www.aljazeera.com. [ "inside story." >> hello, i'm ray suarez. it didn't take long for the finger pointing to begin after talks collapsed in geneva this week. iran insisted it was negotiating and progress had been made. the secretary of state john kerry, on the other hand, said iran couldn't agree to terms. it's just the latest in the difficult talks meant to keep iran from building a nuclear weapon. but pressure is mounting on the

obama administration as congress and including some in the senate want to keep pressure on iran and not lift crippling sanctions. will there be a deal? with all the time and effort it's hard to know. >> reporter: in a closed-door meeting with members of the senate wednesday, vice president joe biden and secretary of state john kerry tried to convince a congressional committee further sanctions on iran would upset the new relationship. but congress remained skeptical. >> we believe that sanctions in the threat of military force is the only way that will bring the iranians to the table. >> reporter: john kerry's plea for understanding comes day after the u.s. iran and high-powered diplomats from china, russia, britain, germany and france were at the table. they met in geneva for talks. the summit aimed as controlling iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for easing sanctions. the first such talks involving

the u.s. in nearly a decade. the u.s. and its allies saw tougher terms for iran and it's nuclear program especially the iraq heavy water plant. iran insists the plant is only for educationalled a domestic energy purposes but in the end the talks fell apart. >> france had hoped to reach an agreement during the iran nuclear talks. the talks here in geneva allowed us to make progress however we cannot reach an agreement because there are problems that need to be tackled. we'll surely tell you that our political directors will meet, then ministers, and we hope at that time to include an agreement. >> reporter: most delegations

blame france, but kerry shifts it to iran. >> there was unity, but at that moment they were not able to accept that particular agreement. >> reporter: in reaction the iranian foreign minister took to twitter posting no amount of spinning can change what happened within 5 plus 1 in geneva. but it can further erode confidence. mr. secretary, was it iran that gutted over half of u.s. draft thursday night and publicly commented against it friday morning? we are committed to constructive engagement, interaction on equal footing, key to achieve key shared objectives. he commented on a bbc talk show that same day. >> if diplomats fail to maintain an integrated and unified style it forms their credibility and damages mutual trust.

the goal of these talks is to reduce the distrust that has been created over the past eight years. such contradictory and conflicting remarks are different from what actually happened on the ground. >> reporter: before the talks fell apart a draft interim deal was made laying out caps in iran's nuclear capacity, and ways to make facilities more assessable to inspectors for exchange of easing economic sanctions on tehran. prime minister benjamin netanyahu called the interim deal dangerous. >> this is a deal that is proposed now. iran does not roll back its nuclear weapons making capacities at all. it's a bad and dangerous deal that deals with the thing that effects our survival. >> reporter: despite the

collapse of talks in geneva iran has accepted talks with the international atomic agency, it allows access to sites especially iraq, the same site concerning geneva talks. the next round of negotiations between the world leaders are expected to start up november 20th. >> joining us now from n, professor of international relations in middle east studies at new york university. he's been directly involved in negotiations between israel and it's neighbors, and in the studio sharon, she directs the proliferation prevention program at the center for strategic international studies also in dc, the middle east program director at the woodrow wilson center. sharon, what do you conclude about both

the pause and the recriminations that follow after it was read to the world that everything was going so well, and the parties were so close? >> well, i think we've seen a few positive things. iran has signed a very small agreement with the international atomic energy agency, but always lurking in the background are these kinds of additional requirements. the latest i heard is that france is insisting any agreement also covers a research reactor that is in construction now. that up to this point has not been part of the deal, but it's evaluate importanpretty importae concerned about iran's future capabilities. >> what do you make about this in tehran? >> i thought the iranian negotiator in

geneva behaved as well as one could expect from them. they didn't slam the door and just walk out. they said they were disappointed, and they were looking forward to come back to the negotiating table on november 20th. my sense is that ira iranians understood that they had a different agreement with the p5+1, and that in the last minute there were some changes introduced in that agreement that were taking them by surprise. they needed to go back home and see what they can bring back to the next round much talks. >> professor, it seems that as we got closer to something coming out of geneva, the volume out of jerusalem kept getting louder and louder, why is that? >> well, needless to say israel

is extremely concerned. about the prospect of iran acquiring nuclear weapons. so netanyahu just does not trust the iranian . it's a question of trust. iran has pursued enrich uranium to 20%, this is not necessary for medical purposes. it has refused to answer questions from the ida, which is important questions regarding their facilities, and they do not allowed inspection of many of these facilities which is required to be a member.

so there is a reason for many to be concerned. any deal they make, any arrangement they make will have to be verified, will have to be perfectly done in extremely tight control, and i don't think the iranians have been able thus far to provide the kind of assurances that both sides the united states is insisting upon. >> but professor, has the reaction from the netanyahu government been so negative that even attempts to try to build in those assurances are met with such skepticism that it sounds like there is nothing that israel will accept that comes from the mouth of the current tehran government. >> well, this is true . the netanyahu position is that

allowing iranian enreaching rue hane yum will not be accepted by accepted by israel. . they do not want to see enrichment of uranium on their soil. they also don't want to sigh the production of plutonium which is also useful in creating a nuclear weapon. the israelis without question has put tremendous pressure on the united states in asking, in fact, demanding if you want to go ahead and make a deal, that's fine, but we're not prepared to accept it, and we're going to have to make our own decision. when it comes to israeli national security we're not prepared to trust it to anyone, including our closest ally in the united states. >> is there a deal that is even possible that could be brokered by the p5+1 that meets some of the

requirements that the professor was just talking about? >> they're justified, and whatever the professor just said makes sense. but we now have a new government in the p5+1, and no longer is there the attitude that the former government had. you'll have foreign minister who is a nuclear negotiator. he is a very savvy diplomat, and i think iran will try for domestic reasons, really, because of the sanctions have been so backbreaking to accommodate as much as it can. that would include intrusive edification and inspection by

the iaea, and the united states has made it clear that this is going to be a step by step agreement. and none of us, nobody knows the details of what was put on paper between the p5+1 and the irani iranians. so we just have to wait and see before we draw any conclusion, but my sense is that this is an opportunity that may not be available to us if this, the next round of negotiations at least to take us a step forward. >> more with our guests after a break. you're watching "inside story." stay with us.

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i'm phill torez. coming up this week on techknow. san francisco's bay bridge, an engineering marvel but this is earthquake country.

>> how close are we to one of those faultlines? >> now inovation, that might change everything. >> how safe is this building? >> earthquake inovations, >> where would you wanna be if a big quake hits? >> techknow sunday 7:30 eastern on al jazeera america he. >> welcome back to "inside story." i'm ray suarez. we're talking about iran and the talks of the permanent 5 plus 1 nations. with us our guests , let's start with some of the basics, sharon. what is heavy water, and why is it such a point of contention in these talks? >> heavy water, well, the

iranians have a heavy water production plant, and they have a reactor that they're building right now. that reactor is going to be fueled with natural uranium. and the heavy water is used to moderate the reactor. so heavy water--it's not tap water. it has extra hydrogen in it. the problem with that reactor is that it produces or could produce very nice plutonium for a bomb. for example, in weapons programs around the world these heavy water reactor have been used to produce ple produce plutonium . all the while iran has been building this other plant that could provide a different route to the bomb. >> and

getting more expertise, and getting better at doing this? >> right. >> you've been listening to our guests . >> mm-hmm. >> and is there a version of an agreement that could come out of those particular parties getting enough of what they want, israel and iran? >> iran is member of the treaty, and so iran has made this all along that it has a right to enrich and to have this heavy water reactor. it has a right to make highly enriched uranium for use of fuel. now they have broken a lot of their obligations. >> so they haven't been playing

by the rules of a treaty that they signed. >> absolutely. but when you look at the future i think it's unrealistic to ask or to be able to get iranian agreement for no enrichment, no heavy water, no heavy water reactor. instead what you have to do is build into that agreement lafayette confidence-buildin , onthe enrichment facility yout a lot of extra verification on it because frankly it's not just the p 5 plus one. there are a lot of points that are very suspicious of what iran has been up to.

>> and what we have now is a situation where you have to take their word for it? i mean, they've gone ahead and done things i against existing treaties. moving forward do you contemplate an inspection regime that is intrusive enough to find out everything that they're doing all the time? is that realistic either? >> no, it's not, but you don'ted into a verification regime that where we know what they're doing all the time you have to focus on key points. that's why we're concerned about enrichment. that's why we're concerned about this potential reactor. no system is perfect, but you hope that you build in enough information, access facilities. and on the other end of it, intelligence.

where countries are providing information. that's the best system that you can come up with. but iran really has to take some serious steps towards building confidence because it's not there now. >> guests, i haven't forgotten about you. i wanted to get some that have technical information out on the table. we'll return to the diplomacy in a moment. we'll have more with our guests. stay with us. >> al jazeera america brings you live coverage: typhoon haiyan. >> relief efforts are well underway here in cebu. >> we have a problem with no homes to go back to. >> clean water, food, medicine, all vitally required. >> the australian medical team arrived. >> this is a government warehouse that is preparing relief for the families most effected. >> al jazeera america is there with continuing live coverage. >> the water rose to half-way up to the second story. >> to find out how you can help, go to aljazeera.com.

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>> while you were asleep, news was happening. >> here are the stories we're following. >> find out what happened and what to expect. >> international outrage. >> a day of political posturing. >> every morning from 5 to 9am al jazeera america brings you more us and global news than any other american news channel. >> tell us exactly what is behind this story. >> from more sources around the world. >> the situation has intensified here at the border. >> start every morning, every day, 5am to 9 eastern with al jazeera america. >> we're back, and we're talking about iran and it's nuclear ambitions. professor, everything that you just heard and given the fact

that israel is not a party to these negotiations, who speaks for israel in that room? p5+1 on one side of the table, iran on the other. >> needless to say, the israel has and will continue to rely on the united states to get the best possible deal with iran. but there are a couple of problems that i want to mention. one is that there is enough erosion between prime minister netanyahu and president obama. this has entered the equation to some extent. that's number one. number two as we heard before, the building measures are unnecessary. the question is this, if iran has been maintaining that it has not

pursuing nuclear weapons, then it should be able to provide the international community the iea the inspectors truly inspections everywhere. that is a were requisite. yes, they insist on enriching on iranian soil. about "y" not freeze that for another six months until another agreement is reached and a more comprehensive one that deals with that issue effectively. which means if they want to lift some of these heavy sanctions that have really penalized their economy and they're hurting, they're going to have to do something to demonstrate that they are sincere, and they really mean business, that they have not pursued nuclear weapons, and be able to satisfy the united states.

remember, israel is a major player although not present in the room. the united states needs to consider not only israeli concerns but other allies like saudi arabia. what you have here is united states not in a very comfortable position. these allies accuse the united states, although indirectly, that president obama may be too eager to achieve some kind of a breakthrough, and they may well compromise on certain issues that they should not be compromising. there is tremendous pressure put on this administration to make absolutely turn that no agreement should be reached and they should not give iran more time to continue to make advancements, although they're saying that they're not doing so. they have been made significant progress in its effort in this record, which is confirmed by the israeli intelligence,

american intelligence, as well as the british. >> you heard the professor ask why can't iran stop refining for six months? especially when it's looking for a way out from those crippling sanctions that are doing real damage to its domestic economy. >> we don't know what happened . really, it's all guesswork, and we'll have to trust president obama and secretary kerry that they would take into consideration the concern of israel, and also the concern of iran's persian gulf neighbors. you know, we just have to wait for the next round of talks to see both sides come to agreement, and the confidence-building is very important, and my sense is that

the iranians know that they have to go along with being much more transparent , and much more intrusive inspections. >> do we have a narrow window, some room for movement on the part of the new rouhani government that has a sell-buy date, that has for iran. >> yes, he now has behind him his first hundred days to prove that he can really deliver the promises that he made during his campaign. and part of it is doing away with some of the sanctions. in order to do that they have to make concessions on the nuclear issues. >> very quickly before we close, when there is a break like this

in talks that are so high level and so important, the whole world is watching. does that give everyone a breather? does it give them a better shot when they come back to the table? >> well, i think what you'll see are technical talks. they'll bring the level down, have some experts working through some details, at least, that's what we hope. >> hard to say. >> well, we'll continue to cover this, and i hope they'll continue to talk. that's it for washington, d.c. and from me, ray suarez. thank you for watching "inside story." good night. ♪

>> welcome to al jazeera america. i'm richelle carey. here are the stories we're following for you. aid is getting in to restricted areas in the philippines but more needs to be done to help 2 million people who cannot return to their moments. a gathering of survivors to come together to educate women on their health. america's power stations are facing 10,000 attempted cyberattacks a month. >> in the philippines the official death