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Isa Soares Tonight

Fate Of U.S.-Iran Talks Unclear As President Trump Cites It's Highly Unlikely He Would Extend Ceasefire Deadline If Agreement Isn't Reached; British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Grilled By Lawmakers Over The Appointment Of Peter Mandelson; A Community In Louisiana Reels After Mass Shooting; Starmer Addresses Parliament; Apologizes For Appointing Mandelson; Starmer Faces Political Leadership Crisis; Fate Of U.S.-Iran Talks Unclear; Trump: Extension On Ceasefire With Iran "Highly Unlikely"; Pope Leo's Historic African Tour. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired April 20, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A warm welcome to the show, everyone, I am Max Foster in for ISA SOARES TONIGHT. Well, hopes are for talks

between the U.S. and Iran, but they're dwindling as President Trump says it's highly unlikely, he would extend the ceasefire deadline if an

agreement isn't reached.

Then the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer facing a grilling by lawmakers over his appointment of Peter Mandelson, who had failed his security

vetting for the job of U.S. ambassador. I'll speak to a member of Keir Starmer's own party to get his take.

Plus, a community in Louisiana is reeling after the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. in more than two years. That, and much more just ahead. Now,

the optimism surrounding a fresh round of talks between the U.S. and Iran appears to be vanished.

And the clock is pretty much ticking to the hour. U.S. President Donald Trump says it's highly unlikely he would extend the ceasefire deadline if

an agreement isn't reached. The President told "Bloomberg", he expects fighting to resume immediately if the ceasefire expires on Wednesday

evening, Washington time.

The ceasefire was originally supposed to end Tuesday evening. The prospects for those negotiations appear to sour after U.S. forces fired on and seized

an Iranian-flagged cargo ship. Tehran is vowing to retaliate. CENTCOM says the vessel failed to comply with repeated warnings from American forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Motor vessel Touska, motor vessel Touska, vacate your engine room. Vacate your engine room. We're prepared to subject you to

disabling fire.

(ARTILLERY FIRE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, adding to the confusion over whether there will be new talks, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, his appearance at the White House today,

that's despite President Trump's claim that Vance was already on his way to Pakistan to lead an American delegation in negotiations.

Sources tell CNN, U.S. -- the Vice President J.D. Vance will leave for Pakistan on Tuesday, though our Kristen Holmes is at the White House for

us. Just clear all that confusion for us, Kristen, because the President was very clear that J.D. Vance was on his way.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, there's no way to clear this up, because that's exactly what President Trump said. The

only thing we can say is that President Trump continues to do these kind of small snippet interviews in which he says, either contradicting information

to what he's already said or contradicting information to what other U.S. officials who were directly involved in these conversations or these

negotiations are saying.

So, for example, last week it started when he said that J.D. Vance wasn't going at all for security reasons. We'd already been told by the White

House that he was in fact, attending.

And this is certainly muddying the waters as clearly would, given the fact that you have the President of the United States out here, just saying

things that aren't really lining up with what's happening in reality. One of them being that J.D. Vance was almost wheels down, and then he shows up

here at the White House about 30 minutes later.

So, we're trying to piece through exactly what is true and what is happening with these negotiations. And while we have the Iranians not

committing on the record to being there to showing up, we have President Trump responding to that, saying they said they were going to be there, so

they should be there, but who cares either way?

Well, we know he cares, because we know that the United States is looking for an off-ramp here, and they want this diplomacy to work out behind the

scenes while President Trump is putting stuff on Truth Social attacking the Iranians.

While this sip -- ship is being sieged, while we are having these back-and- forth in the public between Iran and the United States, privately, Pakistan is working to try and smooth out these negotiations to make sure that these

conversations do happen, that you do have a high-enough-level delegation on each side to actually get something done.

And President Trump saying that he's probably not going to extend the ceasefire if there's no deal. He did, however, say that the ceasefire is

not over Tuesday night, but instead is over Wednesday night, which gives them a little bit of room, but not much if they're trying to actually

hammer something out.

I will note, President Trump, you know, he is often to say that he's not going to do something like extend a ceasefire. But we know if it's moving

in the right direction, he will actually likely try to figure out a way around that in order to get something done.

They don't want this fighting to continue, and as you've noted, as we've been covering for the last several weeks, they don't want those gas prices,

those oil prices to keep going up either.

[14:05:00]

FOSTER: In terms of who will lead those negotiations will be J.D. Vance, would it? And then we -- you know, if we hear any sense that the President

is going over, that's when we know something is happening.

HOLMES: That's right. And it's unclear whether he would go regardless. I was told by a number of Secret Service and security experts who told me

that the idea that President Trump was even announcing that he might go over there was likely to scuttle any kind of actual trip over there, just

given the enormous amount of security precautions.

However, what we know for the delegation, J.D. Vance will be there, Witkoff will be there, Steve Witkoff as well as Jared Kushner; President Trump's

son-in-law. Unclear even if they're going to get a deal if President Trump will go over there.

But the other thing to keep in mind, they do not want any scenario in which J.D. Vance and President Trump are both over there at the same time. That

is an enormous security risk, not something that they would put -- they don't want to put them in harm's way at the same time.

But the focus on either one of them. So, that's going to be something you'll see too, if he does end up going over there, we'll likely see J.D.

Vance coming back.

FOSTER: OK, Kristen, appreciate it. Thank you. Well, with Washington and Iran squabbling, instead of negotiating, it doesn't appear the sound off in

the Strait of Hormuz will end any time soon. The waterway that normally sees 20 percent of the world's oil pass through it, virtually empty right

now.

And that's pushing oil prices higher as you'd expect. Brent crude not far off that $100 a barrel level. This is how U.S. stocks are doing as well

today. Although, Richard, you know, we look at the stock markets, they're very difficult to fathom at the moment.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: It is. But I'm not surprised that we -- in fact, I might have expected it to be a little more volatile,

considering all the bonhomie and good wishes that came out at the end of last week has literally evaporated over the weekend.

And I think the price -- by the way, the price of the barrel of oil is the support level that you're seeing at around 95 --

FOSTER: It keeps going back to that when --

QUEST: Exactly --

FOSTER: There's an -- yes --

QUEST: At around $95 to $98 a barrel. If fighting breaks out again, if there's no more -- no more ships coming through, it will go back over a

100.

FOSTER: Gas prices reaching $4.05 a gallon on Sunday. How important is that?

QUEST: You mean gasoline as in --

FOSTER: Yes --

QUEST: Driving gas?

FOSTER: Yes --

QUEST: Extremely important.

FOSTER: Yes --

QUEST: And it's even higher in other parts of America, by the way, in some states --

FOSTER: In terms of the average --

QUEST: Yes, in some states, it is $5, and that's pain point. And remember, in a country where they believe it's their birthright to have cheap fuel

and cheap gasoline, this is very damaging, because not only will it hit Americans in the psyche, it will hit them in their pocket. It will hit

every company, every bit of manufacturing, it spills its way across the industry.

FOSTER: Presumably, investors are just looking for what everyone else is looking for, a deal, right? A lasting deal. So, how do they gauge --

QUEST: Like you see -- they're looking for something.

FOSTER: Yes --

QUEST: They're looking for certainty. You know, they'd like a deal, but if you're not going to get a deal, at least, get some certainty of what comes

next. At the -- I mean, what Kristen was saying was very interesting.

You've got this bizarre situation where the President of the United States is saying something that we know not to be true, because we were told ten

minutes earlier or vice versa, and nobody really is sure what the -- it's not so much telling the lies or the truth.

We're just not sure of what is the position, where do people actually stand? What's really happening?

FOSTER: And having set Tuesday as the deadline all along --

QUEST: Exactly --

FOSTER: Suddenly, it's Wednesday without mentioning that there's been a change, but that actually -- maybe that's hopeful because he's flexible.

QUEST: You know, I come back to what Macron said a couple of weeks ago when he had his spat with Trump. Just because you can speak every day doesn't

mean you should.

FOSTER: In terms of how --

QUEST: Yes --

FOSTER: If he does a deal with, you know, lifting more sanctions on Iran --

QUEST: Oh, well --

FOSTER: Giving it more freedom, is that something the markets would like to see?

QUEST: I don't think the markets really are too concerned one way or the other in terms of the sanctions on Iran per se. Will there be certain

countries that will be very grateful to see it? Yes, there'll also be plenty that aren't.

I mean, to start -- to start lifting sanctions sends a very strong message of where you believe policy is headed.

FOSTER: But presumably, if you look at it purely economic level, you do actually --

QUEST: Yes --

FOSTER: Want the flow of oil to increase, and whether that comes from Iran or Russia if you're staying out of the politics --

QUEST: Yes --

FOSTER: It's a good thing --

QUEST: And also, you're providing money back to Iran --

FOSTER: Yes --

QUEST: Which of course is, they're going to badly need for the reconstruction after the bombing.

FOSTER: OK, Richard, thank you --

QUEST: Thank you --

FOSTER: So much. Well, Richard on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS --

QUEST: Yes --

FOSTER: Of course, in just over an hour. Sources tell CNN, the second round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, meanwhile, are now scheduled

for Thursday in Washington. It's meant to build on a temporary ceasefire after weeks of war.

People in Lebanon are surveying the damage from Israeli strikes. One man says it's on the level of Gaza now. Entire communities erased, especially

in the south where Israel says it's creating a security buffer to protect against Hezbollah attacks.

[14:10:00]

Israeli forces occupying dozens of villages now including the predominantly Christian town of Debel, where the photo was taken, where you see right

now. It shows an Israeli soldier desecrating a statue of Jesus. Israel's military says it's investigating. Church leaders are outraged, calling it a

grave affront to the Christian faith and a disturbing failure in moral and human formation.

Authorities are still trying to determine a motive, meanwhile, in the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S. in more than two years. The victims,

meanwhile, have all been identified. Police say the 31-year-old gunman shot and killed his seven young children along with their cousin in northwestern

Louisiana.

That was on Sunday, and they described the rampage as domestic in nature. The youngest victim was just three years old. The gunman also critically

injured two other women, including his wife, before police shot and killed him. CNN's Isabel Rosales is on the scene and filed this report just a

short while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is an awful crime that has the Shreveport community shaken up, disturbed, angered. We're seeing

community members coming here and they're praying these two women right here, they're out here paying their respects, praying this man right here

on the ground in front of the home, praying this great home that you see right here is one of the three associated with this horrific mass shooting.

Let me walk you through a little bit of the home here. As we zoom in on this front door, you can see four-bullet holes marked by police evidence

stickers, even actually the home to the right over here, the neighbor's home, you can see where either shrapnel or bullets went through this home

as well.

And in the front of the yard, we can see teddy bears and balloons and flowers that have been brought out by community members, family members, to

paying their respects. The gunman is Shamar Elkins, according to Shreveport police, he first began his deadly rampage by pointing the gun at his wife,

shooting her, injuring her and then coming to this home where he shot and killed eight children, seven of which are his own children.

Ultimately, he ended up carjacking a driver, and leading police on a chase across the neighboring parish, where officers ended up shooting and killing

him. I spoke with one of the family members of these victims. Here's what he had to say.

LIONEL PUGH, UNCLE OF SHAMAR ELKIN'S WIFE: It's hard. It's hard. Yes, it's very hard. They was just -- you know, just regular little sweet kids, man.

You know, everyday kids, you know, just --

ROSALES: Yes --

PUGH: You know, fun. Just happy to be here, you know, just full of joy.

ROSALES: And according to the Caddo Parish Coroner's Office, there were five girls that were killed and eight boys, their ages range from as young

as 3 years old up until 11 years old. Two women are in critical condition in the hospital, and there was also a 13-year-old boy.

Neighbors were telling me and police also told the story that this child jumped from the roof to evade this shooting, ended up breaking some bones,

but is expected to be OK. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Isabel Rosales. Well, we are tracking breaking news out of Los Angeles where pop singer David, will be charged with murder for the death

of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. The singer was arrested last week, and he's being charged with first degree murder with special circumstances.

This makes him eligible for the death penalty. Riva's body was found in September inside a vehicle registered to David. She was just 13 when her

family reported her missing from her southern California home. It was the L.A. district attorney announcing the case a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATHAN HOCHMAN, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: I want to look at this as a parent. I am a parent of three children, and a parent's nightmare

is a situation where your daughter goes out one night and never comes back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Attorney Areva Martin joins us now to explain all of this. I mean, your heart just goes out to this girl's family. Because we just didn't have

any information for so long. How was it hidden?

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes, Max, this is such a tragic case. This young girl apparently met David, according to public reports on a

website, some kind of social media website, Discord, when she was only 11 years old, he at that time was under 18 himself.

But apparently, they developed some kind of relationship. There are reports that people started calling her his girlfriend, that perhaps she ran away

from home on multiple occasions, was even maybe living with him on one -- at one of his properties.

[14:15:00]

And from what we've heard today from this district attorney, he was also charged because of having continuous sexual relationships or sexual assault

on a minor under the age of 14. So, this isn't just a murder case. This is also a case of sexual assault of a minor which makes it all the more

tragic.

And unfortunately, it has taken a long time for us to get to this date. The district attorney said they wanted to be extremely careful before filing

charges. But once he was arrested on Thursday of last week, it seemed pretty inevitable that we would be at this point today where actual serious

criminal charges, not just murder, but murder with special circumstances that could trigger the death penalty, have been filed against this rapper.

FOSTER: And the detail is utterly gruesome, isn't it? We don't need to go into it too much -- into too much depth, but the body was dismembered in

the boot of his car, and that was just abandoned somewhere. It's remarkable to think that there wasn't some sort of connection that was made sooner.

MARTIN: Yes, it really raises a lot of questions, Max, about the investigation, who was doing what, why it took so long? Again, we don't

have all the details, but we do know, as you said, this car apparently was abandoned, that neighbors had to alert the law enforcement about this

abandoned car.

And it was in -- you know, looking into this abandoned car that they actually discovered the body of this teenage girl. Again, a lot of fuzzy

details, but we're getting some reports that there was some ongoing relationship with David and this young girl that started again at the

tender age of 11 for her.

And now, we're hearing that there was sexual assault involved as well. Also, the D.A. is saying that, David -- the motivation for this murder

would have -- could be his desire to prevent her from testifying about the sexual assault and for financial gain, preventing her from disrupting his

concerts and his music career.

FOSTER: When do we find out whether or not the prosecutors will seek the death penalty?

MARTIN: We won't know that for a while. There's going to be a series of hearings that will take place before we get to the point of even knowing

when a trial in this matter will be set. But we know that the district attorney is going to take a very aggressive posture with this case.

That was clear from the comments from the district attorney, we know that David has not been arrested, that he remains in custody, unlikely, given

the seriousness of these charges, that he will be eligible for any kind of bail.

And it's very clear from the public outcry that the district attorney is going to be under a lot of pressure to use his powers and to use that

office to get justice for this young girl.

FOSTER: OK, Areva, thank you so much for bringing us up-to-date on that. Still to come tonight, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer coming under

scrutiny. Questions swirling about what he knew about a former U.S. ambassador's vetting and when? I'll speak with the British politician.

And then a daring escape from one of the most isolated dictatorships in the world, how a family of nine managed to leave North Korea and start a new

life in Seoul.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:00]

FOSTER: So, they spent more than a decade planning their escape, well aware there would be no second chances at reaching freedom. We want to bring you

an extraordinary story of a family of nine who defied the odds and defected from North to South Korea. Mike Valerio tells us how they weathered the

storm to begin a new life in Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM IL-HYEAK, NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This small fishing boat carried Kim Il-hyeak, his pregnant wife and seven other family

members hoping to survive one of the most dangerous escapes from North Korea, a journey they say they planned for more than a decade.

As Kim settles into his new life in Seoul, he told us how his escape began with his father and his brother.

IL-HYEAK: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

VALERIO: For more than ten years, Kim and his brother practiced their plan, sailing near the closely-watched sea border between North and South Korea.

It's a boundary called the Northern Limit Line, or NLL.

IL-HYEAK: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

VALERIO: Kim says he finally decided his family needed to leave when the regime became even more repressive, and COVID spread across the country.

IL-HYEAK: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

VALERIO: Kim later picked the precise timing for their defection, May 6th, 2023, 10:00 p.m.

IL-HYEAK: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:25:00]

FOSTER: Still to come tonight, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer facing a political leadership crisis as the fallout ensues from his appointment of

Peter Mandelson. We'll hear from a British lawmaker. And later, how the U.S.-Iran war may be reshaping global geopolitics. A former U.S. State

Department, Middle East negotiator joins us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Now, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledges that he was wrong to appoint Peter Mandelson as U.S. ambassador, I mean, once

again, he apologized to Epstein survivors. The Prime Minister insisted he was not informed that Mandelson had failed his vetting process after the

news surfaced last week.

Mandelson was sacked in September after e-mails released by the U.S. State Department or Justice Department rather revealed his close ties to

convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mandelson has denied any criminal wrongdoing. Starmer addressed lawmakers a few hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: Let me be very clear, if I had been told that Peter Mandelson or anybody else had failed security, had

not been given clearance on security vetting, I would not have appointed them. A deliberate decision was taken to withhold that material from me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:30:16]

FOSTER: Let's bring in our Clare Sebastian who's inside the British Parliament. Clare, it was a very detailed, very forensic explanation going

into all the details in the British Government that most of us aren't completely aware of, but what was the point here?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well look, the central question of the day, Max, was for Keir Starmer to defend himself against accusations that

he may have misled lawmakers in this building, that when he's come to Parliament in the past and maintained that due process was followed, that

the vetting procedure was followed with Peter Mandelson, that he could in fact have been not telling the truth.

Now, he stuck fast to his defense against that, that he did not know, as was revealed by the Guardian newspaper here in the U.K. last week, that

Peter Mandelson had in fact failed at his official security vetting to take up the post of Ambassador to the United States, and that that was overruled

by Foreign Office officials so that he could then actually take up that appointment.

He says he didn't know, he says he should have known, and that somehow, he wasn't told about it by Foreign Office officials, he called that a

deliberate decision. And he said if he had known he wouldn't have appointed Mandelson in the first place. So, that was his defense.

But the attacks were fast coming, it got loud, it got tense, there were actually two Members of Parliament who were thrown out of the Commons at

various stages for their language, one of them calling Starmer a bare-faced liar, and the leader of the opposition, you know, questioned him on, you

know, how much he could have known and certain comments he's made in the past.

Several people compared it to 2022 when Starmer, as then leader of the opposition, you know, attacked Boris Johnson for claims that he misled

Parliament and saying that he should resign, saying, the leader of the opposition saying, why are there some rules for him and others for you? So,

it was supremely uncomfortable.

But I think the sense is that he avoided a major disaster, there was no serious sustained mutiny from his own party, there were no calls from the

opposition for a no-confidence vote, but I think the major moment of peril now for the prime minister will come tomorrow. And the Foreign Office

official, Olly Robbins, who he sacked as a result of these latest revelations will come before a Parliamentary Committee here in this

building and give his side of the story. If that differs significantly from the prime minister's, that could be a problem. And we're also hearing that

there is going to be another emergency debate on this in the Commons again tomorrow, so there is more to come.

And of course, the lingering issues about how, you know, every time this scandal resurfaces, the Labour Party spends more political capital on it

and it distracts from the business that they want to get down to, of tackling the cost of living, and of course two wars on two different

fronts, Max.

FOSTER: Clare, thank you. British lawmakers pushing the Prime Minister on what he knew then about Mandelson's vetting process and when, almost two

years ago, Starmer promised the British public, who were weary of political scandals and turmoil, that his Government would be different.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch questioned how much he'd fallen short on that promise and who should be responsible for the vetting

failures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEMI BADENOCH, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER: Instead of taking responsibility for the decisions he made, the prime minister has thrown his

staff and his officials under the bus. He has sacked his cabinet secretary, he has sacked his director of communications, he has sacked his chief of

staff, and he has now sacked the permanent secretary of the Foreign Office. All of these people fired for a decision he made.

The right honorable gentleman's defense is that he, a former director of public prosecutions, is so lacking in curiosity that he chose to ask no

questions about the vetting process. He asked no questions about Mandelson's relationship with Epstein. He asked no questions about the

security risk Mandelson posed. It doesn't appear that he asked any questions at all. Why? Because he didn't want to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: So, the former head of the Foreign Office, Civil Service, will be speaking tomorrow. We'll bring you an update on that because that's really

what many MPs are looking for next.

Meanwhile, Bulgaria's ex-president is on course to be its next prime minister after winning parliamentary elections by an absolute landslide.

Rumen Radev's victory is one of the strongest results for a single party in a generation and may end the chronic political instability that has led to

eight elections in five years there. It's also the first time since 1997 that a single Bulgarian party has gained enough seats to govern alone

rather than in a coalition. Radev has vowed to seek better relations with Moscow and lift Russian-European Union sanctions, lift European Union

sanctions that he calls harmful to both sides.

Still to come, a former U.S. State Department negotiator joins us to talk about the sketchy U.S.-Iran ceasefire. We'll have the details on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:00]

FOSTER: As we mentioned just before the break, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledging that he was wrong to appoint Peter Mandelson as U.S.

ambassador after facing a grilling from lawmakers today. Let's get more on this. I'm joined now by Labour Party politician Perran Moon. Thank you so

much. I know there are some backbenchers in your party very unhappy with the party's leadership right now, but what did you make of his performance

today?

PERRAN MOON, MEMBER OF BRITISH PARLIAMENT, LABOUR PARTY: I thought it was a pretty solid performance all round. Look, there are 400 Labour MPs. There's

always going to be a handful who are unhappy for one reason or another. I think the vast majority of Labour MPs were very satisfied with what they

heard.

The prime minister said that he would set out a timeline of exactly what was known when, and he delivered exactly that today. He's already

apologized several times for appointing Peter Mandelson. He did it again today and he was right to do so.

FOSTER: His story does need to match, though, what we're going to hear tomorrow from the former head of the Foreign Office who he fired over all

of this, doesn't it? That's another key moment.

MOON: Sure, it is a key moment, but the prime minister is absolutely clear, he made it very plain again today that there was no minister, including

himself, who was aware that the U.K. vetting service had been overruled and they appointed Mandelson without that knowledge. Had they had that

knowledge, and the prime minister made it very clear today, they would not have appointed him. It's a failure of the process and we are fixing that

process. It can never happen again, and the prime minister has been very clear about the changes we need to make to that process.

FOSTER: Or is it a case of deputy heads will roll? Because as Kemi Badenoch pointed out, several people have been fired over this, but the prime

minister is in charge of this organization. He's admitted he made a mistake. He's admitted he wants to take responsibility, but he's the only

person that doesn't seem to be taking responsibility. I mean, ultimately, the buck does stop with him.

MOON: Well, look, it's not beyond the wit of man to realize that if you have a piece of information that is so vital to the appointment of such a

senior position, you pass it on to your superiors. That was not the case. It was not handed over. And as you say, we will hear tomorrow much more

detail from Olly Robbins as to why that was withheld.

[14:340:00]

It is a process that is flawed. It needs to be amended. That information should have been passed on. It wasn't. The prime minister didn't know. And

Mandelson should never have been appointed. And that's why the prime minister has once again apologized today.

FOSTER: But there was an interesting email, wasn't there, from the head of the civil service at the time, Simon Case, saying that the appointment

should come after the vetting. And the prime minister saying, actually, the vetting comes after the appointment. So, it does sound as if he's saying

the head of the civil service is suggesting one protocol, but he's pushing another protocol onto the head of the civil service.

MOON: So, look, I'm not an expert in this. But as I understand it, there's two stages to vetting. There's an initial vetting process. And then there's

a kind of deep dive, the kind of U.K. vetting service, which goes much, much more deeply into some quite detailed understanding of an individual.

And there's all sorts of sensitive information that is considered.

Mandelson passed the first vetting stage and was announced. And then he didn't pass the second stage. And that information wasn't passed on. Now,

we're changing the process. And I think the prime minister made very clear today that there will not be appointments made of this seniority to --

without going through all of the security vettings, and for that information to be made available to ministers before they appoint.

FOSTER: A lot of MPs as well across, you know, all the different parties saying today that, wasn't it enough that we knew that Epstein had a

relationship with Mandelson? Why would you appoint someone into such a sensitive position purely based on that? Why was it pushed through? It's

clear that he was the first choice for the prime minister.

MOON: Look, at the heart of this whole sorry saga, we must never forget the victims of Epstein who've been so appallingly treated. I know the prime

minister feels this incredibly deeply that he has appointed a man who continued to associate with Epstein. And that's for that reason that he has

apologized continuously for appointing Mandelson. It was a huge mistake. And we must never lose sight of the fact that there are these victims

who've been so appallingly treated by so many people.

FOSTER: The king is obviously heading on a state visit to the United States next week. I keep being asked questions about the state of the British

government, this all-time low between Downing Street and the White House.

You know, the more these trundles on this whole story, the more it's potentially overshadowing the whole debate about the king's visit, which is

meant to be about long-term relationship building. But inevitably, we're going to be talking, you know, about the state of relations between the two

countries because of this affair, aren't we?

MOON: Oh, I think that the king will rise above all of this. We have, as you say, a very long-standing and friendly relationship with the United

States. We are close allies, and we need to make sure that we are working as closely as we possibly can, regardless of the figures who currently hold

offices, whether that's on this side of the pond or the other. That relationship endures. And the king recognizes that, and that's why he is

honoring this visit.

It'll be an important visit. I'm hoping that he will be able to speak to President Trump about the challenges that we face around the world. And

he'll do that in the typical way that the king does these things. And he approaches them in a very supportive way and attempts to put forward the

national interest, but also is very cognizant of world affairs. And so, I'm very pleased that he is going.

FOSTER: Yes, OK. Perran Moon, really appreciate you joining us today. Thank you for joining us from Parliament.

Now, back to our top story then, the approaching ceasefire deadline between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump says it's highly unlikely

it'll be extended beyond its scheduled end on Wednesday if there's no deal. Our sources report that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and other top White

House officials are expected to depart Tuesday now for Islamabad in Pakistan. That's where the potential round of talks next with Iran could

happen.

The U.S. boarded and seized an Iranian flagged ship on Sunday which led to a furious response from Tehran. Iran's foreign ministry insists there are

no plans for more talks as of now.

[14:45:00]

Former U.S. State Department Middle East negotiator and senior fellow at the Carnegie Institute for International Peace Aaron David Miller joins us

now. Thank you for joining us. I mean, a few things to go through with you. First of all, this statement from the President that J.D. Vance was already

on his way. Then we see him appear at the White House. He's not on his way. Presumably he will head there tomorrow. But it's not entirely clear when

these talks will start or whether Iran's even going to be involved, is it?

AARON DAVID MILLER, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT MIDDLE EAST NEGOTIATOR: Well, the two Iranian negotiators that showed up in Islamabad last time around, I

think, have agreed to come to Islamabad and it's -- Foreign Minister Araghchi and the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher

Ghalibaf. But they are really at the mercy, I think, of a much harder core Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps senior leadership that has replaced those

that have been killed by the Israelis and the Americans.

This is not an auspicious moment, it would seem to me. There's no trust and confidence between the two sides. You've got a standoff in the Gulf. You've

got the Iranian decision to close the straits, the blockade. And now, you have the U.S. Navy boarding a ship which, according to one report, was

carrying precursors from Malaysia via China for ballistic missile production. Interestingly enough, there was no, I haven't seen any reports

about what's happened to the crew of that ship. The U.S. Navy has now taken control of the vessel. So, you've got that.

Then you have an announcement from Washington that there'll be no extension. It seems to me, barring some miracle, the best result you could

get out of this, and I don't think you're going to get a conceptual agreement, is some traction that would in fact lead to an extension.

Because the issues here are incredibly complicated.

And frankly, we don't have a clue about what the positions are of each side as it pertains to the highly enriched uranium. We have fragments of

information of the issues, but we don't know exactly where the sides are. So, I would hope, because the alternative is far worse, that you can get an

extension and that both sides would be serious about negotiating.

FOSTER: So, they can extend those key elements of the talks around uranium enrichment. The priority for the president will be reopening the Strait of

Hormuz, presumably. But it doesn't look as though Iran's going to do that if the blockade, the U.S. blockade, stays in place. And certainly not if

they're firing at Iranian ships as well. As I understand it, weren't they firing at the engine, I mean, that could have taken the whole ship down,

couldn't it?

MILLER: Well, they were warned in advance that there would be a very heavy- duty American piece of artillery with a five-inch shell that would be fired at the engine room. So, they were given warning to evacuate personnel.

Look, the Straits are critically important, but I don't think you can get a solution to the Straits unless you address the broader issue of the other

things that are on the table. And each one of them contains a universe of detail. I mean, it took two-plus years to negotiate the Joint Comprehensive

Plan of Action, a flawed but highly functional agreement. And that agreement was 18 pages of text and 141 pages of technical annexes.

You can't deal with the HEU issue or the centrifuges or the matter of enrichment without intrusiveness and without monitoring. And I've seen no

reports that the IAEA has been involved in any of these negotiations. So, a level of detail that's going to take a fair amount of time, to say the

least, to work through. So, they need the time and space to do that, assuming both sides' clocks are in sync. That is to say both sides have a

shared sense of urgency that they want out of this war. I'm not entirely persuaded that the American clock isn't running much faster than the

Iranian clock. If that's the case, then the news isn't going to be great.

FOSTER: OK. We'll watch what happens tomorrow. Aaron David Miller, really appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

Still to come tonight, speaking from Angola, Pope Leo's sharp criticism of authoritarian leaders and some papal advice that applies to us all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:00]

FOSTER: Fishermen in a Mexican coastal community are struggling in the wake of a massive oil spill more than a month ago, which was off the State of

Veracruz. The spill has since spread into several parts of nature. Mexico's president maintains that the cleanup is under control, but some

environmental groups say the government is not being honest about what's going on. CNN's Valeria Leon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fishermen's nets sustained with tar, the most visible face of an environmental tragedy, stretching

over 600 kilometers, or 400 miles, of the Gulf of Mexico. An oil spill that began on March 2nd and whose causes are still unknown.

While Mexican authorities say the oil is seeping from three different sources, including a ship that has not yet been identified, environmental

organizations dispute that version. They say the root of the spill is a leak from a pipeline operated by Pemex, Mexico's state-owned oil company.

Whatever the source, it has dealt a major blow to the region. Turtles, fish and other marine life have been found washed up on shore, coated in oil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We never imagined something like this would happen. And now, look, this has affected us as restaurant owners

and everyone who depends on tourism.

LEON (voice-over): For local fishermen, it has upended their livelihoods, now that they are unable to work in the waters they depended on for

decades.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Since March 2nd, we haven't been able to fish. We usually catch crab and oysters, but now we can't because

no one will buy them.

LEON (voice-over): Mexico's government said at least 800 tons of crude have spilled into the ocean. Cleanup crews have been deployed, but residents say

the damage is still visible. And the economic impact is already being felt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The local community has gotten together to clean the beaches because we depend on tourism.

LEON (voice-over): President Claudia Sheinbaum has downplayed the impact, saying the situation is under control, adding that during Holy Week, hotel

occupancy in the coastal city of Veracruz reached around 80 percent.

[14:55:00]

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There are ongoing cleanup efforts. The beaches have been cleaned and people were able

to safely go into the beaches of Veracruz.

LEON (voice-over): As the cleanup continues, questions remain over what caused the spill and whether the leak has been stopped. Meanwhile, both the

region's ecosystem and its local economy stand on the brink of disaster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The Pope continues an historic tour across Africa. He's making a stop in Angola, the third leg of an ambitious 10-day tour. A short while

ago, Leo criticized exploitation by authoritarian leaders around the world. He had faced attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump in recent weeks, to

which the pontiff responded this weekend, he has no desire to debate the president. And today, at a nursing home in Angola, Leo issued advice few

could object to, a papal nudge to listen to your grandparents. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV (through translator): Let us not forget that the elderly are not only in need of assistance, but first and foremost, need to be listened

to, because they preserve the wisdom of a people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Absolutely. Thank you for joining us tonight. Do stay with CNN though, I'll be back with "What We Know" after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:00]

END