but after iran iian and u.s. tensions increased, after iran was labelled as being part of the axis of evil, iranian cooperation in afghanistan with the united states really diminished. the supreme leader who has never been crazy about cooperation with the united states viewed the approach as not being successful and a lot of conservatives in iran also thought to themselves, well, iran helped overthrow and helped establish the karzai government and look what it's getting in return, has been labelled as part of the axis of evil. but there are still things iran is doing in afghanistan that could portray as being valuable to the united states and to afghanistan as well. iran is one of the biggest economic players in afghanistan. there are thousands of iranian businesses operating in that country. the western part of afghanistan he especially the city is very closely linked to iran in terms of its energy infrastructure, iran has built roads in western afghanistan. it's building a railway and has spent hundreds of milli

iran viewed the u.s. invasion of afghanistan in very pragmatic terms. back then, of course, president muhammad ha tammy who was a reformist was a reformist i suppose still was president of iran. iran was very much concerned about the u.s. reaction to 9/11. it was worried about how the u.s. was going to behave toward iran. and essentially both countries were on the same side. iran was helping the northern alliance which was composed of pro-iranian tajik and ha zhara groups. actually, iran was probably the biggest supporter of the northern alliance along with russia and, et cetera. and there were even reports that iran helped provide intelligence to the united states in battling the taliban. the former commander in chief of the iranian revolutionary guards interview stated that there were iranian intel officers embedded with northern alliance units that were helping u.s. forces combat the taliban. and after the taliban was overthrown, iran played a crucial role in establishing the karzai government during the bonn conference of 2002. i want to go into grea

u.s. policy towards iran. iran is influential in iraq. it is hoping that the u.s. withdraws from afghanistan without maintaining permanent presence in afghanistan. iran is very much against any sort of status forces agreement between the united states and the afghan government and it's exerting a lot of pressure and influence in afghanistan, including arming the taliban in a very limited manner. so there are ways to exercise this power. reports suddenly that iran is also helping rebels in yemen, the rebels in the north and potentially al qaeda, and this is just not meant for the united states. it's also a signal to saudi arabia and countries like the uae that are supporting the u.s. sanctions regime against iran. and, again, looking at sanctions, drawbacks, weren't of the drawbacks, there you are things iran can do in the region to counter when it is faced by sanctions and a u.s. military attack. iran, despite the loss of influence, a very powerful actor in the region. the fact iran threatened to close the strait of hormuz is in itself an act of deterrence and retal

u.s. diplomacy toward iran. my read of what the congress is up to is that they want to appear very, very concerned to various interesting constituencies about the problem and that's about it. the one saving grace that we may have is that as an institution, they are cowardly enough to ignore the power granted to them in article i, section 8 of the constitution, which, indeed, gives them the power to declare war. we used to do that, declare war. now we've reverted to hand waving and table pounding, which may be a good thing. congress often does bone-headed things to get its oar in the lake of the iran/u.s. diplomacy, but have not really provided hope or anything constructive, i think, to the diplomatic agenda that the administration is following. as for the obama administration itself, you have to give it credit. it put its neck out there on the campaign, saying that it was open to diplomacy. in 2009, gesturing in the direction of diplomacy. i perceive not too terribly much interest in spending gobs and gobs of po

i think, you know, the unfortunate part of the conflict with iran is that u.s. interests are damaged elsewhere. and i think that's just a natural part of foreign policy. but that's something we should take into account that by pressuring the iran, this has ramifications for u.s. interests but also for smaller countries like afghanistan, even pakistan and other countries in the region. >> thank you. so we'll open the floor. and please do identify yourself when you speak and you can put up your hand for me to see. there's a question right here, then i'm coming to you. >> thank you. i'm a fellow at the national endowment for democracy. i have two questions. how much -- do you think pakistan's involvement or participation in afghanistan is the solution to afghanistan in terms of, like, the accord of the bonn conference? there is a lot of evidence the taliban no longer trusts pakistan. they could be anti-india once they come back to power. like will the taliban trust pakistan if they come back to power? my question to you is pertaining to jendola. i think there was a

iran's nuclear program very much. the military strike will set back the u.s. objective of democracy in iran and could lead to greater instability in the region. diplomacy is a solution and barbara mentioned that the goal is really to manage the situation to prevent an armed conflict. in terms of diplomacy, going to rely on diplomacy, this situation can go on and on and on for several years and ultimately there has to be a solution not just to the iranian nuclear program but a solution to the islamic republic and our relations with the islamic republic. i would argue that as long as itoe la is in power in iran, we will not solve our problems with iran, that he is not amenable to normal relationship with the united states and he is going to do everything in his power to under mine u.s. interests in the region. i think the good news is that iran has not decided to weaponize its program, the u.s. intelligence community assesses that there is no indication that homany and the leadership decided to weaponize the program and given the vulnerabilities they face at home

it's not necessarily -- my view on this is not that iran does not want the u.s. in afghanistan. in 2001, iran helped u.s. go to afghanistan. not that the u.s. uses afghanistan to attack its soil. it wants that it recognizes the cooperation that they can give. it wants u.s. to give it recognition of regional leadership. ponder on that. and also it would like it to separate the nuclear from afghanistan. these are the demands on that side. >> yeah. i agree with you, i just don't think the united states and iran can come to terms on those dilemmas. those are not things that we can give iran. >> okay. just my final word is it's -- even though i have been a realist on this, i actually do believe diplomacy can save the day and should stave day. i think that obviously let us consider that it may not be about afghanistan and the solution to your problem of how can we get the countries not to interfere in afghanistan is actually -- understand that each of these countries or groups of countries have their own security problems. the kashmir problem, the iran problem, the gulf problem, et cet

so as president obama said, a nuclear iran is unacceptable. a u.s. military strike could almost certainly destroy iran's key nuclear facilities. this could set iran back. i estimate it would set iran's program back between three to ten years. iran could end up permanently without permanent weapons. there's a significant upside to a strike. there are also down sides to military action. i think that these risks are often exaggerated and aren't quite as severe as many people believe and that united states could put in a straty to mitigate many of these down side risks. it's important to understand that iran doesn't have a strong conventional military. rather that i ear developingcy symmetric military attacks. it could cause problems in the persian gulf, up to and including of closing the strait of hormuz. we have to think, what would iran do? iran would have its own strategic dilemma after the strike. on one happened, it would want to strike back to save face domestically and internationally, on the other hand, its primary goal is to continue to exist. s

mixed reports on new nuclear talks with iran. u.s. dip dips are meeting iran negotiators in turkey. and the atmosphere is described as constructive, but iranian media denying a report of a private meeting with a u.s. inn - envoy. i am jamie colby. keep it here on fox. >> even france is doing. french tire maker is adding 500 yob mud west and investing in plants in south carolina. steve, you say thanks to the french for showing us the way to create more jobs. >> what a contrast to europe. we don't have labor. right to work in indiana. and the governor reports that the phone is ringing off of the hook. private sector jobs and right to work states up. and pro union states down. and look atitate economic growth in right to work states and only fren percent in nonright to work states. labor flexibility is good and creates more prosperity. >> bill, surprise, you give businesses freedom to be in a right to work state and they will create more jobs. no brainer. >> it is all about stats and free loaders. vote in a union, that contract should app

u.s. goal is to prevent iran from developing a nuclear weapon. i think this was also very useful during the netanyahu/obama talks. instead of talking about a nuclear weapons capability, which is what this senate resolution discusses and what thei israelis have been harping on for years, this is a nuclear weapon, much easier in terms of preventing a conflict and much easier in terms of negotiations. it gives a lot of leeway for the iranians to maintain an enrichment program but not a nuclear weapons program. that definition will be key if we're going to be able to achieve some sort of success. there's a very good report that's out from the congressional research service just yesterday that talks about the fact that iran -- of course, we know that they've dispersed their nuclear facilities widely across the country, but also there are accounts that they have centrifuges and places to make centrifuges widely dispersed throughout the country, which means there is no military solution to the iranian nuclear program. you can bomb the known sites. you c

u.s. war correspondent chris had just in an hour here on r.t. . iran as warily welcomed their recent report that the u.s. could allow iran to continue enriching uranium if there's logic republic agrees to unrestricted inspections this comes after talks resumed between tehran and world powers some on capitol hill have been calling for a direct engagement with iran but as archie's got it she can now reports the cry for conflict remains louder your thirty six the number of u.s. lawmakers have proposed a bill to end the no contact policy between the u.s. and iran after three decades of diplomatic silence congressman dennis kucinich is one of them which he says the old approach when washington wants to resolve differences with iran through not talking to them is unsustainable we're being told we should have any contact with them we're being told that we shouldn't be negotiating with them we're being told. to get ready for war all of that is wrong what we need to do is to have direct negotiations we need to be talking with iran and we need to stop this vaing

we're not speaking to each other opponents of direct talks with iran argue why the u.s. should do it before iran lift its own ban on negotiating with the u.s. are the iranians ready for direct talks i don't see the iranians lifting their ban before the u.s. does that's because the iranians are in a much weaker position than the united states and so it does take more capital for them to agree to such steps opinion polls show the majority of americans seven out of ten say yes to diplomacy with iran but is that a message their representatives want to hear so the voices of. arms merchants of war contractors. but people who just make money off a war don't care where the war is or who would urge or just want to make money and if they can push the us and spawning another war they'll do it and members of congress have to be wise as to when they're being played by interest groups who may want them to vote in one way but it would be a way that would be adverse to the interests of the american people with a decision to outlaw any contact with the rate of government american lawmaker

iran. saudi arabia is much more like toy to accept a u.s. security guarantee, because we have so many more capabilities to protect them, conventional and otherwise, than a pakistani deterrent, which would be my last point, which is the world doesn't stand still once iran gets a nuclear weapon. other actors will do pad things, and some like the united states could step in and try to provide disincentives for countries to proliferate, to include security guarantees, the threat of sanctions to dissuade them and other things. we have options, and the fact we have those options historically is the reason why nuclear cascades haven't happened before. >> we've come to the point in the program where our two discussants get to question each other directly. don't hurt each other. i'm in the middle. >> i don't know who starts. >> feel free. >> in the past you've talked about if iran crosses certain red lines, you know, you wrote an article in foreign affairs talked about if they started installing next-generation centrifuges, making it possible for them

iran can't match the u.s. navy in terms of strength but its managed to put the americans on high alert. >> the main reason? the memory of the attack on the uss coal and it was off the coast of yemen. 17 sailors died. u.s. navy commanders are worried iran might use high-speed boats to do the same thing should another emergency arise. >> the use of small boats, especially if they're suicidal and they do number in the hundreds, is very difficult to defend against. traditional naval battles have been fought between large ships. >> and so, the u.s. navy is doing something it's never done before. it's using several state-of-the-art unmanned aircraft to survey the persian gulf. the planes keep around the clock watch for suspicious activity at sea. the navy's also equipping all its vessels in the gulf with precision cannons capable of shooting approaching high speedboats. and the preparations don't end there. the u.s. military leaders have a contingency plan in place, should iran's revolutionary guard navy try to bloc

iran which are set to begin this week. "the new york times" reports that the u.s. will open talks that iran immediately close and disarm a new nuclear facility deep under a mountain. president obama has said that the talks are iran's last chance for a diplomatic solution. >>> the u.s. in afghanistan are announcing a deal on controversial night raids by american forces. the raids have been a constant source of tension between the countries.

u.s. and the benefits iran. tavis: for this weekend, what are we putting on the table. >> we are not putting that much on the table. a lot of public conversations about what is being put on the table,, we want to give up the stockpile that they do have right now. they want to make sure that they close a new facility that is deep underground. those are not necessarily bad demand, i think they make a lot of sense in terms of political perspective. what is it likely that the iranians are going to say yes have there are no incentives put on the table to exist -- to lift some of the existing sanctions. the real question is going to be, will there be a balance between demand and the incentive that is put on the table? tavis: what is the incentive to offer incentives? what is the incentive to come down or back out on some of these sanctions? >> i think they will be a critical component here. they will be mindful of the fact that most of these will go through congress. they might even be able to play with them as they g

u.s. and five other countries are scheduled in this weekend to begin negotiations with iran over its nuclear program. last week, the world fairs council of washington hosted a discussion on whether the u.s. should attack iran to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons. this is an hour and 45 minutes. >> caller:. >> good evening and welcome to the world affairs council washington, d.c.'s program world fairs today which will air as a weekly television hour that broadcasts on mh c-net works world view television each sunday morning. as a courtesy to our audience here and home it, please turn off your cell phones at this time and also another note during the q and a period that will follow the debate, the microphone will be placed up here in the front. i ask that you please come to the microphone to ask your questions. i'm heidi shoup, president of the world fairs council. it's my pleasure to welcome you all here this evening. our program focuses on the sanctions imposed on iran by the united states and others and the prospect of military confrontation. this program is the latest of

defense secretary leon panetta is dismissing iran's claims that it has recovered data from a u.s. drone that when down in iran last year. officials in tehran claim they are building a copy of that drone. fox news just learned iran is makingovertures to the chinese. to potentially give them access to the sensitive drone technology. meanwhile, someone has launched a cyber attack on an iranian oil facility. the virus infected the control panels of iran's largest crude oil export plant. iranian state tv quote officials insisting there is no permanent damage. the u.s. and afghanistan struck a new support deal for after the u.s. troop withdrawal. after troops pull out in 2014. washington also pledged it will not launch attack on other countries from afghanistan soil. north korea is threatening actions but most see it as bluster from the north koreans. officials in the south did not detect military move in the the north. france may be headed for a major political shift. senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot tells us what is on the line. >> you couldn't tell it, but the french p

u.s. navy personnel have steered two aircraft carriers into the gulf. they're watching iran's movements. and the irania and the iranian authorities know it. they recently they recently ordered high speed boats to harass the u.s. vessels by repeatedly approaching them. the boats are believed to be able to go faster than 100 kilometers per hour. iran can't match the u.s. navy in terms of strength, but it's managed to put the americans on high alert. the main reason, the memory of the attack on the "uss cole" in 2000. suicide bombers suicide bombers used a small boat loaded with explosives to target the ship when it was off the coast of yemen. 17 sailors died. u.s. navy commanders are worried iran might use high speed boats to do the same thing should another emergency arise. >> the use of small boats, especially if they're suicidal and they do number in the hundreds, is very difficult to defend against. traditional naval battles have been fought between large ships. >> reporter: and so the u.s. navy is doing something it's never done before. it's using several state of the art unmanned airc

iran. sfaft, there's a lot of concern that a u.s. or israeli attack would give the regime an excuse to brutally oppress the opposition, could rally support around the hard-liners for some period of time. i don't know what effect it could have. it could have other effects over the long term, but i don't see it as being productive to helping the opposition or leading to a short-term regime change. i think -- the last point i would make is i think we have to be careful about -- i mean regime change in iran would be good for the iranian people. whether it would solve the nuclear issue is an open question. it would largely depend on what type of regime. where the dispute happens is is whether that program should be weaponized or not. the thing that concerns me about a strike on iran's nuclear program is that ultimately it could convince people who are on the fence about whether iran needs a nuclear deterrent or not, that they need one as the only way to prevent iran from being attacked again by israel or the united states or whatever. i d

is iran take it out on u.s. and not allowing such a thing to happen where iraq recounts the battlefield and a proxy war happens? >> the question is how would iran react to sanctions recently? >> iran is react into u.s. policy is overall in the region not specifically on sanctions, but you have to look at the higher u.s. policy towards iran. iran is potential in iraq and is hoping from afghanistan without maintaining permanent from afghanistan. iran is very much again any source agreement in the afghan government entities exerting including arming those airwaves around can exercise. this is not meant for the united states in the signal to saudi arabia and the uae and the sanctions regime against iran. again, looking at sanctions there are drawbacks and the drawbacks that iran can we encounter u.s. interests when it is faced by sanctions. they're a very powerful act carries in the region and the fact that iran has threat to the strata for those in itself and not of deterrence and retaliation, oil prices have gone u

iran says it's making a copy of a u.s. drone that went down last year. what the implications of this news could be for iran, the u.s. and beyond. the immigration fight takes center stage at the u.s. supreme court. arizona's controversial law will go before the nation's highest court this week. we will hear from both sides about the significance of that case. and new reaction from washington over the secret service scandal. i'm shannon bream. america's news headquarters, live from from the's capitol sts right now. several high-ranking members of congress say there is much more to be learned about what happened in the prostitution scandal with secret service agents and members of the military in columbia. they are going to get to the bottom of it. steve centanni has more. >> the chairman of three congressional panels in both the house and the senate are getting involved, this includes senator joseph lieberman of connecticut, who has had questions to the secret service director this week. >> for instance, what are the regulations, the rules of conduct that a

accurate that recent talks on iran's nuclear program gave iran a freebie, it will have a significant effect on north korea's negotiating posture when u.s. officials try to resume diplomatic talks. the reverse is probably true. too generous a deal with north korea will probably. bolden iran to push for tougher talks. >> thank you for inviting uls to testify today on some important subject. i have a concern about the human rights situation and humanitarian food aid issues but would like to focus on three issues for now. first, why did north korea do this so soon after the agreement? second, does this mean we now have a breather because the icbm test failed? and third, what should we do? on the why, i don't think we should be surprised. late last year, i wrote a number of public things predicting that the north koreians would do a missile or nuclear test in the first half of this year because they've been telegraphing this for some time in their propaganda. this is 2012, the year north korea said it would be a full nuclear weapons state. the pattern is also quite clear. in 2006 in july, they tested a ballistic missile of a similar type. t

u.s. is iran and you mentioned how far western the u.s. have worked together really to make progress on that but lately we've been hearing a lot of rhetoric in terms of iran not necessarily from the white house or from the administration but certainly there's a lot of talk about the threat of iran what pret and how real is the threat as you see it i think that. you know iran does represent a subject matter where the u.s. and russia work very very well together. and i thought russia did some great things by canceling the sale of deals through hundreds. of united states so. there are so many many instances of being sensitive to russian concerns and sharing vital information. so that we were able to get it come to a point where we really had a pretty good understanding of what the threat was in terms of the report of the iranian nuclear program hell on we had before it became a real threat and how we could work together to mitigate that threat some. so i think. if we look at iran today you look at its behavior. to me it's a sign of a regime th

u.s. allies in the gulf to move forward with sanctions on countries buying oil from iran. some have mixed opinions how effective it will be. >> reporter: as the u.s. vows to forge ahead with tough new sanctions on iran's oil industry, hillary clinton is stepping up the rhetorical pressure saying the window for iran to reach a peaceful settlement will not stay open for ever. >> this is a difficult problem. when the president says all options are on the table, he means it. when he says that our policy is prevention, not containment, he means it. >> reporter: clinton spoke in saudi arabia and moved to turkey. she confirmed there will be talks with the iranians later this month. they will put tough new sanctions on iranian banks. all this as the u.s. and its allies suspect iran is moving forward with development of a nuclear weapons program. iran says it wants nuclear power for peaceful purposes. with threats of military action looming, some say the new sanctions can only go so far. >> the administration understands basically the last time that iran has to make some concessions

u.s. and five other powers over iran's nuclear program began in turkey today. the u.s. concerned that iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. there's some optimism that enough progress can make in these talks to continue the talks next month. >>> and just three weeks after getting a heart transplant, former vice president dick cheney is about to make his first public appearance since that surgery. cheney will be in his home state of wyoming to speak at today's republican state convention. >>> finally, events around the world are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the "titanic." a cruise ship re-creating the doom ship's route is at the site where it hit an iceberg, 100 years ago tonight. >>> time, now, for the weather. over to ginger zee in norman, oklahoma. ginger? >> hey there, ron. good morning, everyone. i'm standing in the damage that the tornado did. and one that went through norman. we have more video of. we learned this morning that at least 19 people went to the hospital with minor injuries. one person stayed overnight. and this video, you

iran. all this as the u.s. its allies expect iran is moving forward with development of a nuclear weapons program. with threats of military action looming, some say those new sanctions can only go so far. >> the administration i think understand basically it is the last time that iran has to make some concessions diplomatically. not because the obama administration is going to do anything but because almost certainly this will help precipitate an israeli decision whether to use military force against iran's program. >> reporter: those new u.s. sanctions and a european embargo of iranian oil both begin around the end of june. >>> there is a busy week ahead for sports fans. we have the nats season opener, masters golf tournament and championship action on the hard court. >> coming up next the men's womens ncaa games are set. we'll have sports coming up next. buying this juicer online was unbelievable. what a bargain! [ female announcer ] sometimes a good deal turns out to be not such a good deal. but new bounty gi

a message to tehran through another leader, turkey's prime minister, reportedly conveying to iran from the u.sept an iranian civilian nuclear program, but with one make or break exception, that support will come only if iran's supreme leader will validate his recent claim the country will never, ever pursue nuclear benefits. -- weapons, today an administration official telling fox, quote, we're not going to get into the specifics of private conversations. in the meantime, new american warships are the latest indication that u.s. strategy towards iran goes beyond diplomacy. the u.s.s. independence, won of two newly completed vessels, meant to give our navy a little bit of an edge. more of an edge or maybe something more specific to deal with the iranian attack boats. remember our navy is so much bigger than iran's military might. this is particularly, though, for a place like the strait of hormuz, a strat egicly important waterway, a crucial oil shipping route and our next guest just spent time there embedded with the navy's fifth fleet, editorial editor for the "wall street journal". let's sta