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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

U.S. CENTCOM: Naval Blockade In Hormuz To Begin Monday; IRGC: U.S. Naval Blockade Of Iranian Ports "Illegal"; Police Clear Fuel-Cost Protest Blockades In Ireland; Rory McIlroy Secures Second Consecutive Championship Title. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 13, 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]

HAMIDREZA AZIZI, VISITING FELLOW, GERMAN INSTITUTE FOR INTL. & SECURITY AFFAIRS: To do that, especially given how much of a leverage it has become for Iran, especially in the negotiations that we saw in Islamabad a couple of days ago. So as you mentioned, it's still not clear how it's going to be implemented and this kind of, you know, differentiation between Iranian ports and non-Iranian ports, it seems that it has already, you know, faced the pushback from the Iranian side.

Because what I saw just an hour ago, the announcements by the Iranian Armed Forces, it was a rather vague threat, but saying that the security is going to be either for all the ports in the region or none of them. So that could be an indication that Iran may somehow directly or indirectly, you know, start targeting again the, you know, assets or even the ports around the region. So it's very challenging to implement and also very risky in terms of potential escalation that it can create.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: It's clear that this idea is to really squeeze Iranian exports of oil and other commodities, of course, petrochemical sort of use as well. So we understand perhaps the thinking from Washington, how it is implemented, of course, is still unclear.

I do want to turn to the talks. Over the weekend, they ended without a deal, 21-hour marathon sort of evening into night, and we haven't seen fighting restart. Donald Trump says the ceasefire is still in place. We've got a week to run on that.

What do you believe will happen next? Could we see a start of the full aerial war in which the Gulf, of course, where I am, was targeted in Iran's strikes? Or do you believe the focus is likely to shift entirely to the straight now?

AZIZI: Well, it's, of course, very complicated, especially given the number of actors involved. So it's as we know, not just about Iran and the United States, we have Israel, of course, also as a party to the war, which we know is not really happy with the ceasefire, and they've been pushing for the resumption of the war, or at least they've been preparing for that.

What I can see at the moment is that neither the United States nor Iran wants to, you know, return to the active phase of the war. And I see this threat and the threat of, you know, a naval blockade around the Strait of Hormuz as a kind of middle way by Trump to somehow, you know, withdraw from its earlier threat of targeting Iran's energy infrastructure, eradicating the Iranian civilization, and so on and so forth.

But as I mentioned, you know, the challenges are quite significant in the sense that, for example, if -- as Donald Trump mentioned in another part of his social media post, the U.S. warships get close to the Strait of Hormuz for minesweeping operations, and then Iranians respond by, you know, firing missiles or drones, that can escalate very easily.

And that can be the case also if Israel decides to, you know, go for a clandestine operation, another decapitation attack or something. So the stakes are still high, I would say.

ANDERSON: Hamidreza, always good to have you. Hamidreza Azizi is in Berlin for us.

And he, Brian, identifying three core issues, the control of the Strait, U.S. demands on the nuclear program, namely zero enrichment, and Iran's demand to include Lebanon in the final deal. The days ahead will provide us more clarity over exactly what happens next.

For the time being, let's hand it back to you in Washington.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: Yes, we will see what happens if they can bridge those divides.

Meanwhile, Wall Street will soon open for the first time since President Trump threatened to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. Coming up, the latest on how markets are looking after a weekend of tense negotiations.

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[05:39:01]

ABEL: Welcome back to Early Start. This is your business breakout. Here is where the U.S. futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. The Dow down more than 230 points ahead of trading the S&P 500. The S&P 500 is down about 37 points and the Nasdaq futures down around 150 points. A rough start to the week there for the stock markets.

Checking some of today's business headlines. Now the potential U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is putting further strain on global fuel markets. Crude oil futures climbed back above $100 a barrel on Sunday after peace talks yielded very few results over the weekend. Experts warn it could take months for oil prices to return to pre-war levels due to shipment delays and lengthy repairs to restore damaged facilities. Those failed peace talks also making an impact in currency markets with the Korean won weakening more than 1 percent against the dollar Monday. The nominee to be governor of the Bank of Korea says he's monitoring the market and the bank would have to respond if the currency falls excessively, but considering that the one strengthened in recent weeks, no action was needed right now, he says.

[05:40:13]

Maine could soon be the first U.S. state to ban new data centers. A state lawmaker wants to declare a pause to study things like how much electricity and water they use and the impacts they have on jobs and local economies. Temporary bans are being proposed in several other states and dozens of bans are already in place at county and city levels. There are currently more than 4,000 data centers in the U.S.

Just ahead, the latest on how the Irish government is trying to ease a fuel crisis as protesters block roads and infrastructure across the country.

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[05:45:19]

ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel.

Here are some stories we are watching today. The U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a blockade on all traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command says it will begin enforcing the maritime blockade in the coming hours.

President Trump's announcement comes after U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad failed to reach a deal over the weekend. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marking his first 100 days in office. At a rally in Queens on Sunday, the Democratic socialist championed his record and promoted new initiatives aimed at addressing the city's affordability crisis and improving quality of life for New Yorkers.

U.S. House Democrat Eric Swalwell has announced he is withdrawing from the California governor's race. Swalwell facing several allegations of sexual misconduct separately reported by CNN and the San Francisco Chronicle. Swalwell denies the allegations, but he's facing calls from Democrats in Congress to resign.

The growing fuel crisis caused by the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is raising concerns across Europe. Germany's coalition government has just announced fuel price relief for consumers and businesses worth almost $2 billion to help alleviate the pressure. And in Ireland, where diesel prices have jumped more than 20 percent since the start of the war, police have been dismantling blockades set up by protesters angry over those soaring prices.

Despite refusing to negotiate with the protesters, the Irish government announced more than $500 million worth of tax cuts and other support to help offset the rising costs. And it's also begun providing police escorts for oil tankers. For more on the impacts on Ireland, I want to bring in Pat Leahy, political editor for The Irish Times. Pat, thank you for your time this morning. Can you first give us an understanding of these protests? Because as we know, high fuel costs has become a global issue as a result of the war in Iran. Why is it that we are seeing protests like these in Ireland and what are they hoping to achieve?

PAT LEAHY, POLITICAL EDITOR, THE IRISH TIMES: Good morning. I think there's an element of the straw that broke the camel's back about it. I mean, obviously, in Ireland, we've been seeing increases in the cost of living across the board in recent years. We're no different to other countries in that regard.

But these protests were triggered, as you said in your introduction, by the recent sharp increases in the price of petrol and diesel at the pumps. And they began, you know, innocuously and desperately enough last weekend. But in the early days of last week, they really snowballed into something very much more significant and something which threatened the government's control over things like fuel moving in and out of depots and that really.

And they really brought parts of the country to a standstill in the final days of last week. Now, over the weekend, as you said, police have dismantled many of the barricades. There's still some sporadic protests this morning, but a much more muscular police presence around places like oil refineries and depots. And in tandem with that, then, as you mentioned, the government unveiled a very significant package of measures last night.

ABEL: And Pat, are these protests not in a way counterproductive? Because some of the issues with prices is the disruption in supply, right? And as protesters create blockades, it's preventing the fuel from getting to the pumps.

LEAHY: Very true. And this was a point made repeatedly by the government saying that, look, we, you know, we're facing enough difficulties with the supply of fuel, and particularly when you look at the very uncertain political situation and military situation in the Middle East exacerbated again over the weekend.

But I think what was driving these protests was just anger and a sense that the government had to intervene to help people in very practical ways, essentially by bringing down cutting government taxes on fuel and bringing -- therefore bringing down the price. So I think what the protesters were doing and, you know, there wasn't a terribly centralized, organized operation that was running these protests.

They were locally spontaneous in many places. But what most of the protesters said they wanted was to force the government, even if it took blockading and shutting down fuel supplies. At one stage, about a third of the gas stations in the country were -- had either run out or were facing running out of supplies.

[05:50:11]

The goal of the protesters, by blocking all that up, was to force the government to act. And in some respects, I suppose you could say they've been successful.

ABEL: I was just going to ask, is there any sense that the protests were a success? Because it some of Ireland's leaders are listening. Fuel price relief to the tune of EUR 1.6 billion for customers and businesses and tax cuts to try and help offset some of the rising fuel costs, as we've mentioned.

Aside from the war ending, what more can be done? What would bring an end to the protest?

LEAHY: I mean, I think, you know, largely the protests are winding down now. As I mentioned earlier, access to places like the country's only oil refinery and to a couple of very significant fuel depots has been enforced by police. And I think you will see a pretty strong police presence at those kind of crucial pinch points to ensure that fuel continues to flow in the future.

But undoubtedly, I think the actions by the protesters have fed into politics and have forced the government to act. I mean, the Irish government is fortunate in that it is running a very significant budget surplus at the moment and has done for several years. And I think that's what the government has been relying on.

I mean, just in terms of the scale of it, you mentioned in your introduction that Germany, whose economy is maybe 15, 20 times the size of Ireland, its government has unveiled a EUR 2 billion package. The Irish government last night unveiled EUR 500 million package, in addition to a quarter of EUR 1 billion, which was announced just three weeks ago.

So that's very, very significant. And I guess will make a difference to people's pockets because it will make a difference at the pumps for now anyway.

ABEL: All right. Pat Leahy, political editor of The Irish Times for us in Dublin, really appreciate you giving us a lay of the land. Thank you.

LEAHY: My pleasure.

ABEL: Still to come, Rory McIlroy's Masters tournament win was anything but a sure thing when he started that final round. How he pulled off his second straight championship title, that's ahead.

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[05:56:53]

ABEL: The Celtics didn't need a win in their final game of the regular season so they rested their top seven scores. They beat Orlando Magic anyway. Luka Garza connected on a late three-pointer here. Boston winning the game 111 to 108. The Celtics will face either Orlando or the 76ers in their first playoff series.

Next up for the NBA on Sunday was the Miami Heat versus the Atlanta Hawks. Bam Adebayo scoring 25 points. He grabbed 10 rebounds for Miami. Since Atlanta had already clinched its spot in the playoffs they sat their starters. Miami won 143 to 117.

And then Victor Wembanyama sat out as the Spurs faced the Nuggets. Denver's Nikola Jokic scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the first half. De'Aaron Fox connecting on a little three-pointer for the Spurs. But the Nuggets they win 128 to 111 clinching the third seed in the Western Conference.

And to what I was watching all weekend long, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has clinched a second straight title at the Masters. His victory was hard won after a dramatic day on Augusta National's famous greens. It puts him in a rare brotherhood of just three other players in the history of golf to have won back-to-back green jackets.

CNN's Andy Scholes brings us the highlights of the day.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well this was quite the roller coaster here in Augusta but somehow Rory did it. Ever since he had the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history, Rory's been trying to hang on for dear life. And on Sunday in the final round, Rory actually fell behind to Justin Rose by two shots at one point. But the difference like it's been at so many Masters came down to Amen Corner.

And on 12, Rory a fabulous shot off the tee. He would birdie the hole. Rose meanwhile had bogeyed 12 moments before. Rory then went to 18 up two strokes. But then he made that an adventure hitting his tee shot way right. But he was able to get around those trees and would putt in to win the Masters letting out a huge scream.

He then shared an awesome moment with his daughter Poppy, wife Erica and his parents as he's the champ once again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RORY MCILROY, 2-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION: I was a little kid with a dream and the support that I have from my family, my friends, everyone back home, you know, some people probably thought it was outlandish to dream of the things that I wanted to do but I had amazing support from back home and can't thank them all enough for that continued support.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now the win makes Rory just the fourth golfer ever to win back-to-back Masters joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods. And this is the sixth major win of his career. And Rory had said this week that he was playing here in Augusta this time around with the weight lifted off of his shoulders because he had finally won here at the Masters.

Well now, he's on top of the world as the Masters champ once again.

ABEL: Thanks, Andy. A tradition unlike any other.

Miami Skyline is now missing a huge hotel after it was demolished on Sunday. Look at this.

Down she goes. People are cheering as the Mandarin Oriental Hotel came down in what was reportedly the cities largest implosion in more than a decade. A developer told CNN affiliate, WFOR, this implosion took years of planning because it happened on a tiny man-made island just off the mainland.

That does it for us, thank you for joining us here on "Early Start", I'm Brian Abel Washington CNN "This Morning" with Audie Cornish, starts right now.