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The Situation Room

Interview With Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY); Confused Messaging From Trump Administration on Iran Attack?; Trump Delivers Remarks on Iran Attack; Gas Prices Expected to Rise. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired March 02, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And 20 percent of the world's oil supply moves through there, making the strait a critical factor in oil prices.

Let's go to CNN senior reporter Matt Egan, who is joining us from New York right now.

Matt, when could people start seeing the war's effects on the price of gas here in the United States?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Wolf, analysts are saying we could start to see gasoline prices move significantly higher here in the United States in the coming days, and it's all about what happens next in the war if there are major supply disruptions.

You could see prices go significantly higher. As you mentioned, we're already seeing a major increase in oil prices, both Brent crude, the global benchmark, and WTI, the U.S. oil benchmark, up by about 6 percent today. Some context, that's the biggest one-day increase since Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago.

And when you look at the trend for oil prices, you can see that really for much of this year oil prices were safely below $60 a barrel, but now look at this spike, above $70 a barrel for the first time in seven months.

Now, all eyes are on, as you mentioned, the Strait of Hormuz. That's this narrow waterway off the coast of Iran, where about a fifth of the world's oil flows through every single day. And there are concerns that the strait could get blocked, and that would drive oil prices even higher.

At this point, the strait is not blocked. But shipping companies have steered away. And some insurance companies, maritime insurance companies, have canceled war-related insurance for vessels off the coast of Iran. And another big concern is whether or not Iran can successfully attack oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Again, that would drive prices even higher. Now, when we look at gas prices, they have been pretty low over the past year or so. But they have come up, you see, up by about 5 cents just over the past week, and gas prices are now flirting, just a fraction of a penny away from $3 a gallon for the first time in several months.

Now, it's not just about gasoline though. Other things to keep in mind is natural gas prices, especially in Europe, have skyrocketed. Diesel futures have surged as well. That's bad for farmers and truckers, railroads and ultimately for consumers.

And we're seeing airline stocks tumble this morning because of concerns about higher jet fuel. So, look, you put it all together, the higher energy prices go, Wolf, the bigger the danger for the economy.

BLITZER: All right, Matt Egan, with important information now for our viewers, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: And, Wolf, as we have been noting in this show, we're waiting for President Trump to speak on the war with Iran. We're taking a look here at the East Room of the White House as we await his remarks.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:37:31]

BLITZER: All right, you're looking at live pictures from the East Room of the White House.

Momentarily, we're told, the president of the United States will walk into the East Room to participate in a Medal of Honor ceremony for three U.S. military personnel who will be honored by the president of the United States. You see the guests who have all gathered there, including top aides to the president, including the White House chief of staff, and you see her right there, Susie Wiles.

And we're going to have live coverage of all of this coming up, including the opening statement that the president will make. After we hear from the chaplain, who will deliver the invocation, the president will make a statement on the war in Iran.

BROWN: Yes, that's right.

And it's notable, Alayna, because the president so far has spoken with various reporters from different outlets. He's given mixed messages on a timeline. He's released a video on his TRUTH Social and tweeted. But this has not -- he has not actually publicly addressed the country in a live event like this.

So this is significant.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: No, it absolutely is.

And a key question I have, of course, is if he's actually going to take questions. This is, from what I understand in my -- in talking to the White House about this, they said that he's going to be giving these brief remarks at the top of this ceremony before the ceremony continuing. So I'm not sure if there actually will be an opportunity or if this is

the right setting for questions, but a lot of reporters, you can see them there, eager for that. And, look, and I want to show, because we're seeing some of the -- more of these images.

You're seeing the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, next to him, Doug Collins of Veterans Affairs. But then we also saw Dan Caine, who was speaking this morning with Hegseth. That was the first time we had actually heard from any senior administration officials really in person since all of this started, a huge moment here for the president, how he's actually going to set the tone for this first in- person event that he is doing briefing on what happened this weekend.

BROWN: Yes.

And we were just -- we just had Colonel Leighton on, and he was talking about how unusual it is for, in terms of a break of protocol, to hear from the defense secretary live and then hear from the president. And I think one of the key questions is this idea of regime change, because the president had indicated early on that this was about regime change, calling for the Iranian people to rise up.

But we heard the defense secretary today say, no, that is not the primary objective here.

TREENE: Yes, and we will see what the president actually says this morning.

I mean, the messaging this weekend, that's why this -- I think this is such a big moment right now where we're waiting here from the president. The messaging has been so inconsistent in the lead-up to these attacks, but then also particularly after this weekend.

[11:40:04]

And I do think go back to what we heard the president say in that first video address Saturday morning in the immediate aftermath of these strikes, where he did say -- he effectively called on the Iranian people, rise up and overthrow your government. He said this is going to be kind of a once-in-a-generation type of opportunity.

That sounds a lot like regime change, calling for a regime change to me. And I will note as well that in the many interviews he's done since then, including today with Jake Tapper, he also talked about regime change.

One of the notable things from that interview with our colleague was that he said he doesn't know who they're going to select as the person to replace Iran's supreme leader now that the ayatollah has been taken out. And he said a lot of the people who he -- they thought might actually be in line to replace him, they actually killed.

And so that's going to be a key question as well moving forward, but doesn't totally line up, as you mentioned, with what we did hear from the defense secretary this morning. BROWN: And also early on he had said that there was an imminent

threat from Iran as part of the justification. Administration officials had said that U.S. military members overseas of bases were at risk from Iran.

But since then, we have learned from our reporting that Pentagon briefers told congressional staff that there wasn't intelligence that there was some sort of imminent threat against U.S. service members. And, as you noted, the communication really has been all over the map.

TREENE: No, I mean, that was remarkable to me that they got on the phone with Hill staffers, essentially.

BROWN: Yes.

TREENE: And we were told we knew that was going to come there. They are going to brief the full Senate and the full House later this week, Trump administration officials.

But, actually, that call yesterday, that briefing with staffers was, I think the first opportunity people, particularly lawmakers and their offices, had an opportunity to ask questions of the administration. For them to admit that there was in this preemptive strike, despite that is what was being said publicly by top people in the administration, is a big deal.

And I think this is going to be one of the key questions, of course, as we move forward. We have heard from a number of lawmakers already saying that they want, and immediately to have everyone come back in Congress to have a vote on the war powers resolution. I mean, this is a huge issue for a lot of them that they weren't given not only a heads-up.

We do know that the Gang of Eight was given -- were given calls, members of the Intelligence Committees and leadership in Congress given a call by the secretary of state, Marco Rubio. But, broadly, Congress believes that they were needed to sign off on this.

And so that is another major question that we haven't really actually heard the administration answer for how they're going to deal with that moving forward.

BROWN: I want to bring in Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York as we wait for the president. He's the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman, what are you looking to hear from the president in this moment?

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): What's the plan?

It seems to me that there is no plan. And if there's no plan, then you plan to fail. There is -- as you just articulated, it seems to be completely inconsistent, where the president at one time says that it's about regime change. He admits that it's a war. He then says that there's an imminent threat. So they're all over the

place, and nowhere has he ever communicated any of that to any member of Congress that I know of, and I have talked to just about all of them. I don't know if he's -- even did it with even on the Republican side, and surely has not done it with the American people.

So let's see if, in this first live statement that he's making, is he going to talk to the American people to tell them what the plan is. What is going to happen the day after. How long are we going to be there? Will we be sending people on the ground, putting boots on the ground? Is it about democracy for the people of Iran?

And if it is, then what is he going to do, if anything, in that regard? So there is no answers to these questions at all. I sit here, as the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. I have also chaired the committee, and I have no answers.

I think that we're going to have a briefing today, those of us, the Gang of Eight-plus. I'm part of the plus. So it's the gang of 12 therein, and I'm going to bring those -- if he doesn't address that here to the American people, I'm surely going to ask Secretary Rubio, who reports to the Foreign Affairs Committee, what the answers to those questions are.

BLITZER: Congressman, it's Wolf.

I know Congress is planning to vote on a war powers resolution later this week. But even if it passes -- and that's still a huge if at this point -- it's subject to a presidential veto. So, realistically, can Congress really do anything to rein in the president's power in this war beyond a symbolic rebuke?

[11:45:05]

MEEKS: Well, the first thing, it will show clearly where the American people are.

And I think the American people have the right to know where their members of Congress stand. So, therefore, that vote is critical in that nature, first of all.

If he has been -- as it's been shown in some of the polls already that it's a very unpopular war, and he continues to go against the will of the people. Now, Congress will have another chance. I believe it's if this takes longer than 60 days, because this resolution that's coming on the floor is not an authorization for the utilization of military weapons.

And so that vote will come back to Congress if you want to continue to fund it and funding that is necessary in 60 days thereafter. So this is a two-step dance. This is the first step. Let's see where Congress is and where the American people are and their representatives on the record.

And then there will come another time for the authorization of utilization of military weapons. BROWN: Stick around, if you would, Congressman, as we wait for

President Trump's remarks.

We're going to squeeze in a quick break, and we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:33]

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... very clear colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas.

The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases both local and overseas and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America. The purpose of this fast-growing missile program was to shield their nuclear weapon development and make it extraordinarily difficult for anyone to stop them from making these highly forbidden by us nuclear weapons.

We were the ones that were complaining. We were the ones that wanted it stopped. But everybody was behind us. They just didn't have the courage to say so. An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people.

Our country itself would be under threat. And it was very nearly under threat. I was very proud to have knocked out the Iran nuclear deal by President Barack Hussein Obama. That was a horrible, horrible, dangerous document. They would have had nuclear weapons three years ago, and they would have used them.

But I'll not let that happen. For almost 47 years, this regime has been attacking the United States and killing Americans. Every time you see someone with missing arms and legs or a face that's been absolutely shattered violently, it was almost certainly caused by an Iran roadside bomb.

They were put there by General Soleimani, who was the father of the roadside bomb, very proudly, he thought. But I terminated him in my first term. This was our last, best chance to strike, what we're doing right now, and eliminate the intolerable threats posed by this sick and sinister regime.

And they are indeed sick and sinister. Our objectives are clear. First, we're destroying Iran's missile capabilities, and you see that happening on an hourly basis, and their capacity to produce brand-new ones, and pretty good ones they make. Second, we're annihilating their navy. We have knocked out already 10 ships. They're at the bottom of the sea.

Third, we're ensuring that the world's number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon, never going to have a nuclear weapon. I said that from the beginning. They're never going to have a nuclear weapon. They were on the road to getting one legitimately through a deal that was signed foolishly by our country.

And, finally, we're ensuring that the Iranian regime cannot continue to arm, fund, and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders. And we thought we had a deal, but then they backed out. Then they came back, and we thought we had a deal, and they backed out. I said, you can't deal with these people. You have got to do it the right way.

Today, we grieve for the four heroic American service members who have been killed in action and send our love and support to their families. In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people, and a threat indeed it is.

We have the strongest and most powerful, by far, military in the world, and we will easily prevail. We're already substantially ahead of our time projections, but whatever the time is, it's OK. Whatever it takes, we will always, and we have -- right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that.

We will do it. Whatever -- somebody said today, they said, oh, well, president wants to do it really quickly. After that, he will get bored. I don't get bored. There's nothing boring about this. Do you agree with that, Pete? I don't think there's anything -- Mr. General. I think there's nothing boring about it.

Somebody actually said from the media, I think he will get bored after about a week or two. No, we don't get bored. I never get bored. If I got bored, I wouldn't be standing here right now. I guarantee you that, to go through what I had to go through.

[11:55:12]

We also projected four weeks to terminate the military leadership. And, as you know, that was done in about an hour. So we're ahead of schedule there by a lot.

But please join me in thanking every American service member who bravely is standing in harm's way. They really are incredible. And I just want to thank you. We have a lot of them right here. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you, everybody. We have a lot of great service members here with us too in this beautiful building, isn't it? Isn't it beautiful? We're adding onto the building a little bit. We're improving the building.

See that nice drape? When that comes down right now, you see a very, very deep hole. But in about a year-and-a-half from now, you're going to see a very, very beautiful building. And there's your entrance to it right there. In fact, it looks so nice. I don't think I will even -- I think I will save money on the doors, because it can't get more beautiful than that. I picked those drapes in my first term. I always liked gold. But I

think we can save a lot of money. I just saved -- I just saved curtains. But -- and it will be. It will be spectacular, be the most beautiful ballroom. I believe it's -- because I built many a ballroom. I believe it's going to be the most beautiful ballroom anywhere in the world.

And when you hear all that hammering out there, why the first lady is not thrilled exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: She said, will the pile drivers ever stop? They go from 6:00 in the morning until 11:30 in the evening. Can you imagine here?

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: You know what? To me, that's a beautiful sound. She doesn't like it. I love it. You know what? To me, other than here, because we're donating it, not a penny to the taxpayer. It'll be under budget, ahead of schedule. It'll be $400 million or less. Most people say $400 million or more.

No, it'll be less. But when I hear that sound, that beautiful sound behind me, it means money. So I like it. But my wife isn't thrilled. She said, this is getting crazy. I said, don't worry about it. We will be all finished up in a few months.

But now for the reason that we're gathered this morning to recognize the unsurpassed courage of three really incredible American heroes, one living and two no longer with us. So, together, we recognize the exceptional valor of Master Sergeant Roderick Edmonds.

And maybe I could ask your families to stand because they're beautiful families. I got to meet them, and please.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: So, Staff Sergeant Michael Ollis and Command Sergeant Major Terry Richardson, as they receive our nation's highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor.

And we're pleased to be joined by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. Busy. He's busy. He's a very busy guy. In fact, I said, if you want Pete, you can avoid it, General Razin Caine also. And they said, we don't avoid this one. This is one you wouldn't avoid for anything, right?

So we appreciate that you're here. Secretary of veterans affairs doing an incredible job, Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins,

Doug, thank you. You stand up, Doug. You're doing such a good job, 92 percent approval rating.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, who's known as Razin Caine. I liked him when I heard that name, Razin Caine. I said, if it's true, you're my guy. And it's true. It's turned out -- it's very true. He's a great guy and a great general.

Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll and Army Chief of Staff Randy George, thank you. Thank you both, Dan, as well as Senators Tom Cotton, Bill Hagerty.

You guys were great on television this weekend. I will tell you what. Can't have a better representative than both of you. Thank you very much.

And Representatives Tim Burchett, Jack Bergman, and Nicole Malliotakis. And we have a few others sitting here, but I'm not going to go through it because we have far more important people to honor today. Oh, we have Tom Homan. I got to at least mention Tom Homan. I would be -- stand up, Tom. What a job.

Zero, zero people coming in.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We had millions and millions of people pouring into our country. Now that -- I mean, I'm not even sure I can believe this number, zero.