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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump Touts Iran Agreement to World Leaders in France; Iran's Debut Match Sparks Protests Outside Stadium in L.A.; Gavin Newsom Claims Trump Investigating Him and His Family; Century-Old Monastery Burns After Deadly Russian Attack; Global Leaders Meet to Address Climate Issues; Inside Britain's Shift to the Far Right; Unexpected Results Shake Up Monday's World Cup Action. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 16, 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]

CHARLIE WARD, MEMBER OF 1999 KNICKS TEA, THAT LOST IN FINALS: I've been blessed to my alma mater has won a couple of championships since I've left. knicks. Florida State being one, and now New York Knicks. And so whenever you win all the heartbreak that you've gone through, during those years kind of got erased in one night. And so I'm just so happy for our franchise.

Mr. Dolan has gotten all the criticism over the years, and now he has an opportunity to be crowned an NBA champion owner. And that's something that, you know, we're grateful for.

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Charlie Ward, grateful to you. Thanks for joining.

And thank you all for watching. Elex Michaelson is up next.

VICKTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell in Atlanta in today for Elex Michaelson.

And THE STORY IS in France where President Trump is meeting with other world leaders at the G7 Summit and declaring confidence in the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran.

THE STORY IS in California. Governor Gavin Newsom claims the Justice Department is investigating him and his wife on orders from the president. We'll take a look at what's really going on there.

And THE STORY IS the World Cup. We'll break down the amazing matches that shocked fans and look ahead to the football legends ready to take the pitch on day six.

We're beginning in France.

All right, let's start in France. President Trump is touting his Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. The agreement was signed digitally. The president says it will prevent Tehran from having a nuclear weapon. And he claims the Strait of Hormuz will be completely open by Friday. Others in his administration suggest a return to normal and this vital oil shipping route could take more time, and they're far more skeptical of a nuclear commitment by Iran.

Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, and on Tuesday he's scheduled to speak with the Emir of Qatar and the president of the United Arab Emirates. Reporters pressed for more details about this Iran agreement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. President, when will the text of the MOU be released?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think pretty soon. I would say, I mean, I want it to be released because it's a very powerful document. Probably pretty soon. I would say after -- sometime after Friday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now the agreement has not been released. But Vice President J.D. Vance discussed a few details of the document. Here's what he told CNN's Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So the MOU, Jake, is about a page and a half. So it is a very general document. But this has been very much part of the conversations that we've had with the Iranians. And on a number of issues, we are going to have to figure this stuff out during the technical negotiation phase.

The important thing about this agreement, Jake, is that everything, from what Iran gives us on the nuclear program, and of course, that's the most important thing, is the commitment verifiable to never building a nuclear weapon. All of these things come along with benefits if Iran delivers and nothing if Iran doesn't deliver.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: There are already conflicting statements ahead of the signing ceremony on Friday, especially on the Strait of Hormuz. President Trump says that passage through the waterway will be permanently toll free, but Iranian media report that Tehran will allow free transit for the 60-day negotiation period and then plans to impose fees after that.

Some of President Trump's closest allies are expressing their concern over the agreement with Iran. Senator Lindsey Graham said in part, "I'm somewhat concerned that Iran's view of the agreement seems different than what the American negotiating team is claiming. Conservative radio host Erick Erickson was less restrained in his critique. This is a quote, "Trump has surrendered to Iran. Those who kill Americans love this deal."

The Israeli prime me minister also weighed in on the Memorandum of Understanding. Benjamin Netanyahu said he and President Trump do not always see eye to eye, but vowed Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): With or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons, not today and not tomorrow. As long as I am prime minister of Israel, it will not happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us live from Hong Kong.

Kristie, President Trump says that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened. Passage through. But what's the reality for the shipping industry?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, most ships are not moving. In fact, most are staying put. The U.S. president, Donald Trump, is saying that the Strait of Hormuz has been reopened, but that's not in line with what we're hearing from the shipping industry.

[00:05:01]

After that MOU was signed between Iran and the United States on Sunday, the reality is this. Shipping executives are telling me that they remain deeply concerned about a number of threats in the region, including kinetic threats like mines, drones, missiles, threats like potential harassment from naval fleets, as well as crew exhaustion. Remember, tens of thousands of seafarers have been stranded in the Gulf since the war broke out in late February, and that has leveled a very hefty mental toll.

It was on Monday when we heard this from the U.S. president on social media. Donald Trump, let's bring it up for you, he said this, quote, "Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with oil out of the Strait of Hormuz," unquote. But this is not the operational reality out on the water according to industry experts. In fact, marine traffic monitoring agencies are saying that there has been no significant movement in the Strait of Hormuz.

We heard from Keppler saying that there are currently around 220 tankers and 500 ships still stranded in the Gulf. I spoke to one shipping CEO who's based here in Hong Kong, who told me he still has around a dozen vessels stuck in the Gulf. He has no plans to move them. This is what he told me. Let's bring it up for you. His name is Angad Banga. He's the CEO of the Caravel Group, also Fleet Management.

This is the world's second largest ship management company. He says, "We are maintaining enhanced manning and citadel readiness until we have 30 days of incident-free transits, not three days, 30," unquote. I also spoke to someone who works in the maritime insurance industries based out of London. His name is Simon Kaye. He's with North Standard, which provides liability insurance for much of the world's shipping fleet.

And he told me this. Let's bring it up for you. "For shipping the position on the Straits of Hormuz, notwithstanding the lifting of the dual blockades, it remains uncertain the strait will reopen for mine removal, but Iran's ongoing control of the waterway that remains unclear." And lastly, a line that I heard from Tim Huxley, another Hong Kong based shipping executive, who's the chairman of Mandarin Shipping. He told me this. "Even if things go smoothly and everything goes back to normal, it's going to take some time before trade flows are back to normal. A lot of infrastructure has been damaged in the Middle East, which will take time to fix."

So, Victor, look, throughout the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz has turned into this flashpoint. It has snarled global shipping traffic. It has pushed energy prices higher. And from what I'm hearing from executives in the shipping industry, they remain very wary, very cautious about any immediate return to the traffic flows that we saw before the war began.

Back to you.

BLACKWELL: And Kristie, we know that the Strait of Hormuz is at the center of the conversation at the G7. What are you learning about those conversations in France?

STOUT: Yes, the G7 Summit is underway in France as you've been reporting. U.S. President Donald Trump is, of course, there. He's been hailing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. But other Western leaders, they don't share his optimism about the Hormuz Strait being, quote, "reopened." In fact, they want to focus on the practical realities of gradually reopening the strait in a way to safeguard global shipping.

In fact, this is what we're learning. The leaders of the U.K. and France are putting forward the idea of having a multinational naval mission that would be able to safeguard vessels as they go through, but it's not clear whether or not Iran would be on board with such a mission as it would involve forces just off its own coast.

Also, it's not clear exactly when the Strait of Hormuz will reopen. Analysts say that this is a process that could take weeks, if not months, because the confidence is not there. Confidence needs to be restored both in the maritime insurance industry and among global shippers.

BLACKWELL: Kristie Lu Stout, reporting from Hong Kong. Thank you so much.

Let's bring in now CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas. He's also the director of the Counterterrorism Project at the Atlantic Council.

Alex, good to see you again. One of the claims that Vice President Vance made in his interview with Jake Tapper was that Iran saw that it was losing leverage over the strait. And they kind of resigned to this deal. Is that spin or is there any indication of that being true?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So I actually spoke to one of the mediators who helped with the document together a little earlier today. And his comments did reflect the vice president's overall sentiment that he expressed to Jake. And that's the document is only a page and a half to two pages long. It's largely a shell. There's not a lot of meat on the bones.

When it comes to the strait and opening up, whether there'll be some sort of fee afterwards, I asked about that if there'd be tolls, the mediator come back and said, look, you know, use the Strait of Malacca as a potential base line where they do charge some transit fees going through, but there wouldn't be a toll. That's unclear. That gets moved into phase two for discussion. Nothing on proxy forces in the region. That's all going to be dealt with in a separate process from the Iraqi militias. That will be a political process with Iraq. The same thing with the Houthis in Yemen. The big question is Hezbollah, what happens with them and the flashpoint with Israel?

[00:10:02]

But overall, it does touch on the nuclear issue. It does touch on the strait opening. And then the Iranians' primary demand was liquidity. They needed cash. And that is eventually what broke, was actually the money and the sequencing of events. And that's what brought them there.

BLACKWELL: And so what's the clarity around the money? I mean, the vice president talked about meeting some benchmarks to get access to that capital, to those resources. What do you know?

PLITSAS: So that's consistent with what I'm hearing from a number of folks actually across the board, from the regional mediators to U.S. officials who stressed back to me very clear that this is a conditions based, you know, agreement in which the Iranians will have to meet and actually do what it is that they're committing to in this document before they're going to get any substantive relief.

The Iranians were originally looking at trying to, you know, ask for tolls or something like that because they needed cash. I was in -- it was not Iran. I was in Syria at the end of August last year. And after the President Trump lifted sanctions, it still takes time for the banks to reintegrate. I mean, we were walking around. You have to pay for toilet paper and monopoly money. I mean, it's not -- you can't run a country like that.

And in the interim, they need cash. And so they wanted access to it and they, you know, we're going to do tolls, the U.S. didn't want to give a lot of money. We're told the Europeans that they need to increase spending on defense and 3 percent to 5 percent. The Russians are broke after their war in Ukraine. That's the main patron. So there really isn't money to go around, particularly after they attacked the GCC countries.

So in the short term, the Iranians sought access to their frozen funds. They want $12 billion of the $24 billion in frozen assets available immediately. But even then, I'm still told that that's going to take them actually demonstrating some capabilities. In addition to the vice president, what I did hear from the mediators is wait until the document is released. There's a lot of people trying to claim victory, particularly the Iranians claiming that they're going to defeat the great Satan. At the end of the day, it's a lot of rhetoric, and I was told to wait for the document to get released.

BLACKWELL: And on the release of the document, it's been signed by the U.S. president and vice president, by the speaker of the Iranian parliament. So this is now a signed agreement. What do you glean from the delay of the release?

PLITSAS: I was told that it's actually a purposeful tactic on the U.S. side and that the White House realized that public negotiations over the document were not going over well and were actually hindering their ability to get it done. The Qataris advised the same thing, who went back in on the ground to negotiate on our behalf. The last time, 17 hours on the ground. And that was after a couple of days prior, they'd come back with a document that was sort of a breakthrough in which the Iranians had given a little bit on the sequencing.

So that was really the sticking point and why it was so problematic. And at this point, the White House didn't want to release the document because it would be open to all sorts of criticism, because I'm told it's about a page and a half. This is not a definitive document in terms of a deal. This quite literally is nothing more than a framework to facilitate discussions on these key issues. They did get some concessions at a high level saying, yes, we commit to this, but how it happens is going to be discussed over a period of 60 days.

And what I thought was interesting is the mediators were actually more concerned. They said, quote, about the Iranians having factions from within, quote, "shanking the deal" using a U.S. prison term in that sense, for disrupting the negotiations, even more so than a potential flashpoint between Hezbollah and Lebanon. So still a very precarious situation, a lot to be worked out and very reminiscent of the structure we see for the Gaza peace deal, in which there was a phase one where the hostages were released, and now phase two, we're still months behind, and it's not done.

BLACKWELL: Alex Plitsas, thanks so much. A lot of questions still to be answered.

Politics loomed over the pitch in Los Angeles on Monday. It was a draw between Iran and New Zealand during the World Cup's latest group stage opener. The U.S. and Iran make FIFA history as the first host nation to be at war with a team competing. After the game, Iran's players and staff are traveling back to Mexico. They're expected to commute across the border between every match after the U.S. refused to host the Iranian team because of the war.

Iran's participation in the tournament and the team's presence in the U.S., they have fans conflicted ahead of the game. Hundreds of people protested outside SoFi Stadium in L.A..

And CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has a closer look at Monday's demonstrations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And here outside Los Angeles stadium, we're seeing this community come together and those divisions become even more apparent as talks of a potential peace deal coming together in the coming weeks are emerging. We heard people here chanting that they don't want a peace deal, that in fact, they want President Donald Trump. They're asking him by name to please finish the job.

They want to see regime change in Iran. And they say none of this would have been worth it if that doesn't happen. That was the great hope that Iranians had here in Los Angeles for months. We've been following them since the beginning of this war, since the first airstrikes that killed the supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. We saw people celebrating in the streets.

[00:15:01]

Here now, it's not just the war that's dividing this community. There's two more things. One of them is the soccer team. They say that these players did not speak up when they could have, when protests in the streets of Iran were taking place earlier this year. And that, therefore, these players don't deserve to be here, that they don't represent them. And then the third issue is the flag of Iran.

Now, if you see around me, you see many of these -- excuse me, sorry. The lion and sun flag, that is not the official flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but it is a flag that has been -- come to represent the opposition to this government now. And it is a flag that has taken on political meaning and activists here in Los Angeles say that they want to bring that inside the stadiums, bring these protests inside the stadiums, so that the team themselves can hear their message.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Now, despite FIFA's ban on political flags and apparel, some fans inside the stadium refused to stay silent. A group in the stands unfurled banners reading "Minab 168," likely referencing the tragic bombing of an elementary school in Minab, Iran. More than 168 people, many of them children, were killed in the attack after a U.S. Tomahawk missile reportedly struck the building. That was on February 28th, very early in the war.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been sparring really for years with President Trump on social media. But now Newsom accuses Trump of using the Justice Department to target him as a political enemy. Newsom says the president is having him and his family investigated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM, CALIFORNIA: Today, my family and I can personally confirm that justice is for sale. To Donald Trump, who I know is watching because he watches everything, I have a message for you. You can subpoena my records. You can investigate me. You can harass me, put my name on every and any enemies list you have. But leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: A source tells CNN the Justice Department is investigating several people connected to Newsom, including his wife, but that the probe does not extend to the governor himself.

CNN's chief legal correspondent Paula Reid has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The real challenge here when it comes to criminal cases, usually no one wants to admit that this is a real thing. But the challenge here is there's an incentive for everyone to make this happen. It benefits Newsom politically if he is being investigated. And of course, any Trump official who could bring a case against Newsom or his wife would get big brownie points from the boss.

So here is what we know. We know that Newsom's wife, she is being investigated for possible tax related crimes. But as for the governor himself, he is not being directly investigated. But they are looking at other people associated with the couple. Now, further complicating this is that Newsom's former chief of staff was indicted last year in connection with a scheme to steal campaign money totally unrelated to Newsom. Now she pleaded guilty to three counts last month.

So there have been these investigations sort of swirling around Newsom's associates, and we're told by his office, they said that there has been a recent flurry of activity around his associates seeing outreach from investigators. So this is active and it's ongoing, but it's not exactly clear where this is going to wind up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is saying nothing about whether the Justice Department is investigating Governor Newsom. During an appearance Monday on Capitol Hill with Senator Chuck Grassley, Blanche, offered a chilly response to Manu Raju's questions about it. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is the Justice Department investigating Gavin Newsom? Can you explain that?

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm not here to make any comments.

SEN. CHUCK GRASSLEY: (R-IA): This is not a news conference. This is --

RAJU: The governor is accusing you of political retribution. And the president.

BLANCHE: I will say that --

GRASSLEY: Am I right, Claire?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, guys, that's enough. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Military officials are investigating what caused a B-52 bomber to crash shortly after takeoff in California. At least eight people are dead. Officials say this was a routine test mission at Edwards Air Force Base. One official at the base calls the accident tragic and unsurvivable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. JAMES HAYES, DEPUTY COMMANDER, 412TH TEST WING: It took off and immediately after takeoff crashed and burst into flames. After reviewing the footage of the crash, it was deemed that this was an unrecoverable crash and unsurvivable. At this point, we don't have any indication as to what the cause was of this. We won't be able to release that information, and we don't have an ability to get that any time soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:20:02]

BLACKWELL: The crash left a plume of black smoke in the air and black scars on the runway. The crew was a mix of military officials, government civilians and contractors. Boeing says two of its employees were on that test flight.

Still to come, Ukraine's president says Russia just committed a grave attack on history and on Christianity. He's pushing for air defenses and direct peace talks. That's ahead. Plus, the U.K. joins a growing list of countries that are banning children from using social media. Hear why this ban may be the toughest one yet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:25:02]

BLACKWELL: Ukraine's president will attend this week's G7 Summit in France. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his top priority is to secure more air defense capabilities from Ukraine's allies. He also says he'll speak with President Trump about how to push Putin to stop this war. His words there. President Trump says that he recently spoke with President Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he claims that both are open to a peace deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And I see maybe we can do something that I really do. I think they're both open to it. So, I'm going to, now that this is finished, we're going to be focusing on that, see if we can get that one done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Just hours before those comments, a Russian strike set fire to a nearly thousand-year-old cathedral in Kyiv. At least 11 people were killed in Russia's latest attacks. We have more details now from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia's savagery against Ukraine always seems to find new depths to sink to. Last night, one of Ukraine's oldest churches, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, founded nearly a thousand years ago, rocketed. Almost certainly the target here, it sits quiet and alone on Kyiv's woody riverbank.

Ukraine's plight getting less attention during the U.S. war with Iran but raging still. Nightly attacks across Ukraine as fierce as Moscow can manage, but not massively more effective. Instead becoming more grotesque against the people and culture their invasion falsely claimed it wanted to save.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: And we go now to G7 meeting. First topic you see, what is the priority? The priority is air defense.

PATON WALSH: Russian officials have claimed U.S. President Donald Trump told Russian president Vladimir Putin during a congratulatory 80th birthday call in which Putin called him such a bright, remarkable person that he will pressure Ukraine and Europe at the G7 to agree to Russian terms for a deal. But European officials see Russian desperation and weakness amid their outrage at these strikes, and an opening as Russia stalls on the front line.

JEAN-NOEL BARROT, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): For us French this would be the equivalent of bombing Notre Dame or Saint Denis, something that is obviously unacceptable.

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Ukraine today finds itself in a new position of strength. Russia cannot win militarily and moreover its economy is in dire straits.

PATON WALSH: Ukraine's deep strikes into Russia, like those we witness here, have caused huge damage and embarrassment. Some Kremlin allies have suggested Putin may now realize the war is going badly, or at least slowly, with a Western estimate of half a million Russian dead. Even Putin, whose hometown was hit in early June by drones during a key meeting, briefly admitted to economic damage last week.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As for the economy, yes, we suffer some damage, but everything is recovering quickly. They will not be able to create serious problems for us. But keeping in mind what they are doing, we should retaliate appropriately.

PATON WALSH: And so the strikes across Ukraine keep coming. Even as Ukraine's defenses improve against drones, but struggle with the ballistic missiles Moscow is throwing at them to make the desperate point it is not losing.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: The U.K. has announced a ban on social media for kids under 16. This is scheduled to start early next year. It would contain some of the world's toughest online restrictions for children to date. This would apply to apps like TikTok and Instagram and Snapchat. Also, it would block live streaming and gaming sites from allowing strangers to communicate with children.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the goal is to keep children safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Social media is making our children unhappy and unsafe. And as a parent, as much as a prime minister, I just can't let that go on anymore because our children deserve better. They deserve a happy, safe childhood in a stronger, fairer Britain.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What are you most worried about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not being able to contact my friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just feel that like it maybe shouldn't have been banned. Maybe it should be more restricted so you can't talk to people that you don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So this ban will not affect messaging services like WhatsApp. The government is also looking into overnight curfews and breaks in infinite scrolling for minors. The U.K.'s announcement follows similar policies introduced by Australia and other countries.

There's another summit besides the G7 happening in Europe this week, and this one features some familiar faces from American politics working to address climate issues. And that is where Elex Michaelson is for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to Vienna, Austria. Behind us, you see the Hofburg, which was once the home of the emperor of Austria. And this week, it is playing host to the Austrian World Summit, hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's the 10th straight year of this event. I spoke to him about what he's hoping to accomplish.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, HOST, AUSTRIS WORLD SUMMIT: Seven million people die every year because of pollution. So, we want to go and confront that issue and say, let's go and get rid of pollution.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Last year, Tony Blair was his guest. This year, it's Kamala Harris.

SCHWARZENEGGER: It kind of sends the message that, even though we're from opposing parties with different philosophies, here is an issue that is very important to me and to her. And we will work together, no matter how much people are fighting each other in America and around the world because they're from opposing parties.

MICHAELSON: I'll be on this stage right around here, talking to both of them at a time when climate issues are very much top of mind.

Think about the Strait of Hormuz being shut down by the war with Iran; all the issues when it comes to A.I. data centers and what comes with that; and a real pushback from some in the Trump administration, pushing things like coal and oil drilling.

SCHWARZENEGGER: Our philosophy, of course, is we don't villainize fossil fuels, because we need it. But our philosophy is just, let's bring people together.

MICHAELSON: Matt Iseman, host of American Ninja Warrior, will be the event's emcee.

MATT ISEMAN, EMCEE, AUSTRIAN WORLD SUMMIT: Part of your background, regardless of where you grew up, we all have an interest in making the Earth a better place.

MICHAELSON: We will have coverage of all of it throughout the day on CNN tomorrow, with a special extended edition of the conversation on THE STORY IS.

Elex Michaelson, CNN, Vienna, Austria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Coming up, why far-right movements appear to be thriving in the U.K. and why the loudest, angriest voices are suddenly becoming mainstream.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:36:51]

BLACKWELL: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Victor Blackwell. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

The memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran is dominating the G-7 summit in France. President Trump says it will prevent Iran from ever having a nuclear weapon. And he says the full text of the agreement will be released, and the Strait of Hormuz will be completely open on Friday.

At least eight people, including two Boeing employees, were killed in a test mission at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Monday.

A B-52 bomber crashed shortly after takeoff. Air Force officials say the crew was a mix of military officials, government civilians, and government contractors. They say it could take about six months for details of the investigation to become public. The U.K. is planning to implement a social media ban for kids under 16

by next spring. Now, this would apply to apps like TikTok, and Instagram, and restrict communication features on live streaming and gaming services.

The government says the goal is to protect children when they're online.

Far-right parties are gaining momentum in the U.K. They're drawing support from Britons who are angry about immigration, Islam, LGBTQ rights.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh shows us how these extreme voices are now becoming more mainstream.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Leftie scum off our streets!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's take our country back!

JOE MULHALL, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, HOPE NOT HATE: There is a magma chamber of anger sat underneath British society right now.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Britain's been shifting to the right. I've spent the past few months trying to understand what's happening in this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one speak to the media here.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Attending far-right protests, including United the Kingdom, one of the biggest far-right rallies ever on the streets of the U.K., where tens of thousands responded to the call of this man: anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, a convicted criminal turned anti-establishment figure.

TONY ROBINSON, ANTI-ISLAM ACTIVIST: Are you ready for the battle of Britain?

KARADSHEH (voice-over): But it's not just on the streets. And it's not just the extreme right that's on the up.

The populist right-wing party Reform U.K., led by longtime Trump ally Nigel Farage, made massive gains in local elections in May.

This rightward shift isn't one single movement. The different groups represent different shades of right-wing politics, but they all seem to be feeding off of a divided Britain.

At the heart of those divisions is the issue of migration.

Just last week, a horrific attack by a Sudanese man on the streets of Belfast almost immediately turned into the latest "I told you so" moment for the far-right, transforming a local tragedy into a national rallying cry. Powerful allies amplifying the message and fanning the flames of hate. MULHALL: People in Britain are angry.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Joe Mulhall infiltrated far-right groups undercover here in the U.K. and in the U.S. He's one of the U.K.'s top experts on these movements.

[00:40:08]

MULHALL: You know, if you look at the way that people's lives have been, you know, lack of jobs, houses, schools, hospitals, stagnated wages, living standards going down or stagnating for years and years. And they feel that mainstream political parties have not met their material needs.

What the far-right are really good at is going to those people. And they turn up, and they say, you're right to be angry. And they give them a scapegoat. And they say it's because someone has come to this country and taken it from you. They're really good at redirecting people's anger from where it should be directed.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): I've seen exactly what Joe's talking about.

There have been hundreds of protests across the country over the past year, according to activists tracking far-right movements. It's mostly been about migration and how consecutive governments have dealt with this issue.

And with the center-left Labour Party back in power for the first time in two decades, the far-right senses conditions are ripe for a resurgence.

It's in tight-knit communities like this one in the sleepy market town of Faversham, outside London, where we saw it all play out late last year.

Walking through town with a protest organized by a far-right activist, you see those divisions and feel the anger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey, hey, hey, don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) touch me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame on you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shame on me. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you know, you die.

KARADSHEH: Right now, they're marching towards this facility where unaccompanied minors, asylum seekers have been housed in this town.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our streets!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our streets!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our streets!

KARADSHEH (voice-over): They're a loud crowd, but it's clear they're more noise than numbers. And you do see locals coming out to confront them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No hate, no fear! Refugees are welcome here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No hate, no fear! Refugees are welcome here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No hate, no fear! Refugees are welcome here.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The main event kicks off with a rambling mix of racist rhetoric, fear mongering, and white supremacist conspiracy theories.

HARRY HILDEN, ANTI-IMMIGRATION ACTIVIST: They're teaching about Muhammad and Allah. We will not tolerate our children to be taught about LGBTQ and what pronouns they believe they can identify as. We will not tolerate that around here.

PAUL GOLDING, LEADER, BRITAIN FIRST: Keep up the pressure and one day you will be victorious.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): At this one tiny town's protest, we find one of the leaders of the U.K.'s extreme right.

GOLDING: Our country's been taken over by mass immigration. We're fed up. This is not the future that our granddad -- grandparents and great-grandparents fought for in two world wars. They didn't fight for this to be done to our country.

KARADSHEH: So, you want a white Britain?

GOLDING We want our country to be like it was before this immigration invasion was foisted on us. Yes.

You mentioned far-right, neo-Nazi, all that a minute ago, as if that kind of stuff -- that doesn't hold any power anymore. You must have learned this from Trump's victory. No one cares if they're called a racist anymore. Those terms are just used to silence people.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The reelection of Donald Trump is not only an inspiration for this one extreme right figure. At every far-right event I've been to, it is a constant theme. Trump's "Make America Great Again" has come to the U.K.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: USA! USA!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: USA! USA!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: USA! USA!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is MEGA: "Make England Great Again."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the man. Trump is the man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have so much respect for President Trump. He is saving not just America. He is saving the West, and he's saving the world.

KARADSHEH: You are wearing this because --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I'm a Donald fan.

KARADSHEH: What is it that's going on? How much of this is -- is really influence from the U.S.?

MULHALL: There's no question there's a huge influence. When the far- right is small little fringe political parties, that sounds fanciful.

When you've got Donald Trump in the White House, the most powerful man in the world, they can then point at someone and say, "Look, it's happened there. If it can happen there, it can happen here."

KARADSHEH: Are we headed into a direction where the far-right is turning into a significant political force in Britain?

MULHALL: I think there's no doubt about it. Right? The far-right is no longer something that sits on the very margins of our politics in Britain, an annoyance to the right. It is increasingly something that actually has the real chance of taking power in Britain.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The once fringe voices seem to be moving into the mainstream. It's a small but vocal minority that's threatening to change the face of Britain. Now, they believe their moment has arrived.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Up next, a look at the results of Mondays World Cup matches, including a shocking outcome for European champion Spain in their opening game against Cape Verde.

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[00:49:30]

BLACKWELL: It was another day of exciting World Cup action. Of course, teams are vying for an early advantage in the group stage.

This is interesting, because all four of Monday's matchups ended in draws. The most shocking here: Cape Verde holding off European champion Spain for a nil-nil draw. Actually happened here in Atlanta.

This was Cape Verde's first World Cup appearance and an early stumble for Spain, a team favored to win it all.

In Los Angeles, a match between Iran and New Zealand ended in a two- all draw. Pretty encouraging for Iran.

The team's participation actually has sparked controversy, and there were protests outside the stadium ahead of the game.

Let's break it all down now with football writer Henry Winter. Henry, hello to you. Let's start with Cape Verde holding Spain to a

draw. Is this -- is this a story about Cape Verde, or is this a story about Spain?

HENRY WINTER, FOOTBALL WRITER: Oh, both. And it's a story of romance.

I mean, you look at Cape Verde. They're what? They're 500 000 people on the island. I mean, if you've ever been to Madrid, the capital of Spain, it's seven times that in terms of size. So, it's a remarkable achievement.

I mean, the Spanish will be having their own inquest. Should the wingers -- they've got some fantastic young wingers. Should they have come on earlier and actually risked their injuries? So, maybe the coach was being a little bit cautious there.

But no, this is really the story of Cape Verde and their 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha and -- and what he's done.

And you saw the scenes back home as they celebrated in the stadium, as -- as well. And it's -- I mean, it's a draw, but it's actually what World Cups are about, where elite nations, as you say -- the European champions, Spain -- get embarrassed by a small island.

BLACKWELL: In their debut, no less. And I love that you said that it's a story about romance.

Let me ask you about Iran and New Zealand. A two-all draw here. What did you see in this matchup?

WINTER: Well, confirmation that Iran are a good team, which we knew. They're one of the Asian heavyweight teams.

There was obviously -- it's been intertwined with politics. You can never really escape from that in modern sport.

But they played well. I mean, you know, they had to fly in at the last minute. They've been training in Mexico. And they really performed.

There were protests outside, as -- as was expected. But in terms of a pure sporting achievement against a decent but not great New Zealand team, who took their goals well, you know, it was a formidable performance.

And you could see the way they celebrated at the end, how much it meant to them because of what they've been through.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of celebrating, let's talk about these Scottish fans and how they are taking over. You can see them before you hear them in some cases. Talk to me about how they're dominating.

WINTER: Well, I've been with them. I've sort of stood at Hampden Park, their home ground in Glasgow, surrounded by them. And I mean, there's quite strong smells of -- of whiskey and just the like.

I mean, you -- they've got these great chants. And wherever they go -- they marched on Fenway Park. I bet that noble arena has never seen quite an atmosphere, of all the kilts and all the bagpipes.

And, you know, this is what the World Cup's about. It's clearly about the 90 minutes, occasionally 120 minutes on the field. Great sporting endeavors. Lionel Messi is going to be playing near here, where I am in Kansas City tomorrow.

It's about the stars, but it's also about people. And it's about people communicating on a very simple level, in a slightly tense world. And just look at the joy of the -- the Scotland fans. And I can't imagine there are too many breweries that will be going out of business soon, because they'll be making a fortune from the Scots.

BLACKWELL: Yes, yes. They will keep you in business. Let me ask you: you say you're in Kansas City. The England national team is there. So, let's ask about England and questions about Bukayo Saka's readiness, the right-winger who has been dealing with Achilles injuries.

Is he ready? What's he saying?

WINTER: Well, he seemed very confident. And, I mean, I heard that he'd actually been wrestling with some of the players in training. And I think you only do that if -- if you're feeling fully fit and confident.

I think it's one of these injuries. And you know, I'm sure you talk to many sportsmen and women. And you know, they're never 100 percent fit. They've always got a little niggle. Some of it is psychological.

And I think what they're trying to do, him with England and also with his club Arsenal, is manage it. And England have six days after this opening game, as you say, in Dallas on Wednesday against Croatia.

And I think he'll probably start that, and then he'll be given a little bit of time to recover before the second game six days later.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we're full of surprises during this group round, and it's good to talk with you about it.

Henry Winter, thanks so much.

Israel is reacting to the agreement between the U.S. and Iran. We'll talk about what this means for President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu's relationship. That's ahead.

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[00:59:18]

BLACKWELL: The U.S. Marine Corps is investigating the crash of a fighter jet in Washington state.

Authorities say the pilot ejected safely with just minor injuries. New video shows what campers saw when that FA-18 Hornet went down on Saturday. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: You see that fireball as the plane crashed into the densely wooded mountain? The crash sparked a wildfire, which firefighters and first responders have been working to contain.

Thanks for watching. Stay with us. The next hour of THE STORY IS begins right now.

President Trump joins world leaders at the G-7 summit in France as few details emerge about his memorandum of understanding with Iran.

And protests continue in Albania over plans.