>> with my artists, eight of them are working in tehran, iran, the capital city, and one is an iranian american based in san francisco. the problem is really a collective exploration in the day and the life in tehran. it is the largest city in the middle east. for the gallery, one of the first pieces you see is one piece which is a laser-cut peace, it taken directly from the map of the city itself -- a laser-cut piece. it represents the geography of the city. it is positioned right next to another work by an artist who took a 77 taxicab runs and let the potholes and the city turns of tehran dictate how the city would be portrayed. >> [singing] >> one of the other pieces that to experience in the one-day exhibition is from another artist, a recording of state radio from tehran, and is played for four speakers. >> [speaking foreign language] . >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> the entire gallery is covered with white vinyl on white walls, really minimalist, and the kind of the merged -- of emerge as you walk through the room. >> [speak

she's an iranian american journalist and political commentator welcome to do you know god the trumpet minister says the financial sanctions against iran joint prevent humanitarian aid firstly is this true and what effect obvious sanctions having in the fight against the virus. on paper it's true that sanctions are supposed to not include food medicine and humanitarian aid but in practice when you speak to lawyers and people who are in the business sanctions financial sanctions are basically just waiting banks but still it hating these businesses because any kind of trade with a friend eventually need a bank to be able to do the payment and dad is having an impact on humanitarian trade including medicine and medical supplies as a massive shortage of medical supplies in the country with this corollaries crisis and basically it's not just the writing and also some more the leaders of sunday prime minister i saw today and some of the european governments have urged the united states to lift the sanctions including some here in washington of the democratic party president trump and payola

nearly 2 years has been released michael white's release was part of an agreement involving an iranian american doctor prosecuted by the justice department and followed months of negotiations over prisoners. police in germany say that they have identified a new suspect in the 2007 disappearance of the british toddler madeleine mccann the 43 year old man is currently in prison for sex offenses and drug dealing german authorities are now treating the case as a murder investigation. it is the biggest stimulus package in germany's post-war history of the measures agreed by the government after marathon talks should help the economy recover from the lock down the 130000000000 euro plan includes cutting the sales tax giving cash to families and providing extra funding for municipalities. after 2 days of intense talks their marriage with $50000000000.00 euros more than anyone expected and a dramatic surprise aimed to get germans reaching for their wallets v.h.d. will be cut by 3 percent until the end of the year. because you know that the long run and we need to make sure that everyone has the courage

nearly 2 years has been released michael white's release was part of an agreement involving an iranian american doctor prosecuted by the justice department and followed months of negotiations over prisoners. a landslide in the norwegian town of ulta has swept 8 homes into the sea the resident who filmed these pictures says that he ran for his life when he realized what was happening his house was among those lost several minor landslides followed but nobody was injured. it is the biggest stimulus package in germany's post-war history and the measures agreed by the government after marathon talks should help the economy recover from the lock down the 130000000000 euro plan includes cutting the sales tax giving cash to families and providing extra funding for municipalities. after 2 days of intense talks their marriage with $50000000000.00 euros more than anyone expected and a dramatic surprise aim to get germans reaching for their wallets will be cut by 3 percent until the end of the year. because you know that the long reaching out and we need to make sure that everyone has the courage to inves

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

for more let's bring in the guard mortazavi she is an iranian american journalist and a political commentator she joins us now from washington d.c. . the trump administration says the financial sanctions against iran do not prevent humanitarian aid is that true what effect are these sanctions having right now in the fight against the virus. well what the administration says is true on paper so according to law skank shown do not include or basically food medicine and humanitarian trade is supposed to be exempt from sanctions but in reality we see lawyer sanctions experts and basically business people who are in the import export trade are saying banks because of financial sanctions thanks for staying away from doing any kind of business with iran and that has been hindering their hampering all kinds of trade including humanitarian imports medicine and medical supplies which has crew contribution to a shortage of these supplies in the country and just one example of how that's not true is the fact that the u.s. just ease a little bit of sanctions on iran central bank for humans and basically s

and i'm joined now by and i got a militant zavvi she's an iranian american journalist a media analyst in washington d.c. good to see you again now it is one thing that the regime has admitted to cheating the playing down the question that because to me now what are the consequences for those who are behind this. well we're still not sure but they're definitely facing an enormous domestic crisis this was a catastrophe basically a tragedy for the government specially going back to the question why were commercial planes a lock to fly right in the night of such an important operation from the viewpoint of their own and this was a milby by there were a dozen by pulling out of tehran international airport and this would now as obvious narry dangerous situation and obvious down the street protesters many students because we know there are many graduate students in canada are not airplanes so many of their classmates or university. mates basically are the ones meeting that and from the 1st as. high as. people in the high positions of power in the eye or to even the supreme leader to resign i

. >>> an iranian court has sentenced an iranian-american to death on charges of espionage. the man is accused of being a cia agent. the iranian intelligence authorities arrested the man last month on suspicion of spying. he allegedly received training in intelligence gathering at a u.s. military base in neighboring afghanistan. the revolutionary court in tehran concluded on monday that he w an agent of the u.s. intelligence agency, and handed down a death sentence. iran's judicial authority says he confessed to links with the cia but the u.s. government denies the claims and has demanded his release. iranian authorities arrested several other people on sunday for alleged links with the cia and obstruction of the parliamentary elections scheduled for march of this year. the united arab emirates says a new crude oil pipeline will be operational within six months. it will allow oil toby pass the strait of hormuz. the announcement comes as the evenings swell between western nations and iran over its nuclear program raising fears of military conflict and disruption to the flow of

jason is an iranian-american citizen, but in the eyes he is an iranian, which tells the united states this is not their business. it makes it more difficult for the united states to put pressure on iran to act in a fair manner. this complicates our efforts to bring this matter to an end. annette: douglas, thank you so much. moving on, 800 people have died in a heat wave across india. roads have melted in new delhi is temperatures near 50 degrees celsius. authorities are advising people to stay indoors with no end insight to the searing conditions. >> this is unlike anything we have seen the last few years. people were here today and it was crazy to see the zebra crossing melt into one glob on the road. so a grim situation. especially in the southeastern states, which recorded 750. a pretty bad situation. there does not appear to be a risk bite insight. it will likely continue rising because the heat wave is likely to continue until may 29. thereafter we will see some showers, which will bring the temperatures down. annette: france is suspending its security cooperation with burundi as

. >> reporter: 56-year-old manssor arbabsiar an iranian-american from texas was tape -- thought he was dealing with a member of a mexican drug cartel who was a dea informant. >> this was conceived, sponsored and decked from iran. >> reporter: vice president biden told abc news the u.s. response could go beyond sanctions. >> nothing has been taken off the take. that the world nighted that it is not the united states versus iran that -- that the isolation of iran and the attempt to change the behavior is universal, not just with us itch >> reporter: manssor arbabsiar is now in custody. his wife says she doesn't think he was involved. >> he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. >> reporter: how far along was the plot? two separate payments totalling $100,000 the u.s. says came if the iranians had:wired to an undercover fbi bank account down payment for attack. -- t.j. winick, abc news, new york. >>> the uc berkeley grads who had been imprisoned in iran were on capitol hill today to thank the senators who helped in their release. the trio was arrested in july 2009 for crossing in iran

an alleged iranian plot to assassinate the saudi ambassador to washington. president obama said the plot was the work of iran's revolutionary guard, an iranian-american arrested over this plot is said to have confessed. but iran has dismissed the accusation as a comedy show, a fabrication. steve kingston is in washington. >> manslaughter sour arbabsiar, a holder of iranian and american passports, and now a terror suspect, accused of plotting an assassination on orders from tehran. and this, prosecutors say, was the intended victim, adel al-jubeir, saudi arabia's ambassador to the united states. the indictment was the diplomat was to have been targeted at a washington restaurant, and that, when told, members of the public might also died, he allegedly replied, "no big deal." >> these individuals are no regard for their intended victims, no regard for innocent citizens who might have been hurt or killed in this attempted assassination. they had no regard for the rules of law. >> the alleged co-conspirator is described as a member of the quds force, a special operations unit within iran's revolutionary guard. it's claimed manssor arbabsiar was told to plan the a

know, again, from this... on this side, while you were being detained, we knew that you were an iranian-american the head of the woodrow wilson center middle east program. but why do you believe, ultimately, that you were arrested, you know, interrogated? why were you the target? >> i was the target of the iranian intelligence ministry and the office of the president, president ahmadinejad. and they believed that the united states was going to overthrow the regime, but because it was bogged down in iraq and in afghanistan-- don't forget, it was during the previous administration in 2007-- so they would resort to what they would call "soft means." and the instrument for bringing about such regime change through a velvet revolution, though soft means, were american foundations, american think tanks, and american universities. they didn't know how these institutions in the united states work. >> hinojosa: so let me... so basically, the iranian intelligence ministry and president's office believed that the woodrow wilson center, and you specifically, were holding conferences around iranian issues, n

as an example, we recently arrested an individual, an iranian-american, who had, according to the indictment, plotted to utilize an individual association with the mexican keitel to assassinate the saudi ambassador in washington, d.c. that quite obviously implicates somewhat more than a criminal case. consequently, the impact on international relations -- it is implicated in terms of what we do, and consequently, there is an exchange and understanding of what is going to happen, although the justice department and ourselves will do what we believe is best, regardless of that. nonetheless, there has to be a dialogue on the implications and impact of a case such as that. the relationship has evolved -- evolved over time. it goes without saying that the president and others should not, have not interfered with investigations that have to be handled independently. so that stricture is still there and adhered to, but on the other hand, because of the, again, globalization, the seeping across or leaking across of information and impact of cases, there has to be a different dialogue now than there

but having come back from america where people will stand up proudly in say i am an iranian american,n, because in america, my kids went to school there for a year, they work oi'i school there for a year, they work on integrating because everybody comes from somewhere else. they work oi'i comes from somewhere else. they work on it and i think whatever the next leader is, they shouldn't put this into action, we should be sitting down to eat with one another, we should be knowing when another, we have to persuade muslims to sit down with dues, persuade people from africa to sit down with people from the counties... we have to change the counties... we have to change the way we live. is that possible? i think it is. it is something we were moving towards and i think one of the things we prided ourselves on as british people was civility. and the fa ct british people was civility. and the fact that whatever views who may have held about other people's religion or sexual inclinations or anything else, we got on well together and rubbed on well together, and there was a civility. that under

. >> reporter: 56-year-old manssor arbabsiar an iranian-american from texas was tape -- thought he was dealing with a member of a mexican drug cartel who was a dea informant. >> this was conceived, sponsored and decked from iran. >> reporter: vice president biden told abc news the u.s. response could go beyond sanctions. >> nothing has been taken off the take. that the world nighted that it is not the united states versus iran that -- that the isolation of iran and the attempt to change the behavior is universal, not just with us itch >> reporter: manssor arbabsiar is now in custody. his wife says she doesn't think he was involved. >> he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. >> reporter: how far along was the plot? two separate payments totalling $100,000 the u.s. says came if the iranians had:wired to an undercover fbi bank account down payment for attack. -- t.j. winick, abc news, new york. >>> the uc berkeley grads who had been imprisoned in iran were on capitol hill today to thank the senators who helped in their release. the trio was arrested in july 2009 for crossing in iran

an indictment that charges three people for their role in the development of an american citizen. these charges stem from an ongoing investigation into the islamic republic's attempts to assassinate an iranian-american human rights activist and journalist in the country. the united states is currently in custody. another failed attempt to assassinate messinejad, an opposition journalist of the islamic republic. earlier, preliminary information was published that the people who had collaborated to eliminate this political activist, the pasdaran, on august 6, 1401, were a stranger in the city. in the hot summer of new york, the cctv camera of the home of masih alinjad, a 24-year-old man from the republic of azerbaijan and sutton yankers of new york, who worked with a principle for omar steel under the pseudonym araz, against the georgian class living in slovenia and the czech republic, and the management of the 43-year-old group under the pseudonym ferrari mirzaei and russia and the republic of azerbaijan manages the operation from inside the country. on july 22 , he went to new york, broccoli, to do the denial of the denial. and information and photos of amir took the title and sent it to kh

an american. i have been my here thi can my entire life. being an american i am very proud of the trickle of my country. i have this part of my that is iranian that is my cultural heritage. i feel torn. i feel many people in the community are torn . >> it is different for me appear, grow myinentire life iran . i moved here in 2009. i have strong roots to trd a -- iran . whatever is in the news it is wearing onmy soul. a part of me appreciates what the u.s. offered me as a free country in terms of freedom of speech and having an opportunity to pursue my passion. i wanted to be an activist. i could not pursue that in irans . i alfeel myself as a second-class citizen . >> thank you to both of you. former field organizer for the northern telephone new chapter. thanyou so much. >>> tomorrow the san francisco 49ers hope to continue their push to the super bowl with a victory against the minnesota vikis. the number onseed 49ers ended the regular season with 13 ie victorand three losses anchored by jimmy garoppolo in ertheir single-season care-high 27 touchdowns. it is the first time in a re secu career that he has reached ofthe plfs as a starter. h

an upcoming iranian planned attack. after the assassination president trump tweeted an image of an american flag. democratic lawmakers slammed the assassination as unconstitutional, as trump did not have congressional authority to carry out the strike. connecticut democratic lawmaker chris murphy tweeted -- "did america just assassinate, without any congressional authorization, the second most powerful person in iran, knowingly setting off a potential massive regional war?" both presidents obama and george w. bush had rejected the idea of killing suleimani out of fears it would lead to outright war between the u.s. and iran. this is iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei, speaking after the assassination. >> if the islamic republicc decidedes to challenenge and fia country, i it will do so unequivocally. we are strongly committed to our country's interest in our peace. we are strongly committed to the dignity of our country. we are strongly committed to the greatness of our country. if anyone threatens that, we will, without any hesitation, confront it and strike it. amy: the targeted assas

but i don't think i it will lead to an iranian american confrontation. it will remain through these proxy allies and the goverernmet is very y biguous in its position because o of the same loyalty, at has least sosome of its mininisters. so c confusion is now maybe the word to be used. let's talk about u.s. influence in iraq. iraq'ss been a rock's -- take on this? one mentionened it's a violatatn ofof their soverereignty. >> thehey have to say y that. but at the s same time manany ot ministers are very loy to the u.s. approach and they y fend the u.s. presence e in iraq. hers are me c critical l and some members of the parliament rose to e iraqi has blah -- issueuendg to bring the would like t to askskor a kind f u.s. o official agenenda for the wiwithdrawal of the remainining trtroops andnd the civilians whe servrving withth the iraqi armym the e american a ministration.n. so there migight be sosome more pressure with discussioions, polititical discussisions in the parliament. nevertrtheless the iraqi gogovernment needsds the u.s. coveragege. politicall

and our partners disrupted an iranian group's attempt to silence an american journalist on u.s. soil, the same person was targeted for assassination, again, by a group with ties to iran. fortunately their plot failed because we didn't. through the extraordinary work of f.b.i. agents and investors working with partners like the nypd, we successfully disrupted this heinous murder-for-hire plot. the arrest announced today demonstrates our commitment to follow the facts wherever they lead. to work our way up to leaders of criminal plots like this one, even after they've been disrupted. and then to use our long reach to bring those responsible here to the united states to face justice. the conduct charged in today's case shows just how far iranian actors are willing to go to silence critics of the iranian regime. even attempting an assassination right here in the united states. but looking at the threat from iran more broadly, we've seen the iranian regime become more aggressive and more brazen across vectors. in just the past couple of years, actors associated with iran have launche

an attack on u.s. soil. mr. obama said there must be accountability in the iranian government. two men including an iranian- american have been automobiled of planning the attack with the iranian military. they allegedly planned to kill the ambassador to the u.s. >>> hillary clinton will meet with the uc berkeley graduates jailed in iran. the men spent more than two years in a tehran prison. sarah shourd was released about a year ago. >>> gadhafi's son was captured in their hometown while trying to escape in a car. >> the search is on for a man at the center of the domestic dispute. police say during the fight he kidnapped a 1-month-old baby. the ktvu camera was the only one there last night as family members returned. we watched as the suv pulled up with the little girl secured inside. police say around 7:30 last night, neighbors reported a domestic disturbance. they say a man who police say does have ties to that infant fired a shot before grabbing a baby and fleeing the scene. the baby was returned about an hour later. police are now searching for the man involved. >>> serious charges are being leveled against a

american detainees are of iranian descent and iran doesn't recognize their u.s. passports. >> when i was in jail, i told them, i said look, i live in america, i have an american passport, i'm an iranian-american, i mean, what are you doing? >> reporter: iran insists the detainees ran internal affair. but u.s. officials want them out. >> these are american citizens who should be released and have the opportunity to be reunited with their families. >> reporter: today iran's deputy foreign minister suggested there could be some progress on this issue if and when a deal is finalized. but lester, this is not as straightforward as it might seem. there are many different competing power centers in iran. some want the americans released right away. others don't want them released at all. so in a sense they are caught up in domestic iranian politics. >> all right. richard engel, thank you. >>> a 23-year-old texas man was arrested earlier today, charged with shining a laser at airplanes. authorities say they confiscated a laser from the suspect, austin lawrence siferd. the faa said a bright green light was aimed at eight commercial flights and a police helicopter last night. so

. >> court papers alleged the officials conspired with an iranian american to plot the killing. bsiar traveled to mexico to hire a hitman. he made cover with an under cover informant. over six months, the informant recorded conversations and helped him solicit $100,000 from iranian contact adds a down payment. robert mow ire. >> these individuals had no regard for their intended victim. no record for innocent citizens that may have been hurt or killed. >> the spir tores discussed killing the ambassador and bob showed no concern over the potential deaths of innocent bystanders. they want that guy done. if the hundred go with him, expletive, adding the collateral deaths were no big deal. sources say bob, who was arrested nearly two weeks ago talked about wanting to attack embassies of saudi arabia and israel. he implicated by name, one of the officials. that man has been charged in the case, but he is still in iran and not in custody. bob ore, cbs news, washington. >>> a bomb square at the city college of san francisco's mission district campus is forcing neighbors to shelter. one

next an iranian american democrat is here to call them out on that. democratic strategist is you don't use this old thing, do you? no! or how 'bout this dinosaur right here? nope! then why are you still using a laser printer? it's got expensive toner cartridges. but this... is the epson ecotank color printer. no more expensive cartridges! big ink tanks. lots of ink. if you don't think this printer's right for you, just pick up your phone... (chuckling) ...and give me a call. the epson ecotank. just fill and chill. available at... ♪ researcher 1: some say e-cigarettes aren't dangerous. researcher 2: but science shows nicotine can harm teens' developing brains- researcher 1: no matter how they're exposed. researcher 2: let's do an experiment to find out. researcher 1: here's a teen who won't be using e-cigarettes. researcher 2: now, we need one willing to risk their brain development. researcher 1: anyone care to volunteer your kid? researcher 2: anyone? narrator: your kids are not an experiment. protect them from e-cigarettes. [music ends] >> he was a

. >> coming up, we talk to an iranian jew who left the country and said the jews that remain there are persecuted, but can't tell the truth about it. >>> an iranian american author wrote assassins of a turk (?) power, a nonfiction act targetting exiled opponents of the government in 1992. she was born in iran, raised in a jewish family, coming to the united states, in 1925. i recently spoke about iran, and the state of its jewish community. >> i have returned, as you know, from tehran, where i was trying to get a handle on how many jews there are. we have given numbers 15,000 to 30,000. hard to get a handle on it. few are than the number of us before the revolution. >> i think it's a great tragedy, not just for history of the existence of the community in iran, but for iran itself. there used to be 100,000 juice living in 1978. now the best figures that i have arrived at say that the community is less than 10,000, less than 8500. it's a tenth of what it used to be at the time of revolution in 1979. >> well, many reasons. at the beginning of the revolution, there was in 1979. a most terrifying event that chased the majority of the community away. was the e

next an iranian american democrat is here to call them out on that. out on that. democratic strategist is i am totally blind. and non-24 can throw my days and nights out of sync, keeping me from the things i love to do. talk to your doctor, and call 844-214-2424. thanks to the prostate cancer foundation's partnership with the va, all that is changing. if i could jump for joy without, you know, going off camera i would do it. the scans are now essentially normal. we all everyday hope for a miracle and this is as close to a miracle as we get. cancer research saves lives. go to pcf.org to learn more. >> he was a revered. >> he was a very popular man. >> a revered figure in iran and some other places in the middle east. >> even many of soleimani's enemies admitted he was a military genius. >> difficult to convey how revered he is. >> almost something of a cult figure. david: oh boy the mainstream media gushing over soleimani the man responsible for the deaths of over 600 american soldiers using words as you can hear like revered and genius. how about this one, from np

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

american women formerly imprisoned in tehran. >> sarah shourd can't tell you what it was really like inside an iranian prison, but american journalist roxana siberi can. >> i was told to sleep on the floor. given a few blankets. no pillow, no bed sheets or mattress. floor was made of cement and had a thin brown carpet on top of it. >> she was held in the tehran evan prison on the same ward, ward 209 as shourd and american academic asandiari. >> i was frightened. drew through the iron gates. >> wrote a book about the 105 days after being held in s solitairy confinement. >> on the floor, there was

an iranian american businessman lobbied for relations between the west. he was arrested by authorities in object. they have not been leased. in september, a lebanese information technology specialist was arrested. he had permanent residence status in the united states. reports claim that zacha has ties to u.s. military intelligence. there's jason rezaian, the washington correspondent in tehran arrested on espionage charges, and received his verdict, which is secret, while he languishes in the notorious prison. now journalists inside iran have been calling for political reformer targeted for arrest. in the last week, at least five prominent journalists have been custody by the iranian revolutionary guard, a powerful agency. the republican guard is more powerful than the police. it owes its allegiance to the leader ayatollah khamenei. these arrests appear to be the opening shots in a struggle between government hardliners and the moderate administration of hassan rouhani. the hardliners goal is to erode hassan rouhani's popularity coming out of the nuclear

we are joined by an iranian-american journalist following the negotiations. let's start with an open letter sent tonight by five members of president obama's inner circle - former members of his inner circle david petraeus and dennis roth included. the alert says that the nuclear deal may fall short of meeting the administration's own standard of agreement. how much and how important is a letter like this from former administration members going to be for the administration. >> it's an important member. they are important signatories from the conservative side from the critics of the iran negotiations. of the deal. also in this letter it was sponsored by a conservative institute in washington. so i feel like it's a little leaning towards the conservative side. n d.c. in the d.c. circle and is referring to may, it may fall short. that's the nature of the negotiations happening behind closed doors. every time you get close to a deadline we are not sure of the details, because that's how it's supposed to happen. different voices come out with concerns on both sid

this country done to the majority of the countries in the middle east if you're an american i am i going to be. an iranian american fashion blogger an american t.v. host criticizing u.s. policy in the middle east. it's two o'clock here in moscow and you're watching r t international with me and welcome to the program syrian pro-government forces are expected to help kurdish militia defend the city of a friend that's according to syrian state media it follows an alleged deal between damascus and the kurds under the agreement troops will help kurdish fighters to repel turkey's offensive in the region of video agency ruptly is film some of their preparations. and middle east correspondent joins me live with more details paula what else do we know. well we are hearing from some and state t.v. that the militias that i lie and with the damascus government are due to enter the athlon region in northern syria in the coming hours now they will assess the kurdish militias as they continue the air to fight against the turkish forces now this is a fight that has been ongoing for at least a month and has seen casualti

he spoke with iraq's prime minister about what are being called credible threats of an iranian attack on american forces in the region. the pentagon is sending an aircraft carrier, the "u.s.s. abraham lincoln" to the persian gulf region in response. it will be joined by four b-52 bombers.

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

the attack on the american embassy and the iranian attack on the american position up near kirkuk on december 27, this is all part of anng of iranian—backed militias in syria for months now. the iranians hit an oil facility in saudi arabia, they've harassed shipping in the persian gulf. this has been going on for a long time and this is one more step in the back—and—forth confrontation but no—one should have any question, this is a big step, to kill soleimani, one the most influential people in the middle east, that is no small thing. and the iraqi who died with him was also an important figure in iraqi politics. if soleimani has been killed, what does that mean for the irgc quds force and iranian militias — will they respond? they will certainly start thinking about it. iam not i am not sure they had contingency plans. iam not i am not sure they had contingency plans. i am not sure they are the sophisticated, they might be, they might not be. but there will be other commanders, that like is the thing about a state—sponsored terrorist organisation like the iranian revolutionary guards and the quds force. the iranians s