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Inside Politics
Vance In Switzerland For Peace Talks With Iran; Trump Claims Reflecting Pool Vandalized As Makeover Goes Awry; Top Democrat On Party's Poll Numbers: "It's Rough Stuff". Interview with Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI); Vance in Switzerland for Peace Talks with Iran. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired June 21, 2026 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:21]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Stop and go. This morning, Vice President Vance sits down with Iran.
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a lot to discuss, but we're going to go through it all.
RAJU: Can he salvage a shaky deal with his own political future on the line?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This way, if it works out, I'm going to take the credit. If it doesn't work out, I'm blaming J.D. You better be careful, J.D.
RAJU: Plus chipping away.
TRUMP: We picked a color called American flag blue.
RAJU: Who is president Trump blaming now as his expensive makeover goes awry?
And left turn.
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: When does the race for. 2028 begin? It starts now.
RAJU: As progressives aim for more victories. Tuesday, I speak with a man who could replace Chuck Schumer.
SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-HI): We've got a lot of work to do in terms of recovering the trust that we once had.
INSIDE POLITICS, the best reporting from inside the corridors of power, starts now.
(MUSIC) (END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU (on camera): Good morning. And welcome to INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY and a happy Father's Day. I'm Manu Raju.
President Trump is dispatching his vice president, J.D. Vance, on a mission to salvage his emerging deal with Iran that has put him on the defensive, including with his own party. Major unresolved issues remain between the two countries, with critics here in Washington bluntly warning that the emerging accord may embolden Iran. All, as Iran announced this weekend, it would close down the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
CNN's Nic Robertson is live with us in Switzerland.
Nic, walk us through the challenges ahead of these talks and what we can expect from them.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, that moment of truth, if you will, about the memorandum of understanding that's taken over two months to agree, is about to get a test up on the mountain top behind me there, the Burgenstock Hotel, tight security, J.D. Vance up there, the Iranian delegation up there, Pakistani and Qatari mediators on hand as well to help out International Atomic Energy agency chief for the sort of nuclear part of the talks that may happen.
But before you can get to all that, the priority that the Iranians are putting on these talks is getting a ceasefire, a real ceasefire in Lebanon. And that has not been happening, particularly over the last few days. Real escalation in strikes between the IDF, the Israeli defense forces and Hezbollah, Hezbollah killing a number of IDF soldiers, a number of Lebanese civilians also killed, and some pretty big airstrikes. The Iranians are coming into this, these talks, and they'll be looking across the table, eye to eye with the vice president very shortly. They're coming in carrying the biggest diplomatic stick they've got to hand, and that is the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Remember, just a couple of days ago, President Trump stood up and he said he didn't want to be the a type of U.S. President J. Edgar Hoover that brings economic turmoil to the country, that he doesn't want to bring that kind of uncertainty to the world order. He told the Iranians right there that their closure of the Strait of Hormuz was a tool that worked, and they're taking it into the talks now.
They are going in saying, unless the president can guarantee the first point on the memorandum of understanding, that includes a cease fire in Lebanon, unless he can guarantee that, then they're removing things that they're obligated to, which is opening the Strait of Hormuz. So these are going to be tough talks. They are going to be a test. The diplomatic effort to get everyone here, the talks supposed to be Friday, really sped up on Saturday. I think that's indicative that that potentially progress can be made.
But then of course, the really big issues that the memorandum of understanding is supposed to address, what happens to the highly enriched uranium, what commitments does Iran give about its future nuclear enrichment? All of this yet to get to Lebanon blocking the way right now.
RAJU: Yeah, major, major issues ahead. Nic Robertson live in Switzerland -- thank you so much for joining us.
And joining me now here in the room to break this all down, Carl Hulse with "The New York Times", CNN's Betsy Klein, "Bloomberg's" Mario Parker.
Good morning to you all. Happy Father's Day.
CARL HULSE, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK TIMES: Thank you. Same to you.
RAJU: Thank you.
So look, Trump had set out a number of goals going into this as the war began more than two months ago, many of them unrealized here. Unconditional surrender, Trump said told our friend Marc Caputo, yes, there was unconditional surrender. That doesn't quite seem that way.
He called for regime change. Well, there's a new leader, but same family, same regime.
[08:05:02]
No enrichment of uranium. That's still not an unresolved issue. That's still not resolved.
Seizing Iran's enriched uranium. Well, that hasn't quite happened.
They have to say they have destroyed Iran's navy. It seems like that is the case.
Stop funding proxy groups. Also not a real goal here. And the elimination of the ballistic missile program.
This is -- J.D. Vance is going into these talks to deal with one issue here, the fighting that's going on in Lebanon to try to deal with the Israel-Hezbollah fighting, leading to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, not to mention all these other issues that have not been resolved here, including preventing Iran from building another, attempting to build a nuclear weapon. This is going to take months and months and months to resolve. This is just the start of fraught negotiations ahead.
MARIO PARKER, U.S. ECONOMY & GOVERNMENT MANAGING EDITOR, BLOOMBERG: Absolutely. And we didn't even get into the dimension of just the ballistic missile program as well, the funding of proxies in the region also. And what that means for Israel, the tensions that J.D. Vance had with Israel just this past week, where he was defending the president's moves as well. And then just the politics here in the U.S. also, right? So he's taking some of the incoming from his former members -- former colleagues in the chamber, right, with Ted Cruz and others speaking about this deal.
We saw the president kind of maybe half jokingly jest that he would hang this on J.D. Vance if things don't work out here. But, I mean, there are some big issues here and in the least, not the least of which is the fact that you've got, you know, just comparisons to the JCPOA as well, and whether or not this deal --
RAJU: And that took the JCPOA, that's the Obama era deal that took years to negotiate, and they want to try to resolve this in the next 60 days.
Betsy, you covered the White House. What were you hearing behind the scenes from your sources about how this transpired? Because Vance was supposed to leave on Friday, then suddenly we got word he was leaving today. And it's just it's all been a very chaotic fallout in the aftermath of this memorandum of understanding.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And the memorandum of understanding was always supposed to be essentially an agreement to get to an agreement. And this was always going to be the hard part, because these are the most thorny, technical, outstanding issues. And it took us roughly 60 days to get to this place. It's going to take much longer than 60 days to get this resolved.
And some sources are saying it's completely possible that they walk out of here without any sort of finalized agreement. The president also very sensitive about those comparisons to the Obama era Iran deal.
RAJU: And we mentioned about Trump blaming Vance in a joking way. Just listen to how he mentioned J.D. Vance, his role in all of this.
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TRUMP: He's doing a great job and he's working on the deal, right? How's that moving? Is it okay? The big deal? You see it happening.
So if it doesn't happen, I'm blaming J.D. Vance. If it -- if it does happen, I'm taking full credit.
If it works out, I'm going to take the credit. If it doesn't work out, I'm blaming J.D. You better be careful, J.D.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: I mean, he's saying this in jest, but maybe.
HULSE: It's no joke.
RAJU: It's no joke.
HULSE: That is his plan, right?
RAJU: Right. Sure. But then what does it mean for Vance who obviously wants to run in '28?
HULSE: Yeah. Well, not great. Also, the tension with Israel and Israel's supporters, so key to Republican political strength in the U.S. So that's risky.
It's extraordinarily complex, this whole thing. A lot of it out of the control of Trump, and I think that actually bothers him.
But I think what you and I saw this last week on Capitol Hill was what was really stunning, Republicans who never really criticized the president on much in the Senate were really taking issue with this.
Roger Wicker, the chairman of the armed services committee, who has really bit his bit in his tongue on a few things. Joni Ernst, who we haven't heard much from, very, very critical of this. So he needs to build support for what he's doing. I don't think it's there yet. And I do think he wants fans to take the fall.
RAJU: Yeah.
HULSE: If this is -- if it all goes south.
RAJU: And we'll see. Trump may be on Capitol Hill this week talking to Senate Republicans on Wednesday. We'll see how that goes down if it does -- I mean, it does take shape?
You talked about the Capitol Hill pushback, listen to another potential rival of Vance's in 2028, Ted Cruz, talk about this deal.
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CRUZ: History demonstrates that giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to murder us is an exceptionally bad idea. And I think, unfortunately, the president is receiving some -- some really bad advice on this deal. I don't want to see us send a penny to the ayatollah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: What do you think of Cruz now stepping up his criticism?
PARKER: Well, we're seeing some 3D chess there as well, right, as you alluded to, Manu. I mean, he's looking at 2028. The administration has made J.D. Vance the face of this.
Some of my sources just tell me that the president -- bottom line, the president wants a deal, right? And so he's caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, you want to deal and you want to appease the hawks as well after this war started.
[08:10:04]
On the other hand, there's gasoline prices that are blinking red light for midterm elections. So he's trying to help them there as well. And we saw him allude to that this past week when he said that, hey, look, we can continue to bomb. We can put troops on the ground. The American public has no appetite for that. But I don't want to be Herbert Hoover and have some type of economic catastrophe.
RAJU: And meanwhile, Rubio is not anywhere to be seen, at least not taking the front.
HULSE: He's standing in the background, you know, looking pretty serious. Who's giving Trump that bad advice? Well, it's J.D. Vance.
RAJU: Yeah, exactly. Well, we'll see how the fallout is there.
All right. Coming up, my exclusive interview with the potential next Democratic leader of the Senate. But first, who President Trump is now blaming for mishaps with his costly reflecting pool makeover.
Stay tuned.
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RAJU: President Trump's push to beautify the reflecting pool on the National Mall -- well, that's turned a bit ugly. And now he says the national pool will probably have to be largely drained again. And just yesterday, without evidence, the president blamed, quote, "terrible vandals" for the pool's algae bloom and the blue coating peeling off.
Three-time Olympian David Hearn told CNN yesterday that police arrested him after he touched a flap of blue material partially detached from the bottom of the pool. He denied removing or destroying anything.
This all comes, of course, after the cost of Trump's project grew sevenfold and didn't turn the pool, quote, "American sky blue" as he promised.
My panel is back, including Betsy Klein, who's been covering all this very closely.
Okay, so among the things that Trump said yesterday, he said that many additional people have been arrested about this disgraceful vandalism. Okay. So this, of course, comes, Betsy, as you know, this project was supposed to cost $1.8 million. It's now projected to cost about $14.7 billion. A contract, a no bid contract went out to a company.
And "The New York Times" referred to this company as a donor of his. At least one of the people involved here. So what do you know of this situation where multiple people actually arrested, and were they responsible for what we're seeing here at the reflecting pool?
KLEIN: I reached out to the park police this morning for any information they could provide on how many people have been arrested, what they have been charged with. No response yet.
But the thing that I keep coming back to in the course of this reporting is this idea that back in 2012, President Obama was president when there was a $34 million renovation of this reflecting pool. And it also had a massive algae bloom right after it was refilled.
Why don't we remember that? Why weren't we talking about that? Why are we talking about this now? Because President Obama wasn't personally involved. He did not insert himself. He did not drive his motorcade into the pool.
But for Trump, that is how he does things. He is very personally involved. He views himself as the developer in chief. This is part of his legacy.
RAJU: Yeah. And among the things that he said yesterday, he said they this is what he said in his post. He said they took some form of knife or blade, referring to these apparent vandals. And he said they put a 250 foot long gash into the beautiful facade of what took so much work and money to build and complete.
Now, "The Washington Post" interviewed a pool expert who said, if there are any deficiencies with the surface prep, the surface can fail, just like you see here, sheets and chunks peeling off. Another culprit, he added, could be groundwater pool seeping through underneath the lining. So the lining product is extremely tough and durable. It would take a specific failure or deficiency to fail like we're potentially seeing here.
So Trump again says some person or vandal took some form of knife or blade and put a 250-foot long gash into the facade.
HULSE: I don't know about that, but I was I was down there yesterday. I was taking a bike ride. So I went to see the capital's newest big tourist attraction, because everyone is going down to take a look at the reflecting pool, and it's just a big mess. I mean, this thing is bad. It looks horrible.
I used to clean swimming pools when I lived in Florida, and it's tricky. It's a tricky business to get the balance right on these things.
I think that they've got a big job ahead of them, and it's embarrassing because of the 4th of July is coming. So as you said, Betsy, Trump has really staked his reputation as the pool cleaner in chief on this thing. And if it doesn't look good for the Fourth, it's going to be very embarrassing.
RAJU: That's the thing. Trump is the one who's making this an issue. He's been posting over and over and over and over again about this, that he's going to make this blue again, and it's going to look different than the way Biden dealt with it. And Obama dealt with it. It's -- he thinks this is why he's now blaming vandals, perhaps.
PARKER: And showing poster boards in the oval office of it, comparing it to some of the world's tallest buildings as well. Listen, the president considers this to be his hobby, right? This beautification of Washington, D.C. as he calls it, and as Betsy mentioned, he does lean into the fact that he's a real estate developer, that he has his knowledge. He goes on and on about granite and elsewhere. When I speak to Democrats, they're downright gleeful about this. And I
was curious as to why. And they say, well, if you link it to the fact that there's reports that there was a no bid contract, if you link it to the fact that there's like this connection and proximity to power that benefited someone, and this is how it turned out with taxpayer money, this is another metaphor for all of the other things that they're criticizing competency.
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KLEIN: And we're at war. And this is what the president is choosing to focus on and spend his time on, a reflecting pool.
RAJU: Yeah. And he claims that he met with some of these contractors yesterday. He's at Camp David. I don't know if he actually met with them there at Camp David, but it shows you what he's focused on right now.
KLEIN: Right. And an interesting thing about camp David is that we may never know who the president met with there, because there's no press coverage of his appearances there.
RAJU: Shows what he's most interested in. We'll see ultimately how that turns out.
All right. The heir apparent? I sit down with Senator Brian Schatz as he talks about his future and what it will look like if Democrats take back control.
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RAJU: What if there's a Supreme Court vacancy? Could a Democratic Senate confirm a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court?
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[08:25:08]
RAJU: At 53, he's considered a youngster in the Senate, but Brian Schatz, who has represented Hawaii for nearly 14 years, is a shoo-in in the next Congress to be the Senate Democratic whip, meaning the number two position. And that sets him up to be a front runner to succeed senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer if and when the 75- year-old New Yorker decides to step down.
So is this Michigan born, Hawaii-raised, California-educated senator, does he have the answer to his party's problems? Well, he and I sat down this past week to talk about what's gone wrong for Democrats, the party's future, and how they plan to take on president Trump if they win the majority this fall.
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RAJU: What explains why Americans have viewed Democrats so unfavorably since the 2024 elections?
SCHATZ: I think it was very simple. I think people viewed us as disconnected from what people were going through economically. People were basically angry that, you know, the president was apparently disconnected from what people were going through economically.
Prices were too high, and we had an 80 year old president. And I think one of the reasons that people are starting to turn around politically is that prices are even higher. And we again, have an 80-year-old president.
So we've got a lot of work to do in terms of recovering the trust that we once had, especially with working class voters. But I think we're on the way to doing that by demonstrating a little bit better discipline and a little bit better focus than usual on the cost of living.
RAJU: Yeah, because I want to get into that because among some of the polls that we have seen, just 20 percent of voters in this new poll from May said approve of the job that Democrats were doing in Congress. I mean, when you see those numbers, and that was last month. When you see those numbers, what do you think?
SCHATZ: It's rough stuff. But I do think that people are starting to understand that what we're fighting for, American voters across the country are starting to recognize that we've got an advantage on economic issues and on the cost of living -- on gasoline, on fuel, on utility bills, on grocery bills, on tariffs.
For the very first time in quite a long time, people actually give Democrats an advantage on these issues.
RAJU: And why do you think that is?
SCHATZ: Well, I think it's two things. First of all, Trump is objectively raising the price on purpose of many things. And so what people are recognizing is that we may not have been singularly focused on the cost of living, and we should have been, but that is different from what this president is doing. He is raising the price of everything on purpose.
RAJU: There's been a lot of criticism on the left over the person you work with very closely, Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader. Do you think that those criticisms, that critics -- what they're saying about his job performance -- are those fair critiques?
SCHATZ: Look, I think it's a really frustrating time for Democrats, and especially when we were -- when we first took office, right after the president was inaugurated, you know, they have the House and the Senate and the presidency, and they're implementing project 2025. And there's very little that the Democrats and the legislature could actually do about it. And so that frustration, I think, washes over whoever is in charge of both conferences in the -- in the House and the Senate.
And so we found our footing, I think, over the last year or so, we're a little more united. And again, we're a little more disciplined about why we lost and what we need to do to recapture people's trust.
RAJU: But you have confidence in Chuck Schumer?
SCHATZ: I do.
RAJU: A hundred percent, yes.
When you look at it the way you guys have been fighting Donald Trump, is there a risk of you guys being seen as the anti-Trump party more than above anything else? I think what you're against -- the focus being what you're against, not what you're for.
SCHATZ: I think in the long run, we're going to have to have an affirmative vision for America. And I think it's really clear that the sort of the selling proposition of the Biden campaign and then the Biden administration was, you know, we're going to restore things back to normal. And there's a recognition that, first of all, that's probably not even possible, mechanically speaking.
But second of all, that's not actually what people want. And if we promise the status quo, before Trump won, Biden won, and then Trump two, I think people are going to reject that. So we do need an affirmative vision for the future.
But in a midterm context, in the context of how the American citizenry is responding to this Congress, I think it is fair enough to say people are looking for a check to make sure one party does not have unified control of Washington.
RAJU: So does that mean that does it make sense to have an election year agenda? Lay out specifically what you would do in the majority?
[08:29:41]
SCHATZ: I think that's great, but I think that's a little overrated, because the truth is that when it comes time to govern, we're probably talking about the '28, '29 cycle, and that will be determined largely by who is president of the United States.
And so we can all argue about, you know, which health care regime we think we should do or how we're going to attack the climate crisis, or how we're going to reduce the cost of living. And lots of people have lots of proposals, but I'm not particularly interested at this stage in settling all those questions before November.
RAJU: Let's just say -- let's say you guys are in the majority. Suddenly you're the -- you're for the next two years, you guys are in charge. Trump is still president. What does that look like? The Democratic-led Senate versus Donald Trump?
SCHATZ: Well, I think for one thing, that the nominees, the quality of the nominees would immediately have to go up because they're not going to get people like Bill Pulte or RFK Jr. or Pete Hegseth through the United States Senate if the Democrats run that. And that is an important aspect of this. That also goes for the Supreme Court. But as far as the cost of living, I would -- I would first tackle
health care, and second, tackle the tariffs. We would also, if we're still in this kind of foreign policy adventurism, make sure that before we take kinetic action against another country, that there is a vote on the authorization of the use of military force.
And this is not some sort of nicety. This is the way a country is supposed to go to war.
RAJU: So if you are -- have a Democratic Senate, you said that the nominee threshold will be much higher and the quality of nominees.
What if there's a Supreme Court vacancy? Could a Democratic Senate confirm a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court?
SCHATZ: I don't know the answer to that, but I think that we would certainly execute on our role of advice and consent, take it very seriously. And I don't think they'd be able to ram anybody through. And I think that's an important check on the power of the executive branch.
RAJU: You're hearing some folks saying, if the Democrats take the House, impeach Donald Trump. If you guys are in the Senate, you guys would have to deal with a conviction trial if that were to happen again.
Is that a good idea to be talking about impeachment right now? And would you support that?
SCHATZ: I mean, he's done a million impeachable things so I don't want to be too coy about this. But I do think it's an important tactical question. If the power of impeachment lies with then Speaker Jeffries, that how do they sequence it? Do they choose to impeach cabinet secretaries who have potentially committed high crimes and misdemeanors?
How do they sequence it? What is the strategy here? Because we sort of know how these impeachments end in the Senate.
And so it's very true that he's done multiple impeachable things. It's also our choice when we do what we do. And so I think it's a little early for all that.
RAJU: Is there any scenario in which you would either be Democratic leader next Congress or a future Congress?
SCHATZ: No.
RAJU: No.
SCHATZ: I mean -- future Congress. I mean a future congress, I wouldn't -- I wouldn't sort of preclude anything from happening that's too far into the future. But not this year, no.
RAJU: Not this. So ok, so possibly down the line because you're widely viewed as Chuck Schumer's successor here. SCHATZ: I do not say that. I do not confirm that. I think that it is
obnoxious to think like that.
RAJU: But do you think he should continue running the Senate, continue running the next Congress and as long as he wants?
SCHATZ: I do.
RAJU: Is that right?
SCHATZ: Yes.
RAJU: So when people say it's time for generational change, I mean, you're 53 years old. He's 75 years old. What do you say to people who are looking for that?
SCHATZ: Look, I think people are looking for generational change and in the United States Senate that is happening. This batch of freshmen, for instance, mostly in their 40s, some in their 50s are really a talented bunch.
The leadership team in the Senate is populated by people who are, you know, one generation younger than Chuck and Bernie and these others.
But what I think people are looking for is vigor and a sort of new way of doing things. I don't think they're always looking at the question of chronological age.
RAJU: Are they looking at progressivism, too? Because a lot of these candidates who are winning primaries, whether it's in Maine or elsewhere, they're more progressive than the more moderate candidates that folks up here wanted to get elected. Is your party moving pretty sharply to the left?
SCHATZ: I think both parties are moving, you know, in opposite directions. I think that's just fair to say. But there are also going to be states where we're going to elect some moderates, and we want some moderates, right?
The beauty of a winning political coalition is at some level, it doesn't always make sense. There are going to be, you know, your Fettermans and your Platners and your Bernies and your Joe Manchins.
Like, if you're winning, then that means that you have a kind of contradictory coalition.
The Trump coalition was a perfect example of that. You had all of these neocons and these Iran hawks and these Israel hawks, along with all these peaceniks and all the rest of it. And it actually made no sense. But that's how you cobble together a winning coalition.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: All right. Carl Hulse, veteran of Capitol Hill for many, many, many years, is he the next Democratic leader in the Senate? CARL HULSE, NEW YORK TIMES CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It looks
like it to me. Super interesting interview. I think the word that he said that jumped out to me was tactics. He's a tactical thinker, which is what you have to be when you're running the Senate.
[08:34:41]
HULSE: He's sort of a classic of the genre, small state guy who's worked his way up on the inside of the Senate, and he's got the trust of both the progressives and the more moderate Democrats. So I think you may be looking at the next leader.
RAJU: Yes. We'll see. We'll see when that happens. That's going to be a big question as well.
Coming up, we're standing by for remarks by Vice President J.D. Vance as Iran and U.S. talks are set to begin in Switzerland.
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[08:39:44]
RAJU: Ok. We're looking at live pictures of Lucerne, Switzerland where Vice President J.D. Vance is about to make remarks in a matter of minutes here.
The U.S., Iranian, Qatari and Pakistani delegations are set to meet amid this Memorandum of Understanding that the president reached with Iran. Questions about this deal, questions about whether a peace accord can actually last. And really, the first meeting between the U.S. and the Iranians in more than two months since mid-April. So a lot on the line here in this critical meeting.
Joining me is Nic Robertson, who has been standing by reporting about all of this in Lucerne, Switzerland.
So, Nic, what do we expect from these remarks? What are you hearing from your sources about the challenges ahead in these meetings?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, if there are any remarks, clearly they're likely to touch on Lebanon because that's the real issue that the Iranians want to get discussed.
That really seems to have been what's rushed everyone so quickly over this weekend, having not had talks on Friday. Into this room together, you're going to have the speaker from Iran's national parliament, and he is the head of their delegation, the chief negotiator, Mohammad Ghalibaf. Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister of Iran, will be in there, too.
The Iranians have also brought their oil minister, the head of their banking. So this tells you what they're thinking here. They're thinking sanctions relief. They're thinking frozen assets. They're thinking what money -- more money can they get out of the MOU at an early stage. But we also know that the vice president is going in there, along with
Steve Witkoff, along with Jared Kushner wanting to get progress on the nuclear issues.
We know waiting in the wings up there on the mountain top behind me is the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. That's because his inspectors would play or are expected to play a role in any dilution of highly-enriched uranium in any inspection, if that were agreed, of Iranian nuclear facilities.
All of that contentious, all of that is yet to be decided. But it is that key issue of Lebanon. And even as I'm standing here talking to you, you're in the studio there in Washington, in Lebanon we are still getting reports of drone strikes, of strikes that are injuring Lebanese civilians.
So the issue that brought the Iranians so speedily to this table and they come carrying the big diplomatic stick that they've suspended marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. They come in because of this issue.
It's still a hot issue. It's still an active issue. So how that gets resolved is going to be critical. You have the Qatari mediators in the room as well.
Look, the past two and a half months since these two men met, J.D. Vance, Mohammad Ghalibaf, the leaders on both delegations here. A huge amount has happened, a lot of ups and downs, but they have got in the room now.
And remembering two and a half months ago -- 11th, 12th of April -- when they talked all the way through the night, couldn't come up with agreement, that meeting itself was historic, because that was the first time U.S. and Iranian leadership had met at that level in almost half a century, 47 years.
So it is very consequential what we're witnessing now. This is high stakes diplomacy. This is -- can that 14-point Memorandum of Understanding survive? It is getting tested right now, Manu.
RAJU: And Nic, J.D. Vance is just walking in the room right now. He is shaking hands. He's greeting his fellow negotiators here. We'll see what he has to say.
Nic, while we look at these pictures, and we'll break in as soon as we start to hear some remarks here, what do we know about the relationship between these men?
ROBERTSON: Yes, it's very interesting the dynamic in that room right now. We've learned over time because the Iranians are very public about this, that they really don't trust Steve Witkoff. They really don't trust Jared Kushner. They repeatedly accused them on their previous interactions of moving the goalposts, of changing what's already been agreed. So there's a real lack of trust there.
But sources I speak to tell me that there is a much better chemistry between J.D. Vance and Mohammad Ghalibaf, leading the Iranian delegation. That's not to say these two men like each other. That's not to say these two men trust each other. They undoubtedly don't. But the chemistry that it takes to get deals done to make the other person in the room change position, I am told, is better between those two than anyone else. And that counts for something in talks like this.
Of course, both men -- I mean, you've been listening to the conversations you've been having about how President Trump is saying, if all this fails, he'll blame it on J.D. Vance.
Well, Ghalibaf is in the same position in Iran. When he goes back to Iran, if he's negotiated something that the hardliners think is too weak, then, you know, he faces perhaps much tougher sanction than the scolding of President Trump.
[08:44:54]
ROBERTSON: That he's perhaps jokingly as J.D. Vance says, has said is possible. Ghalibaf if he goes back to Iran, giving away too much, really, would face some pretty tough, perhaps diabolical retribution.
I mean, this is just a reality of how the things work. But that's why that chemistry between the two of them is going to be so important, because they both need to persuade the other, make it -- make the other show the other side that they've got the cards that persuade them into conceding on issues here.
How much of a ceasefire should be in hold in Lebanon? Can you have some leakage? I mean, President Trump talks about the Middle East as there's no real such thing as a real ceasefire. There's always some sort of shooting.
How -- what's the level? What's the level that J.D. Vance can get Ghalibaf to agree to? This is how it's going to be.
RAJU: The stakes are so high for both men. That's so interesting for you to point out. You see J.D. Vance circling around the room. Looks like they're about to make remarks. We'll bring those to you as soon as he starts talking.
Nic, you have been -- you've been reporting about how critical it is.
Ok, it looks like he's talking. He's about to speak. Should we take a listen in? Let's listen in, see if we can hear.
Ok. They're still kind of getting gathered here. They're posing for -- waiting to make remarks.
But, you know, in the meantime, Nic, do you think that J.D. Vance is going to take a firm line against Israel here, given how important it is for a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel for these Iran talks -- agreement to succeed?
ROBERTSON: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a huge amount of political heat from the opposition. This is an election year because he's tied to President Trump. And Netanyahu, those in his cabinet, those in opposition don't think that the -- that their Memorandum of Understanding is strong enough and tough enough.
They're very afraid, concerned, if you will, about this new Iranian leadership, viewing them as more hardline than before viewing the Memorandum of Understanding, of not tackling the ballistic missiles that directly threaten Israel, not dealing with --
RAJU: All right. That's right. Hey, Nic, I'm going to interrupt. Let's listen in -- let's listen in.
ROBERTSON: Yes.
(LIVE EVENT)
SHEHBAZ SHARIF, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- among the challenges but this will have global peace. And I must, at this point in time with fullest sincerity at my domain thank President Donald Trump for his visionary and very dynamic leadership, which has, resulted in this meeting here today in beautiful city of Burgenstock (ph).
And I think here we are going to have a wonderful discussions which will lead to hopefully very productive results in times to come.
I'd like to thank Vice President J.D. Vance for his very able leadership in leading the United States team and my very dear brother, prime minister of Qatar. He is like a very real and dear brother.
And of course, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, his outstanding role very consistent and he showed huge amount of perseverance and patience.
And I think together, all these efforts have culminated here in this wonderful (INAUDIBLE). And it's really very wonderful to be here and hopefully when we go back to our homes, we'll have some wonderful paper in our hand which will both promote peace, progress and prosperity around the globe.
Thank you very much. Vice President, would you like to say a few words?
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, Prime Minister.
Well, I'll say just a few words here. And first of all, I have some notes of appreciation. First of all, I want to thank the president of United States who sends his best to all the great leaders assembled here, because he's empowered us to find a diplomatic resolution to a host of issues that matter to the American people But I think the world.
the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, the ending of the Iranian nuclear program, all of these things have already been accomplished. The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together?
Can we turn over a new leaf? Can we change relations in the Middle East permanently? Or do we go back to doing things the old way, which is not our preference, but is certainly very much something that can happen?
I have a few other notes of appreciation. First of all, to the prime minister of Pakistan, dear friend of the president, a dear friend of mine, a guy who has been with his leadership and is very careful and skilled negotiation has got us to this point.
[08:49:45]
VANCE: To his field marshal in Pakistan, Asim Munir. I will say that since Field Marshal Munir welcomed us with the prime minister in Islamabad, I have joked that I have two very, very important people in my life, an Indian and a Pakistani. The Indian is my wife and the Pakistani is Field Marshal Munir.
And I've probably talked to Field Marshal Munir more than I've talked to anybody else over the last three months. We would not be here without his statesmanship. He is a military leader, but I think he's shown himself to be a great diplomat.
And of course, he's an amazing friend of the United States of America, but has been also an important part of getting us to this point.
I think it's important for the American people, but people all over the world do appreciate that what's brought us to this moment is the president's leadership and the president's willingness to see a Middle East that is much different ten years from now than it was ten years ago.
And what we're trying to accomplish here is something very simple. Through diplomacy, through working together to transform the Middle East, where Iran and the Gulf have been at war with each other, or at least have had very unfriendly relations where Iran has been a driver of regional instability.
Now we see a future where everybody can work together to promote peace and prosperity for everyone.
What we have already seen back home in the United States is lower gas prices. We've seen the free flow of oil and gas. We've seen peace. And now we're trying to build on that to see if we can build something even better and more sustainable for the future.
This is a historic meeting never before outside of Islamabad and here. So outside the last few months, never before has the Iranian and American leadership met at such a high level.
What the president has asked us to do is turn over a new leaf to transform our relationship with the people of Iran, and to extend an outstretched hand that says to the people of Iran that if your leadership is willing to give up being a driver of regional instability, if they are willing to give up nuclear weapons ambitions for the long term, then the United States is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country.
That is certainly our goal. We've already made great progress over just the last few hours. And I expect that we will make additional progress in the hours to come.
Thank you all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just one question, Mr. Vance. The main issue.
VANCE: Let Sheikh Mohammad speak, please.
MOHAMMAD GHALIBAF, SPEAKER, IRANIAN PARLIAMENT: First of all, I would like to welcome you here Mr. Vice President, Mr. Prime Minister, your leadership and Field Marshal leadership --
RAJU: All right. We're going to keep monitoring this -- these remarks here. And I want to get -- to bring in Nic Robertson here in the aftermath of this.
A lot of positive talk here, Nic, from the vice president talking about the goal, really lofty goal, transforming the Middle East in these talks ahead. What was your takeaway from these very warm remarks, both from the Pakistani leader and from the vice president, ahead of this face to face with the Iranian delegation?
ROBERTSON: Yes, it's very aspirational, isn't it? I mean, it's a sort of pep talk you give to a team before they had to go out and play a really tough match. And that's -- in a way that's what this is.
The stakes, of course, are much higher than the result of a football game or whatever it might be. This is, as they framed it, this is talking about really extending and growing global peace. This is a chance -- historic opportunities lie ahead for the United States and Iran to make a better relationship.
Look, the frank reality here is if the things were so good, they would have been meeting in that room two days ago. And frankly, if things have been so good, probably the war wouldn't have started.
But step aside from that. The past two and a half months of negotiations to get the MOU.
(CROSSTALKING)
RAJU: Nic, I'm going to I'm going to jump in because Vance is talking again.
VANCE: Well, first of all, we've seen great progress over the last just couple of days in ensuring that the ceasefire holds in Lebanon. These things are always a little bit messy.
If you go back to how much was happening three months ago and compare it to three weeks ago, great progress has been made. If you go back to three weeks ago to three days ago, additional progress has been made.
The president has committed us to see a full regional ceasefire. We found great partners in working with the Qataris, the Pakistanis, our friends in Israel. We're all working towards regional peace.
There, of course, are going to be sometimes disagreements about precisely how to get there. But I actually feel great about where we are in Lebanon.
There's still some additional wood to chop, but we're going to keep on working at it.
You have a question over here.
(CROSSTALKING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- alignment. Israel has something like genocide in Lebanon. The main issue is stopping this.
[08:54:46]
VANCE: Well, ma'am, I think that the president of United States and the United States of America have done more to stop the conflict in Lebanon than any government anywhere in the world over the last few months. And we're going to keep on working towards it.
As I think a lot of you appreciate, peace is never easy. Peace always requires a little bit of work. It always requires a little bit of give and take.
But the president of the United States is committed not just to peace between the United States and Iran. The president is committed to a regional peace, which is why we're here working so hard to settle our issues.
The one last comment I want to make is what today really represents is the beginning of a technical negotiation. That's not going to solve every disagreement, but it's going to allow us to sit together as teams for the first time really in history, to figure out what matters most to the respective parties, to settle those issues, to solve those issues and get to a better tomorrow.
The reason why the political leadership of the respective countries is here is because we wanted to, first of all, set up the structure for these technical negotiations.
And second of all, make sure that our teams have our full support and know they can always call on us to break through any barriers.
We got a lot of work to do. We're excited to do it. Thank you all for being here.
RAJU: All right. That's it for INSIDE POLITICS SUNDAY.
A special Fathers' Day edition of "STATE OF THE UNION" is next.
Thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.
[08:56:05]
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