the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei has consolidated power. president mock moot ahmadinejad is not as big of a player and so we can argue that the nuclear program has been streamlined. in 2009 and after that, one of the difficulties in engaging iran and reach a negotiated settlements was the fact that there is so many players involved, players are often domestically opposed to each other. for example, ahmadinejad came under attack from the left in the right of the iranian political system for trying to broker a deal on uranium enrichment. city can argue that ayatollah khamenei is more confident going forward. as barbara mentioned he did threaten president obama for discounting or emphasizing diplomacy that he has kept the less ideological former president expedia council. one of his advisers have stated that iran is open to compromise, et cetera, that area. we can list a number of other positive indications. and the hope here is that sanctions will put enough pressure that he will back down. and we know he is a reasonable man. he makes decisio

supporters of the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei are against those that support mahmoud ahmadinejad. here is the subject that most worries many voters, over the last year, the price of day today goods has gone up. the economy is in trouble. >> the economic situation has become a large part of people saving lives. i don't feel that the elections will be as sensational as the previous rounds. >> this is a national responsibility. considering the increasing prices, sanctions, yes, our vote is very important and vital. >> this is why the rest of the world is paying attention, iran's nuclear program worries western governments but no one expects a change of policy following the selection. the ayatollah will still have the final word. >> over to you now. you have a story from china. >> that's right. three months ago, a little village in southern china made a big statement when is staged an extraordinary revolt. communist party officials fled after thousands of protesters took to the streets and clashed with riot police. they accuse the chinese officials of unfairly selling their land to d

law makers called it an insult to the authority of ayatollah khamenei. >> elections earlier this month exposed the widening riff among conservatives. >>> a scuffle broke out between a north korean delegation and south korean law makers in geneva. the setting was the u.n. human rights council. delegates have started discussing china's repatriation of north korean defectors. that caused the north korean party to walk out in protest, at that point the south koreans intervened with a blocking maneuver. the story received heavy media coverage in south korea. many of the reports say the confrontation in geneva helped draw attention to the serious abuse of human rights in the north. north korea called the scuffle a senseless provocation. >>> that's all we have time for this week. we close the program with scenes from the ancient japanese capital of mara in a traditional ceremony signaling the arrival of spring. the festival is held every march to pray for national stability. it's been be a served at the temple, a world heritage site for 1,200 years. each torch weighs a hefty 40 kilograms. it

supporters of the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei are up against the loyal supporters of mahmoudhmadinejad. in this contest, the ayatollah holds all the cards. and there's a subject that worries most voters. over the last year, the price of day-to-day goods has gone up, and the economy is in trouble. >> i think the economic situation has become a large part of people's daily lives. the elections have lost their color because of high prices. i don't feel the elections will be as sensational as the previous rounds. >> i will vote. it's a national responsibility. considering the increasing prices, sanctions and economic issues, yes, our vote is very important and vital. >> and this is why the rest of the world is paying attention to this vote. iran's nuclear program worries western governments. but no one expects a change of policy following this election. the ayatollah will still have the final word. james reynolds, "bbc world news." >> i want to bring you the latest from homs again. obviously we understand the red cross and indeed the syrian red crescent are on their way. we under

and whether obama will have the courage as well as ayatollah khamenei have the courage. i will leave it there. [applause] >> good morning. thanks to cato for inviting me today. i've been asked to basically talk about why diplomacy may not work with iran, what are the challenges. before i get into that i just want to commend people on experts, commentators, analysts who emphasize diplomacy with iran. because i don't think that a military strike against iran by the united states or israel would solve the iranian nuclear crisis. energy believe that it would be very counterproductive to u.s. interests and the middle east. and as barbara mentioned, there are signs, positive indication, that iran is open to compromise or engagement with the p5+1 and the united states. we just had parliamentary elections in iran with the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei has consolidate his power. president ahmadinejad is not as big a player in politics we can argue that iran decision made on the nuclear program has been streamlined. in 2009 and after that one of the difficulties in engaging ir

this man, iran's religious leader, ayatollah khamenei. high seeming turnout would strengthen him, not president ahmadinejad. elections have always been important to our country, he says, and the more enthusiastically people participate, the better for our country. at the london studios of the bbc persian service, televise to iran, i watched their election program going out live. audience figures have doubled in the last six years. this was their election phone in program with callers ringing in from inside iran itself. many people were analyzed that a former president -- were an elite that a former president had voted when he said he wouldn't. meanwhile, others were trying to jam the program electronically. what is at stake in this election? a biographer of ahmadinejad working for the bbc explained. >> the choice today is between hard-liners and more hard liners, if you like. if you have the more hard- liners' coming in, probably more hard-line iran will emerge. >> the opposition in iran is just watching this election from the sidelines.

the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei he once said that a nuclear weapon is anti islamic and i think he really meant it as far as i understand islam in your part of the world the government of an islamic country could never do something that's against the will of well then why are you this question why can't you believe the world and make the world trust you what's what's the problem i mean if you're going to do that why is this. i think that before we answer such a question the p five plus one member states should answer it to you. we have signed the nonproliferation truly. i.e. inspectors have spent a total of four thousand man hours touring various sites in iran we admitted that and we also installed and i cameras facilities in iran's political military and a religious leader. yours have stated officially that our defense doctrine does not provide for nuclear weapons. why is it that other nations who call themselves the international community do not trust us to get what more can a nation do. the reasoning prompted by the united states is the same as telling a person you are admit

the contest is heating up among ayatollah khamenei and president ahmadinejad. a group supporting the predent is fighting a tough election battle after many candidates are said to be disqualified by the guardian council. the council is a constitutional watch dog under the influence of khamenei. hard-liners of president ahmadinejad are attacking his fiscal measures of reducing substance. iran's economy is over its nuclear program. meanwhile, staged massive anti-government rallies after the presidential election in 2009 are leading to pressure on authorities. iran could take a tougher stance against western nations if conservative hard-liners expand their hold on power in the election. >>> two afghans have killed two u.s. soldiers in afghanistan. the burning of copies of the koran last month has stoked anti-american sentiment. spokespersons for the international security assistance force say afghans working with the americans opened fire at a base in the southern province of kandahar. they say isap forces shot and killed the gunmen. one was believed to be a soldie

the supreme leader, ayatollah khamenei said today those were "good words," but he dismissed talk of sanctions as delusional. >>> at this time last night we were being told by the nation's weather experts at noaa to expect a "severe geomagnetic storm" because of a major flare, a ball of plasma and energy, that had exploded from the surface of the sun on tuesday night. the dire predictions of what it would do to our planet didn't quite come true today. but the headline here may be we're in for more of these storms. tom costello has been watching all of it for us today in washington. >> reporter: hi, brian. good evening. scientists say the planet may have lucked out. they were expecting a category 3 storm. they got a category 1 storm and a minor one at that. and while it hit at about 6:00 a.m. eastern time, because of the earth's spin we seem to have dodged the worst of it. so far we've had no reports of serious problems with radio communications, satellite or gps connectivity or power grids. they've all apparently stayed online. but all of those systems can be vulnerable to a solar storm. what

of israel, not alone. 32% want stronger diplomatic action and sanctions, this while iran's ayatollah khamenei tightened his grip in parliamentary elections, undermining president ahmadinejad, iran's most vocal hardliner against israel. some see a face-saving way out for iran. the ayatollah recently repeated that nuclear weapons violate islamic law. but officials say no one takes that seriously. but prime minister netanyahu said today to the president he has not made a decision to take military action. brian? >> andrea mitchell in our d.c. newsroom tonight, andrea, thanks. >>> in russia, he's back. vladimir putin who served two terms as russia's president before becoming prime minister won his old job back in yesterday's presidential elections with more than 63% of the vote, despite rampant charges of fraud. nbc's jim maceda remains in moscow tonight where putin has already made clear he is not putting up with challenges to a comeback. >> reporter: brian, vladimir putin is now officially back in the driver's seat. his victory in russia's presidential election was so solid that even taking into

iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei placed his ballot.n day tehran and said it is the duty of every iranian to vote. >>> a spike in oil prices and bank of america strikes back with a new fee. ines ferre is here in new york. with that and much more. good morning eye necessary. >> markets in asia saw an end of the week rally. the nikkei added .75% to finish at a seven month high. hong kong's hang seng rose nearly 1%. on wall street, stocks were lifted by strong u.s. auto sales and news that applications for unemployment benefits hit a four-year low. the dow gained 28 points, the nasdaq added 22. the tensions with iran over its nuclear program continue to send the price of oil up. it is now just under $109 a barrel. that's an increase of more than $10 a barrel since last month. and bank of america is looking at imposing a monthly fee on some of its customers. it would affect customers with basic checking accounts. b of a would waive the fee if those customers agree to bank online, buy more products or maintain certain balances. back of ameri

from getting a weapon. 32% want stronger diplomatic action and sanctions, this while iran's ayatollah khamenei undermined president ahmadinejad. some see a faith-saving way out for iran. the ayatollah -- israeli officials say no one takes it seriously. but prime minister netanyahu said today to the president he has not made a decision to take acti action. >>> in russia, he's back. vladimir putin who served two terms as russia's president before becoming prime minister won his old back in yesterday's presidential elections with more than 63% of the vote, despite rampant charges of fraud. nbc's jim maceda remains in masako tonight where putin has already made clear he is not putting up with challenges to a comeback. >> reporter: brian, vladimir putin is now officially back in the driver's seat. his victory in russia's presidential election was so solid that even taking into account all of the reports of vote fraud -- and there were many -- he would still have won a majority. and tonight he let some 10,000 protesters know he's not going to tolerate them much longer. when a few hundred tried to ov

there's a reason that ayatollah khamenei is named the supreme leader. the final decisions rest with him. any decision that has to do with the nuclear program rests with ayatollah khamenei. it's impossible to get inside his mind and see what he's thinking about the nuclear program and if he has decided to build a bomb. i think that's the problem with this iran debate. there's a lot of speculation, political commentary, bluster and rhetoric that sometimes could distort reality. if you look at the facts, the facts show that there's no evidence made public that iran is actually building a bomb. that doesn't mean many countries aren't very worried that they one day will have the capability. now how to stop that nuclear program, that's the dilemma. many observers say it has to be a negotiated deal where iran can at least project itself as having gained something, not project itself as a loser, as a country that has cowed down to the u.s. >> so many will say it is real hard to collect evidence from an alleged crime scene when you can't get near the tape. >>> m

program is for peaceful purposes that cracked it is look there was a fatwa by supreme leader ayatollah khamenei two thousand and five saying exactly what he said a few days of course wednesday effect before the elections to date you know you know you're right. it is and to islamic they don't want a nuclear weapon they called their nuclear weapons and it is a civilian program according to the best u.s. intelligence once again according to the itself they are not the fellow being a nuclear weapon they are you know what it's called a leak in c period if they sink they're going to be attacked they could fill up a nuclear weapon according to experts in the window between six months in two years and of course they would be there before that if there is an attack by the these rigs by israel by the u.s. or by so it's very different to the north korea situation compared to the run it's called literally different. north korea be a very rational actors as well do you and kings or will has said that for the past ten years or so you'll only go back to because the asians specially with us if there is some so

important because time is on our side you had the election in iran you know i mean a job is out the ayatollah khamenei has started well and so they're having all kinds of internal problems tell you what do you think i agree with is it just a policy of deterrence though i mean because you know much of it is just rhetoric to turn much of it is saying i'm going to this is going to be a preventive preventive war well let me say a couple thing i agree with his assessment of the leadership they are not monolithic they have a lot of internal problems we should focus on that encourage them with that said we are fools to think the iranians have not already dealt with the north koreans look the north koreans are short on cash the iranians are high on cash they want to you can have up and to think that we have not exchange information about nuclear weapons is insane i do believe another told her it was reported in fact that there's a likelihood that the north koreans have shared nuclear technology do klute weapons of some sort the problem is delivery and panetta p.c.i. can notice that they don't know how to deli

>>> supporters of iranian supreme leader ayatollah khamenei clinched more than 75% of the seats. the iaea prepares to meet in vienna again to discuss iran's nuclear program. speak to go a pro-israeli lobby group in washington ahead of a meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu, president obama warned the u.s. will do anything necessary to prevent iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. >> i have said that when it comes to preventing iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon i will take no options off the table. and i mean what i say. that includes all elements of american power. a political effort aimed at isolating iran. a diplomatic effort to sustain our coalition and ensure that the iranian program is monitored. an economic effort that imposes crippling sanctions. and, yes, a military effort to be prepared for any contingency. >> as far as brent and nymex are concerned we started with brent back a little bit, 123.04 and nymex at $105.78. according to an hsbc report, rising oil prices have become the new greece in the eyes of investors. joining us for more 0 the senior director

the contest was mainly between conservatives who backed either ayatollah ali khamenei or ahmadinejad.t reformers were forced out of the race. iran's state media said khamenei's camp had secured more than 70% of 225 seats that have been decided. a run-off vote will be held for the remaining 65 seats. ahmadinejad's allies lost by a large margin. the outgoing parliament plans to summon the president soon for a rare hearing. lawmakers will question his handling of iran's economy. the victory by hard-line politicians could increase tensions with the west and israel. conservatives reject any compromise over iran's nuclear development program. >>> disgruntled russian citizens and a defined political opposition are keeping up the pressure on vladimir putin. thousands of people took to the streets in moscow to protest his victory in the country's presidential election. about 20,000 people rallied at a square near the center of the capital. opposition leaders say the vote was rigged. they include grigory yavlinsky, who was prevented fro registering to run in the election. one demonstrator said

will bolster his support in parliament and at the same time strengthen his position against ayatollah ali khameneiiran's supreme leader sees ahmadinejad as trying to reduce the influence of the ruling clerics. they have the final say in almost all political decisions. to keep it that way, the guardian council will that its power long before voting began, letting candidate -- vetting candidates and barring some established loyalists, forcing him to pick younger political unknowns. the power struggle could intensify after the parliamentary elections. lawmakers have summoned ahmadinejad to answer questions on his handling of the economy, a process that could end in his impeachment. whatever iran's new parliament looks like, it is unlikely to represent the will of the people. >> the will of the people was heard in geneva when you're ago when it became the first nation to topple its government and set off the wave of arab spring of presence. now the countries trying to come to terms with its past, and it is turning to germany for some help. >> to nations hope to learn from germany's experience dealing

ayatollah ali khamenei. flooding continues to affect large parts of southeastern australia with fifteen hundred people now forced to leave their homes in the state of victoria has been called in to help carry food water and sandbags to stranded residents the ones that ten rivers in the region could burst their banks may greet you south wales people are preparing for the possibility of the heaviest rainfall in over one hundred years. slogans promises and pledges of the usual attributes of any presidential campaign but this year's race in russia has seen some brand new creative weapons unleashed the internet has become one of the major battlegrounds although the content can be scandalous not entirely innocent parties are katrina to turn over looks at the online arsenal. there is been a lot of singing dancing drawing and even cooking this election season as presidential campaigns go in hot and creative. issues oppositionists afford hard in the online wars from wrapping and slating that put in the bed in tandem

districts the current leadership's main competitor is the united front of principle its backing ayatollah ali khamenei is the first nationwide vote since the presidential election of two thousand and nine that was marred by violence and a crackdown after allegations of vote rigging. a series of tornadoes have been tearing through the northeastern u.s. already leaving twenty nine people dead officials warn the death toll could rise as rescue workers continue to search for victims just just the past year alone in america twisters have claimed almost six hundred lives. well debate rages in the u.s. of a religion in politics all of this going on during the presidential campaign we've been to the streets of new york to ask people if they think that it's proper for government or media to support particular ideologies original reporting on the big apple went to find out. when is it ok for a government or the media to support an ideology this week let's talk about that i don't think it ever should. i think that the government is there to serve the people in the media is there to report the news not make edito

other after reaching the street between president mahmoud ahmadinejad and the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. ok i told you the markets now as i promised marina are standing by cross out the business that's going to see you so what how are investors reacting now to the only growing issues in the eurozone and of course upcoming elections but we'll get to the euro zone in a second but first let's start with the upcoming election and so far it seems quite positively actually the ruble is near six more days and as far as the stock markets are concerned there is soaring twenty four percent since the summer and that makes it the best performing stock market in the world and let's take a look at the latest figures the r.t.s. has slipped slightly into negative territory it's news in the south point zero eight percent at the same time and my sense is the importance of territory just and also let's have a look at that individual share moves on my sex rehab. with his boss is a national telecoms company and that's one of the top performers still of the day that's going after announcing an acquisition an

conservative groups supporters of the current president and supporters of the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. slogans promises and pledges of the usual attributes of any presidential campaign but this year's race in russia has seen some brand new creative weapons unleashed the internet has become one of the major battlegrounds although the content can be scandalous and not entirely innocent it is a country which overlooks of the online awesome. there is been a lot of singing dancing drawing and even cooking this election season as presidential campaigns go it's been hot and creative. with your opposition is a force hard in the online wars from rapping and slating to continue that it sound them to posting not so innocent video fakes. charges against it would include embezzle and financial fraud and abuse of office. compatibly grass it anti kremlin complaining that broke out in videos can seem a little toothless. was making. me laugh. can you believe. you. can't. leave the topic of ukraine not paying for russian gas present this video has been made on the kremlin's orders otherwise i don't und

each other after a recent dispute between president mahmoud ahmadinejad's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. or it's in the business there's not a fine marina talk about all sorts of various market issues hello to you so the eurozone issues upcoming elections are certainly here in russia investors in europe shaky but not here in russia. that appears to be the case for a first of all the ruble is close to six months is that we have the russian stock market which has sorts twenty four percent since december and this makes it the world's best performance not market this year but let's take a look at the latest figures both divorces are of course in positive territory the r.t.s. is adding point three percent the south rather my sense is adding point let's take a look at the breakdown of individual fare moves we have russia's national telecoms operator ross telecom which is gaining and that's among the top performers of the day actually following news of an acquisition at rave now we have them the company just announced its net profit rose to eleven billion dollars last year and we have the cd a

conservative groups the supporters of the current president and supporters of the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. flooding continues to affect large parts of southeastern australia with fifteen hundred people now forced to leave their homes in the state of victoria the army has been called in to help ferry food water and sandbags to stranded residents but there are warnings that ten rivers in the region could burst their banks in neighboring new south wales people are preparing for the possibility of the heaviest rainfall in over one hundred years. for the stretch of the markets with hello good to see you time to check out how the markets are performing this hour i understand it though the russian markets are fairly fairing rather well for two thousand and twelve yeah you're right roy they are in these and having sold twenty four percent since december which makes it the world's best performing stock market this year the ruble is also closest six month high but as you can see this hour we're looking at mixed picture the r.c.s. down around half a percent of them i think just in positive territory

are overlooking some important points which are for example that the iranian supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei said in a speech on the iranian new year that iran doesn't strive to possess nuclear weapons now that is a message of which is being given to the west and on the other hand as well obama had some messages on obvious or when he made accused iranian you your speech of pushing the iranians so yes we do have all of these pressures we do have all of these scientists i was at the same time and there are exchanges of messages being between the two and i think particularly if obama is reelected i think then we might see a chance that there might be some kind of a deal being reached between both sides when you talk about a deal being reached around as agreed to revive talks with world leaders on its nuclear program or these talks though in the past collapse in istanbul in january last year can we expect these talks to reach some kind of agreement if they were to come back to the table or the question is i suppose or i should ask you is the u.n. even interested in revived nuclear talks with ira

. >>> fox news alert out of iran, the country's supreme leader, the ayatollah khamenei, issuing an ominous new threat in marking iran's nuclear, he threatened to launch an attack as self-defense, khamenei singled out the united states, saying it will match its enemy's force, he used the speech to deny his country is building nuclear weapons but touted iran's recent nuclear achievements made despite crippling economic sanctions. >> president obama using iran's new year as an occasion to speak directly to the republicannan people, he compare tehran's free speech to the iron curtain of communist europe during world war ii. >> an electronic curtain has fallen around iran, a barrier that stops the free flow of information into the country and denies the rest of the world the benefit of interact w-g the iranian people who have so much to offer. i want the iranian people to know that america seeks a dialogue to hear your views and understand your aspirations. megyn: the president went on to announce a virtual embassy for iranians on social networking sites. >> we're also hearing today some major

the supreme leader ayatollah khamenei and mahmoud ahmadinejad.reign relations committee telling erin burnett the u.s. would know if iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon. >> that uranium that needs to be enriched is under the international atomic administration's supervision and so we would have a pretty good sense between our intelligence and the intelligence of our allies that the iranians are headed in that direction. and that would evoke the opportunity for us to act. >> 290 parliament seats are up for grabs today in those elections. >>> republican senator olympia snowe is offering more insight into why she won't seek another term. in an op ed in the washington post today the moderate republican from maine quotes founding father james madison's notes on the role of the senate. she follows that by saying, quote, yet more than 200 years later the greatest deliberative body of human history is not living up to its billing. she cites last year's budget battle and the debacle over raising the debt ceiling limit. breaking weather new

current president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, and those of the supreme leader ato la co-mkoco co-ayatollah khamenei. thank you for joining us. many of the reformist opponents are boycotting what they denounce as a sham election. also a crackdown on reformists. some will say this election doesn't matter but i guess, nevertheless, it will gauge where we are with the important internal politics. what do you think it's going to show? >> when you last interviewed me on this subject about almost two years ago i pointed out it was at that time at the height of the defensemen on 0 stragmonstr street, the point i raised at that time was that we have to look to see how the revolution is going to perform. what they can do in the next new year. now that we've come to the stage we have the first election since the last one, it seems that the military is quite uncertain. they are divided. although khamenei has the upper hand in terms of allegiance from the revolutionary guard, we should not write off ahmadinejad altogether because he also benefits from support from some sections of the revolutionary guard and al

. >> iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei praised president obama for diplomacy. p.j., how unusual is that? >> it is unusual. this is where 30 years of frozen, diplomatic relations really becomes an obstacle to progress, and it was very difficult because you have hardliners on both this side and that side that make the politics of this very difficult. we eventually understood after years and decades of negotiations with the soviet union and not withstanding our problems, we could find ways to cooperate. we even find ways to cooperate with north korea, but because of the lack of diplomacy and real interaction over 30 years both sides find this conversation difficult to start, much less difficult to sustain. >> i also have my conversations with you, though, p.j. crowley. thank you so much. >> always a pleasure. >>> now number five on the first five web story, changing times. springing forward, everyone. yep, daylight savings time begins tomorrow at 2:00 a.m., change your clocks and change the battery for your smoke alarm while you're at it. good reminder there. befo

they accused him of mismanaging the economy and of defying ayatollah ali khamenei, the islamic republic's supreme leader. the iranian parliament has the legal authority to ask a president questions, but it had never exercised that power until today. ten questions were read out in a live broadcast. >> thank god for having the chance to carry out one of our key duties as members of parliament, mainly summoning the president for the first time in the islamic republic's history. that will let people know it's a real democracy and not superficial and pretend democracy. >> sreenivasan: ahmadinejad was defiant in the face of the allegations. at times, he answered with sarcastic jokes. and, he denied challenging the authority of ayatollah khameni. >> these false labels cannot be applied to the government. but my life shows that i've always tried to defend the religious position of the supreme leader through my action and through proper right and logical statements. and to show that it is a system of compassion, justice, progress, hard work and solidity. >> sreenivasan: if parliament finds ahmadin

. >> reporter: last week, the supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei promised swift retaliation if any iranian nuclear sites are hit. >> we do not possess nuclear weapons, nor we will make them, but in the face of enemy attacks, whether it is america or the zionist regime, in defense of ourselves, we will attack them at the same level they have attacked us. >> reporter: but there's argument about whether iran would carry through on that threat. >> if iran should engage in a direct military attack against israel, there's always the risk of u.s. involvement, and the islamic republic would do anything in its power to avoid u.s. intervention in such a conflict. >> reporter: ali alfoneh, a resident fellow with the american enterprise institute in washington, believes that risk will keep iran from retaliating directly against israeli military targets. >> and they know that if they start a conflict which would run, spin out of control, and which would involve the united states, that would be a very, very costly conflict. >> reporter: there's another option, alfoneh said, more advantageous to

ayatollah ali khamenei is saying recent remarks by president obama represent a "window of opportunityup here. he says the president's comments tuesday in a news conference appear to indicate he is in no longer being in delusion." here's what the president said. >> at this stage, it is my belief that we have a window of opportunity where this can still be resolved diplomatically. that's not just my view. that's the view of our top intelligence officials. it's the view of top israeli intelligence officials. >> window of opportunity, reza. we're hearing this both from president obama, iran's supreme leader to possibly resolve this whole dispute over iran's nuclear program. do you see momentum building in that direction? >> i do, as someone that's been following this closely for a number of years, we really haven't seen the amount of positive signaling taking place in the run-up to negotiations that will probably commence in april or may after the iranian new year this month. but again, actions speak louder than words. it's very promising to hear the words of the extreme leader and our ow