today with a very different take whether the president should have dialed up iran's president hassan rouhani. >>> good day. i'm andrea mitchell in new york today. we are hearing from the president now on the possible government shutdown. lets listen. >> a lot of extraneous issues to it that allows us then to negotiate a longer term budget and address a range of issues, but ensures we're not shutting down the government and we're not shutting down the economy at a time when a lot of families are just getting some traction and digging themselves out of the hole we've had as a consequence of the financial crisis. i've said before, congress has two responsibilities, pass a budget, pay the bills. and i am not only open to but eager to have negotiations around a long-term budget that makes sure that we're investing in middle class families, helping the economy grow, and giving people who are working hard a leg up and greater security and stability and deals with some of our long-term challenges in terms of debt and deficits. but the only way to do that is for everybody to sit down in good faith wi

what do you think of what rouhani said to christiane today? >> his words aren't terribly reassuring. he basically in the clip you played said we're not going to suspend plutonium enrichment which is the core issue. let's remember instead of focusing so much on sweet words about iranians love americans or whatever they actually do, and by the way, this regime is not entitled to speak for the iranian people. it murders them on a large scale and regularly. but they have also killed americans in iraq. they plotted to assassinate the saudi ambassador in washington, d.c., the man who was charged by -- not by the bush administration but by eric holder's justice department of attempting that crime was just sentenced to 25 years in prison. and secretary of state clinton said this was organized out of tehran and the two men who organized it are designated by the secretary of the treasury. we have a lot of issue ups with iran. and instead of rushing after smiles and nice words, we should be pursuing that whole agenda and not as we did with syria get trap

the majority of the iranian people want exactly what rouhani is saying. moderation, a relationship with the west, freedom at home. all of that kind of thing. obviously they want much more than what he's saying. >> another thing he said he has the approval of the supreme leader. >> absolutely. >> a lot of people don't realize there's a supreme religious leader that's the real power. >> he's given him the power to negotiate on the nuclear issue and negotiate directly with the united states. it is not a small thing that he's named his american educated foreign minister, first of all naming that man as foreign minister is pretty dramatic. and he has put him in charge of the nuclear file and other negotiations. president obama announced he's put secretary kerry in charge. so the two will be talking in their group meetings. but fars wants to discredit rouhani. >> piers asked former president clinton about what he said. i just want to play that. >> and he compared to the interview they did with mahmoud ahmadinejad last year struck a much more conciliatory tone p

president obama clearly welcomes president rouhani's overtures. but words are not going to replace actions. what we need are actions that prove that we and our allies, our friends in the region, can never be threatened by this program. >> pelley: but the united states would look favorably on relaxing or eliminating the sanctions if the iranians were serious about abandoning their nuclear weapon. >> kerry: well, the united states is not going to lift the sanctions until it is clear that a very verifiable, accountable, transparent process is in place, whereby we know exactly what iran is going to be doing with its program. and if it does, of course. >> pelley: rouhani said he'd like to have a deal in three to six months. is that possible? >> kerry: sure, it's possible. it's possible to have a deal sooner than that-- depending on how forthcoming and clear iran is prepared to be. we need to have a good deal here. and a good deal means that it is absolutely accountable, failsafe in its measures to make certain this is a peaceful program. if it is a pea

rouhani has been in new york all week, speaking at the u.n. and vowing warmer relations with the united states. the obstacles are huge, for years war with iran has seemed more likely than diplomatic progress. the president says he sees a chance for a big change. beginning with renewed talks on iran's nuclear program. >> i believe we have a responsibility to pursue diplomacy, and a unique opportunity to make progress with the new leadership in tehran. >> reporter: right after the president touted his historic conversation with the president of iran, he lashed out at a group he hasn't been talking to, republicans in congress, who he blamed for putting the government on a path to shutdown in just three days. >> nobody gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the united states just to extract political concessions. no one gets to hurt our economy and millions of innocent people just because there are a couple laws you do not like. >> reporter: history was made with the obama rouhani phone conversation, there has been no phone calls this week

we don't know if there will be a meeting with rouhani or not. we cannot predict what will happen with the syrians but that's one front. on the other front, he's got this big problem as brianna points out, at home. there's a lot of scar tissue here in washington when it comes to the debt ceiling and keeping the government funded and there's a lot of bad feelings to the point where they can't even agree when to meet. if this can get kicked down the road to a certain degree, maybe that would be a win for the president. but again, it would come up again presumably when it comes time to consider raising the debt ceiling and someone said to me, a senior house republican said to me this could go on until christmas. hate to say it. >> what a nightmare that would be. on, he's got the national security issues, whether syria, iran, kenya, so many other problems, all these domestic problems as well, including a possible government shut-down, a debt ceiling that's got to be raised by mid-october. we've covered a lot of presidents and it's juggling -- this is

. >> in his first interview with the western journalist, new iran yoon president, rouhani told curry of the news he does not have a bomb and will not. >>translator: in the nuclear program, discovering enters with full power and complete authority. i have given the nuclear negotiations portfolio to the foreign ministry. >> exiting his own briefing room, secretary of state john kerry gave the remarks a cautious welcome. >> everything needs to be put to the test. >> european diplomats tell fox news they don't believe rouhani has the authority to cut the deal. they also don't believe rouhani has no thompt french and british are reportedly pushing the white house action by action steps on granting u.n. inspectors to key sites there in exchange for easing of economic sanctions that have hobbled iran's economy in the last two years. >> the new president made clear he wants to or says he wants to adistress that problem. to do that he needs to demonstrate he's serious about resolving the conflict with the international community. >> one veteran urged access sors not to be taken in by the char

the majority of the iranian people want exactly what rouhani is saying. moderation, a relationship with the west, freedom at home. all of that kind of thing. obviously they want much more than what he's saying. >> another thing he said he has the approval of the supreme leader. >> absolutely. >> a lot of people don't realize there's a supreme religious leader that's the real power. >> he's given him the power to negotiate on the nuclear issue and negotiate directly with the united states. it is not a small thing that he's named his american educated foreign minister, first of all naming that man as foreign minister is pretty dramatic. and he has put him in charge of the nuclear file and other negotiations. president obama announced he's put secretary kerry in charge. so the two will be talking in their group meetings. but fars wants to discredit rouhani. >> piers asked former president clinton about what he said. i just want to play that. >> and he compared to the interview they did with mahmoud ahmadinejad last year struck a much more conciliatory tone p

president rouhani's position is in stark contrast to ahminedjad. in a one-on-one interview with our christiane amanpour, he was asked about his views of the nazi atrocities. >> one of the things your predecessor used to do from this platform is deny the holocaust and pretend that it was a myth. i want to know you, your position on the holocaust. do you accept what it was? and what was it? >> translator: i've said before that i am not a historian and when it comes to speaking of the dimensions of the holocaust, it is the historians that should reflect on it, but in general, i can tell you that any crime that happens in history against humanity, including the kril the north ameri crime the nazis committed is reprehensible and condemnable. whatever criminality that committed against the jews, we condemn. the taking of human life is contemptible. it makes no difference whether that life is a jewish life, christian or muslim. for us, it is the same. the taking of human life is something all religion rejects, but this does not mean that on the other hand

i was listening to an interview that president rouhani is giving. she asked him the question and he said he had permission from tehran to do the meeting. he said they discussed it but decided diplomacy takes time and the time was not right. it may be that he made a political congratulations. a domestic political congratulations. he is getting a lot of grief from hard liners from tehran for the outreach he's done, including his statement before the speech saying that iran has no intention of building a nuclear weapon. this kind of thing. he may have calculated that he's gone as far as he can and is withstanding as much political opposition as he can. and then a meeting with obama would have been a step too far. as you say, the u.s. put itself out there and in effect was snubbed. >> and at the edge of the day, ayatollah is still pulling the strings here. look at the words the white house used to explain why iran chose tonight meet the president. it was too complicated back home. you were talking about that. is that a reference to the fact the man call

is it a positive sign coming from rouhani in the interview. >> very positive. everything needs to be put to the test to see where we go. at the right moment, i think the wh

in fact there's some potential jaw jaw about to -- >> the fact rouhani comes in and says he wants to negotiate with the united states. he knows the terms. they all know the bottom line, they can't have a nuclear weapon. is he trying to waste our time while they're trying to building a weapon. >> exactly. so the question becomes continued enrichment, verification, inspection, control and all the questions about a nuclear program. >> michael crowley, i hope there's a deal somewhere short of them having a weapon. but is there a deal here potentially? >> well, chris, i think there is potentially a deal, but i think we're still a long way from it. so everyone is kind of dancing and the courtship has begun, the mating ritual and the sides are circling each other. but substantively you haven't seen anybody change their fundamental positions. so, for instance, the iranians among other things, one has to stop threatening to use force. don't put a gun on the table when you begin negotiations. i don't think that you're going to see obama stop the use of force. we want to see the iranians do som

and the possible meeting with president rouhani. as always, we'll have potentially some satellite issues. we're always prepared for that there. ali, we have heard everything from rouhani, but explain sort of how much leeway does the new iranian president have in engagement right now and how long does he have? how long will the ayatollah give him to try to work on this deal on his own before stepping in? >> well, chuck, that's the $64,000 question. how much time does he have, indeed. when he was giving his interview to ann curry a few days ago, he says he has a full mandate to negotiate the nuclear issue. he says he's been given full power to do so and he said wit great confidence. the question is how long does he have to do it. the supreme leader has been very clear here. he says he's going to give rouhani some time to get this done, but the supreme leader also said he's very skeptical that america will honor any sort of deal. so they've obviously given hall of fame window, maybe six month, maybe a year, to make a deal. we don't kno

so, at 13, rouhani went to study at

the president is and letters with rouhani. do you think there's a chance the president of the united states and the president of iran will meet next week? >> i think there is some chance. if they met, it would be a huge symbolic event. i think what is more important is that there is a high level dialogue between the united states and iran. most experts believe we will never get past the nuclear imimpasse. that has been on the table for a long time. >> what do you think? should the united states take iran up on its word? or not? because it would seem that sanctions have done a lot of damage. we saw that there. wouldn't iran need to offer complete unfettered access to everyone of its nuclear sites with absolutely no restrictions in order for this to be taken seriously? >> yes. you're right. i mean, i think this is really a ruch. it could be a pivotal moment. the fact is that having dealt with iran for quite some time, especially under nuclear file. you have to be very skem cal. a lot of this stuff like i am, is theater. they rel

in fact there's some potential jaw jaw about to -- >> the fact rouhani comes in and says he wants to negotiate with the united states. he knows the terms. they all know the bottom line, they can't have a nuclear weapon. is he trying to waste our time while they're trying to building a weapon. >> exactly. so the question becomes continued enrichment, verification, inspection, control and all the questions about a nuclear program. >> michael crowley, i hope there's a deal somewhere short of them having a weapon. but is there a deal here potentially? >> well, chris, i think there is potentially a deal, but i think we're still a long way from it. so everyone is kind of dancing around the courtship has be gun, the mating ritual and the sides are circling each other. but substantively you haven't seen anybody change their fundamental positions. so, for instance, the iranians among other things, one has to stop threatening to use force. don't put a gun on the table when you begin negotiations. i don't think that you're going to see obama stop the use of force. we want to see the iranians do

he is on a charm offensive, rouhani. he seems to be skillful at setting a better tone, but i didn't hear him say that they're ready to negotiate on eliminating enriched uranium. i didn't hear him be very clear about the holocaust in israel. he seems to be backing off. the question is, are they doing this because they're sincere or because, one, their oil production is really down, inflation is really up, sanctions are working, but at the same time, you've got to look at a potential break through in the future, the fact that the two the secretaries of state sat down at the same time directly is a positive sign. but there's a lot that remains to be seen. i was a little concerned that charm offensive was yanked back by the clerics when president obama and rouhani didn't get a chance to at least shake hands, have a little bit of body language. i think that was a little bit of a setback. i think in diplomacy, that personal contact is very important. >> that was a real sort of snub at the united states. here the president of t

but he is -- that's where rouhani is meeting him from fran france. he will try to get iran involved in fixing problems as well as a problem itself but the major qestion is how sincere is this? is this a new gambit. now they will try playing nice a few years and each day the clock ticks further forward and critics say when they get a nuclear weapon and that's the critics against iran say they are up to. it s it serious or just playing nice to buy time? >> definitely questions. thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. >> even before the house passed its funding bill on friday. members were setting up their calendars, preparing to take the measure up again, because it doesn't have a chance of making it through the senate and landing on the president's desk. can they really get this done by the end of the month, that's next. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some things are designed to draw crowds. ♪ ♪ others are designed to leave them behind. ♪ the all-new 2014 lexus is. it's your move. the all-new 2014 lexus is. seasonal... doesn't begin to describe

i reiterated to president rouhani what i said in new york. while there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, i believe we can reach a comprehensive solution. >> i believe we can reach a comprehensive solution. it's a remarkable thing for an american president to say about iran. we have been hearing nothing but rhetoric from the u.s. government that iran is pursuing a nuclear weapon. >> no

president bashar al-assad putin and rouhani. start with iran. that is always a big talking part. christian amanpour interviewed rouhani and he, compared with the interview i did with mahmoud ahmadinejad, struck a conciliatory tone. >> that any crime happened against humanity including the crime the naziss created toward the jews is reprehensible and condemnable. whatever criminality they committed against the jews we condemn. >> what did you make of that? how important is that kind of concession and do you see a shift in the relationship with america? how much do you trust him? >> first of all, i think it is an interesting commentary in the world that we live in. admitting that the holocaust occurred qualifies as being moderate. in other words, if you get in to the fact-based world, there's something to it. so i think we have to keep working at it. i don't think that president obama has to trust anybody. i think you just deal with people and see what happens and go forward. i feel the same way about the russian effort to get to syrian government to declare and then hand over thei

because president rouhani appears to work from a new playbook, his own. the iranian leader writing to move beyond impasses whether in relation to my country's nuclear program or its relations with the united states, we need to aim higher. president obama telling abc news just this week, the two leaders exchanged letters, after rouhani was elected. >> have you reached out personally to the new president? >> i have. and he's reached out to me. we haven't spoken directly. but -- >> letters. >> yeah. >> that communication unheard of before. the american delegation walking out on ahmadinejad after those 9/11 comments. the approach from the new president comes as people demand change back home. we saw it firsthand just before he was elected. given exclusive access to the people, the streets of teheran, no government minders with us. the u.s. led economic sanctions over iran's nuclear program hurting. this mother and daughter feeling it. some of the parents we spoke with imagining a different relationship for their children, this mother telling us her son needs

president rouhani said he is open to talks with the u.s. to, quote, manage the differences between the two countries. while there was no handshake, there will be a historic meeting later this week between secretary kerry and the iranians. it's the first time a secretary of state has sat down for substantive meetings with the iranians since the hostage crises. >> still inching forward. >> still inching forward and nobody got up and walked out when the president got up to speak this time. >>> more on the president now. we are exactly one week away from a giant change in america's health care system. mark the date. a milestone for obama care. tonight the president is bringing out the big gun to argue it will lead to a healthier and cheaper medical cost for americans, even as its critics make one more stand against it. abc's bob woodruff now. >> reporter: tonight two presidents introduced by a possible future one. >> the more i thought about it the more i realized how much they have in common. >> reporter: call it bill clinton to the rescue. wi

. >> just now, i spoke on the phone with president rouhani. the two have discussed on ongoing efforts. we were mindful of the challenges ahead. the very fact that this was the first indication between an american and iranian president since 1979 underscores the deepness between our countries, but also indicated the prospect of moving beyond that difficult test. so, the test will be meaningful, transparent and verifiable actions, which can also bring relief from the comprehensive international sanctions this place. >> watching this news break over twitter, and sitting and observing it, i felt like i was watching the man that i voted for in 2008. very proudly, who ran an entire foreign policy campaign about choosing diplomacy over war. a man who has president, has been drawn to a close, but also expanding our military activities in a variety of countries through counterterrorism and drones and special forces. today, i saw that candidate of 2008. >> our iran policy is a complete failure right now and that's the policy that john mccain is running

today president rouhani called for a nuclear-free zone in the middle east. and he called specifically at the u.n. when he spoke on israel to sign to nuclear nonproliferation treaty without delay. obviously israel is the only state that has not signed it, presumed to have a very solid size nuclear arsenal. is not israel part of the problem here? >> well, we would support any country and every country abiding by the npt. the reason we're also concern about iran is because they've been producing or on their path to producing and creating a nuclear weapons. there's great concern about what they would do with them. that's a concern shared by the international communicate and that's why we're pressing for it and so that's what the conversation is about. sometimes there's an effort to distract but that's why we're here and why the meeting tonight was so important. >> well, thank you very much. as always. as women, the chief spokesperson for the state department joining us. >>> our second story, the economic doomsday. the shutdown is upon us. to raise the debt ceili

president rouhani wants to reach a nuclear deal in three to six months. secretary of state john kerry says that could happen even sooner. >> it's possible to have a deal sooner than that depending on how forthcoming and clear iran is prepared to be. we need to have a good deal here. a good deal means that it is absolutely accountable, failsafe in its measures to make certain this is a peaceful program. if it is a peaceful program and we can all see that, the whole world sees that, the relationship with iran can change dramatically for the better and it can change fast. >> israel also just announced it arrested this man. ali monsieuri for spying for iran. israel says the iran native had photos of various locations including the u.s. embassy in tel aviv and has confessed. >>> more bombshell revolutions in the nsa spying scandal. documents show the national security agency has been serially gathering information on connections u.s. citizens have made on social media since november 2012. massive amounts of data on phone calls and the e-mails have been collect

president obama was ready, say us what officials but president rouhani was not. still from the safer distance of the podium, both leaders called for a new era of cooperation between the u.s. and iran, even using nearly the exact same phrase to describe a new basis for friendship. >> i do believe that if we can resolve the issue of iran's n e nuclear program that can serve as a major step down a long road toward a relationship, one based on mutual interests and mutual respect. >> translator: iran seeks constructive engagement with other countries based on mutual respect and common interest. >> reporter: president rouhani spoke exclusively with cnn's christiane amanpour. >> i would like to say to american people, i bring peace and friendship from iranians to americans. >> reporter: in an ambitious move, obama publicly directed secretary of state john kerry, seated in the audience, not far from his iranian counterpart, mohammad zarif, to immediately pursue a nuclear agreement with iran. he cautioned the u.s. must know iran is serious. >> to succeed conciliatory word

many see hassan rouhani as a spin miester. they have heavy water reactors that are consistent with weapons program. they still have scientists pursuing weaponization of nuclear technology. i wonder if they are aware of and protecting any part of that flank that understands that people see what happened in the outcome of obama drawing a red line on syria and then changing course regardless of where he ended up of putting us in a position where the russians had the upper hand, the syrians got off scott free with their best friend in the world russia now holding their feet to the fire which is laughable to most people. are they aware coming in -- unga is a place where leaders run around the same hotels, are they aware of the stakes of looking like they are being spun by or played by hassan rouhani? >> you know, the whole reason why they were looking aggressive for a time on syria, what they said behind-the-scenes this is important we got to look like we mean what we say because of the iran situation. at the same time one of the r

senator john mccain, iranian president hassan rouhani, it's the hottest tool in international diplomacy. we're talking about the article in the pages of the "washington post." iran's new president made a pledging to "engage in constructive be interaction with the world." he echoed that sentiment in an interview with nbc news. >> let me ask you, president ahmadinejad said the holocaust is a myth. do you agree? >> translator: i'm not a historian. i'm a politician. what is important for us is that the countries of the region and the people of the world grow closer to each other and that they are able to prevent injustice. >> so if i might ask you one more time, do you want to decry those statements? >> we are not seeking and looking for war with any nation. we are seeking peace and stability among all nations in the region. >> let's bring in the israeli ambassador to the united states, microal orrin. what do you think? this new president of iran, more reasonable, more moderate than ahmadinejad, someone the u.s. maybe some day israel could deal with. >> let's get this straight. here's a man

that said, it is clear in rouhani's victory that the iranian people want change. what rouhani is arguing for is ultimately what the green movement stood for as well. so i think there's no question there's a very large segment of the iranian populous that still wants what the green movement stood for. the problem is, they don't really have the leaders they once did. >> well, in the most recent nbc news poll regarding syria, 45% of americans don't know enough to form their own opinion. i'm sure, ken, the same can be said about iran. that just leads to misconceptions. help us understand the realities. how far away are we from a nuclear iran, and what are their goals, as you understand them? >> this, of course, is part of the problem. i spend some time in the book trying to unpack this for people. the problem with the iranians is, of course, they're a very badly fragmented political system. there are all kinds of iranian politicians and political figures and military figures who have very different ideas about their nuclear program. that's why you often see the irania

since taking office, iran's new president, rouhani is here today for the new u.n. general assembly, tweeting this picture here, okay, ambassador to the united nations. there is a lot riding on there, he has said he wants to work with the president. today, he freed 80 political prisoners, estimated out of a 100. one prisoner not released who has been behind bars for police more than two years, accused of being a spy. his father is dying of brain cancer. and he along with others spoke to our drew griffin. >> reporter: amir is as american as you can get. born in flagstaff, arizona, joined the marines, and becomes a rifleman serving in iraq. >> my kids here are born in the united states. they were born free, go where they want to go, say what they want to say. he was raised here in the united states. >> reporter: he is also the son of iranian immigrants who two years ago were told by amir their son finally wanted to go to iran, visit the relatives he had never seen, find his roots. >> so he was excited to go to iran? >> yes, very excited to go. >> reporter: like all pa

jim, in the "washington post" op ed that i just referenced, rouhani said he wants to get involved in the talks between the syrian government and the opposition. i'm just curious, we hear about this man. he's a reformer. others say no he's a wolf in sheep's clothing. he's just saying all these nice things. what do you think? how significant is all this talk? >> reporter: well, i've been to iran a number of times. i've always thought the term reformer is overused in iran. in general it's just different shades of hard liners there. this is a regime that's intent on its own survival. that said, there are different approaches. and this is as you said unprecedented outreach. i've spoken to a number of people, and they call it the most significant outreach since the 1979 revolution. and because it is quite broad. you have this invitation to the u.s. president to meet at the unga next week. you have an outreach to jews after years of his predecessor maligning jews and talking about pushing israel into the ocean, et cetera. and now you have this editorial where syria is offering to broker a p

rouhani's hand. by monday the police was overflowing with leaked accounts. having thus turned down the lights and turned up the mood music, it made the snub that followed especially potent. what the administration is trying to spend as iranian politics was in blunt fact an expression of contempt for what easternian leaders consider to be an overeager suitor from an unworthy nation. >> we allow the iranians to snub our president. >> we did. they took advantage of the opportunity. i think that there was a lot of expectation rouhani would come to the u.n. he had been making these moderate overtures for an iranian leader on the u.s. networks. if you look at the sfwhub on the floor of the u.n., there were some consimmiatociliatory state. maybe it was a lot more bombbassic. >> we have to remember that ahmadinejad's predecessor did it nor years. >> go into 1979, bud more farland. we have been somehow seeing iranian moderates for almost, for longer than sam stein is put on this earth. >> oh. >> that's not necessary. sam, when he's talking about iran and bud mcfarlan

obviously rouhani is a different kind of figure. he's a much more experienced diplomat and he's presenting himself in a much more attractive way, both to the iranian people and to the west. it is a good thing that the foreign ministry is going to be involved. remember used the phrase out from under the supreme leader. nothing in iran is out from under the supreme leader. the question about rouhani is how much flexibility will he be given by the supreme leader, which might involve iran giving up effort we don't know, we'll have to test him. >> stephen hadley, thanks so much for being with us. after nearly three weeks, the massive rim wildfire still burning. now investigators have finally figured out what started it. and later, president obama face to face with vladimir putin. howe a saturday crowd. ♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track. the power tools introduce themselves. all the bits and bulbs keep themselves stocked. and the doors even handle the c

president assad, vladimir putin, and president rouhani. start with iran. that's a big part, christiane amanpour interviewed him. and compared to the interview i did with mahmoud ahmadinejad last year struck a more conciliatory tonight after he admitted that basically there had been a holocaust. something that ahmadinejad would never admit to. >> translator: any crime that happens in history against humanity including the crime the nazis created toward the jews is reprehensible and condemnable in. whatever criminality they committed against the jews, we condemn. >> what did you make of that? how important is that kind of concession? and do we see a real shift there in the relationship with america? how much do you trust him? >> well, first of all, i think it's interesting commentary on the world in which we are living that admitting that the holocaust occurred qualifies as being a moderate. >> right. >> i mean, in other words, if you get into the fact-based world, there's something to it. at least we can have something to talk about. so i think we just had

he's prepared to shut down the nuclear -- rouhani is not the man running iran. but khamenei is a smart politician who wants to stay in power by limiting internal discontempt. so on december 17, hamanni said that iran -- he also affirmed when we say that no country should possess nuclear weapons, we ourselveses are definitely not trying to possess them. this could all be camouflage and smoke screen, but there is another possibility. the international sanctions against iran are haunting that country. the arab spring's problem -- the chance f in these circumstances, coming to a deal with the west, diffusing some tensions, easing the sanctions and reviving the iranian economy would be extremely useful to the regime at tehran. at the very worst it would be -- reasonable offer that would signal to the iranian people that if the regime is willing to credibly four square nuclear weapons, ordinary iran yaians wd have a better future. for more go to cnn.com/fareed, you can read my "time" column this week. let's get started. >>> we'll spend most of the hour today with bill

tonight, a conversation with the new president of iran, hassan rouhani. >> the president said he gives you respect and recognition of iran's right to have mostful nuclear energy. that seems to be an answer to your concerns. >> well, the nuclear issue has turned into an issue of national pride. and a symbol of the perseverance of our the people. and i want to say that the people really have never demanded anything beyond what the law designates. nothing over and above what is rightfully their. therefore the nuclear issue has become a symbol of development of sorts in iran. the modern know-how required to go hand in happened with this technology is a symbol for the iranian people. hand in hand we must move forward to ensure that the international is enforce and once we are abide by that i think everything's settled. >> rose: we talked with manuel barossa. >> because the economic situation seems to improve there's the risk of complacency. there's the risk of some governments say okay, we don't need to go on with reform, that's serious complacency. complacency nationally, we don't need to

the problem is they have a long history rouhani, the president was the negotiator in 2003 for iran on nuclear weapons with the europeans. he boasted afterwards that by keeping things calm, by negotiating and smiling, they were able to complete a nuclear facility. these are people that have such contempt for the u.s. and the west that they actually saver their strategies spin the west and spin the uranium. they are worried they have no military options as long as the negotiations are happening and he they are going to happen for a long time. >> bret: speaking of the iranian foreign minister here is what he said this weekend on abc. >> not seeking nuclear weapons so we're not six months, six years away from nuclear weapons. we do not want nuclear weapons. we believe nuclear weapons are detrimental to our security. we believe those who have the allusion that nuclear weapons provide them the security are badly mistaken. we need to have a region and a world he free from nuclear weapons. >> and like charles, senator lindsey graham tweeted after that appearance, quote: the iranian foreign mi

. >> just now, i spoke on the phone with president rouhani. >> you spoke to who now? seriously, what happened? >> the two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over iran's nuclear program. i reiterated to president rouhani when i said new york, while there will surely be important obstacles to moving forward and successinges by no means guaranteed, i believe that we can reach a solution. >> a phone call is a small thing in the great big world, but this particular phone call is of historic proportions. they reportedly talked for about 15 minutes this afternoon. even though frankly they have had a lot they needed to talk about. one snippet of their conversation was tweeted out by the iranian president after the phone call ended. it said in a phone conversation, the president of iran concluded the conversation by saying in english, have a nice day and president obama then said, thank you and then he spoke in farsy. he said good-bye, god be with you and that according to a senior administration official was quote appreciated by the iranian. there's pro

iranian president, hassan rouhani addressed the united nations wrapping up just about an hour ago. he says that any threat from iran has been overexaggerated. >> translator: such imaginary threat is the so-called iranian threat which has been employed as an execution to justify a long catalog of crimes and practices over the past three decades. >> let's take you to washington now and show you life pictures from the senate chambers. ted cruz -- that's not ted cruz -- he is trying to stop president obama's health care reform bill. he has been on and off of the senate floor for most of the day, but again, that is not senator cruz. >>> back here president obama took his pitch to the global initiative, and stressed the importance of he health care bill. >>> and kenyan's foreign minister says several floors have collapsed in the westgate mall. "real money with ali velshi" is next. ♪ ♪ >>> sin city's housing market bounces back, but the stakes are still high, and i'll tell you what you pay for prescription drug costs under obamacare. i'm ali velshi and this is "real money." ♪ [ tech

>> there will be the obama administration for rouhani's tone change. the question is, is it a hand shake in the hall, or is it something else? there is some work and still some wariness there and they're not going to go too much in with rouhani. >> in virginia, they'll be moderating a debate between cucinelli and mccall. this is a tough race. >> cucinelli trying to attack mccullough's character. running gets cucinelli's idealogy. >> it's not just the president raising money to sell obamacare and the republicans are doing it, too. >> you can argue that the nominee is likely from this group that will be at this fundrai fundraiser. look at this list. chris christie is woody johnson's favorite from this six, but bringing in both sides of the party, it's interesting to see who gets the most juice among these big donors. >> just a couple seconds. there is no momentum, is there, for gun control? do you see it there? >> not at all. maybe you'll see a tightening of mental health bills. frankly you'll see congress mess around more with the contractor laws. >> ch

president obama is in the oval office and on the phone with president rouhani. the first time leaders of the two countries have spoken in 1979. where are we now in relations between these two countries? >> well, i don't think anything can be shown to have changed except that there was a conversation and we have this rather more appealing fellow. he does very well by comparison with his thugish predecessor. he seems maury fined and more -- more refined and more reasonable, but so far iran hasn't done anything. if you listen to the sound bite they are talking about arriving in a an agreeable framework to resolve the outstanding issues. what does that mean? that is just talk. a lesson until iran actually agrees to do something and then does it that would reduce the possibility of it having a nuclear arsonal, the only thing you can have is a mild degree of interest and not much hope. joy all right. the phone call -- >> all right. the phone call fold a meeting between secretary of state kerry and zarif, the fellow on the right with the white beard, and the iranians a

president obama is in the oval office and on the phone with president rouhani. the first time leaders of the two countries have spoken in 1979. where are we now in relations between these two countries? >> well, i don't think anything can be shown to have changed except that there was a conversation and we have this rather more appealing fellow. he does very well by comparison with his thugish predecessor. he seems maury fined and more -- more refined and more reasonable, but so far iran hasn't done anything. if you listen to the sound bite they are talking about arriving in a an agreeable framework to resolve the outstanding issues. what does that mean? that is just talk. a lesson until iran actually agrees to do something and then does it that would reduce the possibility of it having a nuclear arsonal the only thing you can have is a mild degree of interest and not much hope. joy all right. the phone call -- >> all right. the phone call fold a meeting between secretary of state kerry and zarif the fellow on the right with the white beard, and the iranians are

. >> that was iran's president hassan rouhani with a tone for the west. he's played a hot and cold dance with the west and on several occasions tapped away from his moderate message. on tuesday iran avoid add meeting between president obama and rouhani saying it would be too complicated. they said they would never release their right to enrich nuclear and nuclear weapons. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] what's important to you? at humana, our medicare agents sit down with you and ask. hanging out with this guy. he's just the love of my life. [ male announcer ] getting to know you is how we help you choose the humana medicare plan that works best for you. mi familia. ♪ [ male announcer ] we want to help you achieve your best health, so you can keep doing the things that are important to you. keeping up with them. i love it! [ male announcer ] helping you -- now that's what's important to us. i want peacocks. peacocks? walking the grounds. in tuscany. [ man ] her parents didn't expect her dreams to be so ambitious. italy? oh, that's not good. [ ma

. >>> iran's newly elected president hassan rouhani is expected to make appearance in hopes of possible break in negotiations over iran's nuclear program. you can follow top stories at our website at www.aljazeera.com. stay with us, >> are you guys ready? in the event of any emergency, let us know through coms. >> high above the artic circle, >> stand by.... >> in some of the world's coldest waters, canadian military divers are preparing for a search and rescue training mission. >> the bottom is about 40 meters, 120 feet down, the water is about 2 degrees below zero celsius. they can stay down there 40 minutes to an hour without really getting too cold. >> yellow diver well, yellow diver well for leaks. >> lately, the arctic has been seeing a flurry activity. that's because there's something locked beneath the ice. thirteen percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped natural gas. trillions of dollars of potential profit. and that means that here in the far north, issues of sovereignty security, environment, and trade are intersecting at a colossal pace, in the

the meeting comes days after president obama's historic phone call with president rouhani. the first call between a u.s. president and iranian leader in four decades. >>> we will have the president live. when we come down, shutdown showdown, an update on the negotiations going on behind closed doors. >>> plus, the political winners and losers. who will bear the brunt of it politically if the government shuts down? ss run ♪ ♪ trains! they haul everything, safely and on time. ♪ tracks! they connect the factories built along the lines. and that means jobs, lots of people, making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ helping this big country move ahead as one ♪ ♪ norfolk southern how's that function? ♪ >>> welcome back to "the lead." we're awaiting live remarks from president obama in a little more than ten minutes. we'll bring it to you live. as we speak, the house is preparing to vote yet again on a bill to continue funding the government but only if the individual mandate,

>> there will be the obama administration reward for rouhani's tone change. the question is, is it a hand shake in the hall, or is it something else? there is some work and still some wariness there and they're not going to go too much in with rouhani. >> in virginia, they'll be moderating a debate between cucinelli and mccall. this is a tough race. >> cucinelli trying to attack mccullough's character. running against cucinelli's idealogy. >> it's not just the president raising money to sell obamacare and the republicans are doing it, too. >> you can argue that the nominee is likely from this group that will be at this fundraiser. look at this list. chris christie is woody johnson's favorite from this six, but bringing in both sides of the party, it's interesting to see who gets the most juice among these big donors. >> just a couple seconds. there is no momentum, is there, for gun control? do you see it there? >> not at all. maybe you'll see a tightening of mental health bills. frankly you'll see congress mess around more with the contractor laws. >> chuck t

in a departure from his predecessor, rouhani has acknowledged the holocaust. >> any crime that happens in history against humanity, including the crime that the nazis committed toward the jews is reprehensible and condemnable as far as we're concerned. whatever criminality they committed against the jews, we condemn, because genocide, the taking of the human life is condemnable, and it makes no difference whether that life is a jewish life, a christian, a muslim or what. >> but the iranian news agency which has ties to the revolutionary guards posted its own translation of his answer. saying he did not use the words reprehensible. and its new leader is already tweeting quite a bit. for instance, instead of nuclear weapons, #nuclearweapons, invest in development in eradicating poverty, ignorance and diseases. joining me now, ann curry, and hooman majd. also author of an upcoming book, the ministry of guidance invites you not to stay. today was a huge day in u.s./iranian relations, i think it's fair to say. >> huge. >> the biggest in decades, would you say? >> for the first time in 34 ye

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