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One World with Zain Asher

Iran Purports to Show Off Ballistic Missile at Tehran Rally; Uncertainty Swirls After Trump Extends Ceasefire with Iran; EU's $100+ Billion Loan to Ukraine Set to Move Forward; Druzhba Pipeline Restarts Russian Oil Flows to Hungary & Slovakia; Trump Administration to Fast-track Review of Psychedelic Drugs Like Ibogaine; "Project Hail Mary" LEGO Set Launches into Stratosphere. Aired 11a-12p ET

Aired April 22, 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]

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Iran seizes ships in the Strait of Hormuz while the U.S. blockade remains in place. "One World" starts right

now. So, what does all of this mean for the ceasefire extended by President Trump just yesterday? We're live at the White House with the latest.

Plus, CNN is marking Earth Day with a view from a shrinking glacier in the Arctic. And we'll speak with CNN's Christiane Amanpour this hour right

after her interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Hello, everyone. Live from New York, I'm Bianna Golodryga.

Zain is off today. You are watching "One World". A high stakes standoff is intensifying over one of the world's most critical waterways. Just hours

after the U.S. President extended his latest olive branch to Tehran. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said that it seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

And state media says a third vessel is now, quote, disabled off the country's coast. Now it comes after Donald Trump said that he was extending

his ceasefire with Iran, but said that the U.S. will continue its blockade of Iranian ports. Two sources tell CNN the extension is for a limited time.

One top Iranian official responded by saying, the extension means nothing, and the losing side cannot dictate terms. Meanwhile, Tehran put on a

display of military hardware during a pro government rally on Tuesday, parading what appeared to be a ballistic missile through the streets of the

capital.

CNN's Alayna Treene joins me now live from the White House, all of this internal propaganda and public posturing by the Iranians, no doubt they are

feeling the pinch of this blockade continuing. But yet, Alayna, the president, from reporting and from what you are hearing, is also not eager

to resume the war right now, the kinetic part of this war.

So, what went to his decision to ultimately extend the ceasefire yesterday?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, I think we saw yesterday was a major day for these talks, and I'd remind you where we were

just, you know, roughly 24 hours ago, the vice president was still contemplating traveling to Pakistan for in person talks that were expected

initially to be held in Islamabad today.

Clearly, that didn't happen. The president ended up calling his number two back to the White House, where they spent a lot of the afternoon. I was

told, inside a meeting, the president called a national security meeting. He had officials from the Pentagon, the State Department, the CIA, all come

to the White House to plot out next steps.

And ultimately, what we saw was the president announced that extension of the ceasefire around 04:00 p.m. yesterday. Now there's a couple things I

want to note here to your question, Bianna, because the president didn't initially want to extend the ceasefire.

Part of that was because he believed that a deadline would really provide more pressure on the Iranians to bring them to the table and get them to

respond. But that didn't happen. I was told, from one of the sources I was speaking with that essentially, there's been radio silence from the Iranian

recent days.

And that's in part, at least the Trump Administration believes, because they think there are divisions within the Iranian government, mainly with,

you know, the speaker of the parliament and the foreign minister, both of whom have been very involved in some of these negotiations.

They're on one side. They think the military and the IRGC is on another. And so really, the conversations that played out here at the White House

yesterday were about, how do we proceed? And ultimately, they decided to extend the ceasefire because they still believe that a deal could be had.

And I think that's the main takeaway here. The Trump Administration, the president personally, still do want diplomacy to prevail, and they believe

they have a chance at that. That's why you saw the president say he's going to give you know, at least on Truth Social he said an indefinite amount of

time, but he said give the Iranians more time to come up with a unified proposal.

But the new reporting we have today, and this is from my conversations with two sources who are familiar with the internal discussions happening here,

essentially saying that they do not want this ceasefire to be an indefinite one.

[11:05:00]

The president recognizes that having this extension does allow the Iranians to drag this out. That is not what they want, either. They want this to be,

hopefully just a couple of days. You know, I don't want to put a short time frame on it, but they essentially are saying a limited time frame that they

are going to be giving the Iranians to give them that response.

And the goal is hopefully to return to this idea of pushing toward a second in person meeting and trying to finalize some sort of agreement, but

there's so much that still is happening behind the scenes, and a lot of the onus right now on the Iranians to come up with that unified response.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you so much. Let's bring in Miad Maleki, a Former Senior U.S. Treasury Official and a Senior Fellow at the

Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Welcome back to the program, Miad. So, as we just heard there from Alayna's reporting, the White House is

viewing this as internal debate and friction and fractures perhaps within Iranian leadership here, between IRGC hardliners.

And perhaps some of those who have been more of the public face of this country right now and the regime, and that being the foreign minister and

now the speaker of parliament. Is that how you are viewing what is happening right now? And if so, how long do you think it's going to take

for one side to prevail here?

MIAD MALEKI, FORMER SENIOR U.S. TREASURY OFFICIAL: Thanks for having me. Yes. I mean, that's kind of my perspective here too, but also you got to

consider the rhetoric, the type of negotiation tactic that you've seen Iranian regime deploy over and over in these types of talks.

They really want to show that they're not really desperate for a deal, when, in fact, even you look at the numbers, economically, politically and

militarily, they're in a situation that they desperately need a deal but it also the reality here is they're facing a population in Iran that I would

say 80 to 85 percent do not want this regime.

They're done with it. As we saw in January, they had to kill over 40,000 of protesters to calm things, just for a few days. So, they have about 10 to

15 percent let's say, of core supporters who've been promised victory over the U.S. and the Western Israel for 47 years.

And now they're finding themselves negotiating over the rights, what they call the right to enrich or not. And if they give up under pressure and

give away their nuclear enrichment, uranium enrichment program, and not get whole lot of sanctions relief, then they're just going to lose legitimacy

with that 10 to 15 percent core supporters that they're left with.

So, it makes sense at this point that they're internally they're facing a crisis that they have to settle with some kind of, you know, agreement, get

some kind of sanctions relief, get this blockade lifted so they can get gasoline in which they desperately need. They're running out of gasoline

very soon, if they can't import gasoline.

And they can't get their oil out, they're going to have to start dropping the oil extraction, you know, in a matter of days. So, they're facing a

crisis, and they need some cash to keep the economy going. But also, they have to give up a nuclear enrichment program, which they've spent over, you

know, $900 billion on and it hasn't produced electricity, hasn't produced pharmaceutical products for them.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

MALEKI: It's really has turned to be useless, and they're at the point that I have to give it up.

GOLODRYGA: You were on this program April 13th. I went and looked back and you said at that time that if this blockade were to last for two weeks the

regime would struggle to pay salaries without petroleum revenue, and that is about a weekend from where we are right now for that to come to

fruition.

So do you think that the president can keep the pressure on with this blockade, or are we seeing the IRGC looking for some sort of work around

alternatives here, as we have seen them now confiscate and seize two more vessels.

MALEKI: Yeah, that's a timeline that I would stick with. I mean, the blockade has been very successful, although we've seen some of the tankers

managing Iranian tankers managing to get out, as I've seen some of the reports recently. You also see the Treasury Department coming in with some

sanctions, new sanctions, random sanctions, to putting pressure on some of the foreign purchasers of Iranian oil or shipping companies.

-- Iran has about 166 million barrels of oil that it managed to get out of the Persian Gulf and put on floating and storage, meaning tankers in

international waters that oil is available to the regime, to sell to the Chinese buyers. And, you know, get that to, you know, generate some

revenue, or get that to offset some trade with China.

[11:10:00]

So, the blockade is blocking that import. So, if the blockade continues to stay in place, if we have a couple more weeks of pressure on the regime

through the blockade, and the fact that the closure of a Strait of Hormuz by the regime, was really just more pressure on the regime's own economy

than any other nations.

So, the clock is moving really fast on their side, and that, you know, they can print Iranian rial to continue to pay salaries, but that's going to

continue to decline the purchasing power of the Iranian. So there, the clock is moving pretty fast on their end, they might, they might have to

start cutting back on salary payments soon.

GOLODRYGA: So, then what happens after that, Miad? Because I've heard you in a number of interviews talk about the internal friction now and debate

within the country itself. Given that you have some of the hard liners saying we have to stay the course, and you have others saying that this is

now becoming an economic crisis for the country and for the regime.

If this blockade holds for another couple of weeks. We know what will happen to Western countries. We know what will happen to oil prices. They

will likely continue to rise. What happens internally within Iran? What is it that will finally get the IRGC and the hard liners to crack?

MALEKI: Well, I think, you know, first of all, I think they're all hard liners. I wouldn't submit to the whole argument of, there's some of them

are more hard liners, some of them are less hard liners --

GOLODRYGA: Yes, understandable, right.

MALEKI: -- saying -- so, but at this point, they're really just the clock is kicking much faster for them economically. And you know, they have no

leverage really left other than disclosure of Strait of Hormuz, once again, which is hitting hurt in their economy more than any other economies.

And they're going to have to agree to some kind of a deal at this point. Otherwise, they're going to go back to if there are no air strikes or no

campaigns, they're going to have to deal with a domestic population that are facing a crisis, an economic crisis, and the internet has been shut

down.

Iranians are not able to run little, tiny businesses that they have been relying on. The e-commerce is completely collapsed. So, it's really --

they've reached a point that is very unique in the history of U.S. and Iran conflict, that Iranian regime is going to have to make a decision to give

up part of his enrichment program, or the entire program.

And not for a whole lot of sanctions relief, and stay in power and deal with the domestic population that is just done with this government, or

continue the course and very soon, you're going to See if the IRGC Basij militia are not getting their salaries, then it's highly possible that they

just the mid-level, low level militants or IRGC members are just not going to be, you know, be willing to go on a street and kill more demonstrators

or protesters Iranians on the street.

So that's the point, you're going to see frictions and defections in the Iranian regime. I think they're facing that already. There is a mistrust

between regime officials. They can come to a decision that process has already started.

GOLODRYGA: How much does it confuse the internal debate there, given that we have yet to hear from the Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei?

MALEKI: I think that's probably one of the major problems we're having internally. The supreme leader is going to have to stay in hiding, so he

can't communicate. Well, we don't really know Mojtaba Khamenei's views, whether they're harsher than Khamenei or he is willing to show more

flexibility.

At the same time, he's lost majority members of his immediate family. So, he's, you know, psychologically, he's probably very hurt and but as he

can't communicate with IRGC commanders that the politicians who are running these negotiations, they probably have completely different views.

Some of them might not look at the economic numbers. Some of them might think that they can keep going for another few weeks and get a better deal.

So, it's very obvious, if you look at the Iranian prints and news outlets that sometimes can manage to see because, again, the internet has been shut

down.

There's definitely some friction. There are disagreements within the political figures that are in charge right now, and you know, at some

point, you know someone's going to have to make a decision on behalf of the rest, and then that's going to trigger additional internal conflicts

between them.

GOLODRYGA: So just to conclude here, I don't want to put words in your mouth. You're saying that if this blockade holds for another couple of

weeks, you think there's a high likelihood that we could start to see defections from the Basij, from the IRGC military there, as well as

potential protests start to resume again.

[11:15:00]

MALEKI: I would say in a couple weeks, you're going to see significant economic pressure, really just a sudden increase in economic pressure,

they're going to have to deal with an oil front, gasoline front. And then in a matter of a couple months, you're going to see major frictions within

the political figures.

I wouldn't say a couple weeks to see frictions and protests, but I would say in a couple of weeks, they're going to run out of oil storage capacity,

they're going to have to face gasoline shortages every time they have gasoline shortages. So, they had to increase the price on gasoline.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah.

MALEKI: They had significant domestic protests. So, it's a clock that is moving really fast. We don't know when the trigger is going to -- we're

going to see that trigger as far as protests and frictions, but in a matter of couple weeks to couple months, they're going to have to really either

make a deal or be on the verge of kind of collapse.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and this is a country that's already in dire economic hardships, even prior to this war beginning, which is one of the reasons

why we saw those mass protests at the start of the year. Miad Maleki, thank you so much for the time. Appreciate it. Well, the hazardous situation in

the Strait of Hormuz is again driving oil prices higher.

While prices have dropped from their march peaks, they are still well above prewar levels. The high cost of oil is already driving up inflation as

well, and economists say that means high interest rates could be here for longer. Let's discuss it all with Eleni Giokos from Dubai.

And so, what does this mean in terms of what we're seeing right now in the markets responding to this latest announcement from the president, an

extension of the ceasefire, but also the blockade holding?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, exactly. I mean, it's really interesting to see. I mean, there's been so much confusion, I have to be

honest. I mean, there's been contradictory statements from both sides. Things are changing by the minutes. And we saw that massive fall in oil

prices on Friday, when Iran said they were going to open the Strait of Hormuz, things changed very quickly.

And then what we saw yesterday, when President Trump said he will not be extending the ceasefire. We saw prices increasing, and then he suddenly

comes out and says, there's an indefinite extension of the ceasefire. But right now, what we're seeing with Brent crude up almost 3 percent as well

as WTI up as well.

And this has got to do with the confrontation that we're seeing, Bianna, in the seas. And perhaps you're not seeing an escalation on land, but it's

definitely moving to a maritime confrontation. The IRGC has targeted about three vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.

They also say that they seized two vessels. And I have this video from Kpler that shows three vessels that were moving through the Strait of

Hormuz, two of them stuck very close to Iranian territorial water. Those are the ones that we believe have been seized, and then another the

euphoria heading lower.

So, we've seen a few of these incidents over the weekend. Now more today, this is in conjunction with the U.S. naval blockade being enforced, and

Iran is trying to assert its position in the Strait of Hormuz. And as your guest was saying, you know, the United States is tightening the screws on

Iran's ability to gain revenue from selling its oil on international markets.

Keeping in mind that the traffic that we've seen through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war has been dominated by Iranian tankers and

shadow fleets, mostly going to Asia. So, they've been profiting from the war, in addition to the United States lifting sanctions against Iranian oil

that was out at sea.

Now, according to Kpler data, and this is super interesting, around 176 million barrels of crude oil owned by Iran is currently on the water. And

they believe that the U.S. naval blockade is going to have to be enforced for quite some time longer for it to really put a squeeze on Iran's ability

to survive without these revenues.

But it feels like we're just in a limbo period until we find out whether we are going to see discussions in Islamabad. Iran really pushing back on

that, saying they want to see the removal of the U.S. naval blockade. And the United States is saying they're going to keep that in force, knowing

very well that this is going to pressurize Iran.

The question now becomes, who has the highest pain threshold? Is it Iran, which, of course, could face domestic issues very quickly, or is it the

international, you know, market and community that is already reeling with high inflation, higher jet fuel and higher food prices? So, we wait to see

how this works out, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Eleni Giokos explained it quite well for us. Thank you so much. Well, Ukraine is getting some much-needed funding from the EU. Coming up,

why it took so long for the EU loan to happen. And several scientists involved in the sensitive research, insensitive research, have died or

disappeared in recent years.

Now, the FBI wants to know if there's any sinister connection between these cases.

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[11:20:00]

GOLODRYGA: Ukraine is one step closer to a massive influx of cash to help it cover a budget deficit and defend itself against Russia. Earlier on

Wednesday, European Union Ambassadors unblocked a $106 billion loan. The loan had been approved last year, but outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister

Viktor Orban held up the deal over a pipeline dispute with Ukraine.

Clare Sebastian joins us now with the details. And you can't overstate what a relief this has been, Clare, for Ukrainians, given the thorn in their

side to getting this money that Viktor Orban really has been for so many years.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Bianna, absolutely. A huge relief to Ukraine, and I think to Europe as well, which was extremely worried. I

think about how they would handle this had Viktor Orban been reelected and continued to block this loan.

But now it looks like not only the loan will go ahead, but also the 20th package of sanctions on Russia, which had also been held up. And President

Zelenskyy calling this the right signal under the right circumstances, and calling for the delivery and the disbursement of this money to happen

quickly.

We expect the final sign off on this Thursday tomorrow, when EU leaders meet in Cyprus for their next meeting. So that is what's happening again, a

massive relief to Ukraine. This money is existential to them to continue to fund their defense. But a bit of background here, of course, you mentioned

the pipeline dispute.

This was all being held up because outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Ukraine needed to fix the Druzhba pipeline. The section of

it, you can see it there running through Ukraine, which still delivers Russian oil to a handful of European countries, including Hungary.

Now that pipeline, Ukraine says, was damaged in a Russian attack. So, it became this very politically charged issue where Ukraine said it was being

put in a position where it had to essentially repair a Russian pipeline damaged by Russia so that Russian oil supplies could flow to Europe, which

of course, leads to profit for Russia.

But now it seems that that pipeline has been repaired. President Zelenskyy reporting that on Wednesday, on Tuesday, rather. And so, all of the hurdles

for this loan, and probably as well, the 20th package of sanctions have been lifted. But again, massive relief Ukraine.

This is a lot of money, a $105 billion worth of loans to be disbursed over two years. That's about two thirds of Ukraine's forecasted budget shortfall

it will pay for everything from public services to defense. President Zelenskyy today telling our Christiane Amanpour that Ukraine could be

doubling the number of interceptors that it produces drone interceptors if it had more funding.

[11:25:00]

So absolutely critical and a huge morale boost, because the signal that Europe going forward may be more united in its support for Ukraine and its

will to put pressure on Russia, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: No doubt. And it was great to have Christiane get an interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. We'll play some sound from that in just a few

minutes. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much. Well, turning to the U.S. now, where the FBI is investigating the deaths or disappearances in recent years

of at least 10 scientists connected to sensitive nuclear or aerospace research.

The House Oversight Committee is also investigating, saying there are questions about a possible sinister connection among these cases. CNN's

Natasha Chen reports.

NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The circumstances of this dozen or so people vary widely, from people whose deaths had been publicly

reported and explained with suspects arrested to people whose disappearances truly leave detectives stumped.

I've tried to reach out to as many family members and close friends of these people as I could and the reactions also range widely, from some

laughing this off as ridiculous, to others hoping a federal investigation will finally give them some answers. The request for briefings from the

FBI, the Defense Department, Department of Energy and NASA, comes from the Republican led House Oversight Committee. Here's the Committee Chair, James

Comer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): When I first heard about this, I thought, well, that can't be true, that sounds like some kind of crazy conspiracy theory.

But once you see the facts, it would suggest that something sinister could be happening, and it would be a national security concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: But there's nothing sinister in the eyes of Julia Hicks, the daughter of Michael David Hicks, a scientist who died in 2023. He was named in those

congressional letters. There were internet rumors stemming from no publicly listed cause of death or available autopsy, but his daughter told me she's

the one who found him when he passed, and he had known medical issues.

She said he worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for nearly 25 years on near Earth comets and asteroids and how to deflect them from Earth,

nothing that she feels would put a target on his back. She told me, I can't help but laugh about it, but at the same time, it's getting serious,

referring to this congressional attention.

And then on the other end of the spectrum, you have disappearances like that of Anthony Chavez, 78 years old, who disappeared last year from Los

Alamos, New Mexico. He was retired and had been a foreman overseeing construction of new buildings at Los Alamos National Laboratory, according

to police.

A detective there told me he is at a loss. The clues show that Chavez was home the day before he was reported missing, but left all his stuff behind,

and though he was a hiker and could have gone to one of the many canyons in the area. It was also pouring rain that day, and he didn't bring a jacket.

Chavez's best friend, told me he tried to get the FBI involved initially, but was hung up on. He says it's about time the Feds look into this, and he

believes Chavez was abducted. I asked him to elaborate on that, but he said the Chavez family asked him not to say anything more.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted last week about what she called quote, recent and legitimate questions about these troubling

cases that agencies would holistically review all the cases together and leave no stone unturned. The FBI declined to comment.

The Department of Defense said only that it would respond to the committee directly, and the Department of Energy referred questions to the White

House. Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.

GOLODRYGA: Such a disturbing story. We'll stay on top of that for you. Still to come for us from black rain to thick smoke, the environmental

impact from the war in Iran. Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Bill Weir steaming through Svalbard, Norway, high in the Arctic Circle on this Earth Day,

talking about why this place has become such a hot spot. In more ways than one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Our Chief Climate Correspondent reports on the shrinking Arctic sea ice and what that means for the planet. That's when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:30:00]

GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga, New York. Here's some headlines we're watching today. President Trump has extended

the ceasefire with Iran, but says the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports will remain in place. Sources say he plans to give Tehran a limited time frame

to come up with a unified proposal to get peace talks back on track.

This is a live look at maritime traffic right now in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's IRGC says that its forces seized two ships in the strait.

It says those vessels have been transferred to Iranian waters. Meantime, Iranian media reports a third vessel was targeted by the IRGC and has been,

quote, disabled off Iran's coast.

Pope Leo is in Equatorial Guinea this hour. The pontiff is using the last full day of his Africa tour to speak out against wealth inequality. Later

on, he's expected to visit a high security prison that Human Rights groups say holds political prisoners in abusive conditions.

The British prime minister was grilled in parliament earlier over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK's Ambassador to the U.S. Jeffrey

Epstein files reveal that Mandelson had a close relationship with a convicted sex offender. The war in Iran is taking a toll on the environment

and could leave damage for decades to come.

Experts tell the Associated Press that the war has unleashed a toxic mix of chemicals, heavy metals and other pollutants that threaten health. Last

month, CNN reported thick black clouds and oil saturated rain shrouded Tehran after major air strikes hit refineries and storage sites.

For more on this, I want to bring in Doug Weir, the Director at the Conflict and Environment Observatory. Doug, thank you so much for joining

us. On this Earth Day, it's fair to say that the global spotlight on the economic -- on the environmental ramifications of this war are already

starting to fade.

We've got the regime enforcing a strict lockdown on any internet access right now, and given some of the concerns from the strikes that we've seen

over the course of the last six weeks, what worries you most about what we don't have access to?

DOUG WEIR, DIRECTOR AT THE CONFLICT & ENVIRONMENT OBSERVATORY: Yeah, thanks very much for the invitation to speak. Yeah, I think this is always the

problem which we find with the kind of work we do, which is remote environmental assessment, using satellite imagery and social media, for

example, to try and track incidents where we think there's a live likelihood of environmental harm.

It's often the case that we'll get sort of follow up straight after the conflict. But in this case, things have been quite quiet. We did see on

Monday, the Iranian authorities released their own report and sort of rapid assessment of the environmental impacts. It pointed to attacks in 10

provinces, damage to environmental facilities as well, in addition to impacts in industrial and energy sites.

[11:35:00]

And also, that 13 protected areas, coastal and on land had been impacted. So, nature reserves, places like that, but we really don't have the full

picture of the impacts at this stage.

GOLODRYGA: Yeah. And as noted, we saw alarming reports of burning oil refineries, sunken vessels, highly contaminated water, what poses the most

immediate life threatening, toxic concern and threat to people residents in Iran right now?

WEIR: Yeah, I think this is also a difficult one to determine remotely. We can look at some of the incidents like that, the black rain, which you saw

in Tehran when the oil facilities were targeted. And we saw immediate exposure risks for people, impacts on people with preexisting health

problems and vulnerabilities, for example.

But we've also seen a number of attacks on industrial sites, on petrochemical plants. So, there's a potential wide range of pollutants that

have been released. But in order to really understand the risks, we need to be able to get data from the ground, and we need to be able to look at how

those -- may get into people.

And until we can fill that gap, it's very difficult sort of say with a degree of certainty about the precise risks that people face.

GOLODRYGA: And Tehran, of course, in the regime, is quick to point the blame finger outwardly, but given their years of regime hold over this

country and focusing more on conflict and building up their proxies and all of these sites to potentially work up to a nuclear weapon.

When you want to get the data you need right now, how difficult is it to work with a regime like this where their truthfulness is clearly not on

display?

WEIR: Yeah, I think we need to be sort of clear. You know, this was an illegal war under international law. We saw a range of attacks,

particularly in civilian areas, for example, targeting sites around Tehran where there's a high degree of exposure risks for people.

At the same time, when we look at the Iranian regime historically, you know, there is a lot of technical capacity for environmental protection,

but the system, the regime itself, is not particularly conducive to environmental governance. It's not particularly open or accountable.

There's not very much transparency. It's been very difficult for environmental civil society to operate in Iran. So, what we see at the

moment, with hardening of the regime, it doesn't really fill us with confidence that it's going to create a space where there is openness around

the environmental impacts and also transparency and engagement of civil society and how these impacts are addressed.

GOLODRYGA: Given some of the ramifications and fallout from the first weeks of this kinetic war. Now I would argue we're more of an economic war, but

we could very much go back to full on fighting and kinetic warfare as well. What are the ramifications for those in the region, outside of just Iran,

in terms of food supply, water safety?

WEIR: Yeah, I think this has been one of those wars where we can see these very clear reverberating environmental and humanitarian impacts. So, we can

look at the lack of fertilizer exports, for example, from the Gulf, and the impact that will have on food security in Sudan and countries like that,

where we already have communities under huge strain from famine and threats.

Similarly, we can also see the reverberating consequences of the energy price shock in terms of shifts to more polluting energy sources in the near

term. So, we're looking at Thailand, places like that, where they're burning more coal. But over the longer term, we can see how this price

shock coming on the back of Ukraine is also increasing conversation around transferring to renewable energy, for example, to try and mitigate some of

these risks associated with fossil fuel dependency.

GOLODRYGA: So that's a note of optimism. But do you think it's one that, that will exist, as opposed to what we've seen historically as the

conversation, the excitement, enthusiasm around renewable investment, and then when things go back to status quo ante, more or less life goes back to

relying on traditional energy sources as well.

WEIR: Yeah, I think the situation, the picture, will look very differently from country to country. I know, from a European perspective at the moment,

which is our kind of main focus area. We saw how the war in Ukraine did trigger changes in European energy policy shift away from fossil fuels.

We've just seen the European Commission again putting out guidance around that to encourage European member states to accelerate that energy

transition. We had a conference next week with civil society and other states talking about fossil fuel phase out and coming off the back of the

war in Iran, affecting the Persian Gulf.

It's really supercharged discussions around the extent to which we are insecure in our economies due to our dependence on fossil fuels. So, this

feels like it may not be the transition point, but it's certainly helping accelerating that process which is already underway in many parts of the

world.

[11:40:00]

GOLODRYGA: Yeah, no doubt. Doug Weir on that note, Happy Earth Day to you. Thank you for all the work you continue to do. I know it is increasingly

challenging. Thank you for the time.

WEIR: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, with world attention now largely focused on Iran, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that it's important not to forget about Ukraine.

What he told our Christiane Amanpour, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Ukraine's President tells our Christiane Amanpour that the $100 billion loan his country just secured is literally a lifeline. Volodymyr

Zelenskyy spoke exclusively to Christiane on the same day the European Union approved a $106 billion loan to Ukraine.

The loan was previously held up by Hungary's pro Russia Prime Minister Viktor Orban. President Zelenskyy explained why his country has to push for

peace without much help from the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: We support ceasefire, where, in this case, now America, they shifted to the Middle East, and they are

deeply in the Iranian question. And I know that we have communication on the tactical level with their negotiation group.

And my group, and they have talks, and they had, for example, yesterday, some phone calls and et cetera. But we hope that we can organize the

meeting. I don't see now the -- you know, the opportunity to meet today or tomorrow, until the question the case of Iran will be closed, or -- some

fundamental ceasefire or something like this.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, that's having to really rely on another war until you end, yours. You have said that

President Trump does not want to irritate Putin and is trying to act like a negotiator rather than, you know, to take sides.

Tell me you know what you think now about the United States the reliability of the Trump Administration. Who are you depending most on now?

ZELENSKYY First of all, I think that we it's another, it's big risks when you, when you when you think that you have to close one war and then, you

know, mediate another, I think that it's doesn't work this way, because, yes, I mean this you have to think about security.

[11:45:00]

We don't have too much negotiation group from the United States. And in this case, I think it's a challenge that the same group is trying to manage

both. And I think what is important not to forget about Ukraine, because we have really full-scale innovation and big war on the land.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: And you can watch Christiane's full interview with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in just over an hour. That's at 01:00 p.m. Eastern,

06:00 p.m. in London. We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: On this Earth Day a worrying signal from the top of the planet, the end of winter is when sea ice in the Arctic is at its maximum. But when

scientists measured last month, there was a lot less than there should be. The area covered by sea ice was the smallest on record, actually, with

about half a million square miles of ice missing.

That's an area twice the size of Texas. Our Chief Climate Correspondent, Bill Weir, has this report from a unique location on a Norwegian island in

the Arctic Ocean.

WEIR: Greetings from a most gorgeous corner of the top of the world. Welcome to Svalbard, Norway. We're about 79 degrees north, way high in the

Arctic Circle, in this gorgeous fjord that is framed by the Lilliehook Glacier. Albert, the first of Monaco, came here way early in the 1900s took

a picture of this glacier because he was in the ice, and he used to go around the corner.

You couldn't even see the end of this glacier. His grandson came back, photographed the same fjord, just to show how much ice is disappearing up

here as a result of man-made global warming, and this season is emblematic of the changes. When we landed in Longyearbyen, Norway, this is sort of a

central town.

The melt had come a month earlier than anybody had expected, so snowmobiles, dog sleds for tourism, were all parked in the mud. Best guides

could do is offer boat rides. And that's sort of a trend these days, as the landscape melts and changes, as the economy shift, coal mines are shutting

down.

There's a lot of interest in sort of the precious minerals, rare minerals, that exist in this part of the world.

[11:50:00]

And prospectors are talking about that, of course, when Donald Trump says he wants to take Greenland that makes the Arctic a geopolitical hot spot.

But what's interesting is that Russia has been ejected from the Arctic League of Nations for its invasion of Ukraine. Donald Trump has frozen no

pun intended, all climate science funding and research, trying to kill anything that has a whiff of climate science.

So that's 50 percent of the Arctic. Russia and the U.S. not really at the table these days. So, you've got scientists from other countries. European

countries, Japan, South Korea, doing amazing work up here, trying to measure the changes at great discomfort and danger.

Luckily, no polar bears up here today, but that's another interesting story about what's happening. 10 years ago, we thought the polar bears would all

be starving by now because the sea ice holds ringed seals, that's their main prey. But these bears have adapted to hunting reindeer now or foraging

along the seashore, going after duck and goose eggs and some Svalbard polar bears are as fat as they've ever been.

But there's a limit to how fast they can adapt, and there's fear that this population could crash like the polar bears we're seeing in Canada. But for

the human population, the scientists up here that I've been talking to, there's such frustration about the politics, especially United States,

reversing on climate change, science, adaptation, mitigation, just as this whole landscape really melts beneath their feet.

Hopefully, this Earth Day is another chance for a wakeup call to realize that what happens up here connects all of us, affects everybody from Texas

to Wisconsin to other hemispheres. And if you think the price of oil is high now, oh, as one scientist told me, just wait until the North Pole

melts.

It's going to be ice free in our lifetimes. It could absolutely happen. So, we're here talking to folks trying to get a grip on it. We're here on this

voyage. The Freyja, a Swedish flag vessel is our home on this amazing adventure, and we can't wait to share all these stories with you in the

coming days. Bill Weir, CNN, Svalbard, Norway.

GOLODRYGA: Beautiful yet sobering reporting there from our colleague, Bill Weir. Well, President Trump signed an executive order over the weekend to

fast-track research on both -- to track both research on and access to psychedelic drugs as potential mental health treatments.

The order involves all psychedelics as a group, but only one specific drug was mentioned by name Ibogaine. CNN Health Reporter Jacqueline Howard has

more.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: The drug we're talking about here is called Ibogaine, and what it's a psychedelic compound that's extracted

from the Iboga plant in Central Africa. And what this drug does, like you mentioned, some military veterans actually have been advocating for its use

to help with PTSD symptoms.

And it is used in some other countries to help with opioid withdrawal symptoms, but here in the United States, it is illegal. It's currently a

schedule one controlled substance. But it's getting some renewed attention right now.

And actually, on Monday night, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary told our colleague, Kaitlan Collins that if this drug does get reviewed, and if it

does down the line, potentially become FDA approved, then the FDA and the DEA have a system through which it could be rescheduled.

And right now, the Trump Administration is waiting to receive clinical trial data to review some psychedelics, including Ibogaine. If the FDA does

receive clinical trial data. Here's what happens next. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARTIN MAKARY, FDA COMMISSIONER: Once we have them in house, we'll be issuing national priority vouchers for a review within one to two months,

instead of the standard one-year time frame, and that's because this is a national priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: Dr. Makary there said this is a national priority because he also mentioned that each year an estimated about 6000 veterans sadly die by

suicide, so finding more potential treatment options is important right now. And Trump's recent executive order provides a fast-track pathway for

psychedelics like Ibogaine to potentially apply for FDA approval, and this kind of puts them on a fast-track to doing so.

There is a need to get more data looking at the risks versus benefits. But what we know so far, the risks it can come with are it can be associated

with abnormal heart rate or abnormal heart rhythms. It can be associated with vomiting as a side effect, and there have been some deaths reported

associated with using Ibogaine.

Again, many military veterans are advocating for more research in this space, and so we can hopefully learn more about the risks versus benefits

as these studies continue.

[11:55:00]

GOLODRYGA: Our thanks to Jacqueline Howard for that report. And finally, before we go, a mini figure version of Ryan Gosling just broke a Guinness

world record by launching into the stratosphere. A LEGO set inspired by the film "Project Hail Mary" took off above Wales using a high-altitude balloon

system.

On board were many figures of the characters Ryland Grace, who Gosling plays and the alien Rocky. It set the Guinness world record for highest

altitude launch and retrieval of a LEGO set reaching nearly 115,000 feet above sea level. See you learn something new every day when you watch "One

World".

And do say with CNN. I'll have more "One World", you'll learn even more, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END