that's right stoltenberg made it very clear that in the past nato has repeatedly called upon iran to show restraint tyra's condemned iran for stoltenberg said it was a destabilizing actions in the region destabilizing influence now of course saltimbocca said that he couldn't share with us with the public with the press exactly what was going on in that room between those ambassadors you can only imagine it would have been a very interesting conversation indeed as the u.s. ambassador explained exactly what was the game plan perhaps the strategy behind the u.s. decision to kill general salim army but saltimbocca said the allies were very. allies said that they were united in understanding why this is taken place now what the opinions were beyond that we don't know only that nato ambassadors have said that they are united in calling for restraint for a deescalation of tensions because nobody wants to see said stoltenberg an all out conflict the trasher many thanks dana reporting live there from nato headquarters in brussels let's show you what's happening at the moment in the city of ho

yeah that was a bit surprising to hear secretary secretary general stoltenberg say that he agreed that nato could do more in the middle east because nato does have some rules there it has training missions it has it has this 500 person training mission in iraq that's been suspended because of the unrest after the killing of customs of the money and so what the secretary general stoltenberg has said is that he will look into what further counterterrorism measures can be taken that's really where nato believes that its strength is even if the united states may be picturing nato troops taking the place of u.s. troops somewhere there's no way that all $28.00 other nato allies would agree to such a thing so i fear there may be some mismatch in expectations between what president trump wants and what nato may be able to provide but these are very new developments and we'll certainly be discussing them at length in the days to come puddle let's talk about what president trump one so what is government's strategy here and there are biting sanctions new sanctions but they haven't until this poi

stoltenberg the nato secretary general in brussels general didn't see we're. taking time that he's questioning the journalists on the subject wanted to get out there was soon as possible deescalation the watchword throughout his press conference but he was also very keen to stress that the targeting of saddam army was a u.s. decision not a nato decision or meanwhile in iran the millions of mourners are turning out for the funeral of kassam solomonic there's been a huge outpouring of grief across the middle east and beyond iran's supreme leader earlier wept as he said prayers over the slain commanders coffin in tehran and some mourners carried red flags associated with the unjust bloodshed and revenge by the iran's foreign minister stated the u.s. cannot break the will of his nation. yet have you ever seen such a sea of humanity in your life donald trump do you still want to listen to the clowns advising you want our region do you still imagine you can break the will of this great nation and its people and of malign us presence in west asia has begun well the u

yen stoltenberg ses it was a unilateral by washington. this is a u.s. decision it is not a decision taken by neither do global coalition nor nato but all allies are concerned about iran's destabilizing or 2 beauties in the region iran support 2 different terrorist groups. were joined by r t s peter all of her to fill in what was spoken about there peter what indeed house come out of today's emergency nato gathering where un stoltenberg spoke briefly to the press he said the nato training mission for troops in iraq would be suspended with immediate effect after this meeting is taking place he was also very keen to stress the deescalation was the main word coming out from nato allies. all of them coming together is he said to say that this whole situation needed to calm down. i think the important thing now is to really try to deescalate and to avoid further increase increased tensions in the region. before i started start to speculate on how we will react. not help to deescalate it will actually do the opposite well the statements from stoltenberg 'd as

stoltenberg: this is a u.s. position. it is not a decision taken by neither the global coalition, for this nato. but all allies are concerned about iran's destabilizing activities in the region. iran's support to different terrorist groups. and of course we are extremely concerned about the recent attacks we have seen against civilian energy infrastructure in saudi arabia, or against coalition bases in iraq, bases which are important for our efforts to fight international terrorism in iraq and in syria. >> time for one more. reporter: hi. it's michael with german news agency. you just said that the u.s. briefed on the air strike against soleimani. the u.s. justified this killing by saying that soleimani developed plans to attack american diplomats. did the u.s. show some evidence on that today? mr. stoltenberg: the u.s. provided their rationale behind the action against general soleimani. we had several briefers from the united states, from state and from the pentagon. and they briefed and explained o their allies why the

plans to assassinate iran's most powerful general custom solo money stoltenberg says it was a unilateral act by america but he stopped short of criticizing washington for the killing. this is a u.s. decision it is not a decision taken by neither do global coalition nor nato but all allies are concerned about iran's destabilizing activities in the region iran support 2 different terrorist groups yet stoltenberg didn't have too much time to talk to the press on monday afternoon in brussels what he did say though was that the nato military training mission that was operating in iraq will be suspended with immediate effect then well deescalation more 'd than once was the words uttered by the nato secretary general he said that this was the message that had come out of the meeting from the other the ambassadors of the allies that make up nato saying every single one of them had been putting forward well basically the same words and that word deescalation at the meeting today. called for restraint and deescalation a new conflict would be in no one's interest. so we are on must refrain from fur

president trump in fact called secretary-general stoltenberg just a few moments after he announced in a white house press conference that he wanted nato to become more involved in the middle east and secretary general stoltenberg said ok we will do more we can do more and in fact i've just learned that nato has dispatched a delegation to the state department who this group is there now talking with state about what more can be done now what nato is offering is is more counterterrorism work and i'm not sure that's exactly what president trump had in mind but anyway the people who actually do the work are there discussing it now so nato is taking this request seriously and i'm sure will do everything possible to to try to help help the united states but these are not going to be combat operations there's no way the 28 other nato allies would agree to any such thing. to those foreign ministers meeting what was the agreed position today i suppose the wider question is does anyone besides the e.u. care think it does. care what they think. you know i could hear in the comments from the fore

the us acted of its own accord when it decides to nation iran's most powerful general bhatti and stoltenberg stop short of condemning the killing meanwhile millions filled the streets of cities across iran for the funeral procession of the country's slain general kasim saw them on. hand moscow's christ the savior of the joys thronged with worshippers as eastern orthodox christians around the world celebrate christmas has been following the service. last year we saw several thousands of people attend the services here on christmas eve this year it might be even more it is fairly mild this time of the year old although i have to say i'm fairly sure least on the outside here. so you're watching the enter national i'm rise on a low could thank you for joining us. now the head of nato says the alliance was not informed of u.s. plans to assassinate iran's most powerful general kasim soleimani he installed him back says it was a unilateral act by america but he stopped short of criticizing washington for the killing. it is not a decision taken by neither do global coalition nor nato but all allies

in the region iran supporting different terrorist groups stoltenberg didn't have too much time to talk to the press on monday afternoon in brussels what he did. say though was that the nato military training mission that was operating in iraq will be suspended with immediate effect then well deescalation more than once was the words uttered by the nato secretary general he said that this was the message that have come out of the meeting from the passages of those allies that make up nato saying every single one of them had been putting forward well basically the same words and that word is deescalation. i think the important thing now is to really try to deescalate and to avoid further increase increased tensions in the region and i've seen before i started start to speculate on how we will react. not help to deescalate it will actually do the opposite while this latest from the nato secretary general comes as the prime minister of iraq. heidi discuss doubts over the claims by the u.s. that salomone was in baghdad in order to plan attacks against u.s. diplomats the iraqi prime minister

where the nato secretary general and stoltenberg convened this emergency amazing alternators 29 hour buses to discuss the situation the crisis the tensions between the u.s. and iran that are really reaching boiling point now what he said was that of course the u.s. is the main nato member and the u.s. ambassador to nato briefed the other ambassadors about why the united states decided to kill general solar monny now what's sort of bloke said was that he can share with the press or the public exactly what the u.s. disclosed but the others felt that they had been adequately briefed the also asserted that nato in the paul says repeatedly warned iran against its what he called destabilizing influence in the region and he said that all nato ambassadors were in agreement that there must now be a deescalation of tensions that all sides she chose restraint because we didn't want to see he said any what heading towards a conflict stoltenberg was almost at the end of his a brief press. meeting greece for a statement i should say he was also what nato would do how would respond if iran was to t

stoltenberg said the u.s. ambassador had briefed other nato ambassadors on the u.s. strategy, however, stoltenberg said he could not share that information with the public or the press. but that other nato ambassadors had been briefed. all the ambassadors were in agreement in that they felt all sides must show restraint, there must be de-escalation. nobody wants to see this heading toward a conflict. he also said nato had expressed in the past its own concern about iran and what he said was iran's destabilizing interest in -- influence in the region. india asts across students and teachers at a public university in the capital. two men in venezuela claimed to be the head of the national assembly. ♪ ♪ >> we still have some very wet weather pushing across central parts of china. that will had to japan over the next day or so. across the east china sea toward the korean peninsula. heavy rain for a time. sliding across shanghai. 21 celsius. tuesday afternoon. that wet weather will set in across the korean peninsula and eventually a good part of japan will see some very h

he was talking about yen stoltenberg, who runs -- about jen stoltenberg, who runs nato, and in the pasteen that close with jen stoltenberg. i don't think iran is going to be any happier with nato troops in iraq than they are with u.s. troops as a practical matter. the big question is the important one, which is what is the endgame. what is the strategy here? i am not sure we know. vonnie: tell us a little about the show. it is a show that has a storied and extort nearly long history, and now you're taking it over -- and extraordinarily long history, and now you're taking it over. david: and i am very honored to do that. weekst want to have once a some very intelligent, high-level people to talk about the stories you already know about. pickers onve stock our cable channel all the time, so we step back and our contributors such as larry summers, roger ferguson, and others will contribute throughout the week with blogs and tweets and things like that. vonnie: so we should follow you on every pout form -- on every platform. david: i should hope so. vonnie: and tune in at six clock p.m. eas

iran against further violence and provocations after the group held an urgent meeting in brussels stoltenberg says a new conflict is in no one's interest nato maintains a 500 strong training mission in iraq for the fight against eisel but it did suspend that after the money's death well the impact of constant soloman his assassination is also being felt in yemen where the iranian backed rebels have held their own rally thousands chanted anti-american slogans in sanaa the saudi backed government those says it considers the killing of so the money an important step to ending the conflict in yemen and elsewhere in the region and a lot i was among those demonstrate his reporting for us from the yemeni capital. but if it is bring him a nice house council guy the the outside the old city of sanaa you know it's going down the assassination was because it's the outside slogans that they will carry on is a struggle as they describe them also they have called them the leaders of the also the axis of resistance so stick with. us it's coming from what strife was this was the big mistake and this would ha

what is the os how would nato i react if iran was to tell gates and us interests in stoltenberg i simply said that that's not the sort of question but he could also say he said that is a us mind so even though of course the us is a member of nato he called speak on their behalf and so some bold step in what he didn't want to do was enter into that kind of conversation because that's only going to feel the situation which is already extremely precarious and cheshire many thanks indeed attention to that live in brussels is a former director of policy planning with mates and he joins us now via skype from brussels could have you with us want was this meeting all about and today well i think it was just to make. the decision that i've already taken that nato is free to join a it's training mission from iraq in a way to be the damage and not to be falling in the crossfire yes get a shot between iran and the united states and for the ball i think there was time to get a better sense of the reason why the u.s. can. strike and. it's really by the and i believe from what the neighbors cricketer n

chief has warned iran against further violence and provocations after an urgent meeting in brussels stoltenberg says a new conflict is in no one's interest nato maintains a 500 strong training mission in iraq for the fight against eisel it suspended that however after solomon is death. nato is prepared to continue our training and capacity building when the situation permits we remain strongly committed to the fight against international terrorism. after the meeting today in the united states also briefed on the regional situation following recent attacks on coalition forces in iraq on the strike against generals for the money. for years all our lives have expressed concern about 2 wrongs do you stabilizing activities in the why the middle east region. we agreed iran must never require a nuclear weapon we shared concern about iran's missile tests meanwhile iraqis are worried that they will bear the brunt of these growing tensions between iran and us especially since donald trump threatened to impose sanctions so wonderful tin has more from baghdad. and an easy mood has settled over back that sc

and the natures after general again stoltenberg has expressed support for the u.s. but also called for were straight and deescalation saying the new conflict would be in no one's interest. elsewhere forces loyal to the libyan war have to say they've seized the strategic coastal city of sirte from the un recognized government the city is situated on libya's coast and is the dividing line between have to libyan national army and the government of national accord which is based about 450 kilometers away in tripoli the city's port and military camps in the south was seized it comes as turkey is now preparing to deploy troops to help shore up the government in tripoli mahmoud to abdul wahid has more on the situation in tripoli. forces have taken control of several parts of the city including the poorest the city center that's also along with the military camps in southern city fighting is still going on until now according to military sources in the area and they say that they take over what happened after a certain detachment in the city was belonging to the government

yes yes stoltenberg the nato secretary general will be joining this foreign ministers meeting a little bit later again of course to be briefed on the situation to discuss the situation he earlier this week gave a press conference in which he also called for deescalation in which he said that all sides need to be very careful and ovoid a war that he said would be of course in nobody's interest but donald trump this week in the speech that he made on wednesday he called for nato to have a greater involvement in the middle east now trump has been very clear that he believes that the u.s. is carrying too much of the burden in his point of view for the troops in the middle east he would like to see nato ineffectively forces do a lot more there so that he had a telephone call with stoltenberg on this issue in the salton bergen tribes words seem very excited by this prospect so have to see exactly what stoltenberg has to say about this but there's no doubt of course he will be discussing nato forces in the middle east a little bit later with these e.u. foreign ministers there are of course th

it is quite a turnaround with stoltenberg. the president had some things to say which i think will be controversial, saying that the speaker of the house has defended general soleimani. i suspect that will not go down well. kevin: i do not think so either. when i've been talking about democrats, i have not found one democrat who suggested soleimani was a good actor. at utah senator mike lee, a member of his own party. mike lee joining rand paul, both of them have been critical of the president in terms of how he has bypassed congress for his military approach. the president saying the information those senators wanted is up to the military to release. he also suggested that maybe he would be willing or the military might be willing to share that information one-on-one with those lawmakers. i was struck by president trump saying "i have never seen him like this," referring to senator mike lee. i've never heard to the president referred to a key ally in that regard. this legislation is making its way through the house and senate

has warned iran against further violence and provocations after an urgent meeting in brussels and stoltenberg says a new conflict is in no one's interest nato does maintain a 500 strong training mission in iraq for the fight against i thought but it suspended that after saddam and his death. need to is prepared to continue a training and capacity building when the situation permits we remain strongly committed to the fight against international terrorism. after the meeting today the united states also briefed on the regional situation following recent attacks on coalition forces in iraq on the strike against generals from them on. for years all our lives have expressed concern about 2 wrongs do you stay abroad singer tutus in the middle east region. we agreed iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon we shared concern about iran's missile tests. just want to bring all of this back to iraq for a moment because a lot of iraqis are now worried that they are the ones will suffer the most from these growing tensions between iran and the u.s. not to mention donald trump's threat to impose sanctions

iran against further violence and provocations after an urgent meeting in brussels stoltenberg says a new conflict is in no one's interest and called for restraint and deescalation nato does maintain a 500 strong training mission in iraq for the fight against eisel but it's suspended that after solomon his death and a couple of other headlines for you forces loyal to the libyan warlord khalifa haftar have reached the center of the strategic coastal city of sirte trying to wrest control from the un recognized government part of have to as wider offensive to take the capital tripoli and protests have been held across india condemning an attack that targeted students and teachers at a prominent university in new delhi demonstrators say students affiliated with the ruling b j p were behind the violence though they deny that they got to that with the headlines on al-jazeera witness starts right now. on counting the cost 2020 we pick through what could be the whole geo political and geo economic topics of the year for the most important election in the free world and we ask if the world can

for —— jens stoltenberg calling for —— jens stoltenberg calling for restraint and saying the training them to vote in the leadership election — but aren't classed as members of the party. jonathan blake, the nec with this ruling, is there a sense this may favour some candidates rather than others? today's meeting was watched very closely for the decisions made, as to the timetable and exact rules that would be set for this contest for exactly that reason, simon, because there has been talk that changing the timetable or the amount thatis changing the timetable or the amount that is payable for registered supporters, a kind of light temporary membership, if you like, could favour one or other of the candidates involved and we can get some reaction from the labour mp wes streeting, part of the campaign team of jess streeting, part of the campaign team ofjess phillips, one of the candidates. a two—week window for new members to join and sign candidates. a two—week window for new members tojoin and sign up candidates. a two—week window for new members to join and sign up and a 48—hour win

moving forwa >> president trump has been speang to nato secretary jens stoltenberg, talking about natoing into the middle east. how likely is that? >>mp tas been pushing the idea of burden sharing for a while. sit seems unlikely and sh this bigger picture where we keep getting sucked back into the middle east to deal with these crises as they arise. we don't have an approacthere. >> is there anything left to sanction? >> technically, sure, but those will be more bark than bite. we have squeezed iran tightly financially and that has done littleo deter their aggression in the region. more sanctions won't do that. >> wn w saw rockets fired inside the green zones, close enough to s off sirens at the u.s. embassy, does that show the irwildcardi militias, who lost one of their own alongside general soleimani? >> despite talks about those militias bng restrained and iran encouraging him to stand down to it shows the breadth of their pry network. we will not see the end of the after effects of the soleimani strike and likely more buckets will be fired. >> now that the fingers being pointed t o

nato secretary-general stoltenberg had said he hadn't wanted to get involved in the situation betweend inunited states. but now you've got a meeting coming up monday which an opportunity for various nato allies first of all to get an ask from the u.s. here's how we would like to see you do more, but also it's another chance to drive home, you know, alliances are worthwhile, and we can do something for you. >> let me talk about the trajectory here of the conflict between the u.s. and iran. over the past 8 months you've seen one after another these episodes that cuminated military to military conflict this week. the president, though, when the president of the united states pulled the just out of the iran nuclear deal many thought had been at least constraining iran. the president yesterday blaming his predecessor. he keeps going back to obama for today's escalation of events he blames obama. listen. >> the missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration. >> the president is so fixated on undoing anything barack obama

my biggest fan of the whole world is general stoltenberg, because he cannot believe it. and he announced $530 billion we have gotten under my watch. so we are in great shape with that whole situation. and i think nato should be helping us now with the middle east. having an international flavor there is good. plus you had a deal signed with many of these countries that are in nato. so an economic deal with iran. so i have actually said that i think the scope of nato should be increased. and they should be looking for isis. we will help. but right now the burden is on us, and that has not been fair. we have done a great job with isis. when it came in three years ago isis was all over the place and was a disaster. and now isis is the caliphate, 100% of the caliphate is gone. 100%. and we have tens of thousands of prisoners, we have them in prison. but they should be taken and europe should be helping with that burden. i like the idea of nato expanding their views. >> reporter: since the environment has caught issue, talking about today, the environment is something that is

also warned iran against further violence and provocations after an urgent meeting in brussels and stoltenberg says the new conflict is in no one's interest and calls for restraint and the escalation and in other news forces loyal to libyan warlord khalifa haftar have reached the center of the strategic coastal city of sirte trying to take control from the un recognized government out of half as wider offensive to seize tripoli. and protests have been held across india condemning an attack that targeted students and teachers at a prominent university in new delhi demonstrators so students affiliated with the ruling a b j p were behind the violence so they deny that up to date with the headlines here on al-jazeera com jim acosta is next. iran's president seeks a 2nd term placing encourage you advocates restoring closer ties with china will this election will be a little closer to the mainland will continue to resist beijing's push the unification taiwan's trying to trying to get in. on just iran. hello i'm adrian finnigan and this is counting the cost of al-jazeera a weekly look at the world of

secretary-general stoltenberg said we can do more. i just learned that nato has dispatched delegation to the state department and this group is there now talking with state about what more can be done. what nato is offering is more counterterrorism work. i am not sure if that is what president trump had in mind. nato is taking this request seriously. they will do everything possible to try to help the united states. these are not going to be combat operations. there is no way the 28 other nato countries would agree to such a thing. phil: this eu foreign ministers meeting, what was the agreement there? do any of them care what they think? teri: i c could hear r the commen f from the foforeign ministerers and from foreren policycy chief jososeph burrellt they are slowly accepting that they are not goingng to be ableo keep the deal alive. that is very much the unified posisition even as the foreign ministers s were meetingng. more sanctions were being piledd onon ira that puts p pressure on the european u union as wellll as tehranan. one

and then nato secretary general again stoltenberg his call for a straight and deescalation saying a new conflict would be in no one's interests meanwhile the u.s. army there have been just a breaking news developments in the last 10 minutes or so with the u.s. army telling iraq that it is making preparations to move out of the country as a reposition its forces this stated in a letter to iraq's ministry of defense u.s. brigadier general william seeley saying that the u.s. will be repositioning forces over the course of the coming days and weeks john hendren joins me now from washington for more on this tell us more about the contents of this letter and whether its authenticity has been confirmed. well this is the letter it has been confirmed by iraqi authorities and they say they have received the letter it was as you said written by brigadier general william seeley who's in charge of the u.s. task force there in iraq written to lieutenant general abdul amir the head of iraqi forces there and it says. that troops would be repositioning u.s. troops would be repositioning forces over the

stoltenberg secretary general of nato is with me secretary general start by telling me about what is supposed to be your newest mission because certainly the president of the united states donald trump has given it a name he says nato me nato middle east is it authorized what are you planning well nato is all depressed and in the middle east we have a training mission in iraq we are working with partners like to nice sharp and jordan helping that would special person forces intelligence and of course if you look at the broader region we are present in afghanistan what we're doing now is that we are looking into how to scale up to do more in the fight against terrorism especially by providing more support to do rocky security forces you say scale up you've got about $500.00 or so troops currently suspended in iraq but president trump is talking about something much bigger is talking about you replacing u.s. troops and there are thousands there are you really going to get authorization for that well we are now discussing innate to what more we can do and we are doing that of course in

my biggest fan is secretary stoltenberg. you should put them on the show.maria: what he think is the outcome here. is it a quick dismissal forced the best outcome to get the witnesses get the vote for witnesses and be acquitted by the american people? >> i would say acquittal fairly quickly these guys are liars and horrible. i watched 50 shift yesterday but in between meetings i see him i watch his lies. i watch where they have actually played a rerun, which they should not even do what he does before congress and he makes a statement that i made and it was a total fraud, i never made it. that's why i release the conversation because people would've said that i made the statement that he made. this guy is a fraud. he's a corrupt politician. so i'm pretty much can the leave that to the senators. i have a lot of respect for them. i can send us the republican party has never been so unified. you've seen this too. 195 or 196 did nothing in the house twice. three democrats came to our side. and i think we're going to have some people come to our site. it is a ho

east and says the us acted on its own a cold winter assassination iran's most powerful general stoltenberg condemning the killing. meanwhile millions of fill the streets of cities across iran for the funeral procession of the country's slain general custom stolen money. and moscow's christ the savior he truly is the wronged with eastern old little's christians around the great christmas. well those are the headlines and that's it for me for now jacqueline bouvier will behave with you next hour to take history of the latest news from around the world and stay with us for cross-talk next here on altie international.

house press conferenence e wanted nato to be more involved in the middle east and secretary-general stoltenbergaid, ok, we can do more. and in fact, i have just learned that nato has dispatched a delegation to the state department, this group is there now, talking with the state about what more can be done. now, what nato is offering is is more counterterrorism work. and i am not sure that is exactly what president trump had in mind, but the people who actually do the work are there discussing it now, so nato is taking the request seriously and i'm sure will do everything possible to try to help the united states. but these are not going to be combat operations, there is no way that 28 allies would agree to such a thing. phil: the eu foreign ministers meeting, what was the agreed position today, and does anybody besides the eu care what they think? teri: you know, i can hear in the comments from the foreign ministers,s, even from fororeign policy cef j josh buburrell, that they are slowly acceptiting that perhaps they are not goinig to be able to keep the deal alive. although, that is still the

eastern quick break then speaking with nato secretary general jens stoltenberg on expanding u.s.ck for fox business day four melbourne saw two top stars take one step forward in quest for first career grand slam title. world four powered his way to vikt with a dominant display over martinez. >> thanks to 19 aces u.s. open runner-up cruised to straight set victory. >> -- look at this [cheers and applause] >> world number 77 booked addict into third round taking out the bella russian. >> german yet to drop a set down under. >> don't forget tennis channel live coverage aussie open daily 6 pm eastern. when i lost my sight, my biggest fear was losing my independence. mmm... good. so i've spent my life developing technology to help the visually impaired. we are so good. we built a guide that uses ibm watson... to help the blind. it is already working in cities like tokyo. my dream is to help millions more people like me. woman: friction points, those obstacles that limit a company's growth. i try to find companies that turn these challenges into opportunities. it's these unique compani

and the nato secretary general again stoltenberg calls on iran to avoid further violence provocations. also ahead forces loyal to libyan warlord khalifa haftar to take control of one of the largest military base.