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One World with Zain Asher

Confirmation Hearing for U.S. Federal Reserve Chair; Trump's Nominee for Fed Chair Faces Confirmation Hearing; U.S.-Iran Talks Uncertain as Ceasefire Deadline Looms; Trump Says he Expects "To be Bombing" if a Deal Isn't Reached; Pakistan: Iran has yet to Confirm Attendance at Peace Talks; Artemis II Commander Shares iPhone Video of an Earthset. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 21, 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: All right, I am Zain Asher. You are watching "One World". Let's return now to our live coverage of Kevin

Warsh's confirmation hearing to be the next Fed Chair. Let's listen.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): -- so I'm among them, but I think we should have more insight into. Mr. Chair, I'd like to submit for the record two

executive orders under President Trump, one in 2020 and one in 2025, talking about making federal architecture beautiful again, and focusing on

trying to preserve the integrity of old buildings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without objection.

TILLIS: Thank you. And Mr. Chair, I will be submitting an analysis, but if we can go to slide two and turn it up right? Much has been made about the

building project that has Senator -- that has Chair Powell under investigation. I'm not going to get into the details, except to say that I

used to work for a firm that did audit and compliance.

So, I'm naturally wired to go back from the ground up and figure out what the deal is. Here's what I know, the Martin Building has been conflated

into this project to make it a $4 billion building. Even if you put the Martin Building in, it's a $3 billion building. The reality is, what we're

talking about is the Eccles Building and the East Building for which bring that up higher Jack you're a tall guy, so people can see it.

These are the overruns, and these overruns occurred in part because the cost of inputs went up 69 percent since the original estimate. Asbestos was

identified; remediation was required. Pylons had to be -- had to be built underneath the building because, turns out, they used it as a landfill and

they had a water table issue.

There were a variety of reasons why this building went over budget. And as a matter of fact, if we put everybody in prison in federal government that

had had a budget go over; we'd have to reserve an area roughly the size of Texas for a penal colony because of way government projects work.

And the reality is, the overage of inflation adjusted was about 730 million, the majority of which it seems to be legitimate. Next slide, not

acceptable, unfortunate, but legitimate. Now, what I've really got a problem with, and we're talking about fed independence, by the way, I think

you're going to be independent. You have to be.

You got to convince 11 other people to vote with you, at least the majority. It's a consensus organization. You try to get the majority to.

Most of these votes are 11-1. So, if anybody thinks the president can appoint somebody and you unilaterally can control things. You're going to

be an unsuccessful chair, if history is any guide, and you've served under some of the best, so I know you're going to do it right.

The problem that I have here is that we had some U.S. attorney with a Dreamers Assistant U.S. Attorney, thinking it would be cute to bring Chair

Powell under an investigation just a few months before the position was going to be open. This happened this year, normal course and speed.

Here's how it works at the Fed. February or March, May the 15th, the term would have expired. We'd be having this hearing. You'd be getting

confirmed. Custom also suggests that the sitting chair, even though he has two years left on his term, would have existed (ph). But instead, we have

somebody who thinks a building project that went over by about $700 million with a lot of what seemed to be justifications for it are holding up this

whole process.

It sounds like to me, somebody over in the DOJ didn't even check with the boss. The boss said, on the same night that I said, I can't go forward

until this bogus investigation is done with said he didn't know anything about it. So, we've got people in DOJ, over in the DC Circuit, or the DC

District, doing these investigations. We have got to end this investigation.

Big DOJ didn't know about it. The president didn't know about it. Let's get rid of this investigation so I can support your confirmation. Mr. Warsh,

the only thing I've found the least bit odd about you is you've never watched an episode of Seinfeld.

You've spent so much time at being a rock-solid economist that you're not even taking time away for a little laugh like that. I look forward to

supporting your nomination, and I look forward to this investigation being taken down. If the Chair wants to have all of our sub-committee start

looking at capital expenditure projects for the agencies that we're overseeing, I think that's a great idea.

And I'd like to be on a committee specifically drilling down on this analysis, if somebody can prove me wrong, I'd be happy to make a criminal

referral.

[11:05:00]

But I don't have the DC Circuit tell me a crime was committed when seven members on this committee said it wasn't including the Chair. Thank you,

Mr. Chair.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome. Only one question, what is Seinfeld? Senator Van Hollen?

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Mr. Chairman, thank you. Mr. Warsh, good to see you. Reviewing your record, I am concerned that your position on

interest rates seems to shift with what's politically convenient, rather than based on sound economic judgment.

In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the worst recession since the Great Depression, with some of the worst unemployment in our lifetimes,

you are a hawkish voice expressing concern that the Fed might wait too long to raise rates.

I think you got it wrong then, but now you seem to have swung 180 degrees in the opposite direction to embrace lower rates, a view that conveniently

aligns with the president who nominated you. You've made this pivot even as today prices are too high.

We all know that. Our economy works for families when prices are affordable and unemployment is low. That's why price stability is an important part of

the Fed's mandate, right?

KEVIN WARSH, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR NOMINEE: Senator, yes.

HOLLEN: And the Fed uses its monetary policy tools for price stability and full employment. That's the job Congress gave to the Fed. Here's how Ben

Bernanke described how the Fed uses those tools? He said, and I'm quoting generally, if economic weakness is the primary concern, the Fed acts to

reduce interest rates, which supports the economy.

If the economy is overheating, the Fed can raise interest rates to constrain inflationary pressures end of quote. So, that's a textbook model

of the Fed. Cutting rates supports the economy, but can lead to higher inflation, while raising rates helps to fight inflation, but can limit

growth.

Do you agree with Chairman Bernanke that that's generally how the Fed can use monetary policy to affect the economy?

WARSH: Senator, I do agree generally with that proposition, but I'll note at a moment like this, the supply side of the economy is changing

dramatically. So, the core of what Chairman Bernanke said is a question about what's the economy's potential.

As I said in my opening remarks, I think the economy's potential is growing quite quickly, and that makes the decision that you tee up to be a

difficult one, and one that the Fed is going to have to dig deep in, in evaluating what's the right policy choice in the upcoming meetings.

HOLLEN: Well, I want to -- I want to push you a little bit on that.

ASHER: All right, you've just been listening to a portion of Kevin Warsh's confirmation hearing to be the next U.S. Fed Chair. The questioning there

came from Senator Chris Van Hollen, who essentially was talking about the fact that at one point in time in the not so recent past, when Kevin Warsh

was Governor, he had a relatively hawkish voice, meaning that he favored higher interest rates.

And now that the pendulum has essentially swung in the opposite direction, he's become a lot more dovish, favoring lower interest rates, which, of

course, does politically align with the U.S. President right now. Let's bring in CNN's Paula Newton, who's been listening to this.

This was certainly an interesting exchange, talking about how Kevin Warsh's views may potentially change as a result of the political climate and also

as a result of potentially pressure by President Trump. But also, there was a very interesting exchange about 20 minutes ago with Elizabeth Warren, and

walk us through that Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Incredibly contentious here. And look Zain, you know, as well as I do that, you're not going to get a financial

rock star like Kevin Warsh. So many people have really been supporting him and saying he is the right man for the job, but notice I said rock star.

At this point in time, his performance on this stage has been less than adequate, as far as Senator Warren is concerned. Remember, she is the

Ranking Democrat on this Committee, and she came after him on two issues Zain.

One is that she would not stand -- he would not stand up to President Trump, and two were his financial disclosures. He is worth well over $100

million and she contends that he has not proven as of yet that from the ethics point of view, that he will divest and not be beholden to some of

those investments. I want you to listen to Senator Warren questioning Kevin Warsh now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MS): Name one aspect of President Trump's economic agenda with which you disagree.

WARSH: Well, Senator, the Federal Reserve, in recent years has wandered outside of its remit, wandered into --

WARREN: I'm asking for something you disagree with Donald Trump on?

WARSH: That's not something I'm prepared. If I'm confirmed, the Federal Reserve should stay in its lane.

WARREN: Saying just one -- just one little place where you disagree with Donald.

WARSH: Well, I do have a disagreement, actually, Senator, with the president.

[11:10:00]

I think even this morning, he said that he thought I was out of central casting. I think central casting, I'd look older, gray, or maybe show up

here with a cigar of sorts.

WARREN: Quite adorable. But you know, we need a Fed Chair who is independent. That's the only way we preserve the independence of the

Federal Reserve.

WARSH: I agree.

WARREN: If you can't answer these questions, you don't have the courage and you don't have the independence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: She was perhaps too cute by half there. And he's going on to get another grilling here regarding his experience with the financial crisis.

Now look, Zain, so many people around the world, when he was involved in those G20 talks, you know, said that he was a steady pair of hands as a Fed

Governor and as an assistant to basically keep the financial world on track during what was an incredibly serious crisis in 2008.

Senator Warren doesn't see it that way. In fact, she accused him of, at the time, being too loyal to Wall Street CEOs and working tirelessly to arrange

multi-billion-dollar bailouts that did nothing for American families. So, we've set the stage there now Zain.

The other issue here, though, is the supposed prosecution of the current Fed Chair, Jerome Powell. And we just heard from Tom Tillis, a Republican

Senator a few moments ago, Zain and he is the man who, right now is saying he will block Kevin Warsh from becoming the next Fed Chair, not

indefinitely.

But for now, until the so-called prosecution of the Fed Chair, which has to do with the construction or the reconstruction, the renovation of the Fed

building, until that issue is put to rest. And Zain it was interesting in Tom Tillis' presentation here that what he brought into question was the

independence of Donald Trump's Department of Justice.

And why they were pursuing this case against Jerome Powell? Not necessarily the independence of the man who is likely still to be the future Fed Chair

of the United States, Kevin Warsh. And we see him there. This hearing is ongoing, and as I said, before Zain it was spicy just within the first few

moments.

ASHER: Yeah, absolutely, with that exchange with U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, and just in terms of that criminal probe into Jerome Powell, and a

lot of people see that as, of course, politically motivated, and that is the issue here. Paula Newton, live for us there. Thank you so much.

All right, for more on this hearing, let's bring in the Former Republican Governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson. Asa, thank you so much for being with

us. I just want to get your initial response or reaction to Kevin Warsh's performance so far, particularly with that exchange with Elizabeth Warren.

I mean, one of the things that she asked him, she asked him sort of very simple questions. It started off with yes or no questions, which he sort of

skirted the issue around financial disclosures, also how he plans to divest from the juggernaut fund.

And also, this idea of, do you believe that Donald Trump won or lost the 2020 election? He simply would not answer that. And whether or not he could

find one thing that he disagreed with the president on again, he would, I mean, he gave us sort of an eye roll, sort of silly answer to that

question. What do you think of the performance so far?

ASA HUTCHINSON, FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: Well, first of all, it has been a spicy hearing, and it's been important, obviously, monetary policy,

economic policy, United States critical. The issues are important. Senator Warren scored some points about independence in her questioning.

I thought that Mr. Warsh, whenever he tried to use humor in response fell very flat and came across as a little bit too cute. But in the end, it's

about votes, and here you have Republican votes that should generally get him through the confirmation of the Banking Committee, and when he gets the

floor, he'll be confirmed by Republican votes at that time.

But right now, you've got Senator Tillis of North Carolina that says I'm going to block it unless this Department of Justice investigation ends. And

then at that point, if you don't have Senator Tillis, you've got a deadlock on the committee, presuming it's all voted on a party line, which I expect.

And so, Senator Tillis holds the keys to the kingdom right here for Mr. Warsh and his confirmation. I expect this to be resolved. Senator Tillis

was very affirming, actually, and saying, I'm confident you're going to be independent. I'm confident you've got the experience and the expertise to

do a great job, but we got to get this resolved, and there's ways that President Trump can get that resolved.

It will take some time. This is going to be ongoing, but in the end, I think he's shown his independence today, at least on paper, at least the

confidence of the Republicans on the committee.

[11:15:00]

We'll see whether that turns into reality or not.

ASHER: Yeah. I mean, it's interesting the point that you brought up about Tom Tillis because, I mean, he was sort of tackling two separate issues.

One was the sort of unfair criminal probe into Jerome Powell over the renovation costs of the Federal Reserve Headquarters in Washington.

And the other as you point out, he said, listen, I do believe that Kevin Warsh, that you are going to be independent. And by the way, it's not as if

you have the only vote on the committee. Obviously, there has to be a consensus, right? You don't hold the keys to the kingdom entirely.

However, a lot of Democrats do fear that you know, when you have somebody in charge of America's monetary policy essentially aligning with the

president, he talks about the fact that he is independent. But if you look at what the U.S. President has said that he would not put anyone in charge

of the Federal Reserve who did not necessarily agree with cutting interest rates.

He's obviously got a much more dovish stance. President Trump does believe that putting Kevin Warsh in charge of the Federal Reserve is going to lead

to lower interest rates. That is why he is nominating him.

What are the consequences for Americans, especially at a time this is what Chris Van Hollen brought up, especially at a time when Americans are

worried about higher prices, this idea of lower interest rates at this particular point in time, which obviously fuels inflation. I mean, there

are dramatic consequences here if he does not become as independent as he says he will?

HUTCHINSON: Well, I think we are headed toward lowering interest rates, which is important for the average consumer homeowner, to be able to buy a

home with lower interest rates. So, there is that argument in favor of it, but with the Iran war ongoing, with oil prices going up, inflation has hit

us again.

And I'm not even sure Mr. Warsh, who's been an advocate for lowering interest rates, will continue that position if the inflationary pressures

continue as it is right now. And there in the pressure that President Trump is clearly applied to the new Fed Chair to lower interest rates, can

backfire.

And we've seen that with Justice Barrett on the United States Supreme Court who expressed a great deal of independence. I think you could see Mr. Warsh

wanting to show his independence he's not under control of the president and cutting his own path. We'll see about that.

Legitimate questions about independence, about President Trump wanting to control the Fed we'll see if that turns into reality, but I think it is a

little bit unpredictable.

ASHER: And since you brought up the Iran war, I mean, obviously the deadline is very, very close to essentially, the end of this two-week

ceasefire. What are President Trump's options at this point in time? He's talked about the fact that he can't see the ceasefire being extended, but

he's also threatened to destroy Iran and wipe out power plants and civilian infrastructure.

I mean, that would be essentially him, sort of crossing his own red line. He's talked about the fact that initially, the civilians, the ordinary

citizens of Iran, were the people that he wanted to help. What are his options if the clock runs out without there being another deal in place

Asa?

HUTCHINSON: Well as to re-engage in the bombing campaign of Iran going after the civil infrastructure that he has threatened before arguing that

it is a dual use, civil infrastructure that supports the military apparatus as well. The other option is really to bear down on the Strait of Hormuz to

make sure the shipping lanes continue unabated.

And that is probably the most important accomplishment that he can do at this point, degrade the military he's already done. But now it's about the

Strait of Hormuz and being able to have the freedom of shipment once again restored to that area which Iran, through their resilience, has

demonstrated they can still impact. So, I think those are the two main choices that he has to confront.

ASHER: Right. Former Governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson live for us. Thank you so much. Appreciate you being with us. All right coming up, speaking of

which round two of talks in Pakistan, details ahead on who the U.S. is sending and why they may not have anyone to negotiate with?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:20:00]

ASHER: All right, a one-time war skeptic, a real estate developer and President Trump's son-in-law today, these three men are expected to leave

for Pakistan to take part in a potential second round of peace talks with Iran. Vice President J.D. Vance has been the preferred pick for Iranian

representatives, while Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner helped negotiate the recent ceasefire in Gaza.

As for the U.S. Iran ceasefire, President Trump says it will expire Wednesday night, and a short time ago, he told CNBC he has no plans to

extend it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I don't want to do that. We don't have that much time, because by the time both parties

get there, as you know, they just got the OK to go forward, which I do, they were going to do anyway.

I mean, I don't think they had a choice. They have to negotiate. And, you know, the one thing I'll say is this, Iran can get themselves at a very

good footing if they make a deal. They can make themselves into a strong nation again, a wonderful nation again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Meantime, Iranian sources tell CNN that a delegation representing Tehran will be attending the talks in Pakistan. Iranian officials, however,

have since denied that. Kevin Liptak is tracking these developments. Joins us live now from the White House.

So, one of the key issues for the Iranians in terms what we're hearing is that they are refusing to negotiate under the types of threats that

President Trump is making this idea of destroying civilian infrastructure and power plants as well.

What do we know for sure at this point about whether or not Iranian negotiators actually plan on attending and given that the clock runs out in

about 24 hours or so what are the consequences if they don't?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: It's just unknown at this point whether the Iranians are going to show up in Islamabad. Just in the

last couple of minutes, the Pakistanis, who are, of course, the mediators in all of this, put out a statement saying that essentially, they were

still trying to convince the Iranians to send a delegation to these talks.

At this hour, we don't believe that the Vice President J.D. Vance has left Washington just yet. And we just got a statement from a White House

official that there would be policy meetings at the White House today that the vice president would attend, which all leads to a huge amount of

uncertainty about whether these talks would actually proceed.

It doesn't seem as if they will occur anytime soon, given that it's a 17- hour flight from Washington to Islamabad. But at least according to President Trump, when you listen to him in this phone interview that he did

this morning, he still believes that these talks are on track to occur.

That he thinks a deal is doable, that it's in hand, essentially, and that Iran will concede on a number of points that the U.S. has been setting as

red lines, including on nuclear enrichment, giving up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

All areas that to date, Iran has said that it will not give up. So how all of these proceeds going forward unclear. I think it's an hour to be sure of

deep uncertainty.

[11:25:00]

And President Trump making very clear that he expects the war to resume if a deal isn't struck by the end of this ceasefire. Now, when precisely it

ends, I think is something of dispute. You know, the president, it was exactly two weeks ago today that he announced the ceasefire was going into

effect.

But just yesterday, he said that the deadline and expiration date was, in fact, tomorrow evening. He said in that interview that he does, quote,

expect to be bombing if no deal is struck, saying that that was sort of the attitude that he's going into these discussions having, believing that Iran

will not capitulate on the points that it has said it will remain firm on.

And so, the president making very clear that he does expect to go after those bridges and after those power plants that he's threatened to strike

if a deal isn't reached. At the same time, saying that he expects the Iranians to come to the negotiating table and begin these discussions.

And so, it all adds up, I think, to a huge amount of uncertainty from the president and from the Iranians about where precisely all of this might be

heading.

ASHER: All right. Kevin Liptak, live for us. Thank you so much. With the ceasefire, clock ticking, Tehran is demanding the U.S. immediately release

the Iranian flagged cargo ship it seized over the weekend. It happened near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, after Washington said the ship tried to

evade its naval blockade.

Iran is vowing to retaliate, calling the seizure a criminal act. The Strait, meanwhile, which serves as a crucial choke point for global energy

trade, remains at a virtual stand-still with very few ships at this point passing through. The profound uncertainty surrounding the Strait, and the

fragile ceasefire that's set to expire is causing oil prices to fluctuate.

And at times, dramatically, prices are a little lower so far today, after surging earlier this week, Brent Crude, you see on your screen there,

that's the global benchmark for the oil market is at $97 a barrel. Well, the WTI Crude, the main benchmark here in the U.S., is slightly lower, at

$89 a barrel.

CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us live now. I mean, this is obviously whiplash for oil prices. It's a roller coaster ride, because every single time we

get a little bit of news, a little bit of sort of positivity in terms of hope that maybe we're going to see sort of more negotiations, potentially a

longer ceasefire, maybe there's going to be some kind of deal with the talks in Islamabad obviously, that does allow for oil prices to go lower.

But it's anyone's guess, Eleni, what's going to happen during or after these talks?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, exactly. And I think what we've seen in the oil market, it's a clear indication, whenever you see any kind of

good news, there's a massive move. And that's what we actually saw on Friday, when Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open, even though they said

it's with the Tehran designated route.

And of course, that was wishful thinking, because a few hours after that, we know that the IRGC weighed in and said, you know, wartime rules are now

back in force, and that's because the U.S. naval blockade was, you know, still in play.

And the Strait of Hormuz is going to be absolutely pivotal to the conversations this time around, if and when they happen. And we just heard

from Kevin Liptak, who was saying J.D. Vance hasn't left yet. The vice president is going to be critical in these conversations.

Iran hasn't actually confirmed what delegation, where they're going to be sending a delegation to Islamabad. So that's still up in the air. And we,

you know, hitting very close to the expiry clock on when the ceasefire comes to an end, which has been expanded by around 24 hours.

And you mentioned that cargo vessel that was seized, and that was in the Gulf of Oman that you know, hit the naval blockade. And then we heard a few

hours ago that another vessel was seized in the Indian Ocean. So, the United States has expanded its enforcement of this blockade.

And for the Iranians, when they say they're going to open the blockade or open the Strait, they hope that the United States was going to reciprocate

by lifting the naval blockade. So, it remains to be seen what happens there, but it's going to be one of the big sticking points.

I want to take a look at WTI and Brent Crude prices, because President Trump had an interview with CNBC, and normally when he speaks to media,

specifically in and around when the markets open, usually you see a massive move to the upside on the industry front, and you see oil prices drop.

It's had the opposite effect. Brent Crude is up 2.6 percent. WTI is up almost 3 percent at this point because he didn't inject the optimism that

people had hoped. He'd said that he was hoping that there was going to be some kind of deal and negotiations going to occur, but he also said he was

willing to restart the war if Iran didn't come to the negotiating table.

So, it's very tentative right now, and I have to say it's absolutely critical, because for us here in the Gulf, specifically, it's a very

different reality if we start to see Iran even thinking about retaliating towards us, because that has been the case since the start of the war.

We've had a bit of relief over the past two weeks Zain, and I have to say, it's very welcome, but at the same time, you know, what is the diplomatic

off ramp here?

[11:30:00]

Are they going to make a decision on what happens with the Strait and what happens with nuclear enrichment? Those two are the main points that are

hopefully going to be under discussion hopefully in the next 24 hours. So, we wait.

ASHER: All right. Eleni Giokos live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, Pope Leo is visiting Equatorial Guinea, the latest stop on his first

trip to Africa as Pontiff. Leo is only the second Pope to visit the country where more than 70 percent of the population is Catholic.

Our Christopher Lamb is traveling with the Pope; he joins us live now from Malibu. It's interesting, yes, it's a secular country, technically, but

about 70 percent of the population is Catholic. Yet, the last time a Pope actually visited Equatorial Guinea was about 44 years ago.

One of the things that the Pope is addressing is, of course, the issue of authoritarianism. President Obiang has been in power in that country for

decades, since before I was born, since the late 70s. So that's going to be a key issue, as well as corruption, which the Pope will likely bring up as

well Christopher?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. It is well over 40 years since the last Pope visited, and President Obiang was in

power when Pope John Paul II visited, all those years ago. Pope Leo has received a very warm welcome here. The big crowds on the street turning out

to see him.

This, of course, is the fourth country in his marathon Africa visit. And you know, Pope Leo has had quite a strong, consistent theme around

conflict, around trying to bring peace, around, as you say, calling out corruption in a country where the president has been in power for such a

long time.

And you know, Leo was speaking at the authorities, earlier today, and he said that it is absolutely vital that international institutions are

respected and that humanity's future is being gravely compromised by the lack of respect for those international institutions. And he also said that

God's name should not be profaned by those seeking to pursue causes of death essentially.

So, Leo here in Equatorial Guinea with a very strong message. And of course, this is a trip where he has faced this extraordinary criticism from

President Donald Trump for his strong stance against the war in Iran.

Now, while Leo has said he doesn't want to debate President Trump, the speeches that he's given, not just here in Equatorial Guinea but also in

other countries, have been very forceful, in fact, unusually forceful for the Pope has a both a very strong message for peace, but has also been very

critical of death spots and tyrants in his words.

So, he, I think, is going to continue to speak out, despite facing that criticism from President Trump, and we're seeing that here in Equatorial

Guinea, a place where no Pope has been since 1982. It is also, I should add the first anniversary of Pope Francis's death, and Pope Leo paid tribute to

Pope Francis on the plane over here.

And I think it's quite fitting that Pope Leo is in Equatorial Guinea on Pope Francis Anniversary. Because, of course, Francis was a Pope who wanted

the church to go out to freeze. He wanted the church to be missionary, and that's what Leo is, in many ways, putting into practice with this visit to

Africa, where, of course, so many now of the world's Catholics are based.

ASHER: Christopher Lamb live for us. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. We'll have much more news after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:35:00]

ASHER: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some of the headlines we are watching for you today. Uncertainty is

surrounding the next round of U.S. Peace talks with Iran. Vice President J.D. Vance has not yet left for Islamabad, where the talks are expected

ahead of the end of the ceasefire on Wednesday.

Iranian officials have not confirmed that they're sending a delegation either. Iran is calling for the U.S. to immediately release one of its

cargo ships seized near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. Washington says the ship was trying to get past the American naval blockade and

ignored repeated warnings.

Iran is vowing to retaliate, calling the seizure a violation of the ceasefire. A high-level U.S. delegation recently visited Havana as the

Trump Administration continues to ramp up pressure on Cuba. State Department official says the U.S. is demanding economic reforms and the

release of political prisoners, among other things. The visit comes amid a U.S. fuel blockade of Cuba.

And Mexican authorities have identified the man they say, killed a Canadian woman and wounded several others in a mass shooting on Monday happened at

the Pyramid of the Moon, one of the most popular tourist sites just outside of Mexico City. Officials say the gunman, a Mexican national, later killed

himself.

All right earlier today, Trump told CNBC that he expects to continue bombing Iran if negotiators cannot reach a deal. Let's discuss with our

International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson, joining us live now from Islamabad.

So, even though the Pakistanis are really asking the Americans and the Iranians to come and to begin negotiations, we don't really know what's

going to happen on the front just in terms of whether these negotiations are actually going to go ahead. We know that J.D. Vance has not left yet.

We also know that we're not entirely sure at this point in time whether or not Iranian negotiators plan to attend either. And on top of that, you have

Donald Trump threatening to resume bombing again if the ceasefire expires in the next 24 hours without a deal.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, look, the roller coaster really has taken off again today. At the beginning of today, it was

expected J.D. Vance would get on a plane and fly here for talks. And although it hadn't been announced publicly by the Iranians, the expectation

had been created here in Islamabad was that they would be coming.

They hadn't said it officially, but that sense, that understanding seemed to be in place, that's what we were getting here. However, a few hours ago,

when U.S. Marines boarded that tank, or that Botswana flag tanker in the Indian Ocean that had previously carried sanctioned Iranian oil that seems

to have sort of triggered a flurry of diplomatic activity here in Islamabad.

[11:40:00]

The U.S. charged affair here, Natalie Baker had a meeting with the foreign minister there. They discussed, you know, the importance of dialog, the

importance of diplomacy, the importance of getting Iran and the United States around the table.

And then the foreign minister also said in his statement that he felt that a ceasefire would be helpful in this situation, to extend the ceasefire.

This is sort of a bit of diplomacy, if you will, that we haven't seen, where the mediators here sort of try to sort of interject in a public way

and create a narrative.

They've very much stayed in the background and are not putting positions forward. So, I think that tells you, at that level, that the diplomacy here

is getting, not desperate, but they're digging deep. And then we have a statement from the information ministry here saying, look, working really

hard at the diplomatic level.

Nothing heard officially from Iran about them coming yet. They're saying the ceasefire here expires eight hours from now. That is much sooner than

President Trump has said. He was saying it would be late Wednesday in Washington, which would be early in the morning, Thursday morning here.

So, the position in Islamabad right now, coming from the information ministry, is they are doing everything they can as mediators to make the

talks happen, and they are appealing to Iran to make their position clear before that ceasefire in about eight hours, time expires. So, there's a

real effort here to get both sides to the table.

Is it broken down? Not clear. It is certainly not in the sort of place that it was just earlier this afternoon. It is a roller coaster again.

ASHER: Nic Robertson, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, in his latest piece on CNN, Stephen Collinson writes Trump's craving for the

spotlight, risks Iran deal, hopes. He joins us, live now from Washington.

So, one of the things that you write in the actual body of the article, Stephen is that one of the things that Donald Trump has touted, especially

in the art of the deal, and also his common knowledge, is that one of the worst things you can do is do in a deal when you're trying to make a deal,

is seem desperate to make one.

Just explain to us how Donald Trump has shown that desperation to reach a deal with the Iranians? And what that means for leverage, especially on the

Tehran side?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, well, Donald Trump has been gyrating between two different outcomes, potential outcomes here.

Last week, he said that everything had been agreed. The Iranians had agreed to hand over their enrich uranium, to open up the Strait and everything was

going to be fine.

Now he's saying, unless they do a deal, I'm going to start bombing them again. This is classic Donald Trump. He first tries to create an outcome

that may not be necessarily true, and then the way he approaches a negotiation is to take a maximalist position for his own political reasons.

I think he's trying to show strength going into this negotiation. There's a belief in the administration that the U.S. has won the war, so all that's

left is for Iran to capitulate. And I think that is what's playing out now.

The steps the administration has taken in boarding that ship, and of course, the rhetoric that Trump is adopting seems to me to be creating

potential conditions that might make it very difficult for Iran politically to show up.

So, I think had President Trump not been speaking about the deal in public incessantly, 24 hours a day for the last week or so, it might have made it

a lot easier for these talks to go ahead, if indeed they do not go ahead later the day.

ASHER: Usually when Donald Trump makes threats, be it taking over Greenland, be it on tariffs, we usually see other countries rush to the

negotiation table. Other countries, essentially at times, cower and cave in. The Iranians are very different.

And this is perhaps something that maybe Trump did not expect, but just explain to us how Iran strategy is perhaps somewhat different to what the

U.S. President might have been preparing for, and in the past has been used to?

COLLINSON: Yeah, Trump has, I would say, four or five times, threaten to break the ceasefire, start bombing again. He keeps talking about going

after Iran's power infrastructure. That doesn't seem to be moving the Iranians. I think there's perhaps a misunderstanding in Washington of

exactly the Iranian position.

[11:45:00]

And it's often been the case over the last 25 years of U.S. dealings with the Middle East that the administration in the White House takes a position

that it believes and lays out a logical step of actions for an adversary that it believes they will take, but they see things quite differently.

As I was saying, the U.S. thinks it's won the war, and therefore Iran is in a weak position. Clearly, Iran doesn't think it's in a weak position,

primarily because it's been able to hold the world a cost economy hostage, because it's been able to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

So, I think there is perhaps not quite a full understanding of Iran's position, or the need to perhaps give it some leeway to back out of this,

and also safe face. You know, Donald Trump's entire public persona is about getting wins. He wins the adversary loses. That can be very difficult to

pull off I think in this negotiation.

It's not that hard to see how a deal to at least suspend the fighting could take place. There could be an agreement from the United States to lift this

blockade of Iranian ports in return for Iran lifting its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, then you could put the nuclear issues into a side

negotiation that might take some time.

But that would be perhaps effective, at least in starting the flow of ships of the Strait and everything else. The problem is, does either side have

the political width, the will and the skill diplomatically to get to that point?

And I think that's what we're seeing here, is that two sides who are so consumed by mistrust after decades of estrangement, they cannot even get to

the table because of the political impediments here, let alone talk about the key issues.

ASHER: All right. Stephen Collinson, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right Apple's CEO is stepping down after more than a decade. Coming up,

who's taking over? What does it mean the company and its customers?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right. It is the end of an era. After more than a decade leaving Apple, Tim Cook is preparing to step aside. Marking a major shift in

leadership at one of the world's most valuable companies. CNN's Tech Reporter Clare Duffy tells us who will take the reins next?

[11:50:00]

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: That's right. After 15 years, Apple CEO Tim Cook will be handing over the reins, stepping into the role of Executive

Chairman at the company, and John Ternus currently Apple Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering will take over the role of CEO.

Tim Cook has had an incredible run at Apple. He took over from its Iconic Founder Steve Jobs, back in 2011 and had the sort of difficult task of

defining the post jobs era at Apple. He has really overseen building out this whole ecosystem around Apple's products, adding the Apple Watch the

Air pods, Apple services like Apple TV plus and games.

He also built out Apple's global supply chain and oversaw its rise to become a $4 trillion company. He also guided Apple through some really

difficult periods for the company, including the COVID-19 pandemic, which of course, disrupted production, also President Trump's tariffs in both his

first and second terms.

But still, this handoff was not totally a surprise. There have been questions that Apple has faced over the future of its leadership,

especially amid some high-profile stumbles over the past few years. In particular, the Vision Pro headset, this VR headset that Apple said was

going to be the future of computing has remained a very niche product.

Didn't get widespread adoption among consumers. And Apple is also seen as behind in artificial intelligence. Of course, many in the tech world see as

the future of technology. So there have been some questions and some thinking that Apple may need some fresh leadership and some new tech

innovation.

John Ternus is a well-respected, long time Apple employee. He's been at the company since 2001. And I think this timing of this transition will give

him an opportunity to come out and really introduce himself to Apple's consumers at the company's Annual iPhone event in September.

And so again, we didn't exactly know this was coming today, but not a totally surprising timing as Apple tries to look forward and define the

next era for the company. Back to you.

ASHER: All right, we'll be right back with more after the short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: Reid Wiseman, the Commander of NASA's recent Artemis II Mission around the Moon, is showing us one of the most surreal views any human has

ever seen. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you look at that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are looking at the Earth setting behind the Moon instead of the other way around, like we're all used to. This is called an

Earth Set. The video was taken by NASA Astronaut Reid Wiseman while he along with three other crew members were aboard Orion Spacecraft during the

Artemis II Mission.

[11:55:00]

In a social media post, Wiseman described the experience as only one chance in this lifetime, like watching sunset at the beach from the most foreign

seat in the cosmos. The historic fly by lasted seven hours during which the astronauts enjoyed views of the Moon never before seen by human eyes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Theme.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Absolutely incredible. It always feels good to end the show on some good news, stay with us. I will have much more "One World" with my

colleague, Bianna Golodryga after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END