Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump Agrees to Suspend Strikes on Iran for Two Weeks; Iran Claims Victory, Says U.S. Accepts 10-Point Plan; Oil Dips, Stocks Rally After Trump's Ceasefire Announcement; Iran Claims Great Victory, Says U.S. Accepts 10-Point Plan; War Disrupts Supply Chains Including Aid Deliveries; L.A. Mayor Weighs in on Iran War, Other Issues. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired April 08, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Froot Loops? Like that is --

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I have no food. I'm not like young. I want milk with the cereal.

MICHAELSON: But there's no gravity.

COATES: You asked what I wanted. What would you want?

MICHAELSON: Something that probably doesn't have a million little pieces to be flying all around. It's not so easy. There's no vacuum. It's not --

COATES: This is why I'm a lawyer, not an astronaut. All right? Sue me. I want -- as a matter of fact, I'm going to eat Froot Loops right now.

Have a great show, Elex.

MICHAELSON: OK. Enjoy, Laura. Thank you so much.

THE STORY IS starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

MICHAELSON: And welcome to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. And we begin with breaking news.

A temporary ceasefire in the war with Iran. President Trump announcing on social media that he has agreed to suspend bombing of Iran for two weeks. That post coming less than two hours before his threat to destroy the, quote, "whole civilization" in Iran.

Tehran is claiming victory, saying its military will coordinate passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which of course is the vital oil route that's been effectively closed by Iran since the start of the war.

Now all this comes after mediation from Pakistan. The prime minister has invited the U.S. and Iran to Islamabad for direct talks on Friday, April 10th. U.S. officials say Vice President J.D. Vance will likely be involved. The White House reports Israel has also agreed to the ceasefire, although a source says Israeli officials have concerns. It's unclear if the ceasefire agreement also includes Lebanon.

CNN correspondents around the globe are covering the war with Iran. We will hear from Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Mike Valerio in Beijing later this hour. But we start with Paula Hancocks live in Abu Dhabi and Julia Benbrook in Washington.

Julia, to you first. What are we hearing from the White House at this late hour?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, with less than two hours before President Donald Trump's deadline and with his threat to target Iranian bridges and infrastructure looming, he did announce that he had accepted a proposal from Pakistan for a two-week ceasefire. And this announcement came in a social media post, a Truth Social post, which is where he has made a lot of big announcements since the start of Operation Epic Fury, including those first joint U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran.

But in this post he said that the 10-point plan that he had received from Iran was a, quote, "workable basis on which to negotiate." He also said that he believes the United States has achieved and exceeded its military objectives, and that he believes that as they work towards a substantial a long term deal, he thinks that they are far along.

Now, it is important to note that there are still a lot of questions here, but the White House is expressing optimism as they look forward, making it clear that they are hoping to find an offramp here.

I want to pull up part of his post for you that really highlights that. In this post, he said, quote, "Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two-week period will allow the agreement to be finalized and consummated. On behalf of the United States of America, as president, and also representing the countries of the Middle East, it is an honor to have this long term problem close to a resolution."

Now, Trump did say that a key condition here was reopening the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway where 20 percent of the world's oil typically passes through. Iran's foreign minister did say that its military will be coordinating the passage of vessels through the strait during this ceasefire.

Now, Trump's deadlines have been changing a lot throughout this. In fact, he first threatened to target Iranian power facilities late last month, and he set a 48 hour deadline. That deadline was put on pause for five days, then extended for 10 set for Monday, and then placed for Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. And then, of course, we saw him accept this ceasefire proposal just less than two hours before that deadline.

So what's next is the big question. And Pakistan's foreign minister has invited negotiators from the United States and Iran to Islamabad for negotiations on Friday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tells CNN that while there are discussions about in-person talks that essentially nothing is official until we hear from the president himself.

MICHAELSON: Julia Benbrook, thank you for that reporting.

We now go to Paula. What are we hearing in the region this morning? Surprise?

[00:05:02]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elex, I think people are waking up in this region this Wednesday morning with pure relief that there is a two-week ceasefire. Now, as Julia said, there's a lot that hasn't been decided. There are some conflicting reports out there, but a temporary ceasefire is far better than that destruction of a civilization in Iran. So there will be a lot of relief here in the Gulf, also in Israel, and all neighboring countries of Iran that could have found themselves being the target of even more retaliation.

So we've heard a couple of different official responses from Iran. I want to go through them with you. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said that if attacks against Iran are halted, our powerful armed forces will cease their defensive operations. He also pointed out that the military will be coordinating safe passage through that crucial Strait of Hormuz during this two-week period, saying Iran is considering the 15 point proposal that the U.S. had put forward, but that Washington had approved this 10-point proposal.

Now a slightly different, longer and more fiery statement from the National Security Council. They have claimed victory against the United States, also saying that within this 10-point proposal they put forward, there are things like compensation to Iran, which you would find it difficult to believe that the United States would agree to that, lifting of international sanctions and unfreezing of assets.

But this is a starting point. This gives breathing room for the diplomatic process to take precedence now. And we know that that will be happening potentially in Islamabad. We've heard from the Pakistan prime minister saying that he's invited the delegations on April 10th. There is also, though, some confusion as to whether or not Lebanon is part of this. We heard from Pakistan's prime minister that Lebanon was included in this two week ceasefire.

We've heard from the Israeli prime minister's office that it is not included. And President Trump didn't mention it at all. So that's something we'll hope for clarification on in the coming hours. And when it comes to reaction in Iran, now we did see pre-dawn celebrations in the streets. I must point out that these did appear to be very much pro-regime gatherings. So this isn't -- certainly isn't a rounded view of how people in Iran are feeling.

But we did see American, Israeli flags being burned. We saw the photo of the new supreme leader being held as well. But even on the streets, among the pro-regime elements, there was skepticism being voiced as to whether or not this will end eventually in a permanent ceasefire. There is very little, if any, trust between Iran and the United States -- Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yes, a lot safer right now to be a pro-regime demonstrator in the streets of Iran versus the opposite.

We just got word from President Trump just a few moments ago. I want to read this. And then, Julia, get you to respond to it. He posted on Truth Social, "A big day for world peace. Iran wants it to happen. They've had enough. Likewise. So has everyone else. The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. There will be lots of positive action. Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process, will be loading up with supplies of all kinds and just hanging around in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will. Just like we are experiencing in the U.S., this could be the golden age of the Middle East. President Donald J. Trump."

And Julia, let's talk about this moment for President Trump because he had basically been talking about a timeline for the war of four to six weeks. If this all goes as planned, essentially, they would hope, that this war could be over potentially in two weeks and that would be a huge deal for President Trump.

Talk about this moment for him on the world stage and what a historic moment we are experiencing right now.

BENBROOK: It does seem like the administration is really looking for this offramp. But like I said earlier, still a lot of questions about how this actually comes into place. But we're in week five now since those first strikes, the beginning of Operation Epic Fury. And then this post, he says that the United States will be helping with the buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's foreign minister had said that its military would be coordinating the passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

So a few questions on how any of that coordination would go together. But as 20 percent of the world's oil typically passes through that strait, and at points during this conflict, long points during this conflict that was at a near complete halt, that's been an impact that people here in the United States have been feeling directly. Those prices at the pump have been soaring.

[00:10:04]

So while for some this may not feel like a direct impact, like it's something that they're feeling that straight specifically is going to be something that Americans and even as they look to the midterms are going to have top of mind. So it's very clear that he wants to clear that up and clear that up quickly, but still questions on how that's going to happen and how quickly that could happen.

MICHAELSON: And hopefully we get answers in our coverage over the next few hours. We're grateful to have both of you along for that. We'll get back to both of you shortly.

But hopefully to give us some answers right now we head live to retired U.S. Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst, Cedric Leighton, joining us from New York tonight.

Cedric, welcome back. What do you make of this deal and how is it enforced?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, this is going to be really interesting, Elex. So this, this deal is one of those deals where there's a lot left to the imagination. There are some things that have been coming out on both sides, both the Iranian side as well as the U.S. side. And they're not necessarily congruent with each other. One of the key questions I've got is absolutely about the Strait of Hormuz, you know, is that really true that Iran and potentially Oman are going to control the passage of ships through there?

Is that going to be something that will require them to pay toll? And that's of course going to be a major issue there. Then in terms of verification, I don't see any verification mechanism yet in any of the documents or any of the Twitter posts or social media posts that have been out there. So that's also going to be an issue. If we don't have that type of verification, then there's going to be perhaps, you know, a chance for misunderstanding. And that, of course, could make it very difficult for this deal, the ceasefire deal to be a lasting one.

MICHAELSON: How does anybody trust anybody in this whole thing? We know that Iran over the years has lied repeatedly about their nuclear ambitions, about different things happening in that country. We also know that the last time that the United States was negotiating with Iran over all this, they attacked Iran and killed the leader of Iran. So I can't imagine there's a lot of goodwill right here. How do -- how do you sort of build on that?

LEIGHTON: Yes. This is, you know, we're entering into a very strange territory, Elex. And you're right. Both sides clearly have reasons to mistrust the other. And that's, that's a real problem. So one way to do that is to have a verification mechanism, you know, allow for an open skies like overflight -- Open Skies was the treaty that we had with the old Soviet Union that allowed us to overfly their territory and they overflew our territory to verify nuclear compliance.

So something similar to that could be -- could potentially be done. They could perhaps do it with satellites instead of, you know, with actual airplanes. But it is one of those things that is a real problem. And without that verification, that is something that is going to really hurt that element of trust that you've mentioned is so sorely lacking here.

MICHAELSON: And in terms of the ceasefire itself, we saw some reports of some missiles may be going into Israel and some missiles going back at least early on, sort of. How do you keep this thing together and stop it? And what are the consequences if somebody violates the ceasefire?

LEIGHTON: Yes. So that's something that I think is -- we're going to have to wait and see how that's going to work out. But often the consequences are that the other side is going to the victim in this, in whichever case, is going to actually go ahead and attack the other side. So when it comes to something like this, it's really depends on how robust the Iranian command and control system is.

If the Iranian command and control system is denigrated as much as some people in the U.S. think it is, then it's going to be hard for a lot of the Iranian units to get the word from their higher headquarters that they need to stop firing. So that could explain some of the firing against Israel, for example, this evening. But the key thing here is that when it comes to these kinds of situations, it's going to really depend on each side being somewhat tolerant of these kinds of issues and then being able to compensate for them.

And if it -- if the firing continues, like in the case of Israel -- Iran against Israel, then that could, of course, upend the ceasefire. If the firing of missiles and drones stops, then perhaps the ceasefire has a chance.

MICHAELSON: Yes. A fragile ceasefire in place right now.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, joining us just after midnight in New York. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

[00:15:05]

Well, have more coverage on the two-week ceasefire announcement after the break. Coming up next, Mike Valerio is live from Beijing with how global markets are reacting.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And coming up here in East Asia, we have a huge rally across the board. It's lunchtime. We're going to talk about notes of caution underneath these positive numbers and China's potential involvement in the ceasefire. When we're back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: President Trump's ceasefire announcement is also making waves in the markets. Global oil prices plummeted following the news, with both Brent and U.S. crude sinking as low as $95 a barrel.

[00:20:04]

Asia Pacific markets rebounded and U.S. stocks surged in after-hours trading. All that good news.

Joining me live from Beijing, CNN's Mike Valerio.

Mike, what are you seeing?

VALERIO: So, Elex, just hit this live shot is going to be about yes, but. Yes, exuberance, but there are some notes of caution that we want to talk about. So let's look across the board. A broad based rally here in Asia as it's lunchtime. Asia indices up around 5 percent. Sometimes in Seoul, for example, there are indices that are trading much higher flirting in some cases around 7 percent.

And that's great news and to be expected because we've been talking about this for weeks now. You have all of these countries and markets that are wholly dependent on their petroleum and oil product imports coming through the Strait of Hormuz. So because we are operating in this environment of hyper volatility, any good news that we can get from this rapidly changing situation, traders are certainly hanging on to U.S. futures. Singing from the same hymnal, but maybe in a lower key. Not as much exuberance, up around 3 percent in the two and a fractional percent in some cases when we look at the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq.

But brent and WTI below $100, That psychological benchmark right there. Also notable that we want to talk about auto stocks way up when we're talking about Hyundai, Toyota, Nissan, Kia, specifically looking at Japan and South Korea.

KAL, Korean Air, which had talked about operating in an emergency situation, potentially canceling routes to save on jet fuel, also notably sky high up around 8 percent, again as it's an hour later in Seoul, reaching the final neck of the trading day there.

Here's the reality check, though, Elex, and everybody watching. I had a nice phone chat with Alicia Garcia Herrero. She's the chief Asia- Pacific economist for Natixis Bank in Hong Kong. And she said, you know, we could be seeing a market correction within the next 24 hours. Oil prices up, up, up, and the markets way down, down, down. Because when we're talking about these economies, we could conceivably see, you know, orders from Tokyo or Seoul or Taipei saying, all right, we need a ton of oil.

We really need to stockpile because we don't know where this situation is going to go within the next two weeks. If there's going to be a degradation in the ceasefire talks, if it's just going to go out the window. So of course, that impacts people pumping gas from Pasadena to Peoria, everybody watching back in the United States, because when you have oil prices rise and demand rise on this side of the world, U.S. producers are going to charge more money for people on this side of the world to buy their oil, and for Americans to buy their oil as well.

One more note before we go. Interesting reporting and certainly our reporting target for today is to try to get a clearer picture of China's involvement in making this ceasefire work, making it a thing. The president telling AFP that he believes that China coming to the table, telling Iran to buy into the ceasefire, certainly made a difference.

There are all of these hot takes that have been circulating, saying something to the effect of, you know, the Napoleonic phrase, "don't interrupt your adversary in the midst of them making a mistake," kind of indicating that, well, why would China get involved if it seems that D.C. is making a mistake?

Just know that if energy prices go through the roof, that means consumption nosedives because you can imagine your neighbors, like if they're paying so much for gas, they're not going to buy stuff. And that really hurts China. So I think we're going to be looking at more China involvement and more clues in the coming hours how exactly they made this work. MICHAELSON: As Thomas Friedman said many years ago, when it comes to

the economy, the world is flat and the global market for oil is that just that, a global market.

By the way, since we are having some good news now, we have a moment for fun. You know, it's 9:00 out here in Los Angeles, which is when Larry King used to have his time slot here on CNN. And how about the suspenders? A tribute to Larry King tonight. Nicely done, Mike.

VALERIO: Yes, yes. You know, it's because I'm coming to see you in L.A. and all of my friends and family, I've packed. I have everything in my suitcase except really big pants and suspenders. So here they are. And Larry King, you know, an idol, and doing it for you and him. Yes.

MICHAELSON: Pasadena, hello. All right. Mike Valerio, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

We get back to the serious breaking news just after the break. Just ahead, we will hear how Iranians are reacting to the temporary ceasefire. Lots of celebrations we're seeing. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:29:31]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Iran has achieved a great victory and forced America to accept its 10-point plan. America is committed to non-aggression, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of enrichment, lifting of all sanctions, termination of all resolutions of the Security Council and Board of Governors, payment of compensation to Iran, withdrawal of American forces from the region, and secession of war on all fronts, including against the Islamic resistance of Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Iran is claiming it has achieved a great victory by forcing the U.S. to accept its 10-point plan.

[00:30:09]

Meanwhile, Iranians in the capital, which has been under heavy and constant bombardment these past six weeks, have taken to the streets to celebrate the temporary peace deal. But many remain skeptical about how the war will unfold from here.

Israel says it supports President Trump's decision to suspend the strikes, and Pakistan's prime minister is inviting Iran and the U.S. to engage in further negotiations in Islamabad on Friday.

Let's bring in CNN's Ivan Watson, live from Hong Kong. Last Friday, you were in Islamabad, preparing for negotiations. Those didn't happen. It sounds like now kind of what you were expecting last week is about to happen, potentially.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, you have to give credit to the Pakistanis for the -- I would call desperate diplomacy, down to the last minute.

And think about where we've gone, where Iranians in many cities might have been worried that the electricity would get knocked out, as President Trump vowed he would target all of the country's electric plants and essentially said he would kill Iranian civilization.

And then, within a matter of hours, announcement from both Tehran and Washington of a two-week ceasefire.

The Iranian government, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is very quickly spinning this, calling it a victory. And we see signs of people out in the streets, in some cases burning U.S. and Israeli flags, celebrating, echoing their government's declaration that this is a victory, while also some of them expressing -- expressing great suspicion about the U.S. going forward.

Take a listen to what one woman had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): America has shown itself a hundred times till now. We have gone to the negotiation table twice when it attacked us. And this ceasefire again, for going and repowering itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: But I think it's important to note, amid this bluster, that we do have Iranian government officials, the National Security Council, saying that, yes, we've agreed to a two-week ceasefire, an order going out on Iranian television to Iranian armed forces.

This is not the end of the war, as they put it, but there is an order to suspend firing and that there will likely be talks in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, in the near future, while also claiming to have forced the Trump administration to accept the ten-point proposal that Iran had put forward.

And that's where there's going to be a lot of -- it'll just be important to watch --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

WATSON: -- whether or not the two sides can agree to what Iran is saying. It wants control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying that also it will allow passage under the Iranian military's kind of coordination.

A lot to hammer out here. But the main point is, all sides have agreed to at least stop trying to kill each other for the time being.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And Ivan, it's interesting. You showed the video of the folks in the street of Iran, basically celebrating their government.

And it brings me back to the night that this war launched, and President Trump put out a message to the people of Iran, encouraging them to rise up, to fight back against their government, essentially saying, this is your moment to do so.

And now, at what could be the beginning of the end of this war, kind of the opposite happening, right?

WATSON: Look, the messages -- frankly, the messages that have come out of the White House have been very hard to follow, where on the one hand, we're going to come here and try to help save you from your oppressor -- I'm paraphrasing the Trump administration -- of the Islamic Republic of Iran; to we're going to -- an entire civilization is going to die.

It's almost hard to wrap your head around some of that. And a lot of question marks, I think, from leaders around the world right now.

The -- I'm going to pivot to the diplomacy, Elex, that's led to this.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

WATSON: Where I was watching -- and I got messages from Pakistani officials overnight that were kind of saying this plea to the Trump administration to please pause for two weeks, to give diplomacy a chance. A plea from the Pakistani prime minister to Iran's government to allow safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz as a gesture of goodwill.

And then within a matter of hours, the Pakistani prime minister announcing that there is going to be this immediate ceasefire that both sides had agreed to.

Also saying that this would extend to everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere. And think about the other areas where fighting has taken place.

[00:35:08]

MICHAELSON: Yes.

WATSON: Iran firing at all these Gulf Arab countries; pro-Iranian militias in Iraq being part of this; the Houthis in Yemen.

It's important to note that, while Israel has said it will adhere to this ceasefire, the Israeli prime minister has made it clear that Lebanon is not included. And that's been a major front in this war.

And it's going to be important to -- to see how all of these warring parties, will they define the Lebanese front --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

WATSON: -- as part of this ceasefire? Israel says no. MICHAELSON: And interesting also that when you were in Pakistan and

there was the possibility of some negotiated settlement, that there was a push for J.D. Vance, the vice president, to be a part of that.

And now reporting tonight, that very well could be that J.D. Vance is going to be part of this negotiated settlement in Pakistan in the coming days. We'll see if that comes to fruition or not.

Ivan Watson, live for us once again in Hong Kong. Ivan, thank you.

The conflict in the Middle East has severely disrupted supply chains, including vital aid deliveries. Dubai's humanitarian aid in the UAE is one of the biggest aid hubs in the world. It plays a big part in getting aid to Gaza, Lebanon, and Afghanistan.

The UAE accounts for more than 45 percent of international assistance, or about $3 billion to Gaza. The World Health Organization is a key member of the Dubai hub.

CNN's Becky Anderson took a tour to see just how much impact the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran has on its ability to deliver lifesaving supplies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT BLANCHARD, HEAD, WHO HUB FOR GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCIES LOGISTICS: So, what we have here today is 57 metric tons of medicines valued at about $1.8 million that are intended for Gaza. This has everything from antibiotics, anticoagulants, medicines that are going to be needed to treat diabetes and hypertension.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the World Health Organization's hub at Dubai Humanitarian, the largest aid center in the world.

BLANCHARD: Primarily emergency health kits.

ANDERSON (voice-over): From here, supplies can reach two-thirds of the global population within hours. On a normal day, this is a lifeline for millions of people in need.

BLANCHARD: On a normal day, we would see 100 metric tons of medicines moving in and out of the hub to reach those in need, in response to health emergencies all around the world.

ANDERSON: On a normal day.

BLANCHARD: On a normal day.

ANDERSON: Things aren't normal at present. We're in the middle of this conflict. We've seen the -- certainly, in the early days, the suspension of flights. And you are facing real supply issues at present. Is that why we see nothing in here?

BLANCHARD: Well, that's certainly part -- part of the reason. ANDERSON (voice-over): The U.S.-Israel war with Iran is now choking

global supply lines, forcing aid supplies to slow down or stop completely, with shipping squeezed through the Strait of Hormuz, airspace disrupted, and ports targeted by Iranian attacks.

BLANCHARD: Emergency health kits.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Getting life-saving aid out of the UAE has become increasingly difficult.

BLANCHARD: It's almost a perfect storm. It's going to cost more to deliver supplies. It's going to take longer to deliver those supplies, and we're doing it under a period where we're constrained financially.

ANDERSON: To explain exactly what's in here. You can see it says "Egypt in transit to Palestine Authority." This is Gaza, WHO. And this palette, for example, what's in there?

BLANCHARD: Simvastatin. So, this would be for hypertension, for example. There's other palettes that would contain antibiotics. It's a real mix of what you have here. It's a tremendous number of line-item medicines.

ANDERSON: I'm just looking here. We've got Kenya. We've got Sudan up here.

BLANCHARD: We have Zambia, cholera.

ANDERSON: So, we've got here trauma and emergency surgery kits.

BLANCHARD: We have external fixators here. These are used to secure and mobilize the bones after a fracture or a break.

ANDERONS: Right.

BLANCHARD: What you have here are general surgery instruments for dressing. So, perhaps after a burn or a serious injury, the surgeons can use these immediately to render care.

ANDERSON (voice-over): As the conflict rolls on, and supply routes remain compromised, getting critical shipments like these out means constantly adapting.

One solution for the WHO's current emergency efforts in Lebanon: a land corridor via Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria. A shipment successfully reached the Masnaa crossing just as the WHO warned me that some hospitals in Lebanon had just two weeks of supplies left.

That crossing is now closed, cutting off aid to the million people displaced in Lebanon.

[00:40:03]

ANDERSON: It's not just the WHO. There are dozens of aid agencies moving medical supplies, equipment, and food from here at Dubai Humanitarian.

ANDERSON (voice-over): The World Food Programme is also rerouting shipments. They say costs and transit times for freight out of Dubai are up 30 percent since the crisis began.

MARWA AWAD, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (through translator): We're looking at one of the most complex humanitarian detours since the Middle East crisis began.

Four hundred metric tons of nutritional aid from the World Food Programme are being loaded by the United Nations' humanitarian response depot from the warehouse in Dubai Humanitarian.

Twenty trucks will set off from the UAE to Saudi Arabia and all the way to Turkey and Turkmenistan, where they finally enter Afghanistan.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Throughout this conflict, Dubai Humanitarian has kept operating, but at a fraction of its capacity.

In January, aid reached 25 countries. By March, that number down to just nine.

Despite the logistical challenges, this shipment will be flown out of the UAE today, bound for al-Arish in Egypt, from where it will enter Gaza. A 72-hour trip for a consignment which could be the difference between life and death.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Dubai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: From the war with Iran to California wildfires insurance claims, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is here live on set to talk about that and more. Her perspective, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:46:28]

MICHAELSON: So, a lot of questions remain about the two-week ceasefire with Iran and what comes next.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham says Congress would have to approve any proposal to end the war, and that the U.S. would have to seize and remove all of Iran's highly enriched uranium.

Remember: Graham didn't say Congress needs to approve the war in the first place, but apparently needs to end it that way.

The Republican senator also said that Iran must not be rewarded for its attacks on the Strait of Hormuz. But according to Iran, it's ten- point plan says that the U.S. must accept Iran's nuclear enrichment and recognize its ongoing control over the strait, and that seems unlikely to happen.

Here to talk about that and more is L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. She served on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee before she became mayor of Los Angeles, which has more Iranian Americans living in it than any other city in the country.

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: That's right.

MICHAELSON: Mayor Bass, welcome back to THE STORY IS. Always great to see you.

BASS: Thank you. Thank you. Good to be here.

MICHAELSON: What's your reaction to the ceasefire?

BASS: Well, first of all, I was relieved. I certainly hope it stays in place. It was good to know it was both -- both sides. And so, let's hope that this will actually lead to peace, not just in Iran, but in the entire region.

MICHAELSON: You know, there have been so many different perspectives here in Southern California on this.

BASS: That's right.

MICHAELSON: People very passionate about this.

BASS: Right.

MICHAELSON: Right after the war started, we saw rallies of thousands of people in the streets --

BASS: Tens of thousands.

MICHAELSON: -- that were that were cheering this on. Many of them had been victims of the regime, and they were hopeful for regime change.

What are you hearing from them? What are you hearing from people that live here?

BASS: Sure. Well, I think the people that are the most organized, the people that have been turning out to the tens of thousands, have been people that were actually calling for this level of intervention before, are supportive of it. And then they have their view as to what should come next.

MICHAELSON: Do you think President Trump deserves some credit for taking on a regime that so many people here in Southern California think was murderous and terrible and killed their families?

BASS: Well, the question is, what's the outcome? I think that the U.S. has a track record in tearing things apart, but not so good when it comes to putting them back together afterwards.

So, to the extent that the regime has actually changed. Granted, the leadership has changed. New leadership has come in, but I don't know that it has fundamentally changed.

MICHAELSON: And we don't really know who's in charge right now, because the ayatollah's son is kind of nowhere to be found and hasn't spoken publicly. So, we don't really know who's in charge.

BASS: I think it's a little tough to identify yourself.

MICHAELSON: Because the risk is that a bomb is going to drop on your head.

BASS: Yes.

MICHAELSON: Which is what just happened to his father, his wife, and his son, as well.

So, that -- that is moving forward. So, what do you want to see happen next?

BASS: Peace for sure. For sure.

But you know, again, we are home to the largest Iranian population in the United States. And as mayor, I have to pay attention to that. In terms of all sides, all viewpoints in the Iranian community.

And I think that this is a common thing. We are a city that represents the world. I think every country's diaspora lives here.

MICHAELSON: Right.

BASS: So, it is not unusual. I've experienced it many times that, when there is a conflict in another country, the diaspora here is highly opinionated. And it's not too frequent when -- when people are all united.

MICHAELSON: Sure.

BASS: Typically, multiple sides are represented.

MICHAELSON: And when we've gone out to do reporting on that, we see a lot of views --

BASS: Right.

MICHAELSON: -- in the Iranian-American perspective here in what's often called Tehrangeles, because there are so many people living here.

[00:50:04]

BASS: Yes. That's right.

MICHAELSON: Let's talk about another big story that the world has been following in Los Angeles, which is recovery from the fires.

BASS: Right.

MICHAELSON: And a really interesting headline recently in "The Wall Street Journal," talking about the fact that you and President Trump are actually working together when it comes to taking on the insurance companies here. BASS: Well, let me --

MICHAELSON: You talked to him, right, on the phone.

BASS: Yes. Yes, I did.

MICHAELSON: Talk to us about that.

BASS: I did. Well, let me just tell you that, when he came out with his executive director [SIC] -- or executive order that said that he wanted to take over the permitting process in the city of Los Angeles, of course, I was very concerned about that, and that the only permits that had been issued are federal permits, which actually don't exist.

But what I was delighted is who he appointed to come here, which was the EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin. We served in Congress together.

That's one thing that has been very helpful to me in this role. The fact that I served in Washington and served in Sacramento. I still have those relationships.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: And -- and those relationships pay off. And so, when Administrator Zeldin came here, well, we actually talked ahead of time, and we've been talking since.

He certainly identified some weaknesses with the permitting process. And we've been addressing those.

But the main obstacle that people have experienced in the rebuilding process at this point has been banks that need to give -- need to extend the forbearance, so that people don't start paying mortgages on vacant lots.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: And the insurance industry that has not been paying people the -- the resources that they rightfully deserve.

So, I requested, in my response to the president's executive order, I said, Mr. President, only you has [SIC] the power to bring together these industries in the Oval Office and tell them to do right by the people of the Palisades.

And so, I was very excited to see the tweet that he gave --

MICHAELSON: Right. He said --

BASS: -- a week ago.

MICHAELSON: He said that they were -- that the insurance companies have been absolutely horrible and not here to help.

What was the conversation with you and President Trump like? What did you guys talk about? What did he say to you? BASS: Well, it was an interesting conversation. We just focused on the

Palisades, and we focused on the positive side.

You know, because you and I have been on this journey together through the Palisades. And, you know, in the beginning, in the first few months, I said repeatedly that the resources that the administration sent were -- it was an historic number of Army Corps of Engineers that came out.

MICHAELSON: To lead the cleanup.

BASS: Historic deployment.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: Which was why we were able to finish that stage so quickly and why we were able to begin the rebuilding.

So, you should know that, at this point, over 400 homes are actively under construction. We've issued over 2,000 permits.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: And we have people that are going to begin to move in, in the summer. I was on a Zoom call today with a family that -- fingers are crossed -- they should be moving in in June.

MICHAELSON: So, in terms of the insurance, though --

BASS: Right.

MICHAELSON: -- the President Trump puts out that statement. You're calling him for that. What are we seeing in terms of actual results? Are there real changes that are happening after this?

BASS: -- So -- right. I'm glad you asked that. That was the purpose of my Zoom this morning.

You know what I did, actually, before engaging the president, I took a delegation of Palestinians to Sacramento. Again, building on my relationships there. And there's very specific pieces of legislation that we're advocating for.

So, I set up strategic meetings with the Sacramento leadership, et cetera. And so, I did a Zoom call today with those leaders to find out, has anything changed?

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: And they're beginning to report change.

Now, it's sad what they're reporting, because they're reporting things like they're actually returning my calls. They actually seem to be taking an interest. That's sad, frankly.

MICHAELSON: Right, right. BASS: Because these families have paid into these companies for years. And then the one time they need them --

MICHAELSON: Right.

BASS: -- and then, you know, they don't have them.

MICHAELSON: So, the public pressure is being ramped up, and now they're having to deal with the P.R.

BASS: Right. I do have a few more companies to send the president's way, and we need to move over into the banking industry, too.

MICHAELSON: Yes. It's interesting that you guys are working together on something.

Another big question: you know, L.A. is about to host the World Cup --

BASS: Right.

MICHAELSON: -- the Super Bowl, the Olympics all in, like, two and a half years. It's going to be something that the whole world is watching.

And one of the concerns that we hear around the country is about homelessness. And there was a report in "The L.A. Times" just this week that talked about your signature program called Inside Safe, which is to get people inside safe.

And it said $300 million program and 40 percent have returned to the streets. These are people that were part of the program, and then, they're no longer part of the program. They're back on the streets.

Some people say that that's -- that's a failure. What do you say to that?

[00:55:04]

BASS: Well, I say several things. First of all, 60 percent of the people have remained housed.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: But, you know me, and we've been on this journey.

MICHAELSON: That's not -- that's not a great percentage.

BASS: Well, it is a great percentage.

MICHAELSON: Yes, yes.

BASS: We've been on this journey together.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: And, you know, the reason why I ran was because we needed change in the city.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: What was happening in the city was just completely unacceptable. The city had adhered to a rigid policy that said stay on the streets, basically, until we build you something.

I came in and said it is unacceptable to have Angelenos on the street. You know that I came into a system that had been broken for over three decades. But you know that I felt the sense of urgency to get people off the street.

So, what I did was moved to get people off the street, which we have succeeded in. We've resolved over 120 encampments. So, for the first time, we've had, two years in a row, a 17 percent reduction in street homelessness, where nationally it's been an 18 percent increase.

But you also know that I've been trying to diagnose and transform the system at the same time. But one thing that the city and the county never did was really properly evaluate the system to see what is working and what isn't working.

So, for example, we don't know that 40 percent left to go on the streets. We don't know where they are. The bottom line is they left interim housing.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

BASS: And I can give you lots of --

MICHAELSON: Pretty concerning, isn't it?

BASS: Of course it's concerning. But you've also heard me over the last three years say that one of the fundamental weaknesses in the system was it was inadequate services.

So, you're not addressing the substance abuse, the mental health and the other reasons that led to homelessness.

So, I did bring on a team to evaluate what is working, because of course, I want to know, first of all, where those 40 percent went --

MICHAELSON: Sure.

BASS: -- why they left. But I also want to know why the 60 percent stayed.

And so, if we're going to transform the system, like I want to see done, then we need to have this information. But the system was not designed to evaluate itself.

MICHAELSON: Unfortunately, we're out of time. I could keep going all day, but --

BASS: No. I have to come back again. MICHAELSON: You'll have to come back again and continue this

conversation. Mayor Karen Bass, always great to hear you share your perspective. Thank you so much.

BASS: Thank you. Thank you. Same here.

MICHAELSON: We'll be back. More of THE STORY IS right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)