Return to Transcripts main page

What We Know with Max Foster

Trump: Iran Strikes Canceled, Deal's "Final Points" Approved; CNN Speaks To An Adviser To Iran's Supreme Leader; Trump: Nominating Former SEC Chair For Intel Chief; U.K. Defense Secretary Resigns Over Military Spending; Mexico Lead South Africa 1-0 In World Cup Opener. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 11, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:26]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: U.S. President Donald Trump backs away from fresh strikes on Iran.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

It's breaking news. U.S. President Donald Trump is calling off planned U.S. strikes on Iran today, claiming that the two nations have reached a

diplomatic solution. He made the announcement after issuing an absolute flurry of major threats to Iran over the past few hours, first saying the

United States will soon seize Kharg Island, which handles roughly 90 percent of Iran's crude oil supply. Minutes later, he told Fox News he

didn't know if America has the stomach to support that move.

The president then canceled those new strikes, claiming that Iranian leadership has approved all of its -- all of the final points in

negotiations. So far, there's been no confirmation from Tehran.

CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak has been trying to keep up, Kevin.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: And it has been whiplash. It was only a span of about five hours between when the president made that

threat that he would renew strikes against Iran for a third straight night and potentially launch an operation into Kharg Island to when he said that

in fact the sides had approved this deal and that the strikes would be called off.

So what's happening here? You know, U.S. officials do see some progress in the negotiations. They received an updated proposal from Iran through the

Qatari mediators. Last night, remember, there had been a delegation from Qatar in Tehran working to try and bridge some of the gaps that had existed

in this memorandum of understanding.

And in the view of the American officials, the latest proposal that the Iranians had sent back was an acceptable one. They had achieved some

consensus on some of the sticking points, whether it was the financial relief that Iran will receive as part of this deal or how the nuclear

negotiations will proceed. Because remember, this agreement is essentially a preliminary deal. It would end the hostilities and reopen the Strait of

Hormuz, but put off for the next 60 days some of the more detailed negotiations when it comes to Iran's nuclear program.

Now, we've been in a place very similar to this before. The president has sounded optimistic about a deal and we counted it up. It's been 38 times

that he has suggested a deal was imminent over the last several weeks only to see everything fall apart and only to see these tit for tat strikes ramp

up again over the last week or so. So, whether this is any different or whether this is something that really does seem as if it's moving towards a

deal, we have to wait and see.

We have not heard from the Iranians, which will clearly be a very critical voice in all of this. We should also note that the president listed a

number of regional countries who he had said approved this deal, the second one being Israel, although our reporters in Israel suggest that this

announcement that the president put on Truth Social caught the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu off guard. And so that doesn't seem to be the

case.

And so where this goes from here This is not exactly clear, although the president does say that the time and place of the signing of this will be

announced shortly, suggesting that they have reached the agreement and they're working on the logistics of how to put pen to paper to get it

signed. And so, certainly a very dramatic shift in tone from the president.

I think one of the latest dramatic shifts in tone that we've seen over the course of the last week or so when it comes specifically to the Iran

conflict, but at least for now, the president's saying that those strikes that he had said were going to happen in quite an intensive fashion, not

going to be happening tonight.

FOSTER: Kevin, thank you so much.

What we don't know is, will President Trump's claims of a done deal be real this time round?

Joining us now, CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

I guess Kevin gave some clues there, didn't he? If Israel was taken by surprise, we haven't heard from Iran, which again, just going on Trump's

word for this because there's multiple groups involved here.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: There are and, of course, there's the mediation efforts that have been going on and were

going on a few days ago until sort of minutes before that sort of big exchange of missiles over the weekend. The mediation efforts were underway

and sources familiar with those efforts have continued to believe that a deal was close, that a deal was getting closer, that gaps have been

narrowed down. You had Pakistan's interior minister in Tehran just over the weekend handing over the letter Iran's foreign minister a letter that was

supposed to go to the supreme leader.

President Trump is saying in his Truth Social that the messages or the communications are going all the way to the -- to the highest level.

[15:05:07]

So this sort of creates, you know, if you believe the sort of positive narrative, it does create that narrative that -- that the communications

have continued.

And if you look at the way conflicts are often resolved or when they come to that very close to the point of resolution, there's a flurry of strikes

or attacks. There's positioning. There's President Trump, if you will, saying that it's going to attacking one night, saying it's going to attack

the next night, then backing away. But he will. If there's a deal to be had, if it's right that it's coming, he will be able to stand there and

say, and I kept the pressure up and the force up. You know, until the last minute. So an effort, if you will, you could read it as trying to look

strong.

Of course, whether or not he gets a strong deal in favor of the United States that we won't know that until we see the details.

But I think it was also interesting just to sort of allude to where I am, outside 10 Downing Street, and the sudden resignation of the Defense

Secretary John Healey today. In that two-page resignation letter, he mentioned that the U.K. is leading a multinational a military force for

stability in the Strait of Hormuz.

I think there's a lot that's been happening behind the scenes that hasn't come out in the public domain. Of course, the nature of difficult

negotiations to keep the details out of the limelight so that people can't quibble over them and political pressure. be applied to the people that are

-- that are -- that are trying to make the deal.

So in this context, perhaps some of the groundwork is just beginning to show itself of what could happen post the deal where Iran gets rid of its

blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The United States removes its blocking positions for entry to Iranian ports potentially. And again, you could

throw into the mix a G7 coming up this weekend or early next week in France where there will be in Geneva. Evian is the location for it, but a lot of

people expected to stay in Geneva.

Some of the people coming there, the leaders coming out will be coming from the Middle East, so you can almost sort of see the positioning for the

potential for President Trump to be proved right after the 38th time. Eventually one would assume he's going to get it right that there is a

deal.

But I think it's really difficult to say at the moment. And I certainly think it would be wise just to watch what happens again. So many times

we've been here before, Max.

FOSTER: What do you make of this whiplash, as Kevin was describing it, the messaging from President Trump today? Because in the middle of it, he

expressed some frustration at media coverage as well, didn't he?

ROBERTSON: Look, I think part of it is how we see President Trump try to negotiate. He tries to negotiate with strong-arm tactics, and it has proven

not to be successful with Iran in the past, where he has decided they gave a gesture of removing their blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, over a month

ago, sort of April time, and President Trump said no, he was going to keep his blockade in place. The Iranians went and put theirs back in place

again.

President Trump's bluster has not, and his usual negotiating tactics have not worked well in these negotiations, so he's tended to become a little

quieter. But that also paints a picture of a weaker president. And that's not a picture he likes.

I think everyone's been aware that President Trump wants to come out of this and be able to say that he's done something that President Obama, that

other previous presidents haven't been able to do with Iran. So having tough messaging, military strikes on the eve, if there is a deal, that

creates the whiplash. But it also creates the conditions where he would perhaps feel more confident that this is the moment to take the tough

decisions.

He's not going to get everything that he wants. Neither are the Iranians. There's compromises in there. But the sense is that those compromises, and

let's face it, the ceasefire went into effect at the beginning of April. Where are we? We're two months on from that.

This has been a lot of talking. The conjecture at the beginning of all of this was President Trump wants a deal fast. There's a ceasefire, need to

get something fast. That's not how negotiations are done, particularly with Iran. That's what everyone said.

Well, now we've had 60 days of talks, and people close and familiar with the process believe that gaps have been narrowed.

FOSTER: Nic, in Downing Street, a busy Downing Street -- thank you.

Let's get the view from Iran then. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is there. He's been speaking with senior Iranian officials, including the supreme leader's

advisor.

[15:10:01]

We note for you that CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government, but we maintain full editorial control of our reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Iranians are vowing to hit back hard at U.S. military assets here in the greater

Middle Eastern region if the United States continues the kind of bombing campaigns that we have seen here in this area over the past couple of

nights. Of course, last night, once again, very kinetic, especially in the area around the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. hitting some places there, also

hitting some coastal areas, saying it was targeting radar sites as well as air defense sites of the Iranians.

The Iranians, for their part, saying that they hit back against U.S. military bases in Jordan, in Kuwait, and in Bahrain as well. On top of

that, the Iranians also insist that the Strait of Hormuz is now completely shut to commercial traffic. Any ships trying to transit the Strait of

Hormuz would be targeted. Of course, the U.S. denies that. However, the Iranians are insisting that that is the case.

Now, I was able to speak to a senior Iranian official who's also an advisor to Iran's supreme leader, and he says that the United States will not

achieve any progress on the diplomatic front if it keeps up its military campaign.

MOHAMMAD MOKHBER, SENIOR IRANIAN OFFICIAL (through translator): This has always been the case in this country. Whenever they attack, we respond more

severely and more heavily. So Trump is mistaken to repeatedly and constantly test our military capabilities. He must understand that the

Islamic Republic will not back down and will step back from the entirety of his independence and national interests, and we will make the aggressors

regret it.

PLEITGEN: Do you believe that you return to war with the United States?

MOKHBER (through translator): This matter is in their hands. If they respect Iran's interests and act accordingly, the war will end. Otherwise,

the war will continue.

PLEITGEN: All of that, of course, seriously jeopardizing the already very fragile ceasefire that's supposed to be in place between the United States

and Iran.

One of the things that has happened overnight last night was that a Qatari delegation was on the ground here in Tehran, trying to move things closer

towards a memorandum of understanding that would end the hostilities between the United States and Iran and pave the way for larger peace

negotiations to then hopefully lead to a larger peace deal.

However, with the violence that's been going on, especially in the Strait of Hormuz area, the Iranians are saying they consider that to be a

violation of their sovereignty and that that essentially renders the ceasefire meaningless.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: U.S. President Donald Trump says he has made his pick to serve as the new head of the U.S. intelligence community. He says Jay Clayton, who

currently serves as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, will be nominated to be the next permanent director of National

Intelligence. Clayton, whose background is in financial regulation, has never had a formal role in counterintelligence. Neither does the man

currently slated to be the acting DNI, Bill Pulte, who runs the U.S. Housing Finance Agency.

Our chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, John Miller, joins me now.

How is the intelligence community taking this, John?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, with a bit of caution, Max. I mean, Jay Clayton was three years the head of

the Securities and Exchange Commission. He's got a degree in economics from Cambridge in engineering, obviously a law degree because he is the chief

prosecutor in the most respected U.S. Attorney's Office in the United States.

But as you point out, he has no background in intelligence. In the time, he's been U.S. attorney. He's been involved in multiple prosecutions that

involve multiple elements of the intelligence community.

A Taliban commander was sentenced while he was in charge, involved in kidnappings and murders. There's a terrorist operative who was captured on

his watch and will face trial extradited to the United States, who was working for Iran, allegedly setting up terrorist operations across Europe

and even the United States. That involved many intelligence agencies. But he has never worked in intelligence.

What we do know is he is a Trump loyalist. When Donald Trump wanted to have Democrats investigated for connections to Jeffrey Epstein, he Truth

Socialed that as opposed saying, "I'm assigning this to Jake Clayton" as his go-to prosecutor.

But I think the question, Max, is Donald Trump probably doesn't want an intelligence expert in this job, or he wouldn't have picked either one of

these men. What he wants is a loyalist who can get into the intelligence agencies, which Donald Trump still considers part of the so-called deep

state, where he believes conspiracies unfold and people need to be moved out for loyalty issues and other things.

[15:15:07]

So I think this nomination will be just a bit more palatable to the Senate for confirmation, giving he has a background as a prosecutor, as a lawyer,

and someone who's been involved in terrorism cases, as opposed to a guy who's just a housing guy.

FOSTER: It feels like there is a shift in position, though, because this job was set up after 9/11, wasn't it, to coordinate the agencies, to

represent the agencies. But now it seems to be shifting to almost a policing role of those agencies, very plugged into the White House, so more

top down.

MILLER: Well, that's right, Max. You know, what Donald Trump, I believe, expected more of from his last DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, was, you know, he had

her out on search warrants of, you know, so-called rigged elections where they were seizing ballots. She released and declassified documents that,

you know, cast shadows over the so-called Russia hoax. But none of these things actually changed the evidence or opinions of people on either side,

or to date resulted in cases.

I think what he's looking for out of the next DNI is someone to be more aggressive, especially as the midterm elections come up. The DNI does have

the opportunity to suggest that interference has been detected from overseas or that elections are rigged, which may be something that's in the

background here.

FOSTER: Okay. John, as ever, thank you so much.

MILLER: Thanks, Max.

FOSTER: Your thoughts on that appointment.

Now, there has been another blow to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government. U.K.'s Defense Secretary John Healey resigned Thursday,

becoming the sixth minister to step down in the past month. Healey resigned following a sharp dispute over military spending, warning proposed funding

falls well short of what's needed to keep the country safe. In a statement just released by 10 Downing Street, Prime Minister Keir Starmer writes,

"You're also right that we have to go further. The Defense Investment Plan does just that, delivering an unprecedented increase in defense spending in

a sustainable way."

So what we want to know is, does the U.K.'s military have the resources it needs?

Joining me now is Ed Arnold, senior advisor for defense at the D Group.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Obviously, there's been a lot of commentary around the prime minister's weakening position because there have been other resignations. But they

were political resignations, weren't they? This one was very focused on a defense secretary trying to get more resources through his department and

simply not getting them, apparently stand up roused with the chancellor of the exchequer. So, you know, just paint a picture of the state of the

British armed forces right now.

ED ARNOLD, SENIOR ADVISER DEFENSE, THE D GROUP: Yeah, I think you're right. This was not a political resignation. This was a principled

resignation on something that we've known for a very, very long time and previous to this government that the U.K. armed forces are underfunded.

And the issue at the moment with potentially accepting this ultimatum in effect to the defense secretary who's just resigned was that you just can't

balance the books because There's far more capital expenditure, the nuclear deterrent that the UK has is eating up a huge amount of the defence budget

as operations in terms of support to NATO, potential mission to Ukraine if there's a peace, and potentially getting sucked back into the Middle East.

When the operational tempo increases, then the money has to increase as well.

FOSTER: He suggested, didn't he, that Britain can -- might not be in a position to defend itself. Is that something you agree with?

ARNOLD: Well, this is the risk that under Article Three of the NATO treaty, which is self-help and mutual aid, it's ultimately what a country's

ability to defend itself is. And that's what NATO is built on, that individual countries defend themselves and then the alliance as a whole can

defend themselves.

But there's critical gaps that we see in the maritime, air, and land domains, which a House of Commons Defence Committee report in December said

that actually there were serious question marks on the U.K.'s ability to not only defend itself, but also meet the requirements of the NATO

alliance, which we have signed up to all of these very expansive missions for NATO. And that is a serious worry, not just in the U.K., but for allies

as well.

FOSTER: Just take us through the spending review because actually I think the military was quite happy with the initial outcome, wasn't there, but

there's been this constant delay. And what's the argument for the government for delaying that?

ARNOLD: This is something that the U.K. Treasury has done for every time that the defense department gets a large uplift that it sort of back ends

the increase in expenditure. So, yes, it's new money, but it actually this new commitment only comes online fairly late on within this parliament. So

the issue is between now and 2028, the actual increase is just 0.08 percent.

Now, if you're a department that has to buy a lot of kit and equipment, you have to pay your suppliers, you need to get this kit and equipment in, you

need to train on it, and only then is it actually usable. So actually it has to be the opposite way around where it should be front loaded funding

so that you can go through that process and be ready and it's worth noting that NATO assesses that it could be a war with Russia by 2030.

FOSTER: Ed Arnold, appreciate it. Thank you.

Now, "racist thuggery", that's what the U.K.'s Minister for Northern Ireland is calling two days of anti-immigration riots. Police are bracing

for a possible third night, they fired water cannon Wednesday after protesters hurled objects towards police vehicles, 12 officers were

injured, some by Molotov cocktails.

At least 16 people were arrested. The riots erupted after a stabbing attack suspect was identified as a Sudanese man. Police warn they won't tolerate

further violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASST. CHIEF CONSTABLE RYAN HENDERSON, POLICE SERVICE OF N. IRELAND: It was clear from the outset that those who attended were not intent on peaceful

protests, rather they were intent on violence. My message, my clear message to those who have taken part in violence are thinking of taking to our

streets. The stakes for you are high. We'll bring you to justice and I know the judiciary in Northern Ireland stands ready to give long sentences to

those bringing disorder to our streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: We'll follow what happens tonight for you, of course.

Now the wait is finally over, the World Cup is officially underway. There's been an early goal as well. We're live in Mexico City, with the excitement

for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:22]

FOSTER: It started. World Cup underway in Mexico City, co-host Mexico are already 1-0 up against South Africa, the historic Azteca Stadium in the

opening match. Here's the moment the fans outside the stadium celebrated the goal. We saw thousands of excited fans. Shakira at the opening

ceremony, no less.

Mexico, the U.S. and Canada taking part in hosting duties for this World Cup, but Valeria Leon is in Mexico City where it's all getting started --

Valeria.

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and this has turned into a huge, huge party. People from all over the world has come here to this fan fest

is the largest fan fest of the tournament with a capacity of over 50,000 people and people start arriving here at very early this morning. There are

people, a lot of Mexicans, of course, rooting. for this national team.

And I'm joined now by Richard. He is a British tourist.

And why did you choose Mexico for this opening match and for the World Cup?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I love football and I love Mexico. Come to Mexico most years for holidays, so I thought we can find the two and have some

time in Mexico City at the fan park.

LEON: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No tickets for the match, but --

LEON: Exactly. Thank you, Richard.

Yeah, and the thing is with the tickets out of reach for many Mexicans and also tourists from around the world, this fan fest has become one of the

main areas where thousands have gathered to experience this tournament, to have this fever together, this World Cup fever and celebrate together.

And we've seen people from all around the world and how Mexicans have welcomed them. So very -- like hosting all the people, all the visitors

here, but also to get to the fan fest. It's been difficult because the government has installed security barriers to get through here, although

people that's why start getting and gathering here 10:00 a.m. local time, this fan fest opened its doors, and just a wave of people arrived just

shouting.

And now they are, of course, watching the match on this 510 square meter screen, the largest in this fan fest. And you can really hear the

excitement, the shouting. Everybody so excited, of course, and celebrating this World Cup -- Max.

FOSTER: Okay, Valeria, it's got a few weeks to go. You'll be exhausted by the end of it, but thank you for that.

Now, it is a first for the White House. Still to come, preparations are underway for the UFC fight in Washington. Our Tom Foreman will explain the

controversy about that event.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:37]

FOSTER: Back to our breaking news. U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt about-face on Iran after threatening major new strikes. Mr. Trump now says

he's called them off. He says the final points of a deal with Iran have been approved by all parties involved, adding a time and a place will be

announced soon for the signing. We've heard no confirmation of any deal from Iran.

We're joined now by Richard Haass, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. He's also the author of "World: A Brief Introduction".

Thank you so much for joining us, Richard.

I mean, we haven't heard from Iran, but also Netanyahu is apparently surprised by this announcement. So is it agreed?

RICHARD HAASS, PRESIDENT EMERITUS, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: I think we can agree that it may not be agreed. Iran is a very difficult party to

negotiate, not because of their tradition of stretching out negotiations, but unclear authority. The Israelis are not -- they're affected by any

agreement, but they're not necessarily a participant directly in the negotiations.

But my guess is we have a pretty good sense of the outline of any conceivable agreement. It will allow for some sort of reopening of the

Strait of Hormuz. It'll create a very vague framework not to eliminate Iran's nuclear program, but to set some sort of a ceiling on what it's

allowed to possess and what it can do. There'll be some financial transfers. towards Iran. And that's probably what we're looking at.

And if it's not this week, it could be next week, but it's a question of when and not if, because everybody wants, for economic reasons, wants to

see things change. And it's not clear that further military escalation serves anybody's ends.

OK. Well, the president is actually speaking on this issue right now, Richard. So let's have a listen.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Just had a big day. I know you'll never be satisfied, but that's OK. That doesn't bother me at all.

We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran, and we're going to be subject to finalization of documents, which should get done over the next

few days. We'll probably have a signing maybe in Europe, and it's a great thing.

Stock market's up 1,000 points. That means they like the deal. See, that means the market goes down, that means they don't like the deal. But it's

been up.

Oil's dropped. Oil will start coming down to, I think, even lower than it was before. I said -- I was in Iowa. It was $1.85 a gallon. I don't know if

I'm going to get there, but we're going to get pretty close. It's going to come down, and when oil comes down, everything else comes down.

And most importantly, we have a deal that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon, which was the whole purpose of what we had to go through to get

this, so it was a very big thing. But we have a signing soon, and the documents are in pretty final shape. So we'll see. We'll see.

Very good. Should be done. That should be done pretty quickly.

They want it every bit as much as everybody else wants it. And I think a lot of good relationships can ensue from this. I just spoke with the

leaders of many of the countries that were mentioned in the release.

[15:35:03]

I just spoke to Bibi. I spoke to the head of great heads of nations, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and others. And we're going to be

talking to Turkey. President Erdogan is great. And it's really a wonderful thing with a lot of spirit.

Pakistan was fantastic. The prime minister and the -- I call him the general. He's a general. He's a great, great general. He's so great that

they -- that he's actually a field marshal, a step above. And they're all very happy.

The whole Middle East is happy, and along beyond the Middle East, the strait will open as soon as we have it signed. We've been taking out many

ships that nobody knew. Even the fake news didn't know it.

But over the last month, we've been taking out ships, big ships, quietly at night. You guys didn't know. They're pretty cool, right, as a captain? He

knows more about ships than I do, but it's pretty cool.

They turned off the lights. We bombed their radar and everything so they couldn't see what was going on. We took out some nights, 25 ships, some

nights, 15. The last four or five nights we did, 25, 22, 21, 26, 18, and 14.

Who else would remember those numbers? Nobody. And -- but a lot of ships, a lot of oil is out. That's why oil, even before this, the market couldn't

understand why it was so free.

It was more oil than they thought, what they're trying to -- we took them out at night. And that -- the straight will officially open as soon as we

sign, which could be soon, very soon, maybe over the weekend, in Europe. I won't be able to be there, but J.D. will be there, vice president, and some

of the people.

Steve Witkoff did a great job, Jared. So we'll take some questions, but right now, we're here to talk about fishermen and fisherwomen, okay? We

have -- they're great people. And I guess I'm a little prejudiced because they all voted for me. Would you say I got 100 percent or just --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hundred and ten percent.

TRUMP: If I didn't, we'd have a surprise. We'd have a big surprise. So --

FOSTER: Okay, so he is going to questions, Richard, but we wanted to come back to you just see what you thought of that.

Richard Haass, Council of Foreign Relations.

There was some specifics there, wasn't there? A signing probably in Europe, maybe over the weekend, and the vice president will go. So there's

something to sign, apparently.

HAASS: Apparently, and again, I expect if all this does come to pass, there would be a loose framework, almost a memorandum of understanding,

sketching out parameters for a specific nuclear agreement to be negotiated over the next however many months or even longer, certain terms for

reopening the strait, and I expect a schedule of financial transfers, either the easing of sanctions or the thawing out of so-called frozen

assets.

Look, this would be good economically. It would be good if the ceasefire was to hold, but we shouldn't -- we shouldn't kid ourselves. If this is to

happen, and again, I hope it happens, it's not the same as peace.

Iran has demonstrated its ability to control the Strait of Hormuz. That could be reintroduced in a month or six months. As I said, the nuclear

challenge has not gone away. It's going to be an open-ended one for essentially years to come. There's still the question of Iranian support

for radical groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis.

There's the question of Iran's drone capabilities, ballistic missile capabilities, obviously issues of real concern to Israel. There's the fate

of the Iranian people.

So I simply point all this out to say, as welcome as a deal might be in principle, we should probably limit the amount of champagne we decork and

enjoy simply because of all the questions.

FOSTER: He said that Iran would never have a nuclear weapon under this deal. Do you believe that?

HAASS: Look, that ought to be the goal. Iran can say that, but that's a question of intentions. Intentions you can never measure. All you can

mention are capabilities.

And that's something that we're going to need international inspectors to go into Iran, to have extraordinary access. Again, this is not a time-

limited effort. This then becomes a permanent effort to make sure there's no enriched uranium. There'll probably have to be limits on the centrifuges

that Iran is allowed to spin.

[15:40:00]

Again, we shouldn't kid ourselves. This is something that is going to have to be constantly monitored and verified. So it's not a problem solved. It's

simply, if you will, an open-ended goal.

FOSTER: He also spoke to the prime minister of Israel, Netanyahu, and he seemed to list all the Gulf countries, Saudi Arabia, and that suggests that

they're on board. But as you say, to get an agreement together, it's going to be quite generic, isn't it?

A memorandum rather than an actual. I mean, what signing suggests an agreement between the countries, but do you feel that's unlikely at this

point? It's more of a -- yeah.

FOSTER: Well, there could be a signing, again, if the question is how detailed are the terms. And to what extent can they be monitored and

verified? I think most of the Gulf countries will likely welcome this, even though they're uneasy about living in the same neighborhood as an even more

radical Iran, simply because they don't want to be attacked anymore. They're worried about their water and energy infrastructure, and they want

to see the Strait of Hormuz reopened.

I think Israel is going to be the most concerned party here, because they're worried this is going to constrain their ability to attack Iran or

its proxies. So my sense is this in many ways probably sets up friction over months and even years to come between the United States and any prime

minister of Israel.

FOSTER: Can I just ask, you know, if this does go ahead, there's a signing at the weekend. It's interesting that he said Europe. Why is that? But

also, I mean, could this potentially be the vice president and an Iranian leader in Europe signing something? I mean, what are we going to see?

HAASS: Could well be. You could have the Iranian vice president, the Iranian speaker of the parliament, their foreign ministry. You could have

some senior Iranian official. I think Europe is a kind of halfway house between the Middle East. The question is where would you do it in the

Middle East? There's not an obvious country. And so Europe make sense, it's also conceivable there could be a role for Europe in monitoring an open

Strait of Hormuz. I wouldn't rule that out down the road.

FOSTER: OK, Richard, fascinating. Thank you so much for responding to that breaking news we were getting from the White House.

Now, in the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks are up after all of this news. The Dow surged higher immediately after President Trump

initially announced that strikes in Iran had been canceled.

This is our Business Breakout.

U.S. businesses are seeing costs rising at the highest rate for years. Wholesale inflation is rising at an annual rate of 6.5 percent, according

to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, slightly more than economists had expected. That's mostly driven by the rising cost of oil as the war with

Iran has been continuing.

Interest rates are going up in Europe. The European Central Bank has raised rates for the first time since 2023, making it the first major central bank

to do so since the start of the war with Iran. Now the ECB says the outlook is uncertain with inflation at risk of going up and growth at risk of going

down.

Ryanair is being investigated here in the U.K. over the way it charges families with young children to sit together. U.K. regulators say the

airline is charging parents around $11 a flight to sit with children as young as two. A Ryanair spokesperson called the investigation bogus.

Still to come, huge demonstrations in Albania tonight where protests are gathering momentum. We'll explain why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:52]

FOSTER: We're taking you to the White House. President Trump has just made what could be a significant announcement that some sort of agreement with

Iran could be signed as soon as this weekend in Europe. They're also talking about fisheries, but reporters are asking questions, so we want to

be there for them because there are many questions about the detail of any agreement and whether or not actually Iran's going to show up. We could

actually see the vice president who will go to Europe, the president says. Signing an agreement with Iran this weekend, but let's see.

DOUG BURGUM, U.S. INTERIOR SECRETARY: Echoing that with President Trump's leadership, this is another promise made, promise kept by President Trump

that he was going to roll back these job-killing, community-killing, industry-killing jobs. He's done that last year with executive orders,

doing it today with his proclamation.

So I want to say thank you to President Trump. I want to say thank you to my great friend, Secretary Lutnick in Commerce. We have dual

responsibilities across Commerce and Interior related to fish, and of course, with our partners in the Pacific, because American Samoa, Guam, the

Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands. You got the congresswoman here from Northern Marianas Islands.

These are all American citizens. The -- as Howard said, this is U.S. territorial waters and they were closed to us and open to others and that

makes no sense. We've reversed that around and so again, as you see around us, the jobs that are creating this industry are often second, third,

fourth and fifth generation family businesses and you these folks not only risk their lives, they risk their own personal capital to help feed

America. They're the farmers of the sea.

Just like President Trump's behind our farmers and ranchers. He's behind our fishermen. He's making sure that America is great. This brings back

healthy food for our schools, our military, all the things that we're working on with Secretary Kennedy and with Pete Hegseth. So this is a win-

win-win across the board.

Again, thank you, President Trump. Thank you, Howard. Great day for America.

(APPLAUSE)

GOV. MIKE DUNLEAVY (R), ALASKA: This is another example of America first, to be honest with you. Alaska provides 60 percent of the country's seafood.

We're the state with halibut, salmon, king crab, you name it, comes from Alaska. Alaska's -- fishing in Alaska is one of the oldest industries in

that entire state, employs thousands of individuals. Everyone has had fish from Alaska, we know that.

But this is an example, again, putting America's first, America first, workers first, and really this country first. And so on behalf of Alaska,

on behalf of all fishermen and women, I want to thank you for what you're doing for this country and for the state of Alaska as well.

TRUMP: Governor, is this shutdown? I mean, it's just so hard to believe. So, this was trauma for your industry?

FOSTER: So, the president is -- it's a fisheries event, but he's been taking questions on Iran. We want to keep across it for you. We'll come

back to it as soon as he does take questions on Iran because he has suggested a deal could be signed this weekend which would be pretty

extraordinary.

We'll have to wait and see whether or not it happens but they are setting up logistics according to the White House.

[15:50:00]

Meanwhile thousands are taken to the streets of Albania's capital protesting against the development of a luxury resort a project backed by

President Trump's daughter and son-in-law.

Isa Soares has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thousands of people once again packing the streets of Tirana, outside the office of the country's prime

minister, Edi Rama. The message loud and clear, their anger isn't going away.

Albanians have been protesting for weeks against a planned luxury resort linked to U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter and son-in-law, Ivanka

Trump and Jared Kushner, that would transform uninhabited coastal land and protected wildlife areas into hotels, apartments, and villas.

ARDIT CAMI, PROTESTER: No Albanian is going to afford one, 2,000 euros a night. It doesn't make any sense. We also have no idea how this is supposed

to benefit us.

SOARES (voice-over): It's a movement that has grown in size and scope -- that began with concerns about the environmental impact of the project and

has steamrolled into widespread anti-corruption protests, with protesters demanding Rama's resignation. They say the government is selling the

country to the highest bidder and has passed laws to fast track projects like this one and bypass environmental protections.

ANISA IBRAJ, PROTESTER (through translator): The project lacks transparency and we're all here for transparency. Until it's clear to us

what kind of investment this is, we will continue to protest.

SOARES (voice-over): The protests so far not deterring Prime Minister Rama, who says the project will go ahead and be a big boost for tourism in

the country. He says it will create jobs as the country continues its negotiations to join the European Union.

But the European Commission is warning that Albania's luxury tourism goals could derail its biggest aspirations if its ecological policies don't align

with the E.U.'s.

But Rama's more immediate problem is the thousands of protesters gathering daily in Tirana who say they won't back down until he is gone, a movement

that began with preserving flamingos now taking flight into something much broader.

GREISI MANI, PROTESTER: We are fed with the corruption here. We are supposed to be a new candidate country, but we lack basic services.

Everybody has its own reasons. It has to come to an end, quite frankly.

SOARES (voice-over): Isa Soares, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:55:09]

FOSTER: Games have begun. The FIFA Men's World Cup officially underway. The long-awaited tournament kicked off in Mexico with a star-studded

opening ceremony.

Right now, all eyes on the first match up. That's Mexico and South Africa. That first half coming to an end with Mexico up, 1-0.

And finally, New York Knicks fans celebrating the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. The home team erased a 29-point deficit to win game four

against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. That was in Madison Square Garden. The Knicks led the series three games to one and are just

one win away from a first championship since 1973. Imagine the scenes then.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.

END

TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS