president obama and iran's new president rouhani talked today about their desire to reach an agreement on iran's nuclear program. it was the first contact between the presidents of the two countries since 1979, the year a revolution overthrew the u.s.- backed shah of iran, ayatollah khomeini returned from exile and student radicals seized the u.s. embassy in tehran, holding dozens of americans hostage for 444 days. major garrett is at the white house with more about the historic phone call and these fast-moving developments. major? >> reporter: scott, the iranians called the white house this

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

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,

rouhani was elected and they had a new foreign minister. were any conversations with the previous-- >> no. >> rose: none. >> no. therefore, it's a major shift. after the election, i received the ambassador of iran, and the new minister, mr. zarif, called me saying, "well, there has not been a relationship before" and we had an interesting conversation on the phone. it was about syria. i said, "you know we are against chemical weapons because we have suffered with chemical weapons coming from the iraqis, and, therefore, we are against the chemical weapons, and we want to that everybody will abide by the international law." and i said, "mr. minister, i'm very happy to high pressure from you. we want that everyone will abide by international law, and especially in the nuclear field. then there was a silence. and then he said okay. and, you know, this sort of story which enabled us to know who is in front of us. >> rose: where do you stand and has your opinion changedly on the question of iran being a participant in negotiations about syria? >>

. >> the president hanging with netanyahu after days of talking with rouhani. straight ahead. s. you know who you are. you can part a crowd, without saying a word... if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... you stash tissues like a squirrel stashes nuts... well muddlers, muddle no more. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour one on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour three. zyrtec®. love the air. there's a lot i had to do... ... watch my diet. stay active. start insulin... today, i learned there's something i don't have to do anymore. my doctor said that with novolog® flexpen, i don't have to use a syringe and a vial... or carry a cooler. flexpen® comes prefilled with fast-acting insulin used to help control high blood sugar when you eat. dial the exact does. inject by pushing a button. no drawing from a vial. you should eat a meal within 5 to 10 minutes after injecting novolog® (insulin aspart [rdna origin] injection). do not use if your bloo

one week after president obama's historic phone call with the newly elected president of iran, hassan rouhani, he has a message, don't be so naive. netanyahu is not at all buying the sweet talk, saying the new leader cannot be trusted when it comes to iran's nuclear intentions. >> iran is committed to israel's destruction, so for israel, the ultimate test of a future agreement with iran is whether or not iran dismantles its military nuclear program. >> so what do americans think about this? according to our latest cnn/orc poll, three quarters of americans, 76% say they favor direct diplomatic negotiate eggs with iran in an effort to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons. >>> a short time ago, president obama talking about the deadline hours away here to keep the government running. this is, as a deal is looking very unlikely. plus, just revealed, the results of the investigation into the deaths of the 19 hot shot firefighters who were killed in that deadly arizona wildfire. there was a major, major problem. that's coming up. ♪ honey, we need to talk. we do? i took the trash ou

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

. >> iran's new president hasan rouhani touched down in new york. >> rouhani was elected in june as a moderate candidate who advocated improving relations with the international community. >> jon: rouhani is a moderate as well as an accomplished mannedi patinkin impersonator. down in the days of ahmadinejad and the hunt for stereotype of the crazy america-hating anti-semitic wearing jacket wearing president. but how different can this rouhani guy be. >> though iran usually blocks iranians from twitter, now rouhani is tweeting. >> the surprising and unprecedented outreach that began with another tweet two weeks ago wishing the world's jews a happy rosh hashanah holiday. (laughter) >> jon: did not see that coming. well that is different, finally iran has reached the same level of tolerance as your local ford dealership. not that rouhani's wiped the whole slate clean. >> let me ask you, president ahmadinejad said the holocaust is a myth. do you agree? >> he's a historian, i'm a politician. >> jon: missed it by that much. here's a tip on the playing of the i'm not a historian card. if som

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 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

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

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

obama has given every indication that he wants to shake rouhani's hand. there is the situation where the united states walked away from what appeared to be imminent military strike which shows how little appetite there is in the u.s. for as strike on iran. they see an america that is t willing to play. >> but that isn't what the administration says.t is the administration says, look,ed the sanctions are working andnc the iranians are under appreciator and that's why they are doing it. and now the new moderate voice , he has impressed the rest of the iranian leadership with how well he did in theith election. they are willing to say, all right, go see if you can cut a o deal. >> well, look, we have had sanctions for a very longtime.g i keep -- we have been hearing about how the sanctions have gone on for years and years with no change in the iranian -- in the iranian behavior. people forget that more thanrget 600 candidates for president were de selected before they found six acceptable people. cre rouhani has been there going back more than 30 years there

none other than rouhani. >> are you as surprised as it has rest of us? i took the remote and i was like wait a minute, what did i just hear? are you as surprised as most people? >> i'm ready to watch the whole show. >> always a pleasure, sir. appreciate it. >>> just ahead here on cnn, this may shock you, cnn went door-to-door to ask people what they thought of obama care. many people never heard of it. the story is next. you work. and you want to get an mba. but going back to school is hard... because you work. now, capella university offers a revolutionary new way to get your degree. it's called flexpath and it's the most direct path, leveraging what you've learned on the job and focusing on what you need to know so you can get a degree at your pace. and graduate at the speed of you. flexpath from capella university learn more at capella.edu goglossophobia, is the fear of public speaking. ♪ ♪ the only thing we have to fear is... fear itself. ♪ ♪ you feel...squeezed. congested. beat down. crushed. as if the weight of the world is resting on your

this is rouhani's rather enth e enthusiastic return home after history making few days in new york. he said things about the holocaust that his predecessor never would. he told the american people he was all about peace and friendship, oh, yeah, he and president obama spoke on the telephone. first direct contact between iran and the united states at that level in almost 35 years. nick payton walsh is here right now. nick, you're getting to be a regular here. you've been on the u.n. beat all week. iran's president, something of a rock star when he left here. so, what's -- what should we make of all this? >> i think it's a sign that there's a need for some sort of change in iran's policy. a lot of people inside iran, you saw the reception he got there, there was a shoe thrown at him, but that was from the minority in many ways. sanctions are making life there misery. >> is he on board with the u.n.? >> he said he's got the full backing of the supreme council of the ayatollah, he couldn't have made a move like that ringing barack obama without that kind of backing. the real issue now t

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

. >>> a historic memo as president obama and iranian president hassan rouhani--moment. as president obama and iraan

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

. >> 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

president rouhani gave us some details of the conversation. margaret brennan is our state department correspondent. margaret, what do you know? >> reporter: well, scott, the phone call capped off this week- long public relations offensive during the iranian president's visit here in new york and he tried to show he was accessible, very different from past leaders and used social media to reach out to the public. he tweeted this account of the phone call. according to president rouhani, president obama told him that "if we can make progress on the nuclear file, other issues such as syria will certainly be positively affected." president obama then sent president rouhani good wishes for a safe and pleasant journey and apologized if you're experiencing the horrendous traffic in new york city. president rouhani expressed confidence that progress could be made on the nuclear file. "with political will there is a way to rapidly solve the matter." the new talks will begin in two weeks. "i express my gratitude for your hospitality and your phone call.

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

after the call ended, rouhani's twitter account lit up. a picture was posted of rouhani on his plane describing the call as historic and then a message saying obama and rouhani agreed ground should be prepared for solving of other issues including regional matters. foreign ministers tasked with followup to expedite cooperation. after the handshake that didn't happen earlier in the week at the u.n., today's phone call is being scrutinized from every angle tonight. our chief national security correspondent, jim schiudo, joins us now. how did this conversation even come about, first of all? >> reporter: here's how the white house puts it. they say they made it clear to the iranians early in the week that the president, president obama, that is, wanted to have direct contact, particularly this handshake we talked about. but the iranians at the time said, well, diplomacy takes time, this isn't the right time. it wasn't convenient for them. they cited problems back home in tehran. but the white house left the door open, and this morning the whit

. >> 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

president rouhani blamed the nonmeeting on a lack of time. >> i spoke on the phone with president rouhani, the president of iran. while there will surely be obstacles moving forward and success is by no means guaranteed, i believe we can reach a comprehensive solution. >> national security adviser susan rice then came back into the public eye, giving the details of the call. >> can you give as you sense of how this phone call happened? who called whom? >> i think asle people know, we had indicated earlier in the week an openness to a brief informal encounter when president obama was in new york at the general assembly. and while we were open to that, the iranians indicated that it was complicated for them in their context. so it didn't occur. and then today, somewhat surprisingly we were contacted by them to say that president rouhani would lake to speak to president obama by telephone on his way out of town. and we were able to make that call come together. and it did. and it was a constructive discussion. >> how long was the call? >> about 15 minutes. of course with translation. so it w

but rouhani says it's never been working ton and isn't working on it today. he starts with a double lie and then we tore believe that his next statement it will never construct one is true. i think this is a very shaky basis, looks like we are the supplicant and we will give a lot of way which will give iran in a position to go nuclear in a very short order. >> president rouhani did not want to shake hands with president obama or have that photo at the u.n. but he did do the phone call. kirsten? >> well, look, there is a lot to be skeptical about here. absolutely. there is every reason to believe that the iranians will mislead. and up to no good. the question is we haven't been talking to them and they have been moving closer to building a bomb or so we believe. that's not working. so, trying to talk and start some sort of conversation is a step hopefully in the right direction. it has to be, i think, dealt with with less skepticism. >> i think that's all. >> fair enough. >> i think that's there is something terribly unseemly about, it is sort of like a high

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've directed secretary kerry to continue pursuing this diplomatic effort with the iranian government. we had constructive discussions yesterday in new york with our partners, the european union, the united kingdom, france, germany, russia and china, together with the iranian foreign minister. going forward, president rouhani and i have directed our teams to continue working expeditiously in cooperation with the p-5 plus 1 to pursue an agreement. throughout this process we will stay in touch with our friends and allies in the region, including israel. we're mindful of all the challenges ahead. the very fact that this was the first communication between an american and iranian president since 1979 underscores the deep mistrust between our countries, but it also indicates the prospect of moving beyond that difficult history. >> let's g

president rouhani was. it was someone from the arab press who used the term resistance but we were talking about terrorism. we were talking about hezbollah. he said something, i can't quote him, but he said something like this is not mutually exclusive with the kind of outreach we're doing. so in effect, he's not backing off the support for hezbollah. >> in other words, we're talking to obama and the president today, you know, to be fair to the president, he said it's got to be meaningful, transparent and verifiable. that's what he says about the united nations' agreement. that's what he says about syria. so the question is how can it be transparent and verifiable, because there's not much in iran or syria that's transparent as far as i can tell. >> let's remember that reza also reported that nothing has changed about their nuclear program. it's exactly the same as when ahmadinejad was in power. so this is a new package and no one knows what's inside it. >> although it is an old position of the iranian gove

president rouhani said other countries should join the nonproliferation treaty. there are several countries not in the n.p.t. including israel, india, pakistan. iran is in the non-proliferation treaty and so it has to abide by the non-proliferation treaty before it can give lectures to anybody else. >> rose: other issues. you've raised human rights with him? >> yes, i welcomed when i met him the release of some political prisoners. this is the one respect in which iran has gone beyond the change of tone. they've released some and so we welcome it and it would be churlish not do so. there are other political prisoners, of course, and many restrictions on freedom of expression and many abuses of human rights in iran. so that situation hasn't changed over night and been transformed but we should welcome that progress. >> rose: and with respect to syria what did they say? >> well, syria, iran, really, that the headline from iran is they don't want the use of chemical weapons and, indeed, iran is in the country that's been on the receiving end of chemical weapons in r

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

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

. >> 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

but i was at a meeting where rouhani spoke without any cameras very candidly yesterday, and he acknowledged just how tough these sanctions have been. and he said to the council on foreign relations tonight, i was elected with a mandate overwhelmingly for a moderate course on foreign policy and to fix our economy. and that's what i have to do. now, we've seen a little bit of twists and turns, where he talked about the holocaust and then the government news agency said he'd never really said that and he said, then, to charlie rose, yeah, i did say that, and repeateded it. and, you know, he didn't shake hands with president obama. that was probably too much, too soon for the people, for the audience back home, acknowledging a lot of people have acknowledged both in their mission and externally, that, you know, there were diplomatic problems, political problems back home with the hardliners. but he has certainly more running room than we've seen with previous -- >> and just the fact of them meeting and talking, it has been years and years and years since anything like that has happened, isn't i

with you, the foreign minister actually said, at the council of foreign relations tonight, when we saw rouhani, he said that there was a goal at this meeting that they would reach an agreement within a year. now, look, the chances, the hurdles against them are very high. so, in fact, this could be irrational exuberance to some degree. however, are the signs strong? is this historic? absolutely. we'll find out what happens from here. >> and the substance of what we've been talking about, in the media, it's been all about the charm offensive, the iranian propaganda, and benjamin netanyahu has been talking about that, all words and all that. and up until this, this actual substantiative meeting that zariv had with john kerry, they both said a few words, and it was very clear that that was a real meeting, it was 30 minutes long. they were alone. we realized that toward the end that they were alone in the meeting. >> and that is extremely significant. >> that has never happened. that has not happened in 34 years. it's not been just a handshake. everybody was hoping for a handshake between the two p

but i was at a meeting, a breakfast session where rouhani spoke without any cameras very candidly yesterday, and he acknowledged just how tough these sanctions have been. and he said to the council on foreign relations tonight, i was elected with a mandate overwhelmingly for a moderate course on foreign policy and to fix our economy. and that's what i have to do. now, we've seen a little bit of twists and turns, where he talked about the holocaust and then the government news agency said he'd never really said that and he said, then to charlie rose, yeah, i did say that, and repeated it. and, you know, he didn't shake hands with president obama. that was probably too much, too soon for the people, for the audience back home, acknowledging a lot of people have acknowledged both in their mission and externally that, you know, there were diplomatic problems, political problems back home with the hardliners. but he has certainly more running room than we've seen with previous iranian -- >> and just the fact of them meeting and talking, it has been years and years and years since anything like 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

with you, the foreign minister actually said, at the council of foreign relations tonight, when we saw rouhani, he said that there was a goal at this meeting that they would reach an agreement within a year. now, look, the chances, the hurdles against them are very high. so, in fact, this could be irrational exuberance to some degree. however, are the signs strong? is this historic? absolutely. we'll signfind out what happensm here. >> and the substance of what we've been talking about, in the media, it's been all about the charm offensive, the iranian progre propaganda, and benjamin netanyahu has been talking about that, all words and all that. and up until this, this actual substantiative meeting that zariv had with john kerry, they both said a few words, and it was very clear that that was a real meeting, it was 30 minutes long. they were alone. we realized that toward the end that they were alone in the meeting. >> and that is extremely significant. >> that has never happened. that has not happened in 34 years. it's not been just a handshake. everybody was hoping for a handshake between th

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

you believe this new president of iran, hassan rouhani, is the real deal, moderate, and there's a new chapter about to develop between iran and the west? >> well, there's certainly new language and the words that he's using, the tone that he is striking, the language which he's deploying, of course is encouraging. i welcome that. he appears to be reaching out to the world. but words on their own of course do not constitute a solution to the threat and the possibility of a nuclear armed iran which i think would be destabilizing to the region and very destabilizing to the world. so now the thing to do is to see whether those words can be translated into action. but i think the whole international community, britain, the europeans, russia, china, the united states, we have all put a very clear offer on the table to iran, which is to recognize iran's legitimate use of civil nuclear capabilities and -- but to draw the line, if you like, at the development of a military nuclear capability. i think if we can come to some agreement on that basis, that would be very promising for the future of

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

iran president hassan rouhani said they can, and he took it a step further. >> translator: no nation should possess nuclear weapons. since there are no right hands for these wrong weapons, as you mr. secretary-general, have rightly put it. now is determined to make every effort to realize the vision of a nuclear-weapon-free world without further delay. >> nick is our senior international correspondent live at the u.n. and nick, before we talk about rouhani's comments, let's talk about the meeting today, the big meeting about to happen between kerry and his counterpart in iran. they'll be sitting down. do we know exactly what is expected to happen there? >> first of all, the permanent five members of the security council plus germany will meet, and then the iranian foreign minister will join them. we'll see pictures of that when it happens. the issue, though, are what are the substance of the talks. the most high level diplomacy between iran and the u.s. in 35 years. you can't discount this is a significant step. we heard from john kerry this morning walking through the building, quit

>> there's no question there's a new opportunity with the rouhani administration. the secretary feels that way and president feels that way. the question is whether they can follow their rhetoric and follow their enthusiastic language with action. that's what we're waiting to see. tonight is going to be a first test of that proposition. >> rouhani gave a speech today at the united nations and said we should get rid of all nuclear weapons, a nuclear ban. then perhaps very cleverly tried to put pressure on israel saying israel should join nuclear nonproliferation treaty as iran has. there have, of course, been suggestion iran cheats on it, that israel should join, israel has a secret program no one wants to acknowledge. fair point? >> we've certainly supported all countries joining the npt. what we're talking about here is concern around the world about creation of a nuclear weapon by iran. that's why we're having this conversation. that's why there's so much focus and that's what the focus of the meeting will be with the secretary and other leaders around the world

this morning the iranian president rouhani addresses the issue of nuclear disarmament head on, calling on all nations to give up their weapons. >> translator: no nation should possess nuclear weapons. since there are no right hands for these wrong weapons, as you, mr. secretary-general, have rightly put it. >> kayte walsh joining us from the united nations. relations as you know, nick, since 1979 when the iranians took american diplomats and held them hostage for 444 days. there hasn't been an exchange like this one that's about to happen around 4:00 p.m. eastern where you are so there's a lot going on, a lot of tension but a lot of potential positive movement at the same time. >> reporter: i think in many ways the fact that that meeting actually happened will be significant progress. of course there are hawks on either side judging suspicious about. particular idea. we heard from john kerry as he e-americaned from meeting the chinese foreign minister they need something serious. more moderate asking for peace, saying to "the washington post" they'd like a deal within three to six mont

. >>> president aha soon rouhani made headlines when he distanced himself from mahmoud ahmadinejad who for many years called the holocaust a myth. he acknowledged that the holocaust took place saying "the massacre by the nazis juan condemnable. we never want to sit side by side with the nazis. they committed a crime against jews which is a crime against christians, against muslims, against all of humanity. the nazis committed a crime in world war ii, as to the scale of the massacres and the numbers that my predecessor mentions, let's leave that to the historians." later today secretary of state john kerry meets with his iranian counterpart to begin a dialogue on nuclear weapons in iran, the highest level meeting between the two countries since the 1970s. >>> of course we know newark mayor cory booker loves tweets and it included a stripper from oregon, first reported in february booker sent her a private message "and the east coast loves you and by the east coast i mean me." lee wrote back well now i am blushing with a smiley face. booker replied, it's only fair. lee says she first met