Where do peace negotiations with Iran stand?

Gas prices remain high. The National average is 449, slightly better than last week, but still up more than $1 from last year. CBS Newsnational security analyst and Marine Corps veteran Aaron MacLean joins me now. He's also host of the School of Warpodcast. So Aaron, what message is the US sending to Iran by striking during these peace talks. Even if the strikes were in self-defense, according to CENTCOM? Right. Well, what we heard from the military was that there was minelaying activity in the Strait. We apparently go after the boats that are behaving in such a manner to leave us, lead us to believe that they're laying mines. And then the planes, the American planes get shot at. So we shoot back at the Iranian missile systems that are shooting at the planes. This all happening, by the way, simultaneously, as we continue to hear encouraging things from the White House, the administration, that we're close to a deal. It really is a tale of two wars and a very curious juxtaposition between a pretty spicy set of circumstances in the Strait itself and still relatively encouraging rhetoric from the administration.

What do you mean by a tale of two wars. Can you explain that further? Just the striking juxtaposition between a pretty violent time in the Strait, where the United States is striking targets, getting shot at, striking back in return. Meanwhile, a White House that says that the ceasefire is still in effect and that we are close to a deal. These two things don't seem to go together. And yet here we are.

What are the thorniest issues that still need to be addressed in any deal? Just little matters, Lindsey, like the Strait of Hormuz and the disposition of the Iranian nuclear program. I joke, of course. These are enormously complicated matters, both of them for the Strait of Hormuz. This, of course, is a body of water that the Iranians essentially took hostage after the Joint Israeli-US campaign launched on February the 28. That was predictable, but there doesn't seem to have been a lot of proactive preparation for this. In return for the ceasefire back in April, Iran was supposed to open the Strait. United States gave the ceasefire. Iran did not open the Strait. Now, Iran wants sanctions relief and the ending of the US blockade of Iranian ports in return for opening the Strait. I'm a little skeptical that process will be smooth. And then, of course, there's the question of the Iranian nuclear program itself, a stated war aim of the United States to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. My understanding is that we are not actually negotiating the details of the nuclear program right now. We're negotiating about general principles that will lead to further negotiations during an extended ceasefire. Well, the president also now says that he wants Middle Eastern nations like Saudi Arabia to sign on to the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel as part of an Iran deal. What do you make of that? Yeah, that was a really striking development. It came out of left field. I think what's going on behind the scenes there, because this is a surprising thing for the president to say. The odds of Saudi Arabia, for example, normalizing relations with Israel in the short run are pretty low. Could it ever happen? Were we close at various points in the last couple of years? Yes. But in the next few days, not so much. But the administration is under a fair amount of pressure from countries like Saudi Arabia to agree to a deal with Iran. But this deal is politically painful, potentially, for president back here in Washington. So I took that assertion that if you want this deal, you should join the Abraham Accords to be a version of the president saying you want me to do something that's politically uncomfortable for me. You do something that's politically uncomfortable for you and normalize relations with Israel. I think the odds of it actually happening anytime soon are low.

OK. Thanks a lot, Aaron MacLean. Let's go now to CBS News reporter Taurean Small from the White House. So where do negotiations stand? Well, Lindsey, as it stands, they're still quite a few details that need to be met in order for both sides to reach an agreement. CBS Newsreviewed a draft of the memorandum of understanding, and that would essentially see the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Iran's side. All other fighting would then ceasefire at that point. The US would also then free up sanctions and unfreeze all Iranian assets if all other contingencies are met, as per this memorandum. There's also a clause in there that would address the stockpile of enriched uranium that Iran has amassed. But I think the trepidation that we're seeing in terms of response from lawmakers is whether or not this will be effective. This has drawn some criticism from some of the most staunch Trump supporters, like Lindsey Graham, like Ted Cruz, all saying that this has to be done completely or else to avoid a situation of an Iran nuclear deal under the Obama administration. One also detail that's making this even more interesting is the fact that the Supreme leader, according to our Jennifer Jacobs, is hold up at an undisclosed location while communication is continuing. It appears that that's happening through courier, so that will be another wrinkle in this decision. But as of now, it appears that conversations are at least still happening. The president was planning a cabinet meeting at Camp David tomorrow. That's been canceled. They say due to weather, they're still meeting at the White House. What do we know about this meeting? Yeah, we know that this will be a meeting that is attended by everyone in his cabinet, including director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, even though she put in her resignation. She's set to leave June 30. When asked about what this conversation will be like this meeting would entail, a spokesperson from the Trump administration told us that this would be just to go over recent successes. Nothing particularly standing out, especially as it relates to this war. And we asked also about why Camp David, as the location that's usually done in the cabinet room. We wasn't told an answer on that yet, but as of this moment, it's set to happen. Just not at Camp David.

Taurean Small, thank you.