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One World with Zain Asher

U.S. Begins Blockade of Iran's Ports After Peace Talks Fail; Iran's IRGC Issues Warning to Military Ships Nearing Hormuz; Israeli & Lebanese Diplomats to Meet in Washington Tuesday; Israel Continues Strikes on Lebanon Ahead of Tuesday Talks; Hungarians and World Leaders React to Orban's Election Defeat; Pope Leo Responds to Trump Criticism as He Begins Trip to Africa. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 13, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Right coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. You are watching "One World". The U.S. military has begun

enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports, most of which are inside the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump has issued a new threat just moments ago, saying

that the U.S. will sink any Iranian ships that try to approach the blockade.

This after weekend, peace talks in Islamabad failed to reach any kind of agreement, the blockade could test an already very fragile ceasefire, while

further tightening global oil supply. Iran's Parliament Speaker mocking the situation on X, he warns Americans, quote, enjoy the current pump figures,

aka, obviously, gas prices have, of course, been surging.

With the so-called blockade, soon you'll be nostalgic for 4 to $5 gas. With the two-week ceasefire still in place, Pakistan says it is working to

revive the U.S.-Iran dialog. And moments ago, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also weighed in as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The region remains on edge, and a lot of work is required to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, to de-escalate the

situation, leading to a sustainable ceasefire. In pursuit of that goal, we call for Lebanon to be included urgently in the ceasefire.

Diplomacy is the right path, and I welcome the talks taking place this week, Hezbollah must disarm. But I'm equally clear, Israel's strikes are

wrong. They are having devastating humanitarian consequences and pushing Lebanon into a crisis. The bombing should stop now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Meantime, Israeli and Lebanese diplomats are set to meet in Washington tomorrow, as Israel continues strikes on Southern Lebanon, as

Prime Minister Keir Starmer was speaking about their authorities say that more than 2000 people have been killed since the start of this latest

conflict.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a rare trip to Lebanon. He says that any agreement will require disarming Hezbollah.

Meantime, the EU Commission President says that there will be no stability in the Middle East if Israeli strikes on Lebanon continue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT: We're also worried that a continuous strike on Lebanon threatened to derail the entire process. We

are mobilizing relief EU stocks to provide immediate aid to the Lebanese people, but no amount of aid can replace the safety of a permanent peace.

A key lesson of the past weeks is that security is indivisible. You cannot have stability in the Middle East or the Gulf while Lebanon is in flames.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right. CNN's Jeremy Diamond is standing by in Tel Aviv for us. But first, let's bring in Kevin Liptak joining us from the White House. So,

Kevin this blockade, this U.S. blockade and the Strait of Hormuz started about an hour ago, President Trump saying on social media that the U.S.

will essentially eliminate or sink any ship that tends to sort of go around or bypass the U.S. naval blockade.

Just explain to us how this is actually going to work. And of course, I think the big question is, this is, of course, economically, going to

backfire to some degree on the U.S.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. I mean, it does seem to like it's setting up a test now of which of these countries has the

higher pain threshold, whether it's the United States, which is already experiencing higher gas prices, and this certainly seems to indicate that

they will go higher, or is it Iran, which is now stands to see all of its economic life blood be choked off, if this blockade succeeds.

And this does, I think, set up a major new test for the U.S. military. This war, up until now, has been mostly fought from the air, U.S. fighter

planes, missiles and drones. This is now a new mission for the American Navy, which, of course, has seen a major build up in the region, but hasn't

been tasked with this sort of initiative previously.

And there are some major risks, you know, Iran still maintains that asymmetric capability, whether it's through those small boats that the

president is threatening.

[11:05:00]

Now, it seems as if this will now be a new dangerous mission for them going forward. You know, when you talk to White House officials, they do seem to

suggest that this blockade is, in fact, an extension of the talks that fell apart in Pakistan over the weekend. This is President Trump's attempt to

wield what leverage he still believes he has over Iran, to try and get them to submit to those red lines that he laid out as part of those talks.

You know, things like giving up a nuclear enrichment, allowing the U.S. to retrieve the highly enriched uranium that remains inside Iran. Of course,

those are red lines that Iran has not been able and not been willing to submit to previously, including in the talks before this war began, and six

weeks of U.S. and Israeli bombardment have not appeared to change its negotiating position whatsoever.

And so, this does seem to set off a major standoff between the U.S. and Iran. And remember, it's not just Iranian ports that the president says

that the U.S. will be trying to blockade. He also is saying that any tanker that has paid a toll to transit the Strait of Hormuz will be interdicted in

international water.

So, it's a major undertaking that clearly comes with some significant risks. How long it goes on, I think, remains to be seen. You and when you

talk to military experts, they say that the U.S. does have the naval assets in the region at the moment to proceed with this.

You know the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln, that's the aircraft carrier that's positioned at the Strait of Hormuz, is there and ready, along with its

attendant destroyers to enforce this blockade. Another aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. George H. W. Bush is also transiting to the region.

But when you talk to experts, they say that in order to sustain this for a period of time going forward, that the U.S. will need additional assets.

And it's not clear how long the president expects this to go on. You know that ceasefire that does remain in effect expires on April 21st U.S.

officials say they do expect at least some negotiations to continue. So how long this goes on remains unclear.

ASHER: All right. Kevin Liptak, stand by. Jeremy, let me bring you in, because just in terms of regional reaction to the U.S.'s pressure campaign,

this idea of the U.S. is effectively implementing a blockade of its own on the Strait of Hormuz. And obviously this moves the region further away from

any kind of stability, further away from peace.

Obviously, that it does mean escalation. So, what has been the regional reaction to this latest move by the U.S. President?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly putting the region on edge once again, people are wondering whether this means that

the ceasefire could collapse. You know what it will mean for the future of this ceasefire agreement and at the prospect of additional negotiations

between the United States and Iran and of course, the impact that it will have on the region's economy.

You know, we have seen already the tremendous impact that this has had on Gulf economies, on global oil prices, and this additional threat of a

blockade from the United States, if indeed it is implemented, as you know, we expected it to be as of an hour ago, then that would mean no Iranian oil

getting into the global oil market, which would then impact global oil prices altogether.

And that is why we have seen the Speaker of Iran's Parliament talking about how Americans would eventually be nostalgic for 4 or $5 gas prices, meaning

that this blockade that the United States is carrying out could very well raise prices at the pump for Americans, depending on how long it actually

goes on for.

And as Kevin was talking about, it is now a question of which side can ultimately suffer more pain going forward and sustain that level of

economic pain before effectively giving in. We've also seen the Qataris, another key country in this region, talking about the fact that maritime

roots should not be used as a bargaining chip.

That was the Qatari Foreign Minister, a statement from him after he spoke with Iran's Foreign Minister. In addition to that, of course, the region at

large is uncertain about how this will proceed, particularly as Iran is now making additional threats against other Gulf ports, saying that if any

Iranian ports come under threat from the United States, then other Gulf ports, of U.S. allies could also come under threat.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps also saying that any military vessels attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be targeted by the Iranian

military.

ASHER: And Jeremy, just in terms of the situation with Lebanon, we know that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is meeting with an Israeli delegation

this week in Washington, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talked about the most important thing for Israel is that Hezbollah disarm if there's

going to be any kind of agreement whatsoever. That is a very tall order for the Lebanese state, Jeremy.

[11:10:00]

DIAMOND: Yeah, absolutely, and that has really been one of the key questions undergirding any talk of potential negotiations between Israel

and Lebanon is OK, even if the Lebanese government wants to disarm Hezbollah, as they have now stated, they do. They have actually taken

action in Southern Lebanon to try and do so.

They've outlawed Hezbollah's military activities in Lebanon. But despite all of that, they really lack the teeth the bite to actually make good on

that rhetoric, on that desire to disarm Hezbollah, because of how weak the Lebanese military is relative to Hezbollah.

And so, the question is, you know, even if they can reach an agreement in terms of political will, what kind of support will Lebanon be given to

actually be able to carry this out? And we've seen, of course, over the last few days, as there has really been a question of whether these

negotiations would move forward, as Israel has refused to agree to a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying only that it will negotiate with Lebanon under

fire, and indeed that is the case.

We have seen continued Israeli strikes in Southern Lebanon, continued ground fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in Southern

Lebanon, we have, however, seen a slight scaling back, it would seem, of Israeli strikes. For example, there haven't been any Israeli strikes that

we have seen in the Lebanese capital of Beirut since Thursday.

And that could be because of the pressure from the United States to kind of calm the temperature here, to allow those negotiations to take place with

Lebanon, and also to avoid unfurling the broader ceasefire agreement with Iran. And again, as of now, we do expect that those negotiations between

Israel and Lebanon will take place tomorrow, Zain.

ASHER: Right, Kevin Liptak, Jeremy Diamond, thank you both so much. Democrats will once again try this week to force a vote to rein in

President Trump's power to wage war with Iran. They haven't been able to siphon off enough Republican votes in previous attempts.

Last Thursday, House Democrats trials, but failed to pass the measure. It came days after U.S. President's threat to take out Iran's entire

civilization. Let's bring in U.S. Congressman Glenn Ivy, the Maryland Democrat, joins us live now from Washington, D.C. Congressman, thank you so

much for being with us.

Before we get to war powers resolutions, I just want to start by getting your reaction from this latest move by the U.S. President, essentially

conducting a blockade of its own in the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to sink any Iranian ship that attempts to bypass the U.S.'s naval blockade.

Your thoughts on that, congressman?

REP. GLENN IVEY (D-MD): Well, it might be gasoline on the fire. I mean, he brought us into an ill-advised war of choice that's created the issue with

the strait. Now, I think that the initial negotiations broke down over the weekend. I think he's concluded that this is his maybe only step, but at

least his next step.

I'm not convinced that that's the case. I think, you know, as your reports were pointing out, this could make things much worse for all the economies

in the region, and I think it's certainly going to have an impact on the economy here in the United States. I mean, we're, you know, I was buying

gasoline for my car was under $3 a gallon before this started, we're over $4 a gallon now, which is a lot for the United States, and I think that was

suggested a few minutes ago.

If this effort to shut down the strait entirely continues for any length of time, we could get over five, five gallons, $5 a gallon, pretty quickly.

And the impact on that from the impact, from the standpoint of Wall Street and other economic indicators, the United States, could come pretty

swiftly.

Wall Street's been looking at this for through rose colored glasses for some time now. That could change dramatically if this backfires on the

president.

ASHER: And as you and I both will know, gas prices are a very, very important political issue here in the United States, and President Trump

did say that, look, there is a realistic possibility that gas prices could still remain elevated by the midterm elections. Just explain to us what

would still have to be true by election day at this point in time, so several months away to all but guarantee Democrats taking back the house.

IVEY: There's a lot of that, that he's put in place already. The war is the most recent and worse, because, you know, we're losing lives over there. I

think we've lost 13 already, and they're putting more at risk with this maneuver that he's taken. But you know, the tariffs are another example of

a problem that's been laid at the feet of the American people.

The affordability crisis has been exacerbated by that, because it's causing food prices to go up, for example, groceries and the like.

[11:15:00]

And there's a ripple effect impact on that for housing and other industries. This feeds into it, because the oil industry provides a

critical ingredient for a lot of products like fertilizer that are a key component there as well. And we've got other prices that have been going up

relatively quickly to health insurance coverage, for example, because the Republicans block the extension of the ACA tax credit premium.

So, people are getting hit from all sides, and I think it's pretty clear that the Republicans are responsible for all of these efforts the president

in particular. And I think it's going to be a wakeup call for the Republicans if they stay on this track, and it may be too late for them to

get off of it at this point. So, I think they're in for a tough November, and rightly so.

ASHER: Yeah, speaking of sort of persuading Republicans to get off a certain track. I mean, let's talk about the War Powers Resolution. When it

comes to the U.S. initiating an unprovoked, unjustified war. On the one hand, you have the issue of legality, but on the other hand, you have the

issue of, of course, partisan politics, and when it comes to getting this thing passed, a lot of Republicans might agree with you privately.

That does not mean, of course, they're going to come out and vote publicly against the U.S. President. Just talk to us about what sort of

conversations you're having with your sort of colleagues across the aisle to try to persuade them on this particular issue.

IVEY: Well, basically, they've been afraid of getting sideways with the president for some time now, and so they've gone along to get along

essentially during most of his administration, there have been a few moments where they peeled off the Epstein files, vote would be one of

those.

But this could be another one too. I think as this ramps up, you know, certainly the nuclear, essentially indirect nuclear threats that he made,

what you know, last Tuesday, with respect to annihilating Iran and its culture, I think was a big wake up call for many of them. And a handful of

them came out and said, we don't stand in favor of that.

That's not the way that we should go about it. That's not who we are as Americans. The question now is whether they'll take the next step on this

War Powers vote to send the right message to the White House that we need to get out of this sooner rather than later. And also, I think the point as

well, with respect to the impact on regular voters like we talked about a moment ago.

These prices going up are really, so a lot of people just fighting, just keep their head above water, you know, keep the lights on and a roof over

their head and the like. All of this is making it worse, and they're going to look for help, and that'll be to turn to the Democrats.

And I think we've got other reasons that they should support us anyway, but they're pushing, Republicans are pushing them in our direction at this

point, and I think it's going to show up in November in a very big way.

ASHER: Some really disturbing allegations about your colleague, Representative Eric Swalwell, who is of course running for California

Governor, star congressman. Glenn, your thoughts on these allegations, number one, I mean, obviously he's ending his bid, but just in terms of him

resigning from the house.

Just give us your take and your reaction to some of the reports that were revealed over the weekend and on Friday.

IVEY: Well, I'm a member of the House Ethics Committee, so I can't really speak to it at this point, because if he stays in Congress, I'm pretty sure

it's going to end up in our jurisdiction within the next few days. So, I can't go into much detail, but I think at this point, there's a lot of

allegations out there that would be brought to our attention.

We'd have to go through it, and our process is essentially we do investigations of our own, as we did with Mr. Santos when he was expelled

last Congress, Former Congressman Gaetz, he resigned, but we released a report tardy you know, that raised issues with respect to his treatment of

young women, you know.

So, we'll see if this falls into one of those categories or not, but I can't really prejudge it at this point.

ASHER: OK. Congressman Glenn Ivey, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

IVEY: Thanks for having me.

ASHER: Right still to come here -- of course, still to come here on "One World", celebrations across much of Hungary as this man, Peter Magyar

brings Viktor Orban's 16 years in office to an end. We'll have all that and more after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:20:00]

ASHER: All right, Pope Leo has kicked off an historic 11-day trip to Africa. These are live pictures from Algeria. Right now. He's visiting the

Great Mosque of Algiers. Up next, he's scheduled to stop at the Augustinian Sisters Center. This is the first time any pope has actually visited that

country.

The pontiff, also be traveling to Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea. The trip comes as the pope pushes back against criticism and insults from

U.S. President Donald Trump. Earlier today, the pope said that he has no fear of the administration. On Sunday, Trump denounced the pope's stance on

the Iran war after Leo condemned Trump's threats against Iran.

President Trump went on to call the pontiff weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He's a very liberal person, and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime. He's

a man that doesn't think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world. I'm not a fan of Pope Leo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Now, Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb is traveling with the pope. He joins me on the phone from Algiers. So, I mean, it's interesting.

We're learning, I guess, that nobody is immune from the possibility of being insulted or threatened by this president, but just talk us through

his response.

I mean, he has really shown himself to be fearless when it comes to standing up for peace, Christopher.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. I mean, probably you have in recent weeks, been far more outspoken than we've seen

in the first part of this pontificate, and that has been really because of the U.S. military operation in Iran. He has spoken out against that on

several occasions.

He's also raised concerns about any kind of religious justification for war, and his remarks on that topic has been seen as applicable to U.S.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has sort of framed the conflict in Iran through using Christian language. And Leo clearly, has gotten under the

skin of the president.

He is a very different sort of leader to the political leaders we often see today, particularly President Trump. He's quite low key, softly spoken, but

he does have a very deliberate style, and his messages has been much stronger in recent weeks. And on the papal plane, I was amongst the

journalists on board, Leo responded to the criticism from President Trump simply saying, look, I'm not a politician.

[11:25:00]

I don't want a tit for tat with the president, but at the same time, I'm not scared, and I'm going to continue speaking out. And we've seen that

already in Algeria, the pope emphasizing that message for peace. He's here in a Muslim majority country and seeking to foster a dialog between

Christians and Muslims.

Right now, he's in the mosque in Algiers, which is the largest in Africa. He's having a discussion with the leaders of the mosque. So, we're kind of

seeing Leo emerge as this diplomatic and spiritual counterweight to the Trump Administration. And of course, as the first American Pope, he is --

of attention, and he also speaks English as his mother tongue, and that also, I think, ensures his message gets across and cut through into the

United States beyond.

ASHER: Yeah, as you point out, I mean, really what I was supposed to be talking to you about before the tit for tat with the U.S. President was

really how historic this visit to Algeria actually is, as you mentioned, Christopher, it is a Muslim majority country. The first time a pope has

visited Algeria.

There's only about 10,000 Catholics, is my understanding. But it really is about sort of bridging the gap between Christianity and Islam. That is one

of the many intents of this particular visit. Christopher Lamb, live for us there. Thank you. Thank you so much.

And we'll have much more on the pope's trip to Africa later on in the show. All right, Hungarians are still processing this weekend's massive political

upheaval, with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, 16-year stretch in office coming to an end. These were the scenes.

Take a look here on the streets of Budapest on Sunday night following the landslide victory of the center right Tisza party led by Peter Magyar.

Thousands of people danced, celebrated the banks of the Danube River into early hours of the morning. Many in Hungary are hopeful that Magyar's

decisive victory, achieving a two thirds super majority in parliament marks an end to Hungary's warm relationship with Russia and hostility to the EU.

CNN's Melissa Bell is live now from Budapest. So, Melissa despite JD Vance visiting, essentially campaigning for Viktor Orban. This is what a lot of

people had been anticipating, that Viktor Orban would essentially be defeated. After 16 years in office, he conceded. Just walk us through what

the political ambiance is that in Budapest right now, Melissa.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've just been hearing from Peter Magyar himself, he's just held this more than two-hour

press conference answering questions from the Hungarian press, the foreign press as well.

And we had so many questions, Zain, because, as you suggested a moment ago, there is a lot of processing going on right now in Hungary what Peter

Magyar's new government will mean for Hungary's relationship with Brussels, for Hungary's relationship with Russia for Hungary's relationship with

Washington and with those Magyar voices who come here to support Viktor Orban so clearly, during the campaign.

Now he was speaking directly to that, saying that he didn't believe that it was the job of any leader to be representing an international ideological

movement, and that he would no longer be funding the kind of our right infrastructure that has been such an important part of the Magyar ecosystem

these last few years.

He was also asked, of course, about Hungary's future relationship with Russia, and specifically the question of Russian gas and oil. Remember,

Zain, that this has been a carve out of Viktor Orban's and an ongoing struggle of his with the European Union. He's insisted that Hungary needs

to continue benefiting from cheap Russian oil and gas.

And Viktor Orban was asked what his view was on that the future supplies of Hungary from Russia of oil and gas. This was his reply.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER MAGYAR, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER-ELECT: We are unable to change geography. Russia will be here. Hungary will be here so but we will try to

diversify. That doesn't mean that we want to detach ourselves. We want to buy oil at low prices and securely, but the Druzhba, the friendship oil

pipeline, and what's happened there, we can see that it threatens Hungary's energy supply, or what's happening in Tehran in Iran that threatens our

energy supply.

So, it is not -- it is in the interest of Hungary to diversify our energy mix and energy supply as much as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BELL: He said he'd been trying for years to explain to members of Orban's Fidesz party that it was like oranges, that if you had three suppliers of

oranges, it made more sense to your economy because you could get them cheaper and even in times of geopolitical crisis, continue to get oranges,

same things applied.

[11:30:00]

He suggested to energy supplies, and he was determined now to diversify Hungaries in the interest of the Hungarian people, and no longer an

ideological alliance with Moscow, Zain.

ASHER: All right, Melissa Bell, live for us. Thank you so much. Right, the pope has certainly a busy schedule today in Algeria. We'll talk about that

and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some of the headlines we are watching today. The U.S. military has

begun enforcing a blockade of all Iranian ports, both inside and outside the Strait of Hormuz. And this morning, President Trump threatened to sink

any Iranian ships that come near the blockade.

This after direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad over the weekend ended with no deal. Donald Trump's legal team says it will re file

a defamation lawsuit against "The Wall Street Journal" after a federal judge dismissed it. It concerns the newspapers reporting on a lewd birthday

greeting to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The judge ruled that President Trump did not meet the quote, actual malice standards for public figures. President Donald Trump also lashed out at

Pope Leo on Sunday, he said that he's not a fan of the pontiff, calling him terrible for foreign policy. It comes as Pope Leo has grown more vocal

about the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.

Last week, the pope condemned Trump's threat to kill Iran's entire civilization as truly unacceptable. This comes as Pope Leo begins a

historic tour of Africa. He's in Algeria today, the first pope ever to visit the country. His itinerary also includes Cameroon, Angola and

Equatorial Guinea, Christian-Muslim relations will be high on his agenda for the 11-day tour.

[11:35:00]

Right, joining me live now is Reverend Stan Chu Ilo. He's a Research Professor at the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at

DePaul University in Chicago. He's also the coordinating servant of the Pan African Catholic theology and pastoral network. Reverend, thank you so much

for being with us.

You know, saying to our previous reporter that today's sort of conversation was really supposed to be about the pope's trip to Africa. I'm Nigerian

myself, and so I was really excited about it, but instead, obviously part of our conversation, obviously not the whole thing.

But part of our conversation does have to be about the exchange between the pope and President Trump, which I think is really interesting, because it

is very difficult to walk this fine line as Head of the Catholic Church, because obviously, you do have to speak your truth, right?

You're in this position for a reason. You have to stand up for your values, and that includes peace, that includes humanitarian issues, especially for

this pope, and definitely for the previous pope as well. But at the same time, you do want to maintain good or decent relations with elected

governments around the world.

It is very difficult to do that, though, to walk that fine line with this particular administration based on what the pope said. I mean, how do you

think he handled it? It's a minefield.

REVEREND STAN CHO ILO, RESEARCH PROFESSOR AT DEPAUL UNIVERSITY IN CHICAGO: Yeah, he was spot on. You know, I think it's very important for the viewers

to understand that President Ronald Reagan worked closely with John Paul the second and with Margaret Thatcher against the greatest threat in some

people's thinking to wall civilization, communism.

They work together and without shooting a gun, communism collapsed, because that's what strategic thinking, collaborative work between church, state

and different global coalitions. That's what you can bring about. And so, I think Pope Leo is continuing a tradition of all the popes in the past.

But what is happening here is, I think that President Trump thinks that Pope Leo, as an American, will give him special treatment. You know, if

Pope Leo condemns, as he does and other previous popes some atrocities in other parts of the world, then America will praise him.

But now you know, President Trump did not get special treatment because the pope is concerned with proclaiming the gospel. So, he does not belong to

any political party. But you remember many years ago, again, when another pope spoke up against Stalin. Stalin threatened.

How many divisions has the pope? The pope does not have arsenals or bombs, but he has the gospel. He speaks from the gospel, and his message is

simple. We can't build civilization through violence. That's what why he talks constantly of unarmed and disarming peace.

And I think that he's consistent with the Catholic social teaching tradition and the tradition of Jesus Christ. After all, you know, Pilate

asked also of Jesus, what is the truth? So, I think that Leo was spot on in re-emphasizing for us that the future has to be built for all of us. It is

not going to be built by domination, by violence or by threats, but rather through dialog, through love, through forgiveness and reconciliation.

And I don't think that these are messages that anyone could say is inconsistent with the gospel tradition or the constant message of church

leaders across the centuries.

ASHER: But Reverend, thank you for saying all that. It was very you had a lot of wisdom in your answer. But I think one thing that I'm worried about

is it's almost not enough for the pope to be impartial. The appearance of impartiality is also as important. Meaning that people around the world

also have to view the pope as impartial.

And when you have the U.S. President deliberately making the papacy, making the Vatican, making the pope appear to be partisan and political. That's

also a problem, even if he's not, because one of the things that President Trump said, he said, you know, this pope is weak on crime, this pope is too

liberal.

This pope is terrible for foreign policy. It was almost as though Trump was talking about a congressman or a senator or another politician, that was, I

imagine, a deliberate way to make his own supporters view the pope with skepticism.

[11:40:00]

And so just that idea of sort of tarnishing the impartiality, or people questioning the impartiality of this particular pope doesn't that have a

knock-on effect as well? Aren't there ramifications for that too?

ILO: Yeah, remember that the message of Pope Leo transcends Pope Leo. And I don't want to go get into the posts and lies that sometimes, sadly, the

president spews. You know that authoritarians always get very uncomfortable when someone stands up to them. You know, Pope Leo, I think, is only

pointing to the world, pointing out the moral and spiritual bankruptcy that we see in the emerging reality that we are all seeing.

And you know that Pope Leo draws strongly from Augustine. Augustine was very strong in criticizing lies, deceptions, and what he clearly identified

in the city of God, one of his most important documents that why, how can you build civilization? Civilization cannot be built on falsehood.

Civilization does not grow through selfishness, pride of self, or what St. Augustine calls disordered love. So, it's built on truth. And I think that

the world is facing a serious crisis right now that you know, Pilate asked Jesus, what is the truth? So, it's not about the construction of an

alternative world, an alternate reality that is totally removed from the reality of poor people all over in Iran, in Israel, in Gaza.

People in the United States, they are feeling the bite of crushing economic conditions. Gas price is going up. I am concerned that. I think Pope Leo is

concerned about the people, the innocent, who are suffering as a result of this crisis that I think is preventable, because ultimately what happened

last weekend was what was already happening in February.

People were already dialoguing, and suddenly there was this escalation. Now we are going back to again negotiating. So, it is also a battle for truth.

Who is saying the truth and which vision of the future would transcend? I think that Pope Leo's vision that is rooted in the gospel is that we need

to build a civilization of love and friendship, that the future has to be constructed on kindness and compassion, like Pope Leo said in his major

document released last year.

He says the church has no enemies to fight, but men are women to love, so I don't see any falsehood in love that he's projecting and asking that you

know, people like pope, like President Trump and those who hold the levers of authority and power should embrace the civilization of love.

We can build a civilization that constantly kills people this way. Life has become so expendable in the world today, and we need to grieve this loss of

this sense of connectedness that is really threatening, and sadly now tending to distract our attention from the beautiful work that Pope Leo has

undertaken visiting Africa.

ASHER: Yeah.

ILO: And every time that something happens in Africa, we get distracted, really, by this, I think pope --

ASHER: Right.

ILO: President -- Trump has succeeded in kind of distracting us from what Pope Leo is doing right now.

ASHER: Yeah, because that message of truth that you talk about is actually obviously going to extend to Africa. He's going to be in Equatorial Guinea.

He's going to be in Cameroon. He's going to be talking about the fact that some of these leaders, including the leader of Equatorial Guinea and

Cameroon have been in office since before I was born, holding on to power these authoritarian regimes.

And that is something that I wish we had time to talk about this, but we have to run, sadly. But that is something that president, well, not

president, Pope Leo, is going to be addressing as well. Stan Chu Ilo, we have to leave it there. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. We

will right back with more after the short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

ASHER: All right, President Trump's military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is now officially in effect. Let's take a look at see where oil

prices are right now, both Brent crude, WTI, over $100 a barrel. Vanessa Yurkevich joining us live now with more. Obviously, this moves by the U.S.

sending oil prices, of course, in the direction, I'm sure a lot of people in the United States do not want it to go.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: That's certainly correct. You now have oil prices back over $100 a barrel after

falling closer to $90 a barrel. This is of course, as you said, because of President Trump announcing that there's going to be a blockade of any

marine vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports.

And that is important, because Iran does export about 1.8 million barrels of oil every single day. That accounts for about 2 percent of the world's

oil. And it's critical, because that export of oil, that money that Iran has been making has been funding a lot of the military operations in the

country, and that sort of cuts off this critical flow of funds for this war.

Also, Iranian's export of oil, Iran's export of oil accounts for about 13 percent of the overall GDP of the country. So that's going to take a bite

out of the economy there. Worth noting, though, that the U.S. only gets about half a million barrels a day from Iran, so not a big impact to supply

for the United States whatsoever.

But of course, that pushes up oil prices globally. And if you're having trouble keeping up and saying, oh my gosh, so many changes every single

day, here's three key dates you need to know. The war with Iran started on February 28th that essentially closed the Strait of Hormuz, and that's what

sent global prices of oil soaring.

Then you had the president announcing a ceasefire on April 8th, where presumably the strait started to reopen again. But there was a lot of

nervousness from shippers, and you didn't have that many ships moving, except for Iranian vessels and Chinese vessels moving a little bit, still

getting oil in and out of the country, and any goods or oil or energy services that Chinese operators needed to get in and out.

And then, of course, this morning, you have the start of this blockade, which essentially closes all of Iranian ports, really putting an even

greater squeeze, Zain, on the global oil supply, but also mainly pushing those energy prices higher for consumers all around the world, Zain.

ASHER: Right, Vanessa Yurkevich, live for us. Thank you. Still to come, celebrating 10 years working to end modern day slavery. We'll show you how

the global organization bringing together voices from different backgrounds, is working to achieve a common goal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

ASHER: Right, the Global Sustainability Network is marking one decade in its drive to end modern day slavery in all its forms. Leaders from

politics, business, religion and media make up the ranks of the non-profit group which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. CNNs. Becky

Anderson has more on the group, and it is very important work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, leaders of the world's religions have come together to form a historic initiative to eradicate modern slavery.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): History was made back more than a decade ago when leaders from many of the world's major religions gathered

at the Vatican to ask a single urgent question, how do we end modern slavery?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Each human being, a man, a woman, a child, is an image of God, and each human being is a free person who has the right to exist in

equality and fraternity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Global Freedom Network welcomes your support and practical action to eradicate modern slavery once and for all. So --

ANDERSON (voice-over): The meeting moderated by CNN's Christiane Amanpour, sparked an idea in Pakistani born businessman Raza Jafar.

RAZA JAFAR, FOUNDER OF GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY NETWORK: It's a very dark and difficult subject to deal with, but when you bring people together, it

gives all of us strength to have a much bigger impact.

ANDERSON (voice-over): The Global Sustainability Network or GSN was designed to be an answer. It's an international alliance of modern

abolitionists working across all borders and belief systems. Members from all over the world gathered recently in Abu Dhabi to celebrate GSN's 10th

Anniversary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great pleasure to be with you this evening as you mark this important anniversary of the Global Sustainability Network.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Among the dignitaries in attendance, the UAE's Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, and

Sudan's Former Prime Minister, Dr. Abdalla Hamdok.

ABDALLA HAMDOCK, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF SUDAN: You know, modern slavery is stigma on humanity. We thought, with all the struggle that went into

ending slavery in the world, that we saw the end of it, but it is still there.

ANDERSON (voice-over): The evening involved a call to action, encouraging everyone to wear a white freedom Pom Pom, a small adornment designed to

start a larger conversation about modern slavery.

MAREN KRASS, FOUNDER OF HEARTS ON A MISSION: We're working with victims of slavery, and we want to give them we don't want to see them as victims. We

want to make them to heroes.

ANDERSON (voice-over): It's empathy that defines the network's efforts and inspires optimism for the future.

DR. CATHERINE OFARRELL, FOUNDER & CEO OF INCLUZAN: Young people are going to be the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow, so the more informed,

empowered and educated they are, the better our leadership will be in the future.

[11:55:00]

ANDERSON (voice-over): And sometimes the most powerful voices are also the youngest. 12-year-old True El-Deeb wrote this song for those who don't yet

have a voice.

TRUE EL-DEEB, SINGER: Everyone can serve a purpose here, no matter how old they are, even I like I'm very honored to be helping and contributing, and

I know anyone out there in the world can help.

JAFAR: We all can do a lot every day. We can express and join the freedom movement by simply having our voice, by wearing our voice. So, my message

to everybody is, wear your voice, let everybody hear your fight for freedom.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right and coming up on CNN on April 15th, this Wednesday, join us for my Freedom Day, a student driven worldwide event to raise awareness

of modern-day slavery. Follow the hashtag My Freedom Day on social media and check out cnn.com/myfreedomday for more information.

Right, stay with CNN. There is much more "One World" after the short break with my colleague Bianna Golodryga.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END