hello, i'm wolf blitzer and it is 1 cc p.m. here in washington, and 10:00 p.m. in kabul, and wherever you are watching from around the world, thank you for watching us. high in emotion, and ambition and hope for change. executive actions announced in the past hour by president obama aimed at helping prevent what the president calls the next mass shooting. as you may have seen live on cnh the president was joined in the east house by -- east room of the white house, and he would

recall the massacre at newtown as the worst day of his presidency. and this is the emotion that we don't often see from an american president. >> the second amendment rights are important. but there are other rights that we care about as well, and we have to be able to balance them. because our right to worship freely and safe ly -- that righ was denied to christians in charleston, south carolina, and that was denied jews in kansas city and that was denied muslims in chapel hill, and sikhs as well. and also denied our college students in blacksburg and santa

clara, and from those first graders in newtown. first graders. and for every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from their lives from a bullet of a gun. every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. and by the way, it happens on the streets of chicago everyday. the new measures announced by the president aim to clarify or tighten enforcement of the laws already on the books. they center on the criminal and

the mental health background checks that federally licensed gun sellers are required to perform on buyers. they clarify that you don't need an actual gun store to be called a dealer, and dealers online are or anywhere else are required to be licensed and do background checks. the plan broadens the database from which gun buyers are checked, and it proposes $500 million for increased access to mental health care, and orders the defense, justice and homeland security departments to research and develop new g gun-safety technology. our senior white house correspondent jim acosta is joining us. jim, we saw a wide range of emotions from the president today, but as we have been pointing out, it is not everyday that you see the president actually choke back the tears. >> that is right, wolf. this may have been the most emotional president obama has been throughout his presidency when he was lamenting the country's inability to pass any kind of meaningful gun legislation, an gun control legislation, and especially in the aftermath of the tragedies

in newtown, and all of the others that we have gone through in the last couple of years. and wolf, what the president is proposing today basically boils down to this, and i am holding it right here, and this is new guidance issued by the bureau of alcohol and tobacco and firearms, and it is going to the gun sellers across the country saying that if you are the business of selling firearms, you have to get a license and conduct background checks on the buyers. and there are hobbyists and collectors who sell are from time to time, and they don't have to undergo background check, but those who print up a card or are in the business as the atf calls it of selling firearms, they have to start conducting the background check, and there is a threat of prosecution if those people don't conduct the background checks. and in that, there was a political message as the president went after the republicans, saying that 90% of the democrats voted for

background checks, and 90% of the republicans did not. and he is trying to tee up an issue for the presidential campaign for the expected democratic nominee hillary clinton, and wolf, he went after the long time political nemesis here in washington the national rifle association, the gun lobby as he called it, the nra can call congress hostage, but it can't hold the american people hostage, and very emotional moment for him, and a sharp political point to the message to today, wolf. >> yes, it was. thank you, jim acosta at the white house. the announcement of the executive actions to combat gun violence hits close to home for our next guest. navy combat veteran, and retired astronaut mark kelly is married to congressman gabby giffords, and five years ago she was critically injured when a gunman

opened up fire at a political rally, and he recalls the moments when gifford was shot. >> i was there with gabby when she was still in the hospital. and we didn't think that necessarily at that point that she was going to survive. and that visit right before memorial about an hour earlier, gabby first opened up her eyes. but i know the pain that she and her family have endured the past five years. the rehabilitation, and the effort and the work to recover.

from shattering injuries. and then i think of all of the americans who are not as fortunate. mark kelly is joining us now from the white house. mark, thank you very much for joining us. i know that you had a chance together with gabby to meet privately with the president. i wonder if you could share a little bit with what he had to say. >> well, it is a short visit before the event. the speech i think that as everybody saw was really powerful, and i think that president obama explained very well why this was necessary and explained the steps that he was going to take. and you know, to be honest, you know, it is really a taking a good step in the right direction to bringing down the gun violence by largely requiring that you get a background check before buying a gun at least for people who are selling large quantities of firearms. >> and so what you are concerned about is people who are selling

the firearms at gun shows or online, and privately, if you will. and you want all of the background checks what the president calls common sense background checks to be expanded dramatically, and explain whatt >> and 60% of all of the gun sales are done with the background check, and probably 40% without. that is what we think. i mean, we don't keep records on this, and so it is hard to tell. and if you are a felon or somebody who is a domestic abuser or dangerously mentally ill, you go to the gun show or over the internet, and buy a gun with no questions asked. there are individuals that sell large quantities of weapons in this fashion, and it does not make a lot of sense, and it adds to a very high incidents of gun violence in this country, and we could do something about it. the president is taking that step today. >> and so many of the analysts have described the president's

ex executive orders as modest right now. would you agree with that description? >> you know, i mean, it is not like sweeping and all inclusive. i mean, it respects the rights of responsible gun owners like myself and like gabby and a lot of people around this country who feel strongly about the second amendment and feel that, also, it is their right to pass a gun on to, you know, a son or daughter or to sell a gun to the neighbor next door without having to get the government involved, and that is just fine, but what the president is trying to capture here are the gun sellers that are selling large quantities of weapons on the internet, and at gun shows, and where they operate this like a business. and for the last 25 years or so, that has been able to be done without any government regulation, and without know in who these individuals are that are buying the weapons. >> and back in 2013, you and your wife founded americans for responsible solutions as a way to find legislation to stand up

for safer communities, if you will, and what is the problem, and why is your organization and other organizations fighting the nra have been unsuccessful to fighting the nra's clout? >> well, i would say that we are successful, and not in washington, d.c., in the capitol, but around the country, we have been possible to expand the background check, and the domestic violence and stalking and other violence, but i will tell you that congress is a hard nut to crack there. politics are more polarized than ever. i hate to say this, but a lot of the members of congress are incredibly influenced by the gun lobby. >> we saw gabby giffords at the event in the east room, and she looked great, but tell us how she is doing. >> well, friday, you know, it is five years after she was nearly assassinated in tucson, arizona,

and you know, she has worked really hard over half a decade now to recover whatever part of her life she can get back. she continues to work hard. she is really excited about today, because our staff has worked really hard over to the last year to help the white house, you know, to get to where we are today on these executive actions. she is doing well. she is feeling good, and excited to be in washington. >> please pass along our best wishes to her, and you and your families for a happy new year as well. mark kelly, thank you very much for joining us. >> you are welcome, wolf, thank you for having me on. and the presidential candidates out there on the campaign trail, they are blasting president obama's new plans to flex the executive pow powers when it comes to gun control. they are promising to the undo the provisions. >> i can tell you right now that those executive order are not worth the paper they are written on. because when you live by the

pen, you will die by the pen, and my pen has gotten an eraser. >> gop candidates are also firing off on twitter, and carly fiorina quoting her as saying another lawless and unko unconstitutional overreach, and the second amendment is an overreach, and how about enforce ing the law tas ta we have. and ben carson said that we the people have a constitutional right to bear arms, and sit is the president's responsibility to uphold the right. and if president's executive action on gun rights is drawing a controversy in congress, and drawing a fierce fight. and so we are also following breaking news out of afghanistan right now. one u.s. service member killed after a military helicopter came under attack. we have the details. lots of news happening. we will be right back. hey pal? you ready?

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just a short time ago, the president outlined his executive actions to curb gun sales without a background check. he is going to have a town hall right here on cnn with an dders cooper thursday at 8:00 p.m. and my next guest is against this executive action, and south carolina representative nick mulvaney, and i want to get your reaction, because is there anything that the president said that you like? >> sure, the stuff about the mental health, and that is what

republicans and democrats alike have been talking about for years, and if you look at the common thread from columbine, and beyond, it is mental health issues, and not who is buying the guns on the internet, but to the extent that he wants to have a better look doing a better job there, yes, i could look at that. >> and would you say that he is proposing $500 million for mental health. >> and yes, a proposed republican from pennsylvania who is offering a plan right now on how to do a better job of the mental health, and we are looking at that in my office. >> the $500 million? is that something that you would do with tim murphy. >> yes, tim's name. >> and so from pennsylvania, and you are open to that idea? >> yes. >> and what would you do the curb, 30,000 americans are dying each year from gun violence, and what would you do the lower that number? >> not this. i mean that is the one thing and you talked about it a few minutes ago on the show, and of

all of the things that the president wants to fix, the proposals that me made today, won't do it. the example that i come back to, the president said that he would do it to save one life, and you and i have talked about before what happened to kate steinley in san francisco, and if he had reinforced the laws of the sanctuary cities, that life would have been spared. and so what the president has done today is going to be falling on the backs of the law-abiding citizens and not fighting back gaiagainst those are not living under the law. >> and so what about this if you have a iphone, you need a fingerprint or code, and so there is technology that you could only use it with a fingerprint, and so if you are a father, you can loelly fire the gun, and if your child tries to get it, because the fingerprint won't work, the child can't do

tha that. >> and if he wants to use the executive authorities to expand the research on that, fine. that is his authority, but if he wants to change the law to mandate what you described, he has the come to congress. >> and when he says that if you are engaged on selling guns on the internet, you should be required to do a background check is that okay with you? >> yes, the one thing that we can agree on is that dangerously mentally ill people should not get guns, and that is something that republicans and democrats and everybody agrees on. >> and what about convicted felons orris ex abusers. >> yes, and there is sentencing reform or what constitutes a felony. >> i didn't think they could go to the gun show and buy a gun. >> well, the devil is in the details. you want to prevent those folks from getting the guns, and not preventing my dad from selling me a gun in the details. and so the details that we have not exactly seen, but is he

following the executive authority or challenging? because he can't do the latter. >> and are you opposing what the president is saying? >> well, i won't know that until i see the details. >> thank you, nick mulvaney. and another perspective is the member of the gun task enforcement detail, and you have heard congressman mulvaney, and what are the comments? >> well, i am surprised, because it sounds like he is wanting to do a lot of things that i want to promote. background check, and as you know, i have a bill with my republican colleague peter king that requires background checks for all commercial sales, gun show sale, and internet, and advertisement in the newspaper, and carve out for the family transfers and the congressman just mentioned that is what he is looking for, and i am glad about that. he supports the efforts in mental health, and we have made

some improvements in mental health. the obama care measure provides mental health opportunities for everybody, and we need more money, and hopefully he'll support that. some of the other portions of the president's proposal to make more efficient the background check system i can't see how anyone would oppose that. he wants to increase the amount of individuals who do oversight and pursue people who buy the guns illegal ly is certainly a good thing. bottom line, what the president did was clarify existing law. if you are in the business of selling firearms, you need to make sure that you are going to do background checks, and that is the xiexisting law. >> any prospect at all, congressman, of getting the bipartisan support for the tighter gun legislation for the next year?

>> well, wolf, the bill i mentioned, peter king and myself have had this bill now, and this is the second congress, and it would require background checs s for anybody who buys a gun through a commercial sale. we know that background checks wo work. they stop about 170 felons a day from buying a gun. that is a bipartisan bill. peter king, the republican and myself a democrat, and there are 190 coauthors and a handful of republicans on there, and that is a bipartisan measure that the republican leadership should allow us to come up for a vote. if it were on the floor, it would pass the house of representatives, and we are waiting for the leadership to act. >> you think they will? >> i sure hope. so i work on this, and i have spent a lot of time, and work on it every time, and it is important. if we can save a life, it is important, and background checks work, and we know they work, and we know they will save lives. and it is going be incumbent on every member of congress to pass legislation like that.

i 'm a gun guy. i own guns and hunt and i car ied are an assault weapon in vietnam, and pro second amendment, and nothing that we are trying to do here is to prohibit the law-abiding people to buy guns. if you are a criminal or dangerously mentally ill or domestic abuser, you should not get your hands on the gun. and the background checks is the first line of defense. and one thing that we can do, and we won't stop everybody who shouldn't have a gun from getting one, and we won't stop every tragedy from happening, but we should try, and the best place to start is background checks. >> one of the downsides of the presidential executive order is that if a new president comes in on day one, and almost all of the republican presidential candidates are i sag th s ars a undo what the president is doing today, because you can't get legislation past the executive orders, and they could have a

short shelf life. how worried are you about that? >> well, again, i'd be interested in hearing what the republican candidates fear from this executive order. number one, it clarifies the existing law. number two, it tries to achieve efficiencies in the background check system. it increases the number of people who are going to make sure that the law is abided by, and it says that we need to spend more money on the mental health. what is it that they are afraid of with this? >> h congressman, i want to get congressman mulvaney's reaction, because it sounds like, congressman, if there are areas that you and congressman thompson can work together to strengthen the background checks and strengthen the procedures that people with mental health issues don't have access to guns. >> and mike mentioned some of the expanded work that we could do, and the house two years ago, wolf, they passed something that would have inkrecreased the fung

for improving the background check system, and specifically allowing the states to work together better, and sharing information from one state to another, and then died in the senate-controlled senate by the democrats. >> what is your thought of that, congressman thompson? >> that is my amendment, and i have appropriated $20 million to make sure that the states got the background information to the next system. and it is a good start, and we had 70 republicans who voted with us on that, and i would guess that if we brought the background check bill, the king-thompson bill to the floor, we would have somewhere over 218 members vote for it, and good part of it, and that 70 number of republicans who support it as we well. >> all righty. it sounds as if the two of you might get together and have lunch, and work out some bipartisan legislation, and we will see if that is do-able. congressman thompson and mulvaney, to both of you, thank you for join g ing us.

>> i want to go to the white house, and press secretary josh earnest is speaking about this, and answering questions and i want to listen in. >> can you say what the source of that money is, and does it have to be in the budget that he is going to be sending to congress next month? >> i certainly would expect that many of the priorities the president discussed today is going to be incorporated into the bucket proposal that he is boing to present to congress next month. obviously, some interest from the republicans who claim that expanding mental health coverage, and better mental health coverage would make the communities safer. i have described previously why i am kept cal of the claims primarily because the republicans are prepared for the 60th time later this week to repeal the law that extended mental health coverage to americans more so than any

other, and that is the obama care. and so the president is serious to do more than what we have done the expand the health care for people across the country, because there is certainly a reasonable prospect that it would expanding the access to mental health coverage is going to make the community safer, and we look forward to republicans work working with us constructively, and to accomplish that goal. >> you said that you are skeptical of the claims, and is the president also skeptical of the claims for wanting more money, and attention to be paid to mental health treatment? >> well, again, i think that if republicans were serious about expanding the access to mental health care, then surely, they would be able to support the elements of the affordable health care that do that. there are milne yobs of americans who have access to the mental health coverage that they didn't previously have access to, because of the affordable health care act, and the republicans are attempting once again this week to vote to repeal that law. so it is hard to take seriously,

and their claims that they are actually interested in ensuring that people have access to mental health care, but we are willing to call their bluffa and test their proposition and if they actually are willing to work seriously with the administration, to invest $500 million in expanding the access to mental health care, that is, i'm happy to be proved wrong. >> can you talk a little bit about what preparatory work may have been done ooeither here at the white house through the council -- through the counsel's office to prepare for the legal challenges of what might be challenge challenged for the president's proposal? >> yes, a number of hours of work was done in the attorney general, and that is why it is referenced on the white house conference call last night. and i will single out a couple

of white house officials who were instrumental in the implementation of this action. and this is michael bosworth who doesn't get a lot of credit, and natalie quillian who were the points of contact here at the white house for development and the implementation of this policy. a lot of the the steps that the president was able to announce today is thanks to the good work of those officials here at the white house working closely with the legal experts of the department of justice who as i mentioned yesterday were focused on producing recommendations to the president that were well within his legal authority as the president of the united states. but also, effective in trying to address some of the problems that exist in the current system. >> so as the work was being done to figure out what he could do

with to a administration also preparing for the legal challenges, and sort of a two-track? >> well, no i would not describe it as a two-track process, but a process whereby attorneys at the department of justice were looking for ideas that would address the problem that the we have identified which is that right now, it is too easy for the people who shouldn't be able to get guns to acquire them. and it is too often the guns fall into the wrong hands, and we need to do more to keep that from happening, and keeping it from happening would make our community safer. that is the problem that the lawyers at the department of justice were focused on trying to address, but they wanted to be sure that any of the prescriptions that they put forward would be well within the president's legal authority as the president is the head of the executive branch. >> finally, can you describe for us any other time when you have seen a president be as physically emotional as he was today? it is is sort of goes against

everything that we know about the no drama obama persona stereotype, and issue that has moved him so visibly moved today. >> well, darlene, the president has talked before about how the violence at sandy hook elementary in 2012 was the saddest day of his presidency. that is saying something. he has served as president now for seven years now. and the president was quite emotional in speaking in this room in this podium on that day. i think that the president explained it for himself that even now more than three years later that the thought of those first graders being massacred is terribly sad and really tragic.

it is one that is emotional for the president of the united states who also happens to have two daughters. i think that the emotional reaction of the president even three years later, it is familiar to millions of americans across the country who particularly parentally who envision their own kids in school. i think it is a very emotional issue, and terribly tragic situation. one that i think that it does a lot to animate the president's determination to try to do something about it. and he has been profoundly disappointed that despite this trage tragedy, that congress has not felt the same obligation to try to do something about it. but i think that the president's announcement of 23 executive actions about a month or so after that terrible incident was pretty clear evidence of the president's determination to try

to keep guns out of the wrong hands. i think that even three years later, new set of executive actions that the president announced today are a vivid illustration of the president's ongoing determination to try to keep guns out of the wrong hands. okay. aisha. >> more on the gun guidance. is the change as far as the background checks and ensuring that the dealers on the internet and gun shows and other places that they are adhering to the background check, and is that change contingent on having 200 new atf agents or investigators to enforce it, because it is seeming unlikely for congress to approve funding for those measur measures, and is that contingent of getting the 200 new measures? >> i think that one of the most

highly seen indications is that many of the statements criticizing the president's executive actions that littered all of your in-boxes today, have noted the need for the federal government to more effectively enforce the law that is on the books. and if the republicans were serious about that notion, why wouldn't they support hiring more officers to do exactly that? so it is hard to take into account the republican excuses when they are not willing to back up the proscriptions that they feel is going to help solve this. fw but to answer your question, no, it is not contingent to hire more agents. it is on the book, and says that anybody who is engaged in fi-- selling firearms, they have to

do a background check before their customers can purchase a weapon. and the atf will enforce the law accordingly, and those engaged in the business of selling firearms who do choose to go without a license and do not force their customers to undergo the background check are going to be subject to a substantial criminal penalty. this is a statute that carries with it a penalty of up to five years in prison, and fine of $250,000, and this is a serious law that the atf is committed to seriously enforcing and the president has suggesed that we should devote greater resources to enforcing the laws that are on the books. again, it is a position that the republicans themselves have advocated as recently as today. so, we would certainly call on the republicans to back up the news releases with actual legislative action. >> and when would the enforcement begin and attorney

general lynch said that there is an educational period, and is there a point in this year when there is a crackdown or a, when exactly does this enforcement start. >> and certainly, it is going to be implemented today, and that is one of the benefits of the proposal that this is actions that are not subject to a protracted rule-making process, but rather that changes that can be implemented today. as to how it is enforced down the line, you have to check with either the attorney general's office or somebody at the atf who can give you the clarity about how exactly that is going to be taking place. okay. mary? >> have you had any indication that any republicans are willing to work with you on the funding issues and any cause for optimism given as you say the president's proposals are in line with what they have previously supported? >> no, but again, we look forward to republicans actually backing up the promises that are

contained in the news releases with actual legislative action. recognize that for this congress, it is a novel concept, but it shouldn't be. >> and given that many are predicting that there are challenges in the courts, how optimistic are you that the actions will be becoming a reality when the president is in office? >> well, i did note the reaction from the nra's spokesperson to the announce ment that seemed t downplay the significance of the executive actions, and that is not an attorney, and wouldn't play one on tv, but it certainly seems it is going to be hurting their legal case that the actions are going to be stopped and that it is a classic example of presidential overreach if the president is claiming it is no big deal. so i have more confidence in the legal case based on that public reaction than i did before. >> the president has admitted that the comprehensive reform is

not likely while he is in office, and now it seems that you have exhaust aud of the executive options here. what will we see from him in the rest of the year? is he going to be continuing in the coming months to kind of sort of rally more public is support for this or what will we see going forward? what more will we see? >> you will see a budget proposal coming later in the year that the will reflect some of the are priorities in the day. as aisha mentioned, you will see the steps taken by law enforcement to enforce the law consistent with the guidance that has now been put forward, and we are hopeful to have the additional law enforcement resources that we can devote to that task, and yes, i would anticipate that you are going to see the president speak out public publicly with passion on this issue. that could come as soon as the president's nationally televised town hall meeting that he doing

with c nshnn thursday night, a would not be surprised if he makes a appearance in the state of the union address that is covered by all of the networks next tuesday. jordan -- there is josh earnest, the white house secretary reminding us that one week from today, the president is going to be delivering a joint address before the congress, and this thursday night, the president is going to be joining anderson cooper for an exclusive one-hour town hall on the gun control taking place in george mason university in fairfax, virginia outside of washington, d.c., beginning at 8:00 p.m. right here on cnn the president being very emotional today, and you heard the press secretary josh earnest say he is very passionate about this issue, and you will see more of that coming up on the town hall thursday at 8:00 p.m. and now, more news.

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we are breaking news involving u.s. troops in afghanistan. one service member confirmed dead after a medical helicopter was fired on in helmand province. they say that the helicopter experienced trouble and hit by a mortar on the ground. the helicopter was able to take off after it was attack and not shot down. we will bring in retired general

kimmitt and also kimberly dozier, our foreign affairs correspondent. >> and we have a wounded soldier at that point, and we sent in a medevac, and he possibly died on the way back, and the tall ban were waiting. >> and there are 10,000 troops in afghanistan, kimberly, an part of the nato contingent, and 2,000 or 3,000 members of nato in afghanistan right now, and now a lot of these are special operations forces, and you have been embedded with them, and they have been having serious risks now, especially since the taliban is surging, and not only at what is remaining of al qaeda, but isis is gaining strength in afghanistan as well? >> yes, 3,000 special operations forces in afghanistan. most of them do the training mission back on base, but some of them accompany small number of afghan forces. this mission was afghan commandos probably trying to do

something like clear out a town. marjah was the centerpiece of the fight three years ago, and so now what they are going to do is to provide the backbone to these operation, and the communication satellite links to help the the fosts to be more effective, but it puts them in the line of fire. so we have families waiting for the knock at the door to see if it was their person who was lost or injured. >> general, why is the taliban gaining strength right now? >> well, it is a combination of issues. in number one, the afghanistan forces are not ready, and they see u.s. pulling out, and they see strength coming from their side and weakness from nato, and they trach advantage of the situation. >> and the peace talks, kimberly, that were supposedly

taking place, are they still continuing? >> well, they keep talking about getting them started again, but from the taliban point of view, why join up? why sacrifice the influence by offering to be part of government especially challenged by isis. general john campbell who commands forces in afghanistan says around 1,000 isis followers in afghanistan right now, and they are drawing away any of the extreme elements of the the taliban who don't want to negotiate. and so from the taliban's point of view, it is better to keep fighting, and keep your forces together, and to win that battle for extremist hearts and minds. >> and what has clearly been a recent development is the surge of isis in afghanistan right now. this represents potentially a major, a major strategic problem. >> well, as many ways when al qaeda came in early 20 # 00s they took advantage of the taliban taking over the control,

and they found sanctuary and safe haven there. the taliban cop troll more land as kimmberly reminded me in 200. they are winning. >> and general, thank you. and kimberly, you as well. and now, more countries are backing saudi arabia and cutting the the ties with iran. and we will talk to a fomer ambassador to saudi arabia in a moment to see if things can be cooled down or if they are about to get a whole lot worse. right. the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go talk to your doctor. you're not indestructible anymore.

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the fall out over tensions clearly growing.

the ambassador from iran, it's latest to sign in an escalating crisis that's threatening to further destabilize the middle east. tensions erupted after the saudis executed a cleric. they executed al qaeda terrorists. most of them by the way sunni. iranian protesters retaliated by torturing the embassy in tehran. let's bring in our diplomatic editor nic robertson joining us from. saudi arabia. also joining us is a former ambassador to saudi arabia. what's the latest there where you are because there's clear concern the situation could spiral out of control. >> it doesn't seem to be deescalating. the officials i have talked to today say iran is meddling in saudi arabia in its internal

affairs. they feel its pressures a at the border to the south, iraq to the north and syria to the north as well. what i heard today tells me from the officials i have spoken to that they will continue this current attitude towards iran. they feel iran was caught off guard by the executioner who saudis say was fermenting terrorism in the country. they will standby their current position. they say they will change their attitude to iran if it stops medaling in internal affairs. today over the past 48 hours you have saudi arabia cutting economic ties with iran stopping flights between the two countries. be. rain following suit on that. sudan, kuwait we have seen today as well following suit. and dmin you shalling the

diplomatic contact. so it doesn't fool that its isolating itself here if the rest of the world is telling it to tamp this down and get on and make up with iran, wolf. >> ambassador jordan, give us the big picture, worst case scenario. you're a student of that region. >> you have to start worrying about the strait of ver muse. this is an area where escalation can occur. it can remind you of what went on before world war i. misplaying one's hand in what seems to be a minor skirmish can become a major squirm you shall very easily. we have to worry about the saudi mind set, which is a feeling of complete insur couplement by. the iranian movement. they feel abandoned by the united states and they look at the overthrow of mubarak,

embracing the muslim brotherhood by the united states, which is like embracing al qaeda. the red line in syria, the iran nuclear deal and the iranian testing of missiles with no reaction. i think they feel that now they are on their own. they are acting out the best they can. they are not practicing in leading the muslim world in this regard. they are going to make mistakes. i would not have gone forward with this execution, but now they have. i think they are feeling supported by their brothers and this is an area where i u think the ue in particular can play a role. i think they can be helpful. i think russia and the the united states are going to have to cancel with the saudis and the iranians to try to minimize concerns on both sides.

i do note that most of the iranian leadership has condemned the attacks on the saudi embassy and consulate. the one missing person is the aye toe la, who has condemned the execution of but not the attacks. >> how strained is the u.s./saudi relationship right now. >> it is strained. you have a new king. a year ago we were asking as e we see them at war in yemen and backing rebels inside syria. this is a very young person to be in charge of the defense ministry u. so we were asking ourselves a year ago when the king came to the tloen what king was he going to be like. we have seen this war waged in yemen. there have been attempts of peace talks. you have seen a very tough series of executions over the weekend sending tough messages

to iran, sending tough messages to al qaeda and isis that their presence won't be. tolerated inside saudi arabia. if we wind the clock back two years, perhaps the king wouldn't have made these same steps. he had a much more experienced and long serving and respected for a minister in his sight. so the leadership line up has changed, but the situation this in the e region has changed. so all of these things combine together for that sense of are the right steps being taken, can can there be misunderstanding for these interpretations and absolutely what the ambassador was talking about there i have heard from other saudis here on the diplomatic circle saying they sense that this region is a tinderbox situation as europe was in 1914 when ferdinand was assassina assassinated. one major in this region could tip the balance towards a much deeper con flukt. >> it's a chilling scenario that both of you unveil.

i've been hearing the same kind of analysis from top officials here in washington. very worrisome development all around. thank you. that's it for me. i'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in the situation room. "newsroom" with brooke baldwin starts right after a quick break. ya doing? enough pressure in here for ya? ugh. my sinuses are killing me. yeah...just wait 'til we hit ten thousand feet. i'm gonna take mucinex sinus-max. too late, we're about to take off. these dissolve fast. they're new liquid gels. and you're coming with me... wait, what?! you realize i have gold status? do i still get the miles? new mucinex sinus-max liquid gels. dissolves fast to unleash max strength medicine. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this.

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or severe liver problems. tell your doctor about bleeding, new or unexpected shortness of breath, any planned surgery and all medicines you take. i will take brilinta today. tomorrow. and every day for as long as my doctor tells me. don't miss a day of brilinta. i'm brooke baldwin, thank you for being with me on this tuesday. you're watching cnn. i want to welcome our viewers here around the united states and around the world. we begin with what may be the most emotional moment we have ever seen from president obama as just a little while august had he announced his executive actions on curbing gun violence. the president shed tears as he spoke about some of the the youngest mass shooting