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The Situation Room

Trump Heads to G7 After Iran Framework Deal Announced; Trump Arrives in France For G7 Summit; Carolina Hurricanes Win First Stanley Cup in 20 Years. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired June 15, 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 ANCHOR: We're following the breaking news. President Trump will be arriving any minute now in France in Evian- les-Bains for the G7 Summit, the U.S. agreement with Iran. Of course, potentially, God willing, could end the war. It definitely will be a major focus when President Trump meets with several world leaders at the G7 Summit. That's coming up.

In the meantime, I want to bring in the Axios reporter who broke so many of the stories about these Iran talks. Barak Ravid is joining us. He's also a CNN political and global affairs analyst. Barak, thanks for joining us. You spoke with President Trump, I know, yesterday in the lead-up to this announcement of the framework agreement, and he had some very choice words for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Tell our viewers what he told you.

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Yes, Wolf. When I spoke to President Trump yesterday, he was livid about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And, you know, he was so angry that in two separate calls he also had yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he mentioned to them how difficult Netanyahu is and how he's taking steps that are creating problems to his effort to reach a deal with Iran.

And one of the things Trump told me is that he thinks that Netanyahu has no effing judgment. He used the F word, I think, three times during our call in the context of what Netanyahu did when he ordered the strike in Beirut. And I think that Netanyahu heard directly from Trump later on that day when they spoke, and Trump made it clear to him that this needs to stop.

BLITZER: Well, let me ask you this. What does the President say when people point out to him that Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy in Lebanon, is continuing to fire rockets at civilian targets in northern Israel? Should Israel just ignore that?

RAVID: No. So, one of the things that Trump said is that he is aware of those Hezbollah attacks and he doesn't think that Israel should ignore them. But if -- and I'm quoting him now, "If such an attack lands in an open area and doesn't hit anybody or anything, then to respond by bombing Beirut," he thinks that's disproportionate. So, for example, if the Israelis yesterday, again, in his opinion, if the Israelis yesterday attacked Hezbollah targets in, I don't know, southern Lebanon or the Beqaa Valley, I'm sure he wouldn't care. But when on such a Hezbollah attack Israel strikes Beirut, this is something that, according to Trump, crossed his red line.

BLITZER: You alluded to the fact that the President repeatedly used the F-word in talking directly with Prime Minister Netanyahu. This relationship has clearly been strained and now apparently, according to Israeli sources, Netanyahu wants to come to Washington later in the week and meet at the White House with the President to discuss this agreement, which Israel did not have a part in. What's going on here?

[11:35:00]

RAVID: Well, I think that Netanyahu and Trump, since the 12-day war a year ago, Netanyahu, the relationship between Netanyahu and Trump were better than ever. And this is how they got into the current war, really fighting side by side and fully coordinated with really no daylight between them.

But the more the war continued, it was clear that their interests, both their national security interests but both their political interests, are diverging. And I think that when that happened, President Trump felt that a lot of the things that he felt about Netanyahu in the past, in his first term, he saw those things coming back, especially his claim that Netanyahu was ungrateful for what he did for him and for Israel in general.

And I think that, on the other hand, what I hear from Israeli officials is that Netanyahu is also livid because he feels that he went together with Trump to this war, and Trump is sort of leaving him out to dry now. And the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, yesterday made several calls to U.S. lawmakers and said how much Netanyahu is disappointed and concerned about the situation.

And, Wolf, if you want to know how angry Netanyahu is, you just need to look at what his mouthpieces in the Israeli media have been saying over the last 24 hours. Just for example, I think the most extreme example was one of the media personalities that is the closest to Netanyahu, a guy called Yinon Magal, who works on Channel 14, which is the BB channel. He tweeted a very, very, very strong word, a tweet calling Trump's negotiators, Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, Jew boys, calling Vice President Vance scum. This is -- those are -- that kind of language just shows you how much angry Netanyahu's inner circle is.

BLITZER: Yes, Netanyahu's got elections coming up when it's September or October later this year, and he's obviously concerned about that as well. Barak Ravid, always helping us. Thank you very, very much.

RAVID: Thank you.

BLITZER: I want to bring in Sanam Vakil right now. She's the director of Chatham House's Middle East and North Africa program and an adjunct lecturer in Middle East studies at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, which also happens to be my alma mater. Sanam, thanks very much for joining us.

So, what's your assessment? President Trump is in Europe. He's getting ready to meet with the G7 summit leaders. The developments between the U.S. and Iran obviously will be very close to the top of the focus for these upcoming talks. How do you suspect this framework deal that apparently has been worked out will be received and what questions may other countries have?

SANAM VAKIL, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAM DIRECTOR, CHATHAM HOUSE AND MIDDLE EAST STUDIES LECTURER, JOHNS HOPKINS SAIS: Well, it's good to be with you, Wolf. I think that the timing of the MOU is really perfect and we're very welcome at the G7 summit. Most European countries have tried to stay out of this war, providing defensive support, but refusing or rebuffing President Trump's request for assistance.

But now that the MOU is signed and of course we haven't seen the details or the final details, I think President Trump can work with the G7 on the next steps. There's a very short window, 60 days to continue the negotiations to set out a phased, not just opening of the Strait of Hormuz and lifting of the blockade, but this is a unique opportunity to try and finalize a nuclear agreement with Iran that the G7 should support and shouldn't just sit back and outsource that to the president as well.

BLITZER: I want to get into some of the details of this framework deal. What do we know -- what we do know in fact are some details, but there's still plenty of details that are unclear at this point. Can you share some light on that?

VAKIL: Sure. I mean, we -- the details I think are what are problematic, but mainly this is a, you know, formal cessation of hostilities, which is important. There will be a sequenced opening of the Strait of Hormuz and a sequenced lifting of the blockade to take place over the next 30 days.

[11:40:00]

This is an end of all of the wars in the region, not just the Iran- Israel-U.S. war, and that's been very important for the Iranians because they're trying to pressure Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu on that front. There is a commitment by Iran, of course, to not pursue nuclear weapons, but the details there are a bit fuzzy. We've only seen Iran's version, previous version of the agreement, and I think much of that language might have changed.

There will be sanctions relief based on compliance. Iran will be able to resume its oil sales, but the U.S. government has pushed back on any rumors or misinformation about accessing Iran's frozen funds abroad. I think that would come much later in the negotiation process, again, based on compliance.

BLITZER: And has Iran agreed that it will completely cease strikes on some of the Arab Gulf nations, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, other countries which have close alliances with the United States? Will Iran stop attacking them? VAKIL: Well, I haven't seen that as a bullet point in the MOU, but I would imagine that if all of the military hostilities cease and desist, Iran, too, will have no reason. You know, it's justified those strikes in retaliation for the strikes against Iran itself.

So, I would imagine those would come to an end, and Iran has been speaking bilaterally with the Gulf states and even in this last round of strikes that we saw over the past few weeks, there was more direct targeting of Bahrain and Kuwait and Jordan and the other Gulf states, such as the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, for example, were not struck at all. So, that could indicate there had been more bilateral arrangements put in place.

BLITZER: Let's see what happens on that front. As you know, Sanam, Iran, on the one hand, says these 60-day nuclear talks will start once the U.S. releases billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds, while the U.S. rejects that Iranian claim. Could this specific issue hang up or derail the entire deal?

VAKIL: Well, again, we need to see what this arrangement is. These bullet points are not clear to any of us. So, you know, that would be very important to clarify any misinformation. I personally think that there are going to be a lot of issues that are going to derail or slow down this process. Iran and the United States have been talking about its nuclear program for quite some time, including the last meeting in Geneva was on February 26, two days before the war began.

So, the fact that they haven't arrived at any agreement explains the complexity here. So, that is a problem. There could be further problems in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran could exert pressure. The United States, I imagine, is going to continue to keep its troops around the region to also pressure Iran. I fully expect that, you know, the deadline could be extended.

There are incentives for both President Trump and the Iranian leadership to make a deal. But we should also remember that a deal is criticized both in Washington and Tehran. There are opponents on all sides that see this as appeasement. And, you know, there's lots of roadblocks and challenges on the horizon. A positive step forward, but a lot more hard work left to go.

BLITZER: And we're showing live pictures right now of Marine One, the president's helicopter, landing in France at Evian-les-Bains for the G7 summit. The president will disembark from Marine One and presumably he'll drive over to the summit that's about to take place. Very important summit.

And I find it interesting, and you're a Middle East expert, Sanam, also represented at this summit will be several key Arab countries, including Qatar, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, for example. What do you think their role -- are they united on this or what do you think their role participating in this summit? And it's interesting that Israel was not invited to the summit, but these Arab countries were.

VAKIL: Well, all of these Arab countries, and there are also others, including Saudi Arabia, including Pakistan, have played very important roles in bringing down the temperature, lobbying for this MOU to get over the line, playing a diplomatic role in this process. There is a regional consensus, even though there are divisions on maybe some of the mechanisms or the tactics.

[11:45:00]

But there is a regional consensus that this war shouldn't have been executed to begin with, but that the only way forward was through some sort of agreement first to open the strait and then to tackle the harder issues. Regional countries also would like to have their own discussions with Iran, perhaps after this U.S.-Iran agreement is arrived at, fingers crossed there, because they too have their own demands. They would like to discuss Iran's ballistic missile program, perhaps receive a commitment that there will be no further aggression across the region, and they remain above all concerned about Iran's sponsorship of proxy groups across the region.

So, these talks, if we get that far, could also see regional issues being addressed as well. Sanam Vakil, thank you so much for your expertise.

BLITZER: Thanks so much for joining us.

VAKIL: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up, I'll ask the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Brian Mast, what he thinks about this Iran agreement. He's standing by to join us live here in the Situation Room. And that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

BLITZER: Marine One has landed. The President of the United States is now in France, Evian-les-Bains. He's getting ready for his meeting with G7 leaders. First on the agenda will be a one-on-one bilateral meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron. We'll see what he says there. We'll see if we have coverage of that. He's now heading over to Evian-les-Bains for that first meeting. And then he'll be meeting with all the other G7 leaders. Joint meetings coming up. We'll monitor all of these developments. Clearly atop the agenda is the U.S. Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. We'll see how that plays with these European leaders. We'll see what's there.

They stopped for a minute, but the President did not take questions from reporters as he landed in Evian-les-Bains in France. But he's continuing to get in the vehicle and head over to the summit itself. So, we'll watch this and update our viewers as developments unfold.

In the meantime, there's other news we're following, including World Cup fever. It's underway after a truly thrilling first week across Mexico, Canada and the United States. Some of the tournament's rising stars aren't even players. In fact, Americans are charmed by Europeans as they discover everyday life here in the United States. One standout is Freddy, the German soccer fan. His posts celebrate uniquely American spots like Buckeyes, Waffle House and Taco Bell. His American journey caught the attention of former NFL star J.J. Watt, who set Freddy and his friends up with a five-star hotel stay in Houston. Germany won yesterday's match and will face the Ivory Coast in Toronto on Saturday.

Another online favorite represents China, but not as a player. The country's team once again failed to qualify for the World Cup, so fans turned to Chinese referee Ma Ning as their national representative. His stern officiating style landed him the nickname Card Master. He once gave out nine yellow cards and three reds during a critical match. One viewer told CNN she'll watch just to see how many cards Ma serves this time.

Meantime, fans cheered as Iran's team as they departed Tijuana, Mexico, for their first match of the tournament. The game marks the first time in World Cup history a host nation, the United States, is at war with a participant. Iran will face off against New Zealand later tonight in Los Angeles.

And it was also a very busy weekend in other major sports as well. Last night, the Carolina Hurricanes won their first Stanley Cup in 20 years. And the night before, of course, as we all know, the New York Knicks won the NBA championship, the team's first win in more than 50 years.

CNN Sports Anchor Coy Wire is joining us now from Atlanta. Coy, it was truly a historic win for the Carolina Hurricanes. Take us a little bit through the game.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, it has been a bounty of treasures for us as sports fans, right? Well, listen, the only other time the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup back in 2006, Rod Brind'Amour was their captain. Last night, he lifted Hockey's Holy Grail again as their coach. First person since 1956 to win it with the same franchise as both a player and a coach.

Now, the Hurricanes, they rolled into Vegas for game six with a chance to clinch, and they did not flinch. Taylor Hall lighting the lamp just three minutes in. And the Canes kept coming in waves. Three goals on the night. While between the pipes, Brandon Bussi was boss. 22 saves. A shutout on the biggest night of his career. Three-nothing is the final.

When the final horn sounded, watch them. Here they come. 20 years of waiting came rushing onto the ice. The long 82-game regular season. The bloody noses. Missing teeth. The Hurricanes were the last ones standing. And Jordan Staal at 37 becomes the oldest player to be named playoffs MVP.

All right. World Cup action. Match of the tournament so far. Japan's Daichi Kamada scored on a header off of Koki Ogawa's corner kick in the 88th minute. Fans go into a frenzy. It was a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in their World Cup opener. Impressive outing for Japan.

[11:55:00]

But what happened afterwards may be more impressive. Japanese supporters staying behind to help pick up trash, gathering cups. We've seen this at past Olympics and World Cups. It's not a publicity stunt, Wolf. It's a reflection of a deeply rooted culture built on respect and gratitude.

Later today coming up in World Cup action, we have the 2010 champions, Spain. One of the favorites to win it all this year playing Cape Verde in the opening match of the games here in Atlanta. It is going to be fun. And those fan fests have been on and popping, as they say, Wolf. Excited to see Spain get to action and Atlanta show what they can do on the world stage.

BLITZER: We'll be watching. All right. Koi, thank you very, very much. Sports also dominated Washington, D.C. last night as President Trump hosted a major UFC fight on the White House South Lawn grounds. Coming up, we'll have a full report on the so-called Freedom 250 events.

And here's what's also coming up new at the top of the hour. Brian Mast, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will join us in the situation. We'll get his reaction to this new U.S. agreement with Iran and Alaska, if he thinks this could actually wind up ending the conflict.

Plus, searching for voter fraud. How the Trump administration is fighting to exert more control over elections with the midterms just a few months away. And another country joins the growing list of nations that want to limit how much time kids and teens, for that matter, can spend on social media. That's all new in the next hour.

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BLITZER: Happening now, President Trump is in France right now for the G7 Summit. His agreement with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will certainly be at the center of this very important global meeting. But major questions remain, and critical conversations at the same time will be taking place. Minutes from now, President Trump and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, are expected to hold a meeting. We'll bring those remarks to you live once they begin.

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And let's begin this hour with the breaking news just minutes --

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