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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Lebanon Accuses Israel Of Violating Ten-Day Ceasefire; Optimism On U.S.-Iran Talks; Jet Fuel Shortage in Europe; Europe's New Age Verification App To Protect Young People. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired April 17, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:25]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York, where it's 5:00 a.m.

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

Straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: The sounds of fireworks and celebratory gunfire filled the streets of Beirut after the 10-day truce went into effect.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are remaining in Lebanon. We are not leaving.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The deal between Lebanon and Israel will likely add hope and momentum and strength to what the Pakistan team can do inside of Tehran.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's see what happens over the next week or so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jet fuel is going to be in very short supply this summer. About six weeks left of jet fuel in Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, we begin with day one of the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Already the Lebanese army accusing Israel of multiple violations. Residents of Southern Lebanon are ignoring warnings from Israel and their own government against returning to their homes. This new video shows a long line of vehicles crossing into the region, despite Israel saying it will not withdraw its forces during what is this pause in fighting?

Hezbollah says it will abide by the ceasefire agreement as long as Israel stops its attacks. Well, the hours before the ceasefire were marked by Israeli strikes on nearly 400 targets, including ambulance crews and a key bridge in southern Lebanon. U.S. President Donald Trump urging the Iran backed Hezbollah to act nicely during the truce, and he is striking an optimistic note on talks with Iran. He says the next round of negotiations could happen as soon as this weekend, and he even hinted he himself could travel to Pakistan to sign any deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly. We can do whatever we want, and it should be. It should be ending pretty soon. It was a perfect -- I mean, it's perfect. It was -- the power we have, our military. We have the most powerful military anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Well, joining me now is CNN's Nada Bashir. She's live in London. And our international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, is in Islamabad, in Pakistan.

And, Nic, I want to start with you. You just heard a very optimistic tone there by the U.S. president. What are you hearing on the ground about what happens next?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, we're just about to get into the third day where the top Pakistan interlocutors have been in Tehran trying to sort of push forward a compromise with Iran so that they can meet some of the U.S. demands, meet some of their expectations. And undoubtedly, the Iranians want to get some of their terms met. And one of those very important terms that they wanted was that ceasefire in Lebanon.

So that was a key thing that came through for the most powerful man in the country, army chief field marshal Asim Munir, and the interior minister, who have so far in Tehran met the number two of the Iranian negotiating team, the foreign minister, the number one of the Iranian negotiating team, the speaker of parliament, they met with military officials yesterday, army chiefs in Tehran. They met with the Iranian president late last night.

But they are still there. President Trump said yesterday negotiations are still ongoing, but the impression being created is that there is grounds for the talks in Tehran continuing. It's not clear if the outcome is going to be positive or not, but I think President Trump is giving that sense that he believes it is. And he has done two things here that will contribute to the Iranian understanding of whether or not they can trust the United States and where they might be moved at the moment to go ahead with some parts or all parts of this.

Number one, most importantly, they saw visibly President Trump put pressure on the Israeli prime minister on the Lebanese to get this cease fire going. And that that is something that they wanted. They saw it happen.

The other thing they will likely interpret is that President Trump, incredibly, seems overly maybe in some peoples estimates, keen to get a deal done.

[05:05:08]

So the Iranians can either see that as an opportunity to get a deal done or try to extract greater terms from the U.S. and that undoubtedly is the crux of where things are in Tehran at the moment.

ANDERSON: Nada, let's bring you in from London. You've been monitoring what has been going on between Israel and Lebanon. Of course, Iran had said no peace talks with the U.S. without a ceasefire in Lebanon. We now understand that that is in place. That was a post from Donald Trump some hours ago.

So, what is the status of that ceasefire as we understand it today this hour?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this certainly is a fragile truce between the Lebanese government and the Israeli government. Of course, important to underscore that the hostilities that we've been seeing from the outset of this war and over the last more than two years now, is direct confrontations between Iran backed Hezbollah forces in the south and the Israeli military, and, of course, the Lebanese government does not exert full control over Hezbollah forces, despite Hezbollah politicians, of course, being part of the Lebanese government.

And that is the friction point right now. And questions as to whether the fragile ceasefire can actually be sustained. And last over this two-week period, in order to allow for further talks and negotiations to take place. And, of course, the phrasing of this six point deal is very important as well. This has been essentially characterized as a goodwill agreement to allow for negotiations to take place and move forward, to allow for a cessation of hostilities, at least for this two-week period.

But of course, there have been some very clear terms put forward by the Israeli government, namely around the defense of northern Israel and around Israels continued military activities in Lebanon. Now, we understand that the Israeli military will maintain security forces. Israeli defense forces rather on the ground in Lebanon, within a ten- kilometer zone.

So, we won't be seeing any sort of withdrawal necessarily from the entirety of southern Lebanon. And they have said that they will continue to carry out what they have characterized as defensive attacks against any threat from Hezbollah. So, we may well still see the Israeli military carrying out attacks.

And, of course, we've also heard from Hezbollah, from an MP representing Hezbollah, Ibrahim Moussawi, who has said that Hezbollah will only abide by the terms of this agreement if there is some movement by the Israeli military to bring a full cessation of hostilities.

And so, whether or not there is still significant daylight and whether there is actually a firm understanding from both sides on what those terms actually look like in practice on the ground in Lebanon, of course, remains to be seen.

We've already heard from the Lebanese military accusing Israeli Defense Forces of already violating the ceasefire agreement. And of course, this really comes amid a huge amount of desperation in the country. And as you mentioned, Becky, earlier in the show, we have seen outbursts of celebration in Lebanon, in Beirut in particular, where we have seen that heavy bombardment by the Israeli military and where so many of the displaced are now sheltering.

We have seen celebrations, people have been desperate for some level of peace and security in the country from the outset of this war, in the beginning of march, were already seeing families as well who have been displaced from the south gathering together to attempt to return to their homes. Despite warnings from the Lebanese government not to return because of continued threats. And of course, despite warnings as well from the Israeli military that they are still present on the ground in the south.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Nada, and Nic, thank you very much indeed.

And, Omar, I think -- I'm going to hand it back to you, but I think it's clear from our colleagues reporting there that the next hours are going to be absolutely crucial there, where we see that truce, albeit fragile, between Israel and Hezbollah at this point.

And indeed, waiting on news out of Islamabad on when we might see a U.S. delegation meet the Iranians there once again, and whether or not we may even see Donald Trump in Islamabad. There are certainly some signs of optimism, but we will have to wait and see just how this all pans out.

Back to you.

JIMENEZ: Yeah. Something the president has been questioned about repeatedly. We will see. We'll get back to you very shortly.

Speaking of President Donald Trump here in the United States, he is looking to boost Republicans prospects ahead of the midterms as the Iraq war drives up gasoline prices, inflation, and the cost of living in general. He hosted a roundtable discussion on taxes just a few hours ago in Las Vegas.

[05:10:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Every single American at every income level has more money in their pockets this week because of the Republican tax policies. And we've got to win the midterms. If we don't, these policies are going to be taken away from you. The taxes are going to go through the roof.

We had the best economy in the history of our country in my first term, and we're blowing it out now. We're blowing it away now. And despite our little diversion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, of course, there are questions over what the economy will look like moving forward. It is expected to be a key issue for voters heading into the midterms later this year, as we typically see in elections here in the United States.

All right. Meanwhile, forceful remarks from Pope Leo during his Africa tour. I want to show you some live images coming to us from Douala, Cameroon, as the pope prepares to hold mass at a local stadium there, he's been greeted by people in the streets. Of course, the mass of people awaiting him here.

Earlier, though, the pope told crowds that, quote, the world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, end quote. He also rebuked, quote, masters of war and those who use religious language to justify fighting. Pope Leo didn't name names, but his latest warning follows days of insults from president Trump over the popes opposition to the war in Iran.

And back in Washington. CNN questioned the president about his spat with the pontiff

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Are you fighting with the pope? And are you worried it's upsetting your --

TRUMP: No, no, I don't -- I have to do what's right. The pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants. But I can disagree.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Thousands turn out to see the pope on Thursday in Bamenda, Cameroon, which is the epicenter of a bloody civil war. You can see some of the images here of people turning out now. While there, he condemned the exploitation of African resources. Cameroon is stop number two on Pope Leo's four country journey today. He's also expected to visit a catholic hospital.

All right. A final round of dangerous, widespread, severe storms here in the United States will be heading for the central part of the country in the coming hours. The storms could cause more destruction to parts of the great lakes already grappling with historic flooding. You see some of it here. The most serious threat extends from Oklahoma to Wisconsin, affecting more than 10 million people.

In Michigan, for example, the floodwaters washed out a bridge, and residents in some areas have been advised to prepare for possible evacuation. Then in Wisconsin, people use sandbags to shore up their property where the ground is waterlogged from one of the wettest starts to spring on record. You see some of the work here.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the forecast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's not just some rain. We're talking record levels of rain across several midwestern states. Here's a look at some video behind me. This is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Again, you can see the streets and roadways just covered with water. Some of those cars dangerously driving through some of those conditions.

Now, Milwaukee specifically has already had their wettest April on record. Keep in mind we still have half the month to go. They've had ten straight days of rain and counting. And really, anywhere you see this dark red color here on the map has really been in a similar scenario. They have just been inundated with all of that water over the last two weeks.

And it's not just Wisconsin, but a large portion of Michigan has also been inundated with water, and they've too been dealing with some flooding concerns.

In addition to flooding, we've also had severe storms. This video from Kansas showing the large hailstones really crashing in through that back windshield. Numerous reports over the last 24 to 36 hours of anything from golf ball all the way up to grapefruit sized hail, more severe storms are expected to continue Friday. That stretches from Wisconsin all the way back down through Texas. Swaths of damaging winds are expected. We could be looking at wind gusts of 70, even 80 miles per hour.

Tornadoes, some of which could be strong. We're talking EF2, three or even stronger than that potentially. And again, very large hail talking tennis ball size or even larger.

So, here's that front. Now as that system slides off to the east late Friday afternoon and into the evening, that's when you're really going to see a lot of those storms begin to fire back up. That line will continue to slide off to the east early on Saturday, impacting more of the Midwest Ohio valley down through the Tennessee valley. And then by the time we get to Saturday evening now, the main focus here is really going to be across portions of the northeast and mid-Atlantic.

And while the threat does decrease a little bit Saturday, we do still have the potential for some strong to severe thunderstorms.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right. Allison, thank you so much.

More news in a moment. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:19:04]

JIMENEZ: Cuba is marking 65 years since the start of the Bay of Pigs invasion, which was the failed U.S.-backed attempt to oust then leader Fidel Castro. This year's commemorations come at a time of renewed tension with the United States. CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more from Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the middle of one of the worst economic crises in Cuban history, increasing scarcity, they are putting on a show of public support for the Cuban government. This is the 65th anniversary of the beginning of the U.S.'s Bay of Pigs failed invasion of Cuba. Also, when Fidel Castro, for the first time declared that his revolution was socialist, setting up for the alliance that he had for decades with the Soviet Union.

So this is an incredibly symbolic moment for the Cuban government at an incredibly precarious time, because, of course, there is an oil blockade of this island that has been going on for months, with the exception of one Russian ship that has come in, the government feels increasingly the Trump administration's push for them to open up economically and politically could lead to an invasion.

[05:20:08]

We've heard President Donald Trump say that Cuba could be next, that U.S. forces could attack this island. So, people are very much on edge right now, and the government wants to show that they are not bending. They are not backing down, that while they're willing to talk to the United States, they are not willing to make major concessions, not willing to change the leadership of this island.

So as each day goes by, you feel more and more tension. And also, amongst government supporters, more resistance to new U.S. threats to this island.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right. We want to show you some protesters in Caracas, Venezuela, on Thursday. This is some of them demanding an increase in salaries and a transition to democratic elections. Demonstrators carried Venezuelan and U.S. flags as they marched to the U.S. embassy there. The marchers included union members, civil groups and relatives of political prisoners.

Now at the embassy, the protesters handed over a document demanding a meeting with the incoming top U.S. diplomat to Venezuela. Salaries have remained very low in the country, with many people living in poverty. Despite the low wages, though, some protesters have hope for the future of their country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It hasn't been noticed in the streets yet. Any change? Salaries are still very poor. We're talking about less than $10 a month. The situation for the average Venezuelan citizen is really very, very critical. But there's, let's say, a kind of light that fills us with hope. And we think that in the mid-term, things can change and lead to what Venezuelans hope for, which is democratic, free and transparent elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: A lot to watch for moving forward. Europe, meanwhile, is taking steps to protect young people online. The European Commission has announced a new age verification app that will give users a sort of digital ID card to prove their age without sharing actual personal data.

CNN's Clare Duffy has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: This is a huge move by Europe to make this a more centralized, practical way for tech platforms across the internet to verify users' ages. This, of course, is coming amid this global push to get tech platforms, and in particular social media sites, to do more to protect young users.

And much of that call has been for these tech platforms to verify users' ages so that they can either provide a safer experience for teens and kids, or they can keep the youngest users off of those platforms entirely.

Australia in December passed a world-first law banning young people under the age of 16 from accessing social media.

In the wake of that, we are seeing a number of other countries, including many in Europe, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, saying that they plan to introduce similar rules.

But we've heard from the tech companies practical concerns about how to do age verification, worries about privacy in terms of having to collect sensitive information and documents from users to verify their ages. Some of these tech platforms have started using A.I. to do this, but there are some questions about accuracy there.

So Europe has essentially said, look, we are going to handle this. European Commission announcing the launch of this new age verification app, where users in the European Union will be able to download this app, provide a passport or ID to verify their age, and then essentially they'll get a digital ID.

And any time they are going to a social media platform or other tech site that needs to verify their age, it will query the app, and the app will essentially tell that site whether the user is above or below a certain age threshold.

So, 18 or 16, depending on the rules. But it won't share their personal data with that third-party site. So it won't share their actual birth date or address other personal information.

And so, Europe is really billing this as a privacy-protective solution. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is saying now there is no excuse for tech platforms not to verify users' ages. And I do expect that we will see other regions of the world, other countries moving very quickly to adopt a model like this.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right. Clare Duffy, appreciate the reporting. More news in a moment. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:28:44]

ANDERSON: In the coming hours, Britain and France will kick off a joint effort to try to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway, of course, is largely shut by Iran, which is now preventing about a fifth of the world's oil from reaching the market.

And of course, as you'll be well aware, there is a blockade now in place outside of that strait by the U.S. But the U.K. and France are about to host a virtual meeting of about 40 world leaders aimed at building an international mission to reopen the strait fully.

Now, the British prime minister's office says the mission would involve military forces, but it would be strictly defensive.

Melissa Bell standing by in Paris, where the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will co-host this meeting.

It's good to have you, Melissa. The message from France going into this is the following. We're going to create a multinational force, strictly defensive in nature and ready to deploy as soon as needed, conditions permitting.

What are we talking about here? Is this to support complement what the U.S. force is doing? Is this to replace it? Is it clear at this point?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it is pretty clear from these sources that it is not to support. It is entirely defensive. It's almost in spite of what Washington is doing, and to try and pick up the pieces of a war. Remember that none of these countries.