iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow. >> reporter: the president accused iran of building a nuclear facility to make highly enriched uranium, the kind used to make nuclear bombs. the plant, hidden inside a mountain near the holy city of qom could be operational, u.s. officials say, within months. u.s. intelligence has been monitoring construction of the facility for years. bush administration officials briefed then president-elect obama during the transition. his administration has continue it had bush policy of keeping it secret while intelligence was gathered to make an airtight case -z that has the purpose was nuclear weapons not nuclear power. the president decideed to go public today after it became clear iran had learned u.s. intelligence was on to them. today a defiant iranian president ahmadinejad said the president was misinformed. >> (translated): it seems to me that what was done was a really big mistake. i'm sure they'll definitely feel sorry about their move. >> reporter: the president was joined by prime minister gordon brown of great britain and president ni

iran must do so and so. iran must do this and that. we're saying what business of yours is it to tell us what we must do or not? you are just another country, a member state of the iaea like any other one. so, the positions that were taken today which we saw is quite different from the remarks made by mr. obama at the united nations. he correctly says that we must not move ahead based on speculations, we must not unnecessarily accuse one another. tell me, what was done today, what exactly does that mean? they must not interfere in the activities of the iaea. they must give the iaea enough time to go check things out, prepare its report, and then provide the information to all the relevant bodies and organizations that are involved. it seems to me that what was done was a really big mistake. when the iaea report finally comes out, i am sure it will definitely feel sorry about their move. they will regret it and be regretting it more down the road. in the end of the day it is a very ordinary facility that is been set up. it is only in th

getting their take on the iran situation. >> i think this is the moment of decision for iran. iran can either make itself a pariah or it can recognize that it has much more to gain by eliminating any potential military aspects of a nuclear program. >> today's action in firing the missiles, is really a poke in the eye to those who have diplomatic efforts and agreements and inspections, will change the way iran is going. >> jamie: and joining me now, the host of "fox news sunday" who conducted both of those interviews, chris wallace, good morning. >> chris: good morning, jamie. >> jamie: i want to ask you, the defining moment for iran and what they decide to do but did you get the since it is also for the president? >> chris: well, not so much the president as the whole western alliance. because the u.s. and our top allies, also, russia and china will sit down with the iranians, starting in geneva on thursday, and obviously, demand answers, and, also, basically, saying, either you stand down or we'll impose sanctions, i think is absolutely a defining moment, for the west in term

>> i'm a normal, regular person in iran. i was a teacher at a university and i'm a government -- i'm sorry, yes, an engineer. people -- individuals don't matter as such. what matters is that our nation -- the powerful -- and it is a powerful one -- the iranian nation has proven that it can digest large events. and support of the leadership was not a support given to an individual, it was a support given to the law. he said it is the law that must run every affair in the country. that must rule the country. and for the first time, the leader uses his prerogative to extend the time frame normally given post-elections for electoral complaints. the guardian council announced several times that any other party that may have documentation or evidence proving that the election may have been distorted should hand those over to the guardian council. and the other side said, "no, the electoral process itself was fine, but the environment in the country was just not right." >> charlie: are you saying that there is no deep divide in ira

first of all, iran can disclose. iran can invite in the u.n. inspectors, disclose everything, say, we're sorry. we were wrong. we're tearing it down. that is not going to happen. but if iran does not begin disclosing and begin complying, sanctions, the kind of sanctions that administrations -- not just this administration, but previoused amrgs, george w. bush, have talked about for years but have not been able to get russia and china on board. the big break through is if this persuades russia and china to change its position, and that's certainly what president medvedev indicated at that meeting. also at an interview at university of pittsburgh yesterday, medvedev went somewhat overboard saying he likes president obama, obama doesn't lecture him, obama doesn't act like he knows everything. clearly criticizing george w. bush. medvedev described obama practically as the second coming. it was a very interesting conversation with university students. this is a huge change with russia. and it's clearly this intelligence and the personal diplomacy th

, and iran will be called on the table. if iran doesn't act, then something else will happen, and what was, i thought, notable about president obama's statements at the press conference you showed and the one later at his news conference, is that he did not take military action off the table, so there is israel, in the background, programs ready to act if dirp plome massey and sanctions fail. charles? >> it is contemptuous, yet he is called out and laughs it off, because he knows that all of this is charade. for three years he has watched how the united states and others have done absolutely nothing. with obama, in particular, you're right. what we saw was a spectacle, but this isn't a speck techel. this is the real world. this is guy who is going to have nukes. speck spectacle or not, the show doesn't matter. this is a trump card. if you had it for three years, you play it today and announce on the day that it is a violation so clear and so obvious that it's intended to be a nuclear weapons program, that we will impose san

and its allies when it comes to iran with russia and china calling for iran to let inspectors into the facility. >> if the president left the military option on the table today and they have known about this for years, was there any consideration by the u.s. or israel of taking the site out? >> reporter: well, of course, that is subject of debate. it would cause a huge problem in the mideast. but there a couple of reasons that hasn't been done. the goal is not just to close down that one facility, which is not yet operational. it's to convince iran to stop its nuclear weapons ambitions. so, it's a larger goal than just the one plan. and then, in çaddition, the ide that bombing that facility would end nuclear weapon ambitions for iran is not considered realistic. that might make iran want to do it more. if they keep rooting them out and discovering them every time they cheat, then, of course, that might convince iran that continuing this is futile. diane? >> all right, jake. >>> the president of iran, ahmadinejad, seemed unfazed by the accusations, saying iran had no obligations to tal

iran will have zbersz. it's unanswered question, the timing, this is a military site. if it was not as they say a peaceful site, why is it on a military base in the first place. >> gregg: i think we have a sound by the from the secretary of defense? >> we are all sensitive to the possible of the iranians trying to run the clock out on us. so nobody thinks this as an open-ended process. >> reporter: so the talks on thursday, first time in 30 years that they will sit around with the group pushing for iran to back off of the nuclear program. >> gregg: all right. thanks very much. >> julie: secretary of defense robert gates has officially received the afghanistan commander's report, stanley mcchrystal calling for more troops. mr. gates hasn't signed off on the request just yet but he left the door open for new forces and is warning about the consequences of failure in afghanistan. caroline has more on this story from washington. >> reporter: today robert gates explained how the pentagon is keeping a hold on mcc

is considered as position in iran. from our viewpointwhat he says do not have any legal credibility. but there is a law that definis things in ou count, and if take the law out, there is noing left. when you say why the judicia system cannot or will take charge of the affairs, the estion is - i mean, if not the judiciary, th who? which body is supposed to car througwith these issues we did conde what happene >> crlie: you condemned what? >> eve conflict and clash there was. some of our fellow citizenswere killed. out 30 people. most of them, actuly, wer supportersf theovernment. ordiry people. who we in tir stores, i eir cars, whoere shping, who were on theiray to a party. these were people who supported the government, ther mr. ruval amin, oost his own son is e of my frnds. >>harlie: i know. >> we're frids. however. this is a prestaged program, and it was encouraged by some people. and an effort was made to put a positive spin on an illegal act, and some british politicians as well as some america poticians andome med

policy of pressuring iran. so it's a mixed blessing for iran. >> all right. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >>> we want to know what you think about all of this. our question tonight is -- do you think the obama administration is making a mistake by engaging ahmadinejad? tell us "how you see it" by going to the website at worldfocus.org. >>> president obama's special envoy to the middle east, george mitchell, has had repeated meetings this week with israeli and palestinian leaders. those meetings continued today with israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu. and also with palestinian president mahmoud abbas. but the assessment from both the palestinians and israelis was not good. the chief palestinian negotiator said wide gaps remained between the two sides. and that raised doubts about the possibility of a three-way meeting in new yk among netanyahu, abbas, and president obama, coinciding with meeting of the united nations general assembly. >>> one day after six italian soldiers were killed in a bombing in afghanistan, the attack continue

will iran come clean? mike singh, a former senior director from middle eastern affairs from the national security council and joins us from boston. what do you make of the announcement this week? >> well, really, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. we suspected that iran may have the covert site. they said if iran was going to build a nuclear weapon they'd do it at the covert sites rather than ones we knew about. the fact that iran is willing to defy the community is something, but this shouldn't a big surprise. >> shannon: they followed it up with show of support with the missile launches and talk they're going to longer range missile. how do we handle this? we have meetings scheduled this week with iran. is it sanctions or show of force of our own? where do we go? >> the key is leverage. what iran is doing now is trying to show it doesn't feel that it's in a corner, that it's comfortable with the rhetoric of confrontation that the west is in and we can match the confrontation. we have to build t

and what appears to have happened is that iran, it became clear to iran that its security for the facility has been breached so they decided that they would disclose it after all. that's how it unfolded. >> any reason why it came up now, though? why with knowledge of it for six years, why wasn't this out there earlier? >> well, i think they needed to make sure, first of all, that it was moving in the direction that they thought. i think it may also -- it's somewhat speculative on my part but it's reasonable to think that with the negotiations coming up with iran on thursday that it might be a good time to make this public, and so it was, it was in the united states' interest to use this as a way to put pressure on iran. >> sure. there's a discrepancy in terms of how close to being operational it is. we had mahmoud ahmadinejad saying yesterday, 18 months. then you have this aide to the ayatollah saying six months. what is it? >> well, i don't know. i don't know how many months. what is clear -- what everyone agrees is it's not operational as we speak. and in some number of months, whether i

iran and those kind of terrorist groups very supportive of the goals of what iran wants in places like the middle east or in even pakistan would just begin to begin a real harsh global war of terror. there's also a concern about israel and that would take even more difficult because if they were try to do it alone it would mean probably flying along syria/turkish airspace and would have to reposition refueling aircraft. i think in their place it would be much more harsh. if i could add, that's the value of this proech of the u.s. government under president obama. it has put the military option on the back of the table. it's actually then taken a step toward what's most important, building a strong international coalition that can apply diplomatic pressure on iran as well as necessary sanctions because it took aboard what the national intelligence estimate of a year ago said by our cia. it says iran approaches its foreign policy decision in a cost-benefit way. it's not a rush to have a weapon. rather takes into account the cost, economic, political and diplomatic. that's what the presid

place that threatens iran. the aides say that president obama will go with a different plan than the bush interceptor missiles >> it is different than the intermeetdz quat range -- intermediate range missiles that the iranians tested today. >> the iranian missiles could reach 80 military bases and four nato countries but israel thinks they are the main target. those who are in doubt that iran is the most serious doubt to the world and to its security. the tests further strained russia's relationship with iran and they called them worrisome coming on top of last week's revelation that iran had been hiding a secret uranium enrichment facility 100 miles from tehran. a spokesman from the pentagon said if you combine these show of missile tests, it paints a picture of what the secretary crawled a pattern of deception. some republicans question the decision to join talks on iran's nuclear program thursday in geneva. >> i think it illustrates the fact that at a certain point, talk something counterproductive rather th

iran is simply too deveped. it has all the components i needs to produce nuclear weapons, it has many nuclear facilities, itas been able to create a cenduction capability wch means, as we saw justast week, it can create new small fcilities and hide them, put theentrifuges thereather than a central facility. isel might be able to hit t rden site, which is the main site. iran which hasup to 150,000 centrifuges as cacity, but it could not be certain that it woulever hit anything like the ability to produce more ntrifuges or find all of t facilities that they're hien in. >> so recent reports indicate that israelis may be pushing back their deadlines for military action. is that your asessment as well? >> i don't ink israel has ev set deadlines. it has constant talked aut this risk and for ve real reasons. on nuclear weon could do devastating damage to a sml state like isrl. but much of this political. it is intend to send a signal to iran that if it doesot comply with the unitednations, itoes not negotte and reduce

willing to get on iran? with me now, republican strategist, leonardo, and democratic strategist, keith boykin. let me begin with you, are you satisfied with the american leaders' response to iran so far? >> i am, contessa. i give the president high marks so far. i give the secretary of state clinton and defense secretary gates high marks for their understanding and their tough rhetoric. i think what we're looking for, not just as a party, as a nation, but we're looking for all of the world to unite together and put iran in the spotlight. it's up to them to show that they will provide unfettered access. that's the key point moving into this thursday's g-5 plus 1 meeting in geneva. >> my understanding is iran has promised it would allow iaea inspectors to the nuclear plant. keith f we're looking at their actions, it wasn't just the nuclear plant. it was also the fact here they were talking about test firing successfully the short-range missiles and now the long-range missiles as well. keith boykin, let me go t

and iran has the world'second largest reserves. so there's a compatibilit ther related to oil, there's a lot of infrastructural investment whether it's mostly inthe transportation section that china is putng money in, has over 100 companies active in iran. again, most of it related in someay to the flow of oil. but, you know, itisan importt economic relationsh and benecial to both sides. >> s even though it's possible th cna could suffer if there is these stiff trade sanctions that are put into place, is there any way tt china would go against, y, the will of these fivether nations? >> china not goi to be -- it doesn't want to be seen as the outliar. i don't want to be the only one so of defending tehran. it wants to be right in the middle. but it does have majorconomic interests does russia, russia and chinaorm a natural kind of bloc here. both of them a going to be pushing to waterdown any sort of sactions, the language. i think it depends to me extent reallon how bad the idence is against iran. and some of thishe public mighnot

the loomingeadline with iran andhat might happen next is our leadfocus tonit. >> iran's foreign minister today presented the world's leading powers with a package of propals. e knoll, to oer assurances atthiran has only peeful, nuclear intensions, but as that was taki place in tehran, amera's envoy to the atomic energy agency said in vienna that the unid states has serious concerns tha iran is close to having the capability to produce a nuclr weapon. glynavis told t internatnal atom energy agency that the ongoing ativity moves ian closer to aangerous d destabilizing possible breakout capacity. just monday, iran's preside mahmouhmadinejad said th iran would push ahd withts nuclear progm despe international jections. >> translator: for our pointf ew, iran's so-called nucar sue is ove continue our work within the framework of glol regulations and in close interaction with the international atomic energy agency. we will never ney negotie ov obvious rights of the irann. the s angeles times said tay that the package of ideas that the iranians presented in tehran is almost certainlyot going to

iran has no excuse. of course ahmadinejad did come forth in the moments after, at least the hours after the revelation saying, look, we're following the iaea conventions, following them. followed the rules. nothing to see here. no big deal. just about every other expert says, well, that's not really correct because clearly they were doing it in secret and clearly supposed to disclose any construction of a site like this, a site incidentally, that the president and many other experts say clearly intended for nuclear weapons grade material aens not used for domestic purposes like nuclear power, contessa. >> mike viqueira, thank you. >> reporter: all right. >>> the top u.s. commander in afghanistan said he was blind sided by the show of strength from the tall pan in summer. he submitted a request to the pentagon for more troops. it's a move that 50% of americans would oppose according to the latest gallup poll. 41% would support sending more troops to afghanistan. >>> and breaking news from the entertainmen

but again, iran may not cooperate. and then we're left with what, how good is this intelligence information. and i think the united states government and other governments, british and french are going to have to release a lot more information about -- about this facility in order to be believed. >> woodruff: in other words, you are saying they are hoping that iran will do that, but if iran doesn't, then they will have to release more. >> an we're left discussing the callity of the intelligence information. >> woodruff: iran insists this is nothing for the west to worry about it is for peaceful, civilian purposes. how do we know they are not telling the truth? >> well, in the end we are relying on intelligence information and assessments of that information to say this this is part of a nuclear weapons program. and that's why it can be settled if the iaea goes in there. at least they can know about the facility, they can put it under safeguards and in a sense remove it from the category of secret sites that could be us

iran." others chanted "death to the dictator." the former president got roughed up and his turban was knocked off and ahmadinejad made an appearance that was curlts short after hardliners approached him. it has been a brutal crackdown in iran. >> the people that go out and march with their signs, peace signs, are very brave, indeed, because they have been tapped down with brutal repression. >> reports are that the opposition will look for any opportunity to rally or even stage strikes this fall. in london, amy kellogg, fox news. bret: of course, the major concern about iran is its apparent push to develop nuclear weapons, and there is now a serious disagreement about just how far along that effort might be. national security correspondent jennifer griffin has that story. >> a day after the obama administration and the pentagon announced a major shift in their european missile defense system to focus more immediately on the short and medium-range missile threats from iran, more details are e

still ziploc fresh. >> top stories for you iran's government will allow u.s. inspectors into the nuclear facility. clinton says he welcomes that but threatens -- says they shouldn't have built it in the first place. zazi will fly back where he will face a judge on tuesday. he's accused of making explosives planned to set off a string of bombs. heavy rain falling in parts of georgia. what a mess. residents are working to clean up after this week's flooding. georgia's insurance commissioner doubled his original estimated cleanup costs to $500 million. >> it's drier than the highest deserts on earth, so we thought. nasa found water on the moon. discovered by two nasa probes and confirmed by yet another probe as the moon's southern hole. big news for science that could lead to perhaps new missions in space even permanent spaces on the moon. with us now is former astronaut dr. tom jones. fox news contributor and author of planetolgy. always great touki -- talking t you. i always love this had stuff. there was a lunar scientists quote td who says he was blown away b

they will be sorry. >>> will china impose sanctions on iran? >>> no classification on bill sparkman. >> they knock on doors of saintly people and really horrible people. missing him is real for us. >> joe. heckler is the gop's new joe the plumber. why the republicans continue to embrace and elevate their fringe elements to poster boy status? sarah palin's latest attempt to prove she is up to speed on global politics. also she changed her profile picture. how do you lampoon a human cartoon? "saturday night live" took their shot last night. >> those letters don't rearrange to spell that. >> all that and more now on "countdown." >> i'm the best damn actor on television. >>> good evening from new york,

iran's flagrant behavior u.n. resolutions and mandates and part of it is because i think the united states is willing to have dialogue and, also, pushing for sanctions. it's not one or the other, it's both. >> how heavy a lift is it for us to say, for the president to say to russia, to the world, we have hard intelligence. and we understand, by the way, that our allies have intelligence that matches this about what is going on near this facility, but after everything that happened with george w. bush and iraq and the wmd and not getting it right, is it harder for the u.s. to take the lead on this? >> well, it certainly is and that's one of the reasons the french president sarkozy's statement yesterday at the u.n. was important. >> again, today. >> and again today and gordon brown's statement was important. it's, i think it's instructive here that the united states doesn't have to say everything every time. we need to let other countries speak out, too. and let their outrage come forward, particularly when the beha

>> a meeting schedule between the six countries and iran and iran being caught with these new facilities and the president lying for the last several years and things are coming quickly to a head and very tense over the next few weeks. >> significant time. october 1st this meeting has happened and has not happened in some years. what does this tenure do to the possibility of any sort of successful, moving things down the road diplomacy. >> the good news is that the french and the british and the americans are clearly united on this intelligence that they have analyzed on the iranian program and the russians seem to be leaning a little bit forward and haven't heard much from the chinese and more pressure being put on the iranian and ahmadinejad is feeling that heat and coming out with all these comments. >> what do you think, is the iaea stepping up and reported 100 miles, i believe, southwest of tehran. >> i expect more from the iranians give a little bit here and try to hide a little bit here and what is really going to be the key issue is will they join the other permanent five members

it seemed bowl sistering iran's position going into ts week's talks. rort gates said yesterday the american aim is to get iran to resume negotiations o its nuclear ogram. >> a then if that doe't work, then i thk you begin to move in the diction of severe sanctions. and their economic oblems are fficult enough that i think that severeanctions wouldave the potentiafof brinng them to change tir policies. >> in tonight'sead focu we ben with the heightened tensions betweenran and the west wit this repor of carl dinnenf itn. >> reporr: according to iranian tv, this is the shahab 3 missile. it was testedarlier today during operation great prophet four. shahab 3 has been launced before, t this varnt appears to hava longer range. toy's launch has an added edge in the light of last week's revelations of new iraan clear facility nearthe city of qom. e iranians keen to poinout there is no nk. >> translator: the main purse ofhe missile tes is of a defensive nature. we've made progress in missile technology, so we need to rform such test just like the other countrie

>>> the fallout over what was iran's nuclear secret. tonight, new pressure from president obama and what could be a concession from tehran >>> terror plot. we're now learning about the man behind what's being called the biggest threat since 9/11. >>> embryo mix-up. after that heartbreaking case in ohio, it's happened again. a new scandal that's raising doubts for about 100 patients. >>> and what recession? it could be the one place in the world where money is truly no it could be the one place in the world where money is truly no object. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. a day after being called out by president obama and other western leaders for building a secret nuclear facility, iran took atep today to try to ease tensions. announcing it will allow on an unspecified dade international suspe inspectors. the white house is continuing to press iranian leaders to come clean about what it suspects is part of a nuclear weapons project. mike viqueira has the latest on the story. he joins us from the white hous

jts and new threats from iran, if israel launches an attack, iran's defense minister warns it will quote expedite israel's last breath. plus u.s. secretary of defense, robert gates said he will not give president obama's general mcchrystal's request for more troops. >>> good day, i'm andrea mitchell, i'm live in new york and we have an exclusive interview with cuba's foreign minister, moments after he addresses the general assembly. meanwhile, intelligence experts say that iran may be hiding up to a dozen more secret underground facilities. and the united states is demanding to get u.n. weapons inspectors into the country as soon as possible. it's the big story at the white house. so let's get to nbc news white house correspondent, savannah guthrie. hey, savannah. >> hi, andrea. >> going into the talks, what does the president, what does the administration think that they have so far from russia and then of course, china? >> reporter: well they've been pretty encouraged by russia's response so far and openness to sanctions. but of course, is devil is in the details with both regard to ru

they do a lot of business in iran. they are the largest investor in iran. just this week china announce add huge deal as it relates to gasoline supplies for iran. they are going to be the wild card as it relates to them coming on board tough sangs against iran. >> i just spoke with senator cardin, you may have heard that interview, that may be the kind of sanction that hits the hardest, the gasoline and oil spry. >> absolutely. i think he has it right. >> jon decker, thank you very much. you won't want to miss "meet the press," talk to democratic senator from arizona about the course the obama administration is taking on afghanistan. that is on "meet the press" tomorrow morning on nbc. check your local listings for the time. >>> the makers of barbie hoping to make big bucks in hollywood. mattel making family friendly live action movies based on the world's most famous plastic doll. the film is sure to be a far cry from barbie's first ever commercial in 1959. >> barbie's only $3. the lovely fashions range from $1 to $5. look for barbie wherever dolls are sol

there are two paths for iran. paths toward peace and security by getting rid of their nuclear weapons ambitions, or a path of continued pressure, sanctions, really being isolated from the world community. all options are facing iran, and the choice is really theirs. so i think having this out in public view is important. everyone knows what the stakes are. iran knows what the stakes are. so hopefully, they'll choose to get down to business. >> ambassador wendy sherman, thank you for your time. certainly appreciate it. you can see more of david gregory's exclusive interview this sun on "meet the press." in about 30 minutes, a reminder. we'll hear from president obama. he is expected to talk about iran from the g-20 summit in pittsburgh. we'll have that live right here on msnbc. our coverage will be anchored by ed schultz of "the ed show." intriguing comments from former president bill clinton. >> i think they're excellent comments. what he hit the nail on the head, he showed what talks can bring to the table as opp

they warned iran to ce clean abouthe secret plant or face harsher xct2sanctions. theacilities near qom, 100 miles southwes of hran. is afternoon iranian president mahmoud ahmadined held a news conference of his own. he said that the new facity willot be operatnal for 18 mohs, and he insisted iranas complied wh uted nations disclosure rules. today's extrrdinary events o iran are o lead focu tonigh in remarks that were bri and to the point, presidentbama with french presidt nicola sarkozy and british prime minister gordon bro at h side address the revelation. the president said that t iranianacility seemed clearly designed for mility se, a violation of secury council resolutions, calling on iran to enthe enrichment of the uranium for military purposes. ofy underscores iran's continuing unwillingness to meet obligations under u.n.ecurity council solutions and iaea requirements. >> today on iranan state televion, iran publicly acknowledged the existee of the facity. e plant is built near the ly cityome 160 kilometers south of tehran. earlier in the week iran privately

and we are willing to meet with iran. we hope to meet with iran. we want to see serious engagement on the nuclear issue in particular. within the contextf the p5 plus 1 we are willing to addre any other issues they want to bring to the table. but clearly if iran refuses to negotiate seriously, we, the united states and the international community and security council can draw conclusions from that and then based on that will make judgments in the future. >> -- sincthe announcement happened in here what level with the talks be on? solana and so on, what level of talks would take place? >> i wou say likely of the political director lel, but again, that will be, you know, part of what will be negotiated depending on what speed's response is. >> will there be others the table or will that only b.c. eight? at the initial meeting solana is requesng all six parties plus him? >> as he indicated in the statement, javier solana will be in touch with iranian authorities and look for a meeting at an earlier date and then we will work those details based on --

president obama blasts iran and iran's president pushes back. now what? >> what the man at the center of the terrorist plot was planning and why. >>> swine flu vaccine is almost here. >>> national treasures ken burns is what all americans need to see. >>> kids from chicago, far from home, learning to make a difference. "nightly news" starts now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening, i'm ann curry in for brian williams. we begin with a showdown over nuclear ambitions. president obama and america's closest allies reveal iran has been building a secret underground plant for enriching uranium and put iran on notice it better not go down the path of bombs. he's been pushing back all day demanding an apology. the nuclear plant is near the holy city of qom, 100 miles from thai ron. wech the coverage with an dree that mitchell. >> president obama, britain and france said they built a solid case iran is hiding a secret nuclear plant. they are demanding immediate u.n. sanctions. tonight, the president warned them. if it does not come clean

said that iran will set a timetable soon for u.n. nuclear inspectors to visit the plant, seen here in satellite images, but he said iran isn't bound to allow such inspections within one month, as the united states has demanded. and he defended the building of the plant and iran's nuclear program. >> translator: this plant is to show that under no circumstance will the islamic republic let its nuclear activities in various fields of technology be stopped for even one moment. >> this week's talk, as you might imagine, are topping number one on iran's television which also reported that iran's parliament warned the u.s. today against further pressure just two days away from that key meeting in geneva. >>> as the debate over how iran intends to use enriched uranium continues, there is another debate. is iran building a warhead, the front section of a missile that can carry a nuclear charge? "the new york times" reports today on a disagreement between the united states and some of its key allies on whether iran is, in fact, designing a wa

iran's actions do not pose a short-term threat to the mission, but iran has the capability to threaten the mission in the future." senator john mccain, ranking republican on the senate armed services committee echoed these concerns. >> there are ra lot of variables. there is information today that the iranians today are becoming more involved in afghanistan with supplying some arms an equipment. >> also found in afghanistan recently, some of the same explosively formed p penetrators or e.f.f. had p.'s, a deadly machine roadside bomb that killed so many u.s. forces in iraq. u.s. intelligence says those weapons are made in one place -- iran. >> it is entirely consist consistent with what we saw in iraq. the iranians were providing e.f.p.'s which is the largest killer of arican soldiers on the battlefield, in addition to mortar rounds an rockets. >> they play a very decisive role as i said. the e.f.p. is a highly-refined weapon. it is not something you make in a backyard garage. it migrated to afghanistan that. could be a game changer there. >> tonight fox news has learned that the pentag

it is now up to iran to respond. i'm not going to speculate on the course of action that we will take. we're going to give october 1st a chance. but i think you've heard that even countries who a year ago or sick months ago might have been reluctant to even discuss things like sanctions, have said things like this is an important enoughish you a to peace and stability in the world, that iran would make a mistake in ignoring the call for them to respond in a forthright and clear manner, and to recognize that the choice they make over the next weeks and months could well determine their ability to rejoin the international community or to find themselves isolated. the last point i'll make specifically with respect to the military, i've always said that we do not rule out any options when it comes to u.s. security interests. but i will also reemphasize that my preferred course of action is to resolve this in a diplomatic fashion. it is up to the iranians to respond. patricia from reuters? >> you said a couple months ago

iran's foreign ministry said the tests have nothing to do with the disclosure that iran is developing a second enrichment plant. it seemed aimed at bolstering iran's position going into this week's talks. robert gates said yesterday the american aim is to get iran to resume negotiations on its nuclear program. >> and then if that doesn't work, then i think you begin to move in the direction of severe sanctions. and their economic problems are difficult enough that i think that severe sanctions would have the poteial of bringing them to change their policies. >> in tonight's lead focus, we begin with the heightened tensions between iran and the Ñó west with this report from carl dinnen of itn. >> reporter: this, according to iranian tv, is the shahab 3 missile. it was tested earlier today during "operation great prophet 4." shahab 3 has been launched before, but this variant appears to have a longer range. today's launch has an added edge in the light of last week's revelations of a new iranian nuclear facility near the city of qom. the iranians keen to point out there is no link. >>

their numbers are higher compared to others. >> reporter: iran and the first talks between iran and the u.s. in nearly 30 years. what do you want from the united states? >> translator: a new arrangement should be put in place based on new principles so that the war is directed toward peace an tranquility. we have always believed in talking and negotiating. that is our logic. nothing has changed. >> reporter: are there conditions under which iran would weaponize? >> translator: well, nuclear the past and the past generation. >> reporter: so, may i assume your answer to that question is no? >> translator: my response to what question? >> reporter: is there a condition under which iran would weaponize? >> translator: we don't need such -- we don't have such a need, nuclear weapons. >>reporter: so the answer is no, sir? >> translator: i don't know what you mean by no. >> reporter: i'm asking if there are any scenarios in which you would change what you say is your course and move into creating a nuclear weapon. am i correct, the answer is no? >> translator: we do not see any need for such w

in iran, you have eight women parliamentarians. so, these are a sign of progress, that is economic participation by women both in the private and public sector. >> and conversely, what would you say are the areas where they are still at a disadvantage? is it mostly in the area of family law as it portends to women's rights when it comes to divorce and child custody and also inheritance? >> sure. i mean, it varies, again, from country to country. indonesia and morocco, women and men have equal status when it comes to the personal status law. in iran, women don't have the right to divorce. the child custody goes to men. the age of marriage was just recently raised from 9 to 13. so, it does vary, again, from country to country, but this is basically the stumbling block in front of women. >> right. and talk a little bit more about political rights. i mean, is this one of the areas that women in the middle east, activists and feminists, are trying to effect more change or is it more in terms of the personal family law is where they're t

are to begin about iran's nuclear program. at the g-20 summit in pittsburgh, president obama, and other western leaders disclose iran is billing a new uranium enrichment facility that could be used to make nuclear weapons. iran insisted again today that it is in compliance with u.n. resolutions, the leaders warned iran to come clean about its secret plant. and at a news conference, late this afternoon, president obama refused to rule out military action. >> the last point i'll make specifically with respect to the military, i've always said we do not rule out any options when it comes to u.s. security interests, but i will also reemphasize that my preferred course of action is to resolve this in a diplomatic fashion. it's up to the iranians to respond. >> the iranian facility at heart of the conflict is here qom, the shiite muslim holy city, about 100 miles southwest of tehran. today's extraordinary events on iran are our lead focus. and we begin with the president's comments early in the day. in remark that were brief and to

we start blockading iran and iran will treat that as an act of war and they will respond accordingly. >> they absolutely will. next on the rundown, marc lamont hill will weigh in on this. more damning evidence against acorn charges the organization used taxpayer (announcer) your doctor knows tylenol doesn't interfere with certain high blood pressure medicines the way aleve metimes can. that's one reason why doctors recommend tylenol more than any other brand of pain reliever. so, what's the problem? these are hot. we're shipping 'em everywhere. but we can't predict our shipping costs. dallas. detroit. different rates. well with us, it's the same flat rate. same flat rate. boston. boise? same flat rate. alabama. alaska? with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits, it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. dude's good. dude's real good. dudes. priority mail flat rate boxes only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. pothole:h no...your tire's all flat and junk. oh, did i do that? here, let me get my cellular out - call ya a wrecker. ...oh

we start blockading iran and iran will treat that as an act of war and they will respond accordingly. >> they absolutely will. next on the rundown, marc lamont hill will weigh in on this. more damning evidence against acorn charges the organization used taxpayer bicycle, i've missed you. gathering dust, as pollen floats through the air. but with the strength of zyrtec ® , the fastest, 24-hour allergy relief, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride. with zyrtec ® i can love the air ™ . sqÑg geico's been saving people money and who doesn't want value for their dollar? been true since the day i made my first dollar. where is that dollar? i got it out to show you... uhh... was it rather old and wrinkly? yeah, you saw it? umm fancy a crisp? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. bill: tipping now with lead story the discovery of nuclear facility inside iran mullahs have been violating international law and lying for years. obama supporter dr. marc lamont hill. president obama talked tough set military action on the table. is there any

the looming deadline with iran and what might happen next is our lead focus tonight. >> iran's foreign minister today presented the world's leading powers with a package of proposals. the goal, to offer assurances that iran has only peaceful, nuclear intensions, but as that was taking place in tehran, america's envoy to the atomic energy agency said in vienna that the united states has serious concerns that iran is close to having the capability to produce a nuclear weapon. glyn davis told the international atomic energy agency that the ongoing activity moves iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity. just monday, iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad said that iran would push ahead with its nuclear program despite international objections. >> translator: from our point of view, iran's so-called nuclear issue is over. we continue our work within the framework of global regulations and in close interaction with the international atomic energy agency. we will never ney negotiate over obvious rights of the iranian. nation. far zoi gar ad, from the los angeles

>> i don't think russia wants to see chaos in iran. they would be afraid the regime might fall, and so i think that's -- they'll try and moderate iranian behavior, let the international atomic agency enter the second facility. keep iran from actually weaponizing. they're enriching the uranium. they can weaponize. as our own cia said, they stopped that back in 2003. i think that's where russia can have leverage with them. >> this is a huge issue and one the administration will be tackling this week. thank you, lawrence corb as always. >>> we want to get back to that breaking news happening in los angeles at the airplane. it involved united airlines flight 22 headed to new york. delayed indefinitely from taking off. nbc news tom ka still low joins us. one of the reports says the passenger went to the laboratory and the flight attendant on the plane noticed panels were removed in the laboratory in addition to other suspicious or questionable behavior on that flight. >> well, yeah. here's the reporting. i've talked to federal authorities.

. >> i think iran is on notice. when we meet with them october 1, they are going to have to come clean and have to make a choice. >> reporter: in a dramatic display of allied unity, the president accused iran of building an underground plant. not for a power plant, but for bombs. >> the size and configuration of the facility is inconsistent with a peaceful program. iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow. >> reporter: today, the cia said it's a series of tunnels built in a mountain west of the holy ty, qom. in new york, iran's president, ahmadinejad said they are hiding nothing. >> translator: what we did is completely legal according to the law. we informed the agency. the agency will take a look and produce a report. it's nothing new. nothing new. >> reporter: the allies disagree and are demanding an immediate inspection. >> confronted by the deception of many years, the international community has no choice today, but to draw a line in the sand. >> reporter: france's president, sarkozy said they have