right now we're joined by the president of the national iranian american council from washington dc jamal body. he joins us now live good jamal at what your the escalating tensions. >>well my reaction is we we didn't know this was coming we knew had pledged to retaliate. and on life. iranian actions in the this was least to iran did not try to deny it and not try to have this come through some source that was deniable this is a symbolic message from the iranian government in retaliation for the assassination of of the general and so my my feeling is look i'm i'm sure full where this goes and how this pans and really how washington responds and if this the extent of the iranian retaliation or for going to continue to see waves of attacks like this in the hours and possibly days to come. >>what is your sense in terms of how this plays out and do you think that other countries world leaders need to now step in and try to mediate or what is the most peaceful possible outcome that you seem plausible. >>the hope is on both sides on the iranian side on american the american side. there can be ce

assad ra joining us from california she's with the national iranian american council great to talk to you thank you and. so we're talking about the possibility for diplomacy there but clearly there is military action 1st and foremost in the moment and earlier the pentagon said it expected iran to retaliate against the united states though secretary defense marcus was calling for deescalation he warns the u.s. is prepared to end any war with iran let me reiterate that the united states is not seeking a war with iran but we are prepared to finish one we are seeking a diplomatic solution but 1st this will require iran to deescalate it will require the regime to come to the table with the goal of preventing further bloodshed and it will require them to cease their malign activities throughout the region as i've said we're open to having this discussion with them but we are just as prepared to deliver a forceful response to defend our interests earlier we heard from mark kimmitt who is a former assistant secretary for political military affairs that was out of the george w. bush administra

biggest terrorist and i'm glad you know that they've got to know that by contrast the national iranian american council condemned the assassination extremely reckless and extremely. irrational several days ago los angeles area iranian americans took part in a protest rally over the assassination many were shocked by president trump's threats to destroy iranian cultural sites i think that for many of us this actually feels like terrorism when someone from. your cultural and historic sites some iranian americans fear they will be subject to harassment by the. government war individuals if the crisis worsens there have been multiple reports of u.s. citizens of iranian heritage being stopped by authorities at the u.s. border and questioned at length about their political views this community has whether crisis after crisis between the u.s. and iran but this one feels different this is the most serious action that has been taken i think an and and greason history which is i think the most worried we have borne about 00 a warren iran and a possible war that's broader than a wrong a community united in fear o

biggest terrorists and i'm glad you know that they got to know that by contrast the national iranian american council condemned the assassination extremely reckless and extremely. irrational several days ago los angeles area iranian americans took part in a protest rally over the assassination many were shocked by president trump's threats to destroy iranian cultural sites i think that for many of us this actually feels like terrorism when someone from. your cultural and historic sites some iranian americans fear they will be subject to harassment by the. government or individuals if the crisis worsens there have been multiple reports of u.s. citizens of iranian heritage being stopped by authorities at the u.s. border and questioned at length about their political views this community has weathered crisis after crisis between the u.s. and iran but this one feels different this is the most serious action that has been taken i think and in recent history which is i think the most worried we have been about oh oh a war in iran and a possible war that's broader than iran a community united in fear of mor

jamal abdi is president of the national iranian american council, a lobby group dedicated to promotingding between the american and iranian peoples. he joins me from washington. thanks a lot for coming on. is a big fairfor thanks a lot for coming on. is a big fair for you thanks a lot for coming on. is a big fairfor you now thanks a lot for coming on. is a big fair for you now the thanks a lot for coming on. is a big fairfor you now the power vacuum that has opened up iran and who fills that? yes, that is a big fair, because even bigger than the imminent response of the iranians and the potential for an escalatory cycle a nd and the potential for an escalatory cycle and a full—blown war, even if that doesn't come to fruition, what yesterday's actions may have done was cemented this pathway that donald trump has put the united states and iran on. it is very difficult to see a diplomatic offramp given these new circumstances, and inside of iran, those who are arguing for negotiation and trying to seek a return by the us to the nuclear deal, already very much weakened, and now they have b

is so-called muslim travel ban and finally we have jamal abdi policy director of the national iranian american council he joins us today from sarasota florida hello everybody sorry to drive you in on this conversation where it's not a particularly happy one hoda for instance we showed one example of an iranian american and the story that she had about trying to come back into her own country you've also heard stories like that in the last 23 weeks can you share one. definitely i think that it is an incredibly terrifying time for iranians iranian americans the united states not only are we feeling for the lives of many of our families in iran but also just trying to get back into the country which many iranians call home i have been in touch with so many people that have been stopped and interrogated question for over 11 hours by u.s. citizens a clear violation of u.s. law and a lot of people were saying that there were children sleeping on benches children sleeping on the floor they had no heart to even tell them why they were there and any time that you're on the ns we're even asking the customs and

that said, with me, cnn international chief and founder and former president of the national iranian-american council serves as executive vice president of the quincy institute for responsible state craft. welcome to all of you, and trina, begin here with this harsh revenge that iran is vowing. when, where could this revenge occur? how harsh, and who do you think is most at rick? most at risk? >> we don't know the answer to any of those questions. the only question i think we have some idea about is that there is very likely going to be some form of a response by the iranians, but what type, who they will target, when, i think they will take their time. i think the first thing the iranian government will do is actually consolidate their elite. they have been fractured but this is going to be something that is likely going to help them to rally around the flag. not just within the league but outside of it as well, and then choose some form of a target at some point that will maximize a surprise, similar to what we've seen happening in the region the last six months. >> do we think, colonel, similar qu

former president of the national iranian american council with us, currently executive vice president of the quincy institute which examines foreign policy. gail will he man, senior fellow with foreign relations, she was in the region three weeks ago. i have to go to you first. one week ago we thought, many americans feared going to war with iran. today, their own people are protesting in the streets their own government. what is the significance of that? >> you should throw out the play book for what we expected to see in the region from basra to beirut to baghdad to what we're seeing in tehran. no one has seen the convergence of factors before. of course, long-standing protests that have been going on with not that much coverage outside the region of young people protesting for better governance, for a regime that responded to its demands. now you see a swing within seven days to real anger at what happened with the soleimani killing to mistrust being expressed, publicly expressed even by semi state run news agencies that are saying listen, this is unforgivable, the fact this was ke

quincey institute for responsible statecraft, also the founder and former president of the national iranian american councilthe author of "losing an enemy, obama, iran and the triumph of diploma diploma diplomacy." thank you for coming back. your reaction to what kiley was just reporting out, and why should the united states believe iran? >> i think it's actually very interesting, prior to all of this, the iranians publicly stated that they will respond directly, not through proxies, that they will respond. that this is not something they would just let go, and that they would target military facilities. all of those different three things that they signaled they did, and i think that they did that deliberately to be able to establish the sense that what they're now saying they will also do, which was that if the united states continued the escalation, then the iranians would start targeting american bases throughout the region. now, this is not about trusting them or not, but it's very important to be able to have these back channels in order to be able to better calculate what the u.s.'s next step should

. >> jamal abdi, president of the national iranian american council. u on, welcome. >> thanks for having me. >> as an iranian american, as someone who has been to these cultural sites in iran, what is it like hearing the president of the united states open to attacking them? >> it's really -- it's shocking. it's traumatizing almost. you know -- >> tell me why. >> well, look, the first week of trump's presidency he banned our family members from visiting us in the united states. now many iranian americans came to this country because there's a repressive government in iran who, for instance, bans me from coming to iran because of my political work. now our families can't come here. we have sanctions that close bank accounts of iranian americans because banks are afraid of violating them, because of the problems with the iranian government. now to talk about attacking cultural sites -- this isn't something that's owned by a government. this is not about a government-to-government problem. this is our heritage. you know, i'm an american, i was born here, r

biggest terrorists and i'm glad you know that they got into the team by contrast the national iranian american council condemned the assassination extremely reckless and extremely. irrational several days ago los angeles area iranian americans took part in a protest rally over the assassination many were shocked by president trump's threats to destroy iranian cultural sites i think that for many of us this actually feels like terrorism when someone trying to see. your cultural and historic sites some iranian americans fear they will be subject to harassment by the government or individuals if the crisis worsens there have been multiple reports of u.s. citizens of iranian heritage being stopped by authorities at the u.s. border and questioned at length about their political views this community has weathered crisis after crisis between the u.s. and iran but this one feels different this is the most serious action that has been taken i think in in recent history which is i think the most worried we have been about oh a war in iran and a possible war that's broader than iran a community united in fear of

the head of iran's national security council, a visit during another moment of inflamed tensions following suspected iranian attacks on oil tankers and iran's shootdown of an american military drone back then he shared with me this warning >> translator: in the case of war, the u.s. will be in a very terrible situation. >> reporter: will iran use asymmetric warfare? >> translator: iran has multiple instruments at hand, including the proxy war. >> reporter: a reference to iranian backed groups from militias across the region to terror organizations like hamas and hezbollah, potentially raising the stakes for american military planners. >> military to military, how would you expect the iranians would fare against the u.s. >> they would fare badly. they cannot match us in conventional forces, but they are masters of asymmetric warfare. the iranians may turn around and attempt the same kind of activity against the u.s. ambassador and then they would say this was a proportional operation. >> reporter: tonight no public indication inside iran of what they'll do next. nbc's aliarouzi is there. >> reporter: state tv is commemorating him on a loop and one jeanine went aft j

critical witness former national security adviser john bolton said if subps tenth iranian americans and fears that heightened surveillance here in the united states. the american council on american islamic relations is handing out booklets reminding people of their rights and after 60 people were held for questioning this weekend at the u.s./canada border in washington state. >> they were detained for between six and 11 hours in some cases. they were people of all ages including a number of u.s. citizens and asked questions about their iranian identity and the heritage and family and connection to the country. all of this is very concerning. >> customs and border protection claims they did not detain iranian americans at border. they said they have not received any reports of bay area iranian americans being detained however immigration attorneys are are on stand-by. this crisis with iran is tlud. we're tracking the story on all of the digital platforms. we posted new information about u.s. troop movements. it is on the top story box at nbcbayarea.com. >>> well back here at home, a new plan to tackle vioy oaklan off a new hire dedicated to making the city safer. this

national security council many iranians see the u.s. attack as an act of war across the region there will be implications anywhere where there is an american military presence. american should should leave those countries immediately but if i was in the emirates i would leave now and if i was an american in iraq i would leave now if i was an american any part in southwest asia i would leave immediately the united nations high commissioner for human rights described the killings as a likely violation of international law the fact that the united states designated . on its own you know laterally as a foreign terrorist does not give the united states in law or in practice even the right to kill him it in u.s. law gives the united states there the right to seize his assets and not to kill him in washington reaction was split along party lines republican support of the strike senior democrats called it reckless. so lemony was a matter of but this reckless move escalates the situation with iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and a new middle east conflict our priority must be to avoid another costly wall. u.s. secretary of state mig

national security council many iranians see the u.s. attack as an act of war across the region there will be implications anywhere where there is an american military presence. american should should leave those countries immediately but if i was in the emirates i would leave now if i was an american in iraq i would leave now if i was an american any part in southwest asia i would leave immediately. the united nations high commissioner for human rights described the killings as a likely violation of international law the idea that iran is not going to respond is wishful thinking that will make the debacle of invading iraq look like a walk in the park i do not think the president trying really understands what he's got in the united states into going up against iran i would argue that going to war with iran will be the most significant adversary that the united states has encountered since world war 2 u.s. secretary of state michael impale tweeted a video showing iraqis celebrating the attack feared by his enemies inside iran so the money has for years been one of the most popular national figures in the country the international face of ir

national security council many iranians see the u.s. attack as an act of war across the region there will be implications anywhere where there is an american military presence. american should should leave those countries immediately but if i was in the emirates i would leave now if i was an american in iraq i would leave now if i was an american any part in southwest asia i would leave immediately the united nations high commissioner for human rights described the killings as a likely violation of international law the fact that the united states designated . on its own you know laterally as a foreign terrorist does not give the united states in law or in practice even the right to kill him it in u.s. law gives the united states there the right to seize his assets but not to kill him . in washington reaction was split along party lines republican support of the strike senior democrats called it reckless silliman he was a murderer but this reckless move escalates the situation with iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and new middle east conflict our priority must be to avoid another costly war. u.s. secretary of state mike pum

iranian foreign minister to address the security council is that not a violation of the u.n. treaty absolutely the americans have to remember that they are only a host to the united nations day to not use the visa process to essentially punish whoever they don't like because iran has the right to be there i mean this is a security council meeting that is going to talk and discuss the illegal assassination of course and so they money and using that as a card in its hostilities towards iran is very very concerning i think do you really think that iraq will force out u.s. coalition troops as they voted. i think it's a tricky situation i mean the iraqi government and the parliament in the people of iraq want the americans out but i don't think the americans will leave without a fight because let's remember that the americans have spent trillions of dollars in iraq as well as they have lost almost $5000.00 soldiers there and in the process of course they have killed hundreds of thousands of iraqis and i don't think they will let this go that easily this is a geo strategic region of the world that has a lot of natural resources iraq is in the heart of the middle east and i don't t

national security council many iranians see the u.s. attack as an act of war across the region there will be implications anywhere where there is an american military presence. american should should leave those countries immediately but if i was in the emirates i would leave now if i was an american in iraq i would leave now if i was an american any part in southwest asia i would leave immediately. the united nations high commissioner for human rights described the killings as a likely violation of international law the idea that iran is not going to respond is wishful thinking that will make the debacle of invading iraq look like a walk in the park i do not think that president trump really understands why he's gotten the united states into going up against iran i would argue that going to war with iran will be the most significant adversary that the united states has encountered since world war 2 u.s. secretary of state michael impale tweeted a video showing iraqis celebrating the attack feared by his enemies inside iran so the money has for years been one of the most popular national figures in the country the international face of ira

national security council many iranians see the u.s. attack as an act of war across the region there will be implications anywhere where there is an american military presence. american should should leave those countries immediately but if i was in the emirates i would leave now if i was an american in iraq i would leave now if i was an american in any part in southwest asia i would leave immediately the united nations high commissioner for human rights described the killings as a likely violation of international law the fact that the united states designated . on its own you know laterally as a foreign terrorist does not give the united states in law or in practice even the right to kill him it in u.s. law gives the united states there the right to seize his assets but not to kill him . in washington reaction was split along party lines republican support of the strike senior democrats called it reckless. silliman he was a murderer but this reckless move escalates the situation with iran and increases the likelihood of more deaths and a new middle east conflict our priority must be to avoid another costly war. u.s. secretary of state mi

american forces, there will be a series of new sanctions. eight senior iranians officials responsible at home and abroad. we are striking at their end security apparatus. this includes the secretary of the national councillease and around the world. they have employed soldiers across the regions battlefields. they have trained militias in iraq, syria and elsewhere in the arts of domestic repression. today, the goal of ourcampaign is domestic repression. today, the goal of our campaign is to deny the regime the resources to continue its destructive foreign policy. we want iran to simply behave like a normal nation, we believe the sanctions we have imposed today further that strategic objective. our campaign is composed of diplomatic, economic, components that have denied the regime billions in revenue, used to fuel death and destruction across the world and the middle east. sadly, the previous administration had opened up revenue streams for iran. under arad ministry, had opened up revenue streams for iran. underarad ministry, oil revenues are down by 80% and iran cannot access roughly 90% of its foreign currency reserves. and not even two weeks ago, the president of iran admitted ever sanctions have cos