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U.S., Iran Offer Differing Details Of What's In Tentative Deal; Trump, Macron Meet Ahead Of G7 Summit In France; Trump: Iran Agreement Is "All Signed"; Trump: Text Of Agreement Will Be Released "Pretty Soon"; Trump: "The Strait Is Already Partially Open". Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired June 15, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: More than 83 percent said they believe the risks posed by social media outweighed the benefits. But of course, this is a sweeping measure, it is not expected to be implemented immediately. The bill will be brought before parliament just before Christmas. And it is expected that the ban would be implemented early next spring, and the government is already exploring other options as well, including potentially enforcing a curfew on social media for anyone under the age of 18.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CO-ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: Nada Bashir, updating us on that. Thank you very, very much. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us here in the Situation Room this morning. Inside Politics today with our friend and colleague, Manu Raju, starts right now.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR: It's the agreement everyone is selling, but no one is defining. I'm Manu Raju, in for Dana Bash. Let's go behind the headlines at Inside Politics.

You're looking at live pictures of Evian-les-Bains, that's in France, where some of the world's most powerful leaders are gathered for the G7 summit. Any moment now, President Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, will be speaking to reporters. Hopefully, we'll get some clarity on the question that is dominating this entire summit.

Is there actually an Iran deal? Washington says there's a deal, Tehran says there's a deal, but when it comes to what the two sides actually agreed to, the accounts don't really match, and no text has been released, though Vice President Vance says it will be in the next few days.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live for us in Geneva, Switzerland, is traveling with President Trump. So, Alayna, while we wait for President Trump to talk, what do we know about this agreement?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, a very busy day here already, Manu, especially with all of the new information we are getting about this agreement between the U.S., Iran, something, of course, that is really going to dominate the G7 summit over the next three days. One thing I want to bring to your attention is what we just heard from a Trump administration official on a call with reporters. They confirmed that the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran was signed digitally yesterday. They said the Vice President J.D. Vance and, of course, the president himself, President Donald Trump, both signed the agreement digitally.

And then also the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, he also signed this agreement. Ghalibaf, of course, being one of the hardliners involved in these negotiations behind the scenes. So that sets the stage for where things stand, but there's many questions at this point about what exactly is actually in this agreement. One, we have not yet seen the text for this. I know many of the European leaders who are meeting face to face with the president this week are eager to see the specifics and the text as well.

We have been told from a number of different officials, you also heard the Vice President J.D. Vance, kind of do a tour of the morning shows to talk about this. That one, it would be this commitment on the Iranians' part not to develop a nuclear weapon, and also to dismantle the program that they currently have, as well as a provision to be discussed down the line about the United States going in to retrieve their highly enriched uranium that is still in Iran's possession and destroy it on site.

Of course, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. There were a lot of questions about when we would actually see traffic going through there. I remind you that yesterday we heard President Trump himself argue that the Strait wouldn't be opened until Friday, when that formal signing ceremony for this agreement would take place here in Geneva. But now, we're hearing a different word from officials saying that actually we're starting to see vessels already transmit through the Strait, and that it likely won't be back to normal for another couple of weeks, but it is going to be reopened pretty immediately. Here, we'll see if that's actually the case as it plays out in that crucial waterway.

And then the other thing I want to talk about is that 60-day period for technical negotiations. We know that the provision inside this agreement would trigger a 60-day period for them to really talk about the specifics on how to implement the different top lines laid out in this memorandum of understanding. One thing that has been a crucial, you know, disagreement that we're hearing, we're hearing different things from what the Iranians saying on this front, from what the U.S. is saying is this question of monitory compensation --

RAJU: I'm going to jump into Trump and Macron speaking right now. Let's listen to them.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And that was Cyril is from France. Did you watch the fight?

EMMANUEL MACRON, PRESIDENT OF FRANCE: Yeah.

TRUMP: How was that?

MACRON: I saw it, but I saw it --

TRUMP: Honestly, that was a great fight. It was a great evening at the White House.

MACRON: I will say a few words from that (inaudible)

[12:05:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MACRON: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE). I wanted to say, I mean, to commend President Trump for celebration yesterday, and to welcome President Trump and ministers and his team for being here in Evian for the G7. I think yesterday was signed a very important agreement peace deal with Iran. And it's a very important one, because first it will fix the nuclear issue, and it's a very important matter for peace, for the whole world, and it will reopen Hormuz.

It will provide peace in Lebanon, and so we are ready to take our fair share of the burden and be part of the commitment of the international community in order to support this deal, and we will discuss about that together and with colleagues later on, but it's a very important step towards peace, but as well for global economy.

We will have the occasion to discuss about the war in Ukraine in order to reengage together and negotiate a good and solid peace and sustainable peace, and President Zelenskyy will be with us as well tomorrow. And obviously, we will have the occasion to bring this G7 to speak about a series of issues from rare earth, critical minerals, trade, et cetera, where we have to build convergence amongst the G7 members.

And it will be the occasion for us to celebrate the 250 years of independence for the U.S. and Versailles is a good place because this is where the king and his minister of foreign affairs at the time did support the U.S. during years, but as well prepared what we call the Paris Treaty in 1783, which was the final point of this war. So, it's a great to know, and a great pleasure to have you, Mr. President in Evian-les-Bains.

TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you. So, Emmanuel has been a special friend of mine. We've had a fantastic relationship. We've worked on many deals together. I'm very happy to say very -- we signed the deals all signed, and the Strait is already partially opened. As you know, they're doing a little hunting for a couple of mines that they've already found, but it's -- essentially ships are starting to go out. Now on Friday, it will be completely opened.

We got along very well with Iran. It's a different set of leaders. As you know, the first set is gone, the second set is gone, and we found the third set to be very smart, strong, very smart, but we ended up making a deal. I felt badly that we had to go back on the attack for two nights, and I thought a third, but we made it before that happened.

But I think a lot of great things are going to happen in the Middle East right now, and very importantly, the oil is plummeting down, and the stock market is shooting up like a rocket today, like record kind of numbers, and the oil has taken its biggest plunge, and we're into the low numbers, not quite back yet, Kevin, to the extent, but we're getting close to the numbers we were before it all started, and the main thing is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

They fully agreed to that with strong policing powers, and they won't have a nuclear weapon, which is what it was all about, because they probably would have used it if they had it. So, we had two big moments when they terminated the JCPOA, that was the Obama deal, the Barack Hussein Obama deal. And when I terminated that, it was very important because it was a road to a nuclear weapon. It was a horrible deal for the United States. It was a deal where billions of dollars was given to Iran.

It was a deal where 1.7 billion in cash was put on a Boeing seven, well, not a seven, 757 I guess, it's right, but it was put on a big, beautiful Boeing 757. They needed a Boeing 747 to be honest with you, because it was a lot of cash. 1.7 billion was taken out of the banks and given to Iran, and on top of that, tens of billions of dollars was spent.

[12:10:00]

So, they tried to bribe them to make a deal that didn't work. It never works. And we -- we've done a great job, and hopefully it's going to be a good relationship, and we're going to get along. And if we don't, we go back to where we started, but I don't think that's going to be necessary. The Iran deal that we made is going to bring a lot of -- a lot of success to the world because the oil was really clogged up there for a while.

He would call me on occasion, say, come on, please, let's go with the oil prices, but the oil is coming way down. So, I'm very honored by it. I want to thank you for your help. You've always been out, and it's an honor to be with you. We had a very good conversation yesterday with President Zelenskyy and President Putin. And I see maybe we can do something. I really do. I think they're both open to it.

So, I'm going to -- now that this is finished, we're going to be focusing on that. See, we can get that one done. 25,000 people a month are dying mostly, mostly soldiers, and that shouldn't happen, but had two very good conversations yesterday. We'll be talking about it, and we had a really exciting, I think, maybe one of the most incredible evenings in the history of the White House.

We had an evening last night with the fighters, and I was very happy. I called last night, very late last night, to congratulate you because in the heavyweight division, the French fighter won. I don't know, is that maybe more important than the World Cup? To some people it might be -- to some people it might be. You have a good team in the world, very good team, but you have good fighters too, and you're a great country, and it's an honor to be with you. Thank you very much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, sir, are you going to try to attend the signing ceremony on Friday?

TRUMP: Well, it depends. J.D. is coming in for it. He was originally going to do it. I'll probably be gone by then. We're having dinner in a day and a half, right? We're going to be staying quite late. So, I may be involved, I may not, but J.D. was coming in for that specifically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, when will the text of the MoU be released?

TRUMP: I think pretty soon. I would say, I mean, I want it to be released because it's a very powerful document. It's not like the Obama document, which was just a terrible document. This is a very powerful document, and I want it to be released, so probably pretty soon. I would say after -- sometime after Friday, because the Strait opens complete -- it's open now, but it opens completely. We'll have all the mines knock out for the most part. We have a lot of lanes right now already, so I think -- I think sometime -- I think sometime in the very near future, yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, does the deal involve any sanctions relief for Iran? When would that go in --

TRUMP: No, it doesn't. Well, they have to. It's really a behavioral thing. If they do what they're supposed to do, that starts taking effect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE). Mr. President, what do you expect from France?

TRUMP: Well, I would love them to do that. I don't think we're going to need much help, because we have an agreement where it's going to be open and its toll-free argument on that. It's toll-free. So, I don't think we're going to need much help, but I don't think it's a bad idea to have a ship or two up here from a few countries. You'd be a great country to do it, because you never know what happens, but I think it's going to be open, and I think it's going to be free sailing.

We do want to see if we can straighten out the Lebanon -- the Lebanon thing, because it just seems to just never end and that's a mini version of what we were doing, but and it should not be tough, should not be tough. So, Hezbollah, we have to -- we have to -- have a little talk with them.

(CROSSTALK)

MACRON: (FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

[12:15:00]

(CROSSTALK)

MACRON: Thank you.

RAJU: All right. we were just listening to President Trump, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking for about 10 minutes at the G summit there. Trump making some news on a few different fronts, saying this deal with Iran was quote, is all signed. He says, quote, all signed. He says that Iran is part of this deal, will not have a nuclear weapon. He says that there will not be sanctions relief, he said, is a behavioral thing.

And if Iran changes its behavior, then perhaps there could be some down the line. He did say that -- didn't sound like he was going to go to the signing ceremony on Friday, and also, mentioned that they need to deal with the issue in Lebanon, which seems to be a big problem in trying to see this deal actually being executed and implemented.

Let's break this all down here. Alayna Treene is still with us. She is with us from traveling with the president in Geneva, Switzerland. I'm also joined by CNN global affairs analyst Karim Sadjadpour, and CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

So, Alayna, what is your takeaway from what the president said there about the nuclear weapon? Specifically, he said Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. Is that what we understand that Iran has agreed to as well.

TREENE: Well, that's where some of this confusion and the desire to get the text of this memorandum of understanding, Manu, is so crucial. Look, this is what the president had said would always be the crux of a deal. This commitment from the Iranians to never be able to produce a nuclear weapon, of course, it's nuanced. We know that the signing of this agreement is triggering a 60-day period of technical negotiations to discuss just that.

How they are going to really prevent Iran from being able to develop a nuclear weapon. The mechanics around the U.S. going in to retrieve and destroy the highly enriched uranium still in their possession, a lot of that still to be worked out, Manu, in this 60-day period that is triggered by this signing of the agreement.

But things I also want to note that he said that I found very interesting, one was on the Strait of Hormuz. There was a lot of questions about when it would be reopened and also whether or not it would be permanently reopened and toll-free, like President Donald Trump had suggested.

One, we heard the president argue that it will take roughly two weeks to see a reopening of this Strait, but argue that you're starting to see it that there the U.S. is going to look for some of the mines that the Iranians had laid in the Strait, but that you should start seeing traffic really pick up there soon.

And then on Friday, he said Friday, noting the day that this agreement is supposed to have a signing ceremony here in Geneva, that is when it will be fully reopened. That's kind of contradicting, as well, what we've heard from Trump administration officials that say, it's going to take some time. It'll be at least a couple weeks until you can really see this reopen.

The other was that he suggested he probably will not be here on Friday for the signing ceremony, and instead J.D. Vance, the vice president, is likely to be there in his place, that he doesn't really want to extend his trip. But by and large, what he is arguing is much of what we have heard from the vice president and others about what they want this deal to do, particularly this idea that it is performance-based, not exactly that what we are hearing from the Iranians, Manu.

RAJU: Yeah. The Iranians want that immediate sanctions' relief, and he also said the deal with these texts of the deal. We ever want to see the Texas deal, maybe released quote, sometime after Friday. We said very soon, so we'll see what that actually means.

Nic, the U.S. and Iran did seem to disagree going into the president's remarks here and it still seems to be the case. They seem to be disagreeing on some of the key aspects of this deal, whether it is to open the Strait of Hormuz to toll-free, and whether U.S. is actually going to unfreeze that money for Iran. So, what are you hearing from your sources?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah. Look, from what the president said that clearly, there's not going to be a toll, that's what he said. The Iranians are framing this not as a toll, but they're going to manage the Strait of Hormuz, along with Oman. That does appear to require some monetary commitment from insurers, from shipping companies, none of that specific.

And it's very interesting on that $12 billion of course because the Iranians are actually saying that the opening, the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of the U.S. blockade, the ability of Iran to sell its oil assets on the global markets without any international sanctions. All of that, all of that has to be done conditional, they say, before they get to the thorny issue of the sort of nuclear, highly enriched uranium of Iran's commitments to not have a nuclear weapon. So, all of that they want to see done first before they get into that tough stuff.

[12:20:00]

But there were a couple of things the president said there that I found actually very, very interesting. He talked about, this is finished. I'm ready to move on now to look at the Russia-Ukraine potential ceasefire and agreement there. I think that's a massive statement because everyone knows that this 60-day is going to be the most contentious 60 days with the toughest issues.

And I don't think there are many Middle East experts out there who remotely believe that the 60 days is enough, and there are not many pitfalls along the way. So, the president clearly indicating, he's pivoting his attention away. That's going to go to J.D. Vance. The Iranians have said J.D. Vance will begin after that signing ceremony Friday to get into talks with their top representatives as well about, you know, working through all these points on the memorandum of understanding.

Another point that the president made there, and there will be strong policing powers, he said. Of course, we haven't seen the memorandum of understanding. What is it he means by strong policing powers? Policing the Strait of Hormuz, policing any nuclear agreement. I certainly, in conversation with sources in the Middle East, very senior sources, they say a permanent inspection regime of Iran's nuclear capabilities without end.

There is no horizon on it. They want to see that a strong inspection process put in place. And the other thing the president talked about there. Well, if this doesn't work out, we'll go back to the beginning. So, appearing to say we could go back to war again, which, of course, is what the Iranians say, if they fear and is at the root of their distrust of the whole process all along.

RAJU: Yeah. And to your point about Ukraine, he did say that he spoke to Zelenskyy and Putin, and so, we'll see what ultimately comes out of that. If those talks about ending that war begin to take the president's focus into that conflict. Karim, I want to ask you, what President Trump, -- what the president actually got from this war. Remember what he said a week into this, he said, there will be no deal with Iran except quote, unconditional surrender.

So, that was the president's statement here, and it doesn't seem to be what they are agreeing to. It doesn't -- that Iran is going to just simply surrender the United States. What was actually accomplished by this conflict that the president initiated more than two months ago.

KARIM SADJADPOUR. CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, the night of the war, February 28 of this year, Manu, the president had four major objectives in this war. He wanted to again obliterate Iran's nuclear program to raise its missile program down to the ground, to defang its regional proxies, and number four to potentially unseat the Iranian regime. None of those four objectives were achieved, and not only that, we lost control over the Straits of Hormuz, which was previously an international waterway.

The Iranians took that and the global economy hostage. So, what's been announced right now in phase one of this agreement is the reopening of the strait. We still don't know if that's going to happen, and whether Iran is willing to go back to status quo ante on the Strait, but for me this is not a moment of celebration. This is a potential pause in a hot war, a return to cold war, but it's a resolution which has not resolved any of the major sources of tension.

RAJU: And just to that point, there are a number of issues that have not been resolved. You mentioned the Strait of Hormuz, still questions about the ballistic missile program, just some examples on your screen that you can see there. How are they going to do Iran support with for terrorist proxies? That's a big question.

We've been talking about the assets, and then the big question about the Israeli offensive in Lebanon. The president just said that he said, quote, I want to stop the Lebanon thing," obviously referring to the hope that Benjamin Netanyahu does not engage in going after Hezbollah in Lebanon, but Israel is not on board with this agreement. It doesn't sound like they are, what are the implications if Israel does not sign on to this deal?

SADJADPOUR: So, this is going to be a key source of tension because Iran wants its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, to be included as part of the ceasefire, but Israel's response to that is, if we're receiving incoming rocket and missile fire from our northern border, from Hezbollah and Lebanon, we're going to retaliate and President Trump has been very angry at Prime Minister Netanyahu for retaliating. So, I suspect this is going to be a real source of tension, and interestingly, it's been a source of deep tension between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump.

RAJU: Yeah. And Trump said yesterday that he -- that Netanyahu -- sorry, excuse me, that Trump told Axios yesterday that Netanyahu has quote, no FN judgment, it just shows you what the president, how he views Netanyahu with his key moments. So much to watch, so many questions in the next two months. Yes, the deal is signed, but the details are certainly going to be kicked over the next two months.

[12:25:00]

Karim, thank you so much for joining me. Nic Robertson, as well, from traveling abroad, watching this very closely, appreciate it. And next, for us, if this tentative agreement ends the war in Iran, and that's of course a big if. Will it help Republicans in the midterms, or have voters already passed judgment on Trump 2.0, first two years?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RAJU: President Trump began his trip to France for the G7 summit on a high. With French President Emmanuel Macron saying an agreement with Iran is quote, all signed, and that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.

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