not to mention that iran has. been very pleased with saudi involvement in bahrain and there have been clashes recently in between shiites and saudi forces to that and there's obviously animosity between the two. whether that is a motive enough to carry out an attack this big in the united states i have to say it sounds strange already matthew i'll get your opinion about this case because the more we look at it the more comical it appears i mean this is a gentleman even when his best closest friends say he couldn't walk in chew gum in think at the same time and he's making these really getting involved in things that can be so easily traceable i mean he seems like the most unlikely person to be carrying off this high level terrorist attack assassination you could actually be a prompt a war between two countries i mean what do you think of the merits of the case. on its face the the facts of the case as described by the attorney general eric holder seem very very strange they seem you know that because force has car

iran air. iran's national airlines, for supporting the irdc.twork operating in iran under an agreement with the iranian government. an individual and entities involved in human rights abuses, both within iran and supporting the syrian governments' repreparation of the syrian people. actions like these along with international sanctions have put increasing financial pressure on iran, and the effect has been amplified. they helped us deepen and broaden iran's isolation in the financial system. since president obama signed it into law last july, my colleagues and i have worked aggressively to implemented. we have met with foreign banks, regulators and government officials in nearly 50 countries. we explained to these banks and government officials that we offer a clear choice. a foreign bank can have access to the largest and most important financial sector in the world, the united states, or it can do business with sanctioned iranian banks but it cannot do both. for the overwhelming majority of the banks the chose is simple. some stopped the busi

now, with regard to iran, what kind of iran is israel looking at? i think in israel we are looking at an iran that is weaker. we are looking at in iran which is more isolated and we are looking at an iran which looks far more scared of peace than war. the iranian regime especially when it comes to its dealing with the united states is far more frightened these days of peaceful overtures than threats of war. why? because the regime has lost so much legitimacy, especially after 2009, the uprising there, that one of the last things, the last glue that is holding this regime together in terms of its legitimacy is the anti-american and anti-israeli sentiment. without it, the resolution ladies and gentlemen has lost all its meaning. in 1979, those people who went to revolt in iran, they where looking for economic opportunities. they were looking for justice. they were looking for war against corruption. today in iran the life of the average iranian is far worse than it was prior to the time of the shah and the shah was no democrat. but the situation worse

iran standings.s is not my opinion. >> translator: if you want to put an end for me to that dialogue. objective and tactical experiment. president obama and european leaders, whoever. those who claim to be the best. they can come with me. we should go together to any country they wish without any security guards. and we join hands and we go to the streets and then we will wait for the people. there is no need for any polling, there is no need for any media campaign. and we just wait for the people to show, to see their views and their reactions from japan, from the united states to indonesia. the french president, british prime minister, any of them, especially in arab countries. let's go together. they can also set the time and determine. we go together. we will see how the people react. >> we'll be back later in the show with more of my interview with president ahmadinejad. >>> what in the world is that message? who wrote the best selling book in iran. ahmadinejad, the supreme leader? think again,

against iran. but. i don't think it actually advances sort of the possibility of it ok matthew it's very interesting here i mean we have the election cycle in the united states and just recently iran also talked about restarting negotiations with the west over its nuclear program now with this story this bizarre story all of that seems to be just gone away and now mr obama is running for reelection and he needs maybe foreign policy credentials because the economy is in a in a in a rut i mean i'm this is not a conspiracy theory this is called politicking. i understand what i mean if there's one area in which president obama is doing very very well among american voters it's foreign policy it's national security so it's unclear to me why he would think that he just needs this this other point on iran in order to the polls or his credentials he's the guy who got bin laden he's been very very successful in in a ranging cultivating in bolstering an international coalition to isolate iran over its nuclear pro

what does iran say? you'll find out. [♪...] >> announcer: now get a $250 airfare credit, plus save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. certain restrictions apply. >>> we're back with more of my interview with president ahmadinejad. i'm going to ask him about washington's allegations about the plot to kill the saudi ambassador. one point -- washington alleges that iran's revolutionary guard qods force, its foreign expeditionary force was involved, and the head of that force. let me ask you, president ahmadinejad, about the controversy regarding the assassination plot. have you talked to general souleymane, the head of the qods force, and can you tell us that he personally assured you that there was no involvement? . >> translator: i think we must look into the root of the problem or the issue. the claims of the united states against our country has been continuing for more than 32 years, and they create different problems. they created a nuclear issue. today they create and say such things. we need really to k

i want to ask you about iran.here's been reports that are no longer one from iran to venezuela, the airship into madrid. is that so? if so, why the change? what information do we have about who was transported on what is a transported? the second question just a test for operations in latin america. what changes have we seen in their involvement in latin america? what are they targeting? emission money laundering in the tri-border area, et cetera. where do you think they will expand next and what is their goal? thank you. >> underplayed tissue, madam chairman, we understand the commercial flight that existed turning around and venezuela has ceased. but we do keep in monitor other flights coming back and forth. >> when you save flights -- so using an addition to this commercial flight, there were other flights that may still be taking place quite >> no, i don't want to be push into the information we gather from the intelligence would have to be discussed in a classified setting. as for hezbollah, are interesting a

already has on iran.an tell you that to date, wolf, what we have done as a nation is apply pressure to iran for bad behavior, for acts of terrorism, for pursuing their nuclear program, but we have not broadly enacted sanctions just for their political posture, the way the u.s. has against, say, syria or libya, and perhaps that is something that the u.s. could look at down the line as one possibility. but again, the u.s. -- officials saying on the record that they are looking at other ways to step up pressure on iran. clearly here they're not looking at military steps now, they're looking at financial and other forms of diplomatic pressure, wolf. >> presumably they have other steps in mind. jessica, when i spoke to mike rogers, the chairman of the house intelligence committee here in washington about an hour or so ago, he made it clear that based on all the information he's getting, and he's been well briefed for several months on what's going on as the chairman of this powerful committee in the house of r

to iran. my feeling is that this attack or the alleged attack is a sign of desperation. it shows that the stations are working and while we should not take anything off the table, i think what we need to do is use this occasion as an opportunity to assemble the coalition to increase the sanctions and follow the advice of admiral mullen, who recently said even in our darkest days of the cold war, we had direct relations with the soviet union. we should follow that with iran. now, when people talk about the sanctions not working, i am reminded to a good man i had the privilege of serving president reagan used to call the misery index. take a look at the misery index an array and over 30 when you count both inflation and unemployment. there's political turmoil. you had four joint elections. the fact that the ruling clerics are trying to undermine the president and in fact today there was a report that the ruling clerics would like to do away with the presidency. the nuclear program is not working

iran saw that as a threat to them. the saudis, the uae, other forces were pointing fingers at iran trying to inspire the shiite protest noouchlt in bahrain. so a lot of tension between saudi arabia and iran. a battle for dom nancy in this region and it doesn't seem like that tension is going away any time soon. >> we have heard the u.s. say they will hold iran accountable. what action do you expect saudi arabia to take? >> we just don't know at this point. even more interesting right now, beyond the dynamic of iran and saudi arabia, saudi arabia and the u.s., you know, since the arab spring really took root here in the region, we've seen

recently having sold monitoring agreement in iran. the state department, consistent with its policy was ignoring the law and has refused to identify any item that would trigger this provision. i know it has taken 450 days to deal with the court decision. any chance that the state department, the committee will pass or identify those items or equipment that can be sanctioned? >> we want to follow through on the law as it has been executed by you all and assigned by the president. i will come back with further information. i understand your concern. >> given the fact that iran is engaged in an act of war against the united states, you would think the state department could act a little bit more quickly. any chance he will sanction any multinational corporation under the sanctions act except for those companies owned by iran themselves? >> there have been a number of sanctions. i will let the secretary speak to this issue. >> iran sanctions. can you identify one company not owned by iran is subject to sanctions regarding the oil sector?

iran is doing quite badly compared to their peers. that is the effect of sanctions. >> thank-you to the panelists for your testimony. i want to pick up on what the senator was questioning. this week, as you have testified, we learned that there was a plot to assassinate the saudi ambassador in washington, d.c. on american soil and 150 americans were killed as a result of this and that was ok. the question i have -- i am wondering what the testimony would be had that plot succeeded. had law enforcement failed -- i am glad that they did not -- have the plot succeeded and the iranians had every intention it would succeed, what your testimony would be today about what our response would be? for months, years really, this committee has been saying we need to do absolutely everything we can do to make sure that iran does not support terrorist organizations and that iran never developed a nuclear weapon. what of this plot had succeeded? what would be employed caissons big -- with the implications before international? what can we ask of the

why would iran seek to target its enemies, saudi arabia and iran, using mexicans on american soil?s, why don't they do this sort of thing in saudi arabia, in, you know, why do they -- do they sort of involve all these other people? >> well, we're a more open society to put it mildly than sawed saw. probably easier to get to people in the united states than it is there, but there's a saying in that part of the world, me against my brother, me and my brother against my cousin, me, my brother and cousin against the stranger, and sometimes the iranians will take on the saudis because there's the sunni shiite divide. there's the power divide. there's policy in opec that they have some disagreements on, but to take on both the cousin and the saudis and the stranger, us, with one blast killing 100 or more people, saudi ambassador, american citizens, to do it in the capital of the united states, there's nothing they would like better. it would just i'm sure make khamenei's eyes and ahmadinejad's eyes sparkle. >> when you look at the history with egypt and the relationship with mubarak and

you blogged about the rivalry of iran.d have been in retaliation for actions during the arab spring. the ruling family is minority, their saudi muslim like the saudis. well, that apparently angered the iranian, who sided with the shi majority in bahrain and this may have been in retaliation to that. this is a lot of intrigue between the iranian and saudis. >> it's murky. check out my blog. thanks very much. top u.s. lawmakers are being briefed about the plot and why the obama administration is directly blaming iran. republicans are urging the white house to keep the pressure on the tehran government. >> i think it's certainly a hostile act and probably meets that parameter, but whatever definition it is, it's a brazen act attempt to be carried out on american soil and i don't think this administration has made the american people well enough aware of all of the activities. put it in the context of all the activities of the iranian. >> i think this plot is, it's a very serious breach of international behavior. and i would h

iran to suspend it. iran has weakened the international committee's resolve to maintain sanctions pressure. what is your current assessment of iran's nuclear program including their timeline, and does it jibe with those of our major allies? how is the u.s. working with our international partners to ensure that the commitment to sanctioning iran is strengthened rather than weakened over time? >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. you have raised the fundamental question, which has been laid out by some of your colleagues as well, which is, how do we move forward both to pressure and persuade iran to give up its nuclear ambition and its nuclear weapons program? how do we get them to stop their terrorism, their state-sponsored terrorism? how do we get them to recognize people's human rights? how do we get them to stop destablizing regions throughout the world? that is a very tall order? one prong of that two-pronged approach are the sanctions that we are discussing today. those sanctions must be thought abo

one, iran beware! >> we don't take any options off the table in terms of how we operate with iran. the united states will join with its partners and allies in making sure that they pay a price. >> president obama announced this week that an elite military unit of iran's armed forces was plotting to assassinate saudi arabia's ambassador to the united states, where he lives. the u.s. department of justice says flat-out that iran's military unit known as the quds force planned to hire a mexican drug cartel to kill the saudi ambassador to the united states at a d.c. restaurant. but federal authorities foiled the plan because one of the two plotters, manssor arbabsiar, worked with an informant of the u.s. government. arbabsiar, who has dual u.s.- iranian citizenship, is now under arrest in a federal prison in new york. the justice department says that arbabsiar and no concerns about how many u.s. lives would be lost if this plot were to be carried out. >> when the confidential source noted that there could be 100 or 150 people in a restaurant where the requested bombing would take place

against iran. >>> meanwhile, $707 billion is the pentagon's budget this year, considered by some to be a black hole of federal spending. today, leon panetta promised lawmakers to show in detail how those billions are spent. he faces mandatory cuts to his budget if congress can't agree on other cuts before thanksgiving. >> i truly believe that we do not have to make a choice. between fiscal security and national security. but to do that, to do that, will require that we have to make some very tough choices. >> our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, found the u.s. army already making some tough budget choices. >> everything for war is for sale here. military assault weapons, the latest ammunition rounds, missiles, drones, the newest off-road vehicle for special forces, complete with weapons on board. hundreds of frantic defense contractors are scrambling knowing congress is about to slash military spending in the coming weeks. >> right now, you're tech book is a little thinner than it used to be

, turkey pulling vera away from iran, turkey pulling hamas away from iran.urkey mediating between the israelis and the syrians and hamas and others. and the obama administration accepted that kind of turkish neutralism if you can call it that was advantageous to the united states. my own reading it was not. my own reading is that turkey continues to play a similar role today. the game has changed because of the -- because of the uprising in syria. but turkey remains -- it remains a blot -- or at least a break on a tougher policy by the united states on the assad regime. and as turkey has somewhat supplanted iran and syria in the region, rather than being a moderating influence, it has taken up the mantle of anti-israeli -- of a leader of anti-israeli sentiment. it's continuing to legitimate hamas. it has worked to delegitimate policy. the united states recently decided to sell drones to the turks after the turks broke off the military relationship with the israeli and stopped -- and stopped receiving drones from the israelis, they turned to the irene and say

has passed against iran.desires and secondly, it should be moving our legislation now in the congress so that we can get -- close the loopholes that exist in the sanctions legislation and tighten the noose. >> i know you and i have worked on that in prior stories about the loopholes which are amazing that they still exist. let me just ask you this. do you think that this is possible, jimmy rubin was bringing this up. china the biggest provider of foreign currency and driving their economy, could this force china to pick between two huge crude oil suppliers, saudi arabia and iran and end up isolating iran. >> it's a tremendous opportunity for the united states an the world to create that type of pressure. i think it's a great opportunity for the saudis who were clearly the first instance of who was going to be attacked -- to be part of making that case as well. i think we have an opportunity here to change the dynamics and close those back door channels that have been opened to iran, particularly in refined pe

the saudis pointing to iran. iran pointing to saudi arabia. a lot of tension and it's been boiling over as of late. suzanne? >> mohammed jamjoom, thank you. >>> the juv gloves came off again. the latest debate, a lot of facts and figures thrown around. some you true, some, not so true. tom foreman from washington to do fact checking. listen to comments from one of the front-runners, mitt romney. >> if you go back a few years before that clip and go to jfk's time, the government at all levels, federal, state and local, was consuming about 27% of the u.s. economy. today it consumes about 37% of the u.s. economy. >> so, tom what do we think? what do we make of that? >> what he's trying to imply, suzanne. the idea, the growth of government has become sort of rampant. crazy. have to bring it under control. government expenditures risen dramatically since the 1960snumbers are basically right. total government spending in 1963, about $27.7% of gdp, the last year of john kennedy the presidency. 20010, a dramatic increase. something he's not mentions.

by iran, or elements within iran.i have seen much of the evidence both in this committee and in the other committee, and the totality of the evidence makes it clear that this was a very real plot. this, to me, as the chairman said, in game changer. it takes it to a new level. iran has been for many years -- to actually be contemplating what would have been an act of war against the u.s., number one, killing a foreign ambassador on american soil in the nation's capital, but also it was clear from the statements that were made, that there was a willingness to kill hundreds of americans along with that. you have the willingness to kill a foreign ambassador and hundreds of americans. this is an act of war. i do not think we can do business as usual or carry on sanctions as usual. sanctions have been somewhat affected in the past, but because of this red line that was jumped across, further action is needed to make it clear how strongly we feel about this, and also, not just to send a message to iran, but two other nations

with regards to iran what kind of by iran is israel looking at? in israel looking at to iran that is weaker and more isolated at the iran that is far more scared of peace anwr. especially when comes to the dealings of the united states is far more frightened a peaceful overtures death threats of war because the regime has lost much legitimacy that a one of the last things, the last glue to hold the regime together is the israeli sentiment and about it it has lost all of its meaning. since 1979 they are looking for economic opportunities in looking for justice in today the life of the average iranian is far worse than at the time of the shop. the situation has worsened by multiple factors and the regime has to justify its existence. eight cannot through direct economic performance when inflation is high but when the level of drug use according to the united nations is number one. how can the regime justify its existence? the only thing is anti-israel in anti-american rhetoric. every time it gets close, we see more and fighting and more of a crisis

and isolate iran? >> i think it is a tremendous opportunity for the united states and the world to create that type of pressure. i think it is a great opportunity for the saudis who were clearly the first instance of who is going to be attack, their ambassador to make that case as well. and i think we have an opportunity to change the dynamic and close those back-door channels that have been open to iran particularly with refined petroleum products they need and their financial institutions as well. >> all right." up front" next, the terror suspect claims his cousin is a big general in the iranian military. iran calls its involvement allegations fallacy. and the gop candidates defending their economic plans in new hampshire tonight. none, though, as catchy as 9-9-t. ♪ [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. w

of course invading iran i think is out of the question at this time iran is a country of eighty million people with a formidable army u.s. is bogged down in afghanistan can't really leave or doesn't want to leave iraq and carrying out a war against libya so that's a problem but i think that we can see and i think this whole event is designed to ratchet up tension confrontation economic sanctions additional pressure and growing political isolation if they can by the united states against iran abroad is a military option in really a serious one. well i think that the united states has climbed the escalation ladder and whenever the escalation ladder is climbed to ratchet up an attack against the other side the other side then has to reciprocate that letter keeps getting climbed even if people don't want all out military conflict when they start climbing the ladder it can happen i think we have to really question what's going on here is it really in the interest of iran to carry out the assassination of the saudi or israeli ambassador in the heart of washington at a time when the iranian go

hand of friendship to iran.want any friendship, and thai making it -- they're making it pretty clear. megyn: you have eric holder saying that the united states is committing to holding iran accountable. what does that mean? sanctions? i mean -- >> well, we've already done that. megyn: they don't contain -- >> they don't care. megyn: has its eye on the united states, and that's been clear. >> well, we've had sanctions, but we've been unable to get a lot of other countries to go ahong. presumably, we're going to ramp up efforts on sanctions. technically, you could construe this as an act of war. now, you could make a lot of excuses saying, well, it wasn't the iranian government, it was parts of the iranian government. megyn: well, speak to that. before you go on and finish that point, speak to that. there's the iranian revolutionary guard, and then ahmadinejad and the government there. this is the revolutionary guard. >> yes, this is the quds force which we have designated as a terrorist organization. it's a milit

y dÓnde algunas naciones tienen vÍnculos con irÁn. >>> y si mÉxico piensa que irÁn es un socio bueno que nos quiere hacer daÑo a nosotros quiere destruir a mÉxico tambiÉn. >>> a miembros de ambos partidos preocupa que irÁn hubiera implicado a mÉxico. >>> si fuera mÉxico estuviera enojado, tienen que evaluar esto, porque la verdad es malo es un paÍs libre y sobarÁn como es mÉxico. >>> se acusa a irÁn de conseguir un ataque terrorista en buenos aires contra la asociaciÓn mucho actual israelita argentina en aÑos 90 y contra la embajada de israel. >>> hoy volviÓ a revivir irse el debate de designar a carteles mexicanos como terroristas para usar leyes de este paÍs en x combato irlos. >>> y tienen informaciÓn sobre la operaciÓn en mÉxico, y dicen que no se tratÓ de una ingerencia en asuntos internos de ese paÍs, como decian, y dicen que autoridades mexicanas estuvieron participando durante meses en la investigaciÓn y en la captura de el individuo ahora tras las rejas. >>> en el capitolio lourdes, univisiÓn. >>> y vamos a seguir con este tema porque en Últimos cinco aÑos la relaciÓn de irÁ

is fond of imposing sanctions on iran but now washington is considering sanctions on iran's central bank and what impact could that happens around. at the end of the day the iranians will deal with any new pressure and move forward the sanctions so far that have been imposed on iran have not had this sort of effect the united states the united states was looking for at the end of the day right now according to the i.m.f. iran's growth is is is is it is ok it has i think roughly three percent growth whereas the united states is not growing at all and neither is europe but the more pressure that the united states tries to impose upon iran the iranians will push back as well but the iranian regime in our audience will push back in what manner would they push back you talking all prices or. no i think that the iranians have many we need to put pressure on the united states look how this situation in the region is unfolding already you have all america's allies in the region are becoming more and more unstable and the only country really in the region that is stable is is iran. but if i could

developing a radio free iran, a television free iran, an internet free iran.re lots of things to replace this dictatorship and it's a mistake not to find to deal with them as obama has because in the end they are our mortal enemies. >> greta: and in the sense, there was more unity against them. now with the internet we've got so many countries that are with syria and dirty dealing and leaks in the term of commerce and sanctions. is it possible to employ the laying anesque posture? >> in both cases you have a narrow dictator sitting on top of an amazing number of unhappy people. in syria, you have a small tribal dictatorship, 6% of the country, the other part of the country wants to get rid of him. in the case of iran you have a dictatorship in a country that is 51% speaking and 49s% speak other languages other than farsi. younger iranians overwhelming hate the government. if you had an intelligent clever approach to these things you should be able to make a replacement movement. why can't you have an iranian summer. this arab spring talk, we ought to have a cu

confrontation with iran. the plot centered on capitol hill and a popular restaurant at lunchtime. all timed, say officials to assassinate the youthful saudi arabian ambassador to the united states, adel al jubeir. >> we have resolved to fight terrorism. >> reporter: prom innocent symbol of a government who has been increasingdly arch enmiliof iran in the region. >> when confidential source noted there could be 100 or 150 people in a fictional restaurant where the requested bombing would take place, the lead defendant said no problem, and no big deal. >> reporter: u.s. officials pointed the finger squarely at factions in the iranian government and members of a special operations unit of the revolutionary guards, the quds force, which reports directly to the grand ayatollah. >> this conspiracy was conceived, was sponsored, was directed from iran. >> reporter: in a criminal complaint that was compared to a hollywood script, officials said an iranian-american from corpus christi, texas, 56-year-old manssor arbabs

and isolate iran? >> i think it is a tremendous opportunity for the united states and the world to create that type of pressure. i think it is a great opportunity for the saudis who were clearly the first instance of who is going to be attack, their ambassador to make that case as well. and i think we have an opportunity to change the dynamic and close those back-door channels that have been open to iran particularly with refined petroleum products they need and their financial institutions as well. >> all right." up front" next, the terror suspect claims his cousin is a big general in the iranian military. iran calls its involvement allegations fallacy. and the gop candidates defending their economic plans in new hampshire tonight. none, though, as catchy as 9-9-t. [ cellphone rings ] ♪ [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry

a very thorough investigation proved that iran, the highest echelons of iran including its regime wereor plotting and carrying out the bombing of the israeli embassy in buenos aires. these people have tentacles, bloody fingers that reach all across the world. we are facing them every day in the form of hezbollah in the north and hamas in the south who are nothing but proxies of iran. so now they've reached out to washington, d.c., and i would certainly not put it beyond them. there is nothing that this regime will stop at on its quest to terrorize the world and export shia extremism. they're trying to do it in the arab world and the muslim world, and they've now, i believe, reached also the united states. i would be very careful about discounting the possibility that it is iran. i think that something like this could not happen without the very direct involvement of not only iran's president ahmadinejad, but its, its religious ruler or the ultimate ruler, khamenei. this is a country that will stop at nothing to terrorize the world. america is, for it, the big satan. we are the small sa