mahmoud ahmadinejad was famous for that.the holocaust happened, again and again, and last week, publicly, again, after the jewish new year. mahmoud ahmadinejad was the holocaust denier, and probably still is. but he is no longer president of iran, his term ended last month. rowhani replaced mahmoud ahmadinejad, look at this message, "i wish all jews, especially iranian jews a special rosh hashanah "really? they ran a story denying that he could have said something like that on twitter because they say he actually doesn't have a twitter account. actually, they say he doesn't have a tweeter account. so do we believe them when they say their new president doesn't tweet and so couldn't have tweeted that nice thing to jewish people? i am not inclined to believe the foreign agency on anything. so here is the thing, the big beef between iran and the world is the nuclear program. the talks will be handled by this guy, the country's new foreign minister. and the country's new foreign minister really did definitively did send this mes

mahmoud ahmadinejad dressed in his shabby suit would saunter in, ramble and rant about the dangers of america and deny the holocaust and taunt us, his invited guests. rouhani arrived eloquently attired and he spoke intelligently and precisely on every topic discussed. the meeting was off the record but we were allowed to share some observations. i was struck by rouhani's optimism on the nuclear issue which he said could be resolved in a short time. the world wants to be assured that our program is peaceful, he said, and we want to help them gain that confidence. rouhani admitted that economic sanctions against his country have taken a heavy toll on its citizens. he was hopeful about better relations. i came away willing to believe that rouhani is a pragmatist and wants to end his country's isolation but it remains unclear whether he has the authority to act on behalf of his government. consider what happened on tuesday when the iranians turned down a white house offer of a brief meeting with president obama. rouhani explained that he had no problem in principle with handshake but said

. >> and he compared to the interview they did with mahmoud ahmadinejad last year struck a much morehe fact he admitted there had been a holocaust, which is nothing mahmoud ahmadinejad would admit to. what do you think of that concession? >> first of all, i think it's an interesting commentary on the world in which we're living that admitting that the holocaust occurred qualifies as being a moderate. >> of course president clinton is right. i mean, the holocaust happened. and the kind of stuff that the iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad did over the last eight years, bringing holocaust deniers, having these ridiculous conferences in iran, standing here at the united nations doing that. but it's not the majority of the people who believe that. >> and this is my kind of maybe out of left field comment about the holocaust deniers and everything else. our greatest ally there is turkey. in that region. yet turkey denies the armenian genocide. to the point where obama as a candidate would talk about it as when i'm in office i will recognize it. and i'll recognize the genocide. and he's

. >> and he compared to the interview they did with mahmoud ahmadinejad last year struck a much moreonciliatory tone particularly in the fact he admitted there had been a holocaust, which is nothing mahmoud ahmadinejad would admit to. what do you think of that concession? >> first of all, i think it's an interesting commentary on the world in which we're living that admitting that the holocaust occurred qualifies as being a moderate. >> of course president clinton is right. i mean, the holocaust happened. and the kind of stuff that the iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad did over the last eight years, bringing holocaust deniers, having these ridiculous conferences in iran, standing here at the united nations doing that. but it's not the majority of the people who believe that. >> and this is my kind of maybe out of left field comment about the holocaust deniers and everything else. our greatest ally there is turkey. in that region. yet turkey denies the armenian genocide. to the point where obama as a candidate would talk about it as when i'm in office i will recognize it. and i'll

this is in sharp contrast from former president mahmoud ahmadinejad who strongly denied the holocaust ever happened. >>> special courts are being set up in new york state to handle prostitution and sex trafficking cases. instead of being treated as criminals prostitutes will be given access to services to help them escape the violence and exploitation that goes with sex trafficking. >>> a man who had blue skin due to treatment of a skin condition, he has died at the age of 62. he suffered a heart attack and stroke on monday, neither is caused by his skin condition. >>> the attorney for aeg live made closing arguments wednesday in the michael jackson wrongful death lawsuit saying the company never knew about jackson's health issues. >> simply stated aeg life never would have agreed to finance the tour if it knew mr. jackson was playing russian roulette every night in his bedroom. >>> here is the strangest nose job you have seen. chinese doctors have grown a nose on the forehead of a man whose original nose was infected after a traffic accident. surgeons say the new nose will be ready f

. >> reporter: the president never did reach out to rouhani predecessor, mahmoud ahmadinejad, but it was rouhani's new tone that changed mr. obama's calculus. >> we have a unique opportunity to make progress with the new leadership in tearen. >> reporter: the biggest skeptic is america's number one ally in the middle east, israel. prime minister benjamin netanyahu comes to the white house on monday. brian, i'm already told the white house has briefed israel on all parts of the conversation that took place. >> chuck todd at the white house, which brings us right here to this very studio. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is here, also nbc's ann curry who interviewed the iranian president in

he condemned what the nazis did to the jews, that's a big step forward for an iranian from mahmoud ahmadinejadould never say a word. >> it's a big step but many steps away from where you need to be. fascinating how he said it. you know bono yesterday did this bill clinton impression which really was awesome. it was fantastic. and today you said so here's your chance to get -- >> i actually was at a party last night with bill clinton. i'm not trying to boast. i'm at a party with bill clinton and he's telling great stories and we talk about the interview that we got today. i say, look, you obviously heard the buzz about the bono impression. he said yeah. i said do you do a bono? he looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. i said park it in your head for the interview. then chelsea clinton who interviewed for a panel on tomorrow night on the show admitted in front of the audience dad does a great bono. so when he came out, we played the bono and the rest is what you're about to unveil. >> yes, let's play it. >> when i first met bono, he looked into the oval office and i actually thought it was a m

under the presidency of mahmoud ahmadinejad, the u.s. resorted to sanctions. >> we're showing the iranian government that its actions have consequences. if it persists, the pressure will continue to mount and its isolation will continue to deepen. there should be no doubt that the united states and the international community are determined to prevent iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. >> reporter: now there are signs of a thawing in the relationship. hassan rowhani has called toned what he has described as unhealthy rivalries. >>> dozens of people showed up today. >> in fact, most are being kept at some distance from the u.n. building across the street. that, too, is fairly procedural. these pictures of a protest against iranian president, hassan rowhani taking place at a plaza across the street from the u.n. >>> more of what we are working on at this hour for "around the world" surviving that horrific attack in nairobi. >> i got shot here. i had so much blood everywhere, i thought she was dead and i was holding a dead baby. >> oh, my

mahmoud ahmadinejad would saunter in, deny the holocaust and taunt us, his invited guests. rowhani arrived punctually, in flowing clerical robes and spoke intelligently and precisely. the meeting was off the record. i was struck by rowhani's optimism on the nuclear issue, which he said could be resolved in a very short time. the world wants to be assured that our program is peaceful, and we want to help them gain that confidence. rowhani also admitted that the economic sanctions against his country had taken a heavy toll, denying people food and medicine. he suggested that both the united states and iran had made miscalculations, but that, he said, was in the past. he was hopeful about better relations. i came away willing to believe rowhani is a pragmatist. whether he has the authority to act on behalf of his government as you know clear. consider what happened tuesday when iranians turned down a white house offer during a brief meeting with president obama. he said in principle he had no problem with a handshake but said it was a sensitive issue and would have been the fi

the disliked mahmoud ahmadinejad. he got tossed out on his keister, and basically the new guys in the administration are doing everything they can to replace his old confrontational style with a new regime. if you think i'm exaggerating, economic this out between the house minority leader and the daughter. happy rosh hashanah. finally, again, iran never denied it. the man who did is now gone. and they have already been in contact with rowhani about nuclear talks. >> i sent him a letter after his election indicating the u.s.'s interest in resolving this nuclear issue in a way that would allow iran to re-join the international community. but it it's going to have to show the international community that it is not trying to weaponize the nuclear power. >> in the interview, ann curry sat down with the leader face to face, and held him to his decision not to develop nuclear weapons. >> can you say that iran will not build a nuclear weapon under any circumstances whatsoever? >> he has clearly said we are not seeking nuclear

nobody is confusing his message and where he's taking his country than from his predecessor mahmoud ahmadinejad. >> the president spoke a few minutes ago giving a news conference and spoking about syria's alleged use of chemical weapons. >> we believe that the solution of the syrian crisis is a political one. we will believe that countries that have shaped the future of syria should actually walk hand in hand in order to put an end to the suffering of syrian people first and foremost. we believe that the application of chemical weapons in the region is extremely dangerous. we seriously condemn its use and we are glad that the syrian government has attempted to acceded to the convention on chemical weapons. >> all right. nick paton walsh is in new york covering all this for us. when it comes to hassan rowhani, when he met -- when his foreign minister met with the secretary of state john kerry yesterday, it was a historic moment. but where do they go now? in terms of something tangible, concrete moves. >> that is what everybody's asking. even with rowhani's lengthy press conference still going on

for the past few years the focus has been on the iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad.thering to make allegations of a u.s. role in the 9/11 attacks. his successor is trying to improve his country's standing in the world. president obama has made it clear he's willing to take cautious steps to engage tehran. >> the united states and tehran have been isolated from one another since the islamic revolution of 1979. the mistrust has deep roots. i don't believe this difficult history can be overcome overnight. the suspicions run too deep. but i do believe that if we can resolve the issue of iran's nuclear program, that can serve as a major step down a long road towards a different relationship. one based on mutual interests and mutual respect. >> when i listen to him like that, i think of obama at his best when he's trying to do best for the world. the buzz was about a meeting between the leaders themselves. didn't happen that way. no hand shake. but the headline out of today's gathering is that obama has had kerry to pursue engagement with iran. we're giving diplomacy a cha

but new president hassan rouhani is seen more moderate than his predecessor mahmoud ahmadinejad.hani and his minister have been sending out message on twitter and facebook, though they're basically banned in iran. one of the message was a greeting for the jewish new year. then came rouhani's "washington post" op-ped. rouhani declared he is committed to constructive interaction with the world. he appears to be ready to negotiate and urged his counterparts to engage. in the run-up to the general assembly, the iranians seem to be trying to use as many channel

taking the speech, and what a difference that will take to next year when his predecessor, mahmoud ahmadinejad was here. look, we may never end up supporting israel particularly, but we're going to leave it at one side. i think the tone of speech, and particularly if he mentions rale at all and in what does he mention israel. we can't tell you when he's going to speak. we expect it to be at 5:00 this afternoon eastern time. >> john terrett. thank you very much. the president is supposed to speak for 15 minutes today but ended up speaking 45. >>> president obama was not the only one speaking of concerns over nuclear weapons. here is turkish president abdullah gul. >> let me be clear, the u.s u.s.-russian agreement to eliminate syria's chemical weapons, that agreement has on it translated into an united nations security council resolution. >> we're live near the syrian border where they also have to deal with the humanitarian crisis stemming from th syria. >> reporter: we haven't heard any reaction here in turkey, but one would expect that the president obama hit certain notes that are going to

he was referring to mahmoud ahmadinejad.fference in the tone coming out of iran and the interaction between iran and the rest of the world and president rohani, his office further tweeted on an equally important issue about the up coming nuclear negotiations. that is what colors all relations between the united states and iran, the state of iran's nuclear program and says these will start at the end of september and he nominated the foreign ministry, presumably foreign minister and that is significant because he has enormous amount of experience with americans, american politicians and international negotiations >> sort of a twitter diplomacy perhaps starting out here. what is interesting, though, and perhaps ironic in a way, these tweets are of course in english. twitter not available in iran. is he saying these in a way or manner or forum where iranians hear them? >> it may not be officially available, but you can bet iranians hear them because everybody is connected. satellite television, cnn, is not officially allowed in

mahmoud ahmadinejad's anti-american, holocause denying speeches led u-n diplomats to walk out. mr. obama also challenged the u.n. to impose consequences if syria does not turn over its stockpile of chemical weapons blamed for the death of 14- hundred civilians two months ago in a section of damascus known for government opposition. "if we cannot agree on this, it will show that the un is incapable of enforcing the most basic international law." others, such as secretary general ban ki-moon of south korea also denounced syria's use of chemical weapons on its citizens. "bring them to justice and verify with a un investigative mission." mr. obama also met with palestinian president abbas as well as the president of lebanon, whose country has received palestinian and syrian refugees, caught in regional conflict. mr. obama also announced that the u-s would pledge 340-million dollars in humanitarian aid to refugees from syria. just a few days are left for congress to produce a budget that saves the government from a partial shutdown. the current fiscal year ends at midnight monday-- and

this is in sharp contrast from former president mahmoud ahmadinejad who strongly denied that the holocaustver happened. >>> special courts are being set up in new york state to exclusively handle prostitution and sex trafficking cases so instead of being treated as criminals, prostitutes will be given access to services to help them escape the violence and exploitation that goes with sex trafficking. >>> a man who had blue skin due to treatment of a skin condition has actually died at the age of 2. he suffered a heart attack and stroke on monday. neither caused by his skin condition. >>> the attorney for aeg live made closing arguments wednesday in the michael jackson wrongful death lawsuit saying the company never knew about jackson's health issues. >> simply stated, aeg live never would have agreed to finance this tour if it knew mr. jackson was playing russian roulette every night in his bedroom. >> here's what you're going to be talking about today, this is one of the strangest stories, a nose job like you have never seen before. chinese doctors have actually grown a nose on the forehe

and mahmoud ahmadinejad, he was not wanting to engage with the west.soners, and he said we don't need fire walls and don't need to live behind walls, and he says via twitter, happy new year, which is unprecedented. but let's hear ann curry talking earlier this week. >> mahmoud ahmadinejad said the holocaust is a myth. do you agree? >> calle >> translator: i am not a historian. i am a politician. but what is important is the people of the world grow closer to each other and they are able to prevent aggression and injustice. >> so do you want to decry those statements? >> translator: we are seeking peace and stability among all nations in the region. >> he is speaking farcy there. he understands english perfectly and speaks it well, so again, compared to mahmoud ahmadinejad, just so much more educated or comes across as so much more educated. >> what else can you tell us about him, and the affect this is having on the people of iran? >> the iranians for the first time in a long time are very optimistic. and the iranian currency has gone up 25% in the las

that his speech will be less controversial than that of his -- than those of his predecessor, mahmoud ahmadinejad a conservative with a pragmatic political streak come was elected in june promising to me ease iran's fractious a former relations and u.s.-led sanctions. in a sign that diplomacy might be improving, both u.s. president obama and mr. rouhani have acknowledged that they have exchanged letters, and that is private some notes -- prompted some hopes that they will show mutual respect in the u.n. corridors of power. in a recent interview with american tv -- a rarity in itself, of course -- mr. rouhani said that iran would never seek weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. it appears that he has the backing of the supreme leader ali, nay, who declared last week that he believed in heroic likability as he endorsed a rational foreign -- heroic flexibility as he endorsed a rational foreign policy but i'm joined in the cambridge studio by an iranian journalist and author. thank you for joining us. should we be feeling a wave of optimism in terms of iran's positioning here? >> i

but the obama administration who tried to improve relations with mahmoud ahmadinejad is trying again. >> there is an opportunity here for diplomacy. i hope the iranians take advantage of it. there are indications that row hani, the new president, is somebody looking to open dialogue with the west and with the united states in a way that we haven't seen in the past. >> reporter: he sent him a letter of congratulations after his recent election, a gesture rouhani welcomed. after the government released ten political prisoners on wednesday, this reaction from the u.s. state department. we welcome today's report that the government has released several prisoners of conscience. in the months ahead we hope he continues to keep his promises to the iranian people. both row hani and obama will be at the united nations next week. >> he says the timing of this interview and release of prisoners is significant. >> i think the release of the political prisoners and his statement about iran's nuclear program must be viewed in the context of a very major strategy decision the republic of iran has ma

iran's new president cutting a wide path through new york, trying to show he's not mahmoud ahmadinejadhis fiery predecessor. >> translator: i ran on the platform of moderation and won the election by a large margin. >> reporter: even with his supposed mandate from the supreme leader, hassan rowhani still has to worry about provoking the hard liners back at home. so no handshake with president obama. hours after rowhani condemned the holocaust on cnn and in a talk with us, iran's government news agency claimed he hadn't said it, even though he had. as rowhani made it clear to charlie rose on pbs. >> translator: why would i want to deny it? kwhie why would i want to deny? i want to add to this debate. not only do i deny the criminal acts of the nazis, we condemn it. >> reporter: while rowhani claims iran has disclosed the entire nuclear program to inspectors. >> translator: we never -- the option of acquiring nuclear weapons. >> reporter: france's prime minister said it is not true. >> you are pregnant or you're not pregnant. you can't be half pregnant. if they accept not to have the nuc

. >>> president aha soon rouhani made headlines when he distanced himself from mahmoud ahmadinejad who for many years called the holocaust a myth. he acknowledged that the holocaust took place saying "the massacre by the nazis juan condemnable. we never want to sit side by side with the nazis. they committed a crime against jews which is a crime against christians, against muslims, against all of humanity. the nazis committed a crime in world war ii, as to the scale of the massacres and the numbers that my predecessor mentions, let's leave that to the historians." later today secretary of state john kerry meets with his iranian counterpart to begin a dialogue on nuclear weapons in iran, the highest level meeting between the two countries since the 1970s. >>> of course we know newark mayor cory booker loves tweets and it included a stripper from oregon, first reported in february booker sent her a private message "and the east coast loves you and by the east coast i mean me." lee wrote back well now i am blushing with a smiley face. booker replied, it's only fair. lee says she first met

. >> reporter: the president never did reach out to rowhani's predecessor, mahmoud ahmadinejad, but it was rowhani's new tone that changed mr. obama's calculus. >> but believe we have a responsibility to pursue diplomacy and we have a unique opportunity to make progress with the new leadership in tehran. >> reporter: the biggest skeptic of iran's new outreach is america's number one ally in the middle east, israel. prime minister benjamin netanyahu comes to the white house on monday. brian, i'm already told the white house has briefed israel on all parts of the conversation that took place. >> chuck todd at the white house, which brings us right here to this very studio. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is with us here tonight. also nbc's ann curry who interviewed the iranian president in tehran last week. the first interview he had granted to a western journalist. ann, there were seeds and signs of this in your conversation with him, and what are you hearing about what transpired today tonight? >> in fact, what we're hearing is that this is the sign of respect t

. >> reporter: late in the day, he was at the u.n., a far cry from mahmoud ahmadinejad who denied the holocaust and denounced the u.s. but rouhani still criticized the u.s. policy, the wars, calling sanctions against iran violent. still, he pledges they are open to talks about the nuclear dispute and says that iran does not want weapons. >> i hope they will refrain from following the short-sighted interests of war-mongering pressure groups. we can arrive at a framework to manage our differences. >> reporter: the israeli delegation walked out before rouhani even started to speak, saying he could not be trusted. rouhani's speech was tougher in part than some may have expected. and tonight, u.s. officials say to overcome decades of mistrust will take time, but they say they are open to trying. >>> thank you, and now we turn to the big fight over health care. one week from tonight marks a major move by the president for the new health care law. open enrollment begins for the new health exchanges, coming as republicans are pushing to take away the funding for it. lot of republicans say the

. >> reporter: in the past, mahmoud ahmadinejad denounced the u.s. they still criticize u.s. policy, they call sanctions against iran violent. still, he pledged iran is open to talks to dissolve the nuclear disputes and said iran does not want nuclear weapons. >> i am hoping that they will refrain of following the short-sighted interests of war-mongering pressure groups. we can arrive at a scene to manage our differences. >> reporter: the israeli delegation walked out before rouhani even started to speak, saying he could not betrusted. rouhani's speech was tougher in part, than some may have expected. they say overcoming decades of distrust is not going to be easy, even with this iranian leader. >> andrea mitchell, in what has become fortress new york. >>> and now we turn to the big fight over health care, one week from tonight marks the new health care law, open enrollment begins for the exchanges, coming as republicans are pushing to take away the funding for it. lot of folks say they don't know what is in it, still. that is why the president sat down to talk about it with

described the new iranian president's speech add "less bombastic "than that of his pred source, mahmoud ahmadinejad. in the end, they spoke of new possibilities but the impasse over iran's feature pursuit of nuclear weapons remains as deep as ever. >> america preserves to resolve our concerns over iranian's nuclear programs peacefully, although, we are determined to prevent iran from developing a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: after decades of mistrust and estrangement from the00 crisis in 1979 to today's standoff over nuclear weapons, president obama said america and iran had start over. >> i don't believe this difficult history can be overcome overnight. the suspicions run too deep. but i do believe that if we can resolve the issue of iran's nuclear program, that can serve as a major step down a long road towards a different relationship. >> reporter: hours later, iran's president hassan rouhani sounded conciliatory in his first address to the world body saying he listened carefully to president obama's speech and hoped differences could be managed. >> (translated): this is a unique opportunity for

recent years, or the american delegation to get up and walk out right in front of the speech of mahmoud ahmadinejad, but this year could be different. the new leader has taken numerous steps to demonstrate his commitment to diplomacy, such as releasing a handful of the most notorious clinical prisoners, and those are not the only issues that make right now the opportune time to meet. this is also the first time in years that actual results could come from the meeting. that is because many of the big players at the u.n. right now are fresh out of elections, so they do not have to worry about politics. now they can focus on issues. here to tell us what they can expect, anastasia, what should we be looking for, and who should we be watching? >> you presented a great summary of some of the issues that are bound to come out this week. certainly syria is at the top of th agenda, as world powers, including russia and the u.s., our meeting around the clock, trying to find the next step, which would be the un security council resolution that they need to vote on, in order to continue with this plan to have

confrontation with dialogue to leave a legacy for future generations and iran's previous president mahmoud ahmadinejad said the present the us is nearing collapse in his speech back in two thousand and eight the country's new leader however has signaled a softening of iran's rhetoric with everybody awaiting his speech we spoke to john limbert a veteran u.s. diplomat held captive by revolutionaries in the iranian hostage crisis between one nine hundred seventy nine and one thousand nine hundred one he says that any kind of interaction between the us and iran will be a tremendously beneficial step for all involved. i thought. we would have been talking to each other. years ago maybe not as friends but at least as two dates with common things to talk about if it does happen i mean it may just be a handshake a brief encounter but even that at the same balik level would represent huge change it's obvious that the us and iran do have some commerce in syria for example and things to talk about over syria in a rational world we'd be doing exactly that there are always so what i guess you would call the profes

to give him a chance reporting from new york and he says now a party iran's former president mahmoud ahmadinejad is known for stealing the show with his general assembly speech as his anti western remarks of often stirred controversy and caused delegations to walk out of the assembly hall here's just some of what he's had to say over the years. the engine of unbridled capitalism with its unfair system of thought has reached the end of the road and is unable to move some segments vent of the eleventh of september two thousand and one which has affected the whole world for almost a decade some segments within the u.s. government straight at the time order to reverse the declining american economy. the same slave masters and colonial powers that once instigated two bold wars of cause widespread misery and disorder with far reaching effects across the globe since then. now it's expected we won't hear much of that kind of rhetoric during this year's general assembly we spoke to john limbert a veteran u.s. diplomat held captive by revolutionaries in the iranian hostage crisis between one nine hundred