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The Brief with Jim Sciutto

CNN International: White House: Talks Depend on Strait of Hormuz Being Open; NATO Chief Visits White House; Lebanon: At Least 182 Killed, 890 Injured in New Israeli Attacks; Oil Prices Tumble Below $95 a Barrel. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

NICK WATT, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Nick Watt in Los Angeles. Jim Sciutto is off.

You're watching "The Brief."

Ahead this hour, the White House says it will hold talks with Iran as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains open. Lebanon says at least 182 people were

killed in what Israel describes as its largest coordinated strikes on its neighbor since this war began. And oil prices post their biggest one-day

drop since the COVID pandemic.

The White House says the Iranian regime, quote, "caved to their knees," but a fragile two-week ceasefire is mired in confusion. Case in point, Lebanon,

which was today hit by one of the largest Israeli strikes since the start of the war. Lebanon's Ministry of Health says at least 182 people have died

and nearly 900 are hurt. Israel and the United States say Lebanon is not included in the ceasefire. But Pakistan, a key mediator here, suggests it

is or should be. In response to those latest strikes, Iran has reportedly now halted oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Also, several

Gulf states have reported Iranian strikes.

The Trump administration admits the ceasefire is fragile, but claims it's a success. The negotiating team will go to Pakistan this weekend for more

talks to find a more permanent agreement. U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance was asked about the apparent confusion over Lebanon in the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: I actually think, and there's a lot of bad faith negotiation and a lot of bad faith propaganda going on, I think

this comes from a legitimate misunderstanding. I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon, and it just didn't. We never made that

promise. We never indicated that was going to be the case. What we said is that the ceasefire would be focused on Iran and the ceasefire would be

focused on America's allies, both Israel and the Gulf Arab states.

Now, that said, the Israelis, as I understand it, again, I'm supposed to get a fuller report when I get on the plane, have actually offered to be,

frankly, to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: A short time ago, President Trump finished a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Earlier, the White House press secretary said

they would have a, quote, "frank and candid" discussion about NATO's response or lack of response to the Iran war. Remember, the president has

discussed withdrawing from the alliance. When we hear any news from that meeting, we will bring it to you.

Kristen Holmes is at the White House. Kristen, let's just start. Any news yet from that Rutte meeting?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, all we know is that Rutte has left. Now, I will say that despite the fact that Karoline

Leavitt said that they were going to have this frank and candid discussion and the fact that President Trump has been really raking NATO across the

coals, Mark Rutte is somebody who has really learned how to talk to President Trump. Most of the meetings that they come out of, they come out

of there with a kind of kumbaya.

So, we'll see if this was the same type of meeting or if there was something determined in terms of President Trump's anger when it comes to

NATO. Now, that question of Lebanon, that is one that we've been asking all day. Of course, you just played J.D. Vance there talking about it. He also

went on to reiterate that if Israel was to check themselves in Lebanon, it would not be because that was actually part of the agreed-upon ceasefire,

but instead they just want to see these negotiations go well.

Now, Karoline Leavitt was asked a number of questions about what was in this 10-point plan, what exactly the ceasefire looked like. Was the Strait

of Hormuz even open? She said Iranians privately had said that they were going to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, despite what we are hearing

publicly.

She was also asked about the idea that President Trump might have been bluffing when he said he was going to wipe out an entire civilization. I

want you to play this exchange for you.

[18:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Should the world not take his word seriously?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The world should take his word very seriously in understanding that the president is always most

interested in results. And it was the Iranians who backed down, not President Trump. He said that they would face very grave consequences, as

you just laid out, by the 8 p.m. deadline if they did not agree to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. And what did they do last night? They

agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And right now, it's still unknown whether or not the Strait of Hormuz is fully open. We've heard mixed reports, again, the White House

saying that it is open and there are ships flowing through freely. The other thing to point out here, you mentioned this briefly, we are expecting

an envoy or a convoy from the United States to travel to Pakistan, to Islamabad, to have these kind of first rounds of conversations with Iranian

officials. That would include Steve Witkoff, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law. Of course, Kushner and Witkoff

have been involved in most of these negotiations.

WATT: Kristen, thank you so much. And by the way, I'm just seeing marine traffic, no ships currently transiting through the Strait. So, let's see

where that goes. Thanks a lot for your time.

Now, meanwhile, Clarissa Ward is live for us from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Clarissa, what's the reaction from where you are and elsewhere in the

region to what's gone on in the past 24 hours?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the day started with some optimism and a huge sense of relief that cooler heads

were prevailing, that a catastrophe had been averted, because that's how people here in Saudi Arabia certainly viewed President Trump's threat that

he would devastate or decimate Iran's civilian infrastructure. People concerned that they would be the ones to bear the brunt of Iran's

retaliatory attacks if that had indeed happened.

But this ceasefire, Nick, is clearly increasingly precarious. We have seen a steady stream of Iranian attacks on the UAE, missiles and drones, 17

missiles intercepted, 35 drones also on Kuwait, on Bahrain. Here in Saudi Arabia, nine drones intercepted. One drone actually hit a pumping station

in Saudi Arabia's critical east-west oil pipeline, which really is the only artery that they have now for exporting their crude oil into the Red Sea.

And all of this because of the Strait of Hormuz, which appears to be pretty much closed at this stage. The Iranians, according to Iranian state media

earlier, saying that effectively they decided to close it because of Israel's devastating attacks on Lebanon. These were the most ferocious and

deadliest attacks that we have seen during the course of this war so far, Nick. More than 189 people killed, some placing that death toll even

higher, hundreds and hundreds injured.

And Iran's IRGC now also warning that if Israel continues to attack Lebanon, they will be forced to retaliate against what they call the

aggressor. And earlier this evening, we saw a post on X from the speaker of Iran's parliament basically laying out what he views as three violations of

the ceasefire agreement, one of them being Lebanon, one of them being an unknown drone in Iranian airspace, and one of them being what he called

Iran's -- or denials, I should say, of Iran's right to enrich uranium.

So, all of this making it very clear, I think, Nick, that this is a fragile ceasefire. This is going to be a highly complex path ahead in terms of

trying to hammer out some type of an agreement that has the potential to really stick. And that's what countries here in the Gulf want to be sure

that they will see, Nick, an agreement that doesn't leave them at the whim or the mercy of an unstable and emboldened Iran with the U.S. pulling up

sticks and leaving, Nick.

WATT: Clarissa Ward in Riyad, thanks very much for your time. Now, for more on this, I'm joined now by Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Now, he serves on the House Intelligence Committee. So, tell me, from your perspective, how is this ceasefire looking?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Well, I hope it holds. I think that Iran has really gained the upper hand strategically in terms of its control of

the Strait of Hormuz. It may be losing badly militarily, but it's, to my mind, it has the advantage economically because it's got its hand on the

throat of these oil supplies.

[18:10:00]

And that shipping is not moving right now, as you can tell. But I'm hopeful because, you know, this war of choice is disastrous. It's illegal. It's

unconstitutional. It needs to come to an end. And the start is this truce.

WATT: I mean, tell me where this hopefulness comes from, because right now, as you say, it looks like we do not have ships moving through the

Strait. We've seen the Israeli attack on Lebanon. And there also seems to be real confusion as to exactly what was agreed, what wasn't agreed. I

mean, I'm interested to hear why you're hopeful.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I'm a Chicago Cubs fan, so I'm eternally hopeful. But besides that, look, I think that the fact that the president did not

take escalatory actions, military actions after those maniacal tweets that he put out, means that we're hopefully in the direction of non-escalation,

which is something. I'd like to see it go to a different place. I'm hopeful that the talks yield something that is more long-lasting than a two-week

ceasefire.

But my biggest concern is this, which is that, you know, it takes two sides to come to an agreement. And the Iranians, quite frankly, are not ready to

conclude this war. I think they might want to exact an even greater cost on Americans.

And my biggest fear is that the rhetoric that Donald Trump uses, the actions that he takes, could actually provoke them to take preemptive

action, such as maybe a terrorist attack on American soil, or against American interests elsewhere, or using ballistic missiles. They have

thousands of these ballistic missiles that they could use on American interests and bases in the Middle East, and, of course, on Europe.

WATT: Now, I mean, from your exalted position, do you have any greater insight into exactly what the aims and perhaps the endgame could be here?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: No, not at this moment. I'll be going back to Washington. I'll be able to see classified intelligence at that point that gives me

greater insight. But what I can say is that at this point, Donald Trump staying off Truth Social may be the best course for the White House. And

then, of course, doing whatever is possible to, you know, negotiate at the bargaining table in Pakistan with the Iranians is the next best course.

And at the end of the day, again, this war is illegal and unconstitutional. The best way to achieve our ends here is through diplomacy, working with

our friends, partners and allies, not pushing them away and certainly not in any way, you know, escalating this conflict.

WATT: And it always, to me, sounds a bit crass when we talk about gas prices back home when people are dying in the Middle East. But what do you

see happening in the next week or so in that regard for Americans at the gas pump?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, look, I think I hate to say it, but unfortunately, this war, Donald Trump's Iran war is causing gas prices to spike and

they're not going to stop unless this war comes to an end. Oil traders are not stupid. They basically are trading on what they believe to be the

future trajectory of this conflict. And if it doesn't seem to be going in the right direction, they're going to keep trading these prices higher and

higher. And we're going to feel it at the gas pump here in Illinois. We're seeing it rise dramatically.

And, you know, we're looking at potentially $5, $6 gas and crippling the rest of the economy. Our farmers in Illinois are paying through the nose

for fertilizer right now at a time when they're already being hit by counter tariffs in other countries and China not buying their soybeans from

Illinois. And so, this is having ripple effects throughout the economy at this point.

WATT: Congressman Krishnamoorthy, I really appreciate your time. Thanks a lot for joining us.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you, Nick.

WATT: Now, both the U.S. and Iran are calling the two-week ceasefire a victory. The fragile truce could give Iranians a respite from U.S. and

Israeli strikes, which the Iranian Red Crescent says have killed more than 2,000 people. But the impact of this conflict will and could have a lasting

impact on the country.

CNN's Leila Gharagozlou spoke with Iranians to find out how they feel about the war, the ceasefire and the future of their country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As the war went on, we realized that this war is really against Iran and not in a benefit for the benefit of Iran.

[18:15:00]

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: In the final hours of his own deadline, President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran. CNN spoke

to some Iranians who have mixed feelings. We aren't disclosing their identities for their safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel relieved that the escalation did not happen. That the people of Iran will not suffer. This war has brought the sort of

unity that we didn't have at the beginning of the war.

GHARAGOZLOU: The unity for many Iranians comes from their ability to survive the U.S. and Israeli military operation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a different feeling and atmosphere from the days right after the 12-day war. When I speak to people today, there's a sense

of pride in the country that we too were able to survive this war.

GHARAGOZLOU (voice-over): After nearly a month of attacks and promises of regime change by the U.S. and opposition groups, some feel that the war

made the Iranian government stronger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel that we, the regular normal people, are the ultimate losers in this. Nothing has changed. Everything is worse. I hope

at least we get some sanctions relief. How are we even going to move on?

GHARAGOZLOU: There's also skepticism about whether ceasefire will even hold.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope the ceasefire is genuine and not a pretext to get all the ships out of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz and then to

rearm and restart. The fact that J.D. Vance is involved and Mr. Ghalibaf is involved gives me hope that this will be a very, very serious discussions,

not like the waste of time, the previous times the U.S. used as a pretext.

GHARAGOZLOU (voice-over): For others, the war continues, while still under the current rule.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, unless there are big changes they make, I think we'll keep protesting. Because even if they stay for now, they have

to eventually go. This can't continue.

GHARAGOZLOU (voice-over): As a fragile peace looks to take hold, some Iranians hold out hopes about the new faces in Iran's government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope that the new leadership in Iran, which are -- is a lot more in touch with the younger generation, a lot more in tune with

what's going on in the world, more open to the idea of being part of the rest of the world and participating in the global economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: Still ahead, a relief rally on Wall Street. The Dow surged 1,300 points and oil prices plunged on ceasefire hopes. Can it last? We'll

discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:00]

WATT: Welcome back. In today's Business Breakout, global stocks rallied Wednesday amid the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. Fragile,

I'm saying that a lot today. On Wall Street, all the major averages closed more than two and a half percent higher. The Dow surged by more than 1,300

points, its best day in a year.

Oil saw its biggest one-day drop since the COVID pandemic. Both Brent and U.S. crude tumbled more than 13 percent, with prices settling below $95 a

barrel. Investors hope to see more oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz soon.

Jakob Larsen, the head of maritime security at BIMCO, says he's seen little sign of that yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKOB LARSEN, HEAD OF MARITIME SECURITY, BIMCO: Each day, a few ships manage to pass through, some of them apparently in coordination with Iran,

while others, they take their chances and hug the Omani coast and make their way out. But right now, we're not seeing any signs of any sort of

significant volumes of shipping starting to move out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: Now, even as oil prices fall, U.S. gas prices continue to rise. The average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. has hit $4.16, up 2 cents from

the day before.

Now, Denton Cinquegrana joins us now with some analysis of this. So, $95 a barrel, is that a big deal? Is that just paper? Is that substance? Is there

any substance to that? Is there any hope to that?

DENTON CINQUEGRANA, CHIEF OIL ANALYST, OPIS: Oh, good evening, Nick, and thanks for having me. Yes, I think there's a little bit. Like you said, the

exact phrase you used is, it was paper. So, the physical markets are still pretty tight and still really strong. They're trading at premiums of, you

know, depending on the grade of crude oil, $15 to $20 above those prices. So, you're still looking at some markets where the price of crude oil is

still well over $100.

WATT: And you know, one other analyst who I was just reading described the oil coming through the strait right now as a trickle. I mean, it's going to

take a while, could take a long while, right, for that flow to get back to normal. How long?

CINQUEGRANA: You're absolutely right. And yes, a trickle is a perfect way to describe it. It's a drop in the bucket, whatever you want to, whatever

metaphor you'd like to use. You know, first of all, you have a backlog of ships that would need to be cleared out. If the Strait opened up right now,

unrestricted, whatever, it would still take a while to clear that backlog.

Remember, there's reports out there that there are mines in there in the strait as well. So, Iran would have to remove the mines or at least guide

ships around them if they know where they are, which they should if they placed them there. So, you have that whole issue as well. And I don't think

those mines are very easy to, you know, pull up and remove from the waterways that quickly.

WATT: And I'm not sure if this was you who said, I read it in my notes somewhere before, and I can't find it, that this isn't a very ceasefire-y

ceasefire. Was that you?

CINQUEGRANA: Yes, yes. The least ceasefire is ceasefire I've ever seen. It's -- you know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of me and my brother,

my younger brother, fighting when we were little kids. Our parents tell us to knock it off and stop. The minute they turn their back, we start

fighting again.

WATT: Yes. Now, in terms of gas prices in this country, as I've said before, I don't like talking about gas prices when people are dying. But I

mean, I live in Los Angeles. I filled up last night. It cost me over six bucks. I think the highest I've seen is eight bucks something. I mean, in

terms of the backdrop to this war, gas prices in the U.S. have an impact, right, on the popularity or otherwise of an expedition like this?

CINQUEGRANA: Absolutely. I mean, gas prices in Americans, you know, they kind of go -- they have this adversarial relationship. Everyone who drives

remembers what they paid for gas yesterday, two weeks ago, two months ago, two years ago. So, this is going to be felt by people throughout the

economy. It may force a slowdown in the economy if prices stay elevated like this.

You have the -- in some cases where people have to make a decision, hey, do I go out and do X, Y, and Z, or do I just not waste gas? I saw a poll --

and this is when prices were still about $3.70, $3.75. And it was very early stages, obviously. But really, 45 percent of those in this poll said,

yes, there's no change coming from me. Now, we're $0.40 higher. So, it'll be interesting to see if that poll were taken again.

WATT: Denton Cinquegrana, Chief Oil Analyst at OPIS, really appreciate your time. Thanks a lot.

CINQUEGRANA: Thank you, Nick. Have a good night.

WATT: And you. Checking some of today's other business headlines. Delta Airlines is warning that it will post weaker-than-expected profits in the

current quarter due to the Iran war. Delta also says it's too early to update its full-year outlook because of the geopolitical uncertainty. The

company, however, posting stronger-than-expected Q1 results.

[18:25:00]

Delta also announcing that it is raising its checked baggage fees to help offset the rising costs of fuel.

Now, a New York Times reporter says he thinks he's uncovered the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the secretive creator of Bitcoin. John Carreyrou says

Nakamoto appears to be the pseudonym of a 55-year-old British cryptographer, Adam Back. He says that he came to this conclusion because

of similarities between Back's writing and the writing attributed to Nakamoto. That's among other things. Back, who remains a key figure in the

Bitcoin community, denies that he is Nakamoto.

Greece is set to join the growing list of nations with strict social media protections for younger children. Under new legislation expected to pass

pretty soon, children under the age of 15 will be prohibited from using social media beginning New Year's Day 2027. The government has already

outlawed mobile phones in schools and set up parental control platforms to limit teenagers' screen time.

Before we go, two days from now, the four-person crew of the Artemis Moon mission are due to splash down off the coast of San Diego. But just because

they are on their way home from the moon, it does not mean they're taking it easy. The astronauts have a series of activities planned to test their

space suits and radiation shields so that future missions will be prepared for the threat of solar flares. The crew will also be testing the

spacecraft's maneuverability.

One of the astronauts talked about how being so far from Earth changed her perspective on our planet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA KOCH, ARTEMIS II MISSION SPECIALIST: The thing that changed for me looking back at Earth was that I found myself noticing not only the

beauty of the Earth, but how much blackness there was around it and how it just made it even more special. It truly emphasized how alike we are, how

the same thing keeps every single person on planet Earth alive. We evolved on the same planet. We have some shared things about how we love and live

that are just universal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: Thank you all very much for your company. I'm Nick Watt in Los Angeles. You've been watching "The Brief." World Sport is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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END