we'll look at what went wrong, 10:30 eastern, 7:30 pacific. i'm david schuster in for l ali velshi. on behalf of all of us at "real money" thanks for watching. night. reaching an agreement on containing iran's nuclear programme leaves iranian military forces resources and influence in conflicts from the persian gulf to the mediterranean. the art goes like this - the comprehensive joint plan of action with iran isn't comprehensive enough. it doesn't do anything to address tehran's influence. his critics say president obama's compart thealized strategy misses the big picture

and misses a chance to undermine regional ambitions. it's "inside story". iranian know how and resources helped to push back the islamic state of iraq and levant, i.s.i.l., in iraq. as american air strikes were working to the same end. tehran is propping up the government of bashar al-assad in damascus, while many regional powers and the u.s. try to pull bashar al-assad down. saudi arabia's worried about growing iranian influence across the middle east, not least among the shia minority. iran provides support for hamas, which fought big destructive rallies against israel, and supports hezbollah, which

wreaked havoc against targets in lebanon. there are bizarre juxtapositions in nations, alliance in the middle east. saudis team up to oppose the islamic state, and the u.s. scrambles for regional allies in the taffing of task of expelling them. iran tries to work out a deal with americans to get sanctions lifted. opponents with the framework fault the american president for not pushing iran harder in the other areas. for his part, the president explained to tom freedman of the "new york times", all the other loose ends have a better shot at being tied up now. >> part of what i have told my team is we have to distinguish between the idea logically driven

offensive iran and the defensive iran that it feels vulnerable. and sometimes may be reacting because they perceive that as the only way they can avoid repeats of the past. >> gary watched iran closely through a long career in international relations including on president carter's national security staff. he joins me from new york. welcome to "inside story". is the president right? are there two iran, an offensive and defensive iran? >> well, it's trou. although in reality even iran's offensive part is often defensive because they are protecting a position that they already had could this moment, as some

suggested over the weekend, have been used, should be used to better advantage by the united states. it's said that iran came to the table because it was under such pressure, should the united states have tried to get more enrichment? >> well, if you look at the deal that we have got, which just about everybody who is honest about it is surprised by how far it goes. and you look at the intensive negotiation during the last three or four days. including an overnighter with the two foreign minister, with kerry and zarif. and then you say - you push them harder, that's what they were doing during the period of time. that's what they were doing. the reality is you can't get agreement. >> the contrary case has been made in the days since the president announced the deal, that if you get some baseline level of compliance from iran

now on the framework, and the sanctions are as they hardly desire, lifted, they'll get the keys that unlock the door to the doghouse, and won't have to deal on any of the other issues. >> well, i see it a different way. iran actually has been on the defensive for a very long period of time. it's been in a bubble of its own created by the iranian resolution. for 36 years they've lived surrounded by pressure and no access to the outside world. they want to be a player. now, does that mean that they are going to change and be everything we want them to be? absolutely not. on the other hand, would you rather talk to iran about syria, forensics, or coordinate with them when it comes to the i.s.i.s. battle, or basically do what we have done before, sit back, not have contact with them at all and complain through the newspapers.

that's what we have done through the past. it's not worked. >> i understand your point entirely about the feeling of threat. wasn't that threat eased by the american wars in the region by the beginning of the century. when george w. bush took office there was a taliban make it up as you go along republic on one side and afghanistan on the eastern border and a hostel sunni-led iraq on the other side. by the time that first decade was over, iran had friendly governments on both sides. >> yes, the united states actually made iran a gift of getting rid of its two worse enemies. taliban on the east and saddam hussein on the west of the two parties that kept iran locked into conflict over a period of a decade or so. and that - so we gave them that. so i guess we shouldn't be terribly surprised when they -

their influence has increased because of our gift. but, you know, it has increased. it makes people nervous, i understand that. again, there are a range of issues, including afghanistan today, where american troops are calling back, the business of fighting i.s.i.s. the problem of working out a political solution and so forth. they are issues where it would be useful to talk to iran. including not only excluding the idea, but some kind of security, and the oil flow in the persian gefl. there's a lot of issues that we have an interest in talking to iran about. we share some of them, some are opposed. being able to discuss those things is a good thing. >> reporter: let's take the point you made. if iran plays by the rules as laid outed in the consensus document that emerges from the

process, and by some people's life that is a big if, does it make resolution on some of these other unresolved issues in the region more possible. plausible. do you deal with an iran that is a more reliable player in negotiations once some of that pressure is lifted? >> well, i know there's a deal of controversy about this, and everyone wants to start with the idea that iran can't be trusted. but take the last 18 months. people say iran would never keep its wordar obey the agreement. they've been meticulous in fulfilling their part of the responsibility. if iran wants to become part of the world, not just that they want the nuclear thing off their back, they'll have to behave on a lot of issues. getting an agreement with them, where for 10 years they are

going to need to talk with us or compare notes with us and show that they are responsible. that's a starting point for getting iran to behave in a different way. it's not a guarantee. the reverse, if we don't have the agreement and iran goes back to ignoring us and increasing the nuclear capability where it was before, that's a recipe for conflict. problems. >> you made reference to it lightly, but an expert referred to the rodney danger field problem. in other words, that it feels like it doesn't get enough respect. what does it want. what does it - how does it see itself that the world doesn't share when it looks from the outside at iran? >> iran had a revolution. it was a real revolution. many in iran didn't know what

they were getting themselves into. specifically, they didn't know that they were getting an islamic government out of this whole thing. they have now had 36 years of bad management by this group that is running the country. that group is good at security. hassan rouhani, the new president, and zarif, the foreign minister are a breath of fresh air. they are saying that iran has to become part of the world. they have to get away from the need that we are isolated alone and under threat. we have to participate in the rest of the world. the nuclear think is the first step in the prospect. with domestic politics in this country or iran, there's many a slip that can take pleas. that is the objective. the question is should we help them along the path or turn them

down because we don't believe it's possible. >> great to talk to you. >> good to talk to you. >> in a part of the world where many countries are big and lightly populated. iran is a client. along with oil reserves, there's a population of 80 million, an old arab culture and an allegiance to the shia branch of islam, putting it at odds with sunni rulers. what does iran want? can it get it without a nuclear weapon. stay with us, it's "inside story".

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. >> welcome to "inside story" on al jazeera america. i'm ray suarez. president obama's team and the president himself took pains over the weekend to stress how the process is far from finished. how much difficult work there is style do. and that is with the other negotiating teams. the administration has plenty to do here at home to win over converts. clampdown on opposition and buy

breathing room. mike viqueira joins me now. is that why the secretary of energy, the president's spokesman and the president himself was out there? >> it's clear when you read the te leaves that they are concerned. the magic number is 67. any number of senators, 67 or over is enough to override the presidential veto on a bill likely to come out of the senate. that would give the congress the right to give the thumbs up and down. if that were to happen. the administration warns that it would scuttle the deal and humiliate the united states on the world statement. there was six nations, plus iran and the european union. the white house has trumpeted the deal for the moment they shook hands. you saw president obama, and last week you saw president

obama give a # 46 minute interview - i just watched it again to tom freedman. where they covered the water front. a number of cropped up, chief to the interpretation that iran makes, and the interpretation that the administration is putting forward, putting out details not agreed to. >> they are critical to members of the house and senate, whether they come off quickly, whether it's a phased thing that happens in response to iranian on. >> that is the chief area of discrepancy, and they are the actions. if you look at the totality, and especially today as you noted, the secretary of energy teamed up with the white house press secretary and made the case, a couple of contradictions when you look at what the d administration is saying.

they are saying it's not done, and they should wait until after june 30th, when all the technical quote unquote details will be done. at the same time they'll trumpet what has been done. the white house says repeatedly that congress has a role and they don't want congress to vote, citing generations of secretaries, this is something the president can do on its own. and they say only congress can lift sanctions, imposed by congress which is true. they can do away with the sanctions. it is the right, the ability or the rite of the president to wave the sanction, to ignore them. there's a bit disingenuous and that's the number one thing now. now, for the first time the white house admitted there was no agreement with iran on how quickly the sanctions would be lifted.

obviously this will be a key issue going forward with congress and iran before we go, senator bob corker of tennessee makes it clear that he will demand that the senate be heard on the measure, who decides it's a treaty. the constitution is clear that the senate has to pass in the. >> the president says he doesn't want to set a precedent where congress can weigh in on these issues, and compares it to a status of forces agreement with iraq and afghanistan, or any country where the united states has a number of military forces. they do not believe that rises to the threshold of a treaty bob corker, other disagree. al jazeera's senior washington correspondent - good to talk to you. >> tomorrow, one nation's chaos

bleeding to the rest. >> college students pay the ultimate price. we take you to the request to unravel the horn of africa. get in touch with us on twitter and facebook. watch us next time. i'm ray suarez. >> louisiana's bayou, 70 miles southwest of new orleans. this is the heartland of the native american houma tribe. and it's one of the most valuable ecosystems in the entire united states.