clearly the supreme leader has given rouhani some rope to play. we need to investigate how far he can play. i think we see already there are limits. this morning in the kahai newspaper, the mouthpiece of the regime, it was said rouhani should not shake the president's hand. then he didn't do it. it is a power game. they sense we are running after them and they are going the to play hard to get. >> david, does it sound like the u.s. had the rug pulled out? does it i make the u.s. look bad for offering? >> i think it made the u.s. look a little clumsy in its diplomacy. it was a little embarrassing when the leader of the most powerful nation on earth was willing to meet and somebody else basically snubs him. you know, that's an embarrassing moment. but i think it's small to go back to the christiane's point compared to the larger picture we see here. ultimately just a footnote. the larger picture is the obama administration deserved credit along with the bush administration in bringing the sanctions to bear. that's what's bringing president rouhani t

. >> it is interesting that president obama was toward meet with rouhani tuesday but it was rouhani decided he needed more time. that it wasn't going to hax as he was getting ready to leave the united states, according to susan rice, the president's security adviser, he send word that he would like to speak on the been to the president and the president of course responded positively to that. what's going on here? he didn't want to meet directly but now they wanted to have a phone call. >> i think they wanth to meet. they were afraid that the meeting had no agenda and they were afraid of going into the meeting and then it is interpreted in the press as, in the wrong way. then rouhani would lose face at home and it would fizzle away. they back away from the meeting. and then i think they thought they needed something concrete to take back home. he has gone out on a limb on this trip. he has launched his charm offensive. he has said things that would be controversial including his statement on the holocaust. he has to show the supreme leader that he is getting something from this trip that ah

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

i think that's why rouhani is now, you know, making these offers. i think they realize how much pressure is on their regime and we're basically giving them a chase to capitulate and compromise on their nuclear weapons program or face an implosion of their economy. >> congressman, what do you make of rouhani's public relations offensive? he's certainly trying to sound and seem different from ahmadinejad and his pred s predecessors. >> very clever fellow and certainly took credit during the negotiations with the europeans. his words were during that process, he was able to stretch out the negotiations and get the centrifuges spinning, get them online. so today, you've got four times as many and they're spinning four times as fast because they're much more advanced, and he takes credit for doing that. so i think -- i think that's been his past policy. what we need to do is make it very clear that we're wise to that. we know he's playing the same playbook that north korea used to get nuclear weapons, to get out from under the sanctions. so we just need

rouhani and obama are each looking at the other and thinking the same thing. can he deliver? for more go to cnn.com/fareed and read my "washington post" column this week. let's get started. >>> joining me now is president obama's national security adviser susan rice. welcome, ambassador rice. >> thank you, fareed. good to be with you. >> so the president has now spoken to president rouhani, john kerry has met with his counterpart. do you think that the iranians are negotiating seriously? >> well, it's too soon to know that, fareed. what happened earlier this week is that secretary kerry joined by the foreign ministers of russia and china, the u.k., france and germany met and of course the eu chief negotiator met for the first time at the foreign minister level with the new iranian foreign minister. that was a constructive discussion. but it really was a scene setter in which the iranians underscored their commitment not to pursue a nuclear weapon but peaceful nuclear energy. where we and others underscored that iran had to meet its international obligations under security cou

clearly the supreme leader has given rouhani some rope to play. and we need to investigate how far he can play. but i think we see already there are limits. this morning in the kahan newspaper, official mouth piece of the regime, it was said that rouhani should not shake the president's hand and he didn't do it. i think it's also a bit of a power game. they sense we're running after them and are going to play hard to get. >> david, does it sound like the u.s. had the rug pulled out from underneath it? does it make the u.s. look bad for offering or good for us? >> i think it made the u.s. look a little clumsy in its diplomacy. i think it was a little embarrassing when the leader of the most powerful nation on earth was willing to meet and somebody else basically snubs him. i think that that's an embarrassing moment. but i think it's small to go back to christiane's point, i think it's small anderson compared to the larger picture we see here may ultimately be just a footnote. the larger picture is that the obama administration deserves credit along

rouhani's charm offensive many finds head spinning. the recent diplomat ig overtures, unexpected. and to some in the west, a look at how he got to this point. >> 1979, riots sweep the streets of tehran. iranians are fed up with the roum of the sha roum. the shah. he came into power in 1953. during his quarter century rule, he enjoyed support and good relations with the west. he's the last iranian leader to meet face-to-face with the u.s. president t. revolution sends the shah into exile and brings the return of the ayatollah co khomeni, calling the united states the great satid. in november, 1979, militants stormed the u.s. embassy in tahran. >> the acts of bar barrism, which were perpetrated on our people by iran can never be condoned. >> the u.s. responds by freezing iranian assets in the u.s. it takes 444 days before the hostages are finally free. >> some 30 minutes ago, the planes bearing our prisoners left iranian airspace and are now free. >> direct ties between the two countries are severed. the u.s. even supports iraq in its war against iran in the 1980s the tense relation

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

>> reporter: he is fully backing president rouhani's campaign in this program. you get the sense that iranian people feel that, too. that's why there's optimism. the key issue remain as the barrier to the nuclear program. iranian leaders are sending signals that they're ready to make concessions. and perhaps suspending the uranium enrichment. they want that tension eased. will it happen. we'll see how it plays out. >> the entire world waiting to see if this is a real opportunity for diplomacy. we're lucky to have you there, reza sayah in tehran. thanks. >>> there are new reports about the deadly siege at a shopping mall in nairobi. kenyan officials say al shabaab terrorists were not interested in negotiating or hostage taking. but they were only out to kill. they reportedly set a large fire in that mall to cover the escape plan. kenyan government went on television to say they have defeated the terrorists or were either ill killed or detained. >> five terrorists were killed with gunfire. 11 suspects are in custody in connection with the attack. intelligence repo

hassan rouhani is speaking right now. rouhani is speaking right now. we are also monitoring three events actually at the same time. president obama reunites with bill and hillary clinton to try to boost his embattled obama care, the health care law. iran's president you just saw. apparently a little bit more moderate, at least there's a charm offensive going on. he's addressing the u.n. general assembly right now. we'll get some hints about where he's going ne. also, you can see ted cruz, the senator from texas in a marathon protest against obama care, saying he'll speak until he drops. we will continue to monitor all of this in "the situation room." our coverage continues right after this. [ male announcer ] who loves social networking as much as you? identity thieves. they can find your personal information and do some serious damage. like your birthday or your mother's maiden name. you need a new friend. lifelock. we scour billions of data points every day, and if we discover that any of your personal information is misused... lifelock is there. cal

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

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, rouhani agreed ground should be prepared for solving of other issues including regional matters. foreign minister tasked with followup to expedite cooperation. the handshake that didn't happen earlier at the u.n., today's phone call is being scrutinized from he angle tonight. our chief international correspondent jim sciutto is joining us. how did this conversation come about? >> reporter: the white house says they made it clear to the iranians earlier in the week that president obama wanted to have direct contact particularly this handshake we talked about, but that the iranians at the time said, well, diplomacy takes time. this isn't the right time. it wasn't convenient for them. they cited some problems back home in tehran but that the white house left the door open. and that this morning, the white house got a call from rouhani's people saying the president of iran would

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, rouhani agreed ground should be prepared for solving of other issues including regional matters. foreign minister tasked with followup to expedite cooperation. the handshake that didn't happen earlier at the up, today's phone call is being scrutinized from he angle tonight. our chief international correspondent jim sciutto is joining us. how did this conversation come about? >> reporter: the white house says they made it clear to the iranians earlier in the week that president obama wanted to have direct contact particularly this handshake we talked about, but that the iranians at the time said, well, diplomacy takes time. this isn't the right time. it wasn't convenient for them. they cited some problems back home in tehran but that the white house left the door open. and that this morning, the white house got a call from rouhani's people saying the president of iran would li

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, rouhani agreed ground should be prepared for solving of other issues including regional matters. foreign minister 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 international correspondent jim sciutto is joining us. how did this conversation come about? >> reporter: the white house says they made it clear to the iranians earlier in the week that president obama wanted to have direct contact particularly this handshake we talked about, but that the iranians at the time said, well, diplomacy takes time. this isn't the right time. it wasn't convenient for them. they cited some problems back home in tehran but that the white house left the door open. and that this morning, the white house got a call from rouhani's people saying the pre

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

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 problem is rouhani doesn't run the iranian republic. the supreme leader does, and unless he says something different, we're going to see more of the same, more of the bait and switch, more of the charlie and the football from rouhani. >> frank and michael, thanks to both of you for the back and forth on what could be and what may not be. >>> now let me take you to washington. back to pictures here of senator cruz, republican senator from texas, speaking, continuing to speak. he's been going for about 20 minutes here on the senate floor, giving his opinion on why obama care is bad for the country. he says that he will keep talking until he can't stand there anymore. take a listen. >> i intend to speak in opposition to obama care. i intend to speak in support of defunding obama care until i am no longer able to stand. to do everything that i can to help americans stand together and recognize this grand experiment 3 1/2 years ago is quite simply not working. >> chief congressional correspondent dana bash there watching. what's happening? i

it is incredible that the president would have this phone conversation with president rouhani knowing full well that prime minister netanyahu was coming to town just a few days later. so the white house made the calculation that it was worth the risk to have that phone call with president rouhani. remember all the talk at the united nations earlier last week when there was all of the speculation that perhaps president obama and president rouhani would have a hand shake. that was apparently too hot to handle for the iranians. but they still had the phone call. that was not going to go over with the israelis but it sounds like yes, it is a strained relationship but when it comes to the hard facts of what they will allow and not allow, they seem to be on the same page at least at this point. >> thanks for watching "cnn newsroom." it continues after this quick break. thanks for joining us this afternoon. >> see you tomorrow. for their . ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefull

clearly the supreme leader has given rouhani some rope to play. and we need to investigate how far he can play. but i think we see already there are limits. this morning in the kahan newspaper, official mouth piece of the regime, it was said that rouhani should not shake the president's hand and he didn't do it. i think it's also a bit of a power game. they sense we're running after them and are going to play hard to get. >> david, does it sound like the u.s. had the rug pulled out from underneath it? does it make the u.s. look bad for offering or good for us? >> i think it made the u.s. look a little clumsy in its diplomacy. i think it was a little embarrassing when the leader of the most powerful nation on earth was willing to meet and somebody else basically snubs him. i think that that's an embarrassing moment. but i think it's small to go back to christiane's point, i think it's small anderson compared to the larger picture we see here may ultimately be just a footnote. the larger picture is that the obama administration deserves credit along

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

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

we've seen a tone from hassan rouhani. on the table today and this is high level diplomacy, the permanent five members of the security council plus germany meeting with iran on the table is what kind of enrichment of uranium can iron do? many concerned it's enriching -- it's enough to be able to make a nuclear bomb in a hurry, if it wants to, what level of inspections should iran further consent to? iran's president suggesting perhaps he may want to deal within three months. whatever we see out of today's meeting, nothing has been tried like this since 2001, colin powell simply shaking the hand of his iranian counterpart. when the iranian foreign minister zarif sits down to john kerry, that's the highest level of diplomacy for 34 years between these two countries. it simply is a big deal today. back to you, chris. >> the measure will still be what comes out of it. >>> the so-called secretary of explaining stuff explains himself. former president bill clinton sat down with cnn's piers morgan. the potential shutdown. his wif

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

how would @hasan rouhani's page look? his skills you list weapons of mass destruction, ballistics and military justice. on one level it is a little funny. i'll be honest with you, it feels a little immature. do you think this is an appropriate way to deal with or presented with what you're presenting to me as a life or death situation? >> we have to keep in mind that for us, this is very much a life and death situation. and that a lot of people out there who are expressing optimism when rouhani stops denying that iran denies the holocaust. and that for us is anything but a joke. that's deadly serious. >> thank you very much. always a pleasure talking to you, sir. >> to you, too. >>> still to come, will you go and he disturbing new footage from the navy yard shooting that we just have tonight. releasing video showing aaron alexis walking through the halls with a sawed off shotgun looking for victim. >>> plus a high school teacher got 31 days for raping a student. he is set to be released. >>> and the u.s. post office is in

does president rouhani stay in the hall for president obama's speech. that will be meaningful. >> when -- >> mr. president, fellow delegat delegates, ladies and gentlemen, each year we come together to reaffirm the founding vision of this institution. for most of recorded history, individual aspirations were subject to the whims of tyrants and empires and divisions of race and religion and tribe were settled through the sword and the clash of armies. the idea that nations could come together in peace and a common prosperity seemed unimaginable. it took the awful carnage of two world wars to shift our thinking. the leaders who built the united nations were not naive, they did not think this body could eradicate all wars but in the wake of millions dead and with the development of nuclear weapons that could annihilate a planet, they understood that humanity could survive and of course it was off and so they gave us this institution, believing it could allow us to resolve all conflicts and enforce rules of behavior and build habits of cooperation that woul

part of a remarkable op-eded written by rouhani. part of what he says in the "washington post" is this "we must work together toened the unhealthy rivalries and interferences that fuel violence and drive us apart." this is the third high profile political op-ed in the last two weeks. of course, we had the russian president vladimir putin coming out with his in the "new york times" and then john mccain responding on a russian website. all three taking a different tone. fareed zakaria is following it and joins us from new york. apart from diplomacy by op-ed, this is quite remarkable, isn't it? you've got a new iranian president saying no nuclear weapons. take that as red. we'll help out in syria. this is getting warm and fuzzy here. do you take it seriously? how do you read this? could they meet in new york, obama and rouhani? >> yes, yes, and yes. michael, look, it's very serious. this is the newly elected president of iran. it's also important to note this is a guy who comes from the heart of the iranian establishment. he has been i

were you surprised to hear president rouhani acknowledge the holocaust did happen? >> i wasn't surprised. i was hoping that he would say what he thought about it and then see what the iranian president, the new iranian president has to say about it because what ahminedjad did was by his reprehensible holocaust denying and antisemitism in public was create a massive backlash, obviously amongst jews, amongst many people around the world, and created an incredibly bad reputation, worse reputation, for iran and the iranian people, so i was very interested to know whether this was something that was going to be continued under this new president, so i'm pleased as a human being, that he actually acknowledged historical facts. i think beyond that, also, he did something quite extraordinary. he didn't even mention the word, israel, in his u.n. speech. ahminedjad used to rail against it all the time. he said to me how much they respect the tora, the holy book, the prophet, moses. on other issues such as the nuclear issue from the podium, he promised that iran wasn't buildin

this paper says the phone conversation between rouhani and obama. and then this english language paper that says "iran's eyes better ties with the u.s." really a wave of new found hope and optimism that started when president rouhani took office on august 3rd. he came in and he made his agenda clear. he said his goal is to improve relations with the u.s. and western powers by addressing any reasonable concerns anyone had with iran's nuclear program. now, nothing concrete has happened. but the fact that everyone's talking about possibility, the fact that hassan rouhani has managed to get a u.s. president to call him on the phone for the first time since 1979, that's what has people buzzing here in optimism, seemingly president hassan rouhani, along with president barack obama has said the stage for something to map and perhaps that's why president rouhani probably is the most popular man in iran, christi. >> does president rouhani have the backing of the supreme leader and how much weight does that carry, obviously? >> reporter: at this point, all in

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

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 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 think we should test rouhani. >> reporter: it may have been domestic politics in iran that kept this meeting from happen as president obama faces stiff opposition here from lawmakers to a meeting like this, president rouhani faces stiff opposition from hard-liners in iran. there's another meeting between secretary of state john kerry and his counterpart, mohammed zarif. >> one way or another we might have an answer. >> exactly. >> beginning on thursday. great to see you, jim. thank you. >>> later this morning we'll talk with chief international correspondent christiane amanpour. she spoke exclusively, you see the video right there, with iran's president, hassan rouhani. >>> we want to take you to kenya where we're learning more on a siege on a mall that left dozens dead and more than 200 injured. we've found out a woman was among the attackers. today marks the start of three days of mourning in kenya. cnn's arwa damon is in nairobi with more for us this morning. good morning, arwa. >> reporter: good morning, chris

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

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

impact rouhani's strategy on his own nuclear assets? >> you know, brooke, in fact, president obama came to this encounter, came to this chess game, if you will, with the iranians and rouhani and the foreign minister, he came weakened by the way he handled syria. i think the iranians watched him in syria. we had a proxy war in syria on one side, the opposition forces, the rebellion, and supposedly with the democracies behind them. on one side, the bashar al assad regime. i think the iranians have won this contest. and so we come now, and we want to negotiate with iran when we have seen a weak hand over syria. then you listen to rouhani, and this is really what makes me skeptical of this man, fundmally skeptical of him. in his washington post article he wrote, rouhani says he describes syria as a civilization jewel. and he laments and shed crocodile tears over what's happening to syria. and who is causing the mayhem in syria? the allies of iran, bashar al assad, the guard of iran, and the hezbollah forces will answer to iran. >> thank you

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

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

i want to start with you because you met with president rouhani in a small group last week. give us your sense of this guy. there's two opinions. he's new and moderate. this might be a breakthrough and don't trust this guy. >> he ran and he won in the first round with the pledge to fix the economy in order to do that he's got to get rid of the sanctions. i think he came with seriousness. this will be a tough negotiation. i think they're going to demand that the world recognize their right to enrich. i think they're going to -- the world is going to demand that they roll back their nuclear programs. it will be very tough. the one good sign is the supreme leader has agreed to let the foreign minister take the lead in these negotiations. he met with secretary kerry at the u.n. this week. he's a pragmatist. this is going to be tough to close the gap between the two sides. >> one quick point. this is the price of obama's mishandling of syria. the iranian government could credibly conclude that barack obama could not marshal congress in use of force resolution against iran unless

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

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

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

iran's newly elected president rouhani says it could be a new era for iran and america. christiane amanpour got a direct message from him to the american people in english. >> i would like to say to american people i bring peace and friendship from iranians. >> joining me now is tony blair, former british prime minister. tony blair, good to see you. >> thanks, piers. >> let's talk iran off the off the top of my head. clearly there is a move by the iranians to be at least slightly more friendly on this trip than we are used to with ahmadinejad and soen on. how much do we read into this? how serious do you think they are? are we headed into a new relationship? >> the honest answer is we don't know now but it is worth testing. the sanctions definitely have really harmed iran. the oil experts halved, inflation has doubled. they have lost in some estimates $100 billion as a result of sanctions. the sanctions made an impact and the iranian election wasn't open but nonetheless the election of president rouhani was an indication that the people were also pushing the regime for c

iran's newly elected president rouhani says it could be a new era for iran and america. christiane amanpour got a direct message from him to the american people in english. >> i would like to say to american people i bring peace and friendship from iranians. >> joining me now is tony blair, former british prime minister. tony blair, good to see you. >> thanks, piers. >> let's talk iran off the off the top of my head. clearly there is a move by the iranians to be at least slightly more friendly on this trip than we are used to with ahmadinejad and so on. how much do we read into this? how serious do you think they are? are we headed into a new relationship? >> the honest answer is we don't know now but it is worth testing. the sanctions definitely have really harmed iran. the oil experts halved, inflation has doubled. they have lost in some estimates $100 billion as a result of sanctions. the sanctions made an impact and the iranian election wasn't open but nonetheless the election of president rouhani was an indication that the people were also pushing the regime for cha

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 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

i also communicated to president rouhani my deep respect for the iranian people. as i said before, this comes on the same day that we can accomplish a major diplomatic breakthrough on syria. as the united nations security council will photoonvote on a resolution that would require assad to put their chemical weapons under international control so they could be destroyed. this will insure the assad regime must keep its commitments or face consequences. it will have to be vigilant about followling through, but it could be a significant victory for the international community and demonstrate how strong diplomacy could help improve our country and pursue a better world. america's leadership doesn't just depend on our military strength or our alliances. first and foremost, america's strength depends on a strong economy where our middle class is growing and everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead, so let me say a few words about the situation that's developed over the past few weeks on capitol hill. here at home, the united states congress has two pressing res

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,

he is expected to open the door to engaging with iran's new government and president rouhani. he'll also call on security council members to mandate consequences for syria. if it fails to cooperate with a plan to turn chemical weapons stockpiles over. >>> aaron alexis's 2004 arrest for shooting out a car's tires until two weeks after. the gun wasn't mentioned, only that the tires were deflated. he opened fire in the navy yard last week, killing 12 people. one of the eight people he wounded was released from hospital monday. >>> police say two men are facing attempted murder charges from last week's park shooting in chicago that wound 13 people. including a 3-year-old boy. investigators do not believe that suspects gatewood and champ actually pulled the trigger, however. detectives will only say that gatewood and champ allegedly played significant roles in the shooting. investigators believe the shootings were gang related. >>> the woman who confirmed the iris targeted certain political groups is retiring. lois lerner was the director of tax exempt organizations. she admitted t

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

rouhani gave an interview. let me play this clip. >> translator: we have never sought a nuclear bomb and we are not going to do so. we are solely seeking peaceful nuclear technology. >> you say that iran will not build a nuclear weapon under any circumstances whatsoever? >> translator: the answer to this question is quite obvious. we have time and again said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, nor will we ever. >> all right. jane, do you believe him? >> well, the question is whether he speaks for iran. we've long known that presidents of iran are not the leading cleric in iran and we'll have to see. he, too, is a cleric and allegedly has a close relationship. next week is going to be fascinating. he's speaking at u.n. on the same day that president obama is. no formal meeting set. i bet there will be informal conversations. this is interesting, not just in terms of what iran may do about pursuing a nuclear weapon, but there's also blowback on syr