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Trump Says Iran Better Get Serious; Iran Fortifies Kharg Island; Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) is Interviewed about Iran; Maduro Back in Court; Guthrie Gives First Interview. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired March 26, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: A very important artery for people who live in that area to get across. And now there are added commutes that are about an hour long. I mean there are lots of disruptions that have already been going on for two years and will continue to for the next, what, four years.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, until this is finished. Hopefully it keeps moving at pace, as the governor said there.

Dana, looking forward to more of your interview. Of course we can catch that coming up when you join Dana, as we do every day, for "INSIDE POLITICS" today at noon right here on CNN.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, the brand-new warning from President Trump to Iran, get serious before it's too late. We're standing by for Trump to hold a cabinet meeting next hour, as both Republicans and Democrats in Congress say they're frustrated with the administration's refusal to reveal just what the end game is for this war.

Meanwhile, talks to fund the Department of Homeland Security stalled yet again. No deal in sight, with lawmakers set to head out of town tomorrow and TSA workers about to miss yet another paycheck.

And months after his dramatic capture, ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro heading back to court this morning. His legal team fighting to get the drug trafficking indictment against him thrown out.

Kate and John are out today. I'm Sara Sidner with Erica Hill. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

This morning, President Trump is expected to hold his first cabinet meeting since the war with Iran began. It comes as we're hearing wildly different stories about whether the U.S. and Iran are negotiating an end to the war. Iran says no and rejected a 15-point plan by the U.S., but the White House says talks are proceeding. And the president ramped up this pressure this morning on social media, saying that Iran is, quote, "begging to make a deal," but warning "they better get serious soon before it's too late because once that happens, there is no turning back."

Two senior Trump administration officials say efforts are underway to arrange a meeting in Pakistan this weekend to discuss an off ramp to the war that could potentially involve Vice President J.D. Vance.

CNN's Alayna Treene, live at the White House for us this morning.

There is dissension as to whether peace talks are actually happening. What are you learning?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, I think -- and the thing with this idea of the Trump administration and officials working toward a potential meeting to have peace talks in person with, you know, different mediators like Pakistan, but also some Iranians, a lot of that is fluid. I am told that, you know, it could be as early as this weekend. It could extend into next week. It could take time to see if they even materialize at all.

But diplomacy is still something that the president is hoping for at this point. And, of course, publicly saying that he believes it's possible, even as you're hearing from the Iranians saying publicly they reject that 15 point proposal that the United States had put forward. I should note that the Pakistanis, again, a key intermediary here in these negotiations, were the ones who had passed that off to the Iranians.

We also heard from Iran's foreign minister yesterday who acknowledged that these different intermediaries are passing messages between the countries, but essentially said that he does not believe negotiations are actually happening in a serious or substantial way at this point in time.

All to say, this is very tenuous and it's very much unclear whether or not this idea of diplomacy is actually a viable solution. And then if you look at what's also happening in the region, you know, some of the actions that the Trump administration and the military have been taking don't necessarily line up with the more optimistic picture that the president was painting earlier this week and this idea of thinking that he believed that they would be successful in trying to reach some sort of deal to end this war.

We saw, you know, the United States sending 1,000 -- roughly 1,000 paratroopers to the region to be on standby. We also know that the administration has been working on potential plans for ground troops. Again, very preliminary. All of this is things that the Pentagon, they make plans for all different scenarios, of course. But that's another thing that they are eyeing. We've had talks -- or I've had talks with senior administration officials and White House officials about, you know, the idea of Kharg Island being a key potential target depending on whether or not these negotiations or lack thereof end up being successful.

Meanwhile, you have the Iranians saying that they are laying traps and putting more forces in place to fortify and secure that island, which is responsible for roughly 90 percent of where the oil flows through out of Iran. All to say, there is so much that is still kind of unclear on

messaging.

[09:05:04]

You have Republicans on Capitol Hill, Sara, saying essentially that the longer this goes on, the harder this is to sell to their constituents back home. All of this going to be, of course, a crucial part of the president's cabinet meeting at 11 where you'll be hearing directly from some of these military officials during that time.

SIDNER: Yes, a lot of folks in Congress also wondering, are you going to come to us if you're going to plan to put boots on the ground, we want to be a part of this and know what is going on.

A lot of contention, if you will, but that's what happens during war. We'll see what happens next.

Alayna Treene, thank you so much for your reporting there from the White House for us.

Erica.

HILL: Well, as we wait to see whether the U.S. and Iran come to the table, Iran's leadership is suffering another major blow today. Israel says it has killed the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy. This is the latest in a long line of Iranian officials killed since the war began 27 days ago now. The commander was also a key figure in the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway and oil route.

Also this morning, sources telling CNN, Iran has begun fortifying Kharg Island, laying traps, positioning military personnel and air defenses, all in the event that the U.S. does decide to launch a ground attack there. The small island is responsible for handling about 90 percent of Iran's oil exports.

CNN's Jim Sciutto is live in Tel Aviv at this hour.

So, Jim, let's start first with what we know about Kharg Island and where things stand.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, I can't hear you, so I'm just going to tell you what we're learning on the ground here.

Over the course of the past several hours from last night into this morning, it's been the busiest day of Iranian attacks on Tel Aviv in recent weeks. At least seven waves of strikes from Iran that led to seven trips into the shelters for us here, but also, of course, for residents of Tel Aviv. The pace certainly picking up today. And also last night there were strikes coming in from the north, from Hezbollah firing rockets into Tel Aviv. Those intercepted. And that is the pace of Iranian and Iranian-backed attacks on Tel Aviv, on Israel.

But you also have, at the same time, certainly no letup in Israeli attacks on Iran, including this targeted assassination of the navy commander of the IRGC, who Israel says has been responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Of course, those targeted assassinations has been central to Israeli military action, going back to the very first hours of this war when it took out the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, as well as a series of other senior leaders. And we can say, on that issue, this is a -- this is one that certainly draws the attention of the U.S. because increasingly has become President Trump's focus, attempting to reopen that strait. Whether killing the commander of the IRGC naval forces will make a difference in the near term, it's not clear because, at this point, those ships attempting to go through or wanting to go through face the same threat they faced for some weeks now, and that is a combination of sea mines, drones, other attacks that is making them -- that is making them make the choice not to even attempt that passage.

Inside Israel, there remains deep skepticism as to whether these talks, these indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran will yield something. I spoke to the foreign policy advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night and I asked him, what is the source of Israeli skepticism about these talks? He started by saying, in his words, that Iran, Iranians are liars and therefore you can't trust their position. But he went on to use quite strong language about Israeli military actions, saying that Israel is attempting, and again his words, to bomb Iran into the stone age, that that is the track they are focused on. They have no opposition to President Trump's attempts at diplomacy, but their skepticism remains quite clear.

HILL: Yes.

Jim, really appreciate it. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, privately, the president is telling his aides he wants a speedy end to the war. That is according to "The Wall Street Journal" this morning. "The Journal" reporting that the president has told advisers he thinks the conflict is in its final stages and has urged them to stick to the four to six week timeline that he outlined publicly.

Joining me now is Republican Congressman Brian Mast of Florida, also the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Congressman, first to you.

You lead the Foreign Affairs Committee as a combat veteran who lost both legs and a finger as a bomb tech in Iraq. So, first of all, thank you for your service. Second of all, you have a stated position that you've made very clear on your website on what America first means to you when it comes to war. You say, "America's endless wars must be brought to an end, and Congress has a responsibility to take back the constitutional authority to declare war and define what our specific objectives are overseas."

[09:10:01] President Trump did not get authorization from Congress, and he has repeatedly called this a war with Iran. Did he violate your idea of America first?

REP. BRIAN MAST (R-FL): Absolutely not. He was exercising Article Two authority to go out there and conduct these operations. But to go specifically to what my ideas are about this and about war, because that's the point, I think, that you are trying to get to.

SIDNER: Yes.

MAST: What are the objectives that America is trying to meet? The objectives have been very clear from the beginning, eliminate every single Iranian military target that has reached out and touched America, can reach out and touch America, could be used in the future to do that. That is a worthy objective, worthy of Article Two authority. There can be a point in time that he needs to come to Congress.

When you look at the War Powers that have come before the floor of the House of Representatives, they have been anything but War Powers or authorized uses of military force. They have actually been quite the opposite of that. They have been to say the president has zero Article Two authority to defend the homeland or defend the United States of America or deploy troops in any way, case or form whatsoever. No actual outlining of what Democrats, these are the ones that are bringing that forward, would actually say, yes, do this to defend America or our troops or our bases or our navy vessels in the region.

SIDNER: Your fellow Republican member of Congress, Nancy Mace, is on the Armed Services Committee, as you know, and saw some intelligence on the war with Iran. And I want to let you hear what she said to our Laura Coates last night about the possibility of troops being put on the ground there in Iran.

Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): I was not convinced when I walked out of there that troops on the ground were necessary to declare victory. I think it's something that, you know, Congress needs to weigh with all the information, with the truth that I didn't feel we got today. And, you know, everyone needs to get the same briefing we received today and make that decision, is it right to go into a protracted, elongated war where soldiers are going to die? And right now, I am adamantly opposed to boots on the ground, based on the information that I have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: From the information that you have, what do you think about the possibility of putting boots on the ground? Would you support it?

MAST: I think it's highly unlikely that that takes place. And I don't think Nancy Mace was saying that she was presented a plan to say, this is how and why and the reasons and the places that we want to put boots on the ground. I don't think she's saying that was what she was presented. She's saying, this is something that she's not convinced needs to happen.

I think there are several nuances in this. A nuance in this could be, if we're talking about Iranian nuclear, fissile material, sometime down the road in the future. There are very specific U.S. military, tier one, tier two assets that they're some of the only ones that have the capability to clean up some of those things. That could be something down the road. I've heard conversation about Kharg Island, Hormuz Island, places that are in the Straits of Hormuz that are largely entirely industrial complexes. They are not areas of population that it can be beneficial to have people there in order to secure the Straits of Hormuz.

But I would go back to, number one, what Karoline Leavitt has said, which is this has to be the Iranian boots on the ground. The Iranian people on the ground securing Iran. And number two, you have an increasing coalition of the willing across all of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the GCC countries, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, UAE, Qatar, all of those nations there that they're saying, they didn't realize how much of a threat Iran actually was. They now realize that Iran is only limited by the reach of their weapons. They will absolutely target any civilian facility that they can hit, from an airport, to a seaport, to oil and gas facilities, shipping anything. And they are not willing to let Iran go back to what it is that they were in the past. They are only willing to see an unarmed Iran going into the future. So, I think they are the coalition of the willing as well.

SIDNER: We are starting to see some of those nations coalesce because they have been hit by rockets from Iran.

Let me ask you about here at home. TSA workers --

MAST: That's an understatement to say they've been hit by rockets from Iran.

SIDNER: Yes.

MAST: They've been hit by waves and waves of rockets.

SIDNER: Yes.

MAST: And this is a very important point. Right up to the very beginning of this conflict, they were told that -- you know, they have a lot more back and forth than Iran. They go to Tehran. They have conversations. Tehran comes to them. They have a lot more back and forth. They were told right up to the very beginning of this, we would never target you. We would never hit your oil and gas. We would never target your civilians.

They realize, to go back to that point about the Iranian government are liars, that that's what was a clip that you played, that's an example of just how much all of the gulf states were being lied to and being told they would never be a target, when, in fact, they realized now they were long standing targets. SIDNER: Congressman Brian Mast, thank you for coming on. Do appreciate

your time.

Erica.

HILL: So, we have some live pictures to show you. So, this is New York City here outside the federal courthouse downtown where in just a matter of moments former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will try to get his drug trafficking indictment tossed out. Protesters have been on hand this morning, a number of them holding signs that read "free Maduro."

Take a look.

[09:15:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People of Venezuela, including the bombing of a sovereign territory, and the kidnaping --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: This is going to be Maduro's first appearance in public since he and his wife were arraigned back in early January after their capture as part of a U.S. operation in Caracas.

CNN's senior legal analyst, Elie Honig, is with us. He is, of course, also a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

So, Elie, first of all, let's start off with, what are we looking at in terms of the charges that Maduro and his wife are facing?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: That courthouse is my old stomping grounds, and Nicolas Maduro is on his way there.

HILL: You know it very well.

HONIG: So, Maduro is charged in a federal indictment with four charges. First of all, he's charged with the crime of narcoterrorism, which means he worked with a foreign terrorist organization, designated organization, including the FARC, to transport drugs, narcotics, into the United States. Carries a life maximum if he is convicted.

Then we have the actual importation of cocaine, which is a separate crime. The indictment actually alleges that Maduro, and the other coconspirators, would move 200 to 250 tons of cocaine. If you do the math, that's --

HILL: That's a lot.

HONIG: That's a lot if you do the math -- into the United States per year from the '90s through the 2000. Again, that's a potential life maximum. And then the third and fourth charges, there's two charges here, is

that the organization used machine guns and destructive devices, bombs and IEDs, in order to intimidate their opponents and to accomplish the ends here.

So, the stakes here are sort of all or nothing for Nicolas Maduro. If he's convicted, the lowest sentence he can get is 30 years. And as I said, it could be up to life.

HILL: Yes, so this is what he's trying to get thrown out today. What else is happening in court today?

HONIG: Yes, so a couple of things that we need to watch for. The big issue is, who's going to pay Nicolas Maduro's defense lawyer? Now, he currently has an experienced veteran criminal defense lawyer named Jeffrey Pollack. But defense lawyers are really expensive. They cost millions of dollars. Maduro wants the nation of Venezuela to pay his bills. The nation apparently is willing.

The problem is, there are U.S. Treasury Department sanctions on both the country of Venezuela and Nicolas Maduro. And so, the Justice Department prosecutors are objecting to this in court. They're saying, no, you can't have a country that's sanctioned pay for somebody who is sanctioned himself. That -- this is really an unknown issue.

HILL: Yes.

HONIG: The judge is going to have to work that out today.

Also, we should get a motion schedule. Nicolas Maduro is going to have motions to dismiss. He's going to argue he was illegally captured. He's going to argue he has immunity. I don't think any of them are winners. Even if you are illegally captured in a foreign country, the law says you can still be tried here in the United States.

And then I really want to see, are they going to set a trial date? This thing has been going on since January. We've made very little progress. And sometimes, in a hearing like this, often a judge will say, OK, just so we know --

HILL: Yes.

HONIG: And everyone can clear their calendars, trial is going to be six, eight, ten months out, whatever. I'm looking to see if we get a trial date.

HILL: So, we're hoping to see we get that so that we can plan our lives for the next several months, right, Elie?

HONIG: Yes. For sure.

HILL: I can't wait to see what happens here because there is a chance, right, he could end up essentially with the equivalent of a public defender --

HONIG: Yes. HILL: If they say, no, you can't use that money to pay him.

HONIG: Yes.

HILL: So, when we look at where things stand, two questions for you. Who are we really watching today? And why are we doing this in New York?

HONIG: OK, so let me take those in the opposite.

Why New York, right? I mean, Maduro charged -- is charged with transporting narcotics into the entire United States. You may remember this scene from when Maduro was arrested. The first place that plane touched down was at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh, New York. Why Newburgh, New York, for all the big airports we have? And the answer is, the law says, when someone's captured internationally, they can be tried the first place they touch American soil. So, he touched down there. That puts us in the Southern District of New York, which is sort of famous for doing these types of cases. The courtroom, of course, is down here in Manhattan. That's how he ended up here.

Who are we watching? We've got Jay Clayton is the U.S. attorney. He's not going to try the case, but they are the prosecutors. Hang on. We've got Nicolas Maduro himself. He'll be in court wearing a prison jumpsuit. This is the lawyer, Barry Pollack. We'll see if Maduro can keep him or if he can -- if he can't pay him, then he'll get a public defender or some other court appointed lawyer.

HILL: Right.

HONIG: Judge Alvin Kenneth Hellerstein, a Clinton appointee from the '90s, very experienced, 92 years old. I tried cases in front of him. He knows how to try a case. This is going to be a challenge, though. Ninety-two-years-old is going to be tough.

HILL: All right. And as you said, it's moving a little slowly, it seems.

HONIG: It sure is.

HILL: We'll be watching all of it. And then I'll be texting you for updates, Elie.

Thank you.

HONIG: You got it.

HILL: Sara.

SIDNER: As will I.

Coming up --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, "TODAY" SHOW HOST: It sounds so, like, how dumb could I be? But I just -- I didn't want to believe -- I just said, do you think because of me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: What a horrible thing. And, of course, it wasn't because of her. Someone did this terrible thing to her mother. The very first interview she has done, she has sat down with Hoda Kotb for the "Today" show, revealing just her thoughts following the disappearance of her mother, where she has no new information yet as to her whereabouts.

Plus, caught on camera, the moments a woman hanging off the side of a cliff in California was finally rescued. You'll want to see this. That's all ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:24:19]

SIDNER: Savannah Guthrie is talking now in her first interview on the excruciating disappearance of her beloved mother nearly two months ago. She says the thought that someone may have abducted Nancy Guthrie for ransom because of her own fame is simply too much to bear. Here's how she put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, "TODAY" SHOW HOST: And he said, I think she's been kidnaped for ransom. And I said --

HODA KOTB, "TODAY" SHOW HOST: Yes.

GUTHRIE: What?

KOTB: Yes.

GUTHRIE: Why? What? And then, I mean, it sounds so, like, how dumb could I be? But I just -- I didn't want to believe. I just said, do you think because of me?

[09:25:05]

And he said, I'm sorry, sweetie, but, yes, maybe. But I knew that.

KOTB: You did?

GUTHRIE: I hope not. I mean, we still don't know. Honestly, we don't know anything.

KOTB: No.

GUTHRIE: We don't know anything. So, I don't know --

KOTB: Yes.

GUTHRIE: That it's because she's my mom. And somebody thought, oh, that girl, that lady has money, we can get -- make a quick buck. I mean, that would make sense, but we don't know. But, yes, that's probably. Which is too much to bear to think that I brought this to her bedside. That it's because of me. And I just say, I'm so sorry, mommy. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry to my sister and my brother and my kids and my nephew and Tommy, and my brother-in-law. Just, I'm like, so sorry. I'm so sorry. If it is me, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Just excruciatingly hard to watch. And even so much worse for what this family is going through.

CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter joining me now.

Wow, this was a powerful interview. And in the end you learn she has no idea what has happened to her mom even now. We're now seven weeks into this.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Right. Right. You hear her living with the guilt. And now pondering a path forward. You know, she is actively planning to return to the "Today" show. I think we might hear about her return date even later this week. But she's living with this guilt that maybe it was her fame and perceived fortune that led to her mom being targeted. She doesn't know what to do with that. And listening to Savannah today, I'm struck by that lack of firm, firm follow-up from any kidnaper, Sara.

You know, as I'm sure everyone remembers from back in February, there were reports of various ransom notes. Some were believed to be from impostors. But Savannah says she believes a couple of those notes were real. She tried to reply to those notes with those Instagram videos. And yet here we are, almost two months later, there has not been any resolution, any actual follow through from those apparent kidnapers.

Later in the interview, Savannah talked about her faith and she shared that she felt comforted by the Lord. She said, "I can handle anything, God. I can handle anything. I just can't handle not knowing." She says, she heard a voice and it said, "you do know where she is. She's with me. She is with me."

So, Savannah, talking about her faith in God, her belief that her mom is safe with the Lord. But that, of course, also leads to the thought about her mom no longer being alive and Savannah living with that uncertainty, that not knowing, which is the real agony here, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, it is just agonizing for this family. And look, she's going to come back to work and this will be on her mind as she's trying to get through it. Our hearts go out to her and the entire Guthrie family.

Thank you so much, Brian Stelter, for continuing to follow every twist and turn of this story.

Up ahead, as TSA shortages continue to plague travelers in some airports across the country, why some airports have been able to avoid the shutdown chaos entirely. And two tech giants forced to pay millions of dollars in a landmark trial which found them liable for creating addicting and harmful social media platforms.

Those stories and more, ahead.

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