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The Amanpour Hour

Interview With Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis; Interview With Council On Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Ray Takeyh; Interview With Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Vice President And Director Suzanne Maloney; Interview With Former Iranian Deputy Vice President For Strategy Sasan Karimi; Interview With "The Fear Of 13" Actor Adrien Brody; Interview With "The Fear Of 13" Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino; Archive: How The U.S. Embargo Impacts Cubans. Aired 11a- 12p ET

Aired April 11, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:21]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello everyone, and welcome to THE AMANPOUR HOUR.

Here's where we're headed this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Ceasefire talks begin in Pakistan. Will they lead to a permanent way out of this disastrous war on Iran? And how has it changed the world? We seek the answers.

First, how will Europe chart a way forward, unable to rely on the U.S.A. for security? I'm joined by the Greek prime minister.

KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER: I don't think that the International Community would be ready to accept Iran's setting up a toll booth for every ship that crosses the strait. It seems to me to be completely unacceptable.

AMANPOUR: Then American-Iran experts Ray Takeyh and Suzanne Maloney on the potential rise of a brutal third Islamic Republic.

SUZANNE MALONEY, FOREIGN POLICY VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: It is stunning to see that, at least at the moment, the Iranians appear to have retained the upper hand.

AMANPOUR: And the view from Tehran, with a former government official and now university professor.

Also on the program, a horrendous and yet persistent U.S. injustice now takes center stage. The new Broadway play about a man wrongfully consigned to death row. Joining me are double Oscar winner Adrien Brody and playwright Lindsey Ferrentino on "The Fear of 13".

And as life grinds to a halt in Cuba. From my archive, how the U.S. embargo has punished Cubans for generations.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The Americans are strangling us. My daughter is sick and we don't have medicine. They should lift the embargo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London.

What has 40 days of war achieved? It's hard to answer as both sides, Iran and the United States, claim victory. Thousands died, critical energy infrastructure around the region was damaged or destroyed, and the cost of living is surging everywhere.

With a shaky ceasefire, here in Europe, leaders are breathing a sigh of relief. But their relationship with the United States may never recover.

Speaking of Trump, the Spanish prime minister says he will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.

While the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, told me that Israel must also be stopped from destroying Lebanon following some of its heaviest bombardments yet.

And just after our conversation, the Israeli prime minister did announce direct talks with the government of Lebanon after pressure from Mitsotakis and other European leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: So, what do you -- what's your immediate thoughts about the so-called ceasefire?

MITSOTAKIS: Well, first of all, let me point out that Greece joined a common statement, which was signed by many European leaders, welcoming the ceasefire and hoping that we can use this 15-day window to reach a negotiated settlement. And I do believe that we have reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

Having said that, I would like to express my deep concern about what is happening in Lebanon, because it is very clear to me as a country, which is relatively close to Lebanon, that the Israeli offensive right now is completely counterproductive.

And I do believe that if we want to talk about a complete ceasefire in the region, it needs to essentially extend to all theaters of operation, including Lebanon.

We need to give some space to the Lebanese government to do its job in terms of taking control of the Lebanese south. And by attacking Lebanon right now, the only thing that Israel is achieving is giving Hezbollah, which has already been significantly weakened, a new lease of life. AMANPOUR: Well, I mean, you're very, very clear on a position. I could ask you, do you think, like many think, that the Israeli government just doesn't want a ceasefire and is not interested in lightening up, certainly not on Hezbollah?

MITSOTAKIS: Look, I want to be very clear, Christiane. We have a strategic partnership with Israel, but you know, friends need to speak truth to friends.

And my view on Lebanon has been very clear. For the first time in decades, I think we have a competent government in Lebanon. If these attacks continue, you will have a humanitarian catastrophe. It is already evolving.

But you will also end up legitimizing -- delegitimizing completely the Lebanese government. I don't think this is in Israel's long-term interest.

[11:04:45]

MITSOTAKIS: And you know, I would hope that these operations stop as quickly as possible, not just for humanitarian reasons, but also for making sure that we maintain, you know, a general framework of a ceasefire that encompasses the whole region.

AMANPOUR: In the meantime, what is your biggest takeaway from what needs to happen in this -- if it continues, this ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz?

MITSOTAKIS: Obviously, we have skin in the game, Christiane. We are one of the largest players in terms of the Greek-owned and Greek- controlled maritime fleet.

I've always been defending the freedom of navigation. And this is becoming a critical topic vis-a-vis the future of the Strait of Hormuz.

I don't think that the International Community would be ready to accept Iran setting up a tollbooth for every ship that crosses the strait. It seems to me to be completely unacceptable.

So, I do believe that intense negotiations will take place. I think it is possible, Christiane, that we may end up needing a separate international agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz. There are precedents in history, but this agreement cannot, I repeat, cannot include sort of a fee that ships will have to pay every time they cross the Strait of Hormuz.

This was not the case before the war started, and it cannot be the case after the war finishes.

AMANPOUR: So, Prime Minister, what -- I mean, this is your major ally. The Transatlantic Alliance has been the form of, you know, alliance, you know, since the Second World War. Do you think it's weakened beyond repair? MITSOTAKIS: Well, I'm a firm believer in the longevity of the

Transatlantic Alliance. At the same time, I do recognize that we're currently faced with significant challenges. But I would also like to point out, Christiane, that as a result of initiatives taken by the U.S. president, Europe has gotten its act together when it comes to defense.

President Trump was right to say that essentially Europe did not pick up its fair share of the burden in terms of defense spending. Greece was always the exception for our own geopolitical reasons. We're currently spending more than 3 percent of our GDP on defense.

And I can tell you that there's a lot of momentum in Europe to strengthen the European strategic autonomy pillar. And I think this will be good for NATO.

AMANPOUR: Including Greece has joined an initiative to have a nuclear protection, like a nuclear umbrella right here in Europe, you know, as was proposed by the French president.

MITSOTAKIS: That is correct. We've started preliminary discussions regarding some proposals by President Macron. As you know, France is the only country that currently possesses a nuclear deterrent within the European Union.

And again, any discussion to strengthen the European pillar of our European defense, I think needs to be welcomed by European countries.

Again, I don't think this will happen at the detriment of NATO, but we need to recognize that NATO was essentially, and still is to a certain extent, an alliance that is way too much dependent on the U.S.

So, we need to also pick up our fair share of the burden and make sure that we increase our defense spending, bolster our European defense capabilities. And I can tell you that this is a topic that is frequently discussed at the European Council, and we're making significant progress in that direction.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Just afterwards, Trump met with NATO chief Mark Rutte. His public posts at least showed him still disgruntled with NATO allies for not joining his war of choice on Iran.

Now, after a break, the face of the Middle East is indeed changing. But how? I'll discuss the war's unintended consequences with former U.S. government advisers Suzanne Maloney and Ray Takeyh.

[11:08:40]

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AMANPOUR: Welcome back to the program.

Now, whatever happens at ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran, both sides are currently so far apart a permanent end to this war will be a steep mountain to climb.

Objectively speaking, few of the U.S. war aims have been achieved, according to analysts, and the Iranian people are left once again to fend for themselves under a regime that claims to have won just by surviving the onslaught.

I'm joined next by Ray Takeyh, an Iranian-American academic and former State Department official; and Suzanne Maloney, vice president of the Brookings Institution in Washington and a former adviser on Iran to both Democratic and Republican administrations.

They also happen to be married and have somewhat different views of Iran as Suzanne explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALONEY: We do have different views. And I think in this case, I believe that the war was a strategic miscalculation by President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

And it is stunning to see that, at least at the moment, the Iranians appear to have retained the upper hand.

For the first time in history, they closed the Strait of Hormuz over the course of the past five weeks. And it appears that they will be able to continue to control that key waterway, as well as to potentially monetize it as they've been doing.

[11:14:44]

MALONEY: And that is an enormous victory for a regime that only two months ago was facing massive protests on the streets as a result of economic problems.

AMANPOUR: Ray, obviously the Iranians say that they have won, but so does -- so do the Americans. You disagree with Suzanne, I think, about how this has turned out.

RAY TAKEYH, SENIOR FELLOW, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Well, up to a point. As you mentioned, both sides have a narrative of success and in both cases, there is some plausibility to that narrative. The United States and Israel can demonstrate quantitatively the level of destruction that they have, particularly on the Iranian defense forces and so forth.

But the way this war is ending, with Iran also having a narrative of success, namely that they managed to impose costs on the global economy. They managed to interdict maritime traffic through the Gulf with primitive technologies.

I think in this war, the president failed to make the case to the American people that the United States would have to have a long-term commitment to the security of the Gulf, and that essentially meant concentration of naval assets in that region for the foreseeable future.

He failed to do that. He failed to establish a domestic consensus. He failed to bring allies on board. These are not his strong suits.

But the level of Iranian program design (ph) is set back and the defense forces that have been set back, that's real. And it will take a long time for Iran to recover from 13,000 American strike on their targets and the decapitation of many of their critical leaders.

AMANPOUR: This is what Trump has put on Truth Social. "The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive regime change. There will be no enrichment of uranium, and the United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all the deeply buried" -- I don't know, he's put B-2 bombers -- "nuclear dust." I think he means they were buried by B-2 bombers.

He also then said that we could have a joint operation to safeguard and securitize the Strait of Hormuz.

Suzanne, is this wishful thinking or is it a way to come out of this?

MALONEY: Well, I think that there is a possibility of constructing an agreement that does require some meaningful concessions from the Iranians in the aftermath of the war, particularly around reimposing constraints on their nuclear program and extracting the highly- enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried near Esfahan but may have been dispersed around the country prior to the June 2025 war.

That's a really critical issue because the world needs to ensure that with this regime still intact, that it cannot move quickly toward nuclear weapons capability. And I think the Iranians appreciate that there is going to be some need for some concessions, and what that looks like and how they phrase that.

The Iranians can't, in fact, enrich uranium at the moment anyway because of the destruction of the program over the course of these two wars. And so, you know, there may be a creative way to manage that.

AMANPOUR: Suzanne, we need to -- clearly, because this was really about the Iranian people when Trump started this and Netanyahu started this, and of course, the protests by the Iranian people at the end of -- the end of December into January, the massive crackdown and the bloodshed by the regime against the people.

Now, the people have been left with, "oh my God, what are we left with?" A ceasefire that leaves them in place? And what happens to us? What do you think is going to happen to the people there?

MALONEY: I think the Iranian people are, as has been the case for at least 47 years, really, in the losing situation here.

They have risked their lives countless times, and most recently in January, to try to push for some more responsible, more respected government in the world. And they have been repressed viciously by their own leadership. And what has happened over the course of the war is not just that the regime has remained intact, but the very people who were brutally orchestrating the brutality in January are now in a stronger position. And they have been making that point through continued executions,

through text message warnings to the Iranian people not to go back to the streets. It is incumbent on the world to ensure that their cause is not forgotten, that we continue to look for avenues to try to advance a Democratic outcome over the long term in Iran.

This is a country that is profoundly ready for some kind of democracy. They just have a government that has been averse to it for 47 years.

AMANPOUR: And Ray, to you, this same question. You know, you grew up in Iran, you left at the time of the revolution, like many of us did. And clearly there are a lot of people outside Iran who don't believe you can do anything with this regime.

TAKEYH The Iranian people are trapped in their usual positions, cruelty by their government and indifference by the International Community. That is a reality.

One of the things that one can be certain of in terms of Iranian politics is there will be another protest movement. And this is one of the reasons why the regime was so insistent on not capitulating to the American demands, because they understand that right now their power is demystified. Their cadre is depleted, and their security services are stretched.

[11:19:52]

TAKEYH: So they're very concerned about their capabilities of dealing with the next round of protests.

I suspect that the balance of power still favors the regime, and the revolutionary guards are capable of maintaining order.

And throughout the past 30 days, when there has been war abroad, the Iranian regime has not stopped arresting and even executing some of its own subjects.

so the question is, when that protest movement breaks out, and I think it will, what is the response of the International Community, not just the United States and not just the Israelis who actually have spoken on behalf of the -- behalf of the Iranian people, but the larger International Community, in terms of their reception.

And I should say one thing, having lived through the 1979 revolution, the future of the Iranian people depends largely on themselves. And that's just the reality of the situation, whether they can displace this regime will be powered that they have themselves, as they did in 1979, whether they succeed or not, I'm not sure. But the agency lies with them.

AMANPOUR: Ray Takeyh, thank you so much indeed. Suzanne Maloney, thank you very much, both of you, for being with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Next up, we hear from inside Iran, why one Tehran professor thinks the war may make the country more unified than ever. That's after the break.

[11:21:04]

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AMANPOUR: Welcome back.

To this day, the U.S. administration, including the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, insists there has been regime change in Iran or a change within the regime. It is true much of the Islamic Republic leadership was wiped out from day one, but they have a deep bench and all have been replaced. All are considered more hard line with the IRGC firmly in charge.

Now I got the view from inside Iran with Sasan Karimi, a professor of global studies at the University of Tehran and a former deputy vice president for strategic affairs. He says the war has united the country. So what happens to the hopes of the protesters?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Professor Karimi, welcome to the program.

Let me just ask you first, you just heard the Secretary of Defense Hegseth claiming that the regime has changed. There's a new regime, a new group of people. Is that the case?

SASAN KARIMI, FORMER IRANIAN DEPUTY VICE PRESIDENT FOR STRATEGY: I studied political science at the university, there's not a regime change, classically.

The people are the same, and the top people who are dealing with the United States are the same. The top negotiator will be the spokesman of the parliament. The constitutional law is the same. The organs are the same. The defense system is the same.

And the -- you know, the Defense minister of the United States wants to just coin something to pretend victory. It is not a big deal, I think.

People need to pretend victory after wars.

AMANPOUR: OK. Well, does that mean Iran is doing what is expected, pretending victory, because it is claiming victory, calling it a great historic one?

But as you know, I'm sure that by any measure, your country has suffered great losses, particularly in the military field. How do you assess whether Iran won or lost?

KARIMI: You know, victory in a war defines -- depends on which side you are. But if you are defending your country, only defense of your country, protecting your sovereignty and not being occupied will be your victory.

AMANPOUR: But I want to ask you about the protesters because your government massacred, killed, mowed down thousands of Iranians, thousands of Iranians who were protesting for their rights and their economic survival.

So, my question is, what is going to happen? What will your government do now that it's still in position to these protesters, including meeting their economic demands? Because right now you have no sanctions relief. There is no way that you can actually meet their economic needs. And already there are crackdowns that have been throughout this war on, let's say, democracy activists, protesters, taking them to jail, their executions, and the like. What is going to happen to the Iranian people?

KARIMI: You know, it is not true because it was 11 days protest in Tehran. Normal people protest -- were protesting, were on the street. And police was also on the street without any gun.

And when Donald Trump declared whatever he said and threatened Iranian political system and also other things happened, a new group came that today, there are names like the Everlasting Guard, let's say.

[11:29:44]

KARIMI: They are a fake group of terrorists. And they're not real people. The 11th day of protest, they came to the streets and started for a bloody violation. So, it was not a normal one.

You know, I am following all the protests since 1997, you know, when I was a teenager at the university. And all in 2009, I witnessed all the protests very closely. But this time was totally different.

So -- but yes, that's true that beginning of this -- the start of this protest was economic. And without relieving the sanctions, it is very difficult to ease the situation.

So, that's why one of the main terms of Iranian 10-point declared situation and the conditions is relieving all the secondary and primary sanctions and also human sanctions.

AMANPOUR: Professor Sasan Karimi, thank you very much for joining us from Tehran.

KARIMI: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: But the majority of the Iranian people want their human rights, their freedom, their democratic rights, as well as being able to make ends meet, their economic rights. We will see what happens to them in the coming weeks, months or even years.

Next, this portrait of American injustice first opened here in London's West End, and now it has moved to Broadway.

My conversation with the Oscar winner, Adrien Brody, and writer Lindsey Ferrentino about their play, "The Fear of 13".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADRIEN BRODY, ACTOR, "THE FEAR OF 13": You can find great depths of suffering within the world around you if you have a glimpse of it, and if he's had more than his share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:31:45]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back.

Now for Americans, it's a familiar if tragic story, for Europeans not so much. When "The Fear of 13", a play about the real-life Nick Yarris, who spent more than two decades wrongfully incarcerated on death row, opened here on London's West End, audiences found it shocking. But now it's traveled to Broadway and a country that, tragically, is used to this miscarriage of justice.

Two-time Oscar winner Adrien Brody is making his Broadway debut as Yarris in a powerful and intimate portrayal of one man's struggle to be exonerated.

Brody and playwright Lindsey Ferrentino spoke to me about why they took on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: Lindsey Ferrentino, Adrien Brody, welcome to the program.

What is it about the character of Yarris that drew you in and made you want to play this?

BRODY: Well, it's Nick Yarris' story, and who is the man that I portray, who is a man who'd served over two decades on death row, incarcerated for a crime that he had not committed. So, that alone speaks to not just his individual plight and the grave injustice that he's experienced, but this pervasive sense of injustice, which references an even greater injustice that you're very privy to in the world of news and what we experience.

And for me as an artist or in an artistic capacity to be able to explore and help open the conversation and consider these grave issues and ailments within our society are very important and meaningful.

Lindsey wrote an incredible play, incredible work. It is incredible. And the words were so moving that they pulled me out of my own apprehension of doing theatre for many years.

And it's very alive, and I love communing with an audience, and I love the relationship that ensues. And every night it's different, and certain things they find amusing, and certain things they gasp and find shocking. And it's really a wonderful exchange.

AMANPOUR: And Lindsey, you wrote it. As Adrien's talking, you know, obviously in the United States people know, especially through the news and documentary, of this massive and pervasive injustice, and the whole idea of DNA exoneration is not new.

So, how do you see audiences react differently? Because maybe they're not as -- you know, maybe they don't know as much about this in the U.K. as they do here. Do you see a difference in reaction?

LINDSEY FERRENTINO, PLAYWRIGHT, "THE FEAR OF 13": Yes, we've been talking about this a lot, is that I feel like in the U.K. when the play was done, you got a lot of gasps, because the audience doesn't have the death penalty. They can look at the play with a sort of critical distance and go, isn't it crazy, the justice system in America?

[11:39:46]

FERRENTINO: Whereas the audience reaction here, there are shocks, you know, shocks in the play and gasps, but there's also a sort of knowingness to the audience response and an anger and a complicity, I think, in the part of the audience that we're all sort of complicit in a system, in a culture, in a country that produces stories like Nick's.

AMANPOUR: That's so interesting to use the word "complicit", actually. You know, it's obviously very dramatic, very sad, but darkly humorous.

FERRENTINO: Yes.

AMANPOUR: Tell me about Nick Yarris and why the dark humor? What was it about him?

FERRENTINO: Well --

BRODY: He exudes.

FERRENTINO: He exudes. And so do you.

(CROSSTALK)

BRODY: Yes. So do I.

FERRENTINO: You know, I think, you know, Nick was a man who's wrongfully incarcerated on death row for 22 years and was able to exonerate himself through his love of storytelling and his ability to articulate his own story, which he learned in prison, from reading books and finding his own voice.

But I think also, when you talk to anyone who's been incarcerated, they don't want their incarceration to be the only thing that defines their existence.

And so, I think it was important in the telling of the story that we capture, and it's something that I'm so grateful to Adrien who also has helped pull out all of these different sides of this person.

That he was a romantic and an adventure seeker, and he's hilarious. And he has a gallows sense of humor about his time, you know, in prison, and that you want the character to contain those multitudes, you know.

AMANPOUR: Twenty years is a huge, long, long time. Did he come out bitter, or did he come out grateful or what was --

BRODY: You're very aware of the harrowing circumstances that this man has endured in his life. Yet, all the edge and everything that is within him that has kept him alive, and he kind of expresses a great deal of grace, and a great deal of humanness and understanding, you know.

To suffer gives you understanding of the suffering of others, you know. And you can find great depths of suffering within the world around you if you have a glimpse of it, and he's had more than his share.

AMANPOUR: But he's still alive, Nick, right?

FERRENTINO: Yes, he's at the show every night.

(CROSSTALK)

BRODY: Yes. Very much alive.

AMANPOUR: So, you met him. He was with you in the writer room? Yes.

BRODY: Yes.

AMANPOUR: And what was it like meeting him? Does he have a say in how his story is told?

BRODY: He's been very involved, you know, and very helpful to have Nick's approval. And it's beyond approval. I really -- I really love what this feels like for Nick. It's quite freeing and healing in a lot of ways, as I can only imagine, to have all your hardships and story, and to be such a wonderful storyteller yourself. To have someone like Lindsey to find the eloquence of weaving his poetic language and gregariousness. And then to offer it to someone to conjure up every night and share it with people.

And it is quite moving. And -- so, I think it's been quite healing for him. It's been -- it's been wonderful for me to see his response to it. Yes.

AMANPOUR: Well, it's out there. It got great reviews in London, and I'm sure it will here.

OK. Lindsey Ferrentino, Adrien Brody, thank you very much indeed.

FERRENTINO: Thank you. Thanks for having us.

BRODY: A pleasure to see you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: And "The Fear of 13" is on at Broadway's James Earl Jones Theater until July.

And after a break, is Cuba next? An American naval blockade is strangling it. From my archive, the real-life human toll of an embargo that's lasted more than half a century, but still hasn't toppled the communist regime there.

[11:44:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: Welcome back.

In Cuba, some 90 miles off the coast of Florida, a U.S. pressure campaign, a naval blockade continues to grind the island nation into the ground. And the Trump administration hopes it will somehow lead to the end of the Castro communist regime like many administrations before, have also hoped.

Now, though, there are energy emergencies, hospital patients are at risk of death, classes are suspended, workers have been furloughed. That's now.

But for more than half a century, the U.S. embargo has caused suffering and poverty for the roughly 10 million Cubans who live there. The most vulnerable, the people who have little to do with the state of Cuba-U.S. relations.

From my archives, I first saw firsthand the depth of the embargo's impact back in 1998.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: The casual observer may see all of this and think Cuba is the land of plenty. But look a little closer and you'll find a lot of people just looking.

[11:49:50]

AMANPOUR: The typical couple comes here perhaps once every two weeks, examines every stall and scrutinizes every price, because the average salary is less than $10 a month. And the U.S. embargo means that every pepper, every peanut is a luxury.

Orlando tells us he can barely live on what he earns, and he earns an average wage. He has three children -- a four-year-old, a two-year-old and a newborn.

The whole family lives in one room. No bathroom, no refrigerator, a cooking stove in the corner. Orlando's daily obsession -- finding milk for the children. He's a hospital orderly who has to work odd jobs on his off hours.

The milk he needs costs one-third of his monthly salary. Others need medicine restricted by the U.S. embargo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Americans are strangling us. My daughter is sick and we don't have medicine. They should lift the embargo. Down with the Helms-Burton law.

AMANPOUR: Sierra's (ph) got prescriptions for drugs to treat a basic stomach parasite. But the pharmacies don't stock it. They don't stock much of anything. The shelves are practically bare.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

AMANPOUR: At Cuba's best pediatric hospital, the staff works around the shortages. They ration everything from x-rays to operations. Emergency surgery is performed, the rest must wait.

The best, cheapest medicine and equipment are 90 miles away in the United States. But the embargo forces Cuba to pay four times as much to ship supplies thousands of miles from South Korea.

It's both stressful and immoral, say the doctors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even in war, I have to treat the enemy soldier exactly the same with the same dedication as my own soldier. You know, if the American people knew this, things would change in less than 24 hours because the American people is noble. He's humane. He's sympathetic.

AMANPOUR: Wherever you go, whoever you talk to, you always hear people blame the U.S. embargo for all their woes. But the fact is that Cuba's rigid socialist structures are as much to blame for this country's dysfunctional economy. A few openly admit that, and they complain about a growing elite.

Most people are suffering, says this woman. But those at the top, by Fidel's side, live very well and the gap gets wider.

In 1993, Fidel Castro allowed ordinary Cubans to hold dollars and open special dollar stores. But not everyone has access to those dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At those stores, there is everything. But we have no dollars because Fidel doesn't pay us in dollars.

AMANPOUR: Pesos don't buy much, but still, people like Orlando don't wake up every morning plotting how to overthrow Fidel, rather how to find milk for their children

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know who to blame. There are many people like me.

AMANPOUR: And theirs are the politics of survival.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN -- Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

AMANPOUR: When we come back, views from space. They've been thrilling us for the last ten days. Now, Artemis II is back on earth after a historic mission, and we get reflections on an awesome feat with Apollo 11 astronaut, Michael Collins after the break.

[11:53:36]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

AMANPOUR: And finally, the Artemis II astronauts are back on earth after an extraordinary ten-day mission around the moon. It was, of course, that record-breaking adventure that took the crew further a greater distance from earth than ever before.

Up there on the far side of the moon, there were no comms with the mothership for a full 40 minutes. Blissfully unbothered by us earthlings, they captured unprecedented views and witnessed a solar eclipse, which pilot Victor Glover described as unreal.

Back in 2019, I spoke to astronaut Michael Collins, who was part of the truly historic 1969 Apollo 11 mission. Whilst Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin explored the moon's surface, Collins orbited alone 30 times. From there, he says, he was the lucky one who saw the whole incredible picture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COLLINS, FORMER APOLLO 11 NASA ASTRONAUT: It was certainly an impressive view. You know that tiny little silver sliver that lives up above my backyard Had been replaced by a gigantic, three-dimensional, bulbous thing that was almost trying to push its way into our window.

However, it was nothing compared to seeing the earth from afar. That was the main chance. That was it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: Mike Collins died a couple of years later at the age of 90, but he told me he was so proud to really see the culmination of John F. Kennedy's dream to put someone on the moon by the end of the decade.

[11:59:54]

AMANPOUR: That's all we have time for. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at cnn.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you again next week.