iran is simply too deveped. it has all the components i needs to produce nuclear weapons, it has many nuclear facilities, itas been able to create a cenduction capability wch means, as we saw justast week, it can create new small fcilities and hide them, put theentrifuges thereather than a central facility. isel might be able to hit t rden site, which is the main site. iran which hasup to 150,000 centrifuges as cacity, but it could not be certain that it woulever hit anything like the ability to produce more ntrifuges or find all of t facilities that they're hien in. >> so recent reports indicate that israelis may be pushing back their deadlines for military action. is that your asessment as well? >> i don't ink israel has ev set deadlines. it has constant talked aut this risk and for ve real reasons. on nuclear weon could do devastating damage to a sml state like isrl. but much of this political. it is intend to send a signal to iran that if it doesot comply with the unitednations, itoes not negotte and reduce

and what appears to have happened is that iran, it became clear to iran that its security for the facility has been breached so they decided that they would disclose it after all. that's how it unfolded. >> any reason why it came up now, though? why with knowledge of it for six years, why wasn't this out there earlier? >> well, i think they needed to make sure, first of all, that it was moving in the direction that they thought. i think it may also -- it's somewhat speculative on my part but it's reasonable to think that with the negotiations coming up with iran on thursday that it might be a good time to make this public, and so it was, it was in the united states' interest to use this as a way to put pressure on iran. >> sure. there's a discrepancy in terms of how close to being operational it is. we had mahmoud ahmadinejad saying yesterday, 18 months. then you have this aide to the ayatollah saying six months. what is it? >> well, i don't know. i don't know how many months. what is clear -- what everyone agrees is it's not operational as we speak. and in some number of months, whether i

but again, iran may not cooperate. and then we're left with what, how good is this intelligence information. and i think the united states government and other governments, british and french are going to have to release a lot more information about -- about this facility in order to be believed. >> woodruff: in other words, you are saying they are hoping that iran will do that, but if iran doesn't, then they will have to release more. >> an we're left discussing the callity of the intelligence information. >> woodruff: iran insists this is nothing for the west to worry about it is for peaceful, civilian purposes. how do we know they are not telling the truth? >> well, in the end we are relying on intelligence information and assessments of that information to say this this is part of a nuclear weapons program. and that's why it can be settled if the iaea goes in there. at least they can know about the facility, they can put it under safeguards and in a sense remove it from the category of secret sites that could be us

iran's foreign ministry said the tests have nothing to do with the disclosure that iran is developing a second enrichment plant. it seemed aimed at bolstering iran's position going into this week's talks. robert gates said yesterday the american aim is to get iran to resume negotiations on its nuclear program. >> and then if that doesn't work, then i think you begin to move in the direction of severe sanctions. and their economic problems are difficult enough that i think that severe sanctions would have the poteial of bringing them to change their policies. >> in tonight's lead focus, we begin with the heightened tensions between iran and the Ñó west with this report from carl dinnen of itn. >> reporter: this, according to iranian tv, is the shahab 3 missile. it was tested earlier today during "operation great prophet 4." shahab 3 has been launched before, but this variant appears to have a longer range. today's launch has an added edge in the light of last week's revelations of a new iranian nuclear facility near the city of qom. the iranians keen to point out there is no link. >>

>> i'm a normal, regular person in iran. i was a teacher at a university and i'm a government -- i'm sorry, yes, an engineer. people -- individuals don't matter as such. what matters is that our nation -- the powerful -- and it is a powerful one -- the iranian nation has proven that it can digest large events. and support of the leadership was not a support given to an individual, it was a support given to the law. he said it is the law that must run every affair in the country. that must rule the country. and for the first time, the leader uses his prerogative to extend the time frame normally given post-elections for electoral complaints. the guardian council announced several times that any other party that may have documentation or evidence proving that the election may have been distorted should hand those over to the guardian council. and the other side said, "no, the electoral process itself was fine, but the environment in the country was just not right." >> charlie: are you saying that there is no deep divide in ira

are to begin about iran's nuclear program. at the g-20 summit in pittsburgh, president obama, and other western leaders disclose iran is billing a new uranium enrichment facility that could be used to make nuclear weapons. iran insisted again today that it is in compliance with u.n. resolutions, the leaders warned iran to come clean about its secret plant. and at a news conference, late this afternoon, president obama refused to rule out military action. >> the last point i'll make specifically with respect to the military, i've always said we do not rule out any options when it comes to u.s. security interests, but i will also reemphasize that my preferred course of action is to resolve this in a diplomatic fashion. it's up to the iranians to respond. >> the iranian facility at heart of the conflict is here qom, the shiite muslim holy city, about 100 miles southwest of tehran. today's extraordinary events on iran are our lead focus. and we begin with the president's comments early in the day. in remark that were brief and to

they do a lot of business in iran. they are the largest investor in iran. just this week china announce add huge deal as it relates to gasoline supplies for iran. they are going to be the wild card as it relates to them coming on board tough sangs against iran. >> i just spoke with senator cardin, you may have heard that interview, that may be the kind of sanction that hits the hardest, the gasoline and oil spry. >> absolutely. i think he has it right. >> jon decker, thank you very much. you won't want to miss "meet the press," talk to democratic senator from arizona about the course the obama administration is taking on afghanistan. that is on "meet the press" tomorrow morning on nbc. check your local listings for the time. >>> the makers of barbie hoping to make big bucks in hollywood. mattel making family friendly live action movies based on the world's most famous plastic doll. the film is sure to be a far cry from barbie's first ever commercial in 1959. >> barbie's only $3. the lovely fashions range from $1 to $5. look for barbie wherever dolls are sol

. >> i think iran is on notice. when we meet with them october 1, they are going to have to come clean and have to make a choice. >> reporter: in a dramatic display of allied unity, the president accused iran of building an underground plant. not for a power plant, but for bombs. >> the size and configuration of the facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program. iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow. >> reporter: today, the cia said it's a series of tunnels built in a mountain west of the holy ty, qom. in new york, iran's president, ahmadinejad said they are hiding nothing. >> translator: what we did is completely legal according to the law. we informed the agency. the agency will take a look and produce a report. it's nothing new. nothing new. >> reporter: the allies disagree and are demanding an immediate inspection. >> confronted by the deception of many years, the international community has no choice today, but to draw a line in the sand. >> reporter: france's president, sarkozy said they have

iran will have zbersz. it's unanswered question, the timing, this is a military site. if it was not as they say a peaceful site, why is it on a military base in the first place. >> gregg: i think we have a sound by the from the secretary of defense? >> we are all sensitive to the possible of the iranians trying to run the clock out on us. so nobody thinks this as an open-ended process. >> reporter: so the talks on thursday, first time in 30 years that they will sit around with the group pushing for iran to back off of the nuclear program. >> gregg: all right. thanks very much. >> julie: secretary of defense robert gates has officially received the afghanistan commander's report, stanley mcchrystal calling for more troops. mr. gates hasn't signed off on the request just yet but he left the door open for new forces and is warning about the consequences of failure in afghanistan. caroline has more on this story from washington. >> reporter: today robert gates explained how the pentagon is keeping a hold on mcc

said that iran will set a timetable soon for u.n. nuclear inspectors to visit the plant, seen here in satellite images, but he said iran isn't bound to allow such inspections within one month, as the united states has demanded. and he defended the building of the plant and iran's nuclear program. >> translator: this plant is to show that under no circumstance will the islamic republic let its nuclear activities in various fields of technology be stopped for even one moment. >> this week's talk, as you might imagine, are topping number one on iran's television which also reported that iran's parliament warned the u.s. today against further pressure just two days away from that key meeting in geneva. >>> as the debate over how iran intends to use enriched uranium continues, there is another debate. is iran building a warhead, the front section of a missile that can carry a nuclear charge? "the new york times" reports today on a disagreement between the united states and some of its key allies on whether iran is, in fact, designing a wa

iran's actions do not pose a short-term threat to the mission, but iran has the capability to threaten the mission in the future." senator john mccain, ranking republican on the senate armed services committee echoed these concerns. >> there are ra lot of variables. there is information today that the iranians today are becoming more involved in afghanistan with supplying some arms an equipment. >> also found in afghanistan recently, some of the same explosively formed p penetrators or e.f.f. had p.'s, a deadly machine roadside bomb that killed so many u.s. forces in iraq. u.s. intelligence says those weapons are made in one place -- iran. >> it is entirely consist consistent with what we saw in iraq. the iranians were providing e.f.p.'s which is the largest killer of arican soldiers on the battlefield, in addition to mortar rounds an rockets. >> they play a very decisive role as i said. the e.f.p. is a highly-refined weapon. it is not something you make in a backyard garage. it migrated to afghanistan that. could be a game changer there. >> tonight fox news has learned that the pentag

it is now up to iran to respond. i'm not going to speculate on the course of action that we will take. we're going to give october 1st a chance. but i think you've heard that even countries who a year ago or sick months ago might have been reluctant to even discuss things like sanctions, have said things like this is an important enoughish you a to peace and stability in the world, that iran would make a mistake in ignoring the call for them to respond in a forthright and clear manner, and to recognize that the choice they make over the next weeks and months could well determine their ability to rejoin the international community or to find themselves isolated. the last point i'll make specifically with respect to the military, i've always said that we do not rule out any options when it comes to u.s. security interests. but i will also reemphasize that my preferred course of action is to resolve this in a diplomatic fashion. it is up to the iranians to respond. patricia from reuters? >> you said a couple months ago

first of all, iran can disclose. iran can invite in the u.n. inspectors, disclose everything, say, we're sorry. we were wrong. we're tearing it down. that is not going to happen. but if iran does not begin disclosing and begin complying, sanctions, the kind of sanctions that administrations -- not just this administration, but previoused amrgs, george w. bush, have talked about for years but have not been able to get russia and china on board. the big break through is if this persuades russia and china to change its position, and that's certainly what president medvedev indicated at that meeting. also at an interview at university of pittsburgh yesterday, medvedev went somewhat overboard saying he likes president obama, obama doesn't lecture him, obama doesn't act like he knows everything. clearly criticizing george w. bush. medvedev described obama practically as the second coming. it was a very interesting conversation with university students. this is a huge change with russia. and it's clearly this intelligence and the personal diplomacy th

is hoping to disrupt plans for iran. we will be joined by the former chief inspector to get his take on the way forward coming up in the next hour. and then coming up next, najibullah zazi is accused of trying to build a bomb and use it possibly against the new york city transit system. and there were three more men as suspected in the terror plot. and pete williams will join us next hour. >>> a lawyer representing polanski is representing him. and polanski's agent was interviewed on "today." >> roman travels throughout europe and throughout the world, and he is very open and transparent. he is a highly recognizable figure as well as a world class director. it's inconceivable to me that anybody would have trouble finding roman. you can just go on the internet. >> authorities have had up to 10 days to respond to the attorney's request for his release. >>> and these are two of the four teenager charged with the death of a chicago student. and the video shows a mob attacking the teen. police are looking for three more suspe

but what implications are there for iran and for israel? here with us now is israel's ambassador to the united states, michael orrin. ambassador, thank you very much. let's first talk about ahmadinejad today, again, at a news briefing, denying the holocaust. how does that set the stage for his arrival in new york at the general assembly, and the likely reaction to him here in new york. >> one would hope that the reaction would be fitting. that he would be shunned. he would be condemned. he's called for wiping israel off of the map. denied the 6 million jews died during world war ii and threatened the continued existence in the jews in the state of israel today by supporting terrorist groups such as hamas and hezbollah. and by trying, he's striving to acquire nuclear military capabilities. >> also today the secretary of state reasserted that the united states is willing to engage. that these talks will proceed. she set some very informal deadlines, but she's indicating and this move on missile defense certainly indicates with putin praising

the looming deadline with iran and what might happen next is our lead focus tonight. >> iran's foreign minister today presented the world's leading powers with a package of proposals. the goal, to offer assurances that iran has only peaceful, nuclear intensions, but as that was taking place in tehran, america's envoy to the atomic energy agency said in vienna that the united states has serious concerns that iran is close to having the capability to produce a nuclear weapon. glyn davis told the international atomic energy agency that the ongoing activity moves iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity. just monday, iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad said that iran would push ahead with its nuclear program despite international objections. >> translator: from our point of view, iran's so-called nuclear issue is over. we continue our work within the framework of global regulations and in close interaction with the international atomic energy agency. we will never ney negotiate over obvious rights of the iranian. nation. far zoi gar ad, from the los angeles

. >>> developing now, iran's nuclear chief says iran will allow the u.n. to inspect its newly revealed nuclear site. this news comes after president obama issued another warning to iran in his weekly address this morning. nbc's mike viqueira live at white house for us. good morning, mike. >> reporter: good morning, alex. >> the president says the international community is more united than ever on iran, correct? >> reporter: well, it appears that way. the u.s. president and u.s. allies says the intelligence is solid and so is their resolve as they try to face iran now, demanding they give up their nuclear weapons program or face the consequences. iran caught red-handed, a secret, underground nuclear plant suddenly revealed by president obama. >> the size and configuration of this facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program. iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow. >> reporter: u.s. officials say they have known that iran was building the plant for some time, but it wasn't until early this week, after signs that iran had realized their secr

iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow. >> reporter: the president accused iran of building a nuclear facility to make highly enriched uranium, the kind used to make nuclear bombs. the plant, hidden inside a mountain near the holy city of qom could be operational, u.s. officials say, within months. u.s. intelligence has been monitoring construction of the facility for years. bush administration officials briefed then president-elect obama during the transition. his administration has continue it had bush policy of keeping it secret while intelligence was gathered to make an airtight case -z that has the purpose was nuclear weapons not nuclear power. the president decideed to go public today after it became clear iran had learned u.s. intelligence was on to them. today a defiant iranian president ahmadinejad said the president was misinformed. >> (translated): it seems to me that what was done was a really big mistake. i'm sure they'll definitely feel sorry about their move. >> reporter: the president was joined by prime minister gordon brown of great britain and president ni

and iran has the world'second largest reserves. so there's a compatibilit ther related to oil, there's a lot of infrastructural investment whether it's mostly inthe transportation section that china is putng money in, has over 100 companies active in iran. again, most of it related in someay to the flow of oil. but, you know, itisan importt economic relationsh and benecial to both sides. >> s even though it's possible th cna could suffer if there is these stiff trade sanctions that are put into place, is there any way tt china would go against, y, the will of these fivether nations? >> china not goi to be -- it doesn't want to be seen as the outliar. i don't want to be the only one so of defending tehran. it wants to be right in the middle. but it does have majorconomic interests does russia, russia and chinaorm a natural kind of bloc here. both of them a going to be pushing to waterdown any sort of sactions, the language. i think it depends to me extent reallon how bad the idence is against iran. and some of thishe public mighnot

willing to get on iran? with me now, republican strategist, leonardo, and democratic strategist, keith boykin. let me begin with you, are you satisfied with the american leaders' response to iran so far? >> i am, contessa. i give the president high marks so far. i give the secretary of state clinton and defense secretary gates high marks for their understanding and their tough rhetoric. i think what we're looking for, not just as a party, as a nation, but we're looking for all of the world to unite together and put iran in the spotlight. it's up to them to show that they will provide unfettered access. that's the key point moving into this thursday's g-5 plus 1 meeting in geneva. >> my understanding is iran has promised it would allow iaea inspectors to the nuclear plant. keith f we're looking at their actions, it wasn't just the nuclear plant. it was also the fact here they were talking about test firing successfully the short-range missiles and now the long-range missiles as well. keith boykin, let me go t

iran." others chanted "death to the dictator." the former president got roughed up and his turban was knocked off and ahmadinejad made an appearance that was curlts short after hardliners approached him. it has been a brutal crackdown in iran. >> the people that go out and march with their signs, peace signs, are very brave, indeed, because they have been tapped down with brutal repression. >> reports are that the opposition will look for any opportunity to rally or even stage strikes this fall. in london, amy kellogg, fox news. bret: of course, the major concern about iran is its apparent push to develop nuclear weapons, and there is now a serious disagreement about just how far along that effort might be. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has that story. >> a day after the obama administration and the pentagon announced a major shift in their european missile defense system to focus more immediately on the short and medium-range missile threats from iran, more details are e

again, it's iran. so iran is emerging as, i guess, ahmadinejad and certainly the mullahs behind him are really, i think, showing a tremendous parallel to preworld war ii germany. i think we need to learn from the lessons of the past, that is, number one, we should never allow a policy of appeasement. it never gives peace and it never gives honor, it always leads to war. it's always a matter of people overseas, folks who really are out for the destruction of others, it gives them an opening to attack other countries, and then secondly, that never again should israel be without its own country, and certainly without its friends around the world. never again should we have a situation, mr. speaker, as we did during world war ii. that was a holocaust, which of course we know that ahmadinejad denies to this day. and you know, there are many that say, look, this is just a little strip of land out in the middle of the desert, you've got arabs and jews fighting over this little land, really, if you think about

, and iran will be called on the table. if iran doesn't act, then something else will happen, and what was, i thought, notable about president obama's statements at the press conference you showed and the one later at his news conference, is that he did not take military action off the table, so there is israel, in the background, programs ready to act if dirp plome massey and sanctions fail. charles? >> it is contemptuous, yet he is called out and laughs it off, because he knows that all of this is charade. for three years he has watched how the united states and others have done absolutely nothing. with obama, in particular, you're right. what we saw was a spectacle, but this isn't a speck techel. this is the real world. this is guy who is going to have nukes. speck spectacle or not, the show doesn't matter. this is a trump card. if you had it for three years, you play it today and announce on the day that it is a violation so clear and so obvious that it's intended to be a nuclear weapons program, that we will impose san

iran's flagrant behavior u.n. resolutions and mandates and part of it is because i think the united states is willing to have dialogue and, also, pushing for sanctions. it's not one or the other, it's both. >> how heavy a lift is it for us to say, for the president to say to russia, to the world, we have hard intelligence. and we understand, by the way, that our allies have intelligence that matches this about what is going on near this facility, but after everything that happened with george w. bush and iraq and the wmd and not getting it right, is it harder for the u.s. to take the lead on this? >> well, it certainly is and that's one of the reasons the french president sarkozy's statement yesterday at the u.n. was important. >> again, today. >> and again today and gordon brown's statement was important. it's, i think it's instructive here that the united states doesn't have to say everything every time. we need to let other countries speak out, too. and let their outrage come forward, particularly when the beha

iran had denied it in the past. so, obviously, in the weeks leading up to this, they had found hard evidence. >> but again, they have to be so careful, because as we discussed earlier, meredith, there's a tough track record in the past with hard evidence. for example, we all remember colin powell standing at the united nations talking about the hard evidence that iraq was possessing weapons of mass destruction, and that, of course, didn't turn out as well. >> we presume that's why they took the time that they did. >> exactly. >> hopefully, that's why. >> cross the ts and dot all the is. again, we're waiting for president obama to speak, and apparently, we're getting that announcement right now in pittsburgh. >> let's listen in. >> the president and prime minister of great britain and northern ireland. >> good morning. we are here to announce that yesterday in vienna, the united states, the united kingdom and france presented detailed evidence to the iaea demonstrating that the islamic republic of iran has been build

iran must do so and so. iran must do this and that. we're saying what business of yours is it to tell us what we must do or not? you are just another country, a member state of the iaea like any other one. so, the positions that were taken today which we saw is quite different from the remarks made by mr. obama at the united nations. he correctly says that we must not move ahead based on speculations, we must not unnecessarily accuse one another. tell me, what was done today, what exactly does that mean? they must not interfere in the activities of the iaea. they must give the iaea enough time to go check things out, prepare its report, and then provide the information to all the relevant bodies and organizations that are involved. it seems to me that what was done was a really big mistake. when the iaea report finally comes out, i am sure it will definitely feel sorry about their move. they will regret it and be regretting it more down the road. in the end of the day it is a very ordinary facility that is been set up. it is only in th

getting their take on the iran situation. >> i think this is the moment of decision for iran. iran can either make itself a pariah or it can recognize that it has much more to gain by eliminating any potential military aspects of a nuclear program. >> today's action in firing the missiles, is really a poke in the eye to those who have diplomatic efforts and agreements and inspections, will change the way iran is going. >> jamie: and joining me now, the host of "fox news sunday" who conducted both of those interviews, chris wallace, good morning. >> chris: good morning, jamie. >> jamie: i want to ask you, the defining moment for iran and what they decide to do but did you get the since it is also for the president? >> chris: well, not so much the president as the whole western alliance. because the u.s. and our top allies, also, russia and china will sit down with the iranians, starting in geneva on thursday, and obviously, demand answers, and, also, basically, saying, either you stand down or we'll impose sanctions, i think is absolutely a defining moment, for the west in term

the international group against iran. what are the iranian people thinking about this missile testing over the weekend? we'll get perspective. also the legal uproar over a frozen embryo mistake at a fertility clinic. how does that happen? more ahead on msnbc. are the same, consider this: a tornado hits, air life denver takes off... their night-vision goggles keeping the rescue mission safe... and powering those goggles-- the only battery air life trusts: duracell. trusted everywhere. duracell. what if you could capture the fresh taste of broccoli in a luscious soup? v8 garden broccoli. from campbell's. velvety, delicious. campbell's v8 soups. also, try new garden vegetable blend. new carefree ultra protection liners, with wings! absorb ten times more, like a pad but feel thin and comfy, like a liner. new carefree® ultra protection™ come on.ut feel thin and comfy, like a liner. come on. good girl.] mollie's never looked better. i really was amazed to see the change in her coat. people stop us when we're walking, and the

and russia has delivered nuclear fuel to iran already. so how do we somehow take their word for this situation? it's always amazing to me, i think that mr. obama in all deference to the president is that somehow he is ignoring the lessons of history. for we see malev lent individuals or countries -- malev lant individuals or countries push forward to try to push back the forces of freedom and someone blinks, there was a time when, you know, gorbachev stared in the eyes of ronald reagan and gorbachev had to blink because ronald reagan didn't. he transcended the soviet union and hundreds of people live in freedom now because mr. rage-the courage to stand strong, even above the incident of the liberal media in his own country. there was a time when one of the other russian premiers tried to stare down president john kennedy. john kennedy stood strong and wouldn't back up and where would we be had that not happened? in just recent days mr. putin stared president obama in the eye and mr. obama blinked and it has historic and grave consequences

they warned iran to ce clean abouthe secret plant or face harsher xct2sanctions. theacilities near qom, 100 miles southwes of hran. is afternoon iranian president mahmoud ahmadined held a news conference of his own. he said that the new facity willot be operatnal for 18 mohs, and he insisted iranas complied wh uted nations disclosure rules. today's extrrdinary events o iran are o lead focu tonigh in remarks that were bri and to the point, presidentbama with french presidt nicola sarkozy and british prime minister gordon bro at h side address the revelation. the president said that t iranianacility seemed clearly designed for mility se, a violation of secury council resolutions, calling on iran to enthe enrichment of the uranium for military purposes. ofy underscores iran's continuing unwillingness to meet obligations under u.n.ecurity council solutions and iaea requirements. >> today on iranan state televion, iran publicly acknowledged the existee of the facity. e plant is built near the ly cityome 160 kilometers south of tehran. earlier in the week iran privately

iran's petroleum sector. and also consumers of iran's petroleum products. so they might have some hesitation in terms of really imposing rigorous sanctions on iran's petroleum sector. >> reporter: but the white house says the discovery of this secret you rainiam inrichment plant has finally awakened everybody to the threat posed by iran. >> there has never been a stronger international consensus to address iran and its nuclear weapons program than there is right now. >> reporter: u.s. and european officials will meet with the iranians on thursday to hear their explanation for the facility. takeyh predicts they will claim they have done nothing wrong. >> they are going to make the claim that they were not obligated to declare the site because no nuclear material has been introduced. >> reporter: iran already has said it will allow international inspect arer -- inspectors to visit the site much as they have done with their other enrichment plant at natanz which they claim will only produce fuel for nuclear ener

first up is iran. elizabeth, tell me how significant you think this is and what is the prospect of the united states? >> very big questions there. what this does now, for the united states, is make its case for sanctions against iran stronger. there's hope the russians and chinese will come along and support a new round of sanctions. now, it gives the united states a good, perhaps last chance, to try this before being confronted with a more difficult choice about military action way down the road or letting israel do it. >> well, elizabeth, speaking of that, what is the prospect that sanctions could change their behavior? so many people are skeptical that slaps on the wrist aren't gouk to going to do much. >> there have been three rounds that haven't done much at all. the united states is hoping a new round of sanctions, a tougher round would wake up iran. no one knows if that will work. the united states is leveraging this development as best it can to try to get much more international support this t

iran, europe and u.s. meet for nuclear talks this week but in today's political climate, analysts predict no breakthroughs. >> it took 31 years but u.s. authorities finally have their man. film make are roman polanski is in a swiss jail this morning. he's been on the lam ever since being arrested for having sex with an undergauge girl. alex joins us this morning from zurich. >> reporter: good morning. roman polanski arrived here saturday to receive a lifetime achievement award from the zurich film festival and instead was detained on a u.s. warrant issued in 1978 after having pled guilty to having sexual relations with a 13-year-old girl. he's lived in france for the past three decades and avoiding countries that have extradition agreements with the u.s. this time around the film festival promoted polanski's appearance so they were ready. the swiss minister of justice said, quote, it's the rule of law and everybody is treated the same way, whether it's an ordinary citizen or famous personality. it's purely

their numbers are higher compared to others. >> reporter: iran and the first talks between iran and the u.s. in nearly 30 years. what do you want from the united states? >> translator: a new arrangement should be put in place based on new principles so that the war is directed toward peace an tranquility. we have always believed in talking and negotiating. that is our logic. nothing has changed. >> reporter: are there conditions under which iran would weaponize? >> translator: well, nuclear the past and the past generation. >> reporter: so, may i assume your answer to that question is no? >> translator: my response to what question? >> reporter: is there a condition under which iran would weaponize? >> translator: we don't need such -- we don't have such a need, nuclear weapons. >>reporter: so the answer is no, sir? >> translator: i don't know what you mean by no. >> reporter: i'm asking if there are any scenarios in which you would change what you say is your course and move into creating a nuclear weapon. am i correct, the answer is no? >> translator: we do not see any need for such w

that applies to iran. if what ahmadinejad said was true, all we have to do is ask him to open the door and show us. >> okay, john. let's talk about israel. what about israel? how worried is the u.s. that israel might take action on its own. >> quite worried. i think that is really the key wild card in this whole conversation, because israel is with each passing day going to be more likely to want to strike iran's facilities. and so you've got that clock running on israel. you've got the clock running on negotiations on diplomacy, and also within iran. i tend to think it's unlikely that iran will back down if we have the current regime in place. but there are a lot of political forces in play inside iran which could result in a change in government there. but how soon will that happen and would it happen before israel feels the urge to act preemptively. >> colonel, israel. will israel make a move? >> well, they have wanted to for a loan time. at least 20 years or so ago they wanted to do something and we ke

iran has no excuse. of course ahmadinejad did come forth in the moments after, at least the hours after the revelation saying, look, we're following the iaea conventions, following them. followed the rules. nothing to see here. no big deal. just about every other expert says, well, that's not really correct because clearly they were doing it in secret and clearly supposed to disclose any construction of a site like this, a site incidentally, that the president and many other experts say clearly intended for nuclear weapons grade material aens not used for domestic purposes like nuclear power, contessa. >> mike viqueira, thank you. >> reporter: all right. >>> the top u.s. commander in afghanistan said he was blind sided by the show of strength from the tall pan in summer. he submitted a request to the pentagon for more troops. it's a move that 50% of americans would oppose according to the latest gallup poll. 41% would support sending more troops to afghanistan. >>> and breaking news from the entertainmen

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is it likely nuclear negotiations with iran will succeed or are harsher sanctions against iran inevitable? joining us is mansour farhang, a professor of international relations at benington college. professor farhang was revolutionary iran's first ambassador to the united nations. welcome to the program. >> pleasure to be here. >> do you think that these talks, which are going to be starting next week, are they going to succeed or are harsher sanctions inevitable against iran? >> regrettably, the talks are not going to succeed, but i'm not so sure if we are going to see harsher sanctions. they will not succeed because iranian regime at the present time is going through a significant shift in the centers of power from the conservative clerics and their lay associates to the security and intelligent organs of the state. this shift has given the revolutionary guards and their allies in the so-called economic foundations in the country a situation that they really need an enemy in order to justify purges within the regime and suppress the dissident elements who question the totality of the re

still ziploc fresh. >> top stories for you iran's government will allow u.s. inspectors into the nuclear facility. clinton says he welcomes that but threatens -- says they shouldn't have built it in the first place. zazi will fly back where he will face a judge on tuesday. he's accused of making explosives planned to set off a string of bombs. heavy rain falling in parts of georgia. what a mess. residents are working to clean up after this week's flooding. georgia's insurance commissioner doubled his original estimated cleanup costs to $500 million. >> it's drier than the highest deserts on earth, so we thought. nasa found water on the moon. discovered by two nasa probes and confirmed by yet another probe as the moon's southern hole. big news for science that could lead to perhaps new missions in space even permanent spaces on the moon. with us now is former astronaut dr. tom jones. fox news contributor and author of planetolgy. always great touki -- talking t you. i always love this had stuff. there was a lunar scientists quote td who says he was blown away b

operating in iran today. it's important that supply trading route is cut down completely to isolate the iranians. >> jonathan, go ahead. >> i had a question for nile. nile, should we take any significance in the fact that we had the president of the united states, along with the president of frns and the prime minister of great britain, making this announcement together? >> good morning, jonathan. yeah. i think this is a highly significant development and indicates the u.s. and uk and france are united in pressing for a tougher sanctions, but i really don't see any clear evidence that either china or russian will shift their position and even if we have all of the key allies in europe supporting tougher sanctions, that won't necessarily make a difference with the chis and the russians. so i'm not overly confident that this message being sent by paris, london and washington today is necessarily going to change things. >> how much leverage or how much ability does iran have to retaliate, not in the material sen

they will be sorry. >>> will china impose sanctions on iran? >>> no classification on bill sparkman. >> they knock on doors of saintly people and really horrible people. missing him is real for us. >> joe. heckler is the gop's new joe the plumber. why the republicans continue to embrace and elevate their fringe elements to poster boy status? sarah palin's latest attempt to prove she is up to speed on global politics. also she changed her profile picture. how do you lampoon a human cartoon? "saturday night live" took their shot last night. >> those letters don't rearrange to spell that. >> all that and more now on "countdown." >> i'm the best damn actor on television. >>> good evening from new york,

it is now up to iran to respond. i'm not going to speculate on the course of action that we will take. we're going to give october 1st a chance. but i think you've heard that even countries who a year ago or six months ago might have been reluctant to even discuss things like sanctions have said that this is an important enough issue to peace and stability in the world that iran would make a mistake in ignoring the call for them to respond in a forthright and clear manner and to recognize that the choice they make over the next several weeks and months could well determine their ability to rejoin the international community or to find themselves isolated. last point i'll make specifically with respect to the military. i've always said that we do not rule out any options when it comes to u.s. security interests. but i will also reemphasize that my preferred course of action is to resolve this mie diplomatic fashion. it's up to the iranians to respond. patricia zangerle at reuters. >> you said a couple months ago that

jts and new threats from iran, if israel launches an attack, iran's defense minister warns it will quote expedite israel's last breath. plus u.s. secretary of defense, robert gates said he will not give president obama's general mcchrystal's request for more troops. >>> good day, i'm andrea mitchell, i'm live in new york and we have an exclusive interview with cuba's foreign minister, moments after he addresses the general assembly. meanwhile, intelligence experts say that iran may be hiding up to a dozen more secret underground facilities. and the united states is demanding to get u.n. weapons inspectors into the country as soon as possible. it's the big story at the white house. so let's get to nbc news white house correspondent, savannah guthrie. hey, savannah. >> hi, andrea. >> going into the talks, what does the president, what does the administration think that they have so far from russia and then of course, china? >> reporter: well they've been pretty encouraged by russia's response so far and openness to sanctions. but of course, is devil is in the details with both regard to ru

there are two paths for iran. paths toward peace and security by getting rid of their nuclear weapons ambitions, or a path of continued pressure, sanctions, really being isolated from the world community. all options are facing iran, and the choice is really theirs. so i think having this out in public view is important. everyone knows what the stakes are. iran knows what the stakes are. so hopefully, they'll choose to get down to business. >> ambassador wendy sherman, thank you for your time. certainly appreciate it. you can see more of david gregory's exclusive interview this sun on "meet the press." in about 30 minutes, a reminder. we'll hear from president obama. he is expected to talk about iran from the g-20 summit in pittsburgh. we'll have that live right here on msnbc. our coverage will be anchored by ed schultz of "the ed show." intriguing comments from former president bill clinton. >> i think they're excellent comments. what he hit the nail on the head, he showed what talks can bring to the table as opp