in august, the ayatollah khomeini calls in his advisors, his closest advisors, and says, we need to settle the hostage dispute, and he assigns people to do it. i believe it was early september when deputy secretary of state warren christopher meets with an iranian counterpart a relative by marriage of ayatollah khomeini's son. they meet in germany and basically they have a deal. the outlines of the deal are there. the war comes, and the contact is lost. originally the germans had been the intermediaries. eventually, the contact is reestablished. but it takes months of difficult bargaining. a team led by deputy secretary christopher with the very skilled mediation of the algerians to bring about our release. the release came just after jimmy carter had left office and just after ronald reagan had taken his oath of office. >> was that coincidental? >> of course not. obviously this was a last slap at jimmy carter. i mean, the iranians had figured they had cost him his presidency. now they were going to deny him this particular satisfaction of seeing our release while he was still president. t

. >> back then, the speeches of ayatollah khomeini were recorded on audiocassettes the audiocassettes would be smuggled into iran and literally passed from hand to hand, recorded, re-recorded again. and those sermons, the political lectures that the ayatollah khomeini gave from his place of safety on the outskirts of paris, they created a revolutionary atmosphere inside iran. and, yes, we were slow to recognize just how powerful that movement was. >> if he was a hero when he returned to iran, he becomes in a matter of days very nearly a god. >> this was the first time that the united states had ever encountered political islam. >> the women, prodded into the future by the shah, voluntarily donned the traditional muslim chador. >> we were most of the world were really surprised by what happened. >> politically, it was absolutely fascinating because the shah had been deposed. he had fled the country and iran was in the throes of building something called the islamic republic of iran. fascinating to be in at the beginning of a new government, i thought. >> today it all focuses on the dep

this is not the first time the president has written ayatollah khomeini. the wall street journal reports that any cooperation with the u.s. and iran in fighting against isis would depend on reaching some kind of a deal on the future of iran's nuclear program. the administration refuses to confirm the letter exists and denies any coordination with iran or any link to a nuclear deal. congressional republicans unhappy with reports of this dialogue. >> obviously we understand that they have concerns about the threat of isil which they expressed as well. i would not look at it as a path to a different type of coordination. >> i don't trust the iranians. i don't think we need to bring them into it. i would hope that the negotiations that are under way are serious negotiations. i have my doubts. >> on sunday, secretary of state john kerry begins new negotiations with iran's foreign minister on that possible nuclear agreement. the white house puts chances of reaching a deal right now at 50/50. >>> an american air strike in syria has apparently scored a big win in

it is not the first time the president has written ayatollah khomeini. the wall street journal reports that any cooperation with the u.s. and iran and fight against isis would depend on reaching the deal on the future of iran's nuke program. the administration refuses to confirm the letter existing or any coordination with iran or a link to a nuclear deal. republicans expressing outrage at the revelation. >> obviously, we understand they have concerns about the threat of isil, which they have expressed as well. i would not look at it as a path to a different type of coordination. >> i don't trust the iranians. i don't think we need to bring them into it. i would hope that the negotiations are under way are serious negotiations. >> on sunday, secretary of state john kerry begins negotiating on a nuclear program. the white house puts a chance of a deal on that at 50/50. >>> an american air strike in syria hit a key target in the battle. the u.s. defense official says the major attack on the khorasan group is believed to have killed the most skilled bomb ma

ayatollah khomeini of iran shot off angry tweets about israel.n kerry just could not take it anymore. saying, they were on acceptable and shocking. talk about going nuclear. actually, this is rather serious. i am ashamed of the last graphic. that is it for this week's political unfriending's. remember to follow us on myspace, friends to her, and google plus. >> which of those do you think cut closest to the bone? >> our thanks to matt miller with his ready, steady pipes. ♪ >> where only on half hour a day, but we are live 24/7 on bloombergpolitics.com. the drug raids in the nfl and what it has to do with ray rice and everything going on. a troubled week of late. >> there is a piece on the site about how the environmental movement is gearing up to do with republicans taking control of the senate, already in control the house. you can read that and more on bloombergpolitics. "taking sto >> this is what i am taking stock of on monday, november 17 2014. the first activist agrees to pay $66,000 for the botox maker allergan. it ends the takeover battle

that day, students who followed the ayatollah khomeini stormede americans hostage.'t miss our special tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.. fast forward and iran is approaching a crucial deadline. it's the final day to reach an agreement with the united states and five other nations on its nuclear program. a program that has led to years of sanctions. the sanctions have helped lead to analysts say a surge in inflation in iran. with me now, author of the devil we know, dealing with the new iranian super power, national security analyst bob baer. so you look at iran 35 years ago and you look at it now. is it just as conservative, is it more so? >> i've lived this history and i wrote a book about it. and i wrote in my book that one day we would actually have some sort of detente with iran. i'm not sure i believed it, but we've moved toward that. and let's not forget that it was iran that attacked the marines in beirut. and so, yes, we've come a long way. the fact that we're this negotiations with them at times is very important. but the world has changed, as well. look at iraq.

the supreme leader, ayatollah khomeini's word became more or less -- law. to his enormous shrine from all over the country. ♪ the national holiday, khomeini died on this day, and his funeral attended by 10 million iranians. [ chanting ] >> don't want to miss the bus. ♪ south of tehran, the landscape opens up. only 300 miles of iranian highway stretching to the city. it is iran's third largest city. half the world, the saying, went back to when this was capital of persia and beyond. the city is renowned for the architecture, grandest bridges and mosques dating back to the middle ages. usa. from america. where are you from? tehran? >> tehran. nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you too. >> thank you very much. it's very beautiful. i'm guessing from the decor this is a former wrestler's hangout? ♪ >> tucked deep in the labyrinth of the bazaar, the smell of something, very, very good. this shop has been here doing the same thing for 100 years. and based on the line it must be doing it right. i had it in india. i had it in uzbekistan. there is no question who inve

they go it alone the iran supreme leader ayatollah khomeini. the letter describes the u.s.nd iran's common interests in fighting militants. there is a deadline in negotiations between the u.s. iran and 2350i6 other world powers. seems to be a trick to get a nuclear arms deal. we are going to work with the iranians to defeat isis. are we telling the presyrian army we are working with the people who are major reasons why they have had so many of them slaughtered? i think it is unconscionable. >> the president has reportedly risen to the political religious leader four times in 2009. house speaker boehner expressed extreme concerns. >> i don't trust the iranians. i don't think we need to bring them into this. i hope the negotiations underway are serious negotiations. but i have my doubts. >> they have not confirmed or denied a letter against isis. >> thank you so much for being with us. >> the president hosting a bipartisan meeting at the white house today. leland vittert is live for us with what is on that agenda. good morning, leland. >> good morning heather. it is up two-mi

ayatollah khomeini says the way to bring an end to israeli crimes is a vote that would end in the injection of all jewish immigrants to israel. he goes on to say the elimination of israel does not many the massacre of jewish people. the khomeini is calling for a referendum of palestinians and jews. >>> new this morning, the white house is promising a more satisfying experience for americans looking to sign up for obamacare. open enrollment on the web site begins on saturday. we are told consumers can start window shopping now to check out options. this is something they could not do when obamacare was rolled out last year. 7.3 million people have insurance through federal and state exchange. >> you can sort by deductible or by how much you want to pay every payroll period to find the best plan. >>> time for an early start on money. global markets higher after a launch date with hong kong and shanghai exchange. in the u.s., the dow and s&p 500 hit record highs. this morning, futures are higher. looking to build on the records. obamacare open for window shopping. enrollment for the federal ex

the letter he reportedly wrote to ayatollah khomeini. (coffee be♪ng poured into a cup.)ave your coffee from the artificial stuff. switch to truvia. great tasting, zero-calorie sweetness from the stevia leaf. >> ambassador bolton thinks -- >> notion of correspondenting against isis sounds superofficially appealing. but the fact of the matter is are differences with iran are far greater than isis. iran remains america's principle adversary. >> i don't trust the iranians, i don't think we need t to bring them into this and i would hope that the negotiations that are under way are serious negotiations. but i have my doubts. >> the white house isn't commenting on the correspondence. >> i think you know that i'm not going to comment on any private communication between the president and any world leader. but i will say this, first of all, as i have said repeatedly in public and others have too, we are in no way engaged in any military coordination with iran on counteri ining isil. >> the john hay initiative, the group that is trying to prevent iran from getting the nuclear wea

and most importantly, when the iranian leadership structure, we have ayatollah khomeini to press aheadwith the deal. this is very important development. >> the white house will be under pressure to explain exception to a skeptical congress. mike viqueria has more. >> going into the weekend, white house officials were making no secret of the fact that serious gaps remain between p-5 plus 1 leaders and iran. and they would not sign what they thought was a bad deal. u.s. officials have very simple goals, painting them in very broad terms. making sure that iran cannot obtain nuclear weapons and paths to those weapons are shut down, those centrifuges and heavy water plants. they want verify finaiable wayso ensure this. they were not there to talk about yet another extension. recall that the talks were extended back in july. the new deadline is on monday. so if there is another extension the white house and the administration are going to have to answer a very basic question. why, is there an indication from iran they are willing to meet the very basic goals of the united states to ensure th

after a report from -- vow of congress is tested after the president sent a letter to the grand ayatollah khomeini expressing a concern about i.s.i.l. >> it seems to be a desperate move to get a nuclear arms deal >>> joining us is corporal james, serving as national security advisor under george w bush, a fellow at the washington institute. ambassador, always good to have you on the show. president obama repeatedly said he had the authority to fight i.s.i.l., but said he wants to go to congress, because it's beneficial to the country to update the authority from 2001. why do you think he is going back to congress after saying for so long that he didn't need to? >> there's several interpretations of this. one is he's been uncomfortable with the 2001 authorisation, even though he has used it because he had no other authority back in the june, july august time frame. over a year ago he expressed the desire to replace it with an updated one. the other reason is he's looking for ways to cooperate with congress. my fear is, given his reluctance to engage, we see it to some degree in the fight against i.

the state news agency, the ayatollah khomeini stated he does support the extension in the talks.d he supported the talks all along. he talked about his religious order banning the production and stockpile of nuclear weapons. this is after the six powers held talks in vienna. they came up with the extension of the deadline to march 1st. >>> pele is in a hospital in brazil, but his condition is said to be improving. pele was admitted to the hospital in brazil for a urinary tract infection. there have been rumors about his health for months after an earlier hospital statement described his condition as unstable. >>> the seahawks starting to play like super bowl champions like they are. they were one of three games yesterday that i may or may not have seen all of. andy scholes has the latest in the bleacher report next. ♪ they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ho, ho, ho, ho] lease the 2015 ml350 f

some like the yoal ayatollah khomeini, and some run two terms, refuse for a third. feeling like it would make him feel like a king. franklin roosevelt was voted into office four times. but after he died, the amendment constitutionally limiting to two terms was voted into office. we'll explain next. >> i'm john siegenthaler in new york. coming up after "consider this," compromise again, why japan hacked into the u.s. weather system. >>> three american sailors attacked on the street of istanbul. a space probe makes history landing on the surface of a comet. >>> and the story of the pilot who was ejected from the virgin galactic. and the videos of ok go. right after this. >> protestors are gathering... >> there's an air of tension right now... >> the crowd chanting for democracy... >> this is another significant development... >> we have an exclusive story tonight, and we go live... li ve, the news has become this thing where you talk to experts about people, and al jazeera has really tried to talk to people, about their stories. we are not meant to be your first choic

we now find he has penned a secret letter to the ayatollah khomeini. your reaction to all of this, and what prospects and what process ii it all leading to? >> look, lou, this is catastrophic in nature. let me begin with the letter to ayatollah khameeei. since june of 2009, we have only been, the administration we let down,,let go of the % oppression of the iranian demonstrators in june of 2009. we have allowed iran to come to the escue of assad to destabilize bahrain and they are arming and supportiig the rebels in yemen. what did we get in return? did they stop the process of building the nuclear strategic weapon? no. it's not working. why do we have the intranuclear agreement at this time. lou: colonel, you get the last word? >> the fighting that's going on in iraq quite frankly has been led by general soleimani, the couth force out of iran. the component we're going to rely upon to take back northern iraq, they're the people that fled before isil. isil is being victorious, nott only in syria but iraq, and more american boots on the ground means more

top mullah in iran.s dana has the details on the secret letter he reported will he sent to ayatollah khomeini next 3rd and 3. 58 seconds on the clock, what am i thinking about? foreign markets. asian debt that recognizes the shift in the global economy. you know, the kind that capitalizes on diversity across the credit spectrum and gets exposure to frontier and emerging markets. if you convert 4-quarter p/e of the s&p 500, its yield is doing a lot better... if you've had to become your own investment expert, maybe it's time for bny mellon, a different kind of wealth manager ...and black swans are unpredictable. i don't have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. [ male announcer ] with stamps.com you can print real u.s. postage for all your letters and packages. i have exactly the amount of postage i need, the instant i need it. can you print only stamps? no... first class. priority mail. certified. international. and the mail man picks it up. i don't leave the shop anymore. [ male announcer ] get a 4 week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale

. >> what would move the president to suggest that iran's supreme leader ayatollah khomeini and the u.s. had a shared interest against isis and any cooperation fighting it is terror group would be contingent to iran reaching nuclear agreement by november 24th? we know for instance iran has been complicit in the rise to isis. we're talking about that secret letter that went out. >> i don't think the letter's going to lead to much. definitely turned into the appeaser in chief. appeasement in history has never really worked with dictatorships or terrorist regimes. >> isn't this letter another example of what critics would say is president obama acting with little regard for our allies as he tries to pursue this deal with iran? >> certainly, it would demoralize our arab allies and israeli friends quite a bit if there's potentially a lot of strategic cooperation. we all know the iranians really want an atomic weapon. this condemns the next generation of americans to witnessing a nuclear war in the middle east. >> the iaea just came out with its own report yesterday, saying that just weeks be

some like the yoal ayatollah khomeini, and some run two terms, refuse for a third. feeling like it would make him feel like a king. franklin roosevelt was voted into office four times. but after he died, the amendment constitutionally limiting to two real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america. >> if you think vast fields and tractors when you think farming you may be behind the times. that's because farming's future may partially be indoors. the new episode of al jazeera america's "techknow" finds that as space and resources become more scarce, farmers are redefining themselves and new technologies mean they don't need the sun. >> that pink glow is the result of the major innovations, more than 3,000 red and blue led grow lights. remember photo synthesis? it turns out plants don't need the sun's whole speck trim to do spectrum to do it. they only need certain colors. >> these lights are made to really focus. the red wave lengths, here i

just to correct you, it isn't the ayatollah co khomeini because he has been dead for a longtime. >> iot that dumb. >> clarify. i am dumb. >> he didn't say khomeini. >> it is not a bad idea that he sent a letter. why are they sending letters? can't they call them or send an e-mail? they sent like a secret letter. >> by the way, that's the upside. >> they can't read them. iti don't think it is a bad idea, but i am a bit skeptical of the idea that we need to work with the iranians because we are both trying to destroy isis. isis. isis as a force i we are retreating a bit. we don't need to saddle up with the iranians to destroy them. it is a terrible thing to do. >> he is wrong. >> you are watching the eyes glaze over. >> the trick is when you are talking to them on the television, you just look beyond them and it is fine. look at that camera there. totally fine. >> you have been writing letters to iran in the hopes of becoming a trophy wife. >> he told me i was the only one. i am a little upset. i was told i was the only secret friend. you know you have secrets if you know you are doing

maybe not in the next day or so, but in the next couple of weeks which then the supreme leader ayatollah khomeini reneges on. khomeini continues himself a revolutionary, not a compromiser. he remains the supreme leader, remains head of an irgc, the revolutionary guards corps who have been adamantly opposed for it. he's calling for an iran with a centrifuge capability ten times what it has now. so we have to bear in mind that the whip hand in iran has consistently been opposed to any kind of agreement with the west, even one that i think would give up more than they ought to get. >> peter, what about that idea that iran hasn't still kind of come to terms with the idea of making -- you know, making its peace with the world, finding a way to end a feud. if you read khomeini's twitter feed, he has a very active twitter feed, it's outrageously anti-american, anti-western. it reads like a 16-year-old anti-colonial revolutionary from the 1960s. there's a struggle within the political elite in iran and khomeini has good reason to be afraid. that kind of integration and normalization i think would, in fac

historic mistake, not only because it endangers my country, israel, that iran's ruler, the ayatollah khomeiniecause i think it would endanger the entire middle east and the world. >> so what others do very have if that is reached? >> first of all, we're doing everything we can to influence people not to make a bad deal and, of course, such a deal is something that would leave iran with a capacity to threaten everyone. you know, they're developing icbms, intercontinental ballistic missiles. why in heaven's name do they need intercontinental ballistic missiles? they need it to reach europe and the united states. >> do you agree with president obama that this interim deal has been a success and, therefore, if you can't get a big deal over this weekend, would you go along with extending the current terms? >> look, i think the iranians have used the interim deal to develop other elements of their program. it's true that they haven't raised the enrichment to the 20% level and beyond, but they have done other things, and they're doing things that we don't know about. in fact, the iaea, the internati

i think that's true of the ayatollah khomeini in iran, throughout the world so it's important not tot in a technocrat in the pentagon. you have kind of a flock of seagulls with the obama administration team. there needs to be a hawk there in a prominent position, so the president would be making a mistake by putting in a technocrat like ash carter. he needs a strong voice. >> we've got about ten second, david, and just looking forward with the foreign policy crisis. >> i think it's going to get worse. it's going to be very tough last couple of years for the president. >> well, on that note, thank you very much for joining us. >>> coming up, did the president miss the mark when he spoke out on ferguson? the roundtable is here to debate that in less than a minute. ♪ >>> back now with our politics buzz board. topping it off, democrat versus democrat. new york senator chuck schumer said his party misread the results from the 2008 election and it's now costing them politically. following major midterm losses, schumer took aim at president obama's signature legislation, the affordable care

the ayatollah khomeini as his own twitter account and has been about the success of the negotiationsn. >> does john kerry have a twitter account? >> yes. >> scary thought. >> can you make sure the boat gets into dock 4 -- >> that is nasty. >> sears events in ferguson, missouri. >> police officers marching by a burning police car during those demonstrations last night. a st. louis county grand jury has decided not to indict ferguson police officer darren wilson in the death of michael brown, but sparked riots across the nation. at least a dozen buildings were burned and looted, including restaurants like little caesars. police officers used tear gas and nonlethal shotgun rounds to disperse crowds. when you talk about what the violence was in ferguson, the majority of injuries were as a result of all of that teargas. >> there it is. you wonder what will happen again tonight. our team reporting from ferguson. give us another photo. >> number two, nypd commissioner splattered with fake blood at a ferguson protest in times square. oneypd spokesman confirmed arrest has been made. crowds ma

sort of noted the difference in approach the president's taking, writing a long letter to the ayatollah al khomeini. just last week we learned about that. now he sent james clapper. he's not sending a diplomat to north korea. >> he sure wasn't. since the alternative might have been dennis rodman. >> rodman's claiming some credit here, right? >> of course, of course. look, james clapper, who's the director of national intelligence, did a great tactical move here. he went in. he presented this letter. apparently there was no quid pro quo. he emerged with these two americans. and they're back home. and as the president said, that's a good news story. but strategically, there was nothing in this to show any kind of opening to north korea. and it's interesting that kim jong- jong-un, the north korean leader, unpredictable, missing for the past few months, has taken a number of steps lately that show he certainly is concerned about trying to get some kind of relationship. >> that's what i want to ask about. it appears if the president is not showing any willingness to negotiate in any formal way, going f

the president told ayatollah khomeini that the countries have a shared interest in fighting the militantsn reaching a deal on its nuclear program by the november 24th deadline. it is at least the fourth time president obama has written i n iran's supreme leader since taking office. middle east allies like israel and saudi arabia were reportedly kept in the dark. it comes as republican senator john mccain accuses the white house of not conducting more air strikes against isis because of its talks with iran. >> somehow, we're playing fo footsies with the iranians in hopes they will have an effect on isis. the sponsors of the 5,000 hezbollah that came in to syria and changed the balance of power when the free syrian army was succeeding a few years ago. this is not a strategy. this is sort of an ad hoc reactionary failure. >> joe, first of all, what do you make of the letter? >> first of all, our good friend carol lee was -- helped report on this story, along with jay solomon, "the wall street journal." when "the wall street journal" story hit yesterday, there were a lot of sunni leader, ally