is a big hullabaloo in the fall where he said they were not categorically opposed to sanctions on tehran. they're already opposed to that in the un. lastly, the administration would like to -- from a strategic sense -- tried to regain some leverage in the u.s.-russia- china relationship. it is worth -- i will leave you with this thought. it is appropriate to have modest expectations about the reset with the russians. when i look at three key security issues driving the relationship -- iran, afghanistan, and nuclear security, moscow is conditional on all of those. the conditions are closer to us than our beijing. it is something to think about. i would like to introduce sharon squassoni -- >> i would like to introduce sharon squassoni. she has just joined us from carnegie. we're happy to have her. this is her first appearance at csis. >> thank you. i am the functional specialists here. i will talk a little bit about nuclear security -- the nuclear security summit that will take place in washington next monday. andrew mentioned the three- pronged agenda that president obama laid out last a

she's taught at the university of tehran. a free islamic university.efore her return to the united states in 1997. she's earned respect. and international recognition for advocating on behalf of intellectuals, youth, and especially young women. in 1981 she was expelled from the university of tehran for refusing to wear the mandatory islamic veil. and she did not return to teaching until 1991. she has written for the "times" the "wall street journal," our cover story the veiled threat of the iranian's revolution woman problem published in the new republic has been reprinted in several languages. she's currently working on a book entitled "republic of the imagination" which is about the power of liberation to empower the minds of people. she lives here in washington, d.c. at the conclusion of her keynote i will join her for a few moments and have an opportunity to explore what she said with her and to open it up to you for your questions from that mic in the middle of the room. so please, as she speaks, and as we speak, if you'd prepare your brief questi

we will hear from the author of "reading lolita in tehran". this is an hour and 50 minutes. >> welcome and thank you for coming to our event on iran's blogosphere. we have a different conference for you today. i'm a professor here at gw school of public affairs. we are hosting today's event. we're doing things a little differently today. our goal today is to talk about the importance of engagement, means of engagement, the importance of person to person contact even when foreign policy between two countries is a difficult, to say the least. we will be talking about new media. we will have an online moderator who will be bringing in comments and questions that we have received through our conference web page and facebook page and twitter feeds. and also some videos that have been sent in from everyone from a noted film director to iranian bloggers to students. we are partnering with the broadcasting board of governors for the institute. it has always been a wonderful partnership. i want to get started so we can get to our keynote speaker. jeff

the setting was a nuclear summit in tehran days after president obama's own summit.im sciutto is the only network journalist there. here's his report from tehran. >> reporter: this is officially a conference dedicated to eliminating the world's nuclear weapons but the rhetoric is aimed squarely on american. in a summit hall alongside images of attack of hiroshima and nagasaki. iran's supreme leader called the u.s., the world's only atomic criminal and the iranian president demand the u.s. be kicked out of the watch dog agency, the iaea. those who possess or use nuclear weapons he said should be suspended. with the conference iran is trying to fight increasing isolation on the nuclear issue. inviting as many countries as possible to push back what it dismisses as a u.s.-led campaign against iran. the u.s. accuses iran of developing nuclear weapons pushing russia and china to agree to sanctions. iran insists the program is peaceful. one of the problems we have with you and your leaders, he said, you talk more than you listen. >> today would be a opportunity for our nat

diplomacy and engagement has had nothing on tehran. deadlines set by the obama administration for compliance has been repeatedly disregarded. now, the strategy appears to be resting on securing a new u.n. security council resolution. however, russia and china see themselves as friends of the regime in tehran and have public low stated that they will not support -- publicly stated that they will not support a resolution that will put significant pressure on tehran. in fact, "the new york times" reported last week that secretary of defense robert gates, quote, in a secret memorandum to top white house officials that the united states does not have, does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with iran's steady progress toward nuclear capability, end quote. mr. speaker, the congress must fill this vacuum. we must not sit idly by and wait for iran to detonate a nuclear device. in february of 2006, the congress adopted a concurrent resolution citing the iranian regime's repeated violations of its international obligations, unde

we have given tehran a choice of two pounds. negotiation and cooperation or isolations and sanctions. iran's leaders have ignored our choice and have take an third path, using negotiations and partial cooperation to divide the international community and stave off international -- and to continue their nuclear pursuits. i can only assume their leaders calculate that the prestige and security they provide squout weigh whatever condemnation and sanctions emerge from the multilateral process. increasingly, i would argue, we must base our plans and diplomacy on the asthauges iran will have -- assumptions that iran will have nuclear weapons. did i mention that i'm speaking for myself and not the u.s. government. i just want to make that clear. iran's leaders, once nuclear armed may not be so suicidal as to launch nuclear attacks against israel, the united states or their partners or allies in the region. however iran's leaders may engage in nuclear brinksmanship. dangerous behavior to try to intimidate neighbors, to deter outside int

she taught at university of tehran before her return to the united states in 1997. she has earned respect and international recognition for advocating on behalf of intellectuals, youth, and especially young women. in 1981, she was expelled from the university of tehran for refusing to wear the mandatory islamic veil. she did not resume teaching until 1987. she has written for "and york times," "the washington post,t." she is been published an open book the new republic." she is currently working on a book entitled, "republic of the imagination. coke is about the power of literature to liberate the minds of people. she lives here in washington, d.c. at the conclusion of the keynote, i will join her for a few moments to have an opportunity to explore some of what she said. we will open up to you for questions from the microphone in the middle of the room. please prepare your brief questions and we will get to you as well. it is my great pleasure to welcome to george washington university and to all of you azar nafisi. [applause] >> thank you so much. it is a great ple

she's taught at the university of tehran. a free islamic university. before her return to the united states in 1997. she's earned respect. and international recognition for advocating on behalf of intellectuals, youth, and especially young women. in 1981 she was expelled from the university of tehran for refusing to wear the mandatory islamic veil. and she did not return to teaching until 1991. she has written for the "times" the "wall street journal," our cover story the veiled threat of the iranian's revolution woman problem published in the new republic has been reprinted in several languages. she's currently working on a book entitled "republic of the imagination" which is about the power of liberation to empower the minds of people. she lives here in washington, d.c. at the conclusion of her keynote i will join her for a few moments and have an opportunity to explore what she said with her and to open it up to you for your questions from that mic in the middle of the room. so please, as she speaks, and as we speak, if you'd prepare your brief ques

the author of the national bestseller "reading lolita in tehran."it's a compassionate but harrowing portrait of the islamic revolution in iran and how it affected one university professor and her students. the book spent more than 115 weeks on the "new york times" bestseller list. not bad. it's been translated into 32 languages and it has won several literary awards. excuse me. including the 2004 nonfiction book of the year award from book book of the year award from book sense. the frederick w.ness book award. and several others. reading lolita in iran has earned critical praise in tehran and literary distinction as it has built a enthusiastic readership. they have been captivated by the story and the characters framed in this alluring and confounding place. iran. the book is an incisive exploration of the transformative powers, that truly transformative powers of fiction and a world of tyranny. she's a visiting professor and the executive director of cultural conversations at the foreign policy institute. of johns hopkins school of international s

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, tehran. >> couric: one of the leaders at the summit sheer president nicolas sarkozy of france, it's his second trip to washington in two weeks. in an exclusive interview earlier today, we discussed a potential international response to iran's nuclear ambitions. you have very passionately advocated stronger sanctions against iran. what exactly do you mean by stronger sanctions? and to what end? >> ( translated ): i consider the fact that iran could get its hands on a nuclear weapon, a military nuclear weapon together with the many statements made by iranian leaders against the democracy that is israel is dangerous and unacceptable. unacceptable, quite simply. now, president obama wanted to stretch out his hand in order to show clearly to the iranians that it was not they who were the target but the leadership. patience has its limits and we have come to a time now where we need vote sanctions. not against the iranian people, but against the leaders who are leading the country to the wall. >> couric: are you optimistic you'll be able to do that within the purvi

while not having to make a hard decision about selling tehran down the -- down the road. there was a big hull aballo when president medvedev said there was no sanctions on iran because the russians have supported three rounds of sanctions against iran in the u.n. lastly i think the administration would like to and extra strategic sense particularly in the reset with the russians is try to regain some leverage in the u.s./russia/china relationship. and i think it is worth -- i'll leave you with this thought in my opening remarks. while i think it's appropriate to have modest expectations about -- about the reset with the russians, when i look at the three key security issues driving the relationship, iran, afghanistan, and nuclear security, i would conclude that probably moscow's position on all three of those sets of issues are closer to us than are beijing. and maybe that's something to think about. thanks. >> with that i would like to introduce my colleague, sharon squassoni. sharon is the fellow for our proliferation council and this is her first briefing at csis. >> t

diplomacy and engagement has had nothing on tehran. deadlines set by the obama administration for compliance has been repeatedly disregarded. now, the strategy appears to be resting on securing a new u.n. security council resolution. however, russia and china see themselves as friends of the regime in tehran and have public low stated that they will not support -- publicly stated that they will not support a resolution that will put significant pressure on tehran. in fact, "the new york times" reported last week that secretary of defense robert gates, quote, in a secret memorandum to top white house officials that the united states does not have, does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with iran's steady progress toward nuclear capability, end quote. mr. speaker, the congress must fill this vacuum. we must not sit idly by and wait for iran to detonate a nuclear device. in february of 2006, the congress adopted a concurrent resolution citing the iranian regime's repeated violations of its international obligations, unde

she's taught at the university of tehran. a free islamic university. before her return to the united states in 1997. she's earned respect. and international recognition for advocating on behalf of intellectuals, youth, and especially young women. in 1981 she was expelled from the university of tehran for refusing to wear the mandatory islamic veil. and she did not return to teaching until 1991. she has written for the "times" the "wall street journal," our cover story the veiled threat of the iranian's revolution woman problem published in the new republic has been reprinted in several languages. she's currently working on a book entitled "republic of the imagination" which is about the power of liberation to empower the minds of people. she lives here in washington, d.c. at the conclusion of her keynote i will join her for a few moments and have an opportunity to explore what she said with her and to open it up to you for your questions from that mic in the middle of the room. so please, as she speaks, and as we speak, if you'd prepare your brief ques

tehran's saber rattling is likely aimed at discouraging a strike against its nuclear research facilitiesut also is making neighbors in the arabian gulf snervous and they sent missile batteries to u.s.

we cannot expect a change of heart from tehran, but we can demand a change of behavior.my colleagues, this action is timely and perhaps past time, but it is always timely to do the right thing. to speak up, to act, and to encourage our allies as well. and our partners, and our fellow citizens in this globe to act in a way that will protect them and protect our international community. so i rise in strong support of this motion to go to conference. and the motion to instruct and i thank my chairman for his leadership on this issue. he is working both to have effective action taken by the congress and to assist the administration in reaching the objective in as positive a way as possible. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i continue to reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves her time. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr

minister benjamin netanyahu is the need to organize a coalition to impose crippling sanctions on tehran. >> if you stop them from importing, find petroleum, a fancy word for gasoline, then iran doesn't have the refining capacity and this regime comes to a halt. >> reporter: netanyahu and mccain are among those who do not believe china and russia will agree to tough new sanctions. if there are new sanctions and they do not work, gates and mull listen be responsible on advising the president on how best to contain what will likely be a nuclear iran. bret? >> bret: mike emanuel live at the pentagon tonight. thanks. the senate homeland security committee continued investigation in the fort hood shooting from the obama administration. lieberman and collins want to know what they call the warning signs of maj major hasa extremism were not recognized. we have look at what congress wants to do ahead of the mid-term elections and there is big news involving one senate race in a key southern state. >> bret: this is a fox news alert. in the election headquarters tonight, major develop in the the f

right now any government in tehran has to weigh the pros andany government in tehran has to weigh the pros and cons of going nuclear. and if they recognize that the political costs, of going nuclear, that there is an emerging consensus not only on the part of nuclear powers but worldwide -- and this will be tested next month at the review conference. you go in raise the nuclear threshold for any country, including iran, for going nuclear. so nobody is advocating unilateral nuclear disarmament. but what we are trying to do is refocus, refocus attention to proliferation. one last comment here. let me remind you that the 1968 nuclear nonproliferation treaty had embodied in it a tradeoff, a deal, a bargain. what it said was that existing non-nuclear countries signed up, committed themselves to remaining non-nuclear. but the existing nuclear powers committed themselves to a serious effort of nuclear disarmament. and in past nuclear proliferation review conferences, those non-nuclear countries have justifiably criticized the united states and other nuclear powers for not seriously pursuing

they were in a peaceful march in tehran. the government killed several people in the hands of the militia. after the administration opposed journalists and photographers, [unintelligible] to the media around the world. the islamic republic solve the loss of their power through the works of these photographers and restricted the media by creating an atmosphere of fear. this picture which you're looking now is for the demonstration in 1999 which was the previous 10 years ago and the start of when start ofbanned -- the government banned newspapers and students came out to protest. it is all the people they're blaming nowadays. after the demonstration after the 2009 election, it was during that demonstration. that was a time which the people started to show there were not satisfied with the regime and this is the result of 10 years ago and demanding their rights. the regime banned all journalists and foreign -- asked for media to leave the country immediately. it was three days after june 12 and when the government said to the j

the chief iranian nuclear negotiator travels to beijing, a sign that perhaps that tehran is worried about the changing chinese position. but>> our chinese friends say that it is a problem and it can be solved through negotiations. some countries should give up their incorrect actions pressuring intersections. this will be ineffective. >> washington would like everyone on board for the new sanctions because it sends a strong message. the price to pay for china's support might be a watered-down u.n. resolution. individual countries can impose their own sanctions against iran. first, the discussions at the u.n. actually have to start. >> what is the opinion in beijing? is president obama making progress in getting them on board? >> there is no indication coming from the chinese side but he would not expect that. what is interesting is that he did place this hour-long conversation to the chinese president. he made the call while on air force one. what we understand, what has been released, is that what president obama spoke about was the need for the two sides to work together to ensure that

russians that it will be in your interest to have a better relationship with washington than one with tehran. think about your interests. if we are not able to reach a meeting of the minds on sanctions, other things -- possibly civilian agreement, even the ratification of start -- these will all be jeopardized on capitol hill where there's not a lot sympathy towards the russian spirit the russian strategy consisted -- sanctions has been to try to find a way to appear that their corporate with the the united states and our allies while not having to make a hard decision. there was a big hullabaloo when mr. medvedev said they're not against sanctions against iran. the russians have already supported sanctions against iran in the un. the administration would like to try to regain some leverage in the u.s.-russia-china relationship. i think it is worth -- i think is appropriate to have modest expectations about the reset with the russians. when a look at that, i would conclude moscow's position is probably closer to us than beijing. that is something to think about. thank you. >> i would like to

diplomacy and engagement has had nothing on tehran.nistration for compliance has been repeatedly disregarded. now, the strategy appears to be resting on securing a new u.n. security council resolution. however, russia and china see themselves as friends of the regime in tehran and have public low stated that they will not support -- publicly stated that they will not support a resolution that will put significant pressure on tehran. in fact, "the new york times" reported last week that secretary of defense robert gates, quote, in a secret memorandum to top white house officials that the united states does not have, does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with iran's steady progress toward nuclear capability, end quote. mr. speaker, the congress must fill this vacuum. we must not sit idly by and wait for iran to detonate a nuclear device. in february of 2006, the congress adopted a concurrent resolution citing the iranian regime's repeated violations of its international obligations, underscoring that as a result of the

tehran saying these three american hikers are spies for u.s. intel. they have been behind bars in solitary confinement since july, isolated from the outside world, not even granted access to an attorney. picture it, there was another prisoner from the same prison who said they are in a room, each separated, right, solitary, each one, in which they keep the light on, 24/7, they get to speak to no one, and it's been going on for eight month, all because they allegedly crossed over the border or did cross over the border from iraq to iran when they were hiking. now iran saying that they're spies for the u.s. government. >>> the latest statement, of course, not good news for their families. we will speak with one of these men's family member just ahead here on "america live", less than ten minutes away. >>> new details coming in right now on the alleged bullying of a 15-year-old massachusetts girl. you've heard about this case by now, phoebie prince, her harassment, that reportedly led her to actually commit suicide. court documents just released say that

this report is from tehran. >> iran unveiled its latest achievement.this simple steel cylinder encloses a new generation of centrifuge. authorities say they can enrich uranium six times more efficiently than the existing model. for president ahmadinejad, it is a symbol of the national progress at and a message of defiance to the west. he told the loyal audience iran had gone nuclear, whether ill wishers like it or not, and dismissed any suggestion iran wanted to build a nuclear weapon. nevertheless, the concern from the west is the new centrifuges could speed up iran's ability to make a bomb. the big question is how quickly they could put them into operation,eang in mind problems they're ready had making the first generation machines run smoothly. i at their meeting in prague on thursday, president obama and medvedev of russia move toward new sanctions on iran over the nuclear issue. china seems to be moving closer as well. in an interview with the bbc, the former head of the u.n. nuclear agency warned against such a move. >> it does not affect the reg

and whether tehran intends it or not, groups like hezbollah may see iran's atomic arsenal as a nuclearumbrella for more aggressive action against israel and others. mishandled brinksmanship or nuclear emboldened aggression may escalate deliberately or not to nuclear use. compounding this danger is a real risk that others in the middle east may decide to acquire their own nuclear arsenal. candidate proliferous include egypt, saudi arabia and perhaps even turkey, the nato ally most exposed. these countries could be motivated by the desire for security, influence or merely prestige. no country that aspires to middle east leadership will be the last have nuclear weapons. a nuclear arms race is not inevitable, nor would it necessarily be fast. with the exception of israel and iran most countries in the region are far from having bombmaking capabilities. we must prepare for surprises. remember how 1980s saudi arabia suddenly had medium-range missiles from china. remember how more recently, syria build a nuclear reactor in the desert with no one noticing for five years. fast and surprising or

since the 1990's, three presidents have had policy to violate american law to protect tehran's businesspartners. this is opposite from what we're trying to do. critical for policy, we have explicit, continuous, the tories violations of law. the only should the administration follow the law because it is the law, but the fact is that we should sanction those companies that are investing in iran's oil sector. if we follow the law since the -- iran's long sectooil sector. if we followed all along, at this point,$$ would be to get to russia and china on board. that would require beijing and moscow about such a issues are on the table. right now, the only thing that is on the table or lectures on why they should agree with us on iran, even though we have threatened them with nothing and offer them nothing. the non-bargaining approach is an acute failure. >> whether we have talked about is the position that israel is in in this point. should netanyahu have, should he not have come? bearer's the question if -- there is the question over whether they will attack iran. is there a real risk? is a

despite all the evidence, he indicates tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapons could ability and control -- trigger an arms race in the middle east. police officials across america are warning an anti-government group called to remove dozens of sitting governors may encourage others to act out violently. a federal intelligent note says more than 30 governors received letters demanding that they leave office within three days or they will be removed. the group that called itself the guardians of the free republic said on its web site that they have a plan to restore america by peacefully dismantling parts of the government. changes and traveler screening begin next month -- this month. an announcement by homeland security secretary general but todd -- janet napolitano, outlines a new layer of security that will use real-time thread- based intelligent for all flights entering the united states. a person will be stopped if he or she matches the description, even if officials don't have a suspect's name. the change is a result of a review ordered by president obama following december

the late 1990s, three presidents have had it as policy to violate american law in order to protect tehran's business partners. this makes a mockry of everything that we do in our foreign aid programs to try to encourage democracy and the rule of law, because in the critical foreign policy area we have explicit continuous notorioius violation of law. but not only should the administration follow the law because it's the law, which strikes me as good constitutional practice, but the fact is that we should sanction those companies that are investing in iran's oil sector. if we had followed the law since the late 1990s, the accumulated effect of this might well have put the iranian government in a position where it had to deal with regard to its nuclear program. at this point, i think that the best sanctions, because now we have a very short amount of time, would be to get russia and china obboard, and that would require telling beijing and moscow that such issues as trade and the access to u.s. markets, such issues as mold dove va or others are on the table. but as long as the only thing on th

elizabeth palmer, cbs news, tehran. >>> astronauts at the international space station got an early start this morning. they began the third and final spacewalk of the mission an hour ahead of schedule. they're completings installation of a new ammonium coolant tank aboard the station.old fang will be moved to the cargo bay and be returned to earth next week. earlier there was a recital, the two japanese astronauts performed traditional music. it was to mark the first time two japanese astronauts are flying in space together. you're watching the "cbs morning news." ♪ row to finish what you started today. for the aches and sleeplessness in between, there's new motrin pm. no other medicine, not even advil pm, is more effective for pain and sleeplessness. new motrin pm. is all you'll find in sun crystals®. the 100% natural sweetener made from just pure cane sugar and the sweet stevia plant. nothing artificial and only 5 calories per packet. sun crystals® all natural sweetener. can you believe how fast kids grow these days? and since 90% of bone strength is developed before adulthood... it's

in fact, i think the people in places like tehran, fantastic, the united states is coming down. let's ramp up to get the capability even more quickly. but it's not just this particular bilateral treaty. the administration has made it clear it wants to resume what in their view is progress for embedding the nos a web of multilateral treaties that i think could constrict america's strategic options in the years ahead to seek once again ratification of the comprehensive test band treaty defeated in the senate during the clinton administration to resume negotiation over a cutoff treaty and a treaty to prevent what they called the arm's race in outer space. and a variety of other treaties like the land mine's convention that were opposed by the united states when they were negotiated because they constricted us in areas that were vital to our strategic interest in the case of the land mine's particularly on the korean peninsula. and finland also opposed that treaty. they remember prior conflicts with russia. the finnish ambassador of the negotiation was one criticized by media scandi

>> that's right, jamie, that's the tehran researcher reactor deal that iran agreed to on october 1sthen the deal went back to tehran, it fell apart because ahmadnejad faced political criticism from people on the left and people on the right, but you're right to mention that. you know, we can wag our finger at them and threaten them, but at the end of the day, the only way out of this mess is if they agree to steps that allow them to have some nuclear program, but set up fire brakes so that doesn't become a program that leads to a nuclear weapon. that means we have to have some sort of negotiated settlement in which all parties get something out of it. we get confidence about their program and it's not being misused, but they get to have some sort of program, but until we reach that, it's going to be very hard to influence them, especially when they have problems at home. >> and to monitor it as well. we know the iaea is on the ground from time to time, but boy, to find out about a secret plant we don't know about. thanks for keeping an eye on it for us, jim, always great talking to y

turkey has been very interesting in a sense in offering especially with the proposed deal to fuel the tehran research reactor of last october. turkey stepped in in a way that was very welcomed to try to build confidence. and perhaps broker that. my guess is without being -- knowing the details, that turkey was probably very frustrated by dealing with the iranians on this issue as well. but that one response that neighbors have with trying to deal with iran -- everybody who deals with iran is frustrated. i mean, maybe not hezbollah. [laughter] >> but everybody else. and the question is do they keep the frustration to themselves or do they express it in different ways? and i think that's -- i don't have the answer to that question. but i think everyone is frustrated by it including turkey or the other states. >> when we talk about bombing, there's a big wildcard here and that's obviously israel. and i'm not in a position to evaluate how the recent developments between the u.s. and israel might affect decision-making there. but i can say individual as a person, i was surprised that israel didn'

i don't know somewhere around tehran. and they're having a lot of fun. he would deny this, any connections but it's happening. next one, please. [laughter] >> do you remember mr. obama said if our opponents unclenched their fists we would stretch out our hands and shake hands with them. okay. shaking hand with the devil with his hand is actually bloody wouldn't be that clean and clear. so i think somebody has to bring a wipeout after mr. obama who was shaking hands with him and stepping on the green members. this is iran and iranian journalism and somehow citizen journalism. thank you very much. [applause] >> so mohammed, if -- as moussaoui said every citizen in iran is potentially a journalist, how does -- how does that kind of behavior -- and you state -- you quoted some numbers, upwards of a million iranians with blogging. it's about linking and networking and talking to each other. building communities, building conversations online. how does that community link to the larger world of internet broadcasting, international news, international informati

i have to tell you that we have another gardener in tehran. >> absolutely. i am looking at all that stuff over there right now. the best way to describe the weekend is brisk. it is not a good hair day. cold front went through and you can see the line of clouds and rain down towards the bottom of the screen. that is where the front is and it is moving away from us. it is a break from the clouds developing. it will be a nice bright day, plus three. cold air coming behind the cold front. temperatures will not be nearly as large as they were yesterday. >> thank you so much. the latest forecast is always at your fingertips at wbaltv.com trea. >> pass from a volcano in ireland -- iceland has stranded airline passengers for a second day. some passengers spent the night at the airport in tokyo. australia has cancelled all flights to europe. but can it eruptions in southern iceland that began wednesday has started the interruption. >> hoping for the best, british airways told these travelers that their tickets can be adjusted for a future flight. bad news for this ma

partners must understand that they will no longer conduct business with the regime in tehran with impunity. mr. speaker, these are times of sharp partisan divide in our nation's capital, but today we have a chance to together to take a major step forward in the interest of world peace. the time for decisive action to head off the regime in iran's nuclear program is now. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. berman: mr. speaker, i yield myself -- before i yield to the majority leader, i'm just going to yield to myself 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. berman: one year and three months ago america's goal -- america was pretty isolated in its goal of trying to stop iran from getting a nuclear weapon. we absolutely need to move we absolutely need to move quickly because iran is moving quickly. but there can be no doubt that the result of the events of the past 15 months have changed the dynamic fundamentally where the international community now recogniz

it follows remarks from am ma din gnaw god that a quake is certain to hit tehran and many of the 12 million residents should relocate. i believe we have tape of ma -- mamuhd and the claire i can are. -- the cleric. >> that's amazing they can drive. >> they don't own a car, greg. that was doctored. >> i have to say, as crazy as it sounds, isn't he kind of right? >> at first i thought, this guy has a point. and then i thought, i think i will speak for all guys in bands and say, send those ladies on over. let's get rid of them out of iran and get them right back to where -- >> the women there are beautiful. they are beautiful. would you tour there? >> absolutely. i can't wait jie. the groupies would be be great. diana, the clothing you wear, do you ever worry that sometimes it could cause major disasters? >> i think about that every day. in fact, i'm like, what is today's richter scale going to do? will it go up if i show more skin? this is ridiculous. honestly, do we really need to say it, it is absurd. and if they are really afraid of this, perhaps they should just move all of the women to p

. >> and it says if tehran develops missiles technology and perfects nuclear capability, there's a problem but there's a lot of if's. >> that's true. there are development problems on the nuclear refine. , if you will and also the technology in terms of the missiles. once they do have the technology, the game changes. one expert said the first victim of the iranian regime may be enemies of the regime in iran because when you -- what can you say if you're a foreign power, if they crack down on their people and they have nuclear weapons. that happened in china and they say it may happen in iran. ath game changing moment in the region and in the way the rest of the world deals with the regime. >> is there skepticism about the reports? >> no. this is the unclassified, unvarnished assessment from the department of defense to congress. people will tell you, intelligence is not always precise. we don't always know what goats on -- goes on in iran and they work with with north korea and perhaps north korea could be the help iran needs to help advance their development but it's something the rest o

want to resolve these issues constructively after initially accepting the offer, they rejected the tehranch reactor proposal. they have refused to discuss their nuclear program since what they p-5 +1. the resolution of a covert enrichment site further suspicion about iran's intentions. they recently increased the rich and levels of its uranium to 20%. iran continues to reap less -- repress it on citizens and prohibit their universal rights to express themselves freely and to choose their own future. ladies and gentlemen, these are not the behavior is a responsible international actor. they are not the actions of a government committed to peaceful diplomacy and a new relationship with a willing and ready partner. indeed, iran's continued defiance of its international obligations caused a clear program and its support of terrorism represents a significant regional and global threat. a nuclear-arms to iran could transform the landscape for the middle east precipitating a nuclear arms race, dramatically increasing the prospect and danger of local conflicts, fatally wounding the nonpolar opera

again, they invited a lot of parties to tehran for talks that is going to happen.llawi is going to go the saudis are going to be there, we're going to be there. but it's interesting, the sadrist appeal is this sunni, arab, nationalist, iraqi appeal. strong roots in iraq, going back hundreds of years. and muqtada al sadr going in iran has tainted that appeal a little bit. sadrists in iran is not a threat. we haven't seen a sign post of real deterioration. we haven't seen militias take the streets to protect neighborhoods. we have not seen the ministry stand down. things we started to see in 2006, we haven't seen that yet. that's so far positive. we just got to watch it every day. >> i'm hearing you both talk about everything that's so positive. i'm trying to sort of connect the reality with your rhetoric. i know things got better after the surge in 2007 but we have all been stunned at the level of violence that has come up before the election and since the election and just the string of suicide bombings. i mean, appearing to act with the same kind of impunity that

but you can live in tehran and have lipstick and still want nuclear weapons. they are not mutually exclusive. >> the big mac is not enough? >> a whopper with cheese, with a special on fries -- >> well -- >> then you will sell it for chemical weapons -- settle for chemical weapons. so this world is much more complex. the idea that globalization would make everybody happy, so that's clearly wrong. we have a much more complicated global landscape. i think that creates a sense of urgenc nebeijing. if you live between beijing and the united states, when you come back here, there is almost no sense of urgency. there is very few places where you find people feeling that. in beijing, it's such an exciting city right now. the intellectual life is electric with people trying to figure out how they are going to manage this tremendous project forward. they are thinking the unthinkable. see, we seem to just be -- you tell me, ben, survivors don't do this. they -- we seem to just be holding on. just hold on. just hold on. don't let it collapse. hold on. survivors say, let t

what can the west do to deep tehran from developing a nuclear weapon? joining us michael sing. is good to see you michael. this guy loves to stir up trouble, doesn't he? >> he sure does. he sure does. >> how seriouslyly -- when he comes out and says these things like has today. what happens in washington? what happens on the national security council? >> i don't think much happens. certainly we are accustomed to bluster from ahmadinejad. i think that it would be a mistake to dismiss it as bluster. there is a grain of truth to what he says. if iran sees sanctions coming and doesn't think the sanctions will be strong or do much to inflict pain on iran there is a sense in which they embolden iran and cause them to believe they are not going to pay a price for what they've done. >> china seems to be the key to all of this. they have that veto on the u.n. security council. what kind of sanctions do you think the chinese would be willing to go along with? >> so far the chinese have not indicated they are willing to go along with any sanctions. they've said they will discuss sanctions

why did you move to tehran?ted to learn more about the culture and society. i didn't grow up speaking the farsi language because my mother was japanese and the mutual language is english so i felt the best way to learn the language would be to enlist myself and the country and i wanted to be for an news correspondent and i thought what country would be more than iran for the years to come. >> you were arrested in january, 2009 but you had been there six years and lost your passed in 2006. what kept you there? and why did you lose your pass? >> they never gave me clear reason for taking away my pass. but at the time i wanted -- i believed there was a greater need than ever for independent news from here on and i felt the risk of the responsibility to help provide an unlimited basis that was allowed by law and i also found i had a lot more time and new opportunities to write a book about the country. and i wanted to tell stories have different iranian said the different sectors of the society for people of the cou

our blood december 27 a week after ayatollah died, 138 people were gunned down on the streets of tehran alone. he made a mistake and 1953, the american administration, made a mistake by removing the doctor. now this time if you just keep silent, quiet, don't extend a hand or negotiate, don't give them the legitimacy, to stay on the side of the iranian people, help us to topple this nasty criminal regime and you will gain of the credibility. we are not looking for any kind of help from the united states or the western countries. but keep silent. don't try -- you have been trying -- elliott, you remember during the reagan administration a weapon hostages, iran contra, you remember that. for 30 years you have been trying to reach the government of iran who are the mother of all time deception, they are criminals and hasn't worked. to stay on the side of iranian people by keeping quiet and silent, just silent. that is all that we want from you on till we topple this regime hopefully by june. and they will come along. it will come along. believe me. >> thank you for the question. thank you.

if you poke in tehran thursday, you'll have a new french government's that will be a clean break andthe country and a new direction and bring the change we need. >> everything i said during these three television debates is driven by my simple belief that if we do things differently, we can build a better and fairer britain. if you decide how to cast your vote, you'll be told by these two that change is dangerous and cannot be done. do not let anyone scary. from fall in your instincts. together next week, we can change britain for good. think how many times you have been given lots of problems from these policies and when they get back into government, nothing really changes at all. we can do so much better than that this time. of course, i cannot guarantee that all problems you face will be solved overnight. i can guarantee you that i will work tirelessly to deliver fairness. their taxes so you pay less than the top -- the people of the top pay their fair share size. smaller class size in schools. decent, open politics that contrast once again. i believe all this can happen. this is

today in tehran, a foreign ministry spokesman said chinese-backing of a new round of sanctions was hardly assured. >> (translated:) we don't consider such statements as their approval and support of the u.s. authority's unjust measures, although we have repeatedly said that the issue of sanctions and going toward increasing sanctions is a logical and unfair and will not harm the iranian nation's will to achieve its rights. >> brown: it was also revealed today that secretary clinton met privately last night with the permanent members of the united nations' security town is sill in germany to discuss the next steps on iran. still, the president today kept the focus on the nuclear terrorism issue. this afternoon as the talks came to a close, he unveiled an agreement among all participating nations. >> this evening i can report that we have seized this opportunity. because of the steps we've taken as individual nations and as an international community, the american people will be safer and the world will be more secure. all the nations represented here have endorsed the goal that i outlined

like many of the men and women today venturing and physical safety, their lives on the streets of tehran. policies that go against the natural course of affairs, warming to enemies and freezing out allies are destined to fail. socrates reminds us that a dog knows well enough to distinguish friends from enemies. so should our policy establishment including not only policymakers but analysts, researchers and journalists. moreover such notions go against the american brain. the u.s. is a strong horse, in fact it is the strong horse not merely on account of our military might or even our technological prowess or the productiveness of our economy. indeed it is one of the great misconceptions help not only in the region but by many here in the u.s. that it is possible to distinguish between the values of culture holds dear and the goods such a society produces. so there are those who believe technology will help the arabs catch up to modernity the notion that the internet satellite tv and bluetooth make the modern world so attractive that young arabs will do anything for a ticket in the global