according to your findings is iran's nuclear program currently a threat to the u.s. at present it's not a threat to the united states iran's nuclear program is under our international atomic energy agency inspectors and the work that they had previously done according to the u.s. intelligence community on nuclear weapons it's been suspended so at present iran's nuclear program is not a major threat to united states the concern is that it could very rapidly become one how rapidly in less than a year according to some estimates and other estimates more than a year a lot depends on whether you're talking about the production of fissile material the highly enriched uranium for a bomb or an actual deliverable weapon a deliverable weapon would take longer production of fissile material could you know within a few few months produce enough or for a bomb well within a few months both in a few weeks americans will be heading to the polls to vote for a new u.s. president or keep the current one in the white house many believe that israel has

seen this time as a window of opportunity to strike iran dragging the u.s. into a war is there still a threat that it would do so in the main remaining weeks i think the concern about a possible israeli strike was higher a few weeks ago the israelis are now dissolving. their parliament and calling for new elections on january twenty second so this i think changes a lot of the previous calculation of people that thought the israeli government might act before the u.s. elections i think now tend to believe wait until at least after u.s. elections if not actually after the new israeli elections now opinions very do you think iran has an intention to acquire a nuclear bomb i mean this is literally the sixty four thousand dollar question you know there's a pretty good read on what iran's capabilities in terms of uranium enrichment are the big question which i don't think anyone can. give

a highly confident answer to is does iran want what people refer to as a threshold capability in other words its ability to produce a nuclear weapon likely or do they want an actual deployed weapon according to u.s. intelligence community and i think most other observers iran just hasn't made that decision in part because they don't need to and they want to get to that threshold capability before they make any decisions about whether to go to go farther than that threshold because there's no point making that decision early in fact it might be detected by western intelligence and so you could tip your hand before you get to that threshold so i think that decision has been made you don't seem to be putting the threat level of iran's nuclear program as high as some u.s. officials the republican candidates for example mitt romney and his vice presidential candidate paul ryan have been in past weeks essentially saying that iran is a major grave threat are they exaggerating at all with their rhetoric i don't think

there's a tremendous amount of exaggeration that iran is a threat generally i mean you know the united states and iran have had a pretty hostile relationship for three decades actually more than three decades now they have you know had problematic relations in the gulf they've had conflict via proxies in iraq so i think it's not wrong to say iran is a threat the question is whether iran its nuclear program is a real threat to the united states at the present and it isn't at the present but the concern is as i said it could very quickly become a threat so let's go back to your report according to the findings an extended u.s. military strike on iran's nuclear facilities whether alone or in concert with israel could set back iran's nuclear program for four years but it still would not guarantee that iran would not eventual acquire a nuclear bomb why is that it's because the technology of iran already have some.

pieces and parts they need to acquire from overseas but unless you can guarantee that you can kill off everyone in iran that has knowledge of these programs and their ability to produce these basic components such as aluminum rotors you can't guarantee that that the program can never be restarted so you can destroy what they have now but their ability to rebuild that even if you can make it take a very long time to rebuild that's what can't be destroyed what kind of long term military commitment with the us have to make to ensure that iran would never be able to build a nuclear bomb i mean it would be similar to what happened with iraq the only way to ensure a country does not acquire a nuclear weapon is to is to forcibly change the regime and go in on the ground occupy yes that's the that's the only way to one hundred percent be sure that the current iranian regime never acquired a nuclear weapon so we're talking about a ten year war. what they are to potentially could be iran is a larger country than both iraq and afghanistan combined so if you're talking about a war that would certainly be on that scale where there would be ten times harder

not quite as hard who knows but it would be a very substantial military commitment should the u.s. be concerned about iran's unconventional war capabilities i think the united states is definitely be concerned about iran's unconventional war capabilities by its nature it's harder to sort of define what unconventional war capabilities are i mean you can count airplanes you can count missiles unconventional it's a little harder to judge but iran has a robust capability for unconventional war they have special operations forces they have kind of services they have a variety of capabilities to conduct attacks without you know not in this sort of typical military way at the end of the day is this really just a problem for israel iran possible determination of acquiring nuclear weapons or is this a problem for the u.s. as well i think it's a problem for the entire world i mean certainly the you know the entire world has has asked iran to clarify its intentions and has taken steps i think it's a much bigger problem for israel than the united states if for no other reason than

proximity in the size you know israel is a country of you know about the you know in terms of populations the size of new york city and geographically it's quite small it's quite close so i think it's a much bigger problem for israel that it is for the united states but that doesn't make it not a problem for the united states and the rest of the world how much would a war with iran cost the u.s. economy it's very difficult to tell but you know our estimates that even a modest war would would hurt the u.s. economy in part because it would drive up oil prices even a modest in terms of duration spike in oil prices you know the u.s. recovery right now is quite fragile the world recovery is sort of stalled in places . making modest recovery in others so a big spike in oil prices even if it was only for a few weeks would certainly. image the u.s. economy if it were a longer extended commitment and big disruption in oil then it would be much more also to the global economy to the global economy and then there's the actual dollar figure to conduct military operations right in flying planes dropping bombs these

things are are not incredibly expensive but neither are they cheap so it would it would there would be a there would be a substantial cost we think so i want to ask you a question that politicians always reject to answer does israel have nuclear weapons capacity it's something that the israelis have been opaque on by design throughout their their history i think most outside observers would say that the israelis do have a nuclear weapons capacity even if it's one that's never really been deployed or tested and as you mentioned benjamin netanyahu has dissolved the parliament in israel with new elections expected is in january february twenty second when the how much do you think that will play into the israel iran in conflict i think i think this coming israeli elections will hinge heavily on on what to do about iran the netanyahu government will have some decisions to make they could be they could be very bold and take action as a caretaker government i think most observers don't think they will and in fact

a lot of the campaign will be about what to do about the iranian nuclear program. so i think that's i think will be a huge issue in determining the future of israeli iranian relations so if israel has a stockpile of nuclear weapons as many have reported and iran has not even if you're on board to build one wouldn't that be somewhat of a deterrence policy in place why would israel consider still striking iran the belief is you know if both sides have nuclear weapons no no no one side is going to be foolish enough to use them knowing they're going to face retaliation by the other side so the us soviet union the idea of mutually assured destruction i think the israelis are deeply uncomfortable with this because it doesn't take. hundreds of nuclear weapons to functionally destroy israel as i said israel's a very small country a handful of nuclear weapons maybe even only one nuclear weapon some people refer to israel as a one bomb country could do that the same damage it would require hundreds of

nuclear weapons to do to a much larger country so i think their concern is why take any risk that maybe the current leadership in iran is completely rational but maybe a future one won't be why take any risk that there could be these kind of miscalculations in a confrontation so say there's an israeli iranian equivalent of a cuban missile crisis say over hezbollah or syria and instead of ending in a in a sort of tense standoff that resolved peacefully as in the cuban missile crisis this one actually results in the exchange of nuclear weapons i think the israeli attitude is you know we have maintained all along we will not be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons into the region we don't want anyone else to do so either because why take the risk you know when u.s. president barack obama was addressing the u.n. general assembly and he was speaking how i think iran has said time for negotiations is not unlimited what do you think he meant by that i mean it's you think that there is some kind of deadline a date that washington i don't think there's an exact date but i do think that

patience for negotiations particularly after the last round over the summer is sort of wearing thin the iranians put forward a proposal allegedly some of the iranians deny it some don't it's kind of tough to tell sometimes what the iranians are actually saying but the proposal would have called for the lifting of most sanctions in exchange for suspension of many of the more worrisome activities of the iranian nuclear program and the president said look we you know this isn't this isn't serious we're not going to remove everything that gives us leverage in exchange for these minor concessions so i think the feeling is look we will give diplomacy all the time in the world if it's actually working but if it's just a way for the iranians to stall and by the way over the summer iran greatly increase the rate of. putting centrifuges into one of its enrichment plants so i think that's the feeling it's not that there's a specific date but if it looks like all the iranians are doing is using negotiations as a way to sort of buy time think that's when the president will say look we've given

diplomacy you know all the time in the world it hasn't worked your report indicated that a u.s. military strike against iran would motivate the country to build a bomb if that is the case doesn't this threatening rhetoric coming from u.s. and israeli officials also cause damage i think the idea is to calibrate the threat and maybe the united states hasn't always done the best job but the idea is you know you apply all of these levers of persuasion sanctions the threat of military action to say look this isn't a good path to go down let's find another path but you're absolutely right that if you you know if you're trying to convince somebody to do something or else you're going to carry out a threat you don't want to believe in you're going to carry out the threat anyway right because why would you ever agree to anything if you think you're going to be attacked anyway so it's it can be tricky you're right to calibrate that rhetoric that you know if you do x. we will do y. but if you don't do x. we won't do well dr austin long thank you very much for speaking with r.t. thanks very much was a great pleasure i. zip

zip good leverage surely to mccurry was able to build a new most sophisticated robot which all unfortunately doesn't give a dollar amount anything tim's mission to teach music creation why it should care about humans in world this is why you should care only on the dot com. the gold fever. turns thousands into slaves to my father but also among brothers involved in the mines and since i started working in the mine i stated i look at it. if it multinationals. to cash cow to be milked

dry and if i think that in this country gold medal logie as an environmental cost which is unacceptable no two business was labeled illegal and controlled by criminals in order to protect our lives our families and to work in peace. we are forced to pay protection to illegal groups what price is colombia going to pay. the people the modest affect on our t.v. . more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. china operations are today.

what will change when america picks its president amid muslim rage booking the. pushing china and russia as occupy anger spreads the two parties still dictate their future u.s. election close guy if they are to take beginning up to twenty second wealthy british style sign. on. the. market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with max concert for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to cause a report on our.

top stories this hour some petrol bombs in athens more the latest show of greek anger over at the new enforce cuts as germany says it wants more control over national budgets. as the international envoy to syria warns a conflict could set the whole middle east ablaze clashes break out across the border with lebanon. and in libya the former bastion of late kind of gadhafi is under attack again as militias launch an assault on bani walid leaving eleven dead i'll be back with more news stories free in fifteen minutes from now on the meantime sport is next with.

thanks indeed for joining us this is sports today plenty to head over the next ten minutes including the stories and brief. right on track we take a look at moscow's hopes of securing their first russian football championship in half a dozen years. storming start their own heralded pair of new zealander michael henry and spaniard our hundred calories claim the early lead a cult perth international. bar and find out why greek opinion is divided over an amateur football team's new sponsors. moscow will be striving to return to the top of the russian premier league this weekend after the international break they said within a win of leader changi honest richard from port reports belief couldn't be better in the army men's cup. it's been six years since its last one the russian premier league title however this renewed hope beyond human can finally end this drought to

go into sunday's clash ruby just two points off the leaders on g m around couldn't be higher of the beaching bitter rivals sponsor at mosco last time outs well we were really happy about what today's games especially because sparta tigers the biggest derby in in russia winning these games is always very important for us. as a team and for the supporters still so hopefully we can keep doing good and trying to to fight the first places despite a poor start of a season so this car had been an excellent run winning six games in a row and believe. that run came to hold against normal moscow and to make matters worse the only men who had islands a go of sent off after the russian international lashonda move will show the twenty two year. given a five game suspension and runs so it was great to get back to winning ways again smart clarke yeah now we're back on track again hopefully we can continue like this

. important also for the first test series coble hope to have seemed to be our bank from injury will be the last season's top scorer in the russian premier league hasn't played since the start of the studio a back injury and he's addition to his call to really containing the likes of. his arguably been the player of the season so far i'm going to continue between the posts could finally see serious. six year wait for russian football's biggest prize richard d'arcy. you know their football news lots in there but i have been name recipient of the international career award the golden foot for twenty twelve the swedish striker receiving his accolade in monaco from another for playing legend pelley possibly the greatest of them all from two thousand and three to twenty eleven abramovich won eight national league titles in a row with i actually went to enter a barcelona milan the gong given to the thirty one year old peer after four months

of online voting by football fans themselves only three others have received golden for awards in the past eric cantona former tears on friday. the man who blew the whistle on lifted the lid on this year's italian football match fixing scandal has find a new job as a community coach with english premier league club aston villa some money for arena was approached last november and offered two hundred thousand euro to influence the outcome of an italian cup match he reported the instant to police leading to the arrest of seventeen people the former roma defender was given an award at last year's ballon d'or ceremony but find himself without a club the thirty year old just delighted with his new opportunity with develop this is. it's not only that but unity for me but for my whole family i have always dreamed. i've come in here to england i don't hide it because it has the most beautiful football at the moment for me it's a dream to be here some of you look at the stadium to see the support of us them

makes me very emotional all them so much. it's been yet another week to forget for lance armstrong as the fallout from the u.s. anti-doping agency's accusations of drug abuse continue to reverberate the former cyclist stepping down as the chairman of the live strong cancer charity on wednesday armstrong form the foundation following his own successful battle with the illness sports manufacturer nike also a nice there to sever ties with the athlete saying there's insurmountable evidence he misled the company for a decade meanwhile betsy andreu whose husband frankie ruled with armstrong in the u.s. postal team says the became victims of a smear campaign after testifying against the forty one year old. system. here. then oral perth international golf tournament which is taking place in western

australia has seen two on heralded players leaving after the opening round use humans michael hendry on the role come a series of spain the men of the summer come a series karting back to back birdies three times are on the course for this effort on the seventeenth took him to seven under hendry made eight birdies to match the kiwi argentina's and we are no grillo ended the day just one behind the leaders following a six under par sixty six paul casey is alongside following a trend under johnson on five under they also seek a share of the two million u.s. dollar price on. basketball with houston rockets point guard jeremy lin has the smith's concerns over his knee injury the twenty four year old missed the end of last season with the new york knicks because of the problem but insists he'll be fighting fit when the rockets begin their n.b.a. campaign against detroit on holiday. i'm not sure it's just that before too. early on it was you know a little. bit whatever and now it's like you know no it's very much better every

single day. no we're just building up in a week maybe two weeks or something like. being. you know i'm feeling. really good. the opening up of formula one to women seems to have moved forward a gear twenty nine year old from scotland joining a handful of ladies test driving the speed machines on the biggest motor sports stage of all suzy wolf here pushing the f.w. thirty three to the limit stone but britton joined that williams f one team in april as a development driver after completing practice time with the simulator she was a finally able to nab some genuine track time this week are currently no women driving outright in former one and only five in total in the sport seventy two year history. going along the hanger straight the first time pulling through the gears that energy force and speed against it's really incredible it's a fantastic car to drive and it was emotional i've spent

a long time preparing for this day it's been a long time dreaming of this day and finally it's here and i think the team did a fantastic job to prepare me for it and you really gated me through. this morning so far and hopefully now we can put some sticks on and try again in the afternoon and finally one football team in greece has come up with a novel way of getting around the country's economic turmoil to care for the last hour to be sponsored by two local brothels the decision has caused controversy as you can imagine with the organizers banning the logos during matches saying it violates the sporting ideal and is almost suitable for under-age supporters the emblems of the erotica soon as house of history appear in the pink shirts the team and indeed other squads throughout the country seek to find new ways to finance themselves amid drastic government cuts where some say the more likely. it is simply a case of falseness. go up with music they advertise sports betting firms very

slaughter in sports betting games what are these unthink gambling and these brothers sponsorship bothers them and get it it's a false sense of outrage hypocrisy. that is all your sport for love see is. the ride that takes your breath away pleading across the skies it was a mohnish good you know the biggest salt lake in europe and more than two hundred species of birds but also it is them are on the verge of extinction on these islands in the south of russia they find shelter before migrated to other parts of the world much of. here we see the great white pelican and several species of the

domination pelican which are both in the red dates of birth but there are only forty to fifty couples left in the region your palate can use as well as other species at the monish gugino feed and face these birds are waiting for their parents to bring them food the best cash for them is in a small areas a lake where the war is relatively fresh as fish cannot survive in the salty a part of the money and the lakes getting salted every year to manage the dealers and all to fish oil reservoir which has failed in the nineteen fifties in the areas hot climate the evaporates quickly and the local saw as natural sultanate state so are just hard to parse the words dormant years there are relatively few water sources here some water comes from the dawn river and some from the cuban during the last three to four years we've had a very severe drought can do to this drought we are practically standing on the bottom of this lake has been falling every year of the majority of birds have been retreating as well or they nestle in new orleans. apart from birds the drying out

of the lake cool so threatening one of the world's biggest populations. they live on one of the monic on island next destination. there are more than four hundred is the animals here the area is a protected wildlife reserve it's a place of serene peace and calm in recent decades dozens of canals of being dug around here to cultivate the local staps broad grassy plains this may be useful for humans but it does badly hit many species as the animals here for instance saia antelopes which are extremely shy was scared away only to be killed in the hundreds of thousands by poachers focal here believes the substance found in their homes can cure impotence just some forty years ago there were more than two million side

antelopes living in asia and they no where else in the world but now people brought the species to the brink of extinction this region has been reaching alive for thousands of years but now i know relatively short space of time it's my been devore city of creatures is second and all fronts by man and nature itself. the gold fever. turns thousands into slaves. my father but also among brotherhood involved and since i started working in the monastery. multi-nationals. to the cash cow to be milked dry and i think that in this country gold medal o.-g.

as an environmental cost which is an acceptable local business reason labeled illegal and controlled by criminals in order to protect our lives our families and to work in peace. we are forced to pay protection to illegal groups what price is colombia going to pay. for the modest effect on r.t. . what will change when america picks its president amid muslim rage walking the tightrope pushing china and russia as occupy anger spreads the two parties still dictate will there challenge to a selection of clothes. on r t beginning of solar twenty second. was the strangest attempt of a military takeover of. the us president trying to overthrow

a foreign country's government but his strategic game was lost. and america recognized its defeat. questionings if cuba managed to cope with its victory all don't talk to god. i leave you think you are you go but the rajab live in the cuban missile crisis games and reality t.v. . because.