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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump Blasts NATO Over Iran, Says U.S. Doesn't Need Help; Trump: Won't Be Long Before Strait Of Hormuz Is Secure; Cuba Works To Restore Power After Nationwide Outage. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 18, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:05]

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: We're all trying to psychoanalyze one man. Is he willing to find a diplomatic off-ramp? And he could. Trump can easily reverse himself.

COOPER: He could say tomorrow it's a victory.

ZAKARIA: Tomorrow. And his base will be fine with it. Or is he emotionally now charged in that way that people often do in these imperial traps, where he wants to throw good money after bad, where he has to in some way show that he's won?

COOPER: Fareed Zakaria, thanks so much. Appreciate it. We'll see you on GPS. The news continues right here on CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon live this morning in New York.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Eleni Giokos live in Dubai. It is 12 noon. And here in the UAE and 10:00 a.m. in Beirut, Lebanon, where search and rescue teams are sifting through the rubble of a high-rise building that collapsed after being hit by an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military warning residents to leave the area about an hour before the strike, saying it was preparing to target Hezbollah. Lebanon's health ministry reports more than 900 people have been killed in the country since March 2nd. And more than a million people have been forced from their homes.

Videos from an Iranian news agency shows what it says are missiles fired towards Israel in retaliation for the killing of top national security adviser Ali Larijani. He and the leader of a key Iranian paramilitary group were among those killed in an Israeli strike late Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

(END VIDEO CLIP) GIOKOS: And the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, has come under attack for the second straight day. Local security officials tell CNN several drones and rockets hit the heavily fortified compound, causing some damage. There are no reports of casualties.

Now, Iran's attacks on targets in Israel are not letting up. At least two people have been killed in the central parts of the country after an apparent cluster munition exploded overhead. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is there.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: So we've just arrived on the scene of Iran's latest ballistic missile attack. You can see this is caused by one of those cluster munitions. The direct impact appears to be at that apartment right up there, where you can see that one of those smaller bomblets that's released from that ballistic missile made impact.

We understand that two people are dead as a result of this attack. And this is just one of multiple impacts that we are seeing now across the Tel Aviv area. You can see some of the damage that it's caused here on the ground as well as a result of this ballistic missile.

Again, we're seeing multiple impacts across the Tel Aviv area right now. This brings the total number of fatalities to 14 now in Israel as a result of these Iranian attacks that we've been witnessing over the course of the last two weeks or so. One of the impacts also struck a railroad station in Tel Aviv, multiple other residential areas. And again, these are cluster munitions that Iran is firing.

GIOKOS: President Trump is lashing out again at U.S. allies who are refusing to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He met on Tuesday at the White House with Ireland's prime minister, where he said he's not ready to end the war with Iran yet, but claimed the U.S. will be leaving in the near future.

U.S. military says it dropped 5,000 pound guided bombs on Iranian missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. And President Trump now claims the U.S. no longer needs any help in getting the vital oil shipping route reopened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think NATO is making a very foolish mistake. And I've long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us. So this was a great test, because we don't need them, but they should have been there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you rethinking the United States' relationship with NATO possibly getting out?

TRUMP: When they don't help us, I mean, it's certainly something that we should think about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, joining me now is Fawaz Geoghez, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics. Good to have you with us, Fawaz. You know, we were hearing news from President Trump trying to create this coalition.

Now he says he doesn't need any help with naval escorts. But the truth is the Strait of Hormuz has been weaponized militarily as well as financially. How do you see this playing out? Because we are still seeing supply constraints from one of the most critical choke points in the world, supplying around 20 percent of global supply.

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR OF INTL. RELATIONS, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, I would argue that the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as Iran's most weapon of the task, much more potent than its supposed nuclear program. As the Iranian foreign minister just said last night, everyone will feel the pain.

[04:05:11]

What Iran is trying to do is to really increase the economic pain to everyone, its neighbors, the United States, Europe and itself. And what we have seen is that there is economic chaos and turmoil in terms of, I mean, oil prices have surged by 40 percent, inflation now throughout the world. You have thousands of ships stranded in the Gulf.

Imagine if this conflict lasts for a few weeks or a few months. This could really be devastating to the world economy. It has already slowed the world economy.

And despite everything that President Trump has been saying in the past few days, he has not found a single nation, a single European nation or a NATO ally who's willing to join his coalition of the willing. And this tells you a great deal that President Trump is boxed in. He is entrapped by his own making.

No end game, no exit strategy. And this worries me a great deal, because President Trump now, he wants a quick win, and he does not have one. This tells me that the war will last for a long time, because President Trump wants a way out, wants a face saving formula, which he cannot find at this particular moment.

GIOKOS: Well, I mean, the question is, what is that offer and how long will it take? In the meantime, Israel assassinating one of the key leaders in Iran, Ali Larijani. And I just wonder what you believe this is going to do to the regime. We've been asking the question whether it's emboldening the regime, whether it become a lot more ideological, whether you believe that it's degraded the leadership structure. What is your assessment of that military objective for regime change in Iran?

GERGES: Well, what the United States and Israel have been trying to do is to assassinate as many Iranian leaders as they could, and they have succeeded to a large extent. They have assassinated probably more than 40 top Iranian leaders, including the supreme leader, the defense minister, and yesterday, Ali Larijani. For your own viewers, Ali Larijani was not just a top security official. He was the de facto leader of Iran, who was running the war after the assassination of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. He had the authority to basically strike a deal with the United States when the United States is ready. By eliminating Ali Larijani, the United States and Israel now has created a huge vacuum, power shifting more and more to younger officers in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards.

Even though that Iran will be able to fill the vacuum as it has been last June and now, you have now a new supreme leader, but the reality is, regardless of what happened, when and if the dust settles, what you have is a clerical regime, which is intertwined with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards. I would argue that the post-war Iran will be more radical, more revisionist. I don't really -- basically, I would not be surprised to see another North Korean state in the heart of the Gulf and the Middle East.

GIOKOS: That's a scary prospect that you're playing out. I just want to talk about the immediate impact. Here in Dubai, we've had alerts early this morning around 2:00 a.m., 5.30 a.m. We heard blasts as well as 10:00 a.m. local. And, you know, the Iranian regime is saying that they're vowing to strike back in retaliation, not only for Kharg Island, but also what we saw with Ali Larijani. Now, are we in this escalation trap right now, despite the fact that the U.S. keeps on saying that they've degraded a large portion of Iran's military capabilities?

GERGES: Well, I think we have entered the so-called escalation trap or horizontal trap because Iran has widened the wall. It has been attacking its neighbors because, as Iranian leaders have made it very clear, they want to increase the pain to everyone, including America's allies and its neighbors, who really did not participate in this particular war.

What I fear the most is that even though Iran's capabilities have been degraded a great deal, even though the United States and Israel have achieved major tactical gains, Iran still has the capacity to continue the war and basically not only to block the Strait of Hormuz, but also attack the global energy supply system in the Gulf.

[04:10:09]

And this tells you a great deal that now military power on its own does not really make the difference. The war has shifted into economic pain, waterways, alliances, shipping lanes, and this is really where Iran's strength lies. It's deterrence power. It's strategic advantage in really increasing the pain to everyone.

And sadly, the longer the conflict continues, the longer the war continues, the greater the economic pain and, of course, the human cost, not just in the world, but in particular in the Middle East, in Iran, in the Gulf, in Iraq, and in Lebanon.

GIOKOS: And certainly, everyone's feeling the economic pain, I think, already through the price increases that have hit the global market. Fawaz Gerges, good to have you, as always. Thank you so much. I want to bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks live from Abu Dhabi. I want to talk about how Gulf nations are responding to President Trump's Strait of Hormuz coalition and what role they might play.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Eleni, we did hear the U.S. President's voicing frustration with Europe, but at the same time, he was voicing pleasure at what he was hearing from the Middle East, saying that the Middle East countries are far more involved and willing to become involved with this coalition. Now, he named a few. He named the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, as he was speaking.

We have heard from the UAE, Anwar Gargash, who's a senior advisor to the UAE president, has said that the UAE is open to playing a part if there is an international effort to try and safeguard maritime security. Now, he said that that is not in place at this point.

I'll read you part of what he said. I don't see any sort of formal structure plan right now. But the UAE's thinking is that this is an international waterway. The idea of holding the world hostage, whether on issues of trade or issues on energy, is something that is deplorable. And we all need to move in unison to address that.

So this is really the first of the Gulf nations that we're hearing speaking quite publicly about this, but also pointing out that this system is not in place at this point. But there are discussions that are ongoing to create this collective unit. But of course, Europe is not sounding positive about being part of this.

There has been criticism of NATO by the U.S. president, NATO pointing out that none of its countries actually border the Strait of Hormuz, so this is not an issue that it would ordinarily be involved in. We also have been speaking to experts about President Trump voicing his surprise that this is where we are at in this war, that this is the response and the retaliation that Iran has chosen. Let's listen to some of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD MEADE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, LLOYD'S LIST: I find it incredulous that the U.S. would go into this conflict not understanding the direct threat that Iran poses to one of the world's most important energy choke points. There are no ships moving through this, less than 90 in, you know, nearly three weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: There have been waves of incoming missiles and drones across the Gulf region as well, including, once again, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad being targeted. Eleni?

GIOKOS: All right, Paul Hancocks, thanks so much for that update.

A senior U.S. intelligence official has stepped down from his post of his opposition to the war with Iran. Joe Kent was appointed by President Trump and had been serving as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center. His resignation marks the highest profile rebuke yet of the effort and, of course, someone so high up in the administration.

In his resignation letter posted on X, he wrote, I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation and it is clear that this started the war due to pressure from Israel and the powerful American lobby. President Trump had this reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I read his statement. I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security. When I read his statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:14:37]

GIOKOS: All right, still ahead, Cuba is slowly getting electricity up and running again after Monday's power grid collapse. Look at how the U.S. oil blockade is impacting the island's energy crisis. We're in Havana. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Cuba has a new warning to the Trump administration. Cuba's president says that any attempt by the U.S. to take control of the island nation will be met with, "Impregnable resistance." This message comes after President Trump on Tuesday suggested that potential U.S. action could be happening soon.

Cuba is struggling to restore electricity following a nationwide blackout. The country's power grid collapsed on Monday, weeks after a U.S. blockade of oil effectively shut off supplies. CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports now from Havana.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After more than 24 hours of an island-wide blackout, power is coming back to many parts of Havana. Still, there are other parts of the city, many parts of the island that are still without any electricity. And the underlying causes of this blackout, an aging electrical system that is collapsing an oil blockade on the part of the Trump administration on this island, those are still there.

[04:20:10]

The power could go out again at any point. That's really the concern here. And so the Cuban government says they are negotiating with the United States. They are trying to work out some kind of deal. But we've heard Donald Trump say that he plans on taking Cuba, essentially being the one to call the shots here.

And Secretary of State Marco Rubio say that, in his opinion, the officials in charge of this island are unable to resolve the problems that they have here and that they need to leave. So while talks are going on, it is clear that the Cuban government is being pushed to do much more than up until now they have been willing to do. And very soon, officials here can be facing an ultimatum from the U.S.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

SOLOMON: Across the U.S., we are seeing more frustrated passengers as the partial government shutdown continues. On Tuesday, TSA reported at least 366 agents have quit since the shutdown began more than a month ago. Some airports have advised passengers to arrive hours ahead of their flights just to make it through backlogged security lines. And the issues could get even worse. CNN's Ryan Young has more from Atlanta.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tuesday at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the story is still the same when it comes to TSA and whether or not workers are showing up. The airport GM says there's been more than a 30 percent call-out from TSA workers.

You can actually see that on the lines here. As we walk down the way here, you can see how few of the lines with TSA agents are open. And we've really seen people with tears in their eyes, not sure they're going to make it to their location, because the hours wait has been long here.

In fact, at one point, it stretched over 128 minutes. And there's really no sign or any kind of notice when this may all come to an end. We've had passengers blaming Republicans and Democrats trying to figure out when D.C. would get its act together to get these TSA workers paid again to see these security lines shortened.

But we've actually heard from officials that some smaller airports could be forced to close. And that's something that a lot of folks in the traveling public are scared to see, because they want to take their travel. They want to go on their vacation or get home to their families.

Reporting in Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Ryan Young, CNN.

SOLOMON: The U.S. state of Illinois held Democratic primaries to choose candidates for this year's midterm elections. The state's lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, will be the Democratic nominee for Senate. In the solidly blue state, Stratton is heavily favored to win to replace retiring Senator Dick Durbin. Stratton was endorsed by Governor J.B. Pritzker, who was unopposed in his primary. He invested millions in Stratton's campaign, helping her defeat two current members of Congress, Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly. Now, if she wins the Senate race, Juliana Stratton will be just the sixth black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.

[04:23:05]

Still ahead for us, daily life for many Iranians right now filled with threats, both foreign and domestic. Straight ahead, a report on the people trapped between airstrikes and their own government security forces. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos, live in Dubai. Now, officials say at least two people have been killed in central Israel following a new wave of missile strikes from Iran. The aerial barrage appeared to have cluster munitions and authorities say falling debris hit multiple locations. To the north, Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah's rocket-launching infrastructure. At least 17 people were killed and dozens injured by Israeli airstrikes across the country on Tuesday.

Lebanese authorities estimate over 900 people have died as a result of the renewed conflict and 1 million more internally displaced. Now, video from Iranian state media shows missiles lighting up the night sky as it claims they were headed towards Tel Aviv in retaliation for the killing of Iran's top national security official. Ali Larijani was killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday, and he was regarded by many analysts as the country's most important decision-maker.

Iran is now vowing revenge for the killing of the head of a powerful paramilitary force in an Israeli strike. The Iranian government explicitly threatening potential protesters who may look to take advantage of the chaos, even telling people not to mark Tuesday's annual Festival of Fire, which leads up to the Persian New Year. CNN's Jomana Karadsheh reporting on the people caught between foreign bombs and a repressive regime. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Celebrating the death of their oppressor. This is what the world saw coming out of Iran last month after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. But cloaked in digital darkness, a new wave of brutal suppression was already beginning.

Teenage brothers Ahmed Riza (ph) and Amir Hossein Faizi (ph) were among the crowds that poured into the streets on February 28th. This was the car they were in with their father honking the horn in celebration. Security forces opened fire on them, according to activists, killing the 15 and 19-year-old boys.

[04:29:58]

As the regime faces America and Israel from the sky, it is tightening its grip on the ground, determined to extinguish any ember of an uprising.