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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Netanyahu to Warn Congress About Iran Deal; Iranian Nuclear Talks Resume; Hillary Clinton E-mails; Iran Backs Iraq Against ISIS; Funeral for Slain Russian Opposition Leader

Aired March 03, 2015 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: In just hours, a controversial speech before Congress. Israel's prime minister promising new information on why he says a nuclear deal with Iran could be a historic mistake. What will Benjamin Netanyahu reveal and could his plan to derail President Obama's negotiations with Iran back fire?

Team coverage begins right now.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It's Tuesday, March 3rd. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

John Berman has the morning off, folks. Nice to see you.

The White House warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to reveal secret details of nuclear talks with Iran when he delivers the speech to Congress later this morning. That speech bringing to a head a month-long faceoff between the administration and Israel over a signature initiative the White House believes will rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions but that Israel views as an existential threat. A speech with such high drama has become the hottest ticket in Washington.

CNN's Michelle Kosinski is at the White House with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine.

Right. And so, we are hearing these concerns from lawmakers, from the secretary of state. You know, within the White House that there could be sensitive information revealed by Prime Minister Netanyahu in this big speech before Congress. It seems like that is coming from the Israeli delegation putting out these sorts of teasers that we're going to hear something that we haven't heard before.

There is good reason, though, to believe that, because remember, over the last couple of days leading up to this big speech, they have revealed certain bits of information about the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran. Like that it could have something like a ten- year timeframe, at a time when the White House was asked about that specifically, they said, no, no, that's not accurate. But we just heard from President Obama on the negotiations and it does seem like they are going for at least a ten-year timeframe.

The White House, too, issued a kind of warning about revealing sensitive information. Here is the press secretary. Listen.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The release of that information would betray the trust of our allies. And it certainly is inconsistent with the behavior of trusted allies. The fact is and that would be true even if the sources were to claim that they had obtained the information from somewhere else.

KOSINSKI: So, he just said, if the prime minister or the Israelis do reveal sensitive information about the negotiations, that's not the way trusted allies react to each other, calling it a betrayal. Whatever is going to be revealed today, though, it certainly generated a lot of attention. I mean, Congress has set up alternate viewing areas because there is so much demand to hear Netanyahu speak -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Michelle at the White House for us.

Now, Prime Minister Netanyahu previewing this morning's congressional address at a speech Wednesday to the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC. He said he will warn that Iran is, quote, "developing the capacity to make nuclear weapons, lots of them." But the prime minister also said his speech is not intended to hurt the president politically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office that he holds. I have great respect for both.

Israel and the United States will continue to stand together because America and Israel are more than friends. We're like a family. Now, disagreements in the family are always uncomfortable, but we must always remember that we are family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: A family that cannot agree on how to rein in the cousin who is acting badly.

For more on the prime minister's speech and how this is playing in Israel, let's bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann live in Israel.

Good morning, Oren.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Christine.

From the very beginning, almost from the very moment the speech was announced, it has really split the politicians and the Israeli public on whether it's a good idea or a bad idea.

Now, there is some general agreement, that generally agree both sides that is, that a nuclear Iran poses a threat to the security of Israel. The question is how best to handle that threat. That right, which would be Netanyahu's Likud Party and the Jewish Home, see this as a critical opportunity to warn America and warn Europe about the threat that nuclear Iran would pose to Israel.

Meanwhile, from the very beginning, the left has seen this as purely a political move. Two weeks to go until the elections, Netanyahu wants security to be the number one issue, or there are certainly a number of issues here, for example, the economy that Netanyahu is not as strong on. So, this is viewed as Netanyahu's to keep the elections focused solely on security, focused solely on Iran where he is strongest.

Now, it is interesting in the final few days here leading up to the speech, Israeli politicians who are not known to be bashful have quieted it down, sort of reined in criticism, as soon as if they want to present a united Israel to the world with Netanyahu in the international stage, and they have been very quiet, especially with international media.

There has been some criticism, although not nearly as much as you would expect to the local media here with the left. That would be labor, saying the speech is a bad idea, and that Netanyahu finished his speech to AIPAC. It's time to come home, time to come back to Israel and make sure that the American-Israel relations are strong.

That being said, right after the speech, Isaac Herzog, viewed as Netanyahu's opponent, or number one challenger for prime minister, has scheduled a press conference when Netanyahu's speech ends in America. So, he is getting ready for his response and we expect that once Netanyahu touches down here back in Israel, there will be much more criticism headed his way -- Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Oren Liebermann for us this morning, thank you for that.

While the White House and Israeli officials maneuvered in Washington, Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Mohammed Javad Zarif were moving ahead with nuclear talks in Switzerland. President Obama says it's unlikely those talks reveal a deal, but that if Iran does say yes, it would be, quote, "far more effective than military action or sanctions" at keeping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would say that it is probably still more likely than not that Iran doesn't get to yes. But I think in fairness to them, they have been serious negotiators. They've got their own politics inside Iran. It is more likely that we could get a deal now than perhaps three or five months ago. But there are still some big gaps that have to be filled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: All right. For the latest, I want to bring in senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen live in Tehran.

And, Fred, you heard the president of the United States praising the Iranians for how they have been negotiating here, but still saying, you know, you will more than likely not get a deal. And this tension between the U.S. and Israel all at the same time, it's a remarkable situation we're in here.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it certainly is a remarkable situation. It's interesting, Christine, because I went out earlier today and I spoke to people here on the streets. And the interesting thing was that, of course, unsurprisingly, Benjamin Netanyahu's speech is not going to be broadcast anywhere here in Iran. Still, there are many people here on the streets that say they are interested in what Netanyahu has to say. We spoke to people who said they believe Netanyahu is trying to derail the talks. And those talks are very important to many in the country here.

It's also interesting that the chief of staff of President Rouhani, the president of Iran, has come out and has also said that he believes that Netanyahu speech will drive a rift, will create a rift between Israel and its eastern allies who didn't specifically referred to the United States, but certainly said Europe and it would (AUDIO GAP) with them.

The Iranians for their part, Javad Zarif, said he does not believe the speech will derail some sort of deal if indeed a deal materializes. Many people we spoke to feel it is in the air. It's interesting because there are some people who are cautiously optimistic that the deal could come through. But there's other people who say, you know, we have seen optimistic signs before. In the end, things have fallen apart.

Generally, the majority of Iranians believe that their country should have the right to have nuclear technology and should have the right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, of course. But the most important issue on the minds of people here is the lifting of the sanctions.

If you go to anybody here, they say the sanctions are hurting them so badly, they're hurting the economy, they're hurting investment. That's what people want to see go away. And that really is the gist of things, is that people really hope the agreement comes through so that they can become part of the international community again, Christine.

ROMANS: The fear is, of course, an existential threat of Israel. The fear, Fred, that it is not a peaceful nuclear program that Iran is after, but the ability to make nuclear weapons.

PLEITGEN: Yes, it certainly is. I mean, there is no doubt about that.

One of the interesting things is a poll that came out recently here that surveyed Iranians. There were many people who said that they wanted nuclear deal to be reached. They wanted for instance, several parts of a deal to come through. But many of them said that they believe that Iran should also have weaponized nuclear capabilities. And that certainly something that doesn't really mesh with people saying that all of this only has peaceful purposes. There is certainly somewhat of a discrepancy, and the administration and also the IAEA has said that there are still certain discrepancies that they see between what Iran does and what Iran says publicly. So, certainly, that all is very much still there, Christine.

ROMANS: All right. Fred Pleitgen for us this morning in Tehran, thank you so much for joining us this morning. Talk to you again soon.

Tensions rising between the U.S. and Venezuela. The U.S. embassy in Caracas ordered to reduce its staff of 100. There are 100 of that embassy there. They're supposed to reduce to 17. And they've been given 15 days to that, 17 is the number of Venezuelan diplomats serving in America.

Over the weekend, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced several Americans accused of spying, had been detained. He is vowing to limit the movement of U.S. diplomats, accusing them of plotting with the opposition to oust him.

Hillary Clinton may have violated federal rules when she was secretary of state. "The New York Times" reporting Clinton did not have a government e-mail address during her four-year tenure, using a personal account to conduct all government business. It was only two months ago that the Clinton advisers in an effort to comply with record keeping requirements reviewed tens of thousands of pages of her personal emails and decided which ones to turnover to the State Department. The spokesperson says Mrs. Clinton has been complying with the letter and spirit of the rules.

And then, very quickly, Jeb Bush tweeted, "Transparency is the name of the game", and issued a link to all of his e-mails, every last one of them.

Ten minutes past the hour.

The latest now on the political fight to fund the Department of Homeland Security. The money runs out at midnight on Friday, and Republicans are running out of options when it comes to reversing the president's immigration reforms. Senate Democrats voting down the only chance they had left on Monday. Pressure mounting now on Speaker Boehner to accept a clean funding bill already passed by the Senate, a move some believe could jeopardize his speakership.

FAA computers are vulnerable to hacking attacks that could compromise air safety. That warning from two U.S. senators to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. Foxx will testify today before a Senate committee about a recent report citing major security vulnerabilities in the FAA's information system, vulnerabilities that could allow hackers to cause flight delays, near misses or worse.

Time for an early start on your money. Stocks at records, and the NASDAQ is near its dot-com bubble high.

Unbelievable. Yesterday, the NASDAQ topped the 5,000 level for the first time since March 2000. It took 15 years to get back to here, folks. Now, just about 2.4 percent from peak. Three times has it closed above 5,000.

So, should you be concerned another tech bubble is here? Not so fast. It is different from the dot-com era. Many of the companies leading the charge today, they are well-established. They have cash on hand. They earn something.

Apple, for example, has more than $175 billion in cash. The NASDAQ actually late to the record game. The Dow and S&P have been demolishing records for almost two years ago -- years now, rather. Yesterday was no exception. The Dow climbed 156 points to a record high.

Happening now, a major battle to take back a key city from ISIS in Iraq. Why the fight for Tikrit could be crucial and why the U.S. is not helping. We're live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: There is a bloody struggle raging right now for control of Tikrit. The Iraqi city is under ISIS control. But Iraq's military is staging a major offensive to retake it. And they are getting a big assist not from the U.S. but from Iran.

CNN's Ian Lee is tracking these latest from Cairo this morning.

Good morning, Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Christine.

We may remember Tikrit as the hometown of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. We know that there are four different forces, or several forces going to be attacking ISIS in the city, predominately Shiite/Iraqi army, there's going to be the ministry of interior forces. Also, Sunni Arab fighters. But as well as Shia militias, including the Badr Brigade which is one of the most effective fighting forces against ISIS in Iraq.

We are hearing from the semi official Iranian news agency that Qassem Suleimani, the commander of the Quds -- the elite Quds force will be there as well.

And this is probably the reason why we're not seeing U.S. air strikes in this area before these Shiite militias deal poorly when they take over the Sunni areas and treating these Sunni inhabitants as enemy combatants. And so, the United States is careful in getting involved in any sort of sectarian violence.

And this will be a big test. If they're able to take Tikrit, how will the Shia Iraqi army, predominantly Shia Iraqi army treat the Sunni inhabitant of Tikrit? Will they welcome back? Welcome back to their home? Treat them well? Or will they threat them poorly as we've seen in other parts of the country?

And also, at the same time, Sunni fighters who are battling against ISIS and other parts of the country will be watching this closely to see how this army treats their Sunni brethren if they're able to takeover -- Christine.

ROMANS: Wow. A lot to reveal there.

Thanks so much, Ian Lee for us in Cairo, watching that offensive on the city of Tikrit.

Vatican officials say ISIS threats against Pope Francis are real. The head of the Vatican police force says they are not just making threats against the Pope as part of a media propaganda campaign, but he says there is no specific plan for an attack. Pope Francis is said to be fully aware of the risk, but doesn't plan on compromising his style of ministry.

The federal death penalty trial of accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev set to begin on Wednesday. In court on Monday, the prosecution and defense battled over how soon they can discuss the role of the defendant's older brother Tamerlan in that marathon attack. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a gun battle with police. The two sides also sparred over how much graphic evidence the jury will be shown. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is charged with killing three people and injuring 264 in the marathon bombing back in 2013.

The chief of the LAPD says enhanced video of that fatal shooting of the homeless man on Skid Row appears to show the man's hand reaching in the direction of an officer's belt. "The L.A. Times" says that it reviewed the video, and it shows the officer quickly pulling away at that moment. And three of his colleagues opened fire. "The L.A. Times" report it is unclear if the man's hand grabbed the officer's weapon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I reviewed the video and audio the officer is primarily engaged in the confrontation saying that he has my gun, he has my gun, and he says it several times. We felt great compassion in the LAPD for people who live in conditions of homelessness and often, mental illness with no treatment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The officers are part of an LAPD task force that focuses on Skid Row and especially trained in dealing with homeless people and mental health issues. The police chief is asking for any witnesses, or anyone else with video of the incident to come forward.

A key witness in the assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin's strongest critic, revealing what she saw the day her lover was murdered and why she was held in Russia against her will.

We are live in Moscow after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Murdered opposition leader Boris Nemtsov will be buried this morning in the cemetery in southwest Moscow. He was gunned down Friday while walking outside the Kremlin. The 23-year-old Ukrainian model who was with him, she said she never saw the shooter. He was shot from behind, shot in the back.

The Kremlin now describing this killing as a provocation designed to stain the reputation of President Vladimir Putin.

Let's go to Moscow and bring in CNN senior international correspondent Matthew Chance.

First, Matthew, tell us more about the Ukrainian model who was with him who witnessed the killing of Boris Nemtsov.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anna Duritskaya, she is 23 years old. She is, as you know, from Ukraine, and she works as a model. She is now back in Ukraine, because she has been handed over to the consulate services of Ukrainian diplomat in Russia and is now back in her home country.

Yesterday, CNN spoke to her mother. Actually on the ground in Ukraine and her mother related to us the story the witness account that her daughter told they were simply, they were walking along the bridge at night and eating at a restaurant on Red Square that evening on Friday night. She did not know what happened, she said, to her boyfriend, Boris Nemtsov. He just went soft in her words and fell to the floor.

And so, you know, she didn't see the killer. She didn't see the car the killer jumped into. She didn't see the number plate of the car.

And so, she didn't give a lot of clarity, I have to say, as to the actual culprit, as to who the culprits might be in this killing that basically everybody is considering to be a political assassination -- Christine.

ROMANS: Political assassination, but the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin's team, is calling it a provocation meant to stain Vladimir Putin. What do friends and colleagues and compatriots of Nemtsov think about that?

CHANCE: Well, I think there is a sense in which people find that offensive. Those particular people that you mentioned. One strands of inquiry that the police say they are following up, is that members of the opposition carried out this killing or ordered this killing in order to create more sympathy for their calls. That line that the Kremlin mentioned there that this is meant as a provocation essentially to make the Russian government look bad, that is something which basically doesn't really seriously believes.

What is believed here is that Russia has become a country where a senior politician like Boris Nemtsov, the leader essentially, one of the main leaders of the opposition, can be gunned down within eye sight of the center of power in the country, you know, beneath the walls of the Kremlin. That's the really potent message that this killing has sent to ordinary Russians. And many of the Russians I have spoken to are literally scared about

what the future holds for them particularly if they are sympathetic to opposition points of view.

ROMANS: Is there a feeling, Matthew, that -- I mean, you look at Boris Nemtsov, he's somebody who came up, you know, out of the era of democracy and new freedoms and the fall of the old Soviet Empire. Is there a feeling that the country is moving in the wrong direction and moving away from the democracy, it's moving away from those very things that Vladimir Putin and Boris Nemtsov both came up as young politicians under?

CHANCE: Yes. I mean, look, if any further evidence were needed that is the direction away from democracy and liberty. If any further evidence were needed of that, then certainly the killing of Boris Nemtsov, perhaps this country's leading Democratic politician, his killing has underlined that. So, I don't think anybody was under any doubt that is the direction Russia has been taking under Vladimir Putin particularly. But if there were any doubt, I mean, that's now disappeared.

ROMANS: I'll say.

All right. Matthew Chance, thank you for that in Moscow this morning.

Twenty-eight minutes after the hour.

The U.S. warning Israel's prime minister not to reveal sensitive information before his speech to Congress in just hours. But will Benjamin Netanyahu listen? And what will happen if he doesn't? Live team coverage, next.

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