Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Oil Prices Rose as U.S. President Trump Threatens Iran's Energy Sites; Grandson of Cuba's Revolutionary Leader Spoke to CNN. Aired 3- 3:45a ET

Aired March 31, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hey everybody, welcome to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Polo Sandoval, in for Rosemary Church and here's what's coming your way.

Explosions and power outages in Iran and mixed messages from the White House. President Trump threatening extreme consequences unless a deal is reached soon, but also casting a positive light on what they describe as negotiations.

And U.S. crude settles above $100 a barrel. It's the first time in years with ripple effects around the globe.

And later, we'll be taking you to Cuba. We also have an exclusive interview with Fidel Castro's influencer grandson.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: All right, we do want to begin in the Middle East where we are currently seeing the latest exchange of missiles between Israel and Iran. We're following reports of a new barrage of missiles fired at central Israel in the last half hour. More on that as soon as it comes in.

And a few hours ago, video geolocated by CNN showing several large explosions in Esfahan, Iran. This overnight bombardment coming on the heels of Israel's wide-scale wave of strikes across Iran's capital on Monday.

Those explosions, you see them lighting up the night sky. And then earlier in Jerusalem, smoke trails could be left, were left, I should say, by intercepted missiles. You could see them across the sky there.

The conflict, it is still wreaking havoc across the entire region. Kuwait's state media is reporting that Iranian strikes hit a large Kuwaiti crude carrier that was anchored in Dubai. No injuries have been reported, and all 24 crew members aboard are safe at this hour.

And the White House says the talks to end the war with Iran, that they are going well, despite Tehran denying that they're even happening. But U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is admitting that there are questions surrounding Iran's current leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's very opaque right now. It's not quite clear how decisions are being made inside of Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And despite claims by the administration that it is making diplomatic headway in Iran, President Trump is threatening to, quote, obliterate Iran's energy sites if a deal to end the war is not reached and the Strait of Hormuz is not fully reopened. Here's what the White House had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOU.S.E PRESS SECRETARY: Of course, this administration and the United States Armed Forces will always act within the confines of the law. But with respect to achieving the full objectives of Operation Epic Fury, President Trump is going to move forward unabated, and he expects the Iranian regime to make a deal with the administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: That's the latest from the White House. Let's go now and get the latest of what's happening in the Middle East and head over to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who's live in Abu Dhabi. Paula, go ahead.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, we have been seeing heavy bombardment across Iran overnight in Isfahan, in the city there. We saw a number of explosions footage showing those explosions. In fact, in one of them, you can actually see the minarets of the Grand Mosul Mosque in the foreground as flames fill the sky there.

Now, we also know in the capital, in Tehran, there have been power cuts throughout the night. According to Fars News Agency, they say that a substation was hit by shrapnel from one of the airstrikes, although they claim that that has now been fixed. We have also seen that there was an Israeli military warning in one area of Tehran overnight as well, posting on social media, posting on X, that civilians should leave the area because there will be an attack in coming minutes.

Now, this was a couple of hours ago that this warning came in, and it's worth pointing out as well, if this is the only way that civilians there are warned, there is a complete internet blackout in Iran, so this would not have reached people in that area at all. We're trying to find out whether that strike went ahead.

But we are seeing the civilian death toll within Iran rising. We've heard from the Iranian Red Crescent that some 1900 people have been killed so far.

[03:05:03]

They don't give a breakdown of civilians versus military, but there have been increasing criticisms from some human rights groups of the number of civilians, including children, that appear to have been caught up in this violence.

Now, we know that going the other way as well, that there have just been some missiles and drones or projectiles, I should say, fired towards central Israel. Alerts have sounded there. We're waiting to see if there has been any damage.

And then we know through the night certain Gulf nations as well were impacted by Iranian projectiles, including hitting an oil tanker off Dubai. We understand that Saudi Arabia intercepted a number of projectiles as well. So the military reality on the ground is not being impacted at this point, despite the fact that the Trump administration claims that diplomacy is moving forward.

We heard from the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday, and she said talks are continuing and going well, also pointing out that what's being said publicly by Iranian officials is very different to what they are saying behind the scenes, saying that they are speaking to negotiators who appear more reasonable than previous leaders. We still don't know exactly who they are speaking to at this point and whether or not they are the ones in charge.

Certainly the Revolutionary Guard Corps would be the ones that appear to be running the show at the moment, although Secretary of State Marco Rubio did say in an interview, quote, "it's not quite clear how decisions are being made inside of Iran," suggesting that the leadership is in fact fractured.

But we are seeing positive sounds coming from the Trump administration. We heard President Trump say on Monday that he believes that most of the 15-points that he put forward as a way out of this war that was handed to Iran by Pakistan, he said most of those points were accepted by Iran.

We heard something very different from the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, though he said that it was largely excessive, unrealistic and unreasonable demand. So it's very difficult to get clarity on exactly how the diplomacy is progressing at this point, as we are hearing something very different from both sides.

But we are hearing from Pakistan that they are willing to try and have some kind of a meeting in the coming days. Now, no confirmation that that will in fact happen there. Polo.

SANDOVAL: Yes, the U.S. and Iran, each with their own version of what's happening right now. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for bringing us up to speed as always with that live report out of Abu Dhabi.

And President Trump's claims that talks with Iran are going well. It isn't really doing much to calm some of the volatile oil markets. In fact, let's give you more or less an idea of where markets sit right now.

The global benchmark Brent crude that topped $116 a barrel on Monday before settling at $112, West Texas intermediate crude in the U.S., that benchmark about $103 there as well. A slight increase in prices there as we continue to follow them on this Tuesday.

Let's bring in our CNN's Eleni Giokos, who's tracking the very latest from Dubai. As you look at some of these markets right now, is there any sort of reverse course at all that analysts are expecting?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, even if there is a reverse course and the war ends today, the messaging I'm getting from not only analysts, but economists as well as other experts in the industry, they say that the supply disruption that we see is not like a light switch that you can turn off and then back on very quickly. You are seeing massive supply shock that has hit all parts of the world.

And the IMF actually came out and sort of gave us an overall realistic perspective on what's going on. They're saying this is an asymmetric global shock.

Now, we know the war is asymmetrical, but what we're seeing in terms of the global shock is that you'll have winners and losers in all of this. The Strait of Hormuz tanker traffic has plunged and this is such an important graph to see. Before the war began, you saw the tankers and other cargo vessels passing through really big amounts and then just a trickle over the past month. Iran still has effective control over the Strait.

You heard that story about the Kuwaiti tanker that was directly targeted by an Iranian drone and it just shows the danger of passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

But importantly, the IMF says that the war is going to shape the global economy in different ways. And they say all roads lead to higher prices and slower growth. They're going to create a short conflict, might send oil and gas prices soaring before markets adjust, while a long one could keep energy expensive in strained countries that rely on imports.

[03:10:05]

That is the reality we're now facing. And the way that it's sort of manifesting itself is we're seeing shortages mostly in Asia. But then Korean Air came out today and said they're turning into emergency mode because usually fuel costs account for around 30 percent of overall costs.

They're saying those costs are now going to double. The International Air Transport Association say that jet fuel prices have now doubled over the past month. So we're seeing a shortage of these downstream products, Polo, that are already having a massive impact.

And you're going to see inflation feeding through at a global level. Markets in the meantime, Asia is slightly mixed today. But overall, there is major concern because we don't know about the duration of this war, how quickly it will end and how quickly we can get supply back up to normal levels.

SANDOVAL: Yes, that graphic that you showed us, Eleni, it's absolutely incredible. It tells the story of how sharp that traffic plummeted at the beginning of the month. It really tells you everything and then you still see some traffic, a very minimal amount of traffic, but a reminder of viewers.

Many of those Iranian ships, many of them headed to China. Certainly none with any sort of U.S. interest there. Hence, the White House hoping for freedom of navigation there.

Eleni Giokos, as always, thank you so much for walking us through all that. I really appreciate it.

Well ahead, an exclusive interview with a new generation of the Castro family. What the grandson of Fidel Castro has to say about Cuba's government, the energy crisis and why he's a sign of possible changing times in Cuba.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: A Russian flagged oil tanker has now reached the waters just off of Cuba after President Trump allowed it to break a U.S. fuel blockade. The tanker is reportedly carrying nearly 730,000 barrels of oil. But experts say that that may only offer limited economic and humanitarian relief as Cuba struggles with a deepening energy crisis.

The White House says that allowing the ship to reach Cuba does not signal a policy change, but rather it was meant to provide humanitarian help to the people of Cuba.

And among the Cubans now dealing with frequent blackouts is the grandson of former leader Fidel Castro, nightclub owner Sandro Castro. He is a critic of the current government, he sat down with our own Patrick Oppmann in this exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this social media satire video, Donald Trump arrives in Cuba to buy the island.

Well, this Trump is a fake. He's dealing with a real member of the Castro family. Fidel Castro's grandson, Sandro Castro, an influencer and nightclub impresario who says he has no interest in politics. The very public face of an otherwise still mysterious family that has held power in Cuba for nearly seven decades.

At an interview in his apartment in Havana, Sandro Castro says he is a sign of the changing times on the communist-run island.

OPPMANN: And what would your grandfather, Fidel Castro, say that you're more capitalist than communist? SANDRO CASTRO, FIDEL CASTRO'S GRANDSON, AND SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER

(translated): My grandfather was a person who had his principles like everyone else. But also he respected others' opinions. That's my way of thinking.

OPPMANN: But all the capitalists had to leave Cuba.

CASTRO (translated): There are many people in Cuba that think in a capitalistic way. There are many people here who want to have capitalism with sovereignty

OPPMANN (voice-over): When we arrive for the interview, the neighborhood Castro lives in is in a blackout, a near constant condition these days with the U.S. oil blockade and power plants breaking down.

Sandro Castro's apartment is lit by an electric generator. But from his balcony, the surrounding houses are in near total darkness. He shows me his one-bedroom bachelor pad, how he lacks paint for the wall, how his fridge is nearly empty, except for the Cuban beer he's always drinking.

I point out that the appliance is a foreign brand that most Cubans could never hope to afford. His famous last name, Sandro Castro wants people to know, doesn't come with any special treatment in a Cuba on the edge of economic collapse.

CASTRO (translated): We have to fight as we say in Cuba. It's tough, so tough. Because you suffer through thousands of problems.

In a day, there might be no electricity, no water. Goods don't arrive. It's so hard, really hard.

OPPMANN: But being a Castro must help you.

CASTRO (translated): My name is my name, I am proud of my name logically. But I don't see this help you are talking about. I am one more citizen.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Cuba faces unprecedented U.S. pressure, to open politically and economically. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, has been reaching out to Cuban officials, including members of the Castro family.

In one of his videos, Sandro Castro pretends to receive a call from Rubio, who he then hangs up on. Rubio has said Cuba needs new leadership, and that could include Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel stepping down. Despite Fidel and Raul Castro's support for Diaz-Canel over many years, Sandro Castro says he is no fan.

OPPMANN: Do you think President Diaz-Canel is doing a good job?

CASTRO (translated): I would not say he is doing a good job. For me, he is not doing a good job.

[03:20:01] There are a lot of things he should have been doing for a while now and today that is hurting our lives.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Cuba's leaders reject attempts to blame them for the crisis, and Sandro Castro says officials have questioned him about his often surreal and critical postings. As well, Cuban exiles regularly attack him online, he says.

OPPMANN: Why do you think there are people, though, that hate the Castro family so much?

CASTRO (translated): It's complicated. Many Cubans would have liked to have been capitalist. I think the majority of Cubans want to be capitalist, not communist.

That has created many differences, a hatred which is not productive.

OPPMANN (voice-over): Sandro Castro says he supports Trump's calls to open the economy, if not his threats against the island. At the end of his video, he takes a U.S. leader on a tour of Havana. Hope from at least one member of the Castro family, that historic deal with the U.S. and opening on the island are possible.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: It's an absolutely fascinating story.

Now to some scary moments aboard a jetliner over South America. A mechanical issue forced a Delta Airlines flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil, bound for Atlanta, to return to the airport shortly after takeoff. Here's why.

Delta not really offering a whole lot of information at this point about this incident, but this video taken by one of the passengers on board showing sparks and even flames coming from the aircraft's left engine. In the video, you can actually hear passengers pleading in the background for the plane to turn around and head back to the airport.

In this video from a plane spotter that we also want to show you, you can see not long after takeoff that engine, some flames coming from that engine, I should say. And then the plane continued to ascend. Nearly 300 people were on board the flight.

Fortunately, no injuries reported there.

CNN's Pete Muntean spoke with travelers in Maryland about the shorter lines and longer than expected partial shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: The woman who arrived here at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport nine hours early with a folding chair, probably not going to need to use it because this is the line right now at the security seat checkpoint here at BWI. The wait time's gone from about three hours on Friday and Saturday to

about three minutes now, thanks in part to the fact that TSA workers are now getting paid. They just got back pay for some of the paychecks they did not get during this historic government shutdown impacting the Department of Homeland Security.

I want you to listen to that passenger. Her name is Wanda Pharris. She's going back to Huntsville, Alabama, and she is acutely aware that this is only a ban day, that it's now up to Congress, which is on recess, to make a long-term fix here.

WANDA PHARRIS, TRAVELER: Yes, it's at 8:00 tonight, but I must be home. And I couldn't stand in the lines that long, so I did, in fact, I had a back chair to bring with me in case I had to stand. I think our lawmakers need to really come together and remember why you are in Washington, D.C.

You're for the people. You're here to work for us.

MUNTEAN: On Friday, only two of four TSA checkpoints were open here at BWI. The number of TSA workers who have called out sick has gone up a little bit, and the latest data from the TSA is that on Sunday, 38.5 percent of them called out sick here at BWI alone. There's a bit of a lag in those numbers, so we'll see as we get new information.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Linthicum, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Instead of calm, we go inside Israel's military operations in southern Lebanon and show you how civilians on both sides of the border are coping.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, and these are today's top stories.

Dozens of people have been killed in Western Haiti as armed gangs attack civilians and burn homes. Haitian authorities confirmed that at least 16 people were killed on Sunday in the country's agricultural region. Rights groups estimated that the death toll had risen to as many as 70 people by Monday.

Desperately needed oil arriving in Cuba. A Russian flag tanker carrying nearly 730,000 barrels of oil reached the country's waters after President Trump allowed it to break a current U.S. fuel blockade. The White House says the move does not signal overall policy change.

Kuwait's state media reporting that Iranian strikes hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker anchored in Dubai. Officials from Dubai confirming that they have successfully put out the fire on board the vessel and that all 24 crew members on board are safe. Kuwait's petroleum corporation says that the tanker was fully loaded, authorities say no oil leakage has been reported following the strike.

Israel is ramping up its military operations in southern Lebanon and also expanding its so-called buffer zone against Hezbollah. CNN's Jim Sciutto shows us the conflict from the other side of the border in northern Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST (voice-over): It's a fact of life on Israel's northern border that incoming Hezbollah fire comes frequently and without warning.

[03:30:02]

SCIUTTO: So this is life up in the north. They say about 40 warnings like that a day. We just had two of them in the span of five minutes.

A combination of rockets, sometimes anti-tank missiles, but also increasingly drones. And some of them can't be intercepted.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): The kibbutz Kfar Galadi lies just about a mile from the border with Lebanon. After the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attacks, Israel evacuated communities like these. But during this war, they're staying.

NISAN ZEEVI, ISRAELI SECURITY SQUAD VOLUNTEER: You know our children in the shelter for more than 29 days in a shelter. Not allowing to go out. You know all this the economic ecosystem collapse.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): What's different now is that Israeli forces are pushing into southern Lebanon. They say to push Hezbollah further back.

This company commander, the IDF only allows us to identify him as Captain "M," regularly leads operations inside Lebanon.

SCIUTTO: What leads you to go across? Is it a particular threat or is it just establishing a regular presence?

CAPTAIN "M", ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: It's a bit of both. More often than not, it's a concrete threat that we'll get from the intelligence that we have terrorists that are trying to come near the border, that we have ammunition that is stored somewhere, that there are tunnels that are stored, whatever it is.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Visiting the north himself Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israeli forces would push even further into Lebanon.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In Lebanon, just instructed to further expand the existing security zone in order to decisively thwart the threat of invasion and to push anti- tank missile fire away from our border. SCIUTTO (voice-over): It's a move that Zeevi and other northern

residents welcome.

ZEEVI: This time the IDF actually did what us, the civil society that settled here years ago, expect them to do.

SCIUTTO: Which is?

ZEEVI: To go in front of us, not behind us. We cannot be the first line with Hezbollah.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): The Israeli government now speaks of military operations all the way up to the Litani River, some 20 miles into Lebanese territory. To create this so-called buffer zone, Israel has now forced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians from their homes in the southern part of the country.

And yet, Hezbollah fire continues. Today, the IDF is prepared to operate inside Lebanon for as long as they are ordered to.

CAPTAIN "M": I can tell you that when we get an order, we will do whatever we need to do. And I think and I want to believe that the army will make decisions for what is best for the Israeli civilians that live here.

SCIUTTO (voice-over): The questions for Israel are, how much further into Lebanon and for how long? For now, Israeli officials leave those questions unanswered.

Jim Sciutto, Kfar Galadi, Northern Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And we're following breaking news from central Israel, where it's just past 10:30 Tuesday morning.

Israeli police say that several cars have caught fire in Tel Aviv, and this after being struck by missile fragments that fell in central Israel after a new barrage was fired by Iran. The Israeli military says that currently that there are search and rescue forces that are on the ground, they've been deployed. However, there are no reported casualties at this time.

An IDF spokesperson tells CNN that the damage appeared to be from a cluster munition. More on this developing situation as it comes into CNN.

We'll be back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: And welcome back to CNN, it's time now for your Business Breakout. Here are some of your headlines.

The war with Iran, it's taking its toll on the price of air travel. A new report says that the cost of jet fuel, it has more than doubled since the start of the conflict. The price hike has led many to increase their fuel surcharges.

Korean Air, for example, is now switching to what it calls emergency management mode starting in April as fuel prices soar due to the war with Iran. The airline's Vice Chairman says that fuel costs, those account for about 30 percent of their expenses, similar to other airlines. But that could more than double if oil prices remain high, he says that the company is monitoring whether it will need to change its flight schedules.

And the French senate, it is set to vote on Tuesday on a proposed bill that would ban social media for children under 15 years old. Many teens, they've criticized this proposal as you can imagine. They say that the platforms like Instagram and TikTok help them communicate and share memories with friends, but some parents, they see the ban as essential, raising safety and mental health concerns.

The U.S. Justice Department, it is taking a closer look at prediction markets to see whether they violate insider trading laws. Platforms including PolyMarket and Kalshi, they have exploded in popularity in the past year. And they've allowed some users to reap massive profits of real world events.

[03:40:10]

CNN's Kara Scannell with this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sources tell CNN that federal prosecutors in Manhattan are exploring whether certain trades in the prediction markets have violated U.S. laws, including insider trading.

Sources say that prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan recently met with members of PolyMarket, that's one of the leading platforms that has prediction markets. The meeting was conducted by the chiefs of the Securities Fraud and Commodities Fraud Unit and involved those officials with PolyMarket. They were there to discuss the U.S. laws and how they apply to this new space.

This comes just a few weeks after the U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton was speaking at an industry event where he said he expected there to be criminal prosecutions of trades in this space. And sources say that one of the trades that prosecutors are examining is a trade that was timed around the ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office told me with regard to so- called prediction markets, our office has made clear that various laws, including insider trading laws, anti-money laundering laws, laws prohibiting manipulation and various anti-fraud laws, are applicable to a wide range of observed activity. A spokesperson for PolyMarket told us that PolyMarket sets, maintains

and enforces the highest standards of market integrity. We also proactively work with regulators and law enforcement to reinforce those standards.

This is coming in during a time of explosive growth in the industry with big bets being made on geopolitical events and other things, including the outcome of "The Bachelor" television series. It's caught the attention of lawmakers.

There's been a bipartisan bill introduced to try to make the rules of the road clear. The industry themselves are also taking steps to try to shore up the confidence in their marketplace.

Last week, PolyMarket announced that insider trading was banned on its platform and discussed some surveillance steps that it is taking. Kalshi, another prediction market that has a partnership with CNN where CNN uses its data, also has announced several specific areas where they are banning particular types of trade by certain actors in the same industry.

It's all coming as there's so much attention in this space, there's so much growth in the industry, and it remains to be seen how these investigations will turn out.

Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And it seems that some criminals have quite the sweet tooth.

You see thieves in Europe, they made off with a truck full of KitKat candy bars. The truck was on its way from Italy to Poland and was carrying some 12 tons of chocolate covered wafers. Nestle says over 400,000 KitKats were stolen, still no sign of them.

A spokesman says that they applaud the thieves because of their good taste, at least in chocolate, but they would like their chocolate back.

And from the entire team, we do want to thank you so much for watching us here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Polo Sandoval, in New York. We'll leave you with "World Sport."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)