an iranian-american businessman arrested overnight. he is the head of strategic planning. he was visiting family in tehran when he was arrested by iranian security forces. the announcement of his arrest complicating the peace talks in austria. the iranians have been invited to the table for the first time. i want to invite correspondent frederik pleitgen with more. >> reporter: it is a troubling development that the american who was taken as you said by security forces that are close to iran's supreme leader. they are brought to the prison which is exactly the same place where jason rezaian, the post reporter, who has been in detention for more than 450 days. the question is if this is something that comes from iran's supreme leader, it is something the iranian government is not in accordance with. how much influence does the iranian government have to get the american released from detention, but how much sway do they have with the negotiations with the syrian crisis. there has been a flurry of diplomatic activity on thursday. secretary of state kerry meeting with the ira

today against iran in response to an alleged iranian plot to murder saudi arabia's ambassador to the united states. two men have now been charged including an iranian-american. one of the men still at large. attorney general eric holder spells out the charges against them. >> the united states is committed to holding iran accountable for its actions. they're charged with conspiracy to murder a foreign official, conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction, and conspiracy to commit an act of international terrorism, among other charges. >> u.s. officials say the plot never really got off the ground because the two suspects were dealing with u.s. government informant. more now on the events as they unfolded from our foreign affairs correspondent, jill dougherty. >> reporter: the united states and the obama administration are treating this as a very big deal. immediately, the treasury department came out and said that it was sanctioning five top people who they say allegedly were connected with this plat. four of them being senior officials, they say, in the qods force. that is a part of the revolutionary guard. and it is that group, the u.s. alleges, that a

an american? >> absolutely. you know, just a few weeks ago iranian americans like myself were sitting at home trying to get in touchy members inside of iran because that government shut down the internet because there were massive demonstrations against the government. and now fast forward a few weeks, and you see a complete reversal. and this has been the trend of this administration. when you impose sanctions that are a form of collective punishment, that are aimed at punishing ordinary people inside of iran, that doesn't create democracy, that doesn't allow for civil society. that actually enriches the status quo powers. and now with killing suleimani, this is somebody with a mixed track record. you know, i think a lot of iranians revered him, but he was part of a repressive infrastructure in iran. but when you have an outside power coming in and assassinating the guy, somebody who many iranians viewed as, you know, a protector from isis, part of the reason iran wasn't as destabilized as the countries around them, that triggers this fear inside of people. and you can understand why people are starting to rally a

and the insight, your time there in yemen. >>> iranian officials have given an 81-year-old prisoner a four-day release. >> that's right. an iranian american is serving ten years in prison for espionage. his family says if he is sent back to prison, it will be a death sentence for him. elise labott has more. >> reporter: he has been imprisoned in iran since february 2016 has been discharged from an iranian hospital and granted a four-day leave by the iranian government. he is the father of american businessman who has been detained in iran since october 2015. and father and son were sentenced a year later to ten years imprisonment for collaborating with a foreign government. now the 81-year-old was rushed to the hospital on january 15th after a severe drop in his blood pressure and irregular heart beat. this is the fourth time he has been transferred to the hospital in the last year while being imprisoned in iran. he underwent emergency heart surgery in september to have an emergency pacemaker installed. he is held in the note or the yaw avean prison. the trump administration is working at the highest levels to make this release permanent.

an hour. americans. iranians have forgone the hostility that they have had with us. w will we hear the voice of the people as americans. will we side with the people and do the right thing to correct our past mistakes as americans in iran and other places in the middle east where we side with the tie tyrants, and do we hear the people. if we do that and right the things we have done wrong, then the demonstrators will have a shot accomplishing what they have come out on the streets to accomplish. >>> roya, thank you so much. that was very, very insightful. >> thank you. >>> next on "gps," a coalition of major oil producing nations announced a major cut in production. that is good news for putin and bad news for biden. we will help you make sense of it all in a moment. because it penetrates deep into the tooth to help actively repair acid-weakened enamel. i recommend pronamel repair to my patients. - hey honey. - hey dad. that smell could be eight million odor causing bacteria. good thing adding lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria that detergents can't. clea

federal prosecutors have charged four iranians in an alleged plot against an iranian-american who is of the regime in tehran. the four suspects remain at large this morning. but what they were planning is shocking. cnn's brynn gingras is joining me with the details on this. >> reporter: there's a fifth person of iranian descent living in california. she's already been arrested. she's the only one so far of all five. she has pleaded not guilty to the charges she faces. like you said, those four men, iranian intelligence agents essentially part of this plot according to the united states attorneys in the southern district of new york. they allege that this really started in 2018 when the iranian government went to the family members living in iran of this american journalist and tried to pay them to lure her out of the country and back to iran. when that plan didn't work, it picked back up in 2020 according to this indictment where these iranian intelligence officers hired an american private investigator under a guise that they basically were trying to find someone who owed debts and a

this was an iranian government plot on american soil to assassinate you? >> exactly. >> scary? hing. that seems pretty serious. >> yeah. >> he is an iranian american who opposes the current iranian government. >> let's be clear, your mission, your purpose is to overthrow the regime. >> that's clear, yeah. >> reporter: he is the radio voice of an iran dissident group. the group says it is behind a grassroots movement in iran that led to massive anti-government protests. the iranian government he says is a terrorist organization. >> any doubt in your mind that the iranian regime was behind this assassination plot? >> no doubt. >> and that is supported in this, this leaked diplomatic cable written from the u.s. ambassador in london to the state department in washington. the cable says the alleged mastermind admitted his surveillance of shermoud and he plotted to kill a voice of america commentator in london. >> the overall plot was to kill you, get you out of the way and hyde hijack your radio, your television, your movement. >> that's correct. >> after looking at all of the inform

he's also an iranian american. he's now an executive vice president at brookings and in geneva, a visiting fellow at center for science and international affairs. he is from saudi arabia. robin, you say this scism is perhaps turning into one of the biggest divides in the world of islam in 14 centuries. >> i think so. in terms of the scope of the impact and the damage that's being done, this is something with a two rival powers that plays out politically, ideology, strategically and every range and it's having an extraordinary impact on the four critical peace initiatives that were supposed to play out this month. the effort to get the government and opposition together in syria. the effort to push the various warning factions in yemen to a second round of peace talks after the collapse of the cease-fire, to help the iraqis move to solve the crisis with isis and the iranian nuclear deep is supposed to be implemented this month. this timing really comes at an extraordinary moment at each one in is having a rippling im

. >>> four iranian nationals have been charged in connection to an alleged, brazen kidnapping plot. unsealed federal court documents reveal their plan was to abduct and iranian americann critical of the regime in tehran. new day spoke to that journalist this morning. >> the islamic republic was allowed to follow an iranian-american citizen. i'm not scared of being dead or executed but what scares me is the whole world kept silent about such a regime and allowing them to have such an operation in the united states of america. >> it really is remarkable. what do you know about these suspects and the charges. >> there's a fifth person, a woman, who was arrested in california. she lived in california and it appears she was a funneling of the money for this scheme. this four men are still on the run. one of them, the first person you're seeing there is an iranian intelligence officer and these other men are part of his team, so to speak according no the indictment from the southern district here in new york. what the indictment said is they work together to come up with a way to kidnap that journalist. her name is not in the indictment but she says she was the target. it

an alleged international kidnapping plot here on u.s. soil. four iranian nationals charged with planning to abduct an iranian american journalist in new york ande her all the way back to iran. the details of the case stunning, alarming. the journalist is speaking out this morning. >>> also, the group behind many of the recent ransomware attacks on the u.s. has suddenly disappeared from the internet. why exactly? and who is responsible? ♪ it's grilled cheese time. ♪ ♪ yeah, it's time for grilled cheese. ♪ ♪ after we make grilled cheese, ♪ ♪ then we're eating grilled cheese. ♪ ♪ because it's time. ♪ ♪ yeah. ♪ ♪ time for grilled cheese. ♪ ♪ [music and sound effects played in reverse] this...is our shot. the covid-19 vaccines are ready. and so is walgreens, with pharmacy experts ready to make it easy for you to get it safely, for free. because this is our shot... ...at getting back together. ♪ ♪ when technology is easier to use... ♪ barriers don't stand a chance. ♪ that's why we'll stop at nothing to deliver our technology as-a-service. ♪ trelegy for copd. ♪ birds flyin' high you know how i feel ♪ ♪ breeze drifting on by you know how i feel ♪ [man

can now do otime in years.ran for the first >> there are still two americans held by iran, an iranian americanbusinessman, and also the former fbi employee who disappeared in 20007. i spoke with his family. they said it's nonsense that iran does not know his w whereabouts or condition. >> our fred pleitgen is outside the military hospital where three of the americans are being treated. he joins us now live. fred, how much longer will the three released americans need to undergo the psychological and medical checks before they can get home to the united states and what is the latest on how they're feeling and what they may have been through while in iran? >> reporter: it's not clear how long this process is still going to have to go on. we have to keep in mind, this is a voluntary process. however, there's a protocol that's followed that could take anywhere from a couple of days to even longer. there are cases in the past where a process like that has taken weeks. many people find encouraging over the past 12 hours you've seen pictures emerge of these three former prisoners meeting together wit

an iranian u.s. national with dual citizenship arrested in 15 on a business trip to iran now held in an iranian detention along with any other americany phone exclusively with christiane amanpour and filed this report. >> i honestly would defy anybody for the moved by this incredibly rare unusual and compelling conversation with an iranian american who's been detained unjustly in evin prison the past seven years. he decided he felt so abandoned, so out of options that he had to come through us to try to besiege directly president biden to do whatever it takes to bring himself and two other american iranians still in evin prison, here's part of that conversation. >> i think the very fact that i've chosen to take this risk and appear on cnn from evin prison should tell you how dire my situation has become by this point. i've been a hostage seven and a half years now. that's six times the hostage crisis, i keep getting told i'll be rescued and deals fall apart or i get left abandoned. honestly, the other hostages and i desperately need president biden to finally hear us out to finally hear our cry for help and bring us home and i suppos

we should note that today there was an iranian american doctor who had violated u.s.anctions on iran who was also released part of the deal. a u.s. official tells us. the other important thing is there are other americans still detained. there are other americans who are watching. their families here in the u.s. and they are really concerned. this was an extremely hard day for them. their loved ones are still being wrongfully detained. >> up next a state of emergency inside the arctic circle. an oil spill and a russian president on a rant directed at local officials. that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try neuriva for 30 days and see the difference. >>> state of emergency has been declared in russia far north. after a major oil spill. 20,000 tons of fuel leaked into a river after technical problems. the russian president blasted local officials who took two days to find out it happened. and then only learned details from social media. a clean up is under way. but the river will take decades to recover. for

doj has indicted in iranian official for allegedly planning a murder for hire plot against an iranian in american journalist. >> those details ahead before election day, vice president harris basis it's voters and takes the pressing questions, lie anderson cooper moderates a cnn presidential town hall. >> kamala harris, tonight at nine eastern on cnn the world can be a big complicated place with opinions and hot takes everywhere about what tiktoks keyword filter we can block certain content from showing up in her for you feed. >> so that's one less thing to worry about. he word filters on tiktok what a dinner, great call making tacos on a monday. >> thank you. speaking to calls, i call today and got my new medicare advantage plan. is that different from a medicare part c plan medicare part c is also known as medicare advantage and part c plans can change every year. >> i found out i was eligible for a new plan with additional benefits and savings. i didn't get last year. have you called yet? >> i haven't gotten around to it right now. >> is the medicare annual enrollment periods. so now is the ti

iranian counterpart in vien vienna. he wouldn't want to get out in front of that agreement if there is going to be an announcement on that. you know, to talk about the americansined. certainly he's going to get questions about the bigger iranian deal. that's still in flux. what we do know from some officials we've been talking to today is the president signed off on this deal. this was happening on a different, but parallel track. they were negotiating both the iran deal and the deal to release these americans from iranian detention. those were moving on a separate parallel track. the white house points out, despite what we're hearing from that sound you just played from republicans who say it was weak, they were there too long, the obama administration officials saying this is all part of the results you get when you take diplomacy seriously. they say that when they opened up talks about cur tailing the iran nuclear plan, that led to these talks that now we see very happy news out of iran, the four americans coming home today. >> thank you, from the white house. presidential douglas brinkley with me now. how would you write this story for president obama. >>

not inconsistent with the iranian ammo which is consisted over 30 years of an assassination campaign against iran's enemies. >> others point to the conviction of an iranian americaning to kill the ambassador to the united states. he pleaded guilty in federal court to conspireing with members of the iranian military. even u.s. attorney general eric holder said the plot was endorsed by the iranian government despite the denial of involvement. joe john cnn, washington. >> okay. well the pope has announced some of the trips he'll be making this year that include visits to several countries in south america and africa. >> he will travel to the united states making stops in new york philadelphia and washington. francis talked about this on a flight which was from manila back to the vatican but these comments which seem to get everyone's attention. [speaking foreign language] tran. >> translator: some think that excuse me if i use this word, in order to be like good catholics, we have to be like rabbits. no, responsible paternity. >> he was making those comments during a flight back from the fill philippines. a law made birth control readily available there despite oppo

an iranian-american businessman identified as siamak namazi arrested in iran. he is the head of strategic companies. he was arrested by iranian security forces visiting family two weeks ago. this is complicating the peace talks under way in austria. let's bring in senior correspondent frederik pleitgen. what is the justification for arresting him and how much is this really complicating the already complicated talks going on about what to do with bashar al assad? >> reporter: so far, alison, it hasn't been a justification for why namazi has been detained. we have heard his passport was taken away before he was detained and taken to the prison which is also where jason rezaian has been sitting for more than 450 days. the washington post reporter apparently convicted of espionage. quite an inn transparent process. that is what we are seeing here. the forces that arrested mr. namazi or detained mr. namazi are part also of the hard line security forces that answer to iran's supreme leader and not the iranian government. this is complicating the talks. this is the f

he's an iranian-american, a chief of internal medicine at clifton springs hospital in new york.ou for being here, doctor. i really appreciate it. this is largely, for context for people, playing out through social media. you're getting something like 500 messages a day, asking for help with injuries. before we show this, some of the messages coming at you come with images. we want to warn everybody that they are graphic in nature, of course, because these are injuries sustained during these crackdowns are of, during they protests, pellet injuries, head wounds, very significant injuries you can even see in these images. how are you helping them from so far away? >> just one day at a time. they send me these images and x-rays, as you said because of their fear of going to the hospital and getting arrested. i triage their injury and give them, to the best of my ability what to do, essentially first aid, and i refer them to doctors i feel are safe in iran to treat them. >> how serious are the injuries that people are asking for your help with? i'm sure it's a range, but can you help

>> james, an iranian-american decided to move to america and work as a reporter for "the washington postwrote what life is like for everyday iranians. >> it's not a country of extremist people. >> that's definitely not the image that the news. >> yeah, these are people who have been through so much tumult in the last 40 years and actually in the last 100 years. never been in a place where i've seen more of an aversion to physical violence than i have in iran. >> he is an iranian journalist who was living in tehran when jason met, fell in love and got married. >> i wanted people to know that it's a beautiful land. we have good people. we have good food. and the people are not very different from anywhere else. >> yeah. >> there's a lot of world things about it that have been in tact for hundreds of years. and, you know, for me, i chose to live there. with a plan to report from, you know, really ground level point of view. >> mm-hmm. >> i think if we could undo everything, we'd probably still be living there. >> absolutely, yes. >> but they can't live there anymore. back in 2014, jason and

described to me the plan to assassinate the saudi arabian ambassador to the united states by an iranian americanion -- he's the former new jersey governor. great to have you with us governor keen. let me ask you that question. i know the u.s. officials have been working on this for a few months. does an attack of this nature which seems out of a spy novel, full of intrigue, does it surprise you? >> it totally surprised me. it's uncharacteristic of them. the idea of assassinating somebody using criminal money, drug money from mexico to actually do an assassination in this nation's capitol, that's close to an act of war. you don't go in somebody else's capitol and blow up anybody. >> that's -- >> it's a tremendous risk. >> i wanted to ask you about that. eric holder, the attorney general, has stopped from fully implicating the highest levels of the iranian government, but others like diane feinstein says she doesn't see any other way it could have happened. if the highest levels of the rye iranian government were involved, we would have to go with military action, wouldn't we? >> we got to find ou

an iranian american man is in custody accused of plotting to kill a saudi envoy on u.s. soil. a manhunt is under way for a member of iran's revolutionary guard. washington says elements of iran's government plotted the assassination and this morning u.s. diplomats are calling on allies around the world to get tougher on iran. some lawmakers say that's not enough. republican congressman peter king is calling the plot an act of war and says the u.s. should not dismiss the idea of military action. >>> also this morning, vice president joe biden says nothing has been taken off the table. >>> all right, we're covering all the angles for you this morning. barbara starr working your sources at the pentagon and reza in islamabad. barbara, let's start with you. is some sort of military action being discussed here? >> at this point, kyra, the answer is no. look, the pentagon always says all options are on the table. that is the standard language. but all of our sources are indicating there is no indication of that yet. it would come, of course, at the direction of the president. one of

they know having an iranian-american reporter is not good for the critics.s why they decide to go for the trial now. the fate of jason and the trial, less about what happens in the closed court and more about the give and take in the corridors of power, i'm afraid in tehran. back to you. >> becky, thank you for that. he will have a translator apparently and court appointed attorney. no word of when he will appear in court. washington post is furious about this. >>> breaking news this morning, deadly storms barrelling through central united states. at least six people killed and a dozen more missing. there are more storms on the way. we will have the story next. i' ridee. i've had moderate to severe plaque psoriasis most of my life. but that hasn't stopped me from modeling. my doctor told me about stelara® it helps keep my skin clearer. with only 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses... ...stelara® helps me be in season. stelara® may lower your ability to fight infections and increase your risk of infections. some serious infections require hospitalization. be

. >> an iranian american journalist for "the washington post" is on trial for espionage right now in state media reports jason rosian's trial is taking place without any of his family in court. just his court appointed attorney and translator. he is accused of passing information. he has been in iranian custody for more than 300 days since he and his wife were arrested in july. his wife has since been released. "the washington post" denies the charges and says this will be rosian's first court appearance since he was detained. the u.s. has called the charges absurd. >> malaysian authorities confirm the body found in 139 graves near the thai border are migrants. ma malaysian police and border guard found the body in camps believed abandoned two week earlier. autopsies will be done to figure out how the migrants died. hundred of might ranlts have landed in malaysia and indonesia in recent weeks. both countries agreed last week to accept refugees if the international community helps resettle them within a year. >> bangladesh's leader says people trying to escape the country should be pu

the espionage trial of an iranian american journalist with "the washington post" is over for the dayat the first session of the trial has just ended. the reports say he is charged with illegally gathering classified information about iran's domestic and foreign policies. no date for the next session has been announced. >> now, the journalist and his wife were arrested back in july. she has been released he has remained in custody more than 300 days now. "the washington post" deny the charges and says this is the journalist's first court appearance since she was detained. the u.s. calls the charges absurd. >> stephen curry the national basketball association's most valuable player. but that couldn't protect the golden state warrior from a nasty tumble. >> curry was trying to block a shot by a houston rocket's player. boom, loses his footing. flips over. almost on his head. stayed down five minutes as well. doctors say he suffered a head contusion. >> look at that. get this by the third quarter, curry was back on the floor and playing again. but he couldn't save the day for his team. t

i was talking to an iranian american friend earlier. is is the islamic republic versus iranians. that is one of the reasons we need to keep talking about mahsa amini, keep supporting the much needed change. >> you write about growing up in saudi arabia where women are forced to cover their hair in your book "both and." it's now out in paperwork. you right the verses in qaran were not about clothing and hair but pertained to our code of conduct. others consciously made the choice themselves. the key is having the choice. and we're seeing increasingly younger women speak up in iran. what is your message to them, and do you think that progressive women, conservative women -- i mean, men -- should there be more of an uprising in the united states in terms of marching for girls and women who were so braive in iran? >> thank you for quoting from my book. because the key word that i use in every decision i made is choice. for so many muslim girls and women, we often don't have a choice making decisions when it comes to hijab. i live in a househ

we want to bring in right now an iranian american who teaches asian and middle eastern studies at dukes. so they said we believe in academic freedom, but it should not be used to excuse away behavior that harms others, unquote. how do you see this? >> thank you so much for having me on. you know, i think the words of the president are more than a little unfortunate, because it pits it as an issue of freedom of speech versus the sensitivities of muslim students. the fact of the matter is that these kinds of images have been an important part of the islamic tradition. they are the sacred icon tradition, if you want to use that word, and they have existed in both the suni and shia tradition for going back 1,000 years. so i think there's a big difference between the offensive images and iconic, devotional works of art, which have been produced by muslim artists for consumption of muslims with the specific goal of drawing the audience closer to the prophet and closer to god. >> and beyond that, i just wonder, as a professor at duke, how does it make you feel as a professor that the universi

an iranian american family trying to get their loved ones released from a prison in tehran.l president trump intervene? a family member joins us next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ for those who know what they're really building. always unstoppable. when we love someone, we want to do right by them. what is this? (chuckling) but habits are hard to break. honey, where are the habaneros? and then there are things we can't control, like snoring. (loud snoring) now the answer is right under your nose. introducing theravent anti-snore strips, clinically shown to reduce snoring with the power of your own breathing. nice try! there are always things that are hard to let go of. now snoring isn't one of them. theravent. the answer is right under your nose. >>> a family of american otto warmbier is speaking out about their son's suffering. now another american family is speaking out about another dangerous detention. the family of two americans held in iran are begging for their release. a businessman was trying to promote closer ties between u.s. and iran was detained in 2015 and convicted of espionage. h

iranian government. more than 50 have called have an end to executions in an online campaign. here's a clip from their video. ♪ joining me now from new york an iranian americanank you so much for talking with us. >> thank you. >> now, we just saw a portion of your social media video which includes more than 50 hollywood stars including kate blanchered, jason momoa, samuel l. jackson and others in a call to end the execution of iranian protesters fighting for freedom in their country. what all do you think this video can achieve? what's your hope here? >> well, we want to draw attention to the cause in the broadest possible way by using the power of celebrity voices. and, you know, the islamic republic thinks it can get away with this because historically it has. and by making a video like this and getting celebrities involved, we're letting them know the international community is watching them. >> and if iranian authorities are watching you right now, what is your message to them about the ongoing execution of these protesters who are just fighting for freedom in their own country? >> you know, what i would say is their previous tactics that may have worked

we have seen them in the united states, by the way, in 2006, an iranian american crashed an suv into a group of students attending the university of north carolina at chapel hill. he injured nine of them. luckily he didn't kill anyone. we saw this again at glasgow airport a year later where two british terrorists crashed a jeep into the arrivals area of the airport. luckily they didn't kill anyone. but, so this idea has been around for awhile but it's never achieved the lethality we have just seen tonight. that is going to be a big worry going forward. >> juliette, in terms of how worried should people in the united states, i don't want to do anything to provoke fear, but just in terms of being aware for law enforcement in particular, i think art pointed out how law enforcement in the wake of every kind of attack like this learns from the enemy, tries to adapt their tactics and we have certainly seen that in new york and washington, d.c. and elsewhere. is this new to law enforcement or something they have really gamed out, role played out? >> well, fortunately, there has already been

on american soil this man, an iranian-american is in custody.tionary guard. u.s. diplomats are calling on allies around the world to enact sanctions around iran. reza sayah is in islamabad, pakistan what is iran saying about the alleged plot? >> ran dirk the past 24 house, we have seen a steady stream of mid to senior level iranian officials come out and vehemently deny these allegations made against iran by the u.s. justice department. we talked to the spokesperson for iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad, he called it a children's story designed to distract the american public from domestic problems at home, like unemployment. earlier today, the spokesperson for iran's foreign minister had something to say about the allegations, here he is. >> translator: these stories show the political confusion and haplessness that exists in the united states of america. we view this behavior as signs of the demise of the american empire that had ambitions to dominate the world. of course, we will respond firmly to them and launch a protest against them ba

iranian m.o. which consisted over the 30 years in an assassination campaign against iran's enemies. >> reporter: others point to the con vick of an iranian-americanting to kill the saudi ambassador to the united states. he pleaded guilty in federal court. even u.s. attorney general eric holder said the plot was endorsed by the iranian government despite iran's denial. >> what's made alberto's death a global story, is that he's a more reasonable player just a couple of decades ago. iran has always denied involvement at the attack at the jewish center. but being linked to an atrocity like that before the parliament could create enormous public relations damage. >> and the deal with the united states and the west. joe johns, thank you very much. fascinating report. >>> next jeanne moos with the dash cam video that has gone viral. i am totally blind. i lost my sight in afghanistan but it doesn't hold me back. i go through periods where it's hard to sleep at night and stay awake during the day. non-24 is a circadian rhythm disorder that affects up to 70% of people who are totally blind. talk to your doctor about your symptoms and learn more by calling

he is an iranian-american who is expected to plead not guilty at a formal hearing later on this monthlegal trouble for an american catholic bishop. we'll look at why he's under indictment and what it could mean for the catholic church priest abuse scandal. anywhere? yes. like this price? yes. riously? yes what about this one? i'll beat it. this one? s we will. right, i only have one more question for you...this one? (laughing) yeah. get $100 rebate when you buy four tires. 100 bucks! only at your ford dealer. 3 million tires. 11 major brands, fiona's kind-of-nice. i don't know why you're not here. i'm a wife, i'm a mom... and chantix worked for me. it's a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice any of these, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. te

an iranian-american businessman who has been held in iran for almost two years now has been given a four-dayelease after falling ill. elise, what are the conditions of his release? >> well, fred, we heard about the case of baca razi who served two years for spying on iran for the united states. he's been in poor health for a very long time. in september he underwent emergency surgery in iran to put a pacemaker in. he has very bad health problems, and in recent weeks, he's been complaining of poor health, bad blood pressure, irregular heartbeat. he was rushed to the hospital last week. he's been discharged today and now, after intervention between the united states and other third-party countries, the united nations, the iranian government has given him a four-day reprieve. he is resting home comfortably with his family before he is to return back to prison in four days. obviously the state department, the white house, trying to make this a permanent situation. state department spokesperson heather now calling on the iranian government to release him and his son who is also in prison. >> what

i want to go to a sal who is an iranian american army veteran. >> senators, i was born in a muslim country. my family and i along with my brother we immigrated to the united states as refugees over two decades ago. i am also a combat veteran of the united states army. my brother is a navy combat veteran of the united states. >> that's better. maybe one day you will have an air force person. >> probably. the refugee we banned from coming to the united states today could potentially be tomorrow's service member. civil servant or influential member of society. how would you ensure we do not hold our potential hostage by banning certain individuals through new regulations? >> senator graham, as you answer that question, we are waiting for a revised travel ban from the president any day now. >> i am told that iraq will not be one of the seven countries. that vital. e iraqis now, we hav americans fighting in iraq against isis. we need the cooperation of the iraqi government. >> she is iranian. >> thank you for your service. how about that. [ applause ] . >> thank you. >> 3500 american muslims in

an iranian american journalist working for "the washington post" and tehran bureau chief.ed up and imprisoned for espionage. you were convicted in a closed court, right? it was not a result of a plea that you made your release came, along with the release of other americans, in exchange for 7 iranian prisoners. do you see that will be the same type of prisoner exchange that would be part of what you call a potentially speeded up process for brittney griner? >> book. each one of these instances is different based on the circumstances and country. ultimately i think until we effectively create some deterrent mechanisms, legal deterrent mechanisms and come together with our international partners and say, hey, this is a serial crime being perpetrated by authoritarian countries. this will happen over and over again and to me the safety and security in the right to live a free life of our fellow citizens is the most important thing to consider here. we might have to hold our nose and except some kind of trade for someone who is duly convicted in the u.s. court, that might be th

. >>> and plus an iranian american held for years in detention begs for u.s. help securing his rel release. we'll show you parts of our conversation. unlike some others, airborne gives you vitamin c and so much more. it's an 8 in 1 immune support formula. airborne. do more. i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up ♪ ♪ i've got symptom relief ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everhing to me. ♪ ♪ ♪ control is everhing to me. ♪ fe significant symom relief with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements at 4 weeks. skyrizi is the first and only il-23 inhibitor for crohn's that can deliver both clinical remission and endoscopic improvement. the majority of people on skyrizi achieved long lasting remission at 1 year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in crohn's disease. ask your gastroenterologist how you can take control o

other americans there, and robert levinson is still there, and we don't know the fate, and also an iranian american businessman who is still held there. >> and nisr asaka who the u.s. government knows is still in iran. and also, the disappearance of robert levinson who disappeared on kish islands. and the only thing they got from the iranians was a commitment to continue to look for him, and is that what the iranians are saying? >> yes, a continuing commitment to say, we will seek information, but the fact is that we don't have a hard answer on his fate. is he still alive and where is he held? when you talk about the the ordeals for the family, and the ordeal for the levinson family still continues. >> and thank you, jim sciutto for reporting. the secretary of the state john kerry touted the successful diplomacy in the case, and i had a chance to sit down with the secretary to talk about the release, and so much more. and we also spoke about the implementation of the iran nu nuclear deal, and one possible reason that the u.s. ally, namely saudi arabia is uneasy with the deal moving forward and list

saeed abedini, the christian pastor who's been there, but siamak namazi, an american who was just taken a few months ago, he's an iranian american businessman who was just taken there, he is not part of this release today. state department officials saying that they are still working on his release, that those channels will continue to be open. and the other name i just want to mention, wolf, is robert levinson. we've talked about him a lot on the air. he's the former u.s. official who was taken in 2007 there. he was working at the time for u.s. intelligence, it is alleged and i'm told by u.s. officials that they've reached an agreement with iran to seek information on the case of robert levinson. because there are questions. where is he physically? is he in iran? was he taken out of the country? and even, sadly, whether he's still alive. but no final word on him. that, of course, a disappointment for his family. not to take anything away from the enormous success of this deal. and we're getting new information about how it was worked out. 14 months of secret negotiations between u.s. and iranian diplomats. a parallel,

she is an iranian-american writer. welcome.to ask you first, what was your -- what your impressions just watching these protests? what is it that you are noticing? >> umm, i'm noticing something i haven't seen since 1979. some of the images that are coming out of iran are very much reminiscent of the country that i remember, the turmoil that i remember from 1978 and 1979. kids were grouping up. the images of the shau out of their textbooks. they were tearing down the images of the supreme leader this time around from their classrooms. there is a unified movement throughout the country that is focused on a singular slogan we have never heard, which is "women like freedom" and i think it signals toward a major, major shift, from all the past demonstrations that we have seen. >> what i noticed is they were tearing pictures of not just the current supreme leader, but the founding supreme leader of iran, which strikes me of almost getting to the core of the regime's legitimacy. >> precisely. you're exactly right. no demonstration in

for years, an iranian american businessman has been wrongfully detained in iran, housed at the notoriousr freedom started in 2015 when he was first denied the right to leave the country. now in a rare interview from prison, he spoke to our chief international anchor christiane amanpour, and she's here with me now. i was telling you before that i planned to watch this a little bit on your cnn i show of the interview. once i started watching it and listening to him tell his story, i couldn't turn it away. >> i know. as a journalist you realize how extraordinary it is to interview somebody in prison. you have to be careful how far you go so they don't get in trouble. already he's taking the risk to speak out to us. as you said, he's been in for seven years. he was convicted of some nebulous charge basically amounting to cooperating with a hostile country, assuming that means the u.s. he's u.s.-american. and he's very out of options and at the end of his tether and wants to figure out what he can do to get some attention from the white house and to see whether the white house and the adminis

also in the world lead today, a passionate plea outside the white house from an iranian american man.u.s. government to help his father who has been detained in iran. this week, he staged a hunger strike and protested outside the white house and state department where kylie atwood learned more about his father's story. >> he planned to come back to the u.s. in 2016 after visiting iran for his father's funeral. but on the way to the airport, he was detained. when news reports broke last week about a brewing deal between the u.s. and iran to secure the release of five american detainees, two of whom are still unknown to the public, his son, darian, thought his father might be headed home. >> we were getting somewhat hopeful and to have that all basically get crushed last week thursday, that was heartbreaking. >> he was charged with aiding and abetting a hostile nation. the same charge namazi faces. one of the five americans who u.s. officials are hoping will be home by next month but when top u.s. officials said the group of detainees they were working to release were deemed wrongfully

plot that the united states government alleges was put forth by the iranian government using an iranian americanexican drug cartel to commit an assassination that would have killed civilians right here in washington, d.c. we also, of course, heard from douglas frazier who testified on whether there were other terrorist activities going on to get from mexico into the united states. here's what he said. >> those organizations are primarily focused on financial support to organizations back in the middle east, but they are involved in illicit activity. and so that is the connection that we continue to look for, as we watch in the future, that connection between the illicit activity and the potential pathway into the united states. >> jay, how big of a risk is this, that other terrorist activities could be working with drug cartels to get into the united states? >> i think one of the things that's important to recognize, these are criminal organizations and they certainly will diversify what their level of criminality is. whether drugs today, weapons tomorrow or a need to move high-valued targets ac

army intelligence analyst and language instructor asal, an iranian american who opposes the ban.tart with you. why do you support president trump's travel ban? >> because i want to support my family. i want to support my kids. i want to support my own people, the muslim people, too, live in the united states that want to feel safe. and when their kids go to the school, no one threatens them. i don't want to have that feeling back to me when i'm in iraq, i have my a.k. underneath my head ready to kill people and i don't think this is good feeling to have it again. >> so, johnny, let me just ask you, one of the big debates is the vetting needs to be better. obviously you were vetted. how thorough was the process? >> process can take long time, but you know what? it's worth it because you're coming to united states, the best country in the world. so, the time and the process, i wait for four years, five years to move to the united states. i lost half of my tribe. half of my family, my brother. but, you know what? my journey is worth it. my kid, they will thank me and all the generat

these assassination plots against an iranian american human rights advocate in new york, salman rushdie, not just against me, but mark esper, former secretary of state mike pompeo and many other people show the iranians think they can proceed with impunity. and until we demonstrate to the contrary, think a lot more people will be vulnerable as well. >> ambassador john bolton, we appreciate you being with us this morning. thank you for your time, sir. >> thank you. >>> prosecutors in georgia informing rudy giuliani he is a target of their 2020 election interference investigation. the former trump attorney has been ordered by an atlanta area judge to appear in person before a special grand jury tomorrow. cnn's nick valencia is live outside of the courthouse in atlanta with the latest here. nick? >> reporter: good morning, brianna. rudy giuliani had tried to delay his testimony before the special purpose grand jury here in georgia, but a fulton county judge ruled he must appear tomorrow. he'll be doing so as a target of this criminal investigation, a significant development. this is the fi

s he went to iran to visit relatives there, he's an iranian-american.here arrested because of his faith arc excused by the iranians because he's christian he's trying to convert muslims in iran to christianity. they call that a national security crime accuse him of a soft war and sentenced to eight years in prison. leaves his family back home, his wife, two children of 5 and 7. i was able to meet with his wife yesterday and she describes how difficult it's been for him because they keep telling him that he may leave, he may not leave, and his hopes are raised and then crushed, a form of psychological torture, she says. >> psychological tortures. i know the first few months they'll say you'll go free, pack your stuff and go, he'd get everything ready, be excited to come see the kids and i, and they would say -- the next day they will say we're going to hang you for your faith. >> she and her children dread another christmas separated from her husband from the children's father, and he's one of three americans, it's believed, are held in iran right now. a

we know of an iranian american citizen in new york who is just the subject of a near attack last weeki'm sure there are others as well. this is a case of iran not simply carrying out terrorist attacks against american service members or diplomats in iraq, of which they have done an awful lot over the years, but trying to kill americans on american soil. and, look, again, it is the nature of the regime. one of the first things that the islamic revolution did in 1979 when it seized power in iran and overthrew the shah was taken hostage diplomats at the american embassy there. that's the way they started off. and it has gone downhill from there. >> i'm curious, it is an interesting moment we're in, where there are a lot of people questioning institutions, particularly honestly republicans questioning a lot of the institutions here. but how do you feel about the fbi and the people who put these charges together, this charging document and also the secret service who have been protecting you for the last year from this threat? >> right, well, i said yesterday, i expressed my thanks to the