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More Than 1 Billion Barrels of Oil Missing During Iran War; Key Republican Senators Criticize Trump's Iran Agreement; Trump Claims Agreement Amounts to Iran's "Unconditional Surrender"; Kremlin Responds After Ukraine Launches Major Attack on Moscow; Federal Regulators Order Grid Operators to Speed Power to A.I. Data Centers. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 19, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Breaking overnight. Watching oil prices. You can see Brent Crude down again. West Texas up a little bit. We haven't seen that in a little while. The oil markets may be stabilizing after all the optimism over the U.S. agreement with Iran, but now Vice President J.D. Vance no longer going to Switzerland. Talks between the U.S. and Iran have been postponed. That didn't take long. The agreement between the United States and Iran technically reopened the Strait of Hormuz, but there is a new report that finds more than 1 billion barrels of oil have gone missing since the war began.

Let's get to CNN senior business reporter David Goldman for the latest on this. Where can a billion barrels of oil go?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, you'd think that you would be able to track all the oil. Well, what's happened is that when the Strait of Hormuz closed, we started losing over 10 million barrels per day. And over the course of four months, we have lost more than a billion barrels of oil. And that is serious news, because even though we are very glad that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened and, you know, oil has, to your point, fallen dramatically over the last few days, we still are at critical lows for commercial inventories in the United States.

I'll give you an example. For the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, that's our emergency oil, since 1990, we have not seen levels this low across the world. And in the United States, we haven't seen levels this low since 1983, the year I was born, when they were filling the Strait of Hormuz.

And that's not the only problem. Commercial inventories are also at critical lows. In Cushing, Oklahoma, there's a pipeline crossroads of the world. It's where all of America's oil is stored and then goes out to the rest of the world. That is at 20 million barrels. And let me give you an example of what that is. It's like when you hit the spigot on a coffee urn and it stops, right?

BERMAN: Which is the worst thing. GOLDMAN: Which is the worst thing, because you have to tip it toward you to get the coffee out, and it's the sludge, it's the gunk at the bottom there. I'll drink it. I'm sure you'll drink it. But if you have oil at the bottom, it's basically unusable. That's the level that we're at today.

So, this is a significant thing. Even though the Strait of Hormuz is reopened, it might be too late to reverse these kinds of trends. And that could mean that, like we saw this morning, oil prices might need to creep a little higher.

BERMAN: It's interesting, right? There is so much optimism in the oil markets about the Strait being reopened. I know they're watching it to see how much oil goes through. But just today, I was surprised to see that West Texas creeping up again. Maybe they're thinking, we've gone far enough at this point.

GOLDMAN: That's right. We'll see.

BERMAN: All right. David Goldman, thank you very much.

GOLDMAN: Thanks so much.

BERMAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much, John. The backlash to the agreement President Trump signed with Iran is growing this morning inside his own party. More Republican lawmakers are now openly speaking out against the framework, and especially the $300 billion Reconstruction Fund Iran could get access to.

CNN's Adam Cancryn is live this morning in Washington. What are you hearing from Republicans who are now being openly critical about what they're seeing in this agreement?

ADAM CANCRYN, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Well, you said it. I mean, we're nearly a week from Donald Trump clinching this agreement. And the reaction across his party, in short, really just not great. There's a lot of really deep skepticism about the terms of this agreement. In particular, this idea that Iran gets all this lifting of economic sanctions, they get potentially a $300 billion fund, in exchange for not a ton more than just a continuation of talking about the nuclear program and a temporary reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

So, we've heard from several Republicans who say that is really far from the unconditional surrender that Trump first promised at the outset of this war. And while they're happy that they were moving toward peace, this is kind of an unsettling place to be for the United States. Take a listen to some of them here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything I've heard about it causes me concern.

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): I do have concerns that certain aspects of this deal might be a step in the wrong direction. SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): I have to know where that money is coming from because I don't think my constituents are going to be really happy about it if that's all U.S. taxpayer dollars.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): History demonstrates that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is an exceptionally bad idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANCRYN: Now, that concern extends beyond Congress. We've heard from several Republicans, especially the hawkish wing of the party, who say, who cheerlead this original trip to war here that Trump embarked on nearly four weeks, four months ago, and now say that the U.S. should be pressing at its advantage at the same time that now it looks like it's easing off.

[07:35:00]

So, just a really a lot of skepticism, a lot of unsettled folks in the GOP right now. As far as the White House, they are sticking with this deal. They say, you know, one, all these benefits to Iran are only contingent on their cooperation, and also that no matter what, the U.S. will end up either getting a better deal in the Middle East or potentially even going back to war. Sara.

SIDNER: Adam Cancryn, sorry for slaying your name earlier this morning. I do appreciate you coming on.

CANCRYN: It happens all the time.

SIDNER: They used to get Sidner wrong, but they've finally gotten that right. John.

BERMAN: Sara Sidner, thank you very much. All right. With us now, senior Axios contributor Margaret Talev and Punchbowl senior congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio.

And, Margaret, I do want to start with you on that subject they were just talking about there, the issue of surrender, because there have been Republican critics who said this is a U.S. surrender. Your colleague, Marc Caputo, had a sit-down interview with the president where he asked about this issue of surrender. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC CAPUTO: Getting a conflict, you had talked about you only wanted unconditional surrender. And the MOU doesn't look like unconditional surrender.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, it really probably is unconditional surrender.

CAPUTO: It is?

TRUMP: Yes, I think so. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: How about that, Margaret?

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS AND DIRECTOR OF DEMOCRACY, JOURNALISM AND CITIZENSHIP INSTITUTE AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: Right. I mean, I think you certainly in that interview see President Trump putting his signature spin on this and trying to sort of claim victory from the jaws of total division and unrest inside the Republican Party. But you do have a lot of consternation among Republicans. We saw Chairman Wicker sort of add on to the pile in the last day or so. And their concern is that this plan to some of them actually looks worse than the JCPOA, than President Obama's deal that was so hard to get so many years ago.

So, I think this is politically, internally inside the Republican Party, a problem for President Trump. But the president is looking at midterms and the state of the American economy and his own approval ratings and obviously wants to get gas prices down and make this thing go away, which is, you know, what we're hearing from a number of people inside the White House. The problem is the reason the gas prices went up was that he began the conflict.

So, I think he's basically trying to put an end cap on it, but it's proving difficult because of a number of factors, including Iran and also including Israel and Hezbollah and what's going on in Lebanon. I mean, it's complicated.

BERMAN: Yes, I got to say, I think the most telling thing of that exchange with Marc there was the president's discomfort. I mean, it really -- it was more squirmy than you usually see him in a back and forth over language that is very much in the public sphere right now.

And, Andrew, you know, waking up and reading Punchbowl this morning, this is just one area where President Trump is sort of in a space of division with Republicans. Where else are Republicans and Republican leaders now telling you they're having some issues?

ANDREW DESIDERIO, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Well, first off on this Iran MOU, the sense I'm getting from Republican senators based on conversations with them over the last few days is a sense of, number one, dismay at this so-called agreement. And number two, a belief that they'll never have to actually vote on anything anyway, because they don't think it's going to be possible for a broader nuclear deal to be reached within the next 60 days, as is outlined in this MOU.

John, you mentioned other areas that Senate Republicans are at odds with the president. Of course, the nomination of Jay Clayton, which was abruptly sort of pulled earlier this week on Wednesday, the hearing was supposed to go on. It ended up being pulled down.

Clayton is still the nominee, but we're in this weird position now where the White House doesn't want the Senate to move forward on one of its own nominees, which Senate Majority Leader John Thune told me yesterday was a very bizarre situation that he had never dealt with before, which I think is an understatement, right?

And it's clear that the reason the president did this is because he wants Bill Pulte to take over as acting director of national intelligence, which, of course, is happening today. The president realized a couple days ago that the Senate was actually on track to confirm Jay Clayton as the permanent director of national intelligence yesterday, which would have meant that Bill Pulte would have never gotten within 10 feet of the ODNI building.

BERMAN: Yes. Speaking about buildings, right, we're not even touching on the reflecting pool, which I think might be the most interesting story in Washington today, because it's representative maybe of some other things. Everyone wants a beautiful reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, but I think that members of Congress and the American people, they want efficiency. They want things done the right way and transparently.

So, there's the reflecting pool, and there's also the White House ballroom, Margaret. And the Washington Post, which has been doing terrific reporting on the ballroom and who may be funding it had a new story out, and I want to read a quote from it.

[07:40:00]

"The Trump administration's budget office has redirected 352 million that was intended in part for Secret Service training and recruitment to what is described as security measures at the White House, a government database shows. A person familiar with the Secret Service budget, speaking on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to comment publicly, told The Post the funding was to help pay for new White House East Wing that includes a large ballroom."

So, again, no taxpayer money going to the ballroom. Turns into maybe $300 million going there. Again, this is something that I know makes Republicans a little bit squirmy.

TALEV: Yes. That's right. I mean, we've been, you know, tracking this for months, and the polling has been pretty consistent. Americans, even when they thought this was like a $200 million or $400 million project and entirely funded by private interests less than half of Americans thought that the ballroom was a good idea.

So, it stands to reason it would be less popular now. But if you kind of rewind, you know, a couple months on the calendar, there was a moment where the president started talking about why the ballroom was important for security measures. And at the time it was like, why does he keep talking about security measures? This would explain why, Congress approved $1.2 billion to help the Secret Service for training, for technology, to boost some pay for retention purposes in the Secret Service. That's what that $1.2 billion was for. Never anything written in there about a ballroom.

But if this is the intent on using that 352 million or whatever it is then it'll be under the argument of security, securing the facility. And if that's the president's intention, you know, that's going to become, exactly as you said, another chafing point with Republicans who approved those funds not for this purpose.

Just one more thing. I think with DNI, there's a lot of concern about is Bill Pulte going to politicize things and do stuff with voter rights, election laws? That's important to watch. Another really interesting side intrigue is whether this is also an effort to return a lot of power in the Intelligence Community, to the CIA, not the DNI.

BERMAN: Obviously important subjects here. Margaret Talev, great to see you. Andrew Desiderio, always great to see you as well. Love waking up to your reporting. Thank you both for what you do. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Overnight, a huge blast in Moscow. The Kremlin responding for the first time after Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow since the war began.

Ukraine proving there it can hit deep inside Russia. Stunning images there from Moscow. This is part of a strike on a local oil refinery. That's the roof of a storage tank blowing sky-high overnight. The Kremlin spokesperson said Russia's air defense systems performed well, and that Ukraine is carrying out these attacks because of the, quote, "difficult situation on the front lines."

Now, after this strike and others, thick, black smoke, you can see it there, filled the sky over Russia's capital. And this morning, The New York Times is reporting there are lines and rationing at gas stations across the country, a result of the attacks on oil refineries. President Zelenskyy reportedly said this, quote, "If Ukraine burns, then your Moscow will burn as well." John.

BERMAN: All right. 3:00 p.m. today, we are standing by for the U.S. Men's National Team to take on the Socceroos of Australia. And of course, all eyes on the most important calf muscle in the world. Let's get right to CNN's Amanda Davies with the latest on all this. What do we know?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Oh, it is a big day. I can feel the tension, and I'm not talking about the muscle just yet. Yes, the battle lines being drawn for this one all the way here in London. U.S. men's national team player Tyler Adams has called this afternoon's game against Australia one of the most difficult games we'll play. It was really edgy when they met in a friendly in October. It was friendly in nothing but name, in fact.

But Mauricio Pochettino's side looking to keep that momentum going after that really impressive opening win against Paraguay.

[07:45:00]

There is still that question mark over whether or not talisman Christian Pulisic will be fit to play. They're giving nothing away with both sides knowing that a win will see them guarantee their place in the next round with a game to spare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER ADAMS, U.S. MIDFIELDER: We just need to continue the same approach. We can't get too ahead of ourselves. It's time to flip the page. Australia is an incredibly tough opponent. So, yes, that's where the focus needs to be.

TIMOTHY WEAH, U.S. FORWARD: We know what they're capable of. We have huge respect for them and we want to go into the game with the right mindset and well-prepared.

ANTONEE ROBINSON, U.S. DEFENDER: The performance has definitely got the country excited and the world, you know, to kind of recognize that, you know, we're a really good team and we can do things in this tournament, which I don't think people expect us to do beforehand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: And the pressure has been ramped up because the party rolls on in Mexico. The USA's co-hosts became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages with their victory over South Korea. They made it two wins in two to book their place in the last 32 with a game to spare after a somewhat fortunate goal. Luis Romo taking advantage of a horrible mistake from goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu.

Meanwhile, the whole gamut of emotions for Canada as they took on 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar. They were romping 3-0 up when there was a horrible injury suffered by 24-year-old Ismael Kone early in the second half. You could see from the reaction of him and his teammates how bad it was. They were distraught in tears realizing the seriousness of his broken leg. Coach Jesse Marsch said they could hear the bone snap when it happened. That was a good sight though. He was able to put his thumbs up as he was stretching off the pitch.

And his teammates rallied. Nathan Saliba who'd come on to replace him scored a fourth goal and then held up Kone's shirt in tribute. Ultimately, they finished with a massive 6-nil win securing their first ever victory at a World Cup 40 years after their first attempt.

And finally, if you weren't watching South Africa's 1-0 draw against the Czech Republic you missed a moment of history. The first all- American all-female team of officials to take charge of a men's World Cup game. Referee Tori Penso along with assistants Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt making their debuts in Atlanta. This is only the second men's World Cup with female officials taking part. There are 170 match officials at the tournament. Just six are women but it's trending in the right direction John.

BERMAN: All right. Big soccer action today. Go, USA. Amanda Davies, thank you very much for that.

All right. Energy-hungry A.I. data centers about to get a power boost. More money coming their way and married during the Knicks parade.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:00]

SIDNER: All right. New this morning, federal regulators have ordered six regional grid operators to fast-track power to the nation's A.I. data centers. It's in an effort to keep up with demand and to help the U.S. better compete with China for superiority in the rapidly growing A.I. sector.

CNN Tech Editor Lisa Eadicicco is joining us now. Look, this is causing a lot of consternation. These centers, we're already seeing people kind of rise up against them. What are you learning about this move?

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: Yes, Sara, there's been certainly a lot of backlash to the data center buildout in the United States, as you mentioned. In fact, in the first quarter of 2026 alone, about $130 billion worth of data center projects have either been blocked or delayed because of local opposition, according to a research firm, Data Center Watch, that tracks these oppositions.

And what we're really seeing here is a push to really examine how grid operators connect these major energy users like data centers to the grid, because there is an influx of data center buildouts happening right now. According to Pew Research Center, there are 1,500 data centers in development now across the United States at various stages of development, and that's compared to 3,000 that are already in operation.

So, there's a real question here about how the aging power grid is going to handle that and also the impact that it could have on local communities. Electricity prices for the summer are anticipated to rise about 10.5 percent due to a combination of rising electricity prices and hotter temperatures.

So -- and the reason why there's such a push, a sense of urgency to figure out the best way to get these data centers connected to the grid is because, as you mentioned, it is really seen as being a critical component to the A.I. race. In one sense, it doesn't matter how far ahead the U.S. is in models and chip development if we don't have the energy to power those chips and models. And this is something that the tech industry has spoken about a lot over the past couple of years.

For example, just earlier this year, Elon Musk, speaking at the World Economic Forum, said that this year there might be more chips produced than we're able to turn on. So, this is really seen as critical. And at the same time, we're reaching this inflection point in A.I. where a lot of that power consumption is going to inference rather than training, which is more power intensive. Sara.

SIDNER: You can feel the clash that is coming. We will see how this all plays out. Lisa Eadicicco, it's good to have you. Thank you so much. John.

[07:55:00]

BERMAN: An officer in Washington saved a toddler from a hot car. Bystanders called to report the boy sitting in the back seat in 92- degree weather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, Jesus. Hey, buddy. Can you hear me? Hey there, buddy. There's glass. Come here. Come here, come here, come here. Let's get you in my car where it's cool.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Police determined the child had been in the car for 16 minutes before he was rescued. His parents were found about 30 minutes later shopping in a nearby grocery store. They have been charged with reckless endangerment.

New this morning, scientists believe a giant oak tree linked to the legend of Robin Hood has died after it failed to produce any new leaves this spring. The 1,200-year-old tree in Sherwood Forest is rumored to be where Robin Hood had his hideout with his band of merry men. According to a conservation group, visitors over the past two centuries compressed the soil around the tree, making it difficult for rain to reach its roots. Sure, blame the tourists.

All right. It took the Knicks 53 years to win a title. One couple hopes that the parade, the Victory Parade, helped launch a marriage that could last even longer. Meena Duerson attended the wedding, kind of.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should just get married on the Knicks parade as often as we can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let mom Donnie marry us on the float.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They threw a parade for us. This is crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congrats to the Solomons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, man. Knicks in five. Are we going to be able to get through here? Do we have to get to the county clerk's office? Because we had this appointment booked for -- thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did the day inspire you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It did inspire us. We're like, we've got to tie the knot now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a lie. We totally already had plans.

This is surreal. This is like the most New York day of my life in the city.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was crazy. People were taking pictures with us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt like I was on the Knicks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, me too. I love New York City. So, o we fell in love in New York City. It's a perfect wedding day for us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New York or nowhere is cliche, but it feels incredibly true right now. And especially with her. This is like the best day ever. So --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Wishing them a lifetime of happiness. Sara.

SIDNER: That is so sweet. I love that for them. All right. I am live from Chicago, where today is the first day that the public can get inside of the brand new, sprawling Obama Presidential Center. I was also here for Thursday's official opening ceremony of the center. And for those who attended as guests, it was like a family reunion and a church service all at the same time.

On stage were four living former presidents and first ladies, the Obamas, the Clintons, the Bushes, the Bidens. And at points, they were singing and dancing together. The guests and performers included some of the biggest stars of our era, like Stevie Wonder, Bono, and Bruce Springsteen. But also, there were residents of Chicago's South Side. The guests included the most well-known comedian on the planet as well, Dave Chappelle. And no, he was not in that Congo line. Dave had made it clear to me, he does not like delving into politics. But I made him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Give me a sense of what it felt like being here, being invited here, and then listening to the speeches and the music.

DAVE CHAPPELLE: It was like medicine for me, because the time seemed so dark. Politics is like -- you know, I never wanted to know this much about anything, especially politics. But now, today was a celebration of culture and community. And I saw friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, some of which were performing on stage. It was just joyful. It's good to be in Chicago.

I've never been in this neighborhood before. It's good to be in this neighborhood, see this community rally around a national figure. And you realize, man, this guy came from the regular places, and now there's this monument to a political and cultural moment that I think the country could be very proud of. You know, people feel however they want to feel about politics. But it's exciting that our country can do this.

SIDNER: It is the quintessential American dream and beyond. I mean, this person became the president, and now we're looking at this monument here. I do want to ask you something that President Barack Obama said. He talked about the saying where the universe bends towards justice.

CHAPPELLE: The moral -- yes. The moral arc --

SIDNER: The moral arc of the universe bends towards justice. And he's like, look, Martin Luther King Jr. used that a lot, but it actually was from a minister in Boston, and it was during the time when it looked --

[08:00:00]