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Qatar Says Iran War on Verge of Spiraling Out of Control; U.S. Gas Prices Soar Amid Global Energy Supply Shocks; Music Festival Cancelled After U.K. Bans Headliner Kanye West. Aired 4:00p-5p ET

Aired April 07, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:17]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: So the markets, they are off their lows significantly, I will add. But like the rest of us, everyone is

waiting to see what happens next in the Iran War.

Those are the markets and these are the main events.

President Donald Trump threatens Iran's existence with his deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz just hours away now.

Vice President J.D. Vance criticizes foreign interference in Hungary's elections as he campaigns for Viktor Orban.

And the Artemis II crew is now on its way back to Earth. We get a mission status briefing from NASA this hour.

Live from New York. It is Tuesday, April 7th. I am Paula Newton, in for Richard Quest, and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Good evening.

We begin with the Middle East on edge. The UAE is engaging air defenses and explosions are being heard in Doha. This, after a stark new threat from the

U.S. President that "a whole civilization will die tonight if Iran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8:00 P.M."

So far, there has been no indication that Iran will back down, though U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance says in his words, there is going to be a lot of

negotiation.

Now, in the meantime, the U.S. has begun striking military targets on Iran's Kharg Island, the source of almost all of Iran's oil exports.

Now, Israel, too, is continuing its strikes ahead of that 8:00 P.M. deadline, that is Eastern Time. I will remind you. That's four hours away.

Israel says it has hit eight bridges and railways in Iran, which it claims were being used to transport military equipment.

Gulf countries are asking both sides to take a step back here and say they are worried that the conflict could be about to spiral out-of-control.

Now, a significant development in the last hour, Pakistan's Prime Minister is calling for President Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks.

Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us. And, Jeremy, as you follow this so closely, I have had for weeks now, how would you characterize the ongoing

negotiations? Are they dead? Dying? Hopeful? Because we've had a lot of developments just in the last hour.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think the last hour has really changed quite a bit about the direction in which things seem to be

going in, this last ditch plea by the Pakistani Prime Minister comes amid backchannel, you know, backroom diplomacy that are taking place involving

the Pakistani's between the United States and Iran ahead of this 8:00 P.M. deadline.

So just four hours before that, we are now seeing this plea from the Pakistani Prime Minister for the United States to extend this deadline by

another two weeks. He is also calling on the Iranians to open the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture for those two weeks, and also urging both

sides to abide by what would effectively be a temporary ceasefire, to allow diplomacy to take hold.

Now, we don't yet have a response from The White House or from the Iranians about that latest proposal. The White House Press Secretary saying that

President Trump has received this request from the Pakistani Prime Minister, but has yet to make a decision and will make that decision known

once he does.

This last ditch effort comes as all of the other indicators are really pointing much more towards an escalation here in the Middle East. We have

seen a number of warnings being extended to civilians in Gulf countries.

In Kuwait, the country's Interior Ministry urging people to remain home overnight. In Bahrain, the U.S. Embassy telling its citizens to shelter in

place. Weve also seen the United States issue a travel advisory for Saudi Arabia, and in just the last ten minutes or so, the Israeli military warned

Israeli civilians here that they could potentially see an increase in Iranian ballistic missile attacks should this deadline not be extended

tonight and should the United States carry out significant strikes in Iran.

And so you can see all the pieces heading in this direction of escalation. And then just, you know, this one diplomatic effort in Pakistan trying to

avert all of that from actually taking place. We will see in the coming hours whether or not it succeeds.

NEWTON: Yes, and you have to ask why Pakistan decided to go public with that and say that they were working on this. I do want to point out to our

viewers, the President is at The White House right now.

We are obviously keeping an eye on his Truth Social post to see if he has anything more to say. And Jeremy, I have to ask you what Israel's

involvement in these negotiations is at this hour.

[16:05:08]

I mean, as you followed so closely, the Netanyahu government has pretty much at every turn advised the Trump administration to continue with its

war on Iran until, in their words, the job was done.

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right and that seems to be the Prime Minister Netanyahu's position in recent days in his discussions with President

Trump. You know, the Israelis have consistently believed that the conditions aren't yet ripe for a deal for Iran to make the kinds of

concessions that would be necessary to achieve the kind of deal that Israel would consider to be a good one, one where Iran agrees to no uranium

enrichment, significant curbs on its ballistic missile program, its support of regional proxies, and the list goes on.

What the Israelis are preparing for is the scenario of escalation. We know that today, they have already begun carrying out strikes on infrastructure

targets in Iran railways, bridges, highways that have been struck by the Israeli military. But I am told by sources that Israel is also prepared to

strike additional infrastructure and energy targets inside of Iran, that there is an expanded list of targets that has been approved by the Israeli

security establishment, all they are waiting for is the greenlight from President Trump -- Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, and we all wait on the next word from The White House. Jeremy Diamond for us in Tel Aviv, appreciate it.

Now we want to get more on the significant military developments. I want to bring in retired U.S. Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst, Cedric

Leighton.

Thank you so much. Good to see you, as we continue to try and parse the developments just in the last few hours.

Now, the president is talking about hitting key infrastructure here. He knows the consequences of this and the risks. Would this have been an

option that military planners clearly put on the table for him? Because the language obviously is not in any way, shape or form. I don't think

anything, you know, that his generals would be looking at him saying, I mean, the end of civilization.

No, it is something much more practical when he says about hitting infrastructure, what are military planners getting at there?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. So, Paula, great to be with you again.

One of the things that they look at, of course, is infrastructure that is going to impact military operations on the other side. So, in the case of

Iran, which is our enemy or our adversary in this particular war, you have a situation where you've got certain transportation routes that really

support the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. You also have railroads that, you know, are part of that.

You have pipelines. So you're talking about oil pipelines. You're talking about the electricity grid. So, all of those things are potential targets.

The only problem with a lot of them is that many of them are used for civilian use. The other part of it is that they -- some of them are also

dual-use facilities. And in a case like Iran, where the economy is about 40 percent or so controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, there are a

lot of dual-use facilities, which means that there are a lot of potential targets there, but they really have to be weighed very carefully when

you're conducting planning discussions and when you're actually putting that plan together.

NEWTON: Yes, and the President does not discuss, you know, striking targets in any precise way. He is really going for the maximalist position here.

If we concentrate on Kharg Island and how it might be broader than, you know, have a pivotal point, I should say, in a broader military operation.

Remind everyone, of course, 90 percent of Iran's oil is exported off that island. Could that be, in your estimation, an option here, given the fact

that we have seen the U.S. military now go back overnight and strike that island again?

LEIGHTON: Yes, the fact that it is being restruck as we would say in the targeting business, that is, you know, certainly an indicator that Kharg

Island may potentially be a target of not just these bomb strikes, but of a potential occupation. So that's something that, you know, could be part of

the plan. In other words, take Kharg Island because of that, the fact that it controls about 90 percent of Iran's oil exports hold that hostage for

leverage when it comes to negotiations or potential negotiations. That is one possible scenario.

The other possibility is that this is all a feint and that they are doing operations, conducting operations on Kharg Island, but they have got other

targets in mind. Perhaps Larak or Abu Musa Island in the Persian Gulf that are both or near the Strait of Hormuz. That could also potentially be, you

know, another set of options for them.

But one of the things that would be key to this is that, you know, when military planners look at this and they are looking at it from a very

practical standpoint, they are looking at what will be the maximum impact on the adversary. How much are they going to be able to impact what the

adversary does, prevent the adversary from exercising their military options and achieve military victory, or at least some kind of approved

solution set as early as possible.

[16:10:15]

That's really what planners would do in this case.

NEWTON: You know, as you and I have been speaking, we are getting more information about what is going on in the region. Several Gulf countries

now saying that their obviously their air defenses are up as they are seeing much more activity. That is what is going on right now. We don't

have any more information other than people have been told to shelter-in- place and that these air defenses have been activated in places like the UAE, in Doha.

In fact, what I want to ask you, though, and I just want to remind our viewers what happened in late February when this started, and that was that

a drone actually hit a luxury hotel, the Fairmont Hotel, and that seemed to be a warning of some respects.

Now, there has been a lot of infrastructure hit since then, a lot of air defenses have been up as well. In terms of what retaliation might look

like, if there is no negotiation that leads to a deal, how much escalation could we see from Iran itself? Do you believe it would go after civilian

targets that we are looking at right now?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think they would actually, Paula, and it is -- you know, that that Fairmont Hotel targeting that the Iranians did early on in this

conflict, that's an indicator. What they are doing is they are basically trying to cripple the Gulf state economies.

The Gulf states have tried very hard to diversify their economies from oil and gas into, you know, more -- other areas, everything from A.I. all the

way to tourism. And of course, the airlines that we all know, like Emirates and Qatar Airways and Etihad, those are critical components of the Gulf

states' economies.

And this conflict has really put a wrench into all of this, and it is creating a big problem for the Gulf state economies. It is also providing a

completely different environment for them, and they are not ready for that and the Gulf states are very much interested in getting this conflict over

as quickly as possible.

That may not be the case with Saudi Arabia, but it certainly is the case with the other Gulf states at this point.

NEWTON: Yes, and we will see in the next few hours, as I said already, activity in the region that CNN is following carefully.

Cedric Leighton for us, as ever, thanks so much.

Now, sources say members of the Trump administration are still hoping to reach a deal with Iran before the President's deadline, and as I have

reminded you, it is less than four hours away.

Alayna Treene is with me now.

Alayna, you've been breaking news all afternoon, and as I understand it, you have more news on The White House response to Pakistan's latest offer

of perhaps putting a two-week pause on things.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, I mean, look, I think it is worth noting off the top here that what we are seeing from the Pakistanis

is them really trying to buy time here. It is exactly what I have been hearing from my conversations with the administration officials today,

which is that they are hoping they could find some sort of solution that could either delay these more aggressive military operations and attacks

that the President has been warning about, or at least lessen the severity of them by this deadline, while this proposal from the Pakistanis could

potentially be one symbol that the President could point to, to do just that.

Though essentially what the Prime Minister said is he has one, offered a pretty optimistic view of the pace of these negotiations. I should note, of

course, it is in their interest, the Pakistanis have been a crucial moderator throughout this entire, you know, back and forth passing messages

between Washington and Tehran, and they do want to find a diplomatic solution.

But he essentially said in a statement that efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are, "progressing steadily, strongly

and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantial results in the future."

Now, what he also called for was, one, he called on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks to allow these negotiations to continue. He

called that a gesture of goodwill, but then he also called for all parties, that means Washington and Tehran to agree to a temporary two-week

ceasefire, again to allow talks to continue.

It is very much unclear at this point, if this is enough to prevent the President to stave off that escalatory action that he has been threatening,

but I will say I spoke with The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, she said to me in a statement that the President has, "... been

made aware of the proposal and a response will come."

Now, again, I want to get back into some of the really ratcheted up rhetoric we heard from President Trump this morning, you know, saying in

that Truth Social post that a whole civilization will die tonight if Iran does not heed its calls to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by 8:00 P.M.

I spoke with a lot of sources familiar with a lot of the talks that are happening behind-the-scenes and essentially, what they told me is that a

lot of this is the President trying to put maximum pressure on the Iranians to try and force them to acquiesce on this.

Again, very much unclear whether or not that is actually something that could happen.

[16:15:21]

But by and large, what I am hearing from top administration officials is that diplomacy is still the priority here. They are hoping for it, but

again, we are now less than four hours away from this deadline that the President has set, even though that seems like not a lot of time, everyone

I have been speaking to, Paula in that building behind me essentially says it is still a lot of time to see if there could be a breakthrough, and

that's certainly what they are hoping for.

NEWTON: Well, it does seem to be in the President' hand. It is his deadline and now, we have an idea that perhaps he will look at this and Iran could

also act right, because opening the Strait would certainly be a significant gesture, you know, with everything that we've seen in the last few weeks.

Alayna Treene, grateful to you for the reporting. We will continue to come back with you as soon as we have more news. Appreciate it.

Now, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is on the campaign trail in Budapest, Hungary. He is spearheading The White House's effort to help reelect Prime

Minister Viktor Orban. We will have more from Hungary in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is in Hungary to support Viktor Orban in Sunday's election. The Prime Minister and his Nationalist Party

are trailing in the polls after 16 years in power.

Vance told reporters that he was there, in part because the E.U. has been trying to undermine Orban's reelection chances. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: What has happened in this country, what has happened in the midst of this election

campaign is one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I have ever seen, or ever even read about.

The bureaucrats in Brussels have tried to destroy the economy of Hungary. They have tried to make Hungary less energy independent. They have tried to

drive up costs for Hungarian consumers, and they have done it all because they hate this guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, the Vice President spoke at a rally and even put President Trump on a speakerphone to try and address the crowd. You see it there.

Now, meantime, Peter Magyar, the head of the leading opposition party, criticized Vance's visit, saying "... no foreign country may interfere in

Hungarian elections."

[16:20:10]

Jill Dougherty is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She is also a CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow Bureau Chief. She joins us now

from Washington.

Jill, really good to see you.

I know that you were in Hungary last month, and I have to say, we have to note, right, that both the Trump administration and Vladimir Putin are

backing Viktor Orban in all of this. And, J.D. Vance is there on the scene as we have a hot war, as we call it, that the United States is engaged in

right now.

I am wondering what people in Hungary are making of a visit like this.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN RUSSIAN AFFAIRS CONTRIBUTOR: You know, this is a very big deal. Number one, this election is crucial. Mr. Orban has been in power

now, as you mentioned, for 16 years.

He is kind of the symbol of what he would call he invented the term an "illiberal democracy." And we can talk about what that means. And so if he

were to lose, it would be significant for other countries in the region, especially look at Slovakia, which would be and I think for the United

States, certainly for the MAGA movement, if he were to lose.

So this is a very important election and that is why you have J.D. Vance there and putting President Trump on the phone.

NEWTON: It still begs the question as to what kind of influence they're having. You have J.D. Vance in a speech basically saying that the E.U. was

trying to interfere in the Hungarian election. And yet there he is, even putting the President on the speakerphone.

I guess I am just trying to get the tenor of what voters were saying to you, because they obviously know they have had so much attention. It is 10

million people in this country, not an insignificant country in the E.U., but not the most significant and they have had an inordinate amount of

attention from all over the world on what is going on this weekend as they vote.

DOUGHERTY: Yes. I mean, that is a very good point.

Well, people that I spoke with primarily, they are saying that the U.S. role is not really that great. And if President Trump had gone to Hungary,

that would be probably, you know, more significant.

But this really is and when you look at the polling with Orban behind by about ten points, it is really an economics, you know, what is the economy

doing? And so when people look at that, when Hungarians look at that and you can see it in the polls, you can hear it in conversations, they are

looking at what is their daily life like right now.

And they have a lot of inflation. They have high inflation. Their currency is weaker. Their social services, you know, health care, et cetera are

diminished. And so that is what they are looking at and they are not very happy about the situation that is ongoing right now in Hungary.

NEWTON: And, you know, we talked about the polls and that certainly if you look at the polls, the opposition has a fair shot here of getting into

power. And yet some have indicated that Viktor Orban has already laid the groundwork for this election, perhaps the counting to go okay, but that,

you know, in terms of any kind of electoral structure here, that he has already laid the groundwork to really give himself the advantage in this

election.

DOUGHERTY: Well, he has had the advantage for a number of years. I mean, if you look, he came in again 16 years ago, and one of the first things he did

was to rewrite the Constitution. So they have a new Constitution, and it is rather complicated.

Their election system really is very complicated, but essentially it allows the ruling party Fidesz to have what is called a supermajority so they can

get fewer votes or less significant number of votes and still get a supermajority in Parliament. And that is where they can pretty much change

the Constitution or change the laws at will.

And there are other things that this government has brought into place. One would be gerrymandering. There is a lot of gerrymandering and other

techniques that I have seen in that part of the world, including Russia and other, you know, let's call them post-Soviet. This is not post-Soviet, but

Central Europe, Eastern Europe techniques to keep the ruling party in power.

NEWTON: Well, Jill Dougherty, you've given us lots of reasons to continue to watch this election closely, as we will be doing throughout the weekend.

Jill Dougherty for us, thanks so much.

Now, NASA is set to provide updates on the Artemis II mission in just a few minutes, and well bring you that live as it happens.

The crew right now heading home after their historic flyby of the moon. Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will spend

three days journeying back to Earth after venturing farther away from our planet than anyone has before.

[16:25:10]

The crew has captured breathtaking images. Isn't it stunning? I mean, just look 's t the colors. This is a shot of the Earth dipping behind the moon's

horizon or an Earth set is what they call it in NASA speak.

Here you can see a total solar eclipse from the perspective of the Orion spacecraft. They were lucky to get that eclipse while they were up there.

The crew also sent back these close-up shots of the moon's surface.

I mean, think of that. They took those kinds of detailed pictures of the moon.

NASA as we were saying, is ready for a press conference at any moment. We will bring that to you, but in the meantime, we want to go to former NASA

astronaut, David Wolf, who is with us from Houston.

Just to talk about this extraordinary journey. So far, it is not over yet. You, as a one-time astronaut, you've got plenty of miles on you, 168 days

in space as I read, multiple spacewalks. So I want to know from you, what has been your takeaway of this Artemis mission since it began a few days

ago?

DAVID WOLF, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: An important takeaway is that the U.S. is preeminent in space, and we are leading the rest of the world. We are

going with the rest of the world, and it is onward and outward.

Humans are interested in where we came from, and we are interested in where we are going and it is to the moon to use the resources on the moon and

then on to Mars to live.

NEWTON: We are looking at some of the stunning pictures again. I mean, what did you think? Because as they've pointed out, it was not possible before

this journey to really get that kind of perspective of the moon.

WOLF Now, Commander Wiseman has put it well when he was reporting the three dimensionality captured him. When I first saw Earth, I thought I was seeing

something out of a movie or something couldn't happen.

The whole three dimensionality of the space and the earth being a sphere, not flat, and that all strikes you when you're out in it, it is so strongly

you get this overview effect.

NEWTON: So NASA has been clear as well that this is like a survey of the moon and it is significant because they are literally scouting landing

spots for future permanent space stations, perhaps on the moon. At least that's the way they want to do this.

I mean, what did you notice? You know, we are looking at a nice picture right now of the craters. I mean, how is this kind of detail helping to

expedite future missions? Because NASA wants this to really be not as much as a mission a year, but almost they want to have several Artemis missions.

WOLF: Well, for one thing, the Artemis program can access any point on the moon, and the poles are very important. These have been around for over

four billion years when the Earth and moon formed at the same time, and the Earth became a very different planetary body and the, the moon is like a

witness plate of how the Earth formed. It looks back in time, essentially.

We also need to use these resources to make water, to make fuel to go to Mars. There are so many reasons to go to moon. It is hard to know where to

start.

NEWTON: But as you say, it is also going to lead to Mars. NASA has been very clear about that, that everything they learned from future Artemis

missions, the end goal is not the end goal, but another goal is Mars.

WOLF: Right, right. We are on our way to Mars. And don't forget, this is a shakedown mission for the vehicle. They have tested every system, backup

systems, they have intentionally failed thrusters to determine how the rest of the thrusters will work in a manual hand control mode, for example. They

have let each pilot up there attempt it, every crew member and they've learned so much about the vehicle performance that will have to do much

longer missions to Mars in not too distant future.

NEWTON: Yes, as you point out, it wasn't just a test mission. It is a test drive of that Orion spacecraft.

David Wolf, for us, thanks so much. As we continue to stand by here for more information from NASA. Appreciate it.

Now, one of London's largest music festivals has been cancelled after its headliner was banned from the U.K. The backlash behind Kanye West's act's

performance, we will have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:32:46]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: OK, so we are three and a half hours away from President Trump's deadline for Iran. Now, the president

says the U.S. is, though, in the midst of heated negotiations over the Iran war, although he declined to elaborate while speaking to FOX News.

Now, this is all surrounding around Pakistan's efforts here. It is urging both sides to pause the fighting for two weeks to allow for diplomacy. As

we speak, at this hour, several Gulf countries have been working to intercept missile and drone attacks. In fact, Qatar is warning that the

situation in the Middle East is close to spiraling out of control.

CNN's Matthew Chance has more now on how the region is reacting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: They're very worried. They're fearful in fact about what the coming hours could bring

because while President Trump is speaking about essentially killing a civilization, bombing Iran's civilian infrastructure, its power stations,

things like that, its desalination plants, I mean, what he doesn't seem to be appreciating, and the main concern here, is, you know, the retaliation

that Iran has vowed to undertake if that happens.

I mean, you're right. Iran has already been tossing missiles and drones sort of towards, you know, these Gulf Arab states over the course of the

past five or six weeks since the war began. It's sort of targeting, you know, civilian infrastructure, energy infrastructure, things like that. But

the Revolutionary Guard in Iran has vowed that that retaliation will be stepped up enormously if Trump carries out his threat to attack civilian

infrastructure in Iran.

So an enormous amount of concern that could be catastrophic economically for the region, for the broader global economy, as this region is now on

the brink of yet further escalation.

Earlier, I spoke to a Qatari official. He's the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, and we discussed that exact issue. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Given that we're now approaching President Trump's latest deadline, I think it's his fifth deadline, do you have any reason to be confident

that this crisis can be defused before it's too late?

[16:35:01]

MAJED AL-ANSARI, QATARI FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON: We have been warning since 2023 that escalation left unchecked will get us into a situation

where it cannot be controlled and we are very close to that point. And this is why we have been urging all parties to find a resolution out of this, to

find a way of ending this war before it spirals out of control.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Yes. It could spiral out of control. Very strong words there from the normally reserved Qatari Foreign Ministry. No one is ruling out,

though, that in the hours ahead there could be some sort of diplomatic solution. There are initiatives that are still being still underway. A

Pakistani led initiative. There's a 10-point plan that's been put out by the Iranians to bring the war to an end as well.

There's nothing public to suggest that any compromise is in the offing. But, you know, the alternative is an absolutely potentially catastrophic

escalation in this Iran war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Our thanks to Matthew Chance there in Doha.

Now, U.S. officials warn it will take months to fully restore energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Reminder, there's hardly anything getting

through the strait at this hour. The price of WTI surge -- WTI crude surged Tuesday after the U.S. struck military targets on Iran's Kharg Island. Now

it's retreated a bit after trading above $116 a barrel. Even so, the price of U.S. crude oil has doubled since the start of the war. Some businesses

have started passing those higher costs on to consumers.

Vanessa Yurkevich is in New York for us.

And Vanessa, I know how closely you follow all of this. What caught my eye was the Energy Department saying, and I'm quoting them now, "Just as we

have never before seen the strait close, we've never seen it reopen. What exactly that looks like remains to be seen."

I mean, they're saying that, look, they won't know really what this will look like and that that could be months, even if it opened today, that it

could be months before we get more normalcy to oil flows and therefore prices.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I was speaking to an oil analyst earlier this morning asking her this exact

question, and she really had a tough time putting a timeline on it, but said maybe about six months just because as you said it's never been done

before, reopening such a critical point for oil that it moves, you know, through this point consistently every single day, but has not for more than

six weeks now.

And of course, that is what has pushed those oil prices higher. You can see crude oil, U.S. crude coming down just a little bit off the high of $116 a

barrel today. That is a 100 percent increase from just about a month ago, when U.S. crude was trading much closer to $57 a barrel. You can see that

just escalation over time there on that line chart.

But of course, Paula, that has trickled right on down to gas prices here in the United States, the national average, $4.12 today, just up about $0.02

from a day ago, and up significantly from a month ago, in six weeks ago, when the average price of a gallon of gas was below $3 a gallon. Also,

watching diesel, which has been rising much faster than regular gas. Diesel, is $5.65 a gallon. That is not that far away from the record set in

2022, when the war with Russia and Ukraine broke out. That level, that record was $5.82.

And we've been watching jet fuel, in addition. That has doubled in price in just the last month or so, trading closer to $4.69 a gallon. So now

companies are really having to wrestle with what is to be done with all of these higher energy costs. So we're hearing from Amazon, for example,

saying that they're going to impose a temporary 3.5 percent fuel surcharge on any third party operators that are using their shipping service.

U.S. Postal Service, first time ever, adding an 8 percent fuel charge on packages. And then look at that Delta, JetBlue and United all trying to

figure out ways how to not increase fares for consumers, but they're basically adding extra charges in baggage. So about a 10 percent increase

in, excuse me, $10 increase in checked baggage fees. United also saying that they're going to cut back on how many routes they're running by 5

percent over the next six months just to try to keep those prices lower for everyday consumers.

As you said, just a really uncertain time. People are waiting until that 8:00 p.m. deadline. You have traders, investors, everyday Americans just

wondering what's going to happen around 8:00 p.m. this evening to see ultimately what it means for the fate of Iran. But of course, for all of

these rising costs that so many of us are watching every single day, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. And as you covered so brilliantly during the pandemic, and then when we saw inflation rise so much, it is so often those small

businesses that, you know, it touches everyone, not just the big corporations as laid out.

Vanessa Yurkevich, we'll continue to lean on your expertise here as we see after weeks now the whole war with Iran really starting to affect

businesses large and small. Appreciate it.

[16:40:08]

Now, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Kanye West should never have been invited to headline a U.K. music festival. Now, as Anna Cooban

reports, the whole thing has been called off.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS CORRESPONDENT: A major London music festival has been canceled after Kanye West was blocked from entering the

United Kingdom. Kanye, who now goes by the name of Ye, was set to headline London's three-day Wireless Festival in July. The announcement sparked

outrage over Ye's repeated antisemitic remarks, including a song he released last year called "Heil Hitler."

In a statement, the organizers of Wireless Festival said that Ye's visa had been withdrawn and as a result the festival was canceled. They added,

quote, "Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognize the real and personal impact these issues have had."

CNN has contacted the U.K. Home Office for comment.

The news comes just a day after major sponsors Pepsi and Diageo pulled out of the event. Ye had previously issued a statement offering to meet with

members of the Jewish community in the U.K. and, quote, "show change through my actions."

Anna Cooban, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now Wall Street pared its losses on hopes of a last-minute agreement before the U.S. -- between the U.S. and Iran. Now, many who

follow the markets believe it has been incredibly resilient so far. In fact, as you can see there, the Dow closed 85 points lower. But it was, you

know, a few hundred points lower earlier in the day. The S&P and Nasdaq eked out small gains enough to extend their winning streak. Think about

that. They've had a five straight sessions of a winning streak on both the S&P and the Nasdaq. And again they're not that far off from their all-time

highs.

Looking now at Dow components. UnitedHealth soared 9 percent. It will benefit from higher payments by the U.S. government to insurers covering

older Americans. Walmart, Nike, Home Depot, all at the bottom, down more than 2 percent.

And we're learning what could possibly be a new deal in the music industry. Universal Music Group up 11 percent on a takeover bid by Bill Ackman and

his investment firm Pershing Square Capital. UMG's catalog includes artists like Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar. If that deal does go through, would

certainly be significant, not just for those performers but for the music industry in general.

And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Paula Newton. Up next, "CONNECTING AFRICA."

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[16:46:05]

(CONNECTING AFRICA)

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