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Britain, France To Host Virtual Meeting On Strait Of Hormuz; U.S. Markets Move Higher As Investors Bet On End Of Iran War; Lebanon Accuses Israel Of Violating 10-Day Ceasefire. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 17, 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]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: 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 (via telephone): I think it is pretty clear from these sources that it is not to support. It isn't entirely defensive. It's almost in spite of what Washington is doing and to try and pick up the pieces of the war -- remember, none of these countries were ever consulted on.

And so they're meeting here in Paris. They'll kick off their lunch. Keir Starmer is here. He'll have lunch first of all with the French president. But also here physically today will be Giorgia Meloni, obviously, and Chancellor Merz of Germany, and then these 30 or so other world leaders.

And one of the points that the French make is that this is a bit like if you think back to the Coalition of the Willing on Ukraine when neither of the belligerents were involved but so many other countries were to try and find solutions. This is kind of the same except that it's a much larger coalition because you're talking about Middle Eastern countries, from the Indo-Pacific, from Latin America.

So the point that the French make is that it is the whole world and not least some of those vulnerable economies that are impacted by this war. And apparently, the only way we can figure it out is without either Iran or the United States at this stage because they're not invited.

So what we did hear from --

ANDERSON: Yeah.

BELL: -- French officials is that Emmanuel Macron speaks to the American president regularly. Often, they suggest that the American president's best. But essentially, this coalition is about trying to get the waterways opened again once the ceasefire has been signed -- it's got nothing to do with the fighting -- to try and ensure that the navigation remains free going forward, Becky.

ANDERSON: It's fascinating, isn't it? There is a precedent for this, of course. Europe runs the Spiders initiative, which is policing the Red Sea, of course. Keeping the Bab al-Mandab open there. That is also an incredibly important waterway.

It's good to have you, Melissa. We'll check back with you as we learn more on that.

All right. Well, still this hour we're going to see how global markets are reacting. We've seen a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel in the past 24 hours. Still waiting to find out what happens on these talks between the U.S. and Iran. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:36:50]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to EARLY START. Let's take a look at your business breakout.

Here is where the U.S. stock futures stand ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street. Let's take a quick look. A lot of green. Some optimism in the air but we will see, of course, when markets open here shortly.

Let's take a look at some of the related business headlines here.

For one, President Trump is accusing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of "destroying" the city with his tax policies. Trump's criticism comes after Mamdani announced an annual fee on luxury properties worth more than $5 million whose owners don't live in the city full-time. The mayor says the so-called "pied-a-terre" tax will raise at least $500 million for the city.

The co-founder and executive chairman of Netflix will leave the board of directors in June. During first-quarter earnings results the company announced Red Hastings will not see re-election to the board. Hastings said he focused in part on building a company that could be beloved and successful for generations. Netflix says Hastings' exit has nothing to do with the company's decision to drop its bid for CNN's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery.

And then gas prices here in the United States are gradually inching lower from their previous spikes. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $4.09. President Trump says that's not very high considering he says he eliminated the nuclear threat from Iran.

ANDERSON: Well, U.S. markets moving higher as investors become more confident they'll be able to ride out the worst oil crisis in history. The White House has expressed optimism about a potential peace deal with Iran which would presumably allow oil to flow through the Strait of Hormuz again. U.S. gas prices slowly declining. They are still though far above pre-war levels. And that optimism is that despite Iran's threat to shut down shipping in the Red Sea in addition to closing the Strait of Hormuz.

So much talk in the markets or certainly for those who are watching them about whether there's a sense of complacency here. Whether, you know, investors and traders are misjudging really what's going on and mispricing as they stand.

Let's have a look at what's going on in the Strait of Hormuz and work out from Eleni Giokos who has been monitoring this in Dubai -- what the sort of current assessment is. Eleni, what is -- what is the status at this point? We see these markets looking slightly higher today. We're not seeing a sort of a massive uptick, but we have seen these stock markets, in the U.S. at least, come back to levels that were at pre-war. They've given back their losses.

So what's the state of play at this point?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You said it brilliantly, you know -- are we seeing mispricing? And, you know, there's a lot of talk about how much of this is actually being priced in. You know, a lot hinges on what President Trump says, and he says the war in Iran is going along swimmingly and it should be ending pretty soon -- basically reiterating the very line that we've been hearing since the war started on February 28.

[05:40:00]

But when I look at WTI and Brent crude -- and while they are slightly lower based on optimism around the Lebanon and Israel ceasefire and also the potential for an extension of the Iran-U.S. ceasefire or a second round of talks whatever form that comes in -- it's very reflective in Brent crude but it's still above -- you know, well above $90 a barrel. WTI sitting at just over $87 a barrel and that's still almost 50 percent higher than what we saw pre-war.

The physical market, Becky, is still showing immense tightness. And for every day the Strait of Hormuz is blocked that's every day you don't see oil products and related products on tankers getting into the international markets.

I want you to listen to what the International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FATIH BIROL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY: I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And he says that it's going take -- in about six weeks Europe is going to run out of jet fuel.

You know, you were talking about this virtual meeting that is hosted by the U.K. and France to figure out a defensive measure to open up the Strait of Hormuz -- perhaps a coalition of countries coming together, coordinated action. There's nothing like an energy crisis to bring everyone together.

But, you know, European markets are overall mixed. But I want to quickly look at what U.S. markets are doing because many

are saying that perhaps in a parallel universe you have the S&P hitting record highs this week. The Nasdaq 100, record highs this week.

Are people mispricing the actual energy crisis that we're in right now remains to be seen, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Eleni keeping an eye on the markets for you.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:46:17]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson. And here are some of the stories that we are watching for you today.

Lebanon's army accusing Israel of multiple violations less than a day into their new ceasefire. The IDF and Hezbollah traded heavy fire in the hours leading up to what is this 10-day truce. Israel says it will not withdraw its forces from Lebanon during the pause in the fighting. And residents of southern Lebanon being warned not to return to their homes.

Well, President Trump has invited Israeli and Lebanese leaders to the White House. He says he's hoping to broker a long-term peace deal within the next week or two. In the meantime, he is warning the Iran- backed Hezbollah to "act nicely" during the 10-day ceasefire.

The president says talks between the U.S. and Iran could happen as soon as this weekend. Pakistan's army chief has been in Tehran laying the groundwork for a second round of negotiations. And President Trump hinted he might even travel to Islamabad were there any agreement to sign.

We're live now to Geneva, Switzerland. Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project International Crisis Group. It's good to have you this morning.

Let's just start off with this ceasefire in Lebanon. Iran wanted that on the table ahead of these second-round talks should they happen in Pakistan. Trump has effectively gifted Iran that. Netanyahu has conceded but made the point that this is just a temporary truce -- a truce nonetheless, Ali. The ball is now in Iran's court as far was Washington is concerned.

Your assessment?

ALI VAEZ, DIRECTOR, IRAN PROJECT INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: It's good to see you, Becky. You're right. This was one of the preconditions for Iranians to get to serious negotiations. As important as it is, it is not a sufficient condition for reaching an agreement.

That would require both sides to show flexibility. And for now there doesn't seem to be a lot of flexibility on some of the key contentious issues, including the future of Iran's enrichment program. The U.S. is still seeking a maximalist position of getting Iran to zero enrichment and the Iranians still resist that concept entirely. And so regardless of what happens in Lebanon, unless both sides are willing to show more flexibility this deal is just not going to happen.

ANDERSON: The UAE welcoming this deal in a statement. They called this "A positive step towards strengthening an environment conducive to regional stability, stressing the importance of continuing effective international coordination to prevent further escalation."

And, of course, this country, along with others around the region, will see sort of any moves towards sort of peace deals moves worth making -- although, you know, countries will have their own sort of very specific positions on this.

But if we -- if we leave that Iran -- sorry, the Israel-Lebanon peace deal aside for a moment, as we look at the kind of wider regional security architecture here. Obviously, a solution on the war between the U.S. and Iran and Israel is important.

I want you to listen to Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You notice that we're doing very well, and 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, and let's see what happens over the next week or so, you know. I think you're going to be very impressed. And if you are, vote for the Republicans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:50:05]

ANDERSON: He certainly is framing talks with Iran and a sort of -- you know, an end to this war with Iran as a win.

Briefly, is it a win?

VAEZ: Well look, Becky, the president has used similar formulations in the past saying we are very close to a deal only to then go ahead and bomb Iran, both in 2025 and in 2026. So that's not necessarily a measure of how close we are to an agreement.

And the reality is that at the end of the day he now faces a more difficult situation compared to the past because now there's also the vexing question of what happens to the Strait of Hormuz, which is directly linked to your broader point about what is the future of region's security arrangements. Will Iran and Oman have a role in setting up a new framework for what happens in the Straits of Hormuz in the future, or will it be a concession comprised of other GCC states? Maybe also with the U.S. involvement. These all have different implications in terms of the region's security architecture.

And all of this requires very careful patient, principled diplomacy, which is something that this administration has demonstrated again and again and again that it doesn't have the right skillset and the right people to conduct.

So it's hard to be optimistic beyond maybe a best-case scenario extension of the cessation of hostilities and maybe some kind of a framework understanding between the two sides. But any deal in the real sense of the word with all the details to resolve all of these problems I think is not within reach.

ANDERSON: Yeah, OK. I understand your point.

I do wonder where you believe Europe is in all of this. We're talking here and obviously, you know, it's incredibly important that the GCC is at the table, whether it is sort of physically at the table -- or sort of, you know, its ideas about regional security going forward are at least represented at the table.

Europe, you know, traditionally would play a key part in sort of diplomacy around this region. It is looking to get some sort of maritime operation going after the fighting stops in the Strait of Hormuz. It has welcomed the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.

Where does Europe actually stand right now to your mind?

VAEZ: I think Europe has become strategically irrelevant. It is behind the curve. It is an actor that has lost a lot of credibility in the eyes of the key stakeholders here. From the Iranian perspective, of course, they could never deliver on the economic promises of trying to uphold a nuclear deal -- a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran without the United States.

The Americans are not very interested in having the Europeans involved. The president has been complaining about how much support NATO has provided for the operation against Iran.

And yes, the European -- the Gulf countries might try to drag them in.

But at the end of the day look at the role that the Europeans played both in the Red Sea and also in the hot summer of 2019 in the Gulf region. None of it was really effective militarily. And again, diplomatically, I think they have lost so much credibility that they are at this stage nothing but a bystander.

ANDERSON: Hmm.

It's good to have you, Ali. Your perspective always important. Ali Vaez is in Geneva. Thank you.

I'm Becky Anderson live from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. Omar will have more news for you after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL)

[05:58:28]

JIMENEZ: We want to take you back to Douala, Cameroon as Pope Leo XIV prepares to hold mass at a local stadium.

Now, the pope has been emerging as a strong critic of the conflict in Iran. In an earlier speech made at a previous visit in the country of Cameroon he rebuked leaders using religious language to justify the war. You can see the pope there getting ready to make that speech as part of mass. This is part of a multi-country tour that the pope has been making across Africa. It's at least a second stop in Cameroon.

Now, when he initially arrived in the country, he urged the nation's government to root out corruption, and the message comes amid conflict there which erupted between government forces and Anglophone separatist groups as well.

So an important trip for the pope. Again, multiple countries. This is at least the second with comments made that have very much gotten the attention of United States leaders as well.

Meanwhile in the United States, the crew of the Artemis II mission has given their first news conference and interviews since returning to Earth. Fresh off their historic slingshot around the moon's far side the astronauts reflected on their mission speaking to CNN's Erin Burnett.

NASA astronaut Christina Koch explained how seeing the Earth from space gave her a new appreciation for our planet.

[06:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA KOCH, MISSION SPECIALIST, ARTEMIS II: I think the thing I see the most out the window is planet Earth. We saw it in so many different phases. We saw it in different sizes. We were close in proximity. We used its gravity to propel ourselves along with our translunar injection burn to the moon. We saw it as a crescent as it sat behind the moon and rose behind the moon.

And the idea that every human experience that we've invented, that we've gone through that means something to us as people -- everything that keeps up alive that's the same is all in that small orb that's hanging life a lifeboat in so much blackness, and the unifying power of that.

JIMENEZ: I'm Omar Jimenez in New York, everyone. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.