both saying they have agreed to a ceasefire, but it is unclear if they are agreeing to the same plan and the ceasefire, as it appears, does acknowledge Iran's control of the strait and whether it's open. Our White House team, Alayna Treene and Kristen Holmes, are just learning that the Trump administration is now preparing for a potential in-person meeting of U.S. and Iranian officials, which would be significant and would likely take place in the coming days in Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistani mediators would be there, along with President Trump's
special envoy, Steve Witkoff, son in law, Jared Kushner, both of who were there when this failed the first time around. But this time, Vice President J.D. Vance apparently may also join, which is also a notable development.
Well, thanks very much for joining us. As our breaking news coverage continues here on "AC360" with Anderson Cooper. It starts now.
