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Iran And Six World Powers Reach Accord; Greek Parliament Set To Vote On New Reforms; "Superhero" Girl Released From Hospital; Video Shows Guzman's Escape From Mexican Prison; Arab Nations React To Iran Nuclear Deal; Spacecraft Makes History With Flyby Of Dwarf Planet. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 14, 2015 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Celebrations in Iran following an historic deal over the country's nuclear program, but of course, not everyone shares their enthusiasm.
ERROL BARNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Plus in just a few hours Greece's bailout agreement faces its next critical test.
CHURCH: And newly released surveillance video shows the moment a notorious drug kingpin broke out of his prison cell.
BARNETT: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and all around the world. It's your last hour today with the two of us. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: And I'm Rosemary Church. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
With a nuclear agreement reached between Iran and six world powers, the focus now shifts to selling the deal at home and that may not be easy.
BARNETT: After stop and go talks that lasted nearly two years, an agreement was reached that requires Iran to scale back its nuclear program and allow inspections in exchange for lifting sanctions.
CHURCH: Of course, opponents have been vocal all along. Israel's prime minister calls the agreement a, quote, stunning, historic mistake. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The leading international powers have bet our collective future on a deal with the foremost sponsor of international terrorism. They gambled that in ten years' time Iran's terrorist regime will change while removing any incentive for it to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And U.S. President Barack Obama faces a battle with members of Congress who oppose the measure. In an interview with the "New York Times," Mr. Obama defended against critics who say that too much has been given away to Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The notion that the world signed up for these sanctions in order to either achieve regime change or solve every problem in terms of Iranian behavior or to say to them in perpetuity they can never have peaceful nuclear power that was never something that was in the cards.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Now President Obama will talk more about the nuclear agreement at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Of course, we'll carry it for you here on CNN. Nic Robertson joins us now from Vienna.
Nic, it was just 24 hours ago we were confirming that there was a deal. It has taken a full day to digest the agreement and process the global reaction. Both the U.S. and Iran called this historic, but not everyone is so enthusiastic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Errol, they are not. They have a lot of concerns and it will take people a long time before they can get their hands on the document and read through it thoroughly and understand what is implied by the content.
There are things like the inspection system that has been put in place that will be handled by the International Atomic Energy Agency, their responsibility to oversee not just verify Iran's compliance with this agreement.
But it will be to go beyond that and try to detect if there is in any way Iran is violating, not the letter of what it signed up to, but anything that it hasn't actually declared, to make sure there are no covert systems in the country.
So it's going to be the strength of -- and the explanations that surround those parts of the documents that are perhaps going to convince some of the detractors that this is a strong agreement.
Nevertheless, despite everything that we've heard since it was announced, there was a huge sense of relief and happiness when the deal was signed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): More than a decade to get here, smiles and relief. The world's longest nuclear talks over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an historic day because we are creating the conditions for building trust.
ROBERTSON: Talks moderator and Iran's lead negotiator finally on the same page.
MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN PRIME MINISTER: I represent exactly the same paper that she read in English in Persian. So don't worry. It's the same thing.
ROBERTSON: And here's what they agreed. Inspectors will have 24/7 access to Iran's key nuclear facilities, get rid of 98 percent of enriched uranium stockpile. The limitation will last for 15 years. Sanctions relief with Iran will be phased in. If Iran violates the deal, all sanctions will snap back and much more.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Because of this deal, the international community will be able to verify that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon.
[03:05:05] ROBERTSON: A deal this day reaching across nations. President Obama live on Iranian TV. Iran's president selling the deal too. Telling Iranians sanctions gone for good. Today, at least, gaps in the agreement, like interpretations over sanctions overshadowed by the deal itself.
JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The agreement we've reached fully implemented will bring insight and accountability to Iran's nuclear program not for a small number of years but for the lifetime of that program.
ROBERTSON (on camera): One of the last pieces of the deal to be hammered out here was Iran's demand to have an arms embargo lifted. Late into the night, Secretary Kerry met with his Iranian, Russian, and European counterparts, it was decided that the arms embargo would be lifted in five years and ballistic missile ban in eight years.
(voice-over): Perhaps the final link in this colossal puzzle, just an hour before the agreement announced, Iran signs a deal to come clean about its nuclear past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a significant step forward towards clarifying outstanding issues regarding Iran's nuclear program.
ROBERTSON: In his interview with Christiane Amanpour, Zarif denied Iran ever wanted a bomb.
ZARIF: If they want to close four pathways or 40 pathways, they can close them all because we do not want the pathway to the bomb.
ROBERTSON: But finally now after years of talking the talk, Iran will have to walk the walk.
KERRY: We're putting to test whether or not there is a change of heart, mind or direction. If there isn't, we have ever option available to us every day that we have right now.
ROBERTSON: And that, Kerry hopes, will be enough to silence the critics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: And perhaps the first test will come in the near future. The French have been invited to Tehran for a meeting. The tests of the goodwill that was shown here, the tarmac -- the pedal will be meeting the tarmac here as we go forward -- Errol.
BARNETT: All right, Nic Robertson live for us in Vienna this morning. Nic, thanks -- Rosemarie.
CHURCH: Well, Iranians celebrated the deal in the streets of Tehran on Tuesday night. They chanted, danced, and even waved signs showing their chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): After all these years, every Iranian would be happy. They went through a lot after all these years. I'm happy anyway and I think everyone is happy about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For sure it's a good feeling, removing the sanctions have put a lot of pressure over our country and maybe people would say everything is OK, but you can see the effects on people. I hope that the conclusions of the agreement would be what we are looking for and be great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My personal opinion is that I wish they had done this sooner so people would not have to go through all these difficulties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BARNETT: Well, now that an agreement has been reached, U.S. President Barack Obama must submit it to Congress for review. Iran's supreme leader will also need to approve the deal in his country.
CHURCH: CNN's Fred Pleitgen takes a closer look now at the next steps.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Iran nuclear deal may have been agreed to, however, it does still have a lot of hurdles that it needs to clear. One of them is, of course, U.S. Congress that now has about two months to see whether or not it wants to sign off on the deal.
But the other one is also Iran's supreme leader. He is the highest authority inside Iran. He is going to have to sign off on this deal if it's going to take effect from the Iranian side.
Now once that happens, it doesn't mean that the sanctions are going to necessarily going to be lifted immediately. Iran has to do some key things. It has to get rid of two-thirds of its centrifuges and dismantle them.
It also has to convert a nuclear reactor to make sure it does not produce high-grade plutonium. The IAEA is going to have to verify that Iran has complied with all the provisions and then sanctions will begin to be lifted. But it's not all of the sanctions that are going to be lifted. There are the conventional arms embargo that will remain in place another five years and there is also an embargo on ballistic missiles and ballistic missile technology that will remain in place eight years. If that is done the sanctions will get lifted.
However, if the international community finds that Iran is not complying with the terms of the deal then the sanctions can snap back into place.
[03:10:03] BARNETT: Our Fred Pleitgen there. We will have much more reaction to the deal coming up later this hour including a look at how the lifting of sanctions inside Iran could open up a whole new market for investors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Among the countries that have the highest bilateral trade in the region are the ones that have the least political relationship with Iran in the region. Therefore, the businessmen know where to make their bucks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And that part of the story is coming up in about 20 minutes here on CNN NEWSROOM.
BARNETT: Now in a few hours, Greek lawmakers are set to vote on new economic reforms in order to get a third bailout from European creditors. Today is the deadline for the Greek parliament to approve those measures. The country's prime minister says he doesn't believe in the new reforms forced upon Greece, but he says he will see them through.
CHURCH: The bailout Alexis Tsipras agreed to on Monday is worth as much as $96 billion and much harsher than the one Greek voters have rejected. Elinda Labropoulou is live in Athens and she joins us live with the latest.
So Elinda, the big question, of course, is whether Prime Minister Tsipras is able to convince lawmakers to approve these tough reforms by today's deadline considering they have rejected austerity measures up to this point. So how is it looking so far?
ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: Well, the prime minister is going to have a difficult job ahead of him. He has been talking to his own parliamentarians all day yesterday trying to say that although this is not really a success story for Greece, this is the best he could do under the circumstances.
And he also gave an interview last night pretty much saying exactly the same thing that this is not a great deal, but it's the only deal available for Greece. Let's have a listen at that, first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXIS TSIPRAS, GREEK PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I am fully assuming my responsibilities for mistakes and for oversights and for the responsibility of signing a text that I do not believe in, but that I am obliged to implement.
I will not run away from my responsibilities because what is important right now is to ensure the safety of the country and of the working classes so that they do not suffer an economic catastrophe and to ensure the security of the banking system and protect people's savings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LABROPOULOU: And it's exactly on that issue of responsibility and trust that he is asking his own parliamentarians to back him. We do already know that there have been many voices of discontent within the leading ruling party.
We know, however that the opposition is going to back Mr. Tsipras. So we expect that these votes will be ratified in parliament today and the deal will be endorsed. But what remains to be seen is what the political cost will be for Mr. Tsipras and his government the day after.
CHURCH: Let's go where no one really wants to go. What happens if Prime Minister Tsipras fails to convince the Greek parliament to approve these reform measures? What then?
LABROPOULOU: Simply because he has all the backing of the opposition and also Mr. Tsipras is a figure that still enjoys a lot of popular support and also a lot of support within the parliament. In the last vote he got 251 votes in a 300 seat parliament. In the referendum he got 60 percent.
So we really do expect that the measures will be voted in, but the political cost will be great and there is a chance. We are definitely expecting a reshuffle right after the vote and possibly we could be looking at a grand coalition in a short space of time or possible elections ahead in the fall.
But it's too early days. Everyone is concentrating to make sure that the measures are voted in to see whether that also gives the European Central Bank the green light for the banks to reopen or for some liquidity so start flowing back into the country. That remains a huge issue for Greece. The economy has been standing still for two and a half weeks.
CHURCH: That is certainly the hope. We will be watching it very closely to see how this vote ends. Elinda Labropoulou reporting there live from Athens, many thanks to you.
BARNETT: Now to China where economic growth has beaten expectations. Second quarter data shows the country's GDP grew at an annualized rate of 7 percent.
CHURCH: Investors were on edge especially since the quarter ended with a stock market crash. Some had even feared the world's second largest economy was stalling to financial crisis levels. BARNETT: Now still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, a judge in the U.S. ordered the release of video which shows police shooting and killing of an unarmed man.
[03:15:01] CHURCH: Plus, more of this video showing the moments Mexican drug lord, Joaquin Guzman, snuck out of his prison cell.
BARNETT: And search crews have found plane wreckage in the area where a teenaged girl says her plane crashed over the weekend. We'll get you the latest on this information after the break.
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BARNETT: Transportation officials say they've located plane wreckage in an area where a teenaged girl emerged from the woods on Monday.
CHURCH: Crews have not been able to reach the site just yet and so far they have not identified the plane or whether the girl's grandparents are in that wreckage.
BARNETT: This really is such a surprising and shocking story. The 16-year-old Autumn Veatch was released from the hospital Tuesday three days after a small plane carrying her and her grandparents crashed into a mountain.
CHURCH: She escaped the wreckage, but sadly she was forced to leave her grandparents behind. Dan Simon has more on how she walked for days bruised and burned to safety.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Washington wilderness, spectacular but unforgiving.
[03:20:01] No one knows that more now than 16-year-old Autumn Veatch, the lone survivor of a small plane crash that left this young woman alone and scared as she had to literally claw her way to safety through this jugged and mountainous terrain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are just impressed with her. She's kind of like a superhero.
SIMON: The ordeal lasting some 48 hours with Autumn using every bit of her small frame to trek an unknown distance in the dark and cold.
DISPATCHER: Hi. This is Michael with the Okanogan County 911. What is your name?
AUTUMN VEATCH: Autumn Veatch.
SIMON: This is the teenager talking to a 911 operator moments after being rescued. She had been driven by some good Samaritans to a country store. She was later described as dazed.
VEATCH: I was riding from Kalispell, Montana to Bellingham, Washington and I don't know where, but we crashed and I was the only one that made it out.
DISPATCHER: OK, made it out from the collision --
VEATCH: From the plane.
DISPATCHER: Or survived?
VEATCH: Yes, the only one that survived.
SIMON: Autumn's step grandparents, Leland and Sharon Bowman apparently did not make it. Mr. Bowman, 62 years old, was said to be at the controls.
DISPATCHER: OK, are you injured at all?
VEATCH: Yes, I have a lot of burns on my hands and I'm, like, kind of covered in bruises and scratches and stuff.
DISPATCHER: OK. All right, Autumn, how old are you?
VEATCH: I'm 16.
SIMON: Autumn stayed with the bodies in the wreckage for about a day hoping that help would eventually arrive. But after a while she decided to make the dangerous trek into the woods.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, she was shaken and distraught.
SIMON: For more than 24 hours she hiked, no cell phone coverage or map. She followed the river downstream until it led her to a highway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She looked like she had been out in the woods for quite some time.
SIMON: Owner, Rick Laduke, is also a pilot and knows the dangers of flying this remote region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just your classic jagged peaks
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm happy she is safe.
SIMON: Autumn was taken to the hospital for observation and reunited with her father who had spent what seemed like eternity wondering if he would see his daughter again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't want to it to be real. I thought not until it was confirmed and I just didn't feel like she was.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: We are told that Autumn has a burn to one of her hands because according to the sheriff, she tried to reach into the plane as it was on fire and pull her step grandparents to safety. She did everything she could to save them. Dan Simon, CNN, Brewster, Washington.
CHURCH: Incredible story there. Well, a federal U.S. judge has ordered the release of a police dashcam video from 2013 showing an incident where police shot an unarmed robbery suspects in California, killing one of them.
BARNETT: Let me give you some context to all of this. The video we're about to show you has been released as part of a $4.7 million settlement even though the city and the police department tried to keep it under wraps. Some of you may find this disturbing.
(VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And here is the video from another angle. You can see the three men who were mistakenly suspected of stealing a bicycle standing in the street while officers scream for them to keep their hands up. Two of them comply, but one appears to be confused by the directions and that's when officers opened fire.
BARNETT: Now the Gardena police chief released a statement describing the shooting as tragic for all involved. Says the department is moving forward with its appeal against the release of the video saying this, quote, "As our lawyers expressed in court, we have serious privacy concerns as it relates to the release of police videos in general. We worry about the implications of this decision and its impact on victims and average citizens who are recorded by the police."
CHURCH: Newly released video shows the moment Mexican drug lord, Joaquin Guzman, escaped from a maximum security prison. This is surveillance video from inside Guzman's prison cell on Saturday. You can see him pacing back and forth several times there.
BARNETT: And 45 seconds later, Guzman takes off his shoes, walks toward a corner of his cell. Mexican officials say this is where Guzman known as "El Chapo" escaped through a tunnel built under the shower in his cell. Surveillance video from outside the cell also shows Guzman in the upper right corner there, just moments before he disappears.
CHURCH: And authorities say "El Chapo" then used this motorcycle to speed up his escape through the tunnel. This video shows the route that Guzman took as he made his getaway. The tunnel led to a half built house outside the prison walls.
[03:25:13] BARNETT: And all of that suggests he had inside help, outside help. That's the suspicion. The Mexican government, therefore is offering a $3.8 million reward for any information leading to El Chapo's recapture, but it's he could be hiding in so many places. CNN's Brian Todd looks at some of the leads in this manhunt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new picture of the menacing drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and new information on a key piece of intelligence that may not have been heeded. A law enforcement official tells CNN following his capture in 2014, DEA agents developed threads of information indicating Guzman's relatives and associates were looking for ways to get him out of prison.
The official says U.S. officials had no specific information on Guzman's escape on Saturday, but that they did pass along what they had to Mexican authorities. Mexico's interior minister denies the assertion.
Now, a Mexican official tells CNN about 50 people have been questioned and three top prison officials fired in the investigation into Guzman's escape. The official says Guzman may head back to the mountain hideaways to Sinaloa State and his hometown of Badiraguato.
IOAN GRILLO, AUTHOR, "EL NARCO: INSIDE MEXICO'S CRIMINAL INSURGENCY": In these communities, he is seen as a hero. He's almost venerated. He's larger than life.
TODD: A U.S. law enforcement official tells CNN Guzman has got an extensive support network in the heavily forested switch backs of Sinaloa with advanced teams of lookouts, spice and scouts who help him evade capture. A huge advantage for "El Chapo," his Robinhood reputation.
DUNCAN WOOD, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: He brings benefits and pays for thing, whether it's the 15-year-old party or whether it's putting on a rodeo for the local community or paying for something in the local church he has done that for many, many years.
TODD: Is this woman helping him? Emma Coronel, a glamorous former beauty queen who married "El Chapo" when she was a teenager. He was around 50. Coronel is a U.S. citizen and gave birth to Guzman's twin daughters near Los Angeles in 2011. Officials say she is related to a notorious Mexican drug lord named Nacho Coronel, who was killed in a shootout with the Mexican army in 2010.
GRILLO: She comes from these communities in Sinaloa States in the countryside who have grown up and around among drug traffickers. And it's almost like a large tribe of drug traffickers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: There is no indication from officials that Emma Coronel has been involved in Guzman's criminal activities or in his escape and it's not clear if she is being questioned by Mexican authorities at the moment.
One Mexican official tell CNN, her phone was one of the leads used in El Chapo's capture last year. As far as tracking her down, a Mexican official tells CNN she is traceable and she is usually not hiding. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
CHURCH: Agreement is reached in Vienna, but support for Iran's nuclear deal is not unanimous in the Middle East. A closer look on that coming up.
BARNETT: Plus Pluto as we've never seen it before. We'll tell you what a NASA probe learned as it zoomed past the dwarf planet. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BARNETT: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Errol Barnett.
CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church. We want to check the headlines this hour. President Obama is vowing to veto any measure by U.S. lawmakers that would block the nuclear deal with Iran. The agreement would lift sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear program and allowing international inspectors to verify no nuclear weapons are being made.
BARNETT: In a few hours, Greek lawmakers are set to vote on economic reforms in order to get a third bailout from European creditors. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he doesn't believe in the new measures forced upon a country, but will still see them through.
CHURCH: Newly released surveillance video from inside Joaquin Guzman's prison cell shows the moment the Mexican drug lord escaped on Saturday. Mexican officials say Guzman, known as "El Chapo" escaped through this tunnel built under the shower inside his cell. Authorities say El Chapo used this motorcycle to move through the tunnel in his elaborate escape.
BARNETT: A German court is expected to announce a verdict in the Oscar Greuning trial at any moment. The 93-year-old former Nazi officer is accused of 300,000 counts of accessory to murder. On Tuesday, Greuning apologized to the court. As soon as we get that verdict, we'll bring it to you.
CHURCH: France's foreign minister has just tweeted that he has accepted an invitation to visit Iran now that the landmark nuclear agreement has been reached. He says his Iranian counterpart issued the invitation. On Tuesday, he predicted that the U.N. Security Council will endorse the nuclear agreement in a matter of days.
BARNETT: Now folks in Iran have been celebrating the agreement reached on Iran's nuclear program. But you didn't see similar scenes in every country in the Middle East. CNN's Becky Anderson has more on that part of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe this is a historic moment.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This moment, long in the making ricocheted around the region. Israel also called it historic, a historic mistake.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In all areas meant to prevent Iran from arm itself with nuclear weapons, excessive concessions have been made.
ANDERSON: The state widely thought to have an estimated nuclear arsenal of at least 80 warheads, as well will not confirm or deny a nuclear program, has been a fierce critic of talks with Iran. But other Middle Eastern states are just as rattled, none more so than Saudi Arabia.
(on camera): The conservative, Sunni regime, has been suspicious of Iran's conservative Shiite regime since the Islamic revolution in 1979. But the Arab-Persian rivalry is centuries old and it's a rash of regional proxy wars from Syria to Lebanon to Yemen.
(voice-over): Other Arab nations are watching carefully. Speaking to CNN back in May, Jordan's King Abdullah said any agreement would be the beginning of a long dialogue with Tehran.
KING ABDULLAH, JORDAN: I hope that opens the door where there are concessions on many other issues that need to be discussed with Iran that reflect challenges in the region. It's not just the nuclear issue.
ANDERSON: There's expectation in other domains. As sanctions are lifted, Iran is an almost virgin market with plenty of opportunity for regional investors who are waiting in the wings.
SALEM AL ISMAILY, SPECIAL ENVOY, OMAN: Among the countries who have the highest bilateral trade in the region are the ones that have the least political relationship with Iran in the region. Therefore the businessmen know where to make their bucks and I'm sure they're ready.
ANDERSON: Politically, though, regional unease at this deal is palpable. Previous American attempts to (inaudible) Gulf States fell flat. The summit for leaders in May was attended by just two heads of state along with other ministers, a measure of how much the U.S. still has to do to sell it to the region. Becky Anderson, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now for some analysis is Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle Eastern politics and international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is also the author of this book "The New Middle East Protest and Revolution in the Arab World."
Thank you, sir, for joining us from London. The Iran deal reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons. But Israel, Saudi Arabia, Republicans and we've seen some key Democrats, they are not convinced. Do they have reason to be concerned and was there any better alternative to the Iran nuclear deal that was reached?
FAWAZ GERGES, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Rosemary, my simple answer would be let's give diplomacy a chance. Let's see if the Iranian leadership will comply with the agreement. Thirty five years of institutionalized hostility between Iran and the western powers, particularly the United States.
More than three decadence look where we are, Iran was six months away from acquiring the capability of a nuclear weapon even though the international community has imposed one of the most stringent sanctions regime against Iran. Iran has been able to almost acquire the capability. Why not give peace a chance? Ironically, Rosemary, the hard liners both in Iran and the United States and some in the region would like to derail this particular agreement.
So what's the alternative to them? The alternative to them is war. This is really bluntly. I'm being very, very clear about it because for the hard liners the only thing that would make them happy is no agreement. There is no agreement that would make them happy.
They would like a military confrontation in which everyone loses. We know, Rosemary, how volatile the Middle East, in fact and I -- I'm not saying original here -- this is the only piece of good news that comes out of the region in almost a decade or so.
I'm not suggesting this is the end of history. I'm not suggesting this agreement could or would be translated into effective means on the ground. But let's wait and see instead of trying to derail this compromise between the great powers and Iran.
CHURCH: And you talk of hard liners, former vice president, Dick Cheney says, the Iran nuclear deal moves us closer to the actual use of nuclear weapons than anything else since World War II. That's his words. What is your response to that?
GERGES: First of all, let me be direct. This is rubbish and I'm sorry to use such harsh language because first of all, this is ideological nonsense. It is playing on fears, trying to basically scare Americans. In fact, one of the major lessons we have learned is that Iran now is on record saying that it will not acquire a nuclear and militarized nuclear weapon.
This particular agreement freezes Iran's nuclear program for the next 10, 15 years. This particular agreement gives the international community the International Atomic Agency unfettered access seven days a week, anytime, anywhere in Iran.
[03:40:12] And of course, more -- I mean, conditions as well. So the reality is all I am suggesting as President Barack Obama said yesterday I'm not defending President Obama, he said this agreement is based not on trust, but rather on verification and compliance.
Let's give diplomacy a chance. Let's see whether we can end this institutionalized state of hostility between Iran and the world. I would say to the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, I hope he would borrow a page out of this particular agreement and realizes that compromise is the only way to go with the Palestinians.
Because really what we have seen in the last few years and few months between Iran and the great powers that diplomacy does work. Painful concessions are the only way to overcome the state of war and mistrust and suspicion, in particular in this volatile place called the Middle East.
CHURCH: Fawaz Gerges, we thank you for your sharing your perspective with us here on CNN. Appreciate it. BARNETT: Let's take a looker look at the Iran nuclear deal now. The agreement lifts economic sanctions overtime in exchange for Iran restricting its nuclear program and allowing inspections of its nuclear site.
In addition, inspectors will have round the clock access to Iran's key nuclear facilities. Iran won't be able to divert materials from known facilities to covert ones and these measures will be in place for 25 years.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour asked the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency for more details about the deal. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So is it 24/7 any time, any place. Tell us what you have to do to verify this?
YUKIYA AMANO, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: Important thing is that it will allow us to implement the additional protocol which is very important verification tool. It's a very powerful tool.
AMANPOUR: What is it that you do and where does it let you go?
AMANO: In short, the additional protocol will give us more information and access right. We receive very detailed declaration from Iran, more extensive and more in depth. We verify it.
And when we find a need to review that document or visit the location, then we can request the visit. This is called complimentary access and can be done in a managed manner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: CNN's Christiane Amanpour speaking to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano and we have many more sources on our website to help you understand this story better. Just head to CNN.com.
BARNETT: All right, next a story that confirms we are living in the future half a century after the first flyby of Mars, NASA sends a spacecraft all the way to Pluto. Learn what scientists are learning about this mysterious corner of our solar system.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[03:46:29]
CHURCH: After a 5 billion kilometer journey nine years in the making a U.S. spacecraft has completed the first ever trip to Pluto.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are on lock with telemetry with the spacecraft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: That cheering was for the new horizons probe which successfully phoned home after a communications blackout.
BARNETT: Now here's what is stunning, the satellite has been taking these amazing images for days of the dwarf planet and its moons and the newest close ups will be released in a few hours.
The U.S. is now the first country to send a space probe to every planet and now Pluto in our solar system. Meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri has all the ins and outs of this. One cool thing that someone is saying never again will we get fresh close up images of a planet in our lifetime.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, we are getting some of the initial ones, but there are thousands of images being taken right now. It takes four and a half hours to make it here from 3 billion miles away. It will take 16 months for all the images to make their way down here. So we'll have a lot of images --
CHURCH: Do all the meteorologists go over all the pictures and have parties?
JAVAHERI: At some point, but this really is a testament for the scientific community and the astronomers in the bay area of California, a few dozen of them worked on this, about $700 million was spent in the last 15 years to make this possible.
We'll show you the spacecraft. A grand piano shape and size of the spacecraft with ashes of the astronomer who discovered Pluto back in 1930. It launched in '06 and went out from Florida traveling 30,000 miles an hour as it is getting the images.
But the initial images when it was discovered in 1930 in Arizona and in 1996 the Hubble space telescope and the last couple days with the incredible detail and much more to come in the next three or so hours.
As of mid-April, about 65 million miles, you pick up the speck that is one of the five moons that is zoomed into the picture there, and then July 1st, 10 million miles away. And we get closer and closer and the details on July 12th and a couple days ago now, 476,000 miles away.
It's the whale's tail region at the bottom of the dwarf planet. It's about 18 percent of the surface area of our planet stretches across the Midwestern U.S. over much of the European continent and Eastern China from Beijing over to Hong Kong even in Australia.
And this is something that has been many, many years in the works and you look at Pluto and Charon and you look at our moon, Luna is about 50 percent larger than Pluto itself.
What we have learned in recent months, weeks and hours we know that icecaps exist and the southern hemisphere grows dark and doesn't see sunlight for 100 years. It's an incredible place and it's so cold that scientists use the Kelvin scale to measure temperature. [03:50:05] Zero kelvin is the coldest possible temperature that is 273 degrees below zero which is what it is on Pluto.
BARNETT: And you can tie it to the Iran nuclear deal.
JAVAHERI: It is last substance is named after Pluto.
BARNETT: OK, there you go, class dismissed.
CHURCH: We'll be testing later. Thanks so much, Pedram. Appreciate it.
A short break but still to come, Donald Trump has faced a lot of criticism since announcing his run for U.S. president, but he appears to be leading in a new national poll. We'll have that for you next.
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BARNETT: Take a look at this video everyone. Police have released this footage showing the moment a small plane landed on the grass median of a highway in Eastern New Jersey. Reports say the single engine plane was carrying a group of skydiving students with their instructor when they made this emergency landing on Sunday.
[03:55:03] CHURCH: Terrifying for them and for the cars on that road. One instructor was treated for a small cut, but no other injuries were reported. The incident is under investigation. That is incredible.
BARNETT: Now Donald Trump is leading a national poll for the first time in the race for the U.S. presidency.
CHURCH: In the Suffolk University/"USA Today" survey of Republican candidates released on Tuesday, Trump got the support of 17 percent of respondents. The former Florida governor, Jeb Bush is at 14 percent.
BARNETT: And as you see there, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker got 8 percent support while Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Marco Rubio are just behind.
CHURCH: He is definitely sucking all the oxygen out of the room as everyone keep saying. That's going to be a real shocker for the Republicans.
BARNETT: Yes, indeed.
CHURCH: U.S. presidential candidate, Donald Trump, posted a campaign photo to his official Twitter account Tuesday, but it didn't stay up for long.
CHURCH: This was a bit of shocker because it showed the Republican's face with the American flag and shadowy image of soldiers. Twitter users quickly noticed the soldiers' uniforms and that they were foreign.
CHURCH: CNN was able to confirm the uniforms were a Nazi unit. Trump's spokesman said a young intern mistakenly created the photo. But they need a checking system underway. We'll see what happens.
BARNETT: We have breaking news into you coming to us from Reuters. A German court announced the verdict in the Oscar Greuning trial. The 93-year-old former Nazi officer has been sentence to four years in prison. Gruening was accused of 300,000 counts of accessory to murder. That information just in to CNN.
CHURCH: You have been watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church.
BARNETT: I'm Errol Barnett. Stay with CNN. "EARLY START" is next for those of you in the U.S.
CHURCH: And for the rest of you, another edition of CNN NEWSROOM begins after this short break.
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