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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump's New Timeline For Iran War; Countdown To Artemis II Launch; White House Ballroom Construction Blocked; U.K. P.M. Addressing War With Iran. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 01, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:22]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Brian Abel. Thank you so much for being with us.

It is Wednesday, April 1st, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington, D.C.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump now telling reporters he believes the United States will be out of Iran anywhere between two and three weeks from now.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It will take 15 to 20 years for them to rebuild what we've done to them.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: NASA plans to launch four astronauts to deep space for the first time in over 50 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody understands what our mission is, and that's to get back to the moon, and we're going to establish a presence there in the very near future.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: The federal judge's ruling that construction on President Trump's ballroom needs to be halted, it's really the first meaningful setback.

TRUMP: We built many things at the White House over the years. They don't get congressional approval.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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ABEL: We begin with following the latest developments on the war with Iran. The White House says President Donald Trump will deliver an address to the nation tonight. This as the president announced his new timeline for the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We have had regime change. No, regime change was not one of the things I had as a goal. I had one goal. They will have no nuclear weapon, and that goal has been attained. They will not have nuclear weapons. But we're finishing the job. And I think within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer to do the job

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Tehran says it's prepared for a much longer fight. But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed President Trump's claims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: There are messages being exchanged. There are talks going on. There is the potential for direct meeting at some point. We're always going to be open for that, but we're not going to be - we're not what president Trump is not going to allow is he's not going to allow fake negotiations to be used as a delay tactic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Meanwhile, Israeli authorities say at least 16 people, including a child, have been wounded after Iranian strikes hit Tel Aviv and a suburb earlier. And the IDF says it has completed a wide scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure sites in Tehran.

U.S. Central Command releasing this video on Tuesday of what appears to be military operations targeting Iran. CENTCOM says it hit underground military targets.

Let's bring in now CNN's Paula Hancocks live from Abu Dhabi.

With more strikes, Paula, but also the U.S. and Iran, seemingly pretty far apart about its outlook of ending this war.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Brian, it's difficult to get clarity on where exactly the diplomacy is at this point, given the fact that the positions, at least publicly, of the U.S. and Iran are so far apart. We are hearing optimism from the U.S. president. He gave that timeline a new timeline of two to three weeks.

But what we're hearing from Iran is it is likely to be much longer. At least that is what they are preparing for. The foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in an interview with Al Jazeera, said Iran is prepared for at least six months of war. Now, that's clearly not something that the U.S. president will want, as that takes him very close to midterm elections in the United States, but Araghchi also pointing out there are no direct talks with the U.S. at this point. But they have been receiving messages from Steve Witkoff, the special envoy.

So, at this point, it's difficult to see exactly where the diplomatic talks are, even though we are hearing far more optimism on the U.S. side than the Iranian side. We are hearing more threats from Iran. They have said through the Revolutionary Guard that they are now going to potentially target major U.S. technology companies in the region. They said if any more of their leadership are killed by the U.S. or Israel, then they have a number of companies that could be targeted, the likes of Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, IBM, JPMorgan. They have said to people to stay clear of those locations.

Now, when it comes to the military aspects further afield in the region and Iran's retaliation that is continuing, despite the diplomacy ongoing, there is no letup whatsoever. We saw here in the UAE, in Fujairah, that a Bangladeshi national was killed by shrapnel from an intercepted projectile. We know in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti international airport fuel depots were targeted once again, a massive blaze is trying to be put under control there as fuel tankers, we understand, have been significantly damaged.

[05:05:11]

There are no injuries though, as airspace is closed in Kuwait and also Doha at anchor just off the coast, they're being hit by a projectile. So even as we hear the talk of diplomatic outreach positive by the U.S. and also by Pakistan trying to act as a mediator, very little is changing on the ground when it comes to the military sense -- Brian.

ABEL: All right. Paula Hancocks for us in Abu Dhabi -- Paula, thank you.

President Trump says gas prices will come tumbling down once the U.S. leaves Iran. The national average right now for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $4.06 here in the U.S., according to AAA. That's up more than a dollar in the past month. Oil prices are still around $100 a barrel for the global benchmark, Brent crude.

Let's bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos tracking the latest from Dubai.

And, Eleni, here in the States, there's -- yes, pain at the pump, but this truly is a global energy issue now.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It's not contained to what we're seeing here in the Gulf. And also markets are interconnected, so this is why American consumers are already feeling the higher prices.

President Trump's assertion that once the war unwinds in Iran, then, you know, gas prices are going to come tumbling down. That isn't going to be the case, especially if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and de facto controlled by Iran. We actually saw a very important message from the Abu Dhabi national oil company's CEO, Sultan Al Jaber, and he says this Iran's actions in the 33-kilometer-wide strait of Hormuz are not a regional issue. They represent global economic extortion, a threat the world cannot tolerate.

And then really interesting, they put out this graphic that really shows why the Strait of Hormuz is more than just about 20 million barrels of oil. And if you look closely in terms of the amount of refined product that comes through refined fuels like jet fuel, 20 percent of global -- global usage, 10 percent of diesel, 35 percent of crude oil, fertilizer. This really stands out in some cases, sulfur- based fertilizers, 55 percent of global consumption, as well as natural gas and so forth.

So, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is going to have a ripple effect, even though President Trump says, you know, and "Wall Street Journal" reporting this, that perhaps they're going to unwind the position in Iran and unwind the wall without securing the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Reality is going to set back in. And even though you've got markets today responding to the potential ending of the war in two to three weeks, a lot of the market analysts that I've spoken to say this is a knee jerk reaction. Reality is going to kick in.

I also want you to take a listen to what the Australian prime minister says in terms of trying to bring down demand in the country. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: And over coming weeks, if you can switch to catching the train or bus or tram to work, do so. That builds our reserves and it saves fuel for people who have no choice but to drive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: So what we're seeing is demand destruction, Brian, at a global level, when you have, you know, strong economy saying, try and minimize your consumption, it really speaks to the fact that the International Energy Agency says this is the largest oil supply shock in the history of markets.

ABEL: Quite the statement there. We will see when it ends.

Eleni Giokos in Dubai for us -- Eleni, thank you.

President Trump's approval rating for his handling of the economy has fallen to a new career low, a new CNN poll found that just 31 percent of Americans say they approve of his job performance with the economy, nearly 70 percent say they disapprove. That reflects a growing pessimism among Americans over the issue. They consistently say is the most important.

Meanwhile, the president's overall approval rating has held relatively steady at 35 percent, just one point off his all-time low in CNN polling. However, there has been notable erosion in his standing within his own party in recent months. The share of Republicans who strongly approve of his job performance has dropped from 52 percent in January to about 43 percent now. The poll also shows more Americans are souring on President Trump's approach to foreign policy, 63 percent of Americans say his decisions on that front have hurt Americas standing in the world.

And that figure is up six points since January, up six points. Only 36 percent say they approve of his handling of foreign policy.

In the coming hours, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the future of birthright citizenship. President Trump signed an executive order last year attempting to end the constitutional right that's been understood for more than a century, guaranteed citizenship for anybody born within the U.S.

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His legal team argues that the law should not apply to children of people who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily. All other courts that have weighed in on this so far have ruled the order is unconstitutional. Now, Trump says he will be at the Supreme Court today to hear oral arguments in the case.

NASA's historic Artemis II rocket launch set for later today. Coming up, why four astronauts are going to the moon but not landing.

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ABEL: NASA's Artemis II rocket set to lift off from Kennedy Space Center later today, and it will be the first time in over 50 years that astronauts will return to the vicinity of the moon. They won't actually land, but they will orbit around the moon and then head back to Earth.

CNN's Tom Foreman tells us what we can expect during the launch.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No matter how many space launches you have seen, you've never seen one like this because the space launch system is a vessel unto itself. This is a beast, taller than the Statue of Liberty, from the base to the tip of the torch, well over 300 feet. It weighs around six million pounds, but that's okay because it can produce about eight million pounds of thrust, starting with those two big solid fuel boosters on the side there.

They will both burn straight through at the beginning, giving it that extra boost as it gets off the ground, and then they will fall away. They could almost get the job done entirely by themselves, but they will have the help of that big orange core in the middle. It's orange because that is insulation to keep what's inside very, very cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, both of which will be flowing down to these four RS-25 engines down below, all together, sending this well up into space with a tremendous amount of power.

So, where are the astronauts in all of this? They're up here. That's where you'll find the Orion crew module just below it. The service module that will supply water and oxygen and all sorts of things to the crew up above. And below that, another big booster which will send that part into a giant elliptical orbit around the earth before sending it on its way.

One more thing, you'll see that upside down ice cream cone up there. That is a escape module in a sense, a way for the crew to get out. Even when this rocket is going thousands of miles an hour, it could bring them safely back down to earth. Of course, everybody hopes that this doesn't get used, that everything falls off as it should properly. And the Orion crew is on its way on this historic return to the moon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: All right. Tom Foreman, thank you.

We are going to go live now to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer talking about the war with Iran. Let's listen in.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: They can see it at the petrol pumps and they worry about their energy bills. It is the job of government to meet these moments, not just with immediate action, but also with clarity about our direction.

That's what I remember about the 1970s, when my family could not pay every bill. We struggle through the energy shocks and the price rises of that decade, but we always believed in the end, that Britain would secure a better future for us. And I think that's what's been so on our economy, on our energy and on our defense.

This time will be different. We will make Britain a fairer and more secure country, because that hope is what is needed as the country comes together and because how we emerge from this crisis will define us for a generation. So, as I set out a few weeks ago, we have a five- point plan for the immediate crisis. We're cutting energy bills by over 100 pounds per household today. We've extended the cut in fuel duty until September, and we're monitoring that situation daily.

We're supporting people exposed to heating oil rises, setting aside 53 million pounds for that. We're taking back control of our energy security by investing in clean British energy, because that is the only way we get your bills off the roller coaster that is controlled by Putin and the Iranian regime. And frankly, I'm sick and tired of your energy bills fluctuating up and down because we're on the international market when if we took control of our energy and had home grown renewables, we could stabilize your bills.

And finally, as I say, we'll continue to push for de-escalation in the Middle East. But look, there's also a bigger argument here because every one of these measures is part of a long term plan to make our country more secure and more resilient to shocks like this. I mean, just look at what's happening today. Today, your energy bills will be cut because of the action that we took at the budget. And whatever happens in Iran, that price is now fixed until July.

Today, if you need a prescription instead of rising as they used to, the price will be frozen for a year.

[05:20:02]

Today, if you're working on the national living wage, your wages will go up next week. On Monday, the state pension will go up. Next week, the two-child limit will be scrapped, lifting 450,000 children out of poverty, the vast majority from working households.

And next week, the biggest strengthening of workers' rights in a generation will become law, a huge boost to the economic security of working people.

Now, some people may say this isn't new. This was already planned. To which I say, yes, that is my point. Everything I've done in politics, certainly since the Ukraine war in 2022, is a response to this new and dangerous world. We campaign for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, which we extended. We focused on the cost of living, and we acted at the budget. And we've always emphasized the need for clean British energy, and we've invested because we knew that making our country secure in this world was the ultimate test that we would face and our ultimate responsibility to the British people.

Now, it's not going to be easy, clearly, and in the coming weeks, as you would expect, we will continue to assess the economic effects. We will continue to stand up for the British national interest, and we will continue to do what we must to guide our country calmly through this storm. However, it is increasingly clear that as the world continues down this volatile path, our long-term national interest requires closer partnership with our allies in Europe and with the European union.

Now, we have made progress on this front on agriculture, electricity, emissions trading and more. But as the chancellor has rightly pointed out, Brexit did deep damage to our economy and the opportunities to strengthen our security and cut the cost of living are simply too big to ignore. So, in the coming weeks, we will announce a new summit with our E.U. partners.

And I can tell you that at that summit, the U.K. will not just ratify existing commitments made at last year's summit. We want to be more ambitious, closer economic cooperation, closer security cooperation, a partnership that recognizes our shared values, our shared interest and our shared future. A partnership for the dangerous world that we must navigate together. A world where this government will be guided at all times by the interests of the British people.

Thank you. I will now take questions.

And I have the BBC first. Henry?

REPORTER: Thank you, Prime Minister.

As it stands, fuel duty is set to go up in September. You said that's under review. I think today you said you were monitoring it. It is very hard to find anyone here in Westminster who seriously believes that you are going to press ahead with that. So, if today was about reassurance, why don't you just give motorists that little bit of reassurance now and tell them it's not going to go up?

STARMER: Well, fuel duty is set until September, as you rightly say, in terms of the cut. That will remain the position. The other measures that we're taking today, obviously, energy bills are going down today on average by 100 pounds per household, and that will remain down until the end of June.

Whatever happens in the conflict, I know people are concerned to know that that remains the case, whatever happens in the conflict. So let me be clear about that. And those that are heating their homes with oil are obviously getting support.

We are keeping this under review. Obviously, a lot will depend on how long the conflict goes on, how quickly the Strait of Hormuz can be opened. And that's why I've made the statement I have today about the next step that we're taking, particularly on the Strait of Hormuz, which will be crucial in terms of what actually happens to energy prices and how long there's a spike in those prices. So that's the action that we're taking today.

I've got ITV, Harry -- Harry.

REPORTER: Thank you, Prime Minister. Harry Horton from ITV News.

President Trump has said this morning that he's considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO. Youve just talked about looking at a new long- term partnership with the E.U., including on security.

[05:25:00]

Is this an acknowledgment that Britain's long term security relationship with the United States is about to change?

STARMER: Well, let me say a number of things in response to that. Firstly, NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen, and it has kept us safe for many decades. And we are fully committed to NATO.

Secondly, that whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I'm going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions that I make. And that's why I've been absolutely clear that this is not our war, and we're not going to get dragged into it.

But I'm equally clear that when it comes to defense and security and our economic future, we have to have closer ties with Europe. That's why we had the summit last year. This year, as I've just announced, there will be a further summit there. We will make good on the commitments that we put in place last year, but we will also go further in relation to the alignment.

Thank you very much, Harry.

I've got Lucy from Sky -- Lucy.

REPORTER: Prime Minister, you're talking here, of course, today about the cost of living. You said yourself nothing in this speech is new. Youve got the Australian prime minister earlier talking about slashing tax on petrol and diesel, telling people not to use more than they need. Can you be really clear to people at home listening to this? Should they be looking at changing their behaviors now?

STARMER: Well, in terms of the situation, we're monitoring it carefully. We had a COBRA meeting looking at the ongoing impacts here in Britain yesterday. That is being monitored daily. I had the business sector in on Monday to discuss with them. This was shipping, finance, insurance to discuss with them. Mainly how we deal with the Strait of Hormuz, how quickly we can get action there to get the supply open or fully open. And that is what we are doing there, decisions that we think are right here. And, we will continue to do that.

But I emphasize again, it's clear to me that the main determinant now of the impact is going to be how long the conflict goes on. And the question of how quickly we can get passage, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz. And the two don't necessarily go together.

In other words, I don't think it can necessarily be assumed that a de- escalation of the contact -- conflict necessarily at the same time brings the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. And that's why we're moving to the next level of planning in relation to the Strait of Hormuz. We've been dealing with this for some time, but now we move to the next stage with the foreign secretary meeting coming up later this week, the first time we've convened those, that coalition, if you like, of, of countries to look at diplomatic, diplomatic means, political means, and then the military planners coming together at a separate meeting to look at capabilities.

Thank you very much, Andy. And I should say, Andy, congratulations.

ABEL: You have been listening to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer talking about the U.K. and the war with Iran. The prime minister saying that this is not the U.K.'s war and they will not be dragged into it.

We will have more after the break.

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