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Obama to Test Diplomatic Path With Iran; Obama Talks Syrian Crisis at U.N. General Assembly; Were Americans Involved in Kenya Mall Attack; Interview with Syrian Opposition Leader; Al Shabaab Recruits Somali-Americans in Minnesota; Housing Market Comes Back Strong.
Aired September 24, 2013 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama now attending a luncheon at the United Nations, hosted by the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. There is the picture. Many world leaders are at this luncheon. Apparently, the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, is not at the luncheon. Maybe he will surprise everyone and show up in a little bit. According to Iranian officials and others, he did not RSVP to attend. Maybe they'll let him in any how if he decides to come. We're all anxious to see if there's going to be some sort of exchange, some sort of encounter between president and the Iranian president.
President Obama says despite potential roadblocks, he wants to test the diplomatic path with Iran, wants to do that test right away. He addressed the U.N. General Assembly a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States and Iran have been isolated from one another since the Islamic Resolution of 1979. This mistrust has deep roots. Iranians have long complained of a history of U.S. interference in their affairs and America's role in overthrowing the Iranian government during the Cold War. On the other hand, Americans see an Iranian government that has declared the United Stats an enemy, and directly or through proxies taken American hostages, kill U.S. troops and civilians, and threatened our ally, Israel, with disruption.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Nick Paton-Walsh is here at the United Nations with me. Reza Sayah is joining us from Tehran.
Nick, the beginning of a new chapter, potentially, in U.S./Iranian relations? What are you hearing?
NICK PETON-WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Potentially. This happened before in the '90s, six years ago in the Bush administration, but this is the most serious sense of engagement anyone has heard of in a while. A p5 plus one meeting on Thursday, which will talk about Iran's nuclear program. Could they be meeting before that? Many are saying that's unlikely, between Obama and Rouhani. If it doesn't go so well, then the presidential exchange may be compromised somehow.
BLITZER: Secretary of state John Kerry will meet with the foreign minister at this meeting that's already been scheduled.
Reza Sayah, in Tehran, what's the mood like over there? What are they saying over there about a potential break through in U.S./Iranian relations?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The mood here is remarkable. We've been coming here for years, Wolf, and have yet to see this optimism and hope among Iranians that maybe U.S./Iran relations after a bitter 34-year rivalry can improve. In his speech, President Obama essentially reached out and told Iranians leaders, let's try to work out our problems diplomatically. He said a lot of things that the Iranian leadership wanted to hear. He said the U.S. is not out for regime change. That's a big concern here among Iran's leaders. He said the U.S. is willing to accept a peaceful nuclear program here in Iran and that nuclear program will still remain the issue that is in the way of better relations. Iranian leaders have signaled that possibly they're ready to make concessions. Officials here say they will consider possibly suspending uranium enrichment at 20 percent that would seemingly make it impossible for Iran to create the fuel that's necessary for a nuclear bomb. Iran has suggested they're open to shutting down some uranium enrichment facilities, but they want something in return and they want it to be substantial. They want Washington to respect their leadership as legitimate and want an end to the economic sanctions.
Can the two sides sit down and hammer out some sort of agreement? There's certainly a lot of obstacles in their way. Namely Israel, who at this point does not want these two sides to get together. Then you have the Iran hawks, anti-Iran lawmakers that dominate the U.S. Congress. They have not given any indicates that they will support President Obama's efforts to establish some sort of relationship with Iran -- Wolf?
BLITZER: Reza Sayah is in Tehran. Nick Paton Walsh is here.
Did you notice that when he arrived the new Iranian president put out there on Twitter -- he has a Twitter feed right now that he's putting stuff out -- a picture of himself in the limo, driving in to New York City. I don't know what it says, but he's pretty active on twitter all of a sudden.
PETON-WALSH: Gives you a new idea of how different this approach is from Tehran. How do these tweets -- and they've said everything from happy new year to the Jewish population, to always saying he's willing to dialogue -- how much they represent the inner core of Iranian politics.
BLITZER: Well, let's ask Reza. Let's ask Reza.
How much is -- that's a good question, Reza. How much does that represent the mood in Iran right now? The U.N. sanctions led by the U.S. are really biting. SAYAH: What Nick asked was, what's the mood inside the inner core of the leadership. There's no access to the inner core. A lot of the decisions in Iran happen behind closed doors. The supreme leader is still the ultimate authority here. There is the sense that the supreme leader is backing President Rouhani's efforts who, right now, is the most popular man in Iran, and a lot of influence and a mandate from the Iranian people. We'll see what he can get done -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll see if history is made at the United Nations.
Reza, thank you.
Nick, thanks to you.
President Obama delivered a message for Syria today as well with strong words from the United Nations, Syria's government and the opposition. Coming up, we'll speak with a representative from the Syrian opposition.
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BLITZER: President Obama is now addressing the luncheon here at the United Nations. Let's listen in.
OBAMA: -- must be the work of all of us. So I want to propose a toast to our host and great friend, Secretary General Ban. To all those here in New York and around the world who help to sustain the United Nations and cooperative effort of the whole world. Cheers.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: A nice gesture by the president of the United States, saluting Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary general and the United Nations. The president has more meetings here at the United Nations. We still don't know if one of those meetings will include at least some sort of encounter with the Iranian president. We'll watch. We'll wait to see if that, in fact, happens.
The president also addressed the Syrian crisis earlier today in his General Assembly speech here at the U.N. He called out the Security Council and its reluctance to act on chemical weapons. Here's a bit of what President Obama said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Syrian government took a first step of giving an accounting of its stockpiles. Now there must be a strong Security Council resolution to verify that the Assad regime is keeping its commitments. And there must be consequences if they fail to do so. If cannot agree even on this, then it will show that the United Nations is incapable of enforcing even the most basic of international laws.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Let's discuss with Farah Atassi with now. She's a member of the Syria National Council, part of the opposition to the Bashar al Assad regime.
There's a whole rebel delegation that is here in New York right now. So did the president, from your perspective, the opposition to the government in Baghdad go far enough?
FARAH ATASSI, SYRIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL: Yes. Tough speech, as usual, for the president Barack Obama when it comes to Syria. However, the president did not address the core issue, holding Assad regime accountable. By using chemical weapons and conventional weapons, but also holding the regime accountable for holding conventional weapons.
BLITZER: What do you want the United States to do?
ATASSI: We want them to take decisive actions against Bashar al Assad and mainly holding him responsible for the crimes he committed.
BLITZER: Like what?
ATASSI: First of all, they have to work closely and not give the lead to the Russians. They are leading the whole Syrian crisis. We want the U.S. To step forward and take the leadership right now to push for Assad to step down and allow for a there have been so many initiatives on the table from the Arab League, from the United Nations and Assad did not comply. 99 percent of the Syrian people are killed by conventional weapon. Who will be holding accountable for over those 100,000 Syrians killed for the past two and a half years? We don't want the Syria crisis just be on using chemical of mass destruction or chemical weapons. We want to go back to the essence of the problem --
(CROSSTALK)
ATASSI: -- having a sectarian regime killing his own people.
BLITZER: The president and everyone else here repeats that there will be no U.S. boots on the ground. The U.S. is not going to get involved on the ground in Syria to try to remove Bashar al Assad.
ATASSI: That is a great question, Wolf. I so happy you made that question. We never asked for boots on the ground. Syrian people started this revolution on their own. They are right now fighting the regime on their own. They asked for the help and the leadership of the United States. They asked for the help of empowering our Free Syrian Army, led by General Saleem Madree (ph), empowering the moderate group of the Syrian opposition who are voting. We are all civilians. We are not terrorists. This is not civil war. It's an uprising against the regime.
BLITZER: On the chemical weapons --
ATASSI: Right.
BLITZER: -- that the Syrian regime has -- they acknowledge it now. If this Russian initiative works and all those stockpiles are destroyed through peaceful means, you would welcome that?
ATASSI: Nobody would reject or object getting rid of any kinds of weapon that are killing our own people. He used those chemical weapons. We heard President Obama today say it's an insult to reason to claim --
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: If it works, you would applaud that?
ATASSI: What's next? It's not only about chemical weapons. What about the knives that the Russians -- the Russians are aiding the regime with military weapons. What about the airplanes? What about conventional weapons? Who will protect the Syrian people? The United Nations, right now, they have the right to protect the -- Syrian civilians should be protected and that's the obligation by the United Nations as President Obama said today. Yes, President Obama it does stand to reason to claim that the opposition used chemical weapons but it's also to hold those who used the chemical weapons accountable and take them to international justice court.
BLITZER: Farah Atassi, with the Syrian opposition, joining us here at the United Nations.
Thank you so much.
ATASSI: Thank you.
BLITZER: Next time you have to tell us how you really feel. I know you're very passionate.
ATASSI: Yes.
BLITZER: And you have good reason to be very passionate.
ATASSI: Thank you so much.
BLITZER: I know you're just back from Syria.
ATASSI: Yes, I came three weeks ago and I'm leaving in 10 days.
BLITZER: Well, be careful --
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: OK, good. We'll talk to General --
(CROSSTALK)
ATASSI: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: Don't leave yet.
Kenya's president, meanwhile, says officials are working to try to identify the terrorists behind the mall massacre. Were Americans among the attackers? Also, we're taking a look at how a terrorist group is recruiting young Somali Americans in Minnesota.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)) BLITZER: Here is a question a lot of Americans are asking: Were Americans involved in the massacre in the mall in Kenya? A Kenyan official says yes. U.S. officials say they have not been able to confirm that. Right now, Kenya's president says the siege is over. Forensic experts are working to try to identify the attackers and determine their nationalities. He says bodies are still trapped in the rubble of the building.
In an interview on the PBS "News Hour," Kenya's foreign minister says two or three of the attackers did, in fact, come from the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMINA MOHAMED, KENYAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The Americans, from the information we have, are young men, between maybe 18 and 19.
UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR: Somali origin?
MOHAMED: Somali or Arab origin. But lived in the U.S. in Minnesota and one other place. So we look. That's just to underline the global nature.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Brian Todd has been digging into the terrorist group al Shabaab's recruitment of Somali-Americans, specifically in Minnesota.
Brian is joining us now.
What are you learning, Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a lot of this recruitment stared with disenfranchisement that so many Somalis feel here. Their families came here from Somalia in the early '90s, fleeing a civil war that tore their country apart, looking for a better life. But for so many of the young Somalis in this community, they didn't find the life they thought they would. Unemployment is very high. The gang problem in this community is a very strong gang problem, and it's gotten worse over the years. So it started with that disenfranchisement.
What we're told by community leaders is that the al Shabaab recruiters over the last few years have come in here promising these young men in this community a better life, telling them they can be leaders back in Somalia. They can go back to the country where their families came from, maybe that they've never seen before, a country they've dreamed of, and they can be leaders of organizations. They lure them back with these promises. One community leader said they give them titles here before they send them back. So that is part of the lure of getting these young men to go back to Somalia and fight for al Shabaab. Once they get there, one community leader told me it's a nightmare for them. There's a lot of death, destruction, famine. It's become a real nightmare for the people who have gone back there.
But we're also told is the tide has turned. For the last four to four and a half years, the recruitment has really fallen off. Not as many young Somalis have gone back. We'll be exploring some of that later.
BLITZER: We certainly will. We'll see you back in "The Situation Room," 5:00 p.m. eastern.
Brian Todd on the scene for us in Minnesota.
If you're looking to get out of your home, why it might be a good time. How the housing market is slowly returning to a seller's market. We have details. That's next.
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BLITZER: We're seeing is more evidence that the housing market is coming back, coming back strong. A survey released this morning shows housing prices jumped almost 12.5 percent in July from the year before.
Christine Romans is joins us now to explain what's happening.
What's happening, Christine?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: A really big rise again in home prices, Wolf. But when you sift through these numbers -- I want to show you some signs that the rate of that increase is slowing.
Let's look at the big picture first. Home prices rose 12.4 percent from a year ago. That's phenomenal. That's the biggest year-over- year increase in seven years. This is the S&P Case Schiller Composite Home Price Index measure. Look where we've come from. Look at some of the -- wow. Can you imagine that? Look at how much we've come from the bottom in 2009. But we're still off the peak.
Now, I want to show you where some of the hardest-hit markets in the housing bust have been doing. Phoenix is up 19 percent from a year ago. Look at Las Vegas, Wolf, up 27.5 percent. These are home prices. The three California markets, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, all up 20 percent or better.
Today's news means that fewer home buyers, homeowners are under water. They no longer owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. That's very good news for the overall recovery.
What's less positive for the housing market, the fact that mortgage rates have been rising. In fact, mortgage rates, up more than one full percentage point since May. They're still at historical lows, but these higher rates may keep prospective buyers from taking the plunge.
What does it mean for home prices altogether? David Blitzer of S&P says the rate of increases may have peaked. In other words, don't expect 12 percent gains over the next year. Something a little more slow than that -- Wolf?
BLITZER: David Blitzer of S&P, no relation to Wolf Blitzer of CNN.
(LAUGHTER) Thank very much, Christine.
We'll be right back.
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BLITZER: We're learning more about the victims of the deadly mall massacre in Kenya. One got a doctorate recently from Harvard. She also graduated from the School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C., at Johns Hopkins University. Elil Yavuz (ph) was a Dutch citizen of Turkish ancestry in Africa working for the Clinton Foundation.
Earlier, the former President Bill Clinton paid a warm tribute to her.
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BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & FOUNDER, THE CLINTON FOUNDATION: Yes, we lost one of our employees in our health access program, which works on getting malaria drugs and building health systems around Africa. She actually worked in Tanzania. And I saw her just a couple weeks ago when I was there, but she was nine months pregnant, just a couple weeks away from delivery. So she and her baby's father were walking in that mall in Nairobi because she wanted to have the baby in Kenya. She thought that would be best. And they were both killed.
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BLITZER: Deepest, deepest condolences. Our hearts go out to all the victims of this horrific, horrific attack in Nairobi.
That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer at the United Nations. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."
NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you.
Hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you so much for being with me today.
