. ♪ >>> a nuclear deal with iran after years of talks, the u.s. d five other nations reach an historic agreement. >> because of this deal the international community will be able to verify that the islamic republican of iran will not develop a nuclear weapon. >> but opponents are already threatening to quash the deal and make sure it never takes effect. ♪ >>> this is al jazeera america, good morning, live from new york city. i'm randall pinkston in for stephanie sy. leaders around the world and here in the u.s. are reacting to the news from vienna. this deal puts restrictions on iran's nuclear program with. in exchange the u.s. and its european partners have agreed to drop sanctions that have been place in for years. >> today because america negotiated from a position of strength and principal, we have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons in this region. >> now let's take a close look at what is in the deal. it removes two thirds of installed centrifuges and most of iran's enriched uranium. iran will allow inspectors to enter sites, including mili

u.s. and especially the oil companies will go to iran and more u.s. tourists going to iran but as far as cultural changes are concerned it will take back seat for the time being because rouhani and his team knows not to antagonize them because culture is more significant on the surface and economy is more important and technology and i think iran would benefit from technology especially american technology and american financial institutions without being seen to be as they see it but i think iran and the last will be finding its place as a major partner with the west as well as with china and russia and be an independent power, not a power that is dependant on this or that block. >> good to get your thoughts on this analyst joins us there from london and thanks very much for your time. >> thank you. >>> let's go live to vienna where that announcement was given just a few minutes ago. james base diplomatic editor has been following all of this for us, james, what can we expect then over the coming hours as the foreign ministers continue to meet in priv

u.s. and iran are calling it historic, putting any restrictions on the nuclear program and in exchange the.s. and european partners agreed to drop pretty tough sanctions that choked the iran company for years and president obama is praising that deal calling it important for the security at the u.s. and the entire world. >> without a diplomatic resolution either i or a future u.s. president would face a decision about whether or not to allow iran to obtain a nuclear weapon or use our military to stop it. but put simply no deal means a greater chance of more war in the middle east. >> all right so speaking of that deal let's actually take a closer look at what is in side and removals two thirds center fuges and iran allow inspoekters to enter sites including military sites and the president did specify that can happen whenever wherever and sanctions will be lifted once it has been verified that they have taken steps to shrink the nuclear program but the arms embargo is in place for more than eight years and lisa is at the white house and good afternoon to you and we know congress has 60 day

iran and the u.s. backed iraqi government in the war against i.s.i.l. fighters. but in neighbouring syria, where i.s.i.l. controls territory, iran and the u.s. work at cross-purposes, because they back opposing sides in syria's civil war. >> income, in almost every contentious area and issue facing the middle east today, syria, israel, yemen and the flow of oil to the world, iran and the u.s. are on opposite sides. nowhere is that more apparent. a narrow way to connect talents between the gulf and the ocean. at its narrowest point, it separates iran, from the countries of the arabian peninsula. let me give you a sense. across the trait there's relations. iran considers it a threat. it's mined this straight. the u.s. navy is escorting flagships through the straight. they started doing it for other vessels. besides military force, iran has many ways of wielding powers, and suuses a soft power to win hearts and minds in the region. >> iran has a soft power in the hearts and mines of the shia populations in this part of the world and internationally. iran uses both mi

iran. they justified the assault on fears that the u.s. support a coup, bringing the shah back to power. diplomatic relations were severed. in the 1980s, iran accrued the u.s. of backing saddam hussein during the war. in 1988, the u.s.s. vinsnse shot down an iran passenger jet. off the iran's southern coast, killing over 200 people . the u.s. never formally apologised for the attack. despite the bad blood, most iranians we talked to say they like americans, just not american foreign policy. i like american muscle cars. i don't hate america. 77 years passed since the revolution. the current people you see, 40 years or younger, very have no memory of the shah's regime, they don't have a memory of americans doing bad things. now we have nuclear negotiations. this is an opportunity for the west. >> now that a deal on iran's nuclear negotiation is in place with the u.s. and other world powers, some hope that is signals a new direction in hostility, it will not happen overnight. >> ali velshi joins us. this narrative, this difference in narrative

u.s. and iran broke off diplomatic relations. now, they are obligations to maintain the building, but don't expect it to be open for business any time soon. the u.s. has accused iran of stirring up trouble across the middle east. it supports hezbollah and hamas and accused of sending aid to yemen. the u.s. might help the moment to end the syrian war. >> we need to see whether or not the iranians are willing to play ball to correct this situation. to date we have not done that. we have placed our emphasis entirely on the nuclear issue. we have set aside all of these other things. now it's time to pivot and to pivot very rapidly. >> removing assad could deprice isil, an emmy of shi'ite iran and the u.s., a recruiting tool. but it runs the risk of increasing tensions between u.s. and saudi arabia which views iran as a rival. however, time is running out for the obama administration. with just 17 months before it leaves office. it has a landmark deal with iran, but it's likely to be years before the country is instinctively regarded b

definitely the deal would help improving iran-u.s. relations. iran and the u.s.now succeeding one big negotiations. they would be able to have dialogue on regional issues -- fighting terrorism and extremism in the region. nermeen: ambassador, could you explain why the negotiations failed in the past over so many years? was it the sanctions regime that enabled the agreement to come to a close now, the sanctions that have been imposed on iran? >> it was the u.s. conventional understanding that if they put sanctions iranians, they would give up the nuclear program. that is why in 2006, to the united nations security console, and they imposed six resolutions with draconian sanctions. and europeans also went beyond the united nations security counsel sanctions, they imposed sanctions on central bank and oil. unilateral sanctions multilateral sanctions, u.n. sanctions, since 2006. then they all believed karen would give up -- iran would give up. but sanctions pushed iran to increase its nuclear capacity. before sanctions, iranians had a few hundred centrifuges. after s

stability in afghanistan is the commonality between iran and the u.s. what's why iran and the u.s. for ten years have supported the same government in afghanistan. the stability in iraq is commonality between iran and the u.s. that's why, after 2003, the fall of saddam, practically iran and the u.s., they have supported the same governmentl in baghdad. fighting i.s.i.s., fighting extremism is the commonality between iran and the u.s. practically the u.s. is leading the air strike and, on the ground, iran is leading the strike against i.s.i.s. therefore, i believe we have too much commonalities, common interests. the only way is diplomacy. the nuclear only should be resolved with same nuclear proliferation treaty. we need to continue direct talks between iran and the u.s. to add first. the other differences, to utilize, realize the issues of common interests. >> rose: let me just ask one mple question of you, and ank you for that. ery iranian that i have talked always says -- whether former esidents or the foreign minister -- say iran does not want a nuclear weapon we do not want a n

u.s. of backing iran during the war. the u.s.s. "vincense" struck down a passenger dat killing 290 people. the u.s. never apologised for the attack. despite the bad blood most iranians we talked to say they like americans. policy. >> i like america. i like american muscle cars. i don't hate america. seven years have passed. the current people that you see. if they are 40 years or younger, they have no memory of the shah's regime. negotiations. >> our national security... >> now that a deal on the programme is in place with the u.s. and other world powers. some hope it signals a new direction, but it will not happen overnight. >> the president obama's administration says in one view they've been disfunctional. >> the coauthor of going to tehran, why americans must accept the republic of iran and a scholar of george down university. after spending two weeks in tehran, i have to think they were flying the same game -- playing the same game. they seemed signed for an iranian audience not for success in vena. we are here today where they

iran and the u.s. have many commonalities. ability in afghanistan is a commonality between iran and the u.s.. the stability in iraq is commonality between iran and the u.s.. after 2003, the fall of saddam, they have supported the same government. fighting isis, fighting extremism is the commonality between iran and the u.s. thes. is leading airstrikes and on the ground iran is leading strike against isis. i believe we have too much commonalities, common interests. the only way is diplomacy. nuclear should be resolved within the nuclear proliferation treaty. we need to continue the direct talks between iran and the u.s.. the other differences second to utilize realize the issues of common interests. ♪ charlie: every iranian always says, iran does not want a nuclear weapon. we do not want a nuclear weapon. it is almost a mantra. why are we going through this? let's do whatever we can to prove to you that we don't want a nuclear weapon. seyed: this is what iran already has done. iran has accepted already everything we have seen at

>> unfortunately u.s. iran relations have been marked since the revolution in '79. there were episodes since the hostage crisis since american diplomats were taken in iran, and the involvement of the u.s. in terms of backing the saddam hussein regime against the war in the iran-iraq war. so the mistrust is on both sides. the image that the iranians have in the u.s., per se, from the general public is of a country that is revolutionary, anti-american and anti-sem it, and one that is the u.s. enemy. the narrative is a bit distorted and mixed in with misinformation, misanalysis and the major componts as to why this has gone on for a negative image, is that these two countries have not engaged with one another for more than three decades. for the first time, two years ago the iranian officials, with their counterparts in the u.s., secretary of state john kerry, and his counterparts met for the first time. we can see on the nuclear front, the fact that there has been improvement is because the two countries sat down across from each other and started to talk. however, the

this is not a u.s. iran negotiation clearly other issues would have been included. but this is a negotiation that also includes russia and china and other states. you needed to make sure that the p-5 plus one was completely united. if you bring in other issues you divide the p-5 plus one, you cannot have an effective and successful negotiation. that is why this is separated. having said that, i truly believe if you have this zeal and positive elements introduced in the u.s. iran relationship you will see certain ships when it comes to other policies as well. take for instance the way the iranians are talking about israel today. it is quite different everyone i would have to admit compared to what the iranians were saying two years ago, when ahmadinejad was in power. when it comes to israel. >> what are some of the other issues where you might see some shifts in terms of regional issues that cause a lot of the difficulties between the united states and iran? >> there's plenty of issues and plenty of disagreements at the end of the day. i think what this deal does for

u.s. and iran. do you feel that is likely. >> there is no doubt the majority of iranians under the age of 45 know the islamic revolution of khomeini know the revolution of their child hoods. should not be played around with like the toy of a colonial empire. they got the negotiations started, they got the americans and the powers of the world to sell that iran can enrich uranium for peaceful purposes. they gave huge concessions about inspections and limitations on armments and things like that and came one a win win deal. i tip my hat to the american government and the iranian government. just finished negotiating a very sophisticated deal i think they would find that the iranians would reciprocate. >> one would argue if it's a normal country on the list of state sponsored terrorism. supporting assad in syria the houthis in yemen hezbollah where you are. isn't that a valid concern? >> i don't think so. i think it's an unfair assumption. first of all, every country in the world has the right to have

u.s. congress about iran. is it your sense that the u.s.ongress would approve or rejected a deal that palma negotiates. likely it will rejected, but it will uphold the veto present with president obama. that is to say the congress will eject president obama in the veto, and the congress will say the reason that will happen is the republicans wanted to use the deal for the prisoners, and to make it an obama deal. for the republicans, they are not interested in derailing, and they may not have the votes to overcome a president obama veto. what happens if the sanctions are not lifted and assets not released fast enough as far as iran is concerned. hassan rouhani will be in terrible state. hassan rouhani will basically not criticize his government, but most likely will let him go. the whole deed is on the sanctions. over the last two years, hassan rouhani has been telling m mr ayatollah khamenei, that he's doing this to get the sanctions listed. if that doesn't come true everything falls apart in the country. in other words the economy is in te

u.s. and iran broke off diplomatic relations. now, under the vienna conventions washington is honoured to maintain the building. don't spent is to be open for business any time soon. the u.s. accused iran of stirring up trouble across the middle east. supporting hezbollah and hamas and is accused of sending aid to the houthis in yemen. there's talk that they may be able to use the moment to end syria war. >> we need to see whether or not the iranians are willing to play ball, to correct the situation. to date we have not done that, we placed our emphasis on the nuclear issue. setting aside these other things, new it's time to pivot, pivot rapidly, and moving it aside, shi'ite, iran and the u.s. such cooperation runs the risk of increasing tensions between the u.s. and allies sunni dominated saudi arabia which views iran as a rival a. time is coming out. with just 17 months before it leaves office. it has a landmark deal with iran. it's likely to be years before it's regarded by the u.s. as a friend not a potential foe >>> as ross

u.s. doesn't live up to their end of the bargain, iran could simply bach -- walk away. ou look at the sanctions relief that the u.s. is offering, it is much more limited than the other partners. >> okay. patty culhane thank you. >>> the deal has been hailed by the u.s. iran's rivals in the middle east are worried that the lifting of sanctions will give iran the sources it needs to deepen its role in conflicts in iraq syria and yemen. >> reporter: with this historic nuclear agreement, irans can throw off the decades-long chain of sanctions. exports are expected to skyrocket. billions of dollars in trade and investment could be pumped into the iranian economy. >> iran is a gold mine. it has a huge population. it has a very able citizenry that can work and be creative. it has strong regional links, and it has got years and years of missed opportunities to make up for. >> reporter: it could be a new era for iran in terms of a reconfigured role in the region. iran's influence only grow even amisted the sanctions. in the war in yemen it is backing the rebel houthis. the presid

iran. they justified the assault on fears that the u.s. support a coup bringing the shores back to shower. diplomatic relations were severed. in the 1980s, iran accrued the u.s. of backing saddam hussein during the war. in 1988, the u.s.s. vinsnse shot down an iran passenger shet. the u.s. never formally apologised for the attack. despite the bad blood, most iranians we talked to say they like americans, just not american foreign policy. i like american muscle cars. i don't hate america. 77 years passed since the revolution. the current people you see 40 years or younger, very have no memory of the shah's regime, they don't have a memory of americans doing bad things. now we have nuclear negotiations. >> thou that a deal on iran's nuclear negotiation is in place with the u.s. and other world powers some hope that is signals a new direction in hostility, it will not happen overnight. >> ali velshi joins us. this narrative, this difference in narrative for the iranians and the americans, how big a part does that play in the identity of the av

u.s. deal with iran. loot of the president's press conferences are held in the briefing room, but when there is a for formal atmosphere the president wants to project the president will do it in the east room. that's the case, and western powers have agreed to a deal with iran to curb it's nuclear program. in a sign of momentousness of this particular time in the president's presidency the white house has decided this would be a much more formal news conference. we expect it to last an hour or so. within an hour the president will get 12 or 13 questions. some of the criticism of the iran nuclear deal has come from people who have pointed to that country's human rights record. by most accounts tehran is holding hundreds of political prisoners including three americans. that's a significant part of this particular story and some of the criticism from the president that nothing so far seems to have happened in terms of getting those americans out. roxana saberi has more on that story. >> many activists are w

just hours after the u.s. irand other nations announce the pact critics are pooring over the fine principle. it is more than 100 pages long. it must be revuld by congress and iran's supreme leader. president obama is reaching out to opponents including the israeli leader who is calling the agreement, and i'm quoting netanyahu right now, an historic

riveted and infuriated the country. >> again, today, iran is the major story. >> reporter: the hostage crisis led to decades of hostility between the u.sand iran. by 2002 president george w. bush lumped iran in with north korea and iraq in -- >> an axis of evil, to threaten the peace of the world. >> reporter: today president obama closed that chapter. >> it can bring about real and meaningful change. >> reporter: this is a society in the process of change, and many are eager to speed that up. >> very good deal between iran and other countries. >> i think it some other countries are not very happy about this, but i think it would be a good chance for iranians. >> reporter: martha raddatz describes iran as vibrant, chaotic and divided. from the chic shopping malls where westernized young well push the limits on the legal requirement to cover their hair. >> many years ago you would have been arrested. >> yeah. >> reporter: to the mass marches she witnessed just days ago with the faithful shouting "death to america", and any nuclear deal with it. >> obama will back john kerry. >> reporter: it is a nation in a tug-of-war. 70% of iranians a

iran. it is the u.s. iran who are most concerned about the language, but they are literally every, and conjunction because they know this is their one-shot to negotiate a deal, from the point of the u.s., to prevent iran from getting nuclear weapons, and from the point of iran, getting sanctions lifted. nobodying matters and wants to agree to a deal that is not exactly the way they wanted. we will have to see if they can get it done tomorrow. mark: speaking of not having it exactly the way they wanted, there are some in the international community, namely israel, who are concerned because the way the deal is structured, it does not eliminate iran's nuclear capability out right, is that correct? >> that has always been true, has been for the last two years. the deal is not about eliminating their nuclear program. it is about inventing them from developing nuclear weapons. under the deal, and this has been true for the past two years, iran would be able to continue nuclear energy, continue with its medical r

u.s. and iran was concerned. it was then in the details and then every time there were the details there were hitches. i think at the last minute they managed to put together something. it has not solved all the problems but it has gone over most of the hurdles. >> can you talk about the american community and how important this is to them. >> it is very important. this there is a very large iranian community in america one often forgets that. many of them have relatives back in iran. there are those who are concerned about confrontation with the united states, so this is a major break through for them. i think what they also look at into the future is this provides an opportunity for the reformers and liberals to win actual elections there are parliamentary elections in iran. anything like this opening up, improvement in the economy will very much help the reformers. >> let's talk about international reaction, and israel' reaction to this. i talked to the executive director of "stay with us" and the israeli advo

>> well certainly the legacy of u.s./irane hostility dating back to the 1979 hostage crisis when american diplomats were literally kept hostage in iran for 444 days is something that continues to haunt u.s./iran relations and any negotiation with the government of iran. i'm afraid if we looked at this in a more hard-nosed way which is how we har nosed way we would realize that the only way we're going to be able to get a deal with the islamic repatrick of iran to deal with them constructive on a range of issue, including human rights and is to have a relationship with them is eventually to have an embassy with them. to be able to talk with them at a table rather than shooting each other either face to face or convertly. >> clearly the administration wants to have a relationship with them. and you wonder why would they leader khamenei come out and say he's going to defy this deal. >> i liken it a lot of times to the u.s. relationship with china. nixon and kissen jer own to china, it was a reality. the late pt power of china wa

u.s. president obama is defending a landmark nuclear deal with iran saying it makes his country and the worlder. the agreement is expected to be fought over in congress for the next two months. patty culhane reports. >> reporter: a confident u.s. president. >> i think there's a helicopter that is coming but i really am enjoying this. >> reporter: he kept talking long after the news conference was supposed to end. the focus selling the iran nuclear deal. arguing that if the u.s. congress prevents him lifting sanctions iran will not be isolated. >> the sanction system unravels. and so we could still maintain some of our unilateral sanctions. it would be less effective. maybe they don't $100 billion, maybe they get 60 or 70. >> reporter: he's not the only one making the days. israeli president binyamin netanyahu was all over tv warning about the deal. >> for them we are the little seed. >> a.p.a.c. made it clear that it will do all it can to kill the deal in congress. the president indicated he'll take them on directly. >> for all the objections of prime minister binyamin netanyahu, or for that

u.s. embassy in iran can reopen. you know the u.s. embassy, the sign of a 440 day hostage taking in 1979. it exists, it's a museum, the symbol of the enmity between iran and america. the concept that it could reopen and there could be a normalization of relations, this is what former conservatives are saying. there's a sense that we may be at a point where this could go forward. it may be brinksmanship or they have got to the end of the road and haven't been able to sort it out. unclear. our colleague james bays says they are not getting better clues than we in iran. there's definitely optimism here. if it opens, certainly it's an historic moment. i want to ask you about the newspaper. what is the mood like among the people of iran, do they feel the same optimism. >> i've been here 13 days, and i spoke to people from the vice presidents, workers and there's a sense. there's unity as you and i discussed before. that shouldn't be surprising to anyone. anyone subject to sanctions wants them listed. the underlying matter, should iran be bu

was a key element in intensifying a strain in relations and the hostility with which iran rhetoric has addressed the u.s. >> reporter: hostages eventually released on january 20, 1981 the day that ronald reagan took office a final snub to jimmy carter who tried a rescue attempt and sanctions against iran and billions against arms and intelligence with sadam-hussain and a down ing of this missile killing all aboard and it's a consequence of fighting with iran forces in the gulf and hezbollah, the proxy in lebanon took more american hostages and led to another political scandal in washington and reagan's secret program to funnel arms to iran in exchange for their freedom and it's build up to the 2003 invasion of iraq and president george bush branded it with iraq and korea as a global menace. >> states like these and allies constitute an axis of evil. >> reporter: iran's leader has maintained the hostile rhetoric against the u.s. >> always backing up this insecurity and it's america and their agents. it is they who promote terrorism. >> today american's concern about their nuclear program with the islamic

iran. and as the allies have watched the u.s. negotiate this agreement, i think they have come to the conclusion that the united states that president obama has shed his responsibility that has taken the united states out of the game of containing iran. now, the president doesn't admit that he continues to talk in those terms. when he brought everybody to the camp david summit, the gcc summit here last month there was a lot of newspaper commentary by supporters of the administration that path talk in those terms. i'll get back to that in a minute because if you look at what the president said he has, in fact gone out of the iran containment containment business. before get to that let me just talk a little bit about the concerns of allies, what the painting as they been watching these negotiations. and then a couple of the arguments that the administration has put out to try to quell the concerns of allies. and why the allies find these arguments completely unsatisfactory. and then a couple words about the consequences of all this

iran. billions of dollars in u.s. and european union sanctions will be lifted as iran makes good on the deal. a u.n. embargo will end after five years. eight years for iran's ballistic missile programs. but u.s. sanctions on terrorism and human rights will remain. on the streets of tehran celebrations. iran's president predicted a, quote, new chapter in his nation's relations with the world. for israel one of the quote darkest days in history. prime minister netanyahu calling the deal a stunning historic mistake to which israel is not bound. >> the world is a much more dangerous place today than it was yesterday. >> reporter: as expected three americans being held in iran and a fourth who went missing are an sent from the deal. their families left waiting. the danger is that today's battle of narrative there's end up being a battle of interpretation. if all sides are not on the same page about what was agreed to upon, it could open up a pandora's box when it comes to implementation of the deal. >> that's the keex imple

iran - inside the deal. that's after the break. . >> it is a step away from the spectre of conflict and towards the possibility of peace. >> a shift in middle east politics the u.s. and world powers reach an historic dealing on iran's nuclear programme. the country limits nuclear capabilities in exchange for an end to crippling economic sanctions. iranians hopeful for the future. flood the streets in celebration. iran's neighbours are skeptical of their sworn enemy. >> what a stunning historic mistake. >> while the fight continues