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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump Vows To Hit Iran's Power Plants Over Hormuz Closure; Oil Surges As Iran Threatens To Close Strait of Hormuz Indefinitely; Two Dead In Runway Collision At New York's LaGuardia Airport. Aired 5:30- 6a ET

Aired March 23, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:33:30]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: We are 24 hours away from President Trump's new deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. In a social media post on Saturday Donald Trump threatened to "obliterate Iran's power plants" if the waterway is not fully reopened within 48 hours. Well, in response Iran says it's prepared to close the critical trade route completely and indefinitely if those energy sites are attacked.

Well, meanwhile, just hours ago at least one Iranian missile carrying a cluster warhead could be seen above Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank, and the Israeli military says it's working to cut off Hezbollah's weapon and supply lines near Israel's northern border. The IDF aims to destroy all bridges over the strategic Litani River, which links southern Lebanon with the rest of the country.

All right, CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us live from Dubai where she has been monitoring the very latest.

And let's focus on the region, very specifically on the Strait of Hormuz ahead of that deadline from Donald Trump. The Iranian response, of course, is to attack a long list of civilian infrastructure around this region where we are, should Donald Trump come good on his promise. So a sort of heightened sense of alert I think is the way I would frame it this morning across the Gulf region.

Just explain what we know at this point.

[05:35:00]

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Becky, there's certainly been an escalation when it comes to the rhetoric after that threat by Donald Trump to target power plants. Iran responded by saying they will act in-kind and they will target power plants in Israel and across the region as well. We just had a statement from the Revolutionary Guard in Iran saying, "If you strike electricity, we will strike electricity."

We heard also from the Iranian Parliament speaker saying that all critical infrastructure and energy facilities are "irreversibly destroyed" -- will be "irreversible destroyed" if the U.S. president goes ahead with his threat, saying that makes them legitimate targets.

Now we know that Tehran has been targeting energy infrastructure already, but we've seen state media or semiofficial Mehr News actually publishing a map of where these power plants are in the Gulf. And they said that they claim some 70 to 80 percent of them are along the coast of the Persian Gulf, so they are within Iranian range -- saying that the entire region will be plunged into darkness.

So, of course, at this point this is rhetoric. We have not got any clarity as to whether or not the U.S. president will direct the military to carry out those threats of targeting power plants in Tehran, in Iran -- but Tehran has been very clear that if that happens then it will be reciprocated.

Now, of course, there is also this effort to try and open up the Strait of Hormuz. We've seen well over 20 countries now signing up to the statement that started with some of the EU nations, Japan, and Canada saying that they are willing to act together and to form a coalition to try and keep the strait open. Of course, there are no concrete steps at this point as to how exactly they are going to be doing that. We did hear from the NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte saying that he was "absolutely convinced" that the alliance will be able to open up the Strait of Hormuz.

We have heard from Tehran though that if the U.S. president goes ahead with his threats to target the power plants, then the Strait of Hormuz will be shut indefinitely.

So there is a lot of rhetoric that is very threatening at this point. So as you say, there's almost a sense of limbo and waiting to see when this 48-hour deadline expires and whether or not there will be some action and then some retaliatory action.

There are certainly an awful lot of conversations ongoing behind the scenes at the moment. We know just last night, Sunday evening, there was a late-night call between the U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the U.S. President Donald Trump clearly talking about the Strait of Hormuz and what they could do to try and keep it open and whether or not there will be further military action going forward -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Paula Hancocks is in Dubai. Thanks, Paula.

Well, fuel prices spiking around the world amid the fight to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Still ahead an update on how the war with Iran is impacting global energy markets ahead of the beginning of the trading week, of course, in the U.S.

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[05:43:00]

ANDERSON: Well, Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely has not helped lower oil prices. Brent crude, the global benchmark, peaking at $114 on the barrel on Sunday. It's dropped back slightly but still trading above $112. Meanwhile, WTI also pushing higher, and that's the U.S. benchmark, of course, hovering just below $100 as we speak.

Joining me now to discuss this live from Singapore is Vandana Hari. She is the CEO and founder of Vanda Insights as well as the former Asia Oil news director at Platts Singapore. It's good to have you.

I just want to get your response first and foremost to those oil prices. I mean, what does Iran formalizing control of the strait through fees and coordinator, for example, mean for markets and oil prices? That's, you know, one story that we need to discuss at this point.

VANDANA HARI, CEO AND FOUNDER, VANDA INSIGHTS, FORMER ASIA OIL NEWS DIRECTOR, PLATTS SINGAPORE: Hi, Becky.

So as long as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut prices have only one way to, which is up. Today what we are seeing is a reflection of the market, albeit gradually, starting to price in the prospect of the Strait of Hormuz remaining closed for several weeks.

The market, at least as far and Brent and WTI futures are concerned, have been a little slow in waking up to the possibility of a prolonged loss of if not 20 million barrels per day at least 13 to 14 million barrels per day because that's what we reckon is still shut in as some of the countries in the region are managing to get some barrels out, but it's a trickle.

This kind of outage and a prolonged outage only means supply shock and that means only one thing for oil prices, they have to continue going up.

[05:45:00]

ANDERSON: Reuters reporting the Saudi Aramco CEO has pulled out of CERAWeek, which is a major energy conference held at this time of the year in Houston, and others skipping in person.

What does that signal about how seriously Gulf energy leaders are treating this conflict?

HARI: Yeah, Becky. It's an impossibly challenging time for the oil companies -- most of the national oil companies. There are a few overseas players, especially in countries like Iraq. For the vast majority, when we look Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, these are all national oil companies. And look, I wouldn't want to be in the shoes of anybody having to make very, very difficult decisions at these companies. Obviously, the overarching concern right now is securing their facilities.

Since the start of the war we have seen relentless attacks -- missile attacks, drone attacks -- a lot of the damage caused by interception of these. But nonetheless, you know, fires and threaten -- basically the safety of operations being threatened and start and stop operations at some major plants. And some, like Qatar Ras Laffan LNG, have had to just completely shut down. So there's just -- I can't imagine what is --

ANDERSON: So even if the war -- let me ask you this. Even if the war ended tomorrow how long would it take to get the supplies that the market needs moving again were the Strait of Hormuz to open up in some way? I mean, this isn't just about what we expect in the next 48 hours, is it? It is -- there is a long tail to this, whether or not this conflict continues.

HARI: Absolutely, Becky, with the caveat that there is an assured peace. You know, you can't have a sort of ceasefire that -- or an end to the war proclaimed by just one side but not the other side, which still keeps charterers and shipowners just risk averse to going into the Persian Gulf.

So I'm presuming you mean what if there is actual peace and the war has ended. I think that first and foremost, of course, we will see a relief in crude supply -- condensate supply. So once refineries, especially in Asia, that have been stopped of all the crude that they need -- once they get that you start -- then that starts percolating into some relief on the refined products front.

But the -- you have to think way down that chain all the way into petro chemical products. So by how long it will take for that relief to go all the way down, I would say at least months because that is the complexity and the long tail of the chain that starts with the crude oil and ends in all sorts of plastics and chemicals that we consume every day.

ANDERSON: Busy times for you. You'll be keeping a keen eye on what happens next in the hours to dome. Vandana Hari, for the time being, thank you.

And I do just want to note how the Asian markets have closed their first trading session of the week. Of course, it is Monday -- the back end of the day there -- and this is the state of play. And frankly, I'm not going to say these have fallen off a cliff but at 3 1/2 percent down for most of those markets and the KOSPI off more than six that is not a good picture ahead of the opening on Wall Street some hours from now. Oft times, of course, these markets will provide a steer as to what happens in those U.S. markets.

We're going to take a very short break at this point. Back after this.

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[05:53:20]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Back now to our breaking news at New York's LaGuardia Airport. The pilot and co-pilot of an Air Canada plane have died after their jet collided with a Port Authority fire and rescue vehicle. Forty-one passengers and crew were taken to the hospital with injuries, most of them minor. Two people in the Port Authority truck were also injured.

And they were reportedly trying to cross the runway as the plane was landing at around 11:30 last night. The plane was being operated by a regional carrier and originated from Montreal. Initial estimates show that it was traveling at about 130 miles per hour at the time of the collision.

In a news conference earlier, officials said that the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

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KATHRYN GARCIA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY: The NTSB arrived -- the first portion of NTSB arrived at approximately 3:30 this morning. More investigators we anticipate to be on site around 6:00 this morning. And then we will follow their lead on what their investigation requires, and they will have the time they need to make that determination.

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SOLOMON: LaGuardia will remain closed until at least -- at least 2:00 p.m. this afternoon.

We're going to take a short break and we'll be right back.

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[05:58:55]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

A statue of Christopher Columbus has been erected on the grounds at the White House. Columbus has long been a contentious historical figure for his treatment of indigenous people. The statue's installation is the latest move by the Trump administration to restore monuments pulled down in the wake of the George Floyd protests in 2020.

A White House spokesperson telling The New York Times on Sunday, "In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero."

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

OK, now to some personal news. I have decided that this will be my last week at CNN. More to come on what's next for me, but I'm really excited about this next chapter.

For now, a huge, huge thank you to the team here on EARLY START. We have covered some major breaking news during our hours, and I am so proud to have worked alongside you. To the larger team here at CNN, I'm going to be cheering you on. I look forward to watching.

[06:00:00]

It has been such an honor, truly, to serve as a business correspondent for CNN. I have covered everything from inflation to the job market, and everything in between. It has been an honor. It has been a privilege. I'm going to be here through the week with Friday being my last show,

so this is truly not goodbye but see you soon.

For now, I'm Rahel Solomon in New York. I will see you tomorrow. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.