marxist uprising in oman.o other country did as much as iran did to help all mean regain -- oman regain its stability. there are no territorial issues between the two, unlike issues that exist between some of iran's other neighbors and iran. with regard to bahrain's situation, it is also numerically fruitful for your analysis. if people made frequent reference to 60% of the population being shia and ruled by a sunni government, you have a situation that is even more imbalanced in the case of bahrain. you have the last remaining arab country with a sunni government ruling over a majority shia population. and despite the much renowned report that came out as a result of bahrain's uprising in 2011 in which there was a statement there was no evidence of iranian involvement in those uprisings here is where perception comes in. perception is more powerful than reality. around 3000 bahrainis have been trained in oman, coming straight from secondary school, finance by the shia merchants in bahrain. they go at age 17,

that little piece of oman at the top of the peninsula is separated from oman like alaska is separated from the continental united states. the strategic aspect between -- this drives the strategic aspect between oman and iranian relationships. there is not going to be a conflict between them started by oman. oman's citizen base is less than 2 million. iran's is 80 million. the numbers should drive your perspective, your assessment of what the issues are and the implications. but there is more. iran sent close to 30,000 soldiers to oman from 1972 through 1974 to help oman put down a guerrilla rebel marxist oriented uprising in oman. no other country did as much as iran did to help all mean regain oman regain its stability. there are no territorial issues between the two, unlike issues that exist between some of iran's other neighbors and iran. with regard to bahrain's situation, it is also numerically fruitful for your analysis. if people made frequent reference to 60% of the population of iraq's population being shia and ruled by a sunni government, you have a situation that is even mo

marxist uprising in oman. no other country did as much as iran to help oman regain its stability. there are no territorial issues between the two, unlike issues that exist between some of iran's other neighbors and iran. with regard to bahrain's situation, it is also numerically fruitful for your analysis. if people made frequent reference to 60% of the population being shia and ruled by a sunni government, you have a situation that is even more imbalanced in the case of bahrain. you have the last remaining arab country with a sunni government ruling over a majority shia population. and despite the much renowned report that came out as a result of bahrain's uprising in 2011 in which there was a statement there was no evidence of iranian involvement in those uprisings here is where perception comes in. perception is more powerful than reality. around 3000 bahrainis have been trained in oman, coming straight from secondary school, finance by the shia merchants in bahrain. they go at age 17, 16, 18. they go large

certainly that started by oman. oman's citizen base is less than 2 million.hereas iran's is 80 million. and so the numbers there again should drive your perspective, your analysis, your assessment of what the issues are and the implications. but there's more. iran sent close to 30,000 soldiers to oman in the period from roughly 1972 through 1974 to help oman put down a guerrilla rebel marxist oriented uprising in oman's southern most province. no other country -- arab or non-arab -- did as much as iran did to help oman regain its security and stability. there are no territorial issues either between the two, unlike territorial issues that exist between some of iran's other neighbors and iran. with regard to bahrain, the situation there is also numerically fruitful for your analysis. if people made frequent reference to some 60% of iraq's population being shia and yet ruled by a sunni government under the regime of saddam hussein, you have a situation that's even more imbalanced in the case of bahrain where you have the last remaining arab country with a sunni

oman, bahrain, saudi arabia. and tom mattair will do with united arab immigrants qatar and kuwait, and this is a division of labor here. .. on the theological stage. there is inherently common implicitly, explicitly a degree of competition though expressed as i just did. her ran -- iran is perceived as being on a roll and a run beyond the nuclear agreement in terms of its leaders making reference to iran's unprecedented influence and full arab capitals. this itself would be of concern to a country such as saudi arabia, but also others in arab states. but on the figures bear, of the 1.5 billion muslims in the world 2 billion christians 1 billion does 2 billion being roman catholics some 200 million months on identify which the shia sect of islam. overall, talking about some 12% of the worlds muslims being shia. this is important to keep in mind when one reads the media and listens to people speak about the threat that her ran posters. 12%, taking on 88%. something is wrong with that picture. so this regime needs t

kathy: let's hope you're right and see what oman does. russian president vladimir putin today took part in his annual phone in, taking calls from members of the public. he held shihis line that russia's economic problems are not as bad as some are returning them. sarah -- has more. sarah: carried live across the country. russia's annual phone in with the president is a major event. for vladimir putin, it is a chance to show he is a leader who's missing. he managed to hit another record. 3 million people send questions. this year, it was the economy that took center stage. inflation has been soaring since the oil price fell. mr. putin predicted a rapid recovery. as for sanchez, he painted them as an opportunity for economic reform -- as for sanctions, he painted them as an opportunity for economic reform. it is about using them for our dentist. -- for our advantage. this opposition figure asked about mounting evidence about russia's military aggression and ukraine. mr. putin was categorical. there are no russian troops there, he said. the

they're talking about oman possibly becoming the negotiating settlement, and oman was suggested to be a location for these talks prior to these airstrikes. pretty of these airstrikes were just targeting military infrastructure again. and the need for talks did not stop being important with these airstrikes. from the very start they could have saved themselves a lot of time by just engaging in political talks. they're going to be very happy. it seems that they might be able to reach an agreement allowing for aden to be a peaceful area. i think its important for president hadi to be on the ground. they cannot rule yemen while being in saudi arabia. while the houthis are on the ground the government is in a weak position if they remain anywhere else. >> we appreciate your thoughts. thank you for joining truss washington, d.c. roslind jordan joins us from the state department from washington, d.c. is there any reaction from the u.s. as both the announcements from the saudi right saudi-led coalition. >> there hadn't been either reaction either from the white house or from the state departm

in eastern oman. that's one question. i'll let you think about it, about how this strategic geoeconomic logistical of exports from the peninsula and exports into it, where does that come on the radar there? >> i'm getting old so my memory is limited. let me talk about the two. the first one was designating the houthis are a terrorist and they've terrorized the population and taken out of property and government equipment illegal have the houthis. if that is not terrorism, i don't know what it is. i don't know it will have an impact, i guess from a psychological perspective in the sense of defining them and their actions as illegal and criminal. but in terms of facts on the ground, i don't know what impact it will have in the short term. the second question with regards to economic support for yemen, saudi arabia has been by far the largest contributor of economic assistance to yemen ever since the civil war in yemen ended in the late 1960's and early 1970's. we have built roads, schools hospitals. we have sent medical tea

he has sent delegations to russia and to oman looking for some pressure but not getting back to the former united nations security council going back to negotiating table. >> you're not optimistic this being resolved between the two parties, seeing common grounds they want talks but different preconditions haven't they? >> yes sammy now they're on the run, why don't they accept going back to the negotiating table and agreeing to implementing the former agreements they said they have signed. >> we'll have to leave it there thanks so much mohamed kobathi thanks for that. now, u.s. president barack obama excess his meeting with cuba president raul cast trow, after half a century of hostile relations, al jazeera's latin american editor lucia newman reports from panama city. >> it was the summit of profound symbolisms. the more than half century of divide between cuba and the united states began to heal. >> we continue to make progress towards fulfilling our commitments, and i've called on congress to begin working to lift the embargo that's been in place for decades. >> reporter: immediately a

what i understand has been going on is in oman there's been a diplomatic back channel. we heard the ambassador say the iranians are not involved but i'm told there have been some indirect contacts there in oman. diplomats also telling me when the advisor is appointed, they will then try to start talks again probably outside the region possibly in europe. >>> that's it for me for a moment. my colleague lauren taylor will be here in a couple of minutes with more on that story from yemen. and plenty of the rest of the day's news. see you very soon. bye bye. bye bye. >> weeknights on al jazeera america. >> join me as we bring you an in-depth look at the most important issues of the day. breaking it down. getting you the facts. it's the only place you'll find... the inside story. >> ray suarez hosts "inside story". weeknights, 11:30 eastern. on al jazeera america. >>> yemen's houthis call for an immediate end to saudi-led air strikes as the coalition campaign enters a new phase. >>> this is al jazeera live from london. also coming up italy's prime minister calls for europe t

oman and qatar and algeria, and brunei. all these countries, their oppression of women, all countries that gave to hillary clinton's foundation. what's your reaction to that kirsten? >> well i think, look i think thatat obviously i find that abhorrent. i'vena been very critical of a lot of these countries. at the same time you have to remember these are countries that you know, saudi arabia is a u.s. ally. if you say the clinton foundation shouldn't have any relationship with them neither shut the united states. >> she wants to be -- there's a difference here. she wants to be the champion of ne women's rights. >> but she can't control -- >> i can't find any public comments where she has been critical of the oppression of women in these specific countries. so she's selling out her principles for the dollar. that's what it appears to me. >> if she was enriching herself, that would be true. i think they're taking money to do good works around the world. i think that we should be critical of these regimes, but i also think the

and in eastern oman is a star yet to be known and told. that's one question. i let you think about it. about how this logistical aspect of ports of exports from the peninsula and imports into it when does that come on the radar? >> john, my memory is limited. [laughter] >> okay, those are too. >> the first and had to do with designating the houthis as a terrorist group and what effect it has but i think it would be acknowledging the fact what this committee in yemen is nothing short of terrorism the get terrorized the population to be taken over government property illegally. they have invaded areas have tried to occupy the country. if that is not terrorism i don't know what terrorism is. i don't know it will have an impact i guess from a psychological perspective in the sense of defined them in the actions as illegal and has criminal. but in terms of facts on the ground i don't know what impact it will have in the short term. the second question with regard to economic support for yemen to saudi arabia has been by far the largest exhibitor of economic assista

according to the reports he sent them to oman to bring this message to the gcc leaders basically offering to leave yemen safely along with his family in exchange for abandoning the houthies. this point abandoning the houthies we've received more details about it in the message. it seems that saleh has told the gcc leaders via its own envoy thats highway no ties of the houthies. he's not supporting the houthis. confidential this contradict what is he said earlier when he sent his son just before the beginning of the strikes send sent him with the same offer but now saleh has no conditions. when he sent his son he had conditions but he wanted his son to be the president--to run for the election. also he's going to abandon the houthis. now in his message to the gcc leaders he said that actually he has not been part of this. he has not been with the youths. we has no ties with them. he just wants to leave yemen safely. and apparently the gcc leaders have categorically rejected that offer. >> mohammed, thank you very much indeed. we'll bring in one of the major players in all of this. the u.n.

representatives from oman jordan and tunisian armies will discuss how to finance the force, and how responsibilities could be divvied up between the countries >>> syrian opposition fighters gained ground in damascus. rebels have taken over part of the neighbourhood from government forces after an intense battle. >> libya says it detained hundreds of migrants along its coast. there's 450 people in custody, picked up as they tried to leave for europe. they were arrested in two separate raids sunday and monday. most are from sub-saharan africa. >> many who make it on to the boats face a perilous journey. 800 migrants died trying to make it to europe. 28 were pulled alive out of the water. al jazeera spoke to a survivor a 16-year-old from somalia. in a reception center in sicily. we have this exclusive report. >> it looks like a normal youth club with the table ten us and television blaring. the teenagers are a lucky few that have endured the hardship. the latest to arrive are the luckiest of all. to protect the identity we call him jamal, he is one of 28 survivors from the sinking in the mediterranean.

there's salala, oman near the east-west shipping routes. there is jazan and other places that you're developing along the red sea. and dukon in eastern oman is a story yet to be known and told. that's one question. i'll let you think about it, about how this strategic geo geoeconomic logistical economic support of imports into the peninsula, where does it come on the radar there? >> john i'm getting old, so my memory is limited. >> okay. those are two. >> i'll talk about these. the first was designating houthis as a terrorist group. it would be acknowledging a fact. what they committed in yemen is nothing short of terrorism. they've terrorized the population and taken over government property, government equipment illegally. they have invaded areas. they've pretty much tried to occupy the whole country. if that is not terrorism, i don't know what terrorism is. it would have -- i don't know that it is -- it will have an impact, i guess from a psychological perspective in the sense of defining them and their actions as illegal and criminal. i

i was able to sign the bahrain agreement and negotiate the oman agreement. we got them to end their boycotts with israel. so we know that tpa is an appropriate place for this because it's happened before. i was also involved in applying pressure to saudi arabia when they entered the world trade organization. as you probably know, saudi arabia granted most favored nation status to all member states as required to under the w.t.o. including israel, which was difficult for them at the time but the right thing to do. so look, today there are new challenges posed. senator carden mentioned the eu is one of our concerns. unfortunately, some of the european allies are engaged in this. banks from sweden, denmark and the letnetherlands from die vestvested from israel. the israel government needs to deal with gaza. there is a threat to boycott meat dairy and poultry products from certain areas in israel depending on how the products are labeled. i'm happy that reports were included in the customs bill. i know you mr. chairman, have a strong interest in this. this is ne

. >> oman, i'll tell was this was a pleasurable evening. >> good. >> they did a great job a nash backo better days a great finish i'll show you that and the eagles tried to switch sports for a dame a fun change of pace for the birds. and just like that the snow is gone. and parkas become jackets. and sweaters go down for a long nap. and off you go. and your backyard gets a whole lot bigger. and you're running... and climbing... and your gear gets lighter and trimmer, and fitter and smarter. and now every frozen second spent willing this day to come is just a warm fading memory. ♪ i used to be able to have students come in and we do a social studies project and it was connected to language arts and it was connected to math. we educated in such an interdisciplinary way that educated the whole child. the testing shouldn't be in the driver's seat. i should be in the driver's seat. i should be directing my students in a way that's helping them make connections not just for an assessment but for life. ♪ ♪ ee-e-e-oh-mum-oh-weh ♪ ♪ hush my darling... ♪ ♪ don't fear my darling... ♪ ♪ the lion

during the week of april 4th to 11th i travelled with the secretary of state to saudi arabia and oman. as part of the consultations we met with president hadi and members of his team. the saudi ministers of foreign affairs, defense and interior, the minister of foreign affairs as well as other senior officials and the ministries of more than affairs and defense and the omany minister of state for foreign affairs and his deputy. in all of these engagements, we found a broad degree of consistency and to bring decisive storm to a rapid and successful conclusion. to establish that no party to the internal conflict in yemen will be able to achieve its objectives through violence and coercion and to set the framework for a return to negotiations leading to a clear, verifiable commitment on the part of all parties to the conflict to implement agreements and complete the political transition on the basis of the gcc initiative, the conclusions of the national dialogue conference and applicable u.n. security council resolutions. there is also a broad agreement among the leadership and yemen's n

. >> oman, i'll tell was this was a pleasurable evening. >> good. >> they did a great job a nash backo better days a great finish i'll show you that and the eagles tried to switch sports for a dame a fun change of pac >> the braves visiting the phillies tonight at citizens bank park. the phils hoping to snap two game losing streak. i've got good news for you. phillies ace on the hill that would be aaron harang played like it all season. he was magnificent. he went eight scoreless innings on the night striking out six. he only walk one. gave up two hits. not a lot of offense in the game game. nine inning ben revere with a dribbler to first. freddie free man committed an error. galvis scores. the phils win by a score of town nothing. to the eagles now in town for week of voluntary work outs who knew it would include a stop over at citizens bank park for batting practice. james palmer has more. >> reporter: john dorenboss was exhausted after switch hitting display at cbp to beat out fellow eagles zach ertz, cody park cooks mark sanchez and key company alonso. alonso whose brother plays f

and iran had been talking through a back channel facilitated by oman.he israelis felt this was a real the trail that they were not -- a real betrayal that they were not read in to these talks. the administration did that because they were worried about leaks. with admiration to my colleagues in the israeli press, they have a way of finding out things and putting things out there. in 2000, there was a summit in west virginia on syria. an israeli newspaper got a hold of the draft agreement and leak the whole thing and blew up those talks so there was no peace agreement between israel and syria. for whatever reasons, the obama administration kept those negotiations quiet. the israelis were upset about the interim agreement. although after it went into effect they did not seem to mind so much. what they envision is to keep that interim agreement in effect forever and to keep sanctions on forever with limited relief for iran. but it is unrealistic the only reason the sanctions have worked as because they are multilateral. the europeans are not going to indef

the door for tom came on march 13th 1942 friday the 13th an unlucky day in america and perhaps an oman. she was at school and didn't know it would be her last day at central junior high. on the second floor she noticed the front door was open and paused. her father was seated at the dining room table with her head in her hand. she had a frozen smile on her face when she looked up. her mother was almost always cheerful and laughed easily and never complained. even at 13 she could see her mother was frozen in terror. she walked through the department and drawers were opened on the floor, chairs toppled and the contents in the kitchen spilled on the counter. mama, was papa arrested? yes, she said five fbi men came and took papa away. as was the case of the other enemy aliens including alan's father. no charges were filled against these people no reason given were the arrest and no opportunity to defend themselves. the camp. these are the two important leaders of the camp. on this side is earl harrison who was the commissioner of the naturalization service. this is joseph o'roark, a border

and this is why oman until now is not in the coalition with the houthis because we're talking about aolicy will be driven by its neighborliness and the numbers fluctuate up and down and at times there's been as many as a million and if you include kuwait and bahrain with saudi arabia and elsewhere yemenis are all over the world and probably on the moon as some say. they were the first arabs to work in response to henry ford's $5 a day for an honest day's work and to the united autoworker's, and the treasury of yemeni in that particular union, the largest of the uaw. this is just to paint a brush stroke of the context here. now we will go to jeremy shaw who is with the congressional research service. he is the person who does the research writing analytical written work for the members of the united states congress. their bios are on the materials that you picked up coming in on the seat. i asked that you write a question on the 3x 5 cards and pass them to national council staff who will bring them forward and i'll use them in the q & a. the ambassador is due here around 11:00. he call

a possible exception of oman or morocco. essentially, none of this can last. where do you think we might be 10 years from now? what is your best prognosis? if you want, you can just tell us where you think we should be. if can't last, where we are today. council president parsi: thank you congressman. congressman moran actually helped pass legislation to lift sanctions on communications technology for iranians. and has been a great friend. in 10 years. since we are talking about the nuclear deal, we are looking at a deal that is going to last 10-15 years. and then, while the inspections and those will stay in place the restrictions will go away. the limitations. i think that this deal is really a challenge to start to redefine the relationship between the u.s. and iran. in order for this to actually stick and the fill the promise that many of us see in this diplomatic and ever, there does have to be a change in the relationship between the u.s. and iran. and there has to be an integration of interest between the countries. i would hope that, going to the conve

and group d with iran and oman. singapore has been placed in group e along with japan. iraq has a fair bit of trouble in their matches of home games. group h features bahrain and north korea. and the four runners up will advance to the final run of qualifying. >> it would be disappointing to get the results of the last world cup. it's a very young team. that's why all these games eight international games. >> with less than 18 months to go there are heightened concerns about water athletes. thousands of dead fish were found washed up on the banks of the lake which will host rowing and canoeing events. they're investigating the cause. it's the second venue under scrutiny. >> area' rowing and you start to feel six and nauseous. so you must go and rest. in terms of rowing the dead fish get in the way because they block the oars. >> the french open in may and the world's top players will have a bigger price on this year an increase of more than $3.2 million. but the players who will benefit most with an increase of 20% are those who are knocked out before the quarterfinals.

if you go to oman, kaqatar, and brunei there is no marital rape.ain the truth of the life of women in saudi arabia for free of reprisal? >> it has to be that way because anybody who speaks the truth will end up in jail and be flogged. she talked about wanting to work, wanting to drive, getting those incremental changes. the only thing that will change this culture run by men -- the islamic organization cooperation is societies of men where women don't have rights. they don't want to see these revolutions of women of modernity to happen. if she's being interviewed from saudi arabia she'll try to push that line and blame the west. >> liberal women are more concerned and rarely speak about this but who is going to pay for birth control $9 a month, or mitt romney has resumes of women in binders and they are utterly silent here. >>> up next -- >> taxes are how we all do our part but that's part of the problem. not everyone does seem to be paying their dues. >> liberals like to lecture their audience but we have stunning new reports. several anchors are

officials tell me it is right now off of the coast of oman.aving an aircraft carrier in the region gives your you more options including more eyes in the sky. it is joining about a half dozen u.s. ship already in the area including a helicopter carrier. so the u.s. has a lot of naval presence in that area. the official statement is that this aircraft carrier is to preserve the maritime shipping lanes, but it is also true that the u.s. is tracking very carefully those seven iranian ships, right now i'm told if they stay in international waters they will not be bordered, but if they get closer and they start breaking the u.n. embargo to yemen, they will be boarded. so again, u.s. is sending a signal. we'll see if iran accepts it. >> how concerned is the u.s. about iran getting weapons to houthi fighters in yemen? >> it's very concerning. the united states has accused iran of supporting the houthi rebels with moth money and weapons. josh earnest deferred any questions about the deployment of u.s. ships, but did restate that iran was directly supp

try and find a temporary solution for the people maybe some camps, refugee camps on the borders of oman or saudi and try to get aid and food into the country at a faster pace. i think this is what the main focus should be at the moment. >> okay. thank you very much for talking to us. thank you. >> yes >>> still ahead on al jazeera - a french television network is taken off the air after a cyber attack. a group claiming links to i.s.i.l. is to blame. >> i'm paul brennan in england, where the sound of farm machinery could be overtaken by heavy oil >>> and in sport, could tiger woods recover his old augusta magic? >>> moving to syria, and the u.n. secretary-general says the residents of yarmouk are in the deepest circle of hell. 18,000 are inside the camp after fighters from the islamic state of iraq and levant over ran it last week. aid agencies have been calling for a halt to the fighting so they can reach food and water shortages. >> the yarmouk camp is a circle of hell. after more than two years of siege, 18,000 palestine refugees and syrians are held hostage by d.a.e.s.c.h and other e

positioned nine war ships in a line along yemen's coast stretching from the entrance to the red sea to omannine-ship iron wran convoy is being trailed by the roosevelt which is flying manned and unmanned surveillance planes near the suspected iranians arms convoy which is now headed northeast in the arabian sea in the direction of home being escorted by the iranian revolutionary guard's navy. two attack missile boats, the kadir and mirror raj, the convoy was originally heading in the direction of the yemeni point of adan which is now surrounded on three sides by houthi rebels. white house officials have encouraged the saudis to halt their air campaign against the houthis in yemen, concerned about the large number of civilians karkts. president obama spoke with the saudi king last friday but already those air strikes have started up again. saudi arabia's ambassador said during a press conference in washington that his country will continue striking targets in yemen as needed. >> when the houthis or their allies making a sieve moves there will be a response. it's the decision to calm matters

the six countries who make up the gulf cooperation council saudi arabia united arab emirates kuwait omanand bahrain, to meet me at camp david this spring to discuss how we can further strengthen our security cooperation while resolving the multiple conflicts that have caused so much hardship and instability throughout the middle east. finally, it's worth remembering that congress has on a bipartisan basis played a critical role in our current iran policy helping to shape the sanctions regime that applied so much pressure on iran and ultimately forced them to the table. in the coming days and weeks, my administration will engage congress once again about how it can play a constructive oversight role. i'll begin that effort by speaking to the leaders of the house and senate today. in those conversations, i will underscore that the issues at stake here are bigger than politics. these are matters of war and peace. and they should be evaluated based on the facts and what is ultimately best for the american people and for our national security. this is not simply a deal between my administrati

oman can which not only hosted a number of important meetings but played a critical role in getting talks off the ground in the first place. and then of course we say thank you to turkey russia iraq and my home country, the united states. i particularly want to thank president obama. he has been courageous and determined in his pursuit of diplomatic path. from the day that he took office, president obama has been crystal clear that a nuclear armed iran would pose a threat to our security and the security of our allies in the region including israel. he has been just as clear that the best and most effective way to prevent that threat is through diplomacy. the journey forwards a diplomatic solution began years ago. i can tell you that i've personally been involved about four years beginning from the time that i was serving in the united states senate. others have been on this journey and others on our team for even longer than that. as foreign minister zarif and high representative mogorini announced moments ago, today we have reached a critical milestone in that quest. we are p a plus 1 e

it's near the border of oman and yemen. right now it's just a few miles from u.s. warships.y're keeping a safe distance the pentagon tells us but also within visual range. they can see them through their binoculars a handful of miles. not moving closer right now. it's designed to send the message, we are watching. as the president said yesterday in his words, the u.s. is the dominant force here. that's what they're showing with that american presence along with allies as well. >> you're saying they can actually see them through binoculars. this isn't them steaming towards each other, they can physically see each other. that raises the specter of what happens, what could happen here as possibly very frightening. what will the american destroyers do anti it when that iranian convoy actually approaches? they said, oh no only cargo. now you have iranian warships that could have weapons on them. there are nine american aircraft carriers and destroyers deployed to stop those iranian ships. are they actually going to do it? >> it's a great question. you hear from defense officials

positioned nine war ships in a line along yemen's coast stretching from the entrance to the red sea to omane nine-ship iron wran convoy is being trailed by the roosevelt which is flying manned and unmanned surveillance planes near the suspected iranians arms convoy which is now headed northeast in the arabian sea in the direction of home being escorted by the iranian revolutionary guard's navy. two attack missile boats, the kadir and mirror raj, the convoy was originally heading in the direction of the yemeni point of adan which is now surrounded on three sides by houthi rebels. white house officials have encouraged the saudis to halt their air campaign against the houthis in yemen, concerned about the large number of civilians karkts. president obama spoke with the saudi king last friday but already those air strikes have started up again. saudi arabia's ambassador said during a press conference in washington that his country will continue striking targets in yemen as needed. >> when the houthis or their allies making a sieve moves there will be a response. it's the decision to calm matter

that straight of hormuz that is on the southern coast, that is the tip right above oman, right belown there. >> right. david: do the iranians have the ability to close the strait? that would really cripple oil shipments? and also, the ships that they have sent into yemen, into the coast off of yemen, could they sneak weapons in without us knowing about it? >> the first straight of hormuz, they could close it. we have plans and have had plans for two decades on how we would then reopen it. but it could get nasty. they could seed mines out there as well as use surface-to-surface missiles to close it. as for sneaks weapons in, what you're looking at on coastline of the gulf of aden, the country of yemen is about the size of california. that coastline is 700 miles long. that is like trying to protect or to garden tire coastline of california on our west coast with nine u.s. ships and aircraft. could they sneak them in? yes, they could, but i think we're going to be hawking every single one of those ships that has potential to be a arms carrier. david: well, if they try to attack us, make

you're correct to point out that by moving this aircraft off the coast of yemen or gulf of oman or aiden removes it from the fight in iraq. those strike fighters could conduct missions into iraq, but they would require significant in-flight refueling. want to dovetail on something jonathan said which is the average american citizen, american public, thinks that the u.s. government speaks with one voice. a lot of times there is, as jonathan said, the cross polienization where you have the d.o.d. saying one thing, department of state saying another, not always on the same pagep one of the critical factors here is there is a possibility of inadvertent tension between the different areas of the u.s. government. >> yeah. i want to be real clear that when the president did say those words sending a message, he had given a very long prea amble prior to that also talking about exactly what ma rewas speaking of to keep things smooth, keep business as usual in the gulf. less to any network that has a bent wants to use it otherwise those are just the facts right there. got to listen to the whole so

cargo ships and two iranian navy frijts remains under way off the coast of yemen near the border with oman. it's moving slowly at six knots. and the uss theodore roosevelt continues to trail behind and launching aircraft to provided visual convoys. any reports suggesting the iranian convoy has gone to yemen is false. the egyptians in saudi still control the ports there, shep. the u.n. secretary general condemned them today. the saudis are conducting a press conference right now at the embassy in washington. that's where we heard from the saudi ambassador. they plan to continue carrying out strikes and using force against the houthis, shepard. >> aside from the hope strategy what do u.s. officials say they're going to do next? >> at this point, these u.s. warships are trailing the suspected armed shipment. the u.s. has intelligence that iran is delivering rockets and other lethal weapons to the houthis. it's not the first time the u.s. has intercepted iranian weapons. they did so in 2013 with the yemenis. in this case we are told by u.s. officials the u.s. would not likely be the ones to bo

pentagon officials say the convoy is now located in the waters south of to oman still being trawled by the -- trailed by the uss theodore roosevelt. seven cargo ships and two trig dates originally steaming to the entrance of the red sea. this reversal, of course appears to be good news say pentagon official, but they express caution saying this isn't over yet and insisted the roosevelt will maintain observation on the convoy. >> the principal goal of this operation is to maintain freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in the gulf of aden and the red sea. >> i've seen a lot of confusion. if we're putting an aircraft carrier, you know, in the gulf of yemen to block against iranian warships that are coming into that area and yet we're still sitting at a table cutting a deal on nuclear weapons there's something wrong with that picture. >> reporter: we have also learned that white house officials encouraged the saudis to halt their air campaign against the hugh thinks in yemen -- houthis in yemen. those have started up again, and the houthis, we're told, have surrounded the port of

i think a big driver here is that the geography associated with that yemen borders saudi and oman and clearly a direct threat to their homeland. >> each of you work in the military lay and with partners state, a.i.d. doj, dea, dhs the intel agencies. there has been questions here about the effect of a sequestering on the military. do you agree the sequester affects your allied agencies you work with and your co-coms in special forces, that is also an aspect of sequester we need to take seriously if we are avoiding challenges to our national security? >> i agree, sir. >> i do, too senator. >> i definitely agree, senator. >> general rodriguez, the attack on tunisia tunisia a small country but a bright spot in a way in terms of how they have come out of the arab spring with a constitution, with islamicic parties participating and in democracy, even stepping back from power. what has your observation been about the tunisian governments and newly formed newly elected government's reaction to the terrorist attack at the museum in tunisia? what's your assessment of how they are going forward

the sultan oman, embassy of algeria, that is while she was secretary of state, in direct violation ofshe had promised. that she couldn't take money from foreign governments while in position of secretary of state. i'm wondering what do you think these foreign governments think, that they are getting for the money. because if the kingdom of saudi arabia wanted to go out to provide clean water in africa they have the money and infrastructure to do it directly. why funnel it through the clintons. what dowhat do you think they are getting? >> i think access and good favor. you just don't give money to the clinton foundation for charity work. you do it for the hope they will answer your phones when you need them. hillary was important diplomat. she was the most important diplomat. she held on to a lot of power. if you're saudi arabia giving money to the foundation, a lot easier to get her on the phone when you're in her family's good graces. melissa: yeah. >> she hasn't any questions on this because she hasn't any questions at all. she is -- melissa: for charity and that is what this is al

come oman. >> reporter: how hard -- come on man. >> reporter: how hard it was to see? >> it was very hard. my aunt specifically told me to go out and tell people that we was going to meet up again tuesday and have another peaceful protest. that's what we're promoting. we don't want violence. we want the officers to be brought occupy more charges. the more violence we create is more leeway for them like -- like not look at that case. >> reporter: do you think the worst is over or are you fearful that there may be more? >> on behalf i'm here today, i think the worst is over. i think we've got it under control today. i think the worst is over. >> reporter: hopefully there's more peacemakers like you. great to see you. the mood has changed significantly. i was here yesterday when they popped holes in the hose as firefighters were trying to fight the fires. now the city has taken on a new sense entirely. cleaning up the area across hundreds -- if not thousands of volunteers cleaning up then turning their backs on police trying to spread love and get out from under what has

if you go to oman and qatar and algeria, brunei their women, marital rape is not considered a crime ins. we have an issue of real war on women. my question is as you watch miss al sharif do you feel she was unwilling to explain the truth of life for women in saudi arabia for fear of reprisal? >> it has to be that way. because bottom line is sean anyone who speaks the truth in saudi arabia will end up in jail and be flogged ultimately. that's what happened. she had to march that line where she talked about wanting to work talked about wanting to drive. getting those incremental changes. that's why you have revolutions. the only thing that will change this my soj nis tick mafia run by men, of the organizations, not only saudi arabia the organization of islamic cooperation, 56 countries of misogynistic run, where women don't have rights that are equal, and can't be refornld into the modern age because they don't want to see these revolutions of women happen. that's why we have to give them economic independence and we have to work in the grass roots to allow this reform to happen. unfortu

oman, which has not only hosted a number of important meetings but also played a critical role in gettinghese talks off the ground in the first place. and then, of course, we say thank you to russia, turkey kazakhstan, and my home country the united states. i particularly want to thank president obama. he has can be -- he has been courageous and determined in his pursuit of a diplomatic path. and from the day that he took office, president obama has been crystal clear that a nuclear, armed iran -- nuclear-armed iran would pose a threat to our security and the security of our allies in the region, including israel. he has been just as clear that the best and most effective way to prevent that threat is through diplomacy. the journey towards a diplomatic solution began years ago. and i can tell you that i personally have been involved for about four years, beginning from the time that i was serving in the united states senate. others have been on this journey, and some of the others on our team, for even longer than that. but as foreign minister zarif and high representative mogherini annou

again, we have interlock tours who can support that effort and perhaps engagement with iran through oman. so i'm sure that conversations are going on. >> so it sounds like what you're saying is that the saudis felt like the air strikes would actually bring about a political solution? >> combat power does not in and of itself ever solve anything. the best it can do is set conditions where other instruments of state craft can take place. so i believe that the saudis only ever had limited goals in the air strike and certainly it was the set conditions that a negotiated settlement could take place because what they're ultimately looking for is a reset to the yemen transition that goes back to 2011. this would involve a negotiated settlement between the houthis president hadi's government and allow for representation in that government by the houthis. >> jails smith, former u.s. ambassador to saudi arabia. thank you for your time and insights this morning. >> it's good to be with you. >> thank you >>> the vice president will swear in loretta lynch today as the 83rd attorney general at 11:00 a

during the week of april 4th to 11th, i travelled with the secretary of state to saudi arabia and oman. as part of the consultations, we met with president hadi and members of his team. the saudi ministers of foreign affairs defense and interior, the minister of foreign affairs as well as other senior officials and the ministries of more than affairs and defense and the omany minister of state for foreign affairs and his deputy. in all of these engagements, we found a broad degree of consistency and to bring decisive storm to a rapid and successful conclusion. to establish that no party to the internal conflict in yemen will be able to achieve its objectives through violence and coercion and to set the framework for a return to negotiations leading to a clear, verifiable commitment on the part of all parties to the conflict to implement agreements and complete the political transition on the basis of the gcc initiative, the conclusions of the national dialogue conference and applicable u.n. security council resolutions. there is also a broad agreement among the leadership and yemen's n

and it didn't start importing oil until from to -- from oman in 1983. this is a totally different can world. we have to get up to speed on this one. >> yeah. but the, back to the congress issue, the unfortunate fact is i believe that the only hope that might come from anything related to congress is that the white house would have some sort of a ability to brach the veto-proof kind of thing. unfortunately, the situation is such that congressmen are not necessarily listening to reasoned argument. >> after ambassador mousavians' pessimism with regard to congress, i'm going to come at it from a slightly different perspective, but i end up with same point, and that is the pressure of lobby groups neoconservatives and those who are interested in advancing the israeli narrative or israeli objectives or israeli interests. and iran has become quite convenient as a distraction from israel's action, israel's policies israel's positions, israel's fait accompli. and it will continue to serve this tactical role to deflect tension away from the eastern med train grab