there had been a slight loosening of restrictions since the election of president hassan rouhani, andt could lead to an easing of crippling economic sanctions imposed because of iran's continued nuclear program. trade restrictions that have been very, very difficult for everyone. but there's a push happening between opposing factions in the government. on one hand iranians are the descendants of ancient persia, the empire of poetry, flowers, the highly influential culture that goes back thousands of years. but the ruling clerical and military class are at best ambivalent, at worst actively hostile to much of that tradition. severe religious-based restrictions of speech, dress, behavior were ushered in by the rise of the ayatollah during the 1979 islamic revolution. ♪ ♪ >> so how does one have fun in iran these days? this is a line that is constantly being tested. alcohol is, of course, forbidden. you can get away with listening to rock or rap, sort of, sometimes. but you cannot yourself rock or be seen to visibly rock. not everyone in iran is delighted with what their country has beco

heavily in the liberal iranians that won the elections and in a sense, you could say that president hassan rouhani and his foreign minister are like obama, think there's no turning back and they need to nail this thing down. the others right, the more conservative, the more militaristic, the ones creating trouble in the gulf and so op and so forth. they are not as eager to normalize relations with russia. those that are exaggerating between the rain and united states is going off the mark. at the end of the day there's a generational issue that will take time for the united states to become partners or allies or whatever it is. it will take a long time to do that. >> thank you. alan fisher in the united states marwan bichara. we'll not leave the themes. iranian boats have reportedly fired warning shots over a singapore-flagged ship in international waters. the iranian coast guard said it went in to help them into the strait. last month a ship was forced into iranian waters by firing shots woods the bow. we are talking about a different country, in a sense it's tied in together. yemen's government

on saturday, iranian president hassan rouhani blasted the saudis in a speech. >> ( translated ): saudia is a government that does not understand and is not aware of the political situation of the region and the world and is a total beginner. it is trying hard to prove itself after many years. >> warner: the new saudi king, salman, has shown a more aggressive regional stance during his four months on the throne. and the efforts of the sunni powers in the region, led by the saudis, to counter shiite iran will be a top issue this week at a gulf nation summit hosted by president obama. also on that agenda: the u.s.- led talks with iran on its nuclear program; the syrian civil war; and the ongoing campaign against the islamic state group. last thursday, king salman had told secretary of state kerry that he would attend. but over the weekend, salman and the king of bahrain said they would not be on hand, sending other officials in their place. that left state department spokesperson marie harf today to deny it's a snub of mr. obama, triggered by saudi concerns over the president's pursuit of