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Trump Agrees To Suspend Strikes On Iran For Two Weeks; Artemis II's Orion Capsule Leaves Lunar Sphere Of Influence; London Festival Canceled After Headliner Kanye West Block From Traveling To U.K. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: There are obviously concerns that there were concerns 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 eastward into Pakistan. That has not happened.

In -- 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 the Straits of Hormuz. We do not have any details around that. I have reached out to a bunch of shipping contacts to find out how that's going to unfold as well from the Pakistan perspective.

We do know that there is a meeting that's going to be held on Friday here in Islamabad and those being called the "Pakistan talks" -- the "Islamabad talks" by Pakistan's prime minister. We are waiting for confirmations about whether Vice President JD Vance is going to be leading the American delegation. We have some Pakistani sources saying that is a possibility, but there's no confirmation of that yet.

If that does happen it will be incredibly historic. This is already a diplomatic gamechanger for Pakistan. But the Vice President of the United States coming to this country after years of Pakistan considering itself a black sheep after the war on terror is going to be completely groundbreaking for Pakistan's diplomacy game -- Becky.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah -- no. It's definitely an important note. Pakistan playing a significant part here.

Sophia, thank you. Sophia is in Islamabad.

It is what happens next that we are now interested in.

And happening right now though, U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaking in Budapest. He is in Hungary as part of the Trump administration's show of support for the country's far-right prime minister. Viktor Orban's 16-year grip on power is facing its toughest challenge yet in what are this Sunday's national elections there. We'll monitor that fireside chat that he has currently ongoing in Budapest with a local journalist there. Joining me now is Burcu Ozcelik, a senior research fellow on Middle East security at the Royal United Services Institute. She's coming to us from London today.

And as I say, we will monitor that and I may have to break into this interview, Burcu, if JD Vance starts talking about these ceasefire talks. Because, of course, they are scheduled for Friday and there is a reported 10-point plan proposed by Tehran that Donald Trump at least has suggested provides a framework at least for talks. The original 10 points -- so let's be quite clear they may have changed. The original 10 points that Iran had proposed included continued enrichment and control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Is that -- or were those two to be key points in any agreement? Are those a working arrangement -- a feasible working arrangement at this point?

BURCU OZCELIK, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST SECURITY, RUSI: Well, I'm not sure that -- well, I feel those are nonstarters from the point of view of the United States and its allies.

ANDERSON: Hmm.

OZCELIK: Despite the moment of cautious optimism and the relief that has come about because of this two-week window now to carry out talks on a ceasefire deal, potentially, I think we're still operating in a very information-poor environment.

We have the list of two different opposing point plans put forward by the United States and Iran, but the gap between what these demands entail and the kinds of concessions that would need to be made by both sides if this really was going to lead to a working, durable settlement I think are still very far apart. And so the real work begins in Islamabad on Friday. It will be a tremendously difficult task to try to bridge that gap.

But what will happen, I suspect, is that whilst Iran has very effectively and competently changed the narrative strategically and operationally by focusing on the Strait of Hormuz -- controlling the strait and disrupting safe passage there with ripple effects across the globe -- the talks themselves might now pivot back to the nuclear issue. And I suspect that the negotiating team from Iran will want to retain leverage and keep focused on the possibility of reopening and keeping open the Strait of Hormuz. But the nuclear issue will be back on the table I suspect and that's really going to be the key sticking point.

ANDERSON: And as we get response to this ceasefire from Gulf nations, they are -- we're certainly seeing they broadly welcome this ceasefire. They are -- and I'm just reading the response from Qatar, which has just come in. "The ministry stresses the importance of ensuring the security of maritime passage and the freedom of international navigation and trade in accordance with international law."

[05:35:07] We're hearing a similar statement from Saudi Arabia in the past hour. We know the Strait of Hormuz is absolutely critical as far as these Gulf nations are concerned.

As far as we understand it these Gulf nations were not part of any sort of deal. We haven't got a deal yet, but part of this sort of -- at least these talks in principle.

What security guarantees do they actually have at this point?

OZCELIK: That's a very good question and we don't know if and to what extent Gulf states were involved behind the scenes that meant arriving at this point of this now window of two weeks. But the Gulf states have very strongly advocated for having a seat at the table to have their demands and expectations met in any set of talks that take -- that take place going forward. And really, argue that they should be a bilateral issue only between the United States and Iran because the reginal states, and particularly the Gulf -- the UAE and Saudi Arabia have suffered severe consequences.

In terms of security guarantees this is the big question, and this will stretch out into the foreseeable future. The extent to which the United States and Gulf allies will continue to rely on the American security architecture and that shield given the ongoing potential threat of Iran across the Persian Gulf -- I think that remains a very high possibility.

At the same time, GCC states having suffered with Iran's retaliatory strikes will likely also look to diversify their security partners, whether that means turning to Turkey or other security providers.

But for the foreseeable future I don't think that there will be a major shift or a turning away from the United States for now.

ANDERSON: Yeah. And certainly we have heard that from the UAE where they've said they will double down on their relationship with the -- with the states.

I do think it's important to note that there is a sort of, you know, a security pact in place between Saudi and Pakistan and it is no surprise that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been promoting Islamabad as an opportunity for mediation here. It'll be interesting to see how that Saudi-Pakistan relationship develops over the weeks and months to come.

Yair Lapid, Israel's opposition leader, said this of the ceasefire announcement. "There has never been such a political disaster in all of our history. Israel wasn't even at the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security."

What's your assessment of where what we are seeing today leaves Israel and what role does it now play?

OZCELIK: I think Israel likely believes itself to be exposed at the moment. I think if it had been left to Israel's security circles the war would have continued. My understanding is that there was a target set still left that Israel sought to pursue with the support of the United States and Iran. So from the Israeli point of view they might have been blindsided by President Trump's willingness to agree to this pause for the moment.

But the question looms over what will happen next in Lebanon. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office issued a statement stating that Lebanon, from their point of view, was not included within the parameters of this ceasefire agreement. Pakistan and Iran disputed that.

So what happens next in Lebanon will be key and any Israeli ongoing strikes or operations there, will that be sufficient to derail the talks between the United States and Iran? That's going to be important. And that will then shift the burden back onto Israel as potentially breaching the ceasefire deal, undermining what President Trump is trying to achieve now in the next two weeks and potentially longer if we're looking at an extension.

I think it's important to note that the list of opposing expectations and demands by both sides will be quite difficult to negotiate and arrive at a lasting solution in a two-week window.

But the Israeli point of view I think is essential here and Netanyahu will believe that whilst he's done a great deal from his point of view in defense of Israel's national security interests that not enough strategically was really achieved during the course of this war because the nuclear issue which was primary and dominant in the Israeli security mindset still remains unresolved.

[05:40:00]

ANDERSON: Burcu, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

It will be very interesting to understand why Donald Trump felt this was the time for a ceasefire. Who persuaded him to go for talks? Who was on board and perhaps who wasn't will become clearer as we move through these hours.

For the time being let's get you back to Erica Hill in New York.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Becky. Thanks.

Well, President Trump's ceasefire announcement certainly boosting global markets at this hour. We'll take a closer look at those numbers just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:45:15]

HILL: Global oil prices showing sharp losses after President Trump's ceasefire announcement. Both Brent and U.S. crude oil prices plummeting on the heels of that news. Seeing -- as you can see there now below $95 a barrel earlier. Physical Brent crude, though, still remains high, reportedly hitting a new price record of $144 a barrel. CNN's Eleni Giokos joining us now from Dubai with an update. You've been following all of these moves and following it so closely, of course, over the last 40 days. Where do we stand at this hour?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So this is exactly what I'm looking at. I'm trying to monitor exactly what's going on not only in the financial markets which, by the way, have been doing phenomenally well this morning on the back of the announcement of this two-week ceasefire.

Let's quickly check in on Brent and the U.S. benchmark as well, WTI coming under pressure today -- no surprise there. And this is because a lot is contingent on what happens in the Strait of Hormuz. WTI down around 15 percent; Brent crude taking a knock of around 14 percent. But here's the thing. It's still up above, you know, the levels we had pre-war, around 30 percent higher, so we're still over $90 a barrel.

But let's quickly take a look at how markets are responding. European markets soaring today. We had Asian markets performing really well, as well as U.S. futures looking strong. European markets right now -- look at that -- the DAX in Germany up 4.2 percent. A lot of elation and euphoria about what this two-week ceasefire could ultimately mean.

But as President Trump has, you know, clearly noted, this has to do with the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranians right now are saying that safe passage will still happen only with coordination with armed forces. That's an important caveat.

I've been speaking to some experts this morning, particularly from Lloyd's List, and they tell me that shippers still believe that the status quo remains. That you still have to negotiate directly with the IRGC for safe passage.

In terms of --

HILL: Eleni, I'm sorry to interrupt you. I'm going to have to interrupt you there, Eleni. I have to interrupt you for one second -- sorry. I do want to take you right now to Budapest. JD Vance is speaking. Let's take a listen in.

J.D. VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are people on social media within their system who are basically lying about what we've accomplished military. They're lying about the nature of the agreement. They're lying about the nature of the ceasefire.

And so you have just even within their system -- and this is why I say this is a fragile truce. You have people who clearly want to come to the negotiating table and work with us to find a good deal, and then you have people who are lying about even the fragile truce that we've already struck. And that's just an interesting thing about their system.

And the final point though I'll say about this is the President of the United States has told me and he's told the entire negotiating team -- the Secretary of State, the special envoy Steve Witkoff. He said, "Go and work in good faith to come to an agreement." That is what he has told us to do.

If the Iranians are willing in good faith to work with us, I think we can make an agreement. If they're going to lie, if they're going to cheat, if they're trying to -- going to try to prevent even the fragile truce that we've set up from taking place, then they're not going to be happy. Because what the president has also shown is that we still have clear military, diplomatic, and maybe most importantly we have extraordinary economic leverage.

So the president has told us not to use those tools. He's told us to come to the negotiating table. But if the Iranians don't do the exact same thing they're going to find out that the President of the United States is not one to mess around. He's impatient. He's impatient to make progress.

He has told us to negotiate in good faith. And I think if they negotiate in good faith, we will be able to find a deal. That's a big if and ultimately, it's up to the Iranians how they negotiate. I hope they make the right decision.

(Applause)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here with a lot of talented Hungarian students. You talk about -- a lot about education.

VANCE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh, how do you see the future of education? In which direction should it be developed? And do you know a bit of the Hungarian education system, especially the tertiary education system -- our university system? What is your opinion about this and how will you develop your education system?

HILL: So you were just looking at JD Vance there and he was commenting on this ceasefire agreement. Again, we're still looking for a lot of details as to what is in that agreement. But the U.S. vice president saying he was concerned that some were lying about the nature of that and what's actually in the deal, saying that he's been told -- he and others in the administration have been told by President Trump that they should be working in good faith to make an agreement.

But he went on to say that it was still, in his words, clear that the U.S. had military, diplomatic, and in his words, "extraordinary economic leverage" here -- noting that President Trump is, in his words, "impatient" and "not one to mess around," and saying that the Iranians will find out what it means if they don't negotiate in good faith.

[05:50:15]

But interesting his note there about what he said is the clear military, diplomatic, and again, what he called the "extraordinary economic leverage" of the United States.

A lot of questions, of course, about this deal. And specifically, we're talking about leverage. About what happens now with the Strait of Hormuz. How will that be orchestrated? We will continue to dig deeper into this. Stay with us.

We also want to get you to the headlines that we're following at this hour -- some of the stories that we're watching today.

Of course, top of the list there this agreement. President Trump saying that the U.S. and Iran have now agreed to a two-week ceasefire. Pro-regime residents of Tehran filling the streets in celebration. The government calling the agreement "a great victory" and claims the U.S. has agreed in principle to its 10-point proposal.

Iranian state-affiliated media reporting Iran and Oman, meantime, have reached an agreement when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz. The two countries plan to charge transit fees for vessels passing through that vital waterway during this two-week ceasefire. And according to the reporting the funds will then be set aside of reconstruction.

And a liberal victory to tell you about in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. CNN's decision desk projecting that Judge Chris Taylor will win a seat on the state's high court there after defeating her conservative opponent. Taylor's win expands the liberal majority there 5-2 and solidifies its hold potentially through the end of the decade.

NASA releasing some of the 10,000 photographs taken by the crew of Artemis II during their trip around the moon. This image that you're seeing here shows Earthset. What appears to be the Earth setting behind the surface of the moon. The crew is now heading home.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more now on their return trip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a crew that is on its way back to Earth. The Artemis II crew and the Orion capsule have left the lunar Sphere of Influence and now they're being pulled back to Earth by the Earth's gravity. And they are preparing over the next couple of days for reentry, which is obviously the most critical, the most dangerous part of this mission that is left for them to conclude.

The capsule will be entering the Earth's atmosphere through extreme conditions. Temperatures of more than 5,000 degrees, going at intense speeds. Obviously, this is a very intense moment for this capsule and for this crew, and for this mission overall.

And preparations are well underway to bring that crew back home. The Navy ship that will be out off the coast of San Diego, bringing these astronauts back to land departed out into the waters today preparing for all of the people and teams that are necessary to get that capsule and those astronauts out of the water and brought back to be checked out in San Diego before they return here to Johnson Space Center. So very critical moments in the -- in the days ahead.

And the crew is continuing to do other tests and configurations inside the capsule and then they will spend the day before the return here to Earth reconfiguring that capsule so that all of the seats are prepared once again so that they can be ready for that reentry, which is expected to happen Friday evening, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. Daylight hours, so we should have spectacular views of this Artemis II team returning back to Earth.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Still ahead here, Kanye West's invitation to a U.K. music festival was controversial enough that the British government blocked his entry to the country. We'll tell you why next.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:58:13]

HILL: One of U.K.'s biggest music festivals has now been canceled after British officials blocked headliner Kanye West from entering the country.

CNN's Lisa Respers France explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: Kanye West's past antisemitic comments have torpedoed a future gig for the rapper. The artist who now goes by Ye was set to headline this summer's Wireless Festival in the United Kingdom when backlash from Jewish groups and politicians led to him being blocked from traveling to the U.K. No headliner meant the festival's organizers decided to cancel the event.

Now, over the years the rapper has made antisemitic remarks only to apologize before then turning around and doing it again. In January, West took out a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal to apologize for his past behavior. But that wasn't enough to stop major sponsors of the U.K. festival from threatening to pull out and the U.K. prime minister from calling the decision to make him the headliner in the first place "deeply concerning."

For his part, Ye offered to meet with the Jewish community in the U.K. and said that his only goal was to "come to London and present a show of change, bringing unity, peace, and love through my music."

Alas, the show will not go on.

Lisa Respers France, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Republicans on Hill will -- on Capitol Hill, rather, will hold onto their narrow majority for now. CNN projecting Republican Clay Fuller will win the special election runoff in Georgia's 14th congressional district. Fuller defeating Democrat Shawn Harris quashing Senate Democratic hopes there for another upset win against the Trump-endorsed candidate. He told supporters on Tuesday night he will be a warrior for -- on Capitol Hill for President Trump.

[06:00:00]

Fuller will now finish out the term of former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene who, of course, quit earlier this year after a falling out with the president. Both Fuller and Harris qualified for the general primary happening in May for the midterm election which, of course, will be held in November.

Thanks so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Erica Hill joining you from New York. Stayed tune. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.