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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Iran Halts Hormuz Traffic After Israel Attacks Lebanon; U.S. Reveals Talks With Beijing To Secure Truce; Trump Slams NATO Over Iran After Meeting Rutte, Renews Greenland Threat; Iowa Farmers Struggle Amid Iran War, Trump Tariffs; Rio Olympic Park Engulfed In Flames, Nobody Hurt. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 09, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

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CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: And all in the last three years, we've really just worked to make sure that they are set up for success. And that's all of the teams, not just the crew, but the flight control teams, the mission engineering rooms, the launch teams, everyone.

We've just hopefully we've done our best to bring folks together and to make sure that we can be the best they can be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: And thank you for watching NewsNights. You can catch me anytime on your favorite social media X, Instagram and TikTok. CNN's coverage continues next.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and around the world. I'm Erica Hill in New York.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Eleni Giokos live for you in Dubai. Now, it's noon here in Dubai and across the Gulf states. And for the first time since the war with Iran began, there have been no reports of strikes so far. Still, the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran remains fragile.

Just hours ago, President Trump posted on Truth Social that U.S. military personnel will, quote, remain in place in and around Iran until such time as the real agreement reached is fully complied with.

Now those comments as Iran says new Israeli attacks on Lebanon are a ceasefire violation and that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has come to a halt. Now at this hour, data shows vessel traffic remains negligible. U.S. vice President JD Vance is warning the ceasefire will end if Iran does not follow through on promises to reopen the critical waterway. Despite all of this, he says negotiations are still progressing. And

this weekend Vance is set to lead a negotiating team for talks and that is happening in Pakistan. That team includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Iran's ambassador to Pakistan says the Iranian delegation will arrive in Islamabad tonight for the talks.

Meanwhile, it is just after 11:00 a.m. across Lebanon and the militant group Hezbollah has been reportedly firing rockets into Israel for the first time since the Iran ceasefire was reached. Now this is in response to the brutal Israeli bombardment a day earlier.

We're told Israeli Israel struck more than 100 sites across Lebanon that happened in a mere 10 minutes and carried out some of the most extensive attacks on Beirut in decades. Israel accuses Lebanon's government of failing to disarm Hezbollah.

The country's health ministry estimates almost 200 people were killed and close to 900 injured. The Israeli siege came after the shaky ceasefire with Iran, which the U.S. and Israel claim does not include Lebanon. Iran disagrees. The American vice president says it boils down to miscommunication.

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JD VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I think this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn't. We never made that promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case. What we said is that the ceasefire would be focused on Iran and the ceasefire would be focused on America's allies, both Israel and the Gulf Arab states.

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GIOKOS: All right. We've got CNN's Paula Hancocks joining us now live in Abu Dhabi. I mean, this is a fragile ceasefire. It's being tested, frankly, after Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Does this potentially derail the agreement, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Eleni, Lebanon is clearly emerging as the most significant hurdle when it comes to this ceasefire. It's worth pointing out it wasn't just Iran that believed that Lebanon was part of this two-week ceasefire deal. It was also Pakistan, which is the honest broker, the mediator in this process.

So when the U.S. vice president speaks of a misunderstanding, the mediator misunderstood exactly what this entailed as well. Now, clearly, when they meet on Saturday in Islamabad, this is going to be one of the key issues they will be looking at as well.

But I think that the sheer scale of the Israeli attacks in Lebanon on yesterday have just shocked many people. We have seen condemnation coming in from many different quarters, many European countries. We're here in Qatar, who was also in the past 40 days has been

targeted by Iran, has condemned the strikes as well, as you say, 182 people killed in 10 minutes. And this wasn't for the most part in neighborhood that are predominantly or traditionally considered Hezbollah neighborhoods.

There were some in southern Lebanon, there were some in Bekar Valley, but the ones in central Beirut, there are many Sunni Muslim and also Christian neighborhoods in those areas that were impacted.

[04:05:02]

Now, we did hear from the Belgian foreign minister saying he was a couple of hundred meters away from these blasts when it happened. He has said this must stop and he is calling for Lebanon to be part of this ceasefire deal.

We also heard from Emmanuel Macron of France, and I'll read you what he posted. Quote, I expressed France's full solidarity in the face of the indiscriminate strikes carried out by Israel in Lebanon today which resulted in a very high number of civilian casualties.

We condemn the strikes in the strongest possible terms. They pose a direct threat to the sustainability of the ceasefire that has just been reached. Lebanon must be fully covered by it.

Now, we did hear from the White House press secretary yesterday as well, trying to clarify that Lebanon is not part of the deal. We heard from Trump as well, who called it a, quote, separate skirmish. Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right, Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that update in your reporting. Now, certainty in the Strait of Hormuz is putting the shaky ceasefire between the United States and Iran to the test. And it's pretty indicative in terms of what we're seeing in terms of market performance today.

I want to show you what Brent crude and WTI are doing right now. Brent crude, the international benchmark, up three and a half percent, sitting at $98 a barrel. WTI at $97.50 a barrel. That's up around three point. Really important here.

We had a big drop in yesterday's session and now rising once again as market participants understand sort of the realistic view of the fragility of the ceasefire.

Let's check in on European markets after we saw a sea of green around Asia. European markets as well under pressure this morning. FTSE down only slightly, but you can see the DAX in Germany taking a 1 percent knock.

And importantly, U.S. futures also pointing to a down day. This is after elation around that two week ceasefire. Now everyone questioning, you know, how fragile it is and can it be maintained of the two weeks now that we've been seeing a lot of reports around whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or not. Now earlier reports showing traffic starting to resume through the key

waterway that carries one-fifth of the world's oil. But Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard later said shipping was stopped again blaming Israel's continued military operations in Lebanon.

The White House says it's a case of Iran saying one thing publicly and then doing another. And U.S. Vice President J.D. Van says the ceasefire will end if the Strait is not open.

For more on this, we're joined by Peter sand, the chief analyst for Xeneta, a company that provides market analysis for the shipping business. And he's speaking to us from Copenhagen in Denmark. Really great to have you with us.

Perhaps you can unravel what this all means. And importantly, what are shippers telling you right now with the mix messaging not only from Iran, but also from the United States?

PETER SAND, CHIEF ANALYST, XENETA: Of course, everybody got a bit excited about the potential of a window of opportunity to get some hydrocarbons out of the area and some much needed containerized goods into the area.

But as of now, we can see very little activity actually taking place. So a lot of uncertainty, even more so than before the ceasefire surrounds the situation as business continues as it was still arranging more.

GIOKOS: Yes. OK, so a lot of uncertainty and also just a bit of deciphering around what we heard from Iran, specifically the Foreign Minister saying, yes, safe passage can be secured, but that's with direct coordination with the IRGC. Frankly, that's been the case since the start of the war.

Is there a sense that the status quo has changed where Iran still has de facto control over the Strait?

SAND: You are absolutely spot on. Nothing has really changed. Iran still controls the area and they really call the shots in terms of who will get permission to transit there. But clearly a lot of the shippers inside the Arabian Gulf area that got their cargo float massively disrupted at the start of the war is now eagerly awaiting that opportunity to get some of that displaced cargo shipped in this window of opportunity may just close before it even opened. So that part of the uncertainty may never actually appear.

GIOKOS: Yes, especially now that Iran says the ceasefire has been breached because of the Israeli strikes into Lebanon.

But let's talk about the actual clearance process because this is really complicated. Iran isn't just talking about ship ownership, you know, whose flag it has, but also what's on the vessel, where it's going to the charter history.

I mean, they're trying to rule out any U.S. and Israeli links. So what is your estimation in terms of how many vessels can get through if that is the status quo? And our estimation is that around 800 vessels are trapped in the Persian Gulf.

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SAND: Global shipping is truly global. It is international per se and ships go here, there and everywhere. So if you go inside the books to the extent that is available to the Iranian authorities, you can probably find not a permission for any ships to go there because that's the business. Right.

So obviously this is very political. We have seen some of the French owned ships getting out of there. Also from a container shipping perspective, we have also seen Cosco owned ships from the Chinese state operator, right, allowed to leave.

So this remains more big name politics than actual what's on board and who owns it. Right. So that's just the excuse to keep a straight close.

GIOKOS: So I mean it's really interesting about this Tehran toll fee that shippers potentially are paying up to $2 million. We heard from President Trump, he was flirting the idea of a joint venture with Iran. We know there's a mechanism perhaps being conducted with Oman where there would be a toll put together. It said that some of these shippers are paying in yuan as well as crypto.

Give me an understanding on this payment process and how shippers are, you know, taking perhaps a more pragmatic approach to this.

SAND: The Strait of Hormuz is an international natural waterway. So according to the United Nations law of the seas, no one is allowed to charge a fee for the transit. Right. So there may be some sort of an agreement here that could see some flows of cargo on an interim basis as the war rages on. But from a fundamental legal perspective that is not possible. Right.

But of course everybody is trying to do whatever they can in order to maybe get ships and crews of course also out of the area if they can do so. And also of course with the blessing of the marine insurers.

GIOKOS: All right, Peter Sand, really good to have you with us. Thank you so much for your insights today.

All right. The White House is crediting China for its role in the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Officials say Washington and Beijing held high level talks in that run up to the truce. As Will Ripley reports, China has a number of reasons to see the war come to an end.

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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No one knows decapitation better than I do, says the eagle in the golden robe. This AI generated viral video produced by Chinese state media.

It portrays the United States as an aggressor killing Iran's supreme leader, burning through expensive weapons while Iran responds with cheap drones, eventually running out of missiles, triggering a global oil crisis. Satire that hits uncomfortably close to reality.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: South Korea didn't help us. You know who else didn't help us? Japan.

RIPLEY (voice-over): But President Trump is giving China more credit, telling AFP Beijing helped broker the ceasefire just weeks before he set to travel there again for a high stakes meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

China's Foreign Ministry says Foreign Minister Wang Yi made 26 calls to counterparts while a special envoy traveled to the region to mediate.

China has actively worked to promote peace and push for an end to hostilities, she says. Why? Because a wider war threatens something Beijing depends on, oil. The ceasefire hinges on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. A fifth of the world's supply passes through it, most of it headed to Asia.

China is by far the largest buyer of Iranian crude, around 80 to 90 percent more than a million barrels a day. They've spent years propping up Tehran. Beijing cannot afford a prolonged conflict that shakes global markets.

China also helped broker a breakthrough between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023 and now appears to be working both sides again, publicly calling for calm, positioning itself as a responsible global power. But online in China, a flood of comments like Trump is the most incoherent and untrustworthy tribal leader in the history of mankind. The U.S. has an artillery shortage, a two-week timeout to replenish weapons stockpiles. After these two weeks, fights and bombardments will probably just resume.

In China, political content like this never goes viral unless government censors allow it.

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RIPLEY: China is walking a very careful line here, striking a diplomatic tone in public, possibly working behind the scenes and at the same time embracing the power of this AI generated content, seizing the moment to shape the global narrative casting President Trump in the United States as reckless and itself as the peace loving, responsible power even as it continues almost daily PLA military activity near Taiwan. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

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GIOKOS: All right. Still ahead, President Trump and the NATO chief discuss the president's grievances with the alliance and the war with Iran. Details on their meeting at the White House that is coming up.

Plus, farmers in Iowa are worried about the Iran war and the effects it'll have on long term oil prices. We'll have a report for you right after the short break. Stick with CNN.

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HILL: New details on President Trump's meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte at the White House on Wednesday. That meeting, of course, discussed the war with Iran. Now, according to the White House, Trump said NATO allies were tested and failed when they did not join the conflict in the way Trump wanted.

The NATO chief says he understands Trump's disappointment, but also noted many European nations haven't been helping the U.S. in other ways.

President Trump, however, continued to lash out following the meeting, posting in all caps that NATO wasn't there when we needed them and they won't be there if we need them again. Remember Greenland, that big, poorly run piece of ice? The NATO chief described the situation to CNN's Jake Tapper.

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MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: He is clearly disappointed with many NATO allies and I can see his point. But at the same time, I was also able to point to the fact that the large majority of European nations has been helpful with basing with logistics, with overflights, with making sure that they lift up to the commitments. And there is also widespread support for the fact that degrading the nuclear and the inter the ballistic missile capacity from Iran was really crucial and that only the U.S. was able at this point to do that.

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HILL: High oil prices, meantime, are hitting US Farmers especially hard in Iowa State, which President Trump won three times. A number of those farmers warned they are on the brink of something bad. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more now from Iowa.

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AARON LEHMAN, PRESIDENT, IOWA FARMERS UNION: A lot of farmer discouragement out there. Prices of our soybeans, prices of all our commodities started going down. Prices of fertilizer and other things we import to plant a crop started going up. So for a year we've seen some real chaos on all sorts of trade tensions.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's always uncertainty, obviously with farming. But as you start this season, are there more uncertainties than most?

LEHMAN: Oh yes. So many farms are reporting that they're on the brink of something bad, that their communities are on the brink of something bad.

ZELENY (voice-over): Aaron Lehman is a fifth generation Iowa farmer and worried like never before with fallout from the Iran war. LEHMAN: No one anticipated that we would have a shock to the system

like a massive increase in fertilizer prices because all the experts did not see this coming when we received this rise in fertilizer prices because of this war. And really, no one's really seen a way out.

ZELENY (voice-over): Spring planting is just around the corner here in Iowa, where the cost of fertilizer and diesel have soared since the war began.

LEHMAN: We're filling over 100 gallons in our fuel tank multiple times a week.

ZELENY: So that cost will be thousands.

LEHMAN: Of dollars, thousands of dollars. And it's not just for what we put into our combine. It's not just what we put in our tractor. In addition to that, what it takes to get my grain to my market. The trucks that are using diesel fuel there, they're feeling it as well.

ZELENY (voice-over): President Trump's promises on trade and tariffs faced even more scrutiny here now in a state he won three times.

Have you felt the whiplash of that tariff policy this past year?

WES RIETH, FARM MANAGER, LONGVIEW FARMS: Yes, I mean, I think it's hard to say for any farmer that we haven't. Right.

ZELENY (voice-over): Wes Reith is farm manager at Longview Farms, navigating an ever growing set of obstacles.

RIETH: You can look at futures prices for soybeans, you know, again, and kind of watch the pendulum swing a little bit. And I think, yes, that kind of lends itself to, you know, these parallels that we see in geopolitics or, you know, conflicts, Middle East, et cetera that, yes, create some of this uncertainty.

ZELENY (voice-over): This year, the optimism of a new season comes with even more risk.

RIETH: So we get one chance to plant and we get one chance to harvest, and that's it for the year. So we get one try every single year. And so even like in my lifetime, I might get 30 tries at this. That really puts things into perspective, like, I only, you know, the prices of fertilizer, seed, whatever, like, could go crazy. But like, we can't not plant. We still have to go out and plant the crop.

ZELENY (voice-over): For the next seven months as the crops begin to grow, just starting to poke through, a political season will also unfold, testing whether any of these challenges influence the midterm elections.

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LEHMAN: In addition to that, I think farmers are becoming more and more aware that you need to say to our elected leaders, what are you saying about the fertilizer situation? What are you saying about the trade situation? Are we going to stand up to these things that are hurting us or are we not?

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HILL: Our thanks to Jeff for that report. Well, fire officials in Brazil say a massive blaze that engulfed the roof of the Velodrome in Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Park is now under control. They say no one was hurt and there's no risk of that fire spreading to other parts of the complex.

The Velodrome was built for the 2016 Rio Olympics. It houses the Olympic Museum filled with exhibits, medals and even the torch from the Summer Games.

The fragile ceasefire appears to be holding, but there are still so many questions at this hour. At Iran, meantime, issuing warnings over Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Wednesday. We'll take a closer look. Next.

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