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Trump Weighs Options on Iran Action, Extends Timeline to 10-15 Days; Trump Calls Ex-Prince Andrew's Arrest a Shame; Mega Fire Burns Thousands of Acres, Forces Evacuations. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired February 20, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, the largest US military buildup in the Middle East in decades. New reporting on how close the president is to attacking Iran.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Former Prince Andrew out of jail this morning. The photo snapped of him says it all. The story far from over, police are still searching one of his former homes. What could be next in the case.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And the truth is out there. Clearly, It's right here on CNN News Central. Apparently though it's about to be released. The president promising to release files on UFOs and extraterrestrial life after President Obama says they're real.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: A new deadline and new CNN reporting on what President Trump is considering as he weighs potential military action against Iran. He has ordered the largest U.S. military buildup in the Middle East in more than 20 years. The goal not clearly defined, at least not publicly. Partly, it seems targeted at Iran's nuclear program, which the president argued was obliterated in earlier strikes.

What else beyond that? Unclear. Sources have told CNN the U.S. is prepared for action as soon as this weekend, but the president aboard Air Force One floated a slightly different timeline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We'll find a way to make a deal or we're going to get a deal one way or the other.

REPORTER: But with a military strike, you need to wipe out their nuclear program?

TRUMP: I'm not going to talk to you about that, but we're either going to get a deal or it's going to be unfortunate for them.

REPORTER: And you said today ten days, giving them a deadline firm to make a deal? TRUMP: I would think that would be enough time, 10, 15 days, pretty much maximal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, these deadlines have been a little fluid in the past.

Sources say the president is considering a range of options, from targeted strikes on nuclear or missile sites, to a sustained operation that could last for weeks to toppling Iran's regime. He could also decide to continue diplomatic talks, so it's all on the table.

CNN's Kevin Liptak live at the White House with the latest this morning. I mean, the one thing we know for sure is that the military is in place for something as early as this weekend. Beyond that, though, Kevin, it's a little bit of a moving target.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and in place in quite a sizable way. You know, we haven't seen a buildup like this in the Middle East since the onset of the Iraq war, and so a massive amount of U.S. military hardware.

You know, as of this morning, the president is still weighing his options, still deciding how to proceed, but we are getting a better window into how he might use that massive military buildup, if he decides to go and attack Iran.

You know, the range of options here is fairly wide, starting with something more limited in scope, you know, maybe a targeted attack on military sites potentially meant to pressure Iran into agreeing to a deal. The options sort of escalate from there going all the way up to some kind of attack that would be meant to topple military or government figures, you know, something that would potentially last several weeks, a prolonged operation inside Iran. And so these options really run the gamut.

You know, as of this morning, U.S. troops had not been given a target list. That's an indication that the president hasn't yet, you know, quote/unquote, pulled the trigger here. And in public, the president is holding out hope for a diplomatic agreement, you know, certainly behind the scenes officials as well do believe that the diplomacy still continues, even if, in their view, there are sort of diminishing possibilities that Iran could come back with something that the president might agree to.

And, you know, it was interesting to see how the president was addressing all of this yesterday before he got on Air Force One, which is what we just saw. He was speaking at the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace, which was something ironic backdrop for these vague ultimatums that he issued towards Iran, saying that something bad would happen if they didn't agree to a deal, but without laying out in any sort of specific detail, what exactly he's looking for here and why urgent action is necessary right now to go after Iran.

[07:05:10] So, even as these a options are in front of the president, and even as he continues weighing what he might do here, still a lot of open questions about what exactly he's trying to accomplish with Iran. John?

BERMAN: Yes. The biggest question, the biggest question, Kevin, to be fair, and it is notable that we're getting much more information from insiders about how it would happen and almost none about the why.

Kevin Liptak at the White House this morning, thank you for your reporting. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, thank you John.

Right now, British police continue their search of former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's former home one day after King Charles' brother was arrested following new revelations in the Epstein files. The former prince was released from police custody last night, but remains under investigation for suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has yet to be charged with any crimes.

Now, Andrew is the first senior British royal to be arrested since 1647. And with that high-profile arrest comes new questions about who else associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could be held accountable.

Here's how President Trump, who was repeatedly mentioned in those files reacted to Andrew's arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You know, I'm the expert in a way because I've been totally exonerated. That's very nice. I can actually speak about it very nicely. I think it's a shame. I think it's very sad. I think it's so bad for the royal family. It's very, very sad. To me, it's a very sad thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: That is not how the victims feel.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is live outside of Buckingham Palace for us. Salma, where does this investigation stand this morning after seeing that remarkable picture of former Prince Andrew in the back of the SUV looking pretty terrified?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's start with that image, Sara, because that is the image that has absolutely captured the attention of this nation, and it is, of course, as you would imagine, splattered all over the front page of every paper in this country. I mean, just look at this headline. Now, he is sweating. You had every single bit of this image dissected by the papers, downfall, described as haunted. It's that look in his eyes. He looks shell-shocked, he looks terrified. His skin tone seems ashen, the way he's clasping his fingers together and that slouch in the back of the vehicle, taxi for Andy, the sense that he seemed to be trying to hide from the cameras, had tabloid papers describing his cowardice, if you will.

And, you know, in this country, Sara, we don't have mugshots immediately after someone is arrested. So, this, in many ways, is the mugshot of one of the most powerful people in this country, the brother of King Charles, whose legal woes have only just begun. He spent 11 hours in custody yesterday, released in the evening, but it hasn't ended.

Of course, police continue to search his former residence in Windsor today at the Royal Lodge. They are continuing to collect information. We have not seen charges yet, but, of course, it very much appears that this investigation is working to build a case around abuse of power. That is the accusation here that, former Prince Andrew abused his power when he was serving as a trade envoy between 2001 to 2011, by allegedly passing government information, confidential information, to Jeffrey Epstein.

Now, he has denied any accusations of wrongdoing, but he has not spoken out since his arrest. And although this investigation centers around his time in public office and not sexual offenses, we are, of course, hearing from the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sexual crimes. Key among them, of course, is Virginia Giuffre's family. They have shown gratitude, celebrated the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

I want you to take a listen to what her brother said, comparing what's happening here in the U.K. to what we're seeing in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SKY ROBERTS, BROTHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: Not enough has been done at all. And it really does -- I mean, it's kind of become the prototypical thing to say, but it does stink of a cover-up. It feels like our own government is protecting potential perpetrators. And all we're asking for is to open up an active investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: And it's important to remember, of course, while Andrew is very much facing the legal system here in the U.K., those calls, for him to testify in the U.S. continue to get louder. Sara?

SIDNER: Salma Abdelaziz, one of the things a lot of people would like to see is the other side of those emails that were released from this government seeing what those emails look like from him when he was working for the Palace.

[07:05:04]

Thank you so much. I do appreciate all your reporting on this from Buckingham Palace. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Wildfires ripping across the entire state of Oklahoma. Hundreds of thousands of acres burned, nearly 1.5 million people now facing a fire weather watch today. We got more on this detail.

Plus, you may notice gas prices going up. What's behind this rise now? And Matthew McConaughey, Timothy Chalamet in a CNN scene in town hall talking about how human actors can compete now with A.I.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: It's coming. It's already here. Don't deny it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[07:15:00]

BOLDUAN: This morning, nearly 1.5 million people across the Southwest are under a fire weather threat as wildfires have just been tearing across the plains. The largest fire has already burned almost 300,000 acres, and that reaches from Oklahoma into Kansas. And at one point, this fire was burning some three to four football fields per second. And officials are warning this threat is clearly not yet over.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking that for us and much more. What are you seeing with this threat today?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right, the winds, which is what helped to spread that fire so quickly and across so much of an area. Those winds are still going to be here today. You take a look at this video here. This is from Beaver City, Oklahoma. Again, look in the background, you can see all the smoke that's coming out from these fires, but also just the expanse of it.

Now, there are more fire, weather areas that are going to be under fire, weather danger as we go through the rest of the day today. This does include Oklahoma. But the bigger threat is really going to be across areas of Texas and even into Eastern New Mexico. And you can see those areas right through here. So, this includes Amarillo, Lubbock, even into Roswell, New Mexico.

And the big driver behind that is really going to be the winds that are going to be up, say around 20, 30. But some areas could even be looking at 40 to 50-mile-per-hour winds, and that is more than enough to take those embers that are already there and continue to spread them, in addition to starting some brand new fires as well.

Now, the threat is for today. It diminishes over the weekend. The bigger story actually in the next 24 to 48 hours becomes the snow potential in the northeast.

Now, you've already got some snow that's going to develop today thanks to this system that's sliding in. Now, it's mostly rain for places like Philadelphia and D.C., but farther off to the north, this is where you're likely going to see some of that snow. And it's expected to be heavy at times, especially across the white and green mountains. That's where you see a lot of that pink color here on the map. But it's going to be a double whammy because then as we head into the second half of the weekend, we have yet another chance for some snow showers.

So, here's a look at Friday this morning. There's that first system that kind of slides through. And then as we start to go into Saturday, you'll see more of that snow impacting areas of at least New England, getting a little bit of a break later into the day, Saturday before that next round really starts to ramp back up as we head into Sunday.

Take a look at this. This is Sunday evening. All of that purple indicates the snow. The darker purple, that's going to be the really heavy snow. And then you can see even a little bit of a mix right there along the coast, but it all depends on how close that low stays to the coast.

BOLDUAN: Allison Chinchar, thank you so much, I really appreciate it. Sara?

SIDNER: Just ahead, is there life beyond Earth? And if so, did the government hide it from us? What President Trump is about to do may answer that question.

And what a show, for the first time in 24 years, the women's figure skating gold medal is back around the neck of an American skater, and what a moment it was.

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[07:20:00]

SIDNER: Team USA is celebrating a huge moment on the ice. For the first time in 24 years, an American woman has captured individual figure skating gold. And 20-year-old Alysa Liu delivered it just two years after coming out of retirement.

CNN's Coy -- I'm so excited, I can't breathe. CNN's Coy Wire is live in Italy with reaction to this.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: She had the whole arena choking up with tears.

SIDNER: Man, seriously.

WIRE: Hey, no problem. Listen, Alysa Liu is the prime example of the power of putting the wellbeing of your own heart and mind first. Team USA's Alysa Liu is the new Olympic champion. She retired after the last Winter Games feeling trapped in a restrictive environment. The conformity was creating a sort of emotional deformity. So, she traveled, she went to college, found herself, and her inner joy became her superpower, returning to the ice, unlike the stereotypical skater with her unconventional piercings, her carefree striped hair, walking to the beat of her own drum. 20-year-old Alysa became the first U.S. women's Olympic figure skating champ in 24 years, and great sportsmanship on display afterwards as Japan's Ami Nakai, who took the bronze, celebrated with her, Japan's Kaori Sakamoto takes the silver. Here's Alysa after the win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALYSA LIU, WON USA'S FIRST FIGURE SKATING GOLD IN 24 YEARS: I have no idea how I'm going to deal with it. Probably wigs, I'm going to wear some wigs when I go outside. That's all I want in my life is human connection and, damn, now I'm connecting with a hell of ton of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: A hell of ton, a hell of ton. That sounds like Sara.

One of the greatest sports rivalries on the planet, Team USA and Team Canada women's hockey delivering an epic Olympic final again. These teams have won every Olympic gold dating back to the '98 Nagano Games, Canada was up one, nothing in the third, but Captain Hillary Knight scored to send it to overtime, becoming America's all time Olympic goal scorer.

And in overtime, it was Megan Keller hammering home the game winner, Team USA taking down the defending Olympic chance in dramatic fashion, unreal scenes in Milan.

Also unreal scenes Snowmageddon at the Olympics in Cortina, Thursday. Our photo journalist Christian Streib was battling the elements and snowballs, as was my producer, Dan Moriarty. Sorry about that buddy. Our live shots survived the snow globe, but it was almost too bad. We missed -- almost missed our interview with Mikaela Shiffrin. That's me pushing the van there in the blue. We switched to a van with chains on the tires and made it to the winningest alpine skier of all time.

We finally cracked the code and won Olympic gold again for the first time in eight years. Here's part of our chat with Mikaela, sharing some of the tactics that helped her pull off the Olympic comeback.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKAELA SHIFFRIN, SNAPPED EIGHT-YEAR OLYMPIC DROUGHT WITH SLALOM GOLD: I've been writing sticky notes on my mirrors and all of this, like self-talk stuff. It's been more than I've ever done in my career. But in these couple weeks, I really bought into the self-talk idea, you know, all the work that we do day in and day out to be able to just achieve this for two runs, 47 seconds on a slalom course is -- it just feels monumental.

[07:25:05]

WIRE: Cheers and congratulations to you.

SHIFFRIN: Thanks for this.

WIRE: Epic stuff.

SHIFFRIN: Yes, sustenance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: There you go, Sara, one of the greatest skiers ever, Mikaela's keys to success, plastering sticky notes, visualizing so you can achieve those goals and celebrate with espresso martinis, of course. Welcome to the winter house for Team USA. We're here in Milan now. And we will be able to interview Alysa in just a bit, so that will be coming our way. It's an incredible scene here in Milan, totally different vibe than the snow globe, but pink Cortina.

SIDNER: I am so jealous. You had espresso martinis. Like what? I thought it was apple juice. But also we have another Lou (ph) here that everyone needs to see who is an Olympian in his own mind right there behind the camera, the winningest cameraman in the world right here, Sweet Lou, as we call him. He is ready for action and getting claps here for all that he does for us.

I'm so excited that you're getting to speak to her, amazing, and I loved how she said hella because that's a Bay Area thing. She went to the Oakland, I think, school for the arts for a semester and I heard it in her. I said, yes, that's hell awesome.

Coy Wire, thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: I also love where Coy is broadcasting from. It looks like his parlor, like, I mean, the turtleneck, he's going to invite you up to see his etchings.

All right, I don't know what camera's supposed to look at, but I'll look at this one. Oil prices on the rise, which means gas prices on the rise for you. New reporting on how much and what is causing it.

A woman charged for allegedly abandoning her dog at the airport, leaving it tied to the counter as she just walked away.

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