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Iran War may End within Two to Three Weeks, per U.S. President Trump; Pope Leo Hopeful for Trump to Seek Off-Ramp in Ending Iran War. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired April 01, 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]

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Just ahead as Israel and Iran trade another round of strikes, a photojournalist shares a rare look inside Iran amid the ongoing war.

Europe and the rest of the world are grappling with the consequences of that war as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in one of the most significant cases yet when President Trump's second term, the future of birthright citizenship.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Lynda Kinkade.

KINKADE: Right now we're following the latest exchange of fire between Israel and Iran. Israeli authorities say at least 16 people, including a child, have been wounded after Iranian strikes hit Tel Aviv and a suburb earlier. The IDF says it has completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure in Tehran.

On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command released video of what appears to be military operations targeting Iran. CENTCOM says it struck underground military targets. Well the White House says President Trump will deliver an address to the nation today, it comes as the President announced his new timeline for the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: With two or three weeks, we'll leave because there's no reason for us to do this. We have had regime change.

Now regime change was not one of the things I had as a goal. I had one goal, they will have no nuclear weapon and that goal has been attained.

They will not have nuclear weapons, but were finishing the job. And I think within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer to do the job

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well, Tehran says it is prepared for a much longer fight. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed President Trump's claims saying the end of the war is imminent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We can see the finish line. It's not today, it's not tomorrow, but it is coming. We are going to get to the point where our military will have achieved all of its objectives in this mission and they're doing so with extraordinary efficiency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks, who joins us live from Abu Dhabi. Good to have you with us, Paula.

So, President Trump has suggested the U.S. could end the military operation in Iran in two to three weeks, even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely shut. Is Israel on board with this? What are you hearing from those in the region?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, certainly what we've heard publicly from the Israeli Prime Minister is that the U.S. and Israel are in lockstep. That they are certainly on the same page when it comes to the objectives, to the targets, and it is expected that Israel will end their operations in Iran when the United States decides to. It might be different in southern Lebanon, though.

We have been hearing from the defense minister, for example, that this so-called buffer zone that they are creating in southern Lebanon, so pushing Hezbollah and many thousands of civilians away from the border, that they could potentially continue to occupy that area. We've certainly heard that said publicly.

So it's uncertain whether they will end their operations in Lebanon, and of course they do have that third front as well, with the Houthi rebels in Yemen firing missiles against Israel. So it is expected that Israel will go along with the United States, at least when it comes to Iran.

We heard the Israeli military a couple of days ago now saying that in coming days they would have hit all of their high priority, top priority targets that they had on their list. So they are coming to the end of at least what they consider to be top priority.

Now when it comes to nations in the rest of the Gulf, they do not all speak with one voice clearly, but the UAE, for example, officials here have said that they are not looking necessarily just for a ceasefire, they need to have guarantees that this won't happen again. And of course, if the Islamic regime survives in Iran, and if they still retain the capability to terrorize neighbors in the future, that is not necessarily going to be what the UAE, for one, would desire. Lynda. [03:05:01]

KINKADE: And Paula, President Trump has said negotiations with Iran were progressing well, but Iran's foreign minister has spoken saying there is no trust, there's zero trust. Just give us some context on that and the prospects for diplomacy here.

HANCOCKS: It is very difficult to know exactly where negotiations stand at this point because the public declarations of the U.S. and Iran are so vastly different. Now we have heard President Trump being very positive, saying that he believes two to three weeks this will be over, saying that Iran wants a deal more than we want a deal.

But of course what we're hearing from Tehran is very different. Abbas Aragchi, the foreign minister speaking to Al Jazeera, said that they're prepared for at least six months of war.

Now clearly that's not what the U.S. would want as that takes them up to the midterm elections in the United States. But Aragchi also saying we don't set any deadlines for defending ourselves, saying there are no direct talks, but they are receiving messages from, for example, Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy. Lynda.

KINKADE: All right. Good to have you with us. Paula Hancocks for us in Abu Dhabi, thank you.

With widespread internet and communications blackouts, it's very difficult for the outside world to hear how it feels to live in Iran right now. But we are getting a rare look from a photojournalist who spoke to CNN's Jim Sciutto earlier, she described the mood inside the country as U.S. and Israeli forces continue their war with the Islamic regime. Because the internet blackout continues, the video and audio quality are poor, but this perspective is vital to hear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YALDA MOA.I.ERY, IRANIAN PHOTOJOURNALIST: So this situation is like this. A lot of people got killed, a lot of civilians are going to die now.

The city is like a (inaudible) city, the prices are going up every hour, the internet is blocked for more than one month so people cannot connect to the free world. And this is terrible actually.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: President Trump and Israeli leaders keep saying they want the Iranian people to rise up against their government. Is that at all possible from what you see?

MOA.I.ERY: No, it's not possible at all. A lot of unarmed men are in the streets with their guns and weapons and everything. You cannot do anything against them.

I mean, a lot of checkpoints are in the streets and a lot of supporters are in the streets, so people cannot do anything. It's completely nonsense. SCIUTTO: Do you believe the regime, the government, has been weakened

at all? Because, again, U.S. and Israeli leaders say the regime might fall.

MOA.I.ERY: When you are living here, I mean, on the ground, you cannot feel such a thing.

A lot of militia people are in the streets. As you can see, nothing has been changed. I don't know how Donald Trump (inaudible) change the regime.

I cannot really understand it.

SCIUTTO: What about the effect on your lives? The power outages, electricity, the smoke from the fires?

MOA.I.ERY: We do not know if we have water or electricity or not. The sounds of the bombs, the smokes are everywhere.

When you are driving in the city, you can see it. And it's all the time every hour. People are really tired of this.

SCIUTTO: Do you have hope that the war will help you?

MOA.I.ERY: I have to say that people are hopeful that the regime will end this war. But there is no evidence in the city that it is on the ground. But people are very hopeful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Well President Trump says gas prices will come tumbling down once the U.S. leaves Iran. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is $4.02, according to the AAA, that's up more than a dollar in the past month. Oil prices are still more than $100 a barrel for the global benchmark Brent Crude.

Let's bring in CNN's Eleni Giokos tracking the latest from Dubai. Good to have you with us, Eleni.

So Brent Crude holding just over $100 a barrel, forecast sharply higher. U.S. gas here, the average is now over $4 a gallon for the first time in years. In some parts, especially in California, it's more than double that.

Markets have responded positively to President Trump saying he's going to end the war in the next couple of weeks. Just break this all down for us, if you will.

[03:10:08]

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really interesting. I'm looking at the Brent Crude price in WTI. It was higher this morning.

And now it's down around 3.5 percent, which I think really is indicative of the optimism that perhaps President Trump's message has injected into the market in terms of a timeline, another timeline that was given of around two to three weeks before the United States unwinds the war, even if they're not going to secure the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

So Brent Crude sitting at $100 a barrel. But I want to remind you that over the past month, Brent Crude is up 60 percent. You mentioned $4 a gallon, the average price of gas in the United States, that's up 35 percent over the past month.

And importantly, the Strait of Hormuz is still very much closed. President Trump saying you want the oil, come and fetch the oil yourself. What is interesting is I was looking at Asian markets this morning.

Remember, we're 33 days into this war. It is the first day of April and markets are just responding very positively.

You've seen major buying back, specifically in Japan, the Nikkei up around 5.2 percent, Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite and KOSPI all sitting much stronger. I mean, look at the KOSPI, it's up 8.5 percent.

And again, we have such a bad month of March. And I spoke to one trader this morning saying people are buying into the dip in the hope that there is going to be some kind of resolution going forward.

But given the overall scenarios that have been playing over the past week, where you're seeing conflicting messages, oscillating messages, you have military buildup of troops that have arrived to the Middle East. What they plan to do with those troops still remains to be seen, there isn't a decision made just yet.

But in fact, the assertion that the Strait of Hormuz is a Gulf and Asia problem really doesn't square up with reality. You're seeing jet fuel prices in North America that have risen 88 percent, the average jet fuel price for the whole world is up over 100 percent.

So that gives you sort of an idea of the overall chain reaction, the impact on global oil markets. The OECD says that inflation in G20 countries is going to hit over 4 percent.

And this is already having an inflationary impact. Fertilizer prices have increased. Some farmers are not getting access to fertilizer.

We're seeing the damage that has been made already in Asia. The question is how long is this damage to the markets going to last for? How long can this damage be taken without causing an immense economic shock?

What's interesting is even some countries have said, don't drive if you don't need to. Don't get on a plane.

Try and minimize your demand for fossil fuels. That's called demand destruction, Lynda. And that's the reality we're in right now.

For long as this continues, we're going to see massive impacts. I think that's going to touch everyone around the world. KINKADE: Yes, absolutely. And of course, there's temporary pauses on

taxes on oil in various countries across the border. Eleni Giokos in Dubai, thanks very much.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear one of the most significant cases this year. Up next, the unprecedented move President Trump is making as the justices debate his executive order limiting birthright citizenship.

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[03:15:00]

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KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade.

In the coming hours, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider the future of birthright citizenship. President Trump signed an executive order last year attempting to end the constitutional right that's been understood for more than a century, which is guaranteed citizenship for anyone born within the U.S.

Trump says he will be at the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in the case, his legal team argues that the law should not apply to children of people who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily. Every other court to consider the case has denied the argument.

This is one of the most significant cases the Supreme Court is considering this year. If birthright citizenship were ended, more than 6 million children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents could suddenly be denied citizenship, even though their parents are living here legally.

Paul Gowder is a professor of law at Northwestern University and he joins us now from Chicago. Great to have you with us.

PAUL GOWDER, PROF. OF LAW, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: Such a pleasure to be here.

KINKADE; So President Trump, who's personally tied to the case before the U.S. Supreme Court over birthright citizenship, over his executive actions, says he plans to be in the court tomorrow. What is he hoping to achieve?

GOWDER: By being in the courtroom, it's unclear. There's very little, in fact, there may be no precedent for a President showing up at a Supreme Court oral argument and it's generally considered inappropriate because, of course, the justices in the legal system like to believe that the Supreme Court's decisions are independent of political pressure and of the sort of looming presence of one of the other branches in the room.

KINKADE: The President today defended the move with regards to this case earlier. I just want to play some of that sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It had to do with the babies of slaves and the protection of the babies of slaves. It didn't have to do with the protection of multi-millionaires and billionaires wanting to have their children get an American citizenship. It is the craziest thing I've ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: What do you make of that argument? Is it really about preventing abuse by wealthy foreigners seeking U.S. citizenship for their children? Or, as critics argue, is it a broader effort to restrict immigration?

[03:19:54]

GOWDER: So it's clearly a broader effort to restrict immigration. Let's recall what Mr. Trump also tried to unilaterally create, what in other countries is called a golden visa, actually providing a pathway to residency, and hence, under his executive order, still to citizenship for the children of rich people who've paid enough money. So there's clearly no intention to keep foreign rich people from having American children.

On the babies of slaves thing, I think what we have to understand is that it's absolutely true that the purpose and the heart of the 14th Amendment was to ensure that freed people, as well as black northerners, were acknowledged as citizens under the Constitution after the Civil War.

But they, as well as the people who enacted the amendment in Congress, articulated a much broader universal theory of citizenship to explain why they were citizens. And it's that much broader theory of citizenship that the 14th Amendment puts into the text of the Constitution.

KINKADE: And how could this case test the limits of executive power under the Constitution?

GOWDER: Well, the President of the United States doesn't have the authority to unilaterally interpret the Constitution. Fundamentally, the authority of the President is, number one, to supervise the operations of the executive branch and make sure that they're complying with their duties to follow the law, and number two, to implement the laws that Congress has passed. He has a few independent duties in the Constitution, but there's no general authority to change the parameters of how the Constitution is interpreted.

KINKADE: I do want to ask you, if I can, about a separate legal development today. A federal judge has ordered the stop of the construction of the ballroom at the White House, ruling that the project can't move forward without approval from Congress.

Now, the President was asked about that earlier today. I want to play some of that sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I see right here, I just wrote it out. He said we need Congressional approval. Well, we've built many things at the White House over the years.

They don't get Congressional approval when they build in the White House. It's totally separate, and especially when it's a donation. I mean, the ballroom is a donation.

It's gotten great reviews. People love it. And Presidents for 150 years have wanted this ballroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: So does the President of the United States have any inherent authority to make major structural changes to the White House without Congress?

GOWDER: Absolutely not. The White House is federal property, just like any other property. And I think it's fair to say he talked about smaller changes.

And sure, there's a long-standing custom of allowing Presidents to, I don't know, change the window treatments and change which portraits are up, and these other kinds of changes in the use of the building in order to carry out their function as the chief executive. But until Donald Trump decided to do this, nobody thought that the President had the authority to just carry out a construction project and demolish and then rebuild part of any federal building, whether the White House or otherwise, without authorization in a statute.

And again, there's a broader principle here, which is ultimately the way that the Constitution was designed, policymaking about things like federal property, and even about how the executive branch should be organized, which department should exist, where they should be housed. All of those things were allocated to Congress and the Constitution, not the President.

KINKADE: Well as it stands, that construction site is going to sit idle for the foreseeable future as the appeals go through the courts. Paul Gowder, I appreciate your time today. Thanks so much.

GOWDER: Thank you for having me.

KINKADE: The war with Iran has oil prices in flux again today. Just ahead, we'll see how Europe is responding after President Trump tells them to go get their own oil.

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[03:25:00]

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KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade.

President Trump is signaling that the U.S. may step back from the war with Iran even if the world's most critical oil route, the Strait of Hormuz, is not fully secure.

On Tuesday, he told reporters in the Oval Office what happens in the Strait, but going to have nothing to do with it. On social media, the President said countries that need oil should go and take it themselves, leaving major questions about who controls global energy flows if the U.S. steps back.

Let's go to Bern, Switzerland. Cornelia Meyer is an economist and founder CEO of Meyer Resources, and joins us now live. Thanks so much for joining us.

CORNELIA MEYER, ECONOMIST, AND FOUNDER CEO, MEYER RESOURCES: Good morning, Lynda, and thank you for having me.

KINKADE: Good morning to you.

So President Trump has urged European allies to go get their own oil if they face shortages, and officials acknowledge the U.S. can't guarantee the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz before ending the Iran war, even if that means withdrawing in a matter of weeks.

[03:30:04]

Do you believe this is bluster, a negotiation tactic, or a real signal that the U.S. could leave an unstable Hormuz corridor behind?

MEYER: I hope. I sincerely hope it's a negotiation tactic, because the worst thing for the world, for Asia, for Europe, and also for the U.S., is leaving that very crucial waterway in a lurch in terms of what runs it.

Generally, we would have the International Maritime Organization or the U.N. Organization for Maritime Law, who could sort of bring in as a regulatory force, but we now have underfunded the U.N., and it would be very tricky to ensure security of supplies, not just oil, also LNG, also fertilizer, also byproducts like plastics, also refined products, also aluminum, which is produced, 8 percent of it, on the other side of Hormuz because of low energy costs. So this would really be a worst-case scenario.

KINKADE: So what would it mean for energy security in Europe and also Asia? Which countries would be most impacted?

MEYER: Well, I think Asia on the front is most impacted because more than 80 percent of oil products and LNG go to Asia. But you know, it trickles down then back to Europe because a lot of the refined products come either from the other side of the Hormuz, straight from GCC, or are refined in Asia and come that way into Europe. So that would be really bad, and fertilizer, the whole world would be affected.

The other thing is with LNG, you would see a very brutal competition between Europe and Asia to get hold of cargoes, which again, leaves the Pakistanis and the poor nations of this world in a lurch.

KINKADE: So if the U.S. does withdraw in a matter of weeks, and the Strait of Hormuz is not secure, and just a sliver of tanks are getting through compared to what traditionally got through, what is that going to mean in the power dynamics? And who controls that flow of oil, which is about 20 percent of the world's oil, typically, before this war began?

MEYER: Well, yes, it's 20 percent of oil, of crude and petroleum products. It is also 20 percent, very importantly, for especially Europe and Asia, LNG. It means one will have to find a way.

I think the GCC nations will then have to talk to Iran and see how they can come to an agreement. But you know, the GCC nations did not ask for this conflict, they warned of this conflict. They warned specifically of scenarios like the one we have now.

So it will be tough, one will have to find some sort of agreement, but you know, one leaves people in the lurch, or one leaves nations in the lurch.

KINKADE: And of course, we've heard the reports that there could be a possible strike on Kharg Island, which is a strategic export hub. What would be the consequences of that?

MEYER: Well, if you take out Kharg Island, if you destroy the loading infrastructure, I mean, the oil fields are within Iran.

Kharg Island is where Iran is the export facility of Iran, because it's deep water and big tankers can war there. If you take that out, if you destroy the loading infrastructure, then you take out Iranian oil exports, which are about 1.5 million, sometimes more, sometimes less barrels a day, and for some time to come. And in the current situation, we need that 1.5 million barrels a day.

That's one thing. The other thing is when I look at it militarily, if you put roots on the ground there, where you have them sort of capped, you know, captured on a small territory with an experienced nation in warfare on the other side with Iran. So I'm not sure that that is the best idea, but that's for greater minds to decide.

KINKADE: Cornelia Meyer, in Bern, Switzerland, great to get your analysis of the situation. Thanks so much for joining us.

MEYER: Thank you very much indeed, Lynda.

[03:35:03]

KINKADE: Well Pope Leo tells CNN that Europe's President Trump is looking for an off-ramp to end the war with Iran. The Pope spoke to CNN's Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb, who filed this report from Italy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the war in the Middle East and Iran is clearly weighing heavily on Pope Leo. And tonight I asked him if he had a message for President Donald Trump and the leaders of the U.S. and Israel when it comes to the war in Iran and the Middle East.

With the war escalating in the Middle East, do you have a message for the leaders of the U.S. and Israel, President Trump, at this time?

POPE LEO XIV, HEAD OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: I'm told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war. Hopefully he's looking for an off-ramp. Hopefully he's looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that's being created and that's increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere.

So I would certainly continue to give this call to all leaders of the world to say, come back to the table to dialogue. Let's look for solutions to the problems. Let's look for ways to reduce the amount of violence that we're promoting and that peace, especially at Easter, might reign in our hearts.

LAMB: Well I spoke to Leo at Castel Gandolfo, which is the papal retreat where Leo comes each Tuesday for a day off. And at the end of his time here, he often comes to address the media. And tonight he called for an Easter truce in the war in Iran and the Middle East.

And he specified that because, of course, this week is Holy Week and the lead-up to Easter, the most sacred time of the church's year. It is, Leo said, a time of peace. And that's something he emphasized tonight.

Leo is going to be presiding at a number of services in the coming days and we can expect him to emphasize the importance of peace and dialogue and ending world conflicts during this period.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Castel Gandolfo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well still to come, California's governor, signs an executive order forcing companies using A.I. in the state to uphold a specific standard. We'll tell you how that flies directly in the face of the Trump administration next.

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[03:40:00]

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KINKADE: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order that will require companies to prove they use artificial intelligence responsibly before they can work with the state. The order comes while A.I. policy and legislation is still in its infancy here in the U.S.

CNN's Hadas Gold reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HADAS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: This executive order is being described as the first of its kind but it is setting California up for a clash with the Trump administration. That's because back in December, President Trump signed an executive order that's pre-empting state laws on A.I. rules and regulations and laws saying that instead there should be a national, federal framework on A.I. regulation.

But California is pushing ahead. Governor Gavin Newsom signing this executive order on Monday that lays out some guidelines for companies that want to have contracts with the state of California. They specifically say things like the companies should outline their A.I. safety and privacy policies, explain how they prevent surveillance and prevent the distribution of illegal content, explain how they avoid harmful bias in their A.I. models and protect the public from civil rights and free speech violations.

Another part of this executive order states that even if the federal government declares an A.I. company a supply chain risk, the state of California will make their own decision and could potentially still work with that company. This is in direct response to the Pentagon declaring A.I. company Anthropic a supply chain risk, which is essentially a government blacklist, after Anthropic refused to back down on A.I. guardrails around A.I.'s use in mass surveillance and autonomous weapons.

The Trump administration has said that they don't want to have a patchwork of 50 different state laws that the A.I. companies have to work around, saying that that will stifle innovation, especially in the face of a very tough A.I. race with adversaries like China. But states have said that their constituents are really demanding these. There are dozens of laws now on the books in various states around A.I. regulation.

And poll after poll has shown that the American public really wants this. Actually, a recent poll by Quinnipiac that was also released on Monday showed that 74 percent of Americans think the government is not doing enough to regulate A.I.

Hadas Gold, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Before we go, we're just hours away from NASA's plan to launch four astronauts to deep space. The Artemis 2 mission will take 10 days to circle the moon and return back to Earth. So don't miss CNN's special live coverage of the Artemis 2 launch, it starts Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

Well, thanks so much for your company, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "World Sport" is up next.

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(WORLD SPORT)