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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
China Signals Readiness to Approve Rare Earth Deal with U.S.; U.S. Senators Disagree on Iran Damage Assessments; Details Emerge of Secret U.S. Efforts to Restart Iran Talks; Trump's Domestic Agenda Faces Headwinds in U.S. Senate. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired June 27, 2025 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson. It is Friday, June 27th, 12 noon here in our Middle East programming headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
It is 4 a.m. in New York. Straight ahead on EARLY START.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senators sat down for their first classified briefing on the strikes in Iran.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knocked some living crap out of our three targets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obliterated is much too strong a word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exclusive new CNN reporting on secret U.S. efforts to restart nuclear negotiations with Iran.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And those conversations have continued after the strikes occurred.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's massive domestic agenda is hanging by a thread.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't want to have grandstanders, not good people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ANDERSON: Well, those stories in a moment. First, this just into CNN, a potentially major breakthrough on U.S.-China trade. The Commerce Ministry in Beijing, in Beijing, signaling that it will approve the export of rare earth minerals to the United States.
And this just comes a few hours after the White House said the two sides had reached a deal. Rare earth minerals are essential for many things, from electronics to fighter jets. They've become a key source of friction between the world's two largest economies during President Trump's trade war.
The agreement appears to formalize an understanding reached earlier this month in London. And we will be keeping an eye on how this news impacts stocks futures right now. They are pretty much where they were before the news up slightly but keeping a keen eye on those for you.
Well nearly a week after President Trump ordered strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, members of the U.S. Congress are finally hearing from the administration about the decision and what those strikes actually achieved. Republican and Democratic senators coming out of the classified briefing agreed that Iran's nuclear program was damaged. They disagreed on how much of a setback it was.
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Obliterated is a good word for me to use. I can tell people in South Carolina nobody is going to work in these three sites anytime soon. They're not going to get into them anytime soon. Their operational capability was obliterated.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I walk away from that briefing still under the belief that that we have not obliterated the program. The president was deliberately misleading the public when he said the program was obliterated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Iran's foreign minister acknowledged that there was extensive and serious damage to the nuclear sites in an interview with Iranian state TV. And President Trump again repeated his assessment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They hit the target and the target has now been proven to be obliterated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, over at the Pentagon, the president had promised an interesting and irrefutable news conference from military leaders. What we got on Thursday was the top U.S. general explaining the logistics of the U.S. strikes on Iran. He played test video showing how bunker buster bombs are designed to work.
But when asked about the latest assessments of the damage to Iran's nuclear sites, he deferred to U.S. intelligence agencies. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says those assessments could take weeks, and he forcefully defended the president's claims about the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: There's been a lot of discussion about what happened and what didn't happen. Step back for a second. Because of decisive military action, President Trump created the conditions to end the war, decimating, choose your word, obliterating, destroying Iran's nuclear capabilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Right, exclusive new CNN reporting shining a light on secret efforts, U.S. efforts to restart nuclear talks with Iran. Sources say that the Trump administration has considered helping Iran access up to $30 billion for a civilian nuclear energy program. Other options include easing sanctions and rebuilding Iran's Fordow nuclear facility that was obviously damaged by these strikes.
More details now from CNN's Kylie Atwood.
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[04:05:00]
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: There were secretive meetings happening on these new terms that are being discussed just the day before the Trump administration carried out the strike on Iran's nuclear sites. And those conversations have continued after the strikes occurred.
So what we're learning is that there are discussions about sanctions relief for Iran. There are discussions about freeing up $6 billion in Iranian funds that are currently restricted from use. There's also discussions about providing access to the Iranians to $20 to 30 billion to rebuild its civilian nuclear energy program. You know, nuclear energy that is used, of course, not for any sort of aggression purposes.
Now administration officials say that all of this is very preliminary. There are a lot of ideas being floated. But we did hear from Steve Witkoff in an interview. He talked about investing in rebuilding Iran's nuclear program without any enrichment capabilities. We should note that's still their red line.
But we also heard from President Trump that there are going to be talks between the U.S. and Iran next week. The Iranians are not saying that they are aware of any discussions that are set to take place. But at this moment, the Trump administration working really hard on what these new terms would actually look like that they would put on the table.
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ANDERSON: Well Iran's supreme leader delivered a defiant message in his first public speech since he ceased fire between his country and Israel. In a pre-recorded statement, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran -- Tehran, will never surrender, rebuking earlier comments from U.S. President Donald Trump. Khamenei also declared victory over Israel and the United States.
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AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN (through translator): I would like to congratulate the great nation of Iran. I want to congratulate them for a few reasons. First, I would like to congratulate them for victory over the fake regime of the Zionist regime.
With all those claims that the Zionist regime were making, they almost were crashed under the blows of the Islamic government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Fred Pleitgen has been reporting from Iran since the conflict erupted and a ceasefire was announced. He spoke with Muslim clerics to get their reaction to the tensions between Iran, Israel and the United States. Have a look at this.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the holy shrine of Masumeh in the holy city of Qom, which is the second holiest site in all of Iran. Now, this place is extremely important for the Islamic Republic of Iran. There's a lot of religious schools here, a lot of religious seminaries, and of course, a lot of the thinking, the religious thinking that underpins the actions of the Islamic Republic is developed here.
All of that, even more important, now that Iran is in this massive standoff with the Trump administration and with the Israelis. So we went out and we asked a couple of clerics here how they feel about that standoff and what could happen next.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): If Trump ever has goodwill, do not mess with countries and let people live their lives, he says.
This promise has been made by God, he says, that if you believe in God, he is the one who guides your arrows to the hearts of the enemy.
And he says, they think they're able to stop us from our chosen path through bombing, killing and terror. This is why these terrors and wars will only strengthen our faith instead of weakening us.
PLEITGEN: Now, there's one other reason why this part of Iran is so important. The province of Qom is also where the Fordow nuclear enrichment plant is located, which of course, President Trump claims to have, as he put it, obliterated with those U.S. bunker buster bombs that were dropped a couple of days ago.
The Iranians acknowledge that their nuclear program has been damaged, but they say that it is still very much alive. And they also say that they're not going to back down from what they call their right to nuclear enrichment. And they also say that they are going to stay defiant in the face of pressure, both from the U.S. and from Israel.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Qom, Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: CNN's Nada Bashir following developments this hour from London. And Nada, what is the latest that we are now hearing from Iranian officials?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, despite the tone of triumph and victory that we have been hearing from Iran's supreme leader and other Iranian officials who have framed this ceasefire agreement as a victory for Iran, what we have been hearing just in the last day or so from Iran's foreign minister is now an acknowledgment of the extent of the damage caused by U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. We have heard from the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who has said that there has been extensive and serious damage sustained to Iran's nuclear facilities. There have been questions around whether or not there will be an inspection permitted by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.
[04:10:00]
That is still up for debate, of course, in terms of the cooperation and any future cooperation we might see between Iran and the U.N. agency. But clearly, we are now seeing admissions that there has been damage sustained to those key nuclear sites.
However, there continues to be that persistence, as Fred mentioned, that Iran will continue to push forward with its program without any sort of hesitation, according to other officials. But, again, whether or not there is actually the capacity for that at this stage remains up for debate.
And, of course, there are questions around the potential for a future agreement on Iran's nuclear program, a nuclear deal revived potentially with U.S. officials. As we heard earlier in Kylie's reporting, there have certainly been discussions between U.S. officials, according to sources, around possible negotiations taking place. That, however, has been denied publicly at this stage by Iran's foreign minister, who has rejected any suggestion of back-channel discussions around a future Iran nuclear deal. Take a listen.
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ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): No agreement has been made to resume negotiations now. I am stating clearly that no agreement has been made, no promise has been made, nor have we talked at all about restarting negotiations. But the fact that we are examining among ourselves what is in the interest of the Iranian people is another discussion.
So far, there has been no agreement, no subject for negotiation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASHIR: Now, of course, we have been hearing from U.S. officials, including the U.S. president himself, describing those attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities as being totally successful. In the words of the president, he said that they had obliterated Iran's nuclear capacity.
And, of course, we have also been hearing from the Israeli military just in the last few hours with regards to their attacks on Iran over the course of that 12-day conflict. They said that they struck more than 900 targets in Iran, according to the IDF. They have said that they killed 11 nuclear scientists.
That is a claim by the IDF. We haven't had that confirmed just yet from Iranian officials, as well as, they say, 30 security officials within Iran. So we are learning more about the extent of the damage sustained and the cost of that 12-day conflict, but, again, a lot of mixed messaging, as well, from various officials -- Becky.
ANDERSON: A big battle of narratives out there. Nada, thank you.
All right, you're watching EARLY START with me, Becky Anderson.
President Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill is facing a major setback in the U.S. Senate after key provisions didn't meet the Senate's strict rules. How Republicans are reacting is up next.
And first, he was wrongly deported to El Salvador. Now the Trump administration wants to deport him again to a third country, the latest on Kilmar Abrego Garcia. When we get back.
[04:15:39]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: President Trump's domestic agenda is facing a major setback after the Senate parliamentarians struck down key parts of his, quote, Big, Beautiful Bill. Now, members of Congress plan to work through the weekend to retool it. They hope to pass the bill by July 4th. Meanwhile, Trump himself criticizing Republicans who are refusing to vote for it.
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TRUMP: I shouldn't say this, but we don't want to have grandstanders where one or two people raise their -- we don't know. And they do it to grandstand. That's all. Not good people. They know who I am, who I'm talking about. I call them out. But we don't need grandstanders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Parliamentarians say certain provisions don't meet the strict rules that allow a bill to be passed by a simple majority. CNN's Manu Raju explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump's massive domestic agenda is hanging by a thread. He is demanding this on his desk in just a matter of days, by July 4th. That is a self- imposed deadline, but it's running into all sorts of problems in the United States Senate and the U.S. House. Right now, it's bottled up in the Senate because of procedural issues. Remember, this bill they're trying to pass along straight party lines through a budget process known on Capitol Hill as reconciliation. The reason why majorities like to use that process is that bills cannot be filibustered by using the budget process.
But there's a catch. The bills need to meet the strict budget rules of the United States Senate in order to use that process, which cannot be filibustered, meaning just Republican senators can approve this plan. Typically, most bills could be filibustered, meaning 60 votes are needed.
Democrats and Republicans will be needing to overcome a filibuster. But if this meets the budget rules, it can't be filibustered. But if it does not meet the budget rules, that means certain provisions will have to come out of this plan.
On Thursday, a big setback, because one key provision to help finance this massive proposal in dealing with deeper Medicaid cuts was stripped from the proposal by the Senate parliamentarian, who said that the provision does not meet the Senate's strict budget rules.
So Republicans behind the scenes have been scrambling to try to resurrect that plan. There are other provisions also struck out by the parliamentarian as Republicans try to put this bill back together.
But that's just in the process. Then there are the deep divisions between moderates and conservatives.
[04:20:00]
There are some moderates who are worried about this bill cutting too much into the Medicaid program. Remember, that's the health care program for the disabled and for low-income individuals. They worry that those cuts could hurt their constituents.
And there are some of the more conservative members who are concerned about the sweeping tax overhaul, multi-trillion-dollar tax overhaul that, along with the new spending in this plan for border security, national security programs, deportation policies of Donald Trump, this all bill could add more than $3 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade, according to some official estimates. Some of those conservatives want to cut deeper into spending. They don't want to spend more.
That division has been playing out for months and is now coming to a head as Republican leaders are trying to get this bill on the floor. Make sure it complies with Senate rules, but also get the votes, where they can only afford to lose three Republican votes in the United States Senate, and they can only afford to lose three Republican votes in the United States House.
And one Republican congressman, Eric Burlison, told me that he is threatening to vote no on this plan unless it meets his concerns about the deficit. And he warned Republican leaders not to jam the House.
RAJU: Do you think it's responsible for them to cut this deal behind closed doors and drop it in your lap and say, take it or leave it?
REP. ERIC BURLISON (R-MO): No, I mean, that's what Washington is good at, is kind of jamming people last minute, giving you something you haven't had time to read, haven't had time to get reflection or input from your district. And so, yes, it's not it's not ideal.
RAJU: But Mike Johnson, the House speaker, still believes this could get to President Trump's desk by July 4th, but a lot has to happen from now until then in order to make it over the finish line.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, the Trump administration says Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant wrongly deported to El Salvador earlier this year, will now be deported to a third country once he is released from custody. A Justice Department lawyer revealed the plans during a brief court hearing on Thursday. Abrego-Garcia was returned, of course, to the United States earlier this month and then arrested on human smuggling charges. He is pleaded not guilty but remains in custody.
In 2019, a judge ruled that Abrego Garcia could not be returned to El Salvador for fear of gang violence. That order doesn't apply if he is sent to a third country.
Well, members of the U.S. Senate get their first classified briefing on the U.S. strikes on Iran. We're going to look at how the takeaways differed along party lines up next.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East Programming Headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. Returning to a story that we brought you a little earlier this hour, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing is now signaling that it will approve the export of rare earth minerals to the United States. This comes just a few hours after the White House said the two sides had reached a deal.
Now, rare earth minerals, of course, are essential for many things from electronics to fighter jets. They've become a key source of friction between the world's two largest economies during President Trump's trade war. This agreement does appear to formalize an understanding reached earlier this month in London.
Well, investors apparently taking the news in their stride so far, at least. Stock futures not moving much since we brought you this, though all do remain slightly higher, keeping an eye, of course, on those Asian markets.
Members of the U.S. House will get their first classified briefing today on the U.S. strikes on Iran. Senators came away from their session on Thursday with differing takeaways along party lines. Many Republicans backed President Trump's claim of total obliteration and said Iran's nuclear ambitions backed by years. Democrats acknowledged the strikes did significant damage, but warned Iran could reconstitute its nuclear program within months.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): I think it's safe to say that we have struck a major blow alongside our friends in Israel against Iran's nuclear program.
SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): In technical terms, we knocked the living crap out of our three targets.
This was a good briefing. It was one of the best I've ever attended.
SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): Much assessment is yet to be done. There is speculation and estimates, but nobody really knows how much damage has occurred because there's been no ability to inspect in a fashion that would give you that information.
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): I think obliterated is much too strong a word because it implies that it couldn't be reconstituted. Somehow it was completely eliminated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, joining me now from London, H.A. Hellyer. He's a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. And I think it would be fair to say that any credible assessment is going to take some time, be that technical and or human.
So let's just move on a little to what is this exclusive reporting from CNN in which four sources told colleagues of mine, details of secret diplomatic efforts to restart Iran talks. Those efforts, including incentives such as $30 billion to build a civilian energy producing nuclear program, easing sanctions and freeing up billions of dollars in restricted Iranian funds.
