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Trump Agrees To Suspend Strikes On Iran For Two Weeks; Iran Claims Great Victory, Says U.S. Accepts 10-Point Plan; Trump & Top U.S. Officials To Meet With NATO Chief Today. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:01:46]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Erica Hill joining you this hour from New York.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Becky Anderson, live for you from our Middle East programing hub here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE, where it is 1:00 in the afternoon, Wednesday.

And we begin with major developments here in the Middle East, where the U.S. and Iran have agreed to a two-week ceasefire.

Residents of Tehran greeting the news with protests and celebrations. Some burned U.S. and Israeli flags. Others question what either side has achieved in the nearly six-week war.

Well, the key to the whole agreement is the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says its military will coordinate passage for ships and oil tankers through the vital waterway.

Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the health ministry reports eight people have been killed and 22 injured in a drone strike.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office says the U.S.-Iran ceasefire does not cover the fighting between Israel and the Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Well, farther south, video shows an explosion in the city -- of the coastal city of Tyre shortly after, Israel issued an urgent evacuation order to residents there. And the IDF says it completed a wave of strikes in Iranian airspace overnight.

CNN's Paula Hancocks with us this hour in Abu Dhabi.

Let's begin in Washington with Julia Benbrook, who is there.

And anything further, Julia, from the administration, the White House, President Trump himself, since he initially announced this ceasefire in the wee -- well, late last night

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, around midnight, 12:01, actually, Trump put out a post where he said that he believes that this could be the golden age for the Middle East. He called it a great day for peace. That, of course, being a sharp change in his rhetoric from what he was posting earlier in the day about potentially taking out an entire civilization.

So, we've seen his rhetoric go back and forth. We've seen his timelines shift a lot as well. But with just less than two hours until his deadline, Trump announced that he had accepted a proposal from Pakistan for a two-week ceasefire agreement. And in that post, he said that the 10-point plan that he'd received from Iran, that he believed that it was a workable basis on which to negotiate. He also said that he believed that the United States had achieved and exceeded its military objectives.

There are still a lot of questions here about what's next, but one thing that does seem to be clear is that the administration is looking for some sort of an off ramp, and in that post, Trump expressed confidence that there would be a definitive agreement. I want to pull up that part of this post on Truth Social. He said, quote, "Almost all of the various points of contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the agreement to be finalized and consummated.

[05:05:00]

On behalf of the United States of America as president, and also representing the countries of the Middle East, it is an honor to have this long term problem close to a resolution."

Now, Trump said that a key condition to this two-week ceasefire was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway where typically 20 percent of the world's oil passes through. Iran's foreign minister did say that its military would contribute -- would be a key player in making sure that vessels are able to pass during the ceasefire.

Trump, in that overnight post, said that the United States would be assisting with that. It is unclear how all of that would work. We have reached out to the White House for clarification there. And then when it comes to what's next.

Pakistan's prime minister has invited the United States and Iran for talks on Friday. Officials have been preparing for the potential of that, but not a lot of details there yet.

ANDERSON: Got it. All right, Julia, thank you for that. That's the update from Washington. It is still early there just after five in the morning.

Let's cross to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who's here with me in Abu Dhabi. What's been the response in the region where, of course, this war has been waged on multiple fronts? And importantly, is this ceasefire holding, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, we'll start with the response in Iran. We've heard a couple of different officials speaking, that the foreign minister saying that that the military will be coordinating any ships going through the Strait of Hormuz, saying that Washington has basically agreed the general framework of their proposal.

But then when you come to the National Security Council, it's a much more fiery statement. They are claiming victory, which is not a surprise. Certainly, there is going to be an element of propaganda in this.

But I want to play you part of that statement as read out by the anchor on state media. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRAN STATE MEDIA ANCHOR (through translator): Iran has achieved a great victory and forced America to accept its 10-point plan. America is committed to non-aggression, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all sanctions, termination of all resolutions of the security council and board of governors, payment of compensation to Iran, withdrawal of American forces from the region, and cessation of war on all fronts, including against the Islamic resistance of Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: So the reason I wanted to play that was really to show you that the ideas that that Iran has agreed to are some of them are not going to be agreed to by Washington, allowing enrichment of uranium, for example, or containing -- retaining, I should say, control of the Strait of Hormuz.

So, this shows that the two sides, despite this two-week ceasefire, are fairly far apart when it comes to what they are going to agree to. So, this is where the diplomatic path comes in. This is where Pakistan comes in. The prime minister saying that he's invited both delegations to Islamabad on April 10th. We'll see what happens there.

Also, looking at Israel and Lebanon. Now, we have heard from the Pakistan prime minister, Lebanon was part of this ceasefire. We're hearing very clearly from the political and military echelon in Israel. That's simply not the case -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Paula. Thank you.

Well, joining me now is Negar Mortazavi, who is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy with us today live from Doha in Qatar.

Negar, it's good to have you.

Less than 24 hours ago, the spokesman for the foreign ministry in Qatar said, and I quote, "We are close to the point where the situation in the region could spiral out of control."

That was before the announcement by Donald Trump that a ceasefire had been reached. It is now just after midday where you are. Do you get the sense that we have genuinely pulled back from the brink at this point?

NEGAR MORTAZAVI, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY: Great to be with you, Becky.

Yes, I think so. I mean, the threat of the president and President Trump's threat was, you know, borderline genocidal. You heard Democrats in Washington talking about the 25th Amendment and calling him, quote/unquote, "unhinged". And, you know, people talking about how this would violate U.S. federal law as far as committing genocide and also international law.

And it just turned out to be last minute bluster, as is part of the style of the president and essentially the final push before an agreement or, you know, the kind of negotiation style that he has as leverage. So, I think that really put everyone on notice, both in Iran and also across the region, because at the same time, this is the most powerful person in the world, in control of the most mighty military of human -- in human history.

[05:10:10]

So, you need to take his words seriously when he, you know, at least 50 percent chance. So, I think it was a combination of people. Not really -- myself also like, is this a deal brewing about to be announced or is this really going to go to the next level? And --

ANDERSON: Yeah.

MORTAZAVI: -- I mean, I'm glad that it didn't escalate. And now I'm hoping that this would be a path to sustainable peace.

ANDERSON: The U.S. and Iran both framing this as a win. What's your assessment?

MORTAZAVI: I mean, this has been very much a war of narratives as it was a war in the battlefield. And let's not forget also the Israeli, lots of disinformation, misinformation. You know, at this point, ultimately, in the big picture, I don't care. I think it's more important that war doesn't continue and peace comes.

But as far as wins, I think U.S. has had major, you know, gains. Of course, they come to this war with absolute, almost absolute air supremacy, fighting a very weak underdog, if you just look at the capacity, you know, the military capacity. But then on the Iranian side, as the underdog, they put up a pretty decent fight. I mean, they were able to escalate this war in an asymmetric way.

They immediately expanded it outside their borders, turned it into a regional war, into a global war. They played the Strait of Hormuz card, which was their golden card, which nobody knew or believed that they would do this a month ago before the war started. And then they turned it into an actual global problem that needed to be solved, that Donald Trump had started.

And now they've essentially forced the world's superpower and the regions superpower to accept the ceasefire. And it seems mostly on their terms. Now, we have to wait and see what happens after the two weeks. But I think from the Iranian viewpoint, thinking that they achieved, you know, they made a big achievement or victory is not farfetched.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump describes the regime as less radicalized. He very specifically used that term in that apocalyptic tweet that he put out before this deal was announced. Frankly, he's calling them somebody he can do business with. Who do you believe the U.S. is or will be working with on any deal from the Iranian side? And is this to your mind, a less radicalized Tehran team?

MORTAZAVI: Well, President Trump has also referred to it as a new regime. So, I think he also believes that he did regime change in Iran. Well, he replaced one Ayatollah Khamenei with another Ayatollah Khamenei. So, talking about the goals of this war and why he came into it and what he achieved, this is -- this is also some insight.

But I think, you know, Ali Larijani was someone who was seen as a pragmatist, and, you know, de facto in control of the war. And the Israelis assassinated him, which was part of the playbook of the Israelis, that they escalate when there's diplomatic breakthrough about to come. And they also go for the negotiator. They try to eliminate or assassinate the negotiator. So, he was assassinated in the course of this war.

And then the next person were hearing is potentially Ghalibaf, the speaker of the parliament who really stepped up after the assassination. He's a former IRGC commander, so he's bringing that resume to the table, and he's become sort of a spokesperson unofficially. And also, he's played a very, very active twitter game trying to match up President Trump's rhetoric online.

And then, of course, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who has been the top negotiator in the past years negotiation with special envoy Witkoff and also this year. So I think these may be the figures.

As far as less radicalized, I don't know. I mean, some of them are more centrist Iranian politicians also changed in the course of this war. This war definitely made everyone a little more hardline against the U.S. There's less trust against Washington, towards Washington and more resolve in Iran that if there's going to be pressure, that they will meet it with resistance and not capitulation.

ANDERSON: We have seen Iranian residents on this ceasefire. Let's just run that sound if we can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Why should we declare a ceasefire? As you see, there is written that the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed. Why open?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): America has shown itself a hundred times until now, we have gone to the negotiation table twice when it attacked us. And this ceasefire again for going and repowering itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ANDERSON: Look, there is some serious anti-American sentiment inside Iran. I just wonder, because we talk about this regularly, very briefly, this isn't sort of monolithic society. And have you been in touch with people back home? I mean, what are people telling you about how they feel and perhaps those who are not supporters of this regime?

[05:15:06]

MORTAZAVI: Absolutely not monolithic. I mean, part of the population was really horrified at the rhetoric of the president. And there's a sigh of relief. You know, the war the past four weeks has really been a war on Iran and Iranians on civilians, you know, schools, hospitals, homes, civilian infrastructure. And it's just been very horrific.

So there has been a sigh of relief. One thing I would add politically, maybe some of these comments resonate is that Iranians see this war as a continuation of last year's war in June, and some in policy circles believe that the that Iran accepted that ceasefire too soon. And that's why the war came back to them.

So now what they want as far as a permanent peace is to make sure that war doesn't come back to them. So, some of this may be that thinking that, okay, we accepted a ceasefire and they're going to attack us again and again, the mow the lawn situation. But I think there is a sigh of relief as far as the ceasefire, you know, not having your civilization wiped off and all of that. And also people have seen the devastation of the war in the past, in the past year, the past month, and it hasn't been something that civilians look forward to continuing.

ANDERSON: Yeah. It's really good to have you, Negar. Thank you so much for joining us. Negar Mortazavi out of Doha, Qatar, for you today. And I will be back here from Abu Dhabi in the UAE with more coverage on what is going on.

For now, let's get you back to Erica Hill in New York.

HILL: All right. Becky, thanks.

Still ahead here this hour, President Trump set to host the NATO chief at the White House in the coming hours, just days after, of course, calling that alliance a paper tiger and saying he's very disappointed. What we can expect, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:21:09]

HILL: President Trump is set to meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Washington later today. They're also expected to be joined by the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

These talks, of course, coming as President Trump has threatened in recent weeks, a threat he has made in the past, but is making more forcefully at this point to withdraw the U.S. from the long standing alliance amid the war with Iran, continuing to criticize that alliance and its members.

CNN's Clare Sebastian, following these developments for us from London.

So, what are we expecting to come out of this meeting today, Clare?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Erica, I think at this point, there's no signal that well see a change in Mark Rutte now well-worn policy of friendliness, flattery, even occasionally bordering on obsequiousness towards the U.S. president. He has backed him fully on Iran. He said he applauds the degradation of Iran's missile and nuclear capabilities.

He has consistently made the point, even before the war in Iran, that the NATO alliance really cannot effectively defend itself yet without the U.S. and of course, he's been rewarded by being singled out separately from Trump's criticism of the NATO alliance. He has consistently said that he likes Mark Rutte and called him a wonderful guy this week.

I think this meeting is coming at perhaps the most difficult point for that relationship, because we have not only seen Trump escalating his criticism of NATO, but now Secretary of State Marco Rubio coming out and saying also that the alliance perhaps isn't in the U.S.'s best interests, given the actions of some European countries when it comes to the war in Iran.

But Trump himself doubled down on his stance towards NATO this week. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very disappointed in NATO, very -- I think that NATO, I think it's a mark on NATO that will never disappear, never disappear in my mind. And when we needed them, we didn't need them, by the way. We didn't need them, obviously, because they haven't helped at all. Just the opposite.

They've actually gone out of their way not to help. No, NATO is a paper tiger. Now, he's coming to see me on Wednesday. As you know, he's a wonderful guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So at this point, it doesn't seem like there's much that I can say to Trump to prevent him defaulting back to that position, which some in Europe, including the French President Macron, have warned in itself, undermine the alliance. So perhaps this visit will be just about keeping the dialogue open, if not keeping NATO in Trump's good books.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Clare, appreciate the preview. Thank you.

A pointed message from Pakistan, pause the fighting, give diplomacy a chance. We'll take you live to Islamabad for the very latest on the ceasefire talks. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: A key player in the planned ceasefire agreement between Iran and the U.S. is Pakistan. It has already been the setting for recent talks amongst regional leaders, and now it is getting ready to host negotiations between Iran and the U.S. this Friday in Islamabad.

That is where CNN's Sophia Saifi is live for you.

Sophia, we know talks are scheduled for Friday, but when the ceasefire was announced, that was really the extent of the detail. Lots of unanswered questions at this point. What's the latest there?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Well, Becky, what we do know is that at the moment, there's a cabinet meeting underway being led by Pakistan's prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif. There has, in the lead up to this announcement, been a really tight grasp by the powers that be in Pakistan or any information really being released. And that's like a big feat in a country where leaks are very commonplace.

We do know that late last night there was a concern that the talks would not go through. Pakistan's foreign minister was addressing the senate in a late night session where he was criticizing Israel for striking Iran. I had a source telling me that they were very concerned that things are going dicey because of the fact that Saudi Arabia has been targeted, which it was at that time.

There are obviously concerns. There were concerns here in Pakistan because of the -- because of the military treaty defense pact that Pakistan has with Saudi Arabia, that the country could be sucked into the conflict. That could then spread eastwards into Pakistan. That has not happened.

In the -- at around 12:30 in the night, Pakistan's prime minister tweeted to President Donald Trump, asking for a two-week extension and for the Iranians to reopen.