that was around the time khomeini went to paris.ad askedk the shah saddam to get this guy out of the country, which turned out to be a mistake, and i think saddam agreed to do that, to force them out, because he had so much in the iranian relationship. host: i want to destroy you some video of colin powell and a very crucial speech at the u.n. sitting behind him is george tenet, who is running the cia when you were in it. clip] >> every statement i make is backed up by sources. we are giving you the and conclusions based on solid intelligence. numerous human sources tell us the iraqis are moving not just documents and hard drives but weapons of mass destruction keep them from being found by instructors. what do you think of that? guest: i'm sure that colin powell, if he could dial it back , wished he probably stayed home that day. host: why did he do it? everybody was waiting for this speech. guest: i don't know. to be quite honest with you, i participated in hundreds of briefings in which wmd was brought up -- briefings within the

a close confidante of ayatoll ayatollah khomeini. he was elected in 1980, a position he held until 1989, a period coinciding with the iran/iraq war. under khomeini's direction, he served as a de facto commander in chief of the iranian military throughout that eight-year conflict. of a the war, his two consecutive terms as president of the islamic republic was dubbed as the reconstruction period. rafsanjani pursued liberal economic policies and tried to rebuild ties with iran's neighbors. after his presidency, rafsanjani remained a powerful player in iranian politics, including serving as a close adviser of ayatollah khomeini, who he had supported in becoming the supreme leader. his political leaning began to die verge from khomeini, a fact that would sideline the old revolutionary. in 2005, he ran for president but lost to mahmoud ahmadinejad, an opponent he criticized for his bombastic foreign policy language and populist ideology. and after the disputed presidential elections in 2009, rafsanjani sided with the protesters. while his

he made khomeini the king leader thinking he would be weak and pliant and rafsanjani could control him. i think he spent the last three decades of his life trying to wrestle power back from khomeini unsuccessfully. >> woodruff: they were two very different men. why was one successful and the other one wasn't? >> i think ultimately what was... what made khomeini successful is i think he understood an important machiavellian rule, which is in authoritarian regimes it's much more important to be feared than loved. so khomeini very carefully has cultivated the military, the revolutionary guard, so that was deeply helpful to him. at the same time, whereas khomeini had a reputation for being financially keen, rafsanjani and his family had a terrible reputation of being economically corrupt, which provoked a lot of popular resentment against them. >> woodruff: resentment, and yet you're telling us his death means a great deal for iran. >> well, he was one of the pillars of the 1979 revolution who played a very important role as a mentor to this younger generation of tech democrats and as you

he helped mastermind ayatollah khomeini becoming supreme leader . one thing he has tried to do is reform the institution, counsel instead of one individual, he propose term limits, 10 years, instead of lifetime. that did not succeed. there is going to be a succession question in the next few years. be part ofrafsanjani the conversation is likely to be to the detriment of modern forces. play how big a role did he in negotiating with the united states, culminating in the nuclear deal? a critical role in the election of the president, which ensured that deal being struck in the first place. thisps more importantly, is a person who as an iranian the longest track record of trying to find some commonality with the united states. he was the key person on the iranian side in the 1980's when the united states did have secret negotiations that led to the iran-contra scandal. the 1980'sve in because he wanted to find a way to improve relations with the u.s. host: thank you for speaking with us. at least 38 people have been killed and dozens wounded after a su

he studied theology in the holy city of qom with ayatollah ruhollah khomeini and played a key role inn in 1979. in the last year of the 1980—88 war with iraq, he was appointed acting commander in chief of the armed forces and was seen as the main mover behind iran's acceptance of the un security council resolution that ended the conflict. he had been a close confidant of iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei but his political allegiances later shifted towards reform ists and he tried to run for president again in 2005 but lost out to mahmoud ahmadinejad. he tempted to stand in 2013 but his candidacy was rejected and he has been a mentor to the current president hassan rouhani ever since. he was a centralfigure in iranian politics for at least a decade and a half, certainly in the 1980s, he was widely recognised as being number two to ayatollah khomeini. he also played a big role in facilitating the rise to power of the current leader, ayatollah khamenei. the two enjoyed a very uneasy equilibrium, balance of power, for four of five years before the tensions got too high and the

he was widely recognised as being number two to ayatollah khomeini.g role in facilitating the rise to power of the current leader, ayatollah khamenei. the two enjoyed a very uneasy equilibrium, balance of power, for four of five years before the tensions got too high and the differences between the two men became too great. leading tributes, ayatollah khamenei said: mourners gathered in the hospital in tehran where mr rafsanjani was treated. translation: i am here to pay my respects to him. i can't talk through my tears. translation: i am very sad. i got the news through social media. i was going to go home but i decided to come here and be with the people. there will now be three days of national mourning in iran. ayatollah akbar hashemi rafsanjani will be buried on tuesday. catriona renton, bbc news. trita parsi is the president of the national iranian american council and says akbar rafsanjani was a dominant figure in iranian politics right up until his death. i think the last time we really saw his fingerprints very clearly, showing his influence,

the supreme leader ayatollah khomeini's word became, more or less, law. all over the country. ♪ a national holiday, khomeini died on this day in 1989. his funeral attended by over ten million iranians. >> man: down with ignorance. viva wisdom! >> man: thanks. >> anthony: don't want to miss the bus. ♪ ♪ south of tehran the landscape opens up. nearly 300 miles of iranian highway stretching to the city of isfahan. isfahan is iran's third-largest city. "half the world,as the saying went, back when this was the capital of persia and beyond. the city is renowned for its architecture: the grandest bridges and mosques, dating back to the middle ages. ♪ >> shayan: where are you from? >> anthony: the usa, from america. where are you from? from isfahan? or from tehran? >> shayan: tehran. >> anthony: well, nice to meet you. >> shayan: nice to meet you too. ♪ isfahan's bazaar, the smell of something very, very good. this shop has been here doing the same thing for a hundred years. and based on the line, it must be doing it right. i've had beryani in india. i've had it

former president is now buried to another founding father of the islamic republic, the ayatollah khomeini. the parliament in turkey is debating a controversial draft constitution today that would give more power to the ruling president, recep tayyip erdogan. that could extend his leadership over turkey to 26 years in all. erdogan is pushing for that change, saying a strong leader would lead to a stronger turkey. here is simon harding. simon: it is a constitutional reform that could keep recep tayyip erdogan in power until 2029. the ruling party submitted the proposition in december and believed that a president with powerful means could make turkey a powerful country. it would change the largely ceremonial presidential role -- into anactive active political one. >> today we begin one of the most deliberations in the turkish republic. strengthening national will and to get rid of the >> vestiges of previous regimes. the added powers would include to a -- the at -- anthe opposition fears increase in presidential powers will lead to an authoritarian system which will move turkey away from we

a man of peace as he was so welcoming in the ayatollah khomeini taking over iran. and that released radical islam out of the box, gave them control of a major country, major country military and thousands and thousands and thousands of people continue to die because of that mistake. we know going back to the early days of the united states when so much of the federal treasury , to get o pay ransom our sailors back who were being captured biff radical islamists -- captured by radical islamists in north africa and jefferson didn't know why they kept attacking american boats and he asked the islamist he was negotiating with, you know, why they kept attacking american ships. we are not a threat to you. we don't even have a navy. and reportedly the response was in essence, well, look, if we someone like you, we go straight to paradise. and jefferson was amazed. he couldn't believe there was a world religion or even people's interpretation of a world religion that advocated you could go to paradise for killing innocent people. they maintain they're not innocent because t

iranian political life since the 1979 islamic revolution and was a top aide to its leader, ayatollah khomeini. as iran's president from 1989 to 1997, rafsanjani was considered a relative pragmatist and reformer who sought better relations with the u.s. and the west. he later supported iran's nuclear disarmament deal with world powers and was a mentor to the current iranian president, hassan rouhani. today, there are about 5,000 juveniles incarcerated in adult jails and prisons in the united states. all 50 states give prosecutors the discretion to charge juveniles as adults, usually for the most serious crimes, but only two states, north carolina and new york, still require 16 and 17-year-olds to be charged and prosecuted as adults for all crimes. in tonight's signature segment, "newshour' weekend"'s ivette feliciano reports about the debate in new york state to raise the age of adult criminal responsibility, this report is part of "the newshour" series on criminal justice reform, "broken justice." >> reporter: 22-year-old asad giles feels lucky to have his job as an administrative assistant i

. >> he has been a towering figure within the iranian system, one of the original people around khomeinior decisions that the iranians have made in the last 37 years. but what is also interesting is het throughout this period has had a moderating influence, and particularly in the latter years, he more clearly sided with the reform agenda of the reformists and a big backer of the current president. >> what about, you said he was a moderating influence. to what extent did he play an active political role in the last two years in imposing that sense of moderation and again with his passing, what does that tell us about the road ahead for the iranian political scene? >> to give an example, in 2013, he was against it a candidate to run for president but he was rejected by the council, which was a rather bizarre development mindful of his stature within that system. what ended up happening is that he became a critical player in unifying the reformists and the moderates to back hassan rouhani and partly because of his influence behind the scenes and his urging -- to come and vote, which was a

immigration in 1980 unless applicants could prove they were enemies of the could he mainy thee ockrass -- khomeini theocracy. they stated that carter, quote, acted against irani nationals, not against an entire religion. president trump's executive order is precisely the same. it doesn't name a religion. it names seven countries. i have had personal experience with politifact and i used the word earlier today hack, political hack in an interview, and that's what i think of politifact. they shouldn't be called politifact. they should be called politihack. i was speaking on the house floor, i think it was last year, and i made a statement the on data received by of te on the percentage american citizens and the noncitizens, non -american citizens that were in federal prison for possession of a controlled substance. . and the reason i singled out possession is because president obama has talked about, he's tried to make it appear that people in federal prison have gotten such a bad rap because they really -- they just -- simple possession, you know, they didn't deserve to be imprisoned so long. i mea

he was an aide to leader of the 1979 revolution ayatollah khomeini and later served any other the nation's1989 through 1997. during which time he introduced several economic reforms known for his more moderate views along with his whit and cunning both in the political arena and in business and his influence felt in iranian affairs since before the in the 1revolution i until now. >> and rafsanjani following a long time. he could charitably be called pragmatic. moderates considered him a loss but when he needed to about hard-liner he was a hard-liner as hard-liner is. right? >> it's funny, joe. i always thought of him, in my several visits to iran, as a symbol of the country's blockage. the aspiration for moderation but the inability to really break through to a moderate society. he always kept his deal with the hard-liners. might support the rahamis or reformers but never really left the camp of the way the regime is going to work. >> joining us from london, tehran bureau chief ali aruessi. what else can you tell us about raufr s rather s -- >> held on to power and influence all the way to

immigration in 1980 unless applicants could prove they were enemies of the could he mainy thee ockrass -- khomeini theocracy. they stated that carter, quote, acted against irani nationals, not against an entire religion. president trump's executive order is precisely the same. it doesn't name a religion.