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Pakistan Says It's Prepared To Host U.S.-Iran Talks; TSA Agents Could Get Paychecks As Soon As Tomorrow; U.S. Universities In Middle East Move Online Amid Iran Threats; Interview With Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL); FOX Host Calls For Troops In Iran After Trump Plugs Show; Oil Prices Rising On Day 30 Of Iran War. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired March 29, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:40]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Jessica Dean has the night off.

We're going to start this hour with the latest on the war with Iran. Pakistan announcing it is prepared to facilitate and host talks between the U.S. and Iran in the coming days. And this comes as Iran warns the United States against a ground invasion and Iran's parliamentary speaker accusing the U.S. of, quote, "secretly planning a ground invasion while talking of negotiations."

Plus, more U.S. troops have arrived in the region. U.S. Central Command says the USS Tripoli is now in the Middle East, carrying 3500 service members.

I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who joins us now with the White House perspective and reporting here.

Julia, what is the Trump administration saying about all of this?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're not hearing much specifically from Trump administration officials on this today. In fact, normally on those Sunday shows, the morning programming on the top networks, this is where officials go on and they look to tout the administration's efforts as well as ease any concerns. But we did not see those focused on the conflict in Iran, making those visits today, which could just kind of highlight the uncertainty going forward.

We did hear, though, from Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday. He spoke in an event in Miami, and he said that he is hopeful that meetings with the Iranians will take place this week and that he believes that President Donald Trump wants to come to a peace deal. Now, in a recent statement from White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, she highlighted that Trump hopes to find a diplomatic route here, but also left open room for this conflict to go on longer.

I want to pull up part of that statement for you. She said, quote, "Now that the regime's ballistic missile capacity and navy is getting annihilated by the United States, they are begging to make a deal. The president is willing to listen. But if they fail to accept the reality of the current moment, they will be hit harder than ever before." And then there's all the questions on timeline. Of course, that all

plays together here. But Trump has said that this could end soon, very soon. He's thrown out various predictions, including four to six weeks. And then most recently, he has really avoided being tied down to a specific timeframe. He recently said it's pretty much over. It's sort of over. It's not, but it is. So just again, highlighting the uncertainty here.

And then there's the question of ground troops. That's something people are paying close attention to. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he believes that the administration can accomplish its objectives without sending in troops in that way. But when it comes to all those service members headed to the Middle East, he said that the president has to prepare for any sort of options here.

And that's the tightrope that these officials have walked as they speak about this publicly, trying to downplay the possibility of ground troops, but also saying that the president has options available and he will do what he sees fit.

JIMENEZ: Julia Benbrook, appreciate the reporting as always.

I want to get to CNN chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance with more from the region, including Pakistan offering to host talks between the United States and Iran.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This comes after four countries met in Pakistan earlier today, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, along with Pakistan. And you know, Pakistan, latest foreign minister saying, look, you know, we've agreed to host talks between the United States and Iran in the days ahead, although it's not clear, we haven't heard from either the U.S. or Tehran about whether delegates from those countries are going to be attending any kind of talks like that.

I can tell you there's a great deal of skepticism here in the Gulf region about the possibility of negotiations right now because the negotiating positions of the two sides are so far apart. The United States has put out a 15-point plan calling for basically Iran to stop all nuclear activity, to limit its missile technology, that kind of things.

[18:05:00]

And Iran has put out a much more, you know, completely contradictory five-point plan to bring the war to an end, basically calling for reparations from the United States. And, you know, saying that it wants all American bases in the region, for instance, dismantled. And so they're sort of equally unlikely to find any common ground. There's also this sort of new fear in the region that because U.S. troops have started to arrive in the Gulf region over the past day, it's an opportunity for ground operations by the United States to begin.

And so there's a real fear that something like that, that kind of escalation could happen in the hours or the days ahead -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Matthew Chance, appreciate the reporting, as always.

Lots to talk about here. I want to bring in CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

So, Colonel Leighton, I mean, look, 3500 additional U.S. troops arrived in the region this weekend. Does that tell you anything about the different scenarios the United States is preparing for at this point in the war?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. Well, one of the things, Omar, about this is that when you put troops like the 30 -- members of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, those 3500 Marines you talked about, that is definitely preparing the possibility for some kind of a military operation.

Now, is that going to be a full-on ground invasion? Well, that number of troops is probably not sufficient to hold a large amount of territory, but it is sufficient to hold something like, let's say, an island, possibly Kharg Island or possibly Abu Musa or Larak or one of the other islands in the Strait of Hormuz region. So there are certain possibilities that they could undertake in this particular case.

Doesn't mean that it's going to happen, but the likelihood has certainly increased because the possibilities are there in terms of the actual number of troops and the equipment that they bring with them.

JIMENEZ: Well, and so there are -- there have been many questions, again, about the possibility of ground troops on this. It's something Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said. To this point, the U.S. can achieve its objectives without ground troops. And just based -- but based on where the United States is right now and what you assess as well, is that possible?

LEIGHTON: Well, it really depends on what the objectives are. But the objectives, as I understood them at the beginning of this, would certainly require some kind of a ground element to this, a ground incursion of some type. So I don't think it is possible for the United States to achieve all of its objectives without having some kind of a ground incursion. That could mean that they go in and try to open up the Strait of Hormuz, for example.

At least make it difficult for the Iranians to mine the Strait of Hormuz and lob missiles in the direction of tankers that are transiting through that area as one example. Of course, the other thing would be to take Kharg Island, perhaps a bargaining chip for negotiations. So those are all possible things that I think would further U.S. goals just purely in a technical sense. But the best course of action would, of course, be if everybody could get onto that offramp and not do any of these things.

But at this particular point in time, if the United States is serious about achieving any of its goals, it would require some kind of a ground effort at this point.

JIMENEZ: Well, and let's talk about that, that offramp of diplomacy, if it comes. It still seems pretty far off at this point just based on where the two sides are. But with Pakistan saying they would help facilitate talks between the United States and Iran among other allies, how might any diplomatic efforts affect the Pentagon's goals in the region, for example?

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's an interesting point because if let's say one of the Iranian points is taken on board, which would be to eliminate the U.S. Bases in the region, that would really make it difficult for the United States to project power, not only in the Middle East, but throughout Africa and even southeastern Europe. So that would be something that I don't think the United States would accept.

And I don't think the Gulf States, the Arab Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and a few others, I don't think they would accept that kind of a proposition either. So that would be one way in which Iran would try to perhaps achieve diplomatic goals without using military force, or at least using enough military force to actually achieve them. But I think that would be definitely counter to U.S. strategic interests if that were to happen.

JIMENEZ: Yes. You know, while all this is going on, Russia's war in Ukraine continues. And CNN reported earlier this week that Russia launched a series of large scale attacks on Ukraine. And I wonder, what kind of impact could we see if Russia launches a new offensive against Ukraine in this moment?

LEIGHTON: Yes. So the Russians were trying to gear up for a so-called spring offensive during this period.

[18:10:04]

They could still try to do that. But the Ukrainians have been pretty effective at limiting their ground movements. But as you pointed out, the Russians have, in fact, used a lot of drones and a lot of missiles against Ukrainian targets, particularly the civilian infrastructure, including hitting a UNESCO heritage site in Lviv just the other week. So these are the kinds of things that Russia is trying to do.

They're trying to, in essence, soften up the target even further. But we have to remember, Ukraine has just survived a pretty harsh winter. And it shows that the Ukrainians are probably going to have the staying power to thwart any types of Russian advances on the ground. There'll still be a lot of drone attacks, a lot of missile attacks, but the Ukrainians seem to be capable of basically holding them in check, at least enough to maintain their sovereignty at this point.

JIMENEZ: And seeming to want to export some of its expertise in anti- drone technology to some of the countries in the Middle East, which, of course, are dealing with their own sets of threats on a daily basis as well.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, really appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Omar, anytime. JIMENEZ: All right. Still ahead, we take an inside look at top

concerns for U.S. law enforcement on possible future homeland terror attacks as the war with Iran pushes past the one-month mark. Plus, there may be some relief coming for TSA agents who have gone unpaid during what is now the longest partial government shutdown in history.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:09]

JIMENEZ: As Congress begins their two-week recess, the partial government shutdown has no end in sight. There may soon, though, be relief for TSA employees as the Trump administration says they could get their paychecks as early as Monday under the president's new executive order to fund the employees. But there are still a lot of questions about the details of that order and how soon it could actually make a difference.

For example, hundreds of TSA agents have already quit, and on Saturday, more than 2800 TSA officers, that's just a little more than 10 percent of workers nationwide called out, according to DHS. And it's still unclear when or if ICE agents will removed from airports once the TSA agents get paid.

So a lot to monitor here. CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us live from Reagan Washington National Airport.

So what are you seeing? What are you learning right now?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, here at this airport, we're seeing that the lines are going relatively quickly. There's no really major disruptions here like we've seen at other airports across the country.

Now, just for the past few hours, I've spoken to several TSA workers here, and I asked them, what do they make of the news that the Trump administration is now saying that they're going to pay them in the upcoming days, and I've heard a bit of a mixed reaction here. Some saying that they're very relieved to hear that they're finally going to be paid after weeks of not receiving a paycheck and still showing up to work.

While others really say that they're frustrated with the fact that this partial government shutdown has just gone on for this long, and about the fact that there are several outside TSA, there are hundreds and thousands of federal employees that work at other agencies under DHS, and they're still going to go out without pay as this partial government shutdown continues, especially in light of everything going on on Capitol Hill.

As you know, right now, there's just a big stalemate. You have the Senate that passed their bipartisan bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, and that excluded money for immigration enforcement and Border Patrol. And then on the House side, just hours later, they didn't take up the bill. And instead they passed their own version of a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security that only entailed funding it for eight weeks and it included money for immigration enforcement and Border Patrol.

And that was a stark contrast there. Really there's a debate still happening on Capitol Hill around funding for immigration enforcement. And Senate Democrats really said that they have no interest in taking up this House bill because they're very adamant that they won't support any bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security without there being some reforms written in legislation around these federal agencies like CBP and ICE.

And because this still looks like there's no deal really to be had on Capitol Hill to end this partial government shutdown, something I'm hearing time and time again when I'm talking to federal employees that work under DHS is how long will this realistically go on, and how is this going to affect the other thousands of federal employees that work under DHS, that are not involved with TSA?

And so that is something that's a really big concern here. And when I'm talking, what is there to these employees and what their big message is for lawmakers on Capitol Hill? They say, think about the people that are being negatively impacted by this partial government shutdown as this continues to go on now for more than 40 days, the fact that they're now receiving the emotional and also financial toll of this partial government shutdown, and they're saying they're the real ones that are being impacted by this.

Omar, back to you.

JIMENEZ: And trying to figure out how they're going to plan for the future. Again, not just TSA, but also Coast Guard, civilian employees, for example, as well.

Camila DeChalus, appreciate the reporting as always.

I want to move to the war with Iran. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announcing they're retaliating after recent attacks on Iranian higher education centers. They say they'll now target American and Israeli affiliated universities in the region, saying they are now considered legitimate targets.

And the president of the American University of Beirut saying the university is moving fully online Monday and Tuesday, quote, "out of an abundance of caution."

[18:20:03]

And the Lebanese American University in Beirut also said it will switch to fully remote tomorrow. Many other universities in the region have already moved online, including the Qatar locations of Georgetown University, Texas A&M and Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts have also announced the move to online learning until further notice.

So with more troops arriving in the Middle East, preparing for a possible ground incursion, concerns are rising among terrorism experts and U.S. law enforcement officials over how Iran could retaliate and where Iran could inspire lone wolf attacks, lead cyber hacks and potentially conduct assassination operations abroad.

I want to bring in CNN's Holmes Lybrand, who's been reporting on these threats.

So what are officials most concerned about with this war with Iran?

HOLMES LYBRAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Omar. And really one of the big concerns in the first week was what we kind of refer to as sleeper cells. These agents or groups of people that have been planted in the U.S. kind of ready at a moment's notice or even planning months or years in advance for an attack on U.S. soil.

We haven't seen that. Instead, what we have seen, we saw in the first week of the Iran conflict, two attacks that authorities believe were motivated, at least in part, by the conflict with Iran. That is what concerns law enforcement officials now, those lone wolf actors who might be inspired by Iranian propaganda or by the conflict in the Middle East to take it upon themselves to act violently inside of the U.S.

JIMENEZ: And is there any threshold at this point that would trigger an increase in Iran's efforts to target the U.S. domestically?

LYBRAND: Well, as you mentioned, the ground incursion, the potential for that, the fact that we are amassing thousands of troops in the region, Iran could see that very much as an escalation of tactics. And as we saw with the university's tit-for-tat, you attack us this way, we're going to attack you in similar form. That is what concerns officials.

JIMENEZ: All right, Holmes Lybrand, really appreciate it.

All right. Coming up for us, it is now the right versus the right, at least in the latest iteration. We'll explain it coming up after the break with -- we'll talk about it with a Republican congressman who joins us live to discuss what he feels can be a path forward to end the DHS shutdown. And then later tonight, go inside the relationship between the late Robert Mueller and President George W. Bush following the 9/11 attacks with the CNN Original Series "STANDOFF: THE FBI, POWER AND PARANOIA." Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT GRAFF, AUTHOR, THE THREAT MATRIX: At 8:00 a.m., Tuesday, September 11th, Robert Mueller is sitting in his first briefing on al Qaeda. It's interrupted by someone who comes in and says a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, RICE UNIVERSITY: And George W. Bush was in Florida at a school reading a book to children.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Thank you all so very much for showing me your reading skills. GRAFF: Andy Card, the White House chief of staff, steps forward and

informs him of the second attack on the World Trade Center.

Bush finishes reading the book. He doesn't want to cause a panic in that moment, and one of his first telephone calls is to Robert Mueller at the Hoover Building in Washington. Bush basically says, buckle up. This is what we pay you for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And you can watch two new episodes starting tonight at 9:00 and 10:00 on CNN. Stay with us. More coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:28:08]

JIMENEZ: Right now Congress is on a two-week break leaving town despite being deadlocked on how to end the partial government shutdown. And it's not just a split along party lines, it's also a split between the Senate and the House specifically over this past week. The Senate passed a deal unanimously in the wee hours of the morning Friday to fund most of DHS, but it didn't include money for Immigration Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, the whole reason behind why the shutdown began in the first place.

And Democrats have been pushing for sweeping reforms for ICE agents after what happened earlier this year in Minneapolis, including the killing of Americans Alex Pretti and Renee Good. On Friday, the House rejected the Senate bill and passed its own plan, which would fund all of DHS but a bill Senate Democrats called dead on arrival. So basically, it's back to square one and a lot of finger-pointing still over who is to blame.

I want to bring in Republican representative from Florida, Mike Haridopolos.

Congressman, thank you for taking the time. Look, Speaker Johnson called the Senate bill unconscionable. Do you agree? I mean, this was led by Senate Republicans lead the Senate.

REP. MIKE HARIDOPOLOS (R-FL): Well, we were shocked actually because the key of the 2024 election, which we all agreed on, was that the border was out of control. We need ICE agents to round up these persons who have broken the law after coming into the country. Rape, murder, other sexual offenses. And we think that, of course, ICE and Homeland Security abroad should be fully funded.

And we think it's a logical thing to do, and we're willing to work with Democrats and a broad number of reforms to make sure that both sides are protected.

JIMENEZ: Well, I guess, you know, the question was, the question is at this point is yes, there's a lot clearly to debate over the tactics of the ICE agents, their importance, what they do, but also at the same time, you're in this shutdown where TSA agents are going without pay, expected to see some pay tomorrow but still it's in its 44th day.

[18:30:04]

Do you see any realistic path for lawmakers to end at least that funding fight, while trying to then work out some of the larger questions over ICE and CBP?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, I'd like to see that. I'm a person who came to Washington in 2024, a new member of Congress who believes in the art of the possible. That's what politics should be. And so that's why we offered up an eight-week extension, keeping DHS fully funded because we are facing attacks on the homeland. Two in Michigan, one in Virginia, one in Texas. We had three recent murders as well.

And so we want to really fully fund there, especially considering the conflict going on in Iran. So we said, let's take a pause. Let's fully fund DHS for eight more weeks and let's come up with commonsense things like body cameras. Let's make sure that an ICE agent has his body camera. Let's also make sure they get more training because, as you know, in sanctuary cities, they do not get support from local law enforcement. I think those would be two winning combinations, which I'd be happy to support.

JIMENEZ: Well, and even what came out of the Senate, I mean, would it not still fund TSA and, you know, allow civilian employees of the Coast Guard to at least receive pay during a very critical time, as you point out as well, while still then leaving those reforms for a little bit later because they do seem to still be getting funding through the appropriations laid out in the funding bill earlier this year?

HARIDOPOLOS: Good point, Omar. And that's one of the reasons why we're having this conversation. That's why we asked to simply say, let's take what is called a CR, a continuing resolution, continuing the current funding formula for eight more weeks so that TSA, Coast Guard, Secret Service agents, FEMA, they're funded and they deserve to be funded. They're working hard every single day. They deserve to get paid. And that's why we said, let's give it eight more weeks to work out the ICE issue, what reforms need to be made.

But in the meantime, pay these people and take the burden off the public who are waiting on lines for no apparent reason, in my opinion, at airports. These folks who work for TSA, they work hard every day. They protect us. They need to get paid. That's why we say, let's continue eight more weeks of pay and then find out where we are. And I am glad that President Trump is going to use some funds that are available to pay these TSA agents because they are being very much overworked, and we're losing too many right now. I think around 500 because of this chaotic situation in Washington, D.C.

JIMENEZ: Do you wish President Trump's plan to pay those workers had happened sooner?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, look, I can't go -- I might have been a history teacher, but I can't go back in history. And so I think what we wanted to say in the House of Representatives is very clear. If the Republicans really read that bill closely I think in the Senate that came out at 3:00 in the morning, they would see that border security and ICE would have been slashed around 7,000 DHS jobs in total, and we didn't want to do that.

Again we really pride ourselves in finally securing the border. And so I'm glad that the president has moved forward. And let's also remember so your viewers know, whenever this ridiculous stalemate ends, the good news is that all those persons will not only get paid, but will get backpay as well for their services that have already been rendered.

JIMENEZ: Well, the question is, of course, when will that backpay come when, you know, you all come back from recess? You will have that to work out. You know, there's one thing I want to ask you about because you're on the Science, Space and Technology Committee as well. We've got four astronauts getting ready to blast off into space from your state for the first human mission toward the moon, or at least to prepare for going to the moon in more than half of a century. How significant is this? How are you viewing things here?

HARIDOPOLOS: Well, first, as the chairman of the Space Subcommittee in the Congress, I could not be more excited. I represent Kennedy Space Center. It's one of the things that bring all Americans together. Four amazing astronauts who are going to be circling the moon for the first time, Omar, since 1972. We couldn't be more excited. The space industry has become dominant here in the United States.

We're beating the Chinese on both of course NASA related missions and also commercial and military satellites that are being put up in the space. It's going to be a great week for America to come together, see four brave astronauts go around the moon and we're preparing for a moon landing in 2028 under the very able leadership of our new NASA director, Jared Isaacman, who has really hit the ground running.

JIMENEZ: Well, and we've been showing up on the screen right now Artemis II set to launch this week on that historic moon mission to prepare for, again, what is expected to happen in just a few years' time. But we got this step first.

Congressman Mike Haridopolos, really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

HARIDOPOLOS: Thanks for your time, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Everyone, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:39:18]

JIMENEZ: As President Trump tries to navigate the high wire act of potentially putting U.S. troops on the ground in Iran, it appears he's been turning to his friends in the media for help. And I want to discuss how Trump is getting his Iran messaging out with CNN's chief media analyst, Brian Stelter.

So, Brian, what are you noticing here?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, two important questions as we enter another week of this war. One, where is the president getting his information? What are his sources? A recent NBC report indicated that he watches a highlight reel of strikes inside Iran, showcasing U.S. military successes. That raises concerns about whether he's being told the full story about the war day by day.

So where is he getting his information and who is he talking to in the press or in the media to get his message out?

[18:40:02]

For example, earlier today, Trump had a phone interview with a reporter from an Israeli TV network who relayed his messaging about the Iranians begging to negotiate. But check this out from yesterday. I thought this was a really interesting, revealing Truth Social post. Trump saying, "Hey, everybody, tune in to Mark Levin's show on FOX. He's going to have an interview with the, quote, 'brilliant Marc Thiessen tonight at 8:00 p.m."

So here you have Trump yesterday acting like a FOX News programmer urging everyone to tune in to FOX specifically because they'll discuss the importance of hitting Iran hard. Now, that strongly suggests to me that the president had talked to Levin or the guests ahead of time and knew what was coming up. So take a look. Here was Mark Levin, who is an Iran war hawk, urging the president to send in some forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LEVIN, FOX NEWS HOST: Troops on the ground. He said no troops on the ground. I don't remember that in any campaign speech either. But why would we need troops on the ground? Well, there's a lot of reasons, and we wouldn't need 300,000 of them. It's this uranium, too. We've got to get the uranium.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: You do hear Mark Levin there talking about the importance he believes in sending in some specialized U.S. forces into Iran. And Levin is not the only conservative commentator talking this way. It does appear that there's some softening of the ground going on. Some of Trump's hand-picked commentators who are advancing this idea and encouraging it. We know there's a feedback loop that exists where Trump sometimes talks to these hosts, yes, but he's also influenced by them by watching it on television.

So I think this weekend we see that feedback loop going in both directions, with Trump promoting Levin's show, Levin encouraging Trump to move forward. You see that going on, and it's really significant because there is a severe divide between Iraq war hawks and doves within the GOP. Mark Levin is in a shouting match every day with figures like Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson, going back and forth on social media platforms like X.

So that divide is real even though it's not really showing up in polling data for how MAGA Republicans feel about the war, it's very real among conservative commentators. And you have Iraq-Iran war hawks like Levin certainly encouraging the president to move forward further to escalate this war.

JIMENEZ: You know, the messaging from the administration overall, though, they have their own strategy there. But today, in particular, the administration wasn't really out in front on the Sunday morning shows to defend their efforts in the war.

STELTER: That's right. That's right. And it's important to observe that.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And just what does that signal to you?

STELTER: Look, it's not the first Sunday where we've seen these administration officials absent. People like Marco Rubio, who would be very important to talk with, who would certainly have a lot of questions to field. They continue to decline those interview requests. It's not the first Sunday this has happened, so we should continue to note it. I think there was one interview on one of the shows. Maybe Mike Waltz was on one of the shows.

But in general, I checked in with several different network sources. These requests for officials from the White House and the Defense Department continue to be declined. So that is telling in and of itself. Another factoid, by the way, it's been almost two weeks since the Pentagon held one of those news briefings. But I think 10 days since there's been a daily briefing at the Pentagon, certainly not a daily briefing schedule at all, as people continue to have questions about the war effort.

JIMENEZ: And we're not really hearing much out of Iran either, at least directly. I mean, Netblocks says its internet blackout is now in its 30th day. What do we know there?

STELTER: I think it's so important to observe this and remind ourselves every so often about this. Try to notice what's not happening, what we're not seeing, what we're not able to hear. Netblocks saying this is day 30 of the internet blackout in Iran, saying the nationwide censorship measure continues into its fifth week. Metrics show that connectivity to the outside world remains in just 1 percent of ordinary levels.

Try to imagine, right, for folks watching in the U.S. or other countries if the internet was suddenly choked off and then missing, gone for a month because that's been the experience for the average person inside Iran. Now, there are some ways to get around the blockades. Starlink connections are proving really valuable. We've had some sources inside Iran send voice memos.

They're able to get those out at various points for various reasons, but it is very difficult day to day to have a sense of what it is like for the average Iranian living through this war, and that internet blackout is a big reason why.

JIMENEZ: All right. Brian Stelter, appreciate the reporting, as always.

Still ahead for us in the CNN NEWSROOM, the warning from energy experts that the so-called oil shock crisis is just beginning. We'll talk about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:12]

JIMENEZ: One month into the war in Iran, oil prices are expected to creep up when markets open tomorrow morning.

Let's take a quick look. Right now the futures trading is underway. Brent crude right around $108 a barrel. West Texas over $100, $102.52 as it's showing right now. But the war has had a huge effect on the price of gas. Today's national average, for example, for a gallon of regular, is $3.98. That is $1 higher than when the war started just last month. Meanwhile, diesel has jumped almost $2 to $5.41 a gallon. And keep in mind, the highest recorded national price was $5.81 back in 2022.

Now, earlier this week, President Trump announced he would relax some environmental regulations on gasoline so companies can make cheaper gas and hopefully lower some prices.

[18:50:01]

But I want to bring in international energy consultant and former White House energy adviser Bob McNally.

So, Bob, do you think the president's announcement will actually make an impact there?

BOB MCNALLY, PRESIDENT, RAPIDAN GROUP: Hi, Omar. Look, he's doing the right thing. Also easing the Jones Act to make it easier for the coasts in the United States to get gasoline. So there are good steps. But will it make an impact? I'm afraid not.

The price of gasoline that we pay at the pump is most importantly driven by the price of crude oil. And as you noted in futures, it's already rising up $2 a barrel. I'm afraid crude oil prices will march higher. And with it, gasoline prices.

JIMENEZ: Well, I mean, the gasoline prices, you know, tied to the global oil market, which obviously is in huge disruption right now. The Philippines, for example, said this week the country has only about 40 to 45 days' worth of petroleum left. And I just wonder, from your perspective as an industry expert, I mean, how dire could this be for smaller countries? And do you anticipate a domino effect of that?

MCNALLY: Yes, it's a particularly dire situation for small, heavily import dependent countries that don't have large strategic stocks, especially for refined products like gasoline and diesel. You don't hold a lot of stocks. So for these countries, there's a real risk of running out. And we're starting to see that. They're at the end of the supply chain. They may not be able to afford the high prices. But, Omar, this is going to roll from Asia into Europe and come to the

United States. We'll be last to be hit, but we will still be hit. Now, I don't think we're going to have shortages as long as we don't implement price caps or anything. But consumers here are going to feel the price effects of what Asian countries are experiencing, you know, physically, even with the loss of supply. So I'm afraid it's a global oil market starting in Asia. It's coming here as well.

JIMENEZ: Well, and part of that, too, just to expand on your point, is many East Asian countries import the majority of their oil from the passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which is obviously at the center of this war right now. And, you know, as I mentioned that, this is happening because Iran virtually closed it in response to the war. But Iran is expected to sit down with U.S. officials in Pakistan next week to discuss de-escalation at the very least, potentially facilitated through Pakistan.

Are you encouraged by that? I wonder, just as an industry expert, how do you judge sort of the immediacy of diplomatic efforts that obviously can change at any moment?

MCNALLY: Omar, I wish I could be optimistic, but what we've seen for weeks now are talks, rumors, reports of negotiations, of ceasefire, of de-escalation. Meanwhile, the war expands. Over the weekend, the Houthis started attacking Israel. So the Houthis are now joining the war, threatening the 4.2 or so million barrels a day of oil that goes through the Bab El-Mandeb choke point.

So traders, I think, are going to start tuning out a lot of these optimistic reports and verbal intervention, if you will, and they're going to keep their eyes on who's getting in this war, how it's expanding, and whether we're starting to see cargoes go through the Strait of Hormuz. So I wish I could be more optimistic, but I think experience is taught. And as far as I can tell now, there's no reason to be overly hopeful about a near-term ceasefire or negotiations to de-escalate.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, I want to go back to something you were talking about earlier when we were sort of talking about the domino effect of potential shortages in East Asia and how that could trickle over to the United States. Can you just give us -- essentially explain why it is that the global prices for oil affect the United States so much? Because it's not necessarily because the United States is in danger of a shortage in the same way that prices would, you would think prices would typically jump.

MCNALLY: Right. It's a great question. I get it all the time. We have all the oil we need. We export. Why should we be paying higher prices? Because oil, the price we pay at the pump depends on the price of crude oil. You use crude oil to make the gasoline. Crude oil is globally traded. It's very fungible. It's very actively traded around the world. And the price is set in global price setting markets.

That's just the way oil works. Some folks have talked about it like a bathtub where the line of the water in the bathtub is the price. So you have some countries pouring water into the bathtub, some countries draining out, but everybody faces the same, if you will, water level or price for gasoline around the world.

JIMENEZ: And you know, before we go, I just, at this point, I mean, how, what do you expect to happen moving forward? How should businesses be planning? What are you telling people, you know, sort of as companies and other industry experts try to navigate this period here?

[18:55:03]

MCNALLY: Yes. So my firm, Rapidan Energy Group, we saw this coming and advised our clients it would last longer than everyone expected. And it has. I think we have many more weeks to go. I think oil prices, crude oil will march continually higher and follow -- and gasoline will follow along with it.

Now, how does it end? What stops prices from rising? Well, the best case would be a ceasefire. That could happen tomorrow. It could happen in a week, in two weeks. Ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices will fall sharply. The other way is that the U.S. military stops Iran from threatening those ships. That may take a little longer, but that could happen.

The sad way, Omar, the bad way to stop the oil price increase is that prices have to go high enough to contribute to a recession. Once you hurt the economic growth, that is a -- it's a brutal way, but an effective way of killing oil demand, which then will cap the price. We don't want to see that, though.

JIMENEZ: Important to understand all the possibilities on the table, though.

Bob McNally, really appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

MCNALLY: You bet. Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, a former acting director for ICE joins us live to talk about the presence of ICE agents at some airports during the DHS shutdown, and whether it's helping. Stay tuned.

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