crack down against antigovernment protests that erupted after the disputed 2009 reelection of mahmoud ahmadinejad. brigadier general mark kimmit. general always good to see you. the administration is acknowledging what was already painfully obvious that the effort to train and equip rebels was failing. so now it's dropping back to what many had pushed for over the last few years, to arm the kurds and other moderates who are facing assad. is it too little or too late? >> i don't think so. i think there's plenty of time, assad is not going anywhere from the support he's getting from the russians, these rebel forces are under pressure. but i'm glad to see the administration finally realized the futility of this half hearted measure they had been presenting at this point. >> you among others have argued they needed to do more. the shift in strategy reportedly involves giving the forces small arms and ammunition. i know there's a risk in giving them weapons but again is this another halfway measure? how are small arms going to help in the face of russian air strikes and russian armed syrian government

protests rock tehran after the disputed election saw the radical president, mahmoud ahmadinejad, returnwer. a young reporter, jason rosian, had just left iran. >> i wasn't so much fearful about being detained but was told wednesday his to stop working. they revoked my press pass a couple of days before it was set to expire. >> reporter: but he went back and began working for the "washington post." in the spring of 2014, he and his iranian wife talked with cnn's anthony bourdain about the challenges. >> the difficult part is convincing people on the other side of the world that what we're telling you we're seeing in front of our eyes is actually there. when you walk down the street, you see a different side of things. people are proud. the culture is vibrant. people have a lot to say. >> reporter: there were frustrations. >> on this -- certain things, i miss my buddies. i miss burritos, but i love it. i love it, and i hate it, you know. it's home. it's become home. >> reporter: six weeks later, jason and his wife were detained. their home ransacked. rigani was released on bail, but jason

. >> june, 2009, roe tests rocked tehran after the disputed elections saw mahmoud ahmadinejad return a younger, jason isaidan left iran. >> i was so much upset about being detain bud i was told i couldn't work. >> rezaian went back and began working for "the washington post." he and his iranian wife talked with cnn's anthony bourdain with the challenges of reporting from the country. >> the difficult part is convincing people on the other side of the world that what we're telling you we're seeing in front of our eyes is actually there. when you walk down the street, you see a different side of things. people are proud. the culture is vibrant. people have a lot to say. >> there were frustrations. >> i miss certain things about home. i miss my buddies. i miss burritos. i love it and i hate it. it has become home. >> six weeks later, jay soson as wife were detained. she was released on bail but he remained in prison with only one visit with a lawyer and unable to talk with his family for four months until last thanksgiving when he was suddenly allowed to make a call home. >> we talked a

said, since the beginning -- since the birth of israel, no person has ever helped us more than mahmoud ahmadinejad right. there is a symbiotic realization between the clergy in iran and the clergy in israel. and the iranian regime uses the iranian population as collateral damage. >> host: all right. hasan, thank you very much. a response for that call? >> guest: thank you for bringing that up so i can say very clearly that i support the rights of women anywhere in the world, everywhere in the world no matter what regular anytime they are living under, and i think it's also important you brought that up so i can state clearly i do not support the government of iran. i do not support the oppression of women anywhere. i resent personally when i go to iran or when i go to afghanistan or anywhere i go, that i have to be subject to local laws that define and constrict what i'm able to do. on the other hand, i do want to say to listeners who might not know that in iran, while women do have to wade head covering, women are involved in all aspects of society, and there are very, very well-educated women wh

among those killed, according to iranian state media, a bodyguard for former iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejadanks decimated, the revolutionary guard may have to take more steps to protect its most valuable general, qassam seoul mannie, the shadowy, ruthless commander of the elite quds force, considered the architect of the campaign against isis. seo he is now spotted on key battlegrounds in syria. this photo showing him seemingly posing with troops there. analysts say with his right-hand commanders falling, there's now enormous pressure on sulimani. >> i think he knowls he has to win the fight. you'll see more of him. but he also has to deal with iraq, which is in a stalemate, and he should be worried that the islamic state will take this time to make another push in iraq. >> experts say expect iran to sustain more casualties in syria. they say the iranians believe they cannot back down now, they have to prop up the assad regime. it's the only way they can maintain their pipeline of weapons and aid to the terror group hezbollah and counter the influence of their arch rivals in the region, isr