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U.S. And Iran Signal Progress In Negotiations To End War; Crews Race To Prevent Toxic Chemical Tank Explosion In CA; Scientists: Rising Seas Will Swallow New Orleans This Century. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired May 25, 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]

MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIAN: Because, you know, being able to see my Olympic brothers and sisters, they were going through the same thing, right? And now we see a world, a country that's going through the same thing, right? I think we saw everything during COVID really pop up where mental health, I think, really became something that people started talking about and people started paying attention to. And I think it's because we had to, right?

So, you know, for me, again, I'm very thankful that I got the help that I needed and wanted, because I wanted change. And yes, I think with me being able to kind of implement the mental health into my foundation, along with swimming, it kind of gives me that purpose again, like I had when I was competing, you know, water safety, but also mental health. For me, those two things are who I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Thanks again for Michael being so vulnerable with us. He is changing lives through his foundation. I did ask him, Wolf, given the next summer Olympics are coming to the United States, and that his fellow 40-year-old legend, Allyson Felix, is making a comeback in track, will he consider jumping in the pool one last time? And, Wolf, he said, no way. He's done. Twenty-three Olympic golds are plenty enough, he says.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: They certainly are. Coy Wire, that was really important and very powerful. Thanks very much to you and thanks very much to Michael.

And the next hour of The Situation Room starts right now.

Happening now, potential breakthrough. President Trump says the U.S. is on the brink of a deal to end the war with Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But both sides are trying to keep expectations in check.

And taming the tank. Fire and health officials in Southern California right now are still scrambling to try to keep a massive chemical tank from exploding and causing a catastrophic worst-case scenario.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is out today. You're in The Situation Room.

A lot to get to today, but first we want to honor those who laid down their lives in service to this country. This is a live look right now at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. In just minutes, President Trump will speak after laying a wreath there.

And in Washington, there's a parade right now to honor fallen service members as part of the commemoration of America's 250th anniversary. All very, very special.

Also happening now, both the U.S. and Iran are saying there is progress for a deal that would end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It would restore the flow of oil and ease the energy crisis gripping so much of the world, including, of course, the United States. Today, Americans face their highest Memorial Day cash prices in four years. And this morning, the Trump administration says a deal is not, repeat not, imminent.

And the President says he won't be rushed into an agreement. And I'm quoting him now, "The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one or there will be no deal."

We're covering all the angles. CNN's Kevin Liptak is joining us over at the White House. Our Jeremy Diamond is standing by live in Tel Aviv. Kevin, first of all to you, what are you learning this morning? What's going on?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, the President says he's in no rush to reach a deal. And after a weekend, when it did seem at certain points like this agreement was imminent, it does seem as if both sides have become bogged down on some issues of wording, on language, in this sort of prospective memorandum of understanding. Although the presence of an Iranian delegation in Qatar this morning, including the foreign minister and the parliament speaker, I think is generating some hope that perhaps those Qatari mediators could break some of the logjams here.

Now, what American officials say is that this could take several more days. As they go back and forth over some of these wording issues, they make the point that getting sign-off from the Iranian supreme leader on any of these changes is very, very difficult, in part because he is believed to be in hiding. Now, the document that's under discussion now would end the hostilities between the U.S. and Iran. It would lift all of the constraints on the Strait of Hormuz, but it would push off for later negotiations some of the thornier issues, including the future of Iran's nuclear program.

And what you've seen over the last 24 hours is essentially clashing explanations from the U.S. side and the Iranian side about what exactly has been agreed to. A U.S. official said that Iran had agreed in principle to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, an Iranian side saying that they have not discussed any of their nuclear program.

Meanwhile, the Iranian negotiators want to get more details from the U.S. about what sanctions they are willing to lift, about what assets of Iran they're willing to unfreeze, but what American officials say is that they will need to see progress on the nuclear issue before any of that is happening. You know, the U.S. is using this refrain, no dust, no dollars, referring to that stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

[11:05:15]

Now, Trump today has sort of actively been trying to tamp down on comparisons between this deal and the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal that he withdrew from. He said that this will only be a great deal or no deal at all, and he says if that doesn't happen, "back to the battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before." Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Kevin Liptak at the White House for us. Kevin, thank you very, very much. I want to go to CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who's joining us live from Tel Aviv right now. So, Jeremy, what could this deal mean for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who's got a reelection campaign coming up this year?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Wolf. It will have enormous consequences for the Israeli prime minister and for the Israeli government more broadly. It was only a few days ago that the prime minister was telling President Trump that he believed it was a mistake to call off planned strikes against Iran, arguing instead for renewed military action, a resumption of the war, believing that diplomacy cannot reach all of the objectives that Israel and the United States had set out at the outset of this war.

But instead, the Israeli prime minister is now in explaining mode, trying to characterize this latest deal and the American and the Israeli positions as not having as much daylight as clearly there is. The Israeli prime minister said that when he spoke to President Trump, that they both agreed that any final agreement with Iran must ultimately eliminate the nuclear threat. He insisted that his and President Trump's policies remain unchanged on that matter, despite the fact that this initial agreement with Iran, this memorandum of understanding that's being cobbled together, does not address the nuclear issue, but instead punts it to a further 60 days of negotiation that could potentially be extended even beyond that.

The Israeli prime minister is, however, touting what he is kind of characterizing as a win here, which is that President Trump, according to him, has reaffirmed that Israel has the right to operate against any threats that it perceives, including in Lebanon. And that is critical because the Israeli government and by and large, most of the Israeli public still sees a major threat from Hezbollah, that Iranian proxy that is based in Lebanon.

And according to what the prime minister is saying, President Trump is basically giving him the green light to continue attacking Hezbollah targets should he deem them to be a threat. And that's exactly how this ceasefire that has been in Lebanon for the last month and a half has proceeded. A ceasefire during which we've seen daily Israeli strikes and also near daily Hezbollah attacks on Israeli troops, as well as in northern Israel, as we saw just today on a residential home in northern Israel. Wolf?

BLITZER: And I think it was significant, Jeremy, that earlier this morning, President Trump called on the leaders of various Gulf Arab and Muslim countries across the region, for that matter, to go ahead and sign on to the so-called Abraham Accords and establish normalized full relations with Israel. What can you tell us about that?

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right, Wolf. And the president is going as far as saying that it should be, "mandatory for these countries to sign on to the Abraham Accord, normalize relations with Israel." He focused specifically on Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as the other mediator, Pakistan, who he also mentioned. He said he is, "mandatorily requesting that all of these countries sign on to the Abraham Accords."

Now, that goes directly against, you know, where the regional dynamics are at the moment. And so either the President is fundamentally misunderstanding where these countries are. Just today, for example, we have a Saudi source who is telling us that they see no change in their position. They're not going to normalize relations with Israel until there is a time-bound, guaranteed path to a Palestinian state, which is not something this Israeli government is willing to do.

Or the other explanation of the President's comments here is that perhaps he's trying to mollify some of the skepticism and criticism that he's been facing from some of his own Republican allies in Washington, and also to try and offer up something for the Israeli prime minister, who, as you mentioned, is preparing to enter a reelection battle very soon and is facing the very tough politics and criticism from some of the opposition leaders here, who say that Netanyahu was nowhere near this deal that's being negotiated, completely left on the sidelines, and that's having an impact on his political prospects. Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, and President Trump also said that if there is some sort of ceasefire or peace deal with Iran, he hopes Iran signs on to the Abraham Accords as well and makes full, peaceful relations with Israel. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, we'll see what unfolds. Thank you very, very much.

And still ahead, toxic tank. California officials are working around the clock now to try to prevent a chemical explosion just miles from Disneyland.

[11:10:08]

And point of head, toxic tank. California officials are working around the clock now to try to prevent a chemical explosion just miles from Disneyland.

And point of no return. That's how a new study describes the climate threat to an iconic American city. Scientists saying people should start relocating, perhaps even now. Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [11:15:09]

BLITZER: Happening now, emergency crews in Southern California are racing to try to keep a toxic chemical tank from exploding. Hazmat teams worked all night to determine the depth of a new crack that potentially could ease pressure and help prevent a leak or explosion. They also learned that temperatures inside the tank reached at least 100 degrees and they are unsure at what point the highly flammable chemical might explode and ignite. The situation has forced around 50,000 people to already leave their homes for emergency shelters or hotels.

The interim Orange County Fire Chief TJ McGovern is joining us right now. He's going to be joining us in a minute. Orange County is home to more than 3 million people, one of the largest counties in the state. Chief, is the explosion threat still present right now?

INTERIM CHIEF TJ MCGOVERN, ORANGE COUNTY, CA FIRE AUTHORITY: The explosion threat is, but what crews did last night, we did another mission last night and an operation and what we're happy to report, the threat of a BLEVE has been eliminated. That's something we went after last night, so what we can report now is the threat of a BLEVE has been eliminated. There's still a threat of an explosion or the incident's not under control yet, but we really went after the threat of a BLEVE and we mitigated that and we're happy to report that.

BLITZER: So tell us what a BLEVE is.

MCGOVERN: So that's a boiling liquid evaporate, expanding evaporation explosion. So basically what that is, it's a substance in a contained tank that is pressurized and there's an ignition and in that pressurized cylinder that would be a BLEVE. Very, very dangerous to first responders. We've had a lot of these in the nation right now and it's usually a catastrophic event when that occurs. That was our concern from the get-go and like I said, happy to report that that now has been abolished. So that's no longer on the table.

BLITZER: Yesterday the temperature inside the tank reached at least 100 degrees. That's the maximum that the gauge would register. What is the latest you could tell us about the temperatures, the pressures inside, the conditions at the scene? How worried should folks in Orange County, California, where there are some 3 million people living there, including Disneyland, right now be?

MCGOVERN: So yes, as far as the temperatures go, so early on in the incident we couldn't get close because we had to pull everyone out and all we could get temperature readings were from our drones or UASs from an external of the tank. So that's the only thing we were using because the internal gauge, the visualization of the display, we couldn't see it because we couldn't get close. After the last two nights of these night operations we were able to visualize the tank temperature gauge two nights ago and it was pinged at 100. The gauge doesn't go past 100.

But last night on our second night operation we were able to get crews in there and actually start looking inside the tank, peeling some of the material away and we noticed the internal temperature reading was in the 90s. Significant decrease and that's what we were looking for. So as of last night and throughout the night that temperature has decreased from somewhere 100 and above down in the 90s.

So that's a positive deflection that the cooling measures are working and after some of that operation last night we're able to take some of this sheathing and the insulation, we're pulling it back so we're able to get our hose streams closer to the internal shell to keep those cooling measures in place. So with the threat of a bloody eliminated, the temperature is decreasing, these are very positive enhancements that we've had over the last two nights.

BLITZER: And very quickly chief before I let you go, if you have loved ones in that Orange County area, at what point do you think they should start leaving?

MCGOVERN: So we sent out evacuation zones immediately, mandatory evacuations. So we've had our residents out for a couple days now and our goal, we understand what they're going through, and our goal is to get them back in their homes, get them back to their normal life. But we can't do that until the threat of life safety has been completely eliminated. So after the last two nights of our operations, we are working on getting them back.

We're not there yet, we still have some more work to do. We're still vetting and validating all the information we received yesterday, but we're definitely working on a plan trying to get them back. But our evacuation zones are still in place, but we're actively working on that and there'll be some more information throughout the day coming forward.

[11:20:14]

BLITZER: And good luck to you, good luck to all your colleagues over there. We're counting on you to do the best possible work. Thanks very much Chief TJ McGovern. Appreciate it very, very much and we're all praying for the best.

MCGOVERN: Thanks Wolf.

BLITZER: And up next, swallowed by the sea. What a new study says New Orleans right now needs to start doing as rising sea levels are threatening its future.

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[11:25:18]

BLITZER: New this morning, we're learning of a bleak fate for an iconic American city. A new expert analysis says rising sea levels from the warming planet will swallow New Orleans before the end of this century. The city is especially vulnerable as coastal Louisiana is one of the lowest-lying regions in the world. CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir is joining us right now. So high -- how high, Bill, is this new risk for New Orleans? BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the scientists at Tulane there in New Orleans have been sounding this alarm for a long time. But this is the starkest warning yet, that the city is beyond a point of no return. No amount of seawalls or dikes or levees will ever save it. And it's time for the city to start moving, a planned retreat of 300,000-plus people.

The high lines is that central Louisiana in general could see about 10 to 23 feet of sea level rise in just the next 75 years. That's the melting ice caps. But it's also the expansion of water as it gets warmer. So the Gulf of Mexico gets higher as it gets bigger as it gets warmer there. And about 75 percent of the remaining wetlands would be lost in this. That's the buffer against the sea and the big storms.

The shoreline could retreat inland by 62 miles. And unlike Hurricane Katrina, it was the first big storm I covered in my career, now 99 percent of New Orleans' population is vulnerable to flooding in an event similar or even weaker than that one, Wolf.

BLITZER: So what are the city's options right now for addressing or responding to this issue? It's potentially a real threat.

WEIR: Yes, this is, it is about managed retreat. That's really the only answer. The water is coming to this basically underwater city. New Orleans is built like a big concrete bowl, most of it below sea level. And because there's no sediment protecting the wetlands, there was a big project that actually launched in Louisiana, but was killed by Governor Jeff Landry, which would have built up the sediment, built up the wetlands and provided the buffer there. This report says that pretty much says goodbye to 75 percent of New Orleans as well.

So it is about moving. And there is precedent, but on a much smaller scale. There's a town up in Arctic Sweden that in 2005 decided we're going to need to move over the next 25 years. They just moved their church. And so this opens up the debate about how, what would you move of New Orleans if you had to go for higher ground? Politically, this is radioactive. Uh, right now, nobody's talking about this, but the scientists are saying this is inevitable.

And the more that can be planned now, because we run the risk of a hasty retreat, in which case the underserved, and the most vulnerable communities would suffer the most, which is part of the long history of New Orleans as well. But what is most stark, Wolf, is that there is no miracle cure. There's no technological fix that can save the Crescent City and all that history that we have to start moving it now to save as much as we can.

BLITZER: So what you're suggesting potentially, God forbid, this could be even worse than what happened during Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans.

WEIR: Of course. Yes, that was, that was the levees fail. That was just the lower ninth ward. That was some of the neediest neighborhoods in New Orleans, whereas the garden district, I was there, it drained, they rebuilt. So it gets into a spiral where the people who can afford to fortify their homes against these rising seas will create these little pockets, but everyone else is sort of left out and it'll become much more expensive to hold onto that land. And the argument is, at what point do you let go and use that money in the relocation?

That's -- this is such a big idea that we have to relocate in a major American city, but this is exactly what climate scientists have been warning about for generations. But this paper puts it in the starkest terms of today.

BLITZER: Yes, I remember Katrina well. All right, Bill Weir, thank you very, very much.

[11:29:06]

And just ahead, Russia fires a powerful new weapon into Ukraine. And it has leaders around the world warning of a new escalation in that war.

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