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CNN Live Today

Intel. Reports Warn of Insurgency by Saddam Loyalists; Riad Ali Released; Interview with Kamal Kharrazi; Fall Music Releases

Aired September 28, 2004 - 11:30   ET

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

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


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And we have some information just in to CNN that prewar intelligence reports warn that Saddam loyalists would be aiding in the insurgency after the war in Iraq. And of course we want to go now to CNN's David Ensor to sort all of this out.
David, what do you know?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, two classified reports that were prepared for President Bush two months before the invasion of Iraq warned, according to sources, that such an invasion could prompt an insurgency, including rogue elements from Saddam Hussein's government working with existing terrorist groups. The reports were prepared in January of 2003 by the National Intelligence Council, and they said an invasion would increase support for hardline politicized Islam and could result in a divided Iraqi society that is prone to violent conflict, according to the sources that I have spoken to.

Disclosure just weeks before the presidential election of the pessimistic assessments given to the president could create some political problems for the White House. The reports were prepared by the same unit that in July prepared a gloomy national intelligence estimate about the prospects for the future of Iraq.

This is the National Intelligence Council, which is a quasi- independent think tank headquartered at the CIA. And it includes outside academics, as well as U.S. intelligence professionals from throughout the government. Its reports are coordinated with all 15 U.S. intelligence agencies.

The two January 2003 reports were prepared under the auspices of a -- next senior officer, Paul Pillar. And he has been accused in recent days by columnist Bob Novak, he and the CIA of having some sort of a battle going over Iraq policy with the White House.

U.S. officials are saying that Mr. Novak mischaracterized how these national intelligence estimates are written and that any suggestion of a battle is way off the mark -- Betty?

NGUYEN: David, it's kind of interesting the timing of this information that's being released to us.

ENSOR: It is. It is. And coming after that previous very gloomy assessment was also leaked to the media -- you will recall that when that came out, President Bush was asked about it and said those were just guesses. Although, he later revised his language and said he would call them estimates rather than guesses.

Clearly, there's some unease here, and there are intelligence officials who want to put on the record that, before the Iraq war, they did warn that there could be great difficulty if an invasion was gone ahead with. And clearly that makes the White House somewhat uncomfortable, Betty.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. CNN's David Ensor, thank you for that interesting information this morning.

All right. We are going to take a short break. We'll be back with more CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We got a lot of things working right now. This just in: CNN Producer Riad Ali has been released. As you remember, he was abducted yesterday by armed Palestinian men in Gaza City. It's not exactly known who were his captors and what this was all about, but we do know now that Riad Ali has been released from the armed Palestinian men who abducted him yesterday.

And of course, when we get more information on this, we will bring it to you, but some good news there.

Now, we want to send you to Wolf Blitzer in Washington, who is going to be speaking with the Iranian foreign minister about Iran's nuclear weapons.

Wolf, what do you know?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Betty.

As you know, deep concern here in Washington over reports that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, about reports that Iran might be holding al Qaeda suspects inside Iran, and that it might be trying to influence the election schedule for January in neighboring Iraq.

Let's talk about those issues with the foreign minister of Iran, Kamal Kharrazi, who's joining us now from the United Nations. Mr. Foreign Minister, thanks very much for joining us.

KAMAL KHARRAZI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Thank you.

BLITZER: Let's talk about Iran and a nuclear bomb. Is your government -- is Iran trying to build a nuclear bomb right now?

KHARRAZI: Not at all. We are not for nuclear bombs. We are against nuclear bombs. And it's not part of our defense strategy, and we do not believe that it would add to the security of the country.

But contrary to that, we have been promoting the idea of establishment of free zone in the whole Middle East. And therefore, as we are a member of NVP, we want (INAUDIBLE) to safeguard and also protocol and inspectors of IAE are moving around in Iran to inspect everywhere and have found no evidence that Iran is pursuing any nuclear weapon program.

Be assured that we do not have such a program at all.

BLITZER: As you know, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, has been saying quite openly that there are still suspicions that you might be developing a nuclear bomb because of your reluctance to let inspectors so what they want to do.

As you know, they have a deadline scheduled for the end of November. Otherwise this could be addressed to the United Nations Security Council. Sanctions would be imposed.

If you have nothing to hide, why don't you let the inspectors go about doing the job of inspecting anywhere they want?

KHARRAZI: Inspections have been free to move anywhere they wish. And so far, they have done 800 person a day inspection, which is a lot. And that is why they have come up with this position that they have found no evidence in Iran that Iran is pursuing for (ph) weapon.

There are allegations, especially by the United States, which is looking for its own interest and has got its own political motivation, but in fact, Iran is quite transparent. All the sites are under inspection of IAE.

BLITZER: What would you do if there were -- if this issue was referred to the Security Council and sanctions were imposed against Iran?

KHARRAZI: There is no reason why Iran's (INAUDIBLE) should be referred to the Security Council. Because we are committed to our international commitments, and we are doing very cooperation -- good cooperation with IAE. And as long as these in the able hands of IAE, it should not be referred to the Security Council, because there has not been any violation.

BLITZER: But you will confirm, I suppose, that Iran is developing a long-range, medium-range missiles that have the potential of hitting throughout the Middle East, maybe even into Europe, including Israel -- the Israelis being very, very concerned about that missile.

What can you tell us about that?

KHARRAZI: Oh, it is defensive. It's not for pursuits. And certainly we have to be able to defend ourself (sic). And you see, there is threats these days against Iran. And therefore, we have to be able to defend also, and we are able to defend also.

BLITZER: If the Israelis were to do to the nuclear reactor or other nuclear facilities in Iran what they did to the Iraqi nuclear reactor in Osirak in 1981, namely launch an air strike to try to destroy it, what would you do?

KHARRAZI: Oh, certainly we are able to react, and we are able to defend, also. But we don't use our capabilities as first user. But it is defensive, and we would react to it.

BLITZER: And when you say you will react, what does that mean.

KHARRAZI: Oh, you have to wait and see that how do we react. I cannot tell you that how do we react here.

BLITZER: Is Iran hiding suspected al Qaeda terrorists?

KHARRAZI: In fact, we have arrested several al Qaeda members, and that has been a service to fighting with terrorism. Because if they were free in Iran or outside of Iran and they had their connections so they could lead many operations. Therefore, we have to be rewarded, because we have arrested them, put them in jail, and caught their connections with outside.

BLITZER: Why not hand them over to the United States or other parties?

KHARRAZI: There's no reason why we should hand them over to the United States. They have been arrested in the jurisdiction of Iran, and it's up to us how to deal with them. And certainly, they have to be judged and tried in Iranian courts in respective time.

BLITZER: How many al Qaeda terrorists are being held in Iran, approximately?

KHARRAZI: I don't have their numbers, but there are dozens of them. And also, they have been arresting new elements associated with al Qaeda. Forty of them were recently arrested, and they are in jail, as well.

BLITZER: How high ranking within the al Qaeda network are these terrorists that you're holding?

KHARRAZI: I cannot tell you, but there are different people with different capacities. The good thing is that now they cannot lead others, and they are in jail.

BLITZER: Is Iran trying to influence the scheduled elects in January in Iraq, which is, of course, your neighbor?

KHARRAZI: No. We are not going to influence any other nation. That depends on the people of Iraq to decide. But what is important for us is to have a democracy, a representative government in Iraq in place. And certainly, general election is the prerequisite for that.

And we hope that election would be held as scheduled by the end of January to have that representative government in Iraq, to be able to maintain security by itself.

BLITZER: I interviewed the Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi last week. And he said there were a lot of terrorists that were streaming across the borders, not only from Syria, but from Iran, as well.

Can you do better in tightening up the border between Iran and Iraq?

KHARRAZI: We are doing our best, but it is a long border. And it may be possible that some elements cross the border. That's not in our knowledge, as it isn't the knowledge of other neighboring countries.

This is the real situation in Iraq. Of course, Iraqi neighbors have to do their best, and we are doing our best. We are in contact with Iraqi government. We are going to establish a committee to take care of the borderline. We are doing our best.

BLITZER: Secretary of State Colin Powell said here on CNN on Sunday that the prime minister of Iraq, Ayad Allawi, would like to convene a regional summit -- Iran, Syria, other neighbors of Iraq -- together with the G8 -- the industrialized nations -- as early as October to try to deal with the problems facing the new government in Iraq.

Is your government prepared to participate in this kind of summit?

KHARRAZI: Yes, we endorsed that. That has been the original proposal, that there should be a gathering of neighboring countries plus (INAUDIBLE) some other key countries to cooperate with each other how to help interim government. And we are for that, and we certainly participate in that meeting.

BLITZER: Are you ready to have normal diplomatic relations with the new government in Iraq?

KHARRAZI: We have diplomatic relations. We have our ambassador. They have sent their ambassador to Tehran. We are going to send our ambassador. Right now, he's (INAUDIBLE).

We have diplomatic relations, and we work closely with their officials. Their deputy prime minister of Iraq was in Tehran. Right now, some figures are in Tehran. The deputy president of Iraq is in Tehran. And therefore, we have extended (ph) visits, and we cooperated with each other.

BLITZER: One final question about the future of your country, Iran. There have been a lot of reports, as you well know, especially here in the West that there are all sorts of murmurings underneath the scene -- not from the Mullahs, not from the government, but from young Iranians yearning for democracy, yearning to be free and to establish some sort of liberty, real liberty, in Iran.

Now, how concerned are you about the possibility of some sort of revolution against the Iranian regime?

KHARRAZI: Unfortunately, there are a lot of misinformation here in the United States because of the lack of relations and dependence on the interesting elements and source of information.

What is there is that we have young generations, 70 percent of people of Iran are under 35-years-old. They are part of the system. They are supportive of the system. They play important role in mass media, in education, in the business, everywhere.

And reform is an ongoing process, is inevitable. If you compare Iran today with 25 years ago, you find that there has been tremendous changes and reform in Iranian politics, Iranian social life.

But what is imagined here that there would be any change, that is absolutely incorrect. And you have to understand the dynamism of Iranian politics before making any judgment.

BLITZER: Kamal Kharrazi, the foreign minister of Iran, visiting the United Nations now. Thanks so much for joining us.

KHARRAZI: Thank you.

BLITZER: Betty, let me throw it back to you.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Wolf.

Well, we are following some other major developments, that, of course, is the release of CNN Producer Riad Ali from his captors. As you'll recall, yesterday he was taken hostage in Gaza City by some armed Palestinian men -- some unknown armed Palestinian men. He was traveling with CNN's Ben Wedeman at the time, as well as a photographer, when a car pulled out in front of their taxi.

A man jumped out and, at gunpoint, asked for Riad. He then pulled him out of the car. He was put in another vehicle and then driven away. But as of this hour, Riad Ali, CNN producer, has been released from his captors. We are still trying to get much more information on this. And when we get that, we will bring it to you.

But in the meantime, good news there. CNN Producer Riad Ali has been released by his captors.

We'll have much more to come. Stay tuned for more CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Time now to check in with Rhonda Schaffler in a stock market update. Hi there, Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

NGUYEN: OK. Thank you, Rhonda.

Well, new album, new tricks, politics, and the story of U2 music that went missing. What's hot this fall on the music scene? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We are keeping an "Eye on Entertainment" today. Now that the weather is getting cooler, the music scene is starting to heat up. Fall is the time a lot of new CDs hit the market in preparation for the holiday season. And CNN music correspondent Shanon Cook is here with a preview of all of that. Hi there, Shannon.

SHANON COOK, CNN MUSIC CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Can you believe we're talking about the holiday season already? It's crazy

NGUYEN: It's not too far away, believe it or not. Well, let's talk about U2, because back in the early summer there was something about a CD that turned up missing. Did they ever find it?

COOK: Right. CD went missing while they were on a shoot in Nice. You know what? It never did show up.

NGUYEN: Oh, it didn't?

COOK: The band's record label was expecting it would show up on some peer-to-peer, you know...

NGUYEN: It's not even on eBay or anything like that.

COOK: No, nowhere. It remains a phantom -- the complete mystery album. But you know, the good news is that the official CD is getting ready to release. And U2 fans, like, they're absolutely...

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

COOK: They're so excited. The CD is called "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." Interesting title, kind of invokes the...

NGUYEN: Yeah, dismantle an atomic bomb.

COOK: Yeah, it invokes a theme of peace, though. This drops November 23rd on Interscope.

Now, the single, "Vertigo," has been exploding on radio the last few days. It's been a big success so far, and we're in luck because we actually have it cued up. So, if you haven't heard it yet, here it is. Here's "Vertigo."

(MUSIC -- U2 - "Vertigo")

NGUYEN: That's pretty good. I can get into that.

COOK: U2's very good. I can see you bopping your head away there, Betty. You're liking it.

Now that song, like much of U2's CD, was produced by Steve Lillywhite, who also produced U2's first three albums. A lot of rock and roll happening on this album, more so than their 200 album "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

Bono has actually said that this is their first rock and roll album. And he says that there's a lot of angry guitar playing by guitar player The Edge. Bono says Edge is growing increasingly frustrating with Bono's political exploits. He's apparently sick to death of seeing Bono shaking hands with politicians, and he's taking it out...

NGUYEN: Political season.

COOK: Right.

NGUYEN: Well, quickly, let's get to Eminem. We don't have much time left, but he has something coming out.

COOK: He does. He has an album called "Encore," meant to be a big, big release. It's the follow-up to his previous album, "The Eminem Show," the top-selling CD of 2002. People who have heard it are saying it's very politically charged. Expresses a lot of anti- Bush sentiment on this album.

The first single, "Just Move It," though, is very playful, very fun, and typical Eminem style. It's not political. He makes a few gratuitous swipes at Michael Jackson, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Eminem, always making fun of his fellow comrades in the music industry. That's tipped to be a very big album. I predict that it will sell extremely well.

NGUYEN: Is it going to have one of those labels that if you're younger than this particular age, you can't buy it.

COOK: Absolutely. Explicit lyrics. Definitely. And in fact, you know, he's also launching his own radio channel on Sirius Satellite Radio.

NGUYEN: What kind of programming?

COOK: Well, it's a hip-hop based program, and he will occasionally host the show. And Sirius has said that they're happy to let all profanity fly. So, that is bound to be an extremely colorful...

NGUYEN: Slim Shady at it again.

All right, let's talk about Gwen Stefani, because she has a single out. And some people were actually -- she's going with her solo debut, but some people wondering does this mean No Doubt is breaking up.

COOK: Right. And I'm happy to say that that is not true. In fact, the band members are planning to regroup next year and put out their next No Doubt album. But Gwen, she's always wanted to do a solo project, and why now? It's worked for Justin Timberlake. It worked for Beyonce.

She's calling this new CD her art project, something she could have complete creative control over without having to consider her bandmates. The first single I heard over the phone, her publicist played it for me, it's called "What You're Waiting For." Really impressive stuff.

NGUYEN: I heard that yesterday on the radio. COOK: Yes, it's just being released now. It's very up tempo, has a dance music feeling. Apparently the whole album is sort of leaning toward dance music. Also, she's very influenced by '80s music. And Martin Gore, who has been associated with Depeche Mode, plays guitar on one track. She's worked with some really heavy- hitting producers on this CD like Dr. Dre, Andre 3000 of OutKast, and Pharrell Williams.

With those big names...

NGUYEN: All right.

COOK: ... it's guaranteed to be a hit.

NGUYEN: Shanon Cook, I'm sorry, but we are absolutely out of time.

COOK: No worries.

NGUYEN: Thank you so much for that.

That's does it for us here at LIVE TODAY. It's time to toss it over to Wolf Blitzer in Washington -- Wolf?

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Aired September 28, 2004 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And we have some information just in to CNN that prewar intelligence reports warn that Saddam loyalists would be aiding in the insurgency after the war in Iraq. And of course we want to go now to CNN's David Ensor to sort all of this out.
David, what do you know?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, two classified reports that were prepared for President Bush two months before the invasion of Iraq warned, according to sources, that such an invasion could prompt an insurgency, including rogue elements from Saddam Hussein's government working with existing terrorist groups. The reports were prepared in January of 2003 by the National Intelligence Council, and they said an invasion would increase support for hardline politicized Islam and could result in a divided Iraqi society that is prone to violent conflict, according to the sources that I have spoken to.

Disclosure just weeks before the presidential election of the pessimistic assessments given to the president could create some political problems for the White House. The reports were prepared by the same unit that in July prepared a gloomy national intelligence estimate about the prospects for the future of Iraq.

This is the National Intelligence Council, which is a quasi- independent think tank headquartered at the CIA. And it includes outside academics, as well as U.S. intelligence professionals from throughout the government. Its reports are coordinated with all 15 U.S. intelligence agencies.

The two January 2003 reports were prepared under the auspices of a -- next senior officer, Paul Pillar. And he has been accused in recent days by columnist Bob Novak, he and the CIA of having some sort of a battle going over Iraq policy with the White House.

U.S. officials are saying that Mr. Novak mischaracterized how these national intelligence estimates are written and that any suggestion of a battle is way off the mark -- Betty?

NGUYEN: David, it's kind of interesting the timing of this information that's being released to us.

ENSOR: It is. It is. And coming after that previous very gloomy assessment was also leaked to the media -- you will recall that when that came out, President Bush was asked about it and said those were just guesses. Although, he later revised his language and said he would call them estimates rather than guesses.

Clearly, there's some unease here, and there are intelligence officials who want to put on the record that, before the Iraq war, they did warn that there could be great difficulty if an invasion was gone ahead with. And clearly that makes the White House somewhat uncomfortable, Betty.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. CNN's David Ensor, thank you for that interesting information this morning.

All right. We are going to take a short break. We'll be back with more CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We got a lot of things working right now. This just in: CNN Producer Riad Ali has been released. As you remember, he was abducted yesterday by armed Palestinian men in Gaza City. It's not exactly known who were his captors and what this was all about, but we do know now that Riad Ali has been released from the armed Palestinian men who abducted him yesterday.

And of course, when we get more information on this, we will bring it to you, but some good news there.

Now, we want to send you to Wolf Blitzer in Washington, who is going to be speaking with the Iranian foreign minister about Iran's nuclear weapons.

Wolf, what do you know?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Betty.

As you know, deep concern here in Washington over reports that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb, about reports that Iran might be holding al Qaeda suspects inside Iran, and that it might be trying to influence the election schedule for January in neighboring Iraq.

Let's talk about those issues with the foreign minister of Iran, Kamal Kharrazi, who's joining us now from the United Nations. Mr. Foreign Minister, thanks very much for joining us.

KAMAL KHARRAZI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Thank you.

BLITZER: Let's talk about Iran and a nuclear bomb. Is your government -- is Iran trying to build a nuclear bomb right now?

KHARRAZI: Not at all. We are not for nuclear bombs. We are against nuclear bombs. And it's not part of our defense strategy, and we do not believe that it would add to the security of the country.

But contrary to that, we have been promoting the idea of establishment of free zone in the whole Middle East. And therefore, as we are a member of NVP, we want (INAUDIBLE) to safeguard and also protocol and inspectors of IAE are moving around in Iran to inspect everywhere and have found no evidence that Iran is pursuing any nuclear weapon program.

Be assured that we do not have such a program at all.

BLITZER: As you know, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, has been saying quite openly that there are still suspicions that you might be developing a nuclear bomb because of your reluctance to let inspectors so what they want to do.

As you know, they have a deadline scheduled for the end of November. Otherwise this could be addressed to the United Nations Security Council. Sanctions would be imposed.

If you have nothing to hide, why don't you let the inspectors go about doing the job of inspecting anywhere they want?

KHARRAZI: Inspections have been free to move anywhere they wish. And so far, they have done 800 person a day inspection, which is a lot. And that is why they have come up with this position that they have found no evidence in Iran that Iran is pursuing for (ph) weapon.

There are allegations, especially by the United States, which is looking for its own interest and has got its own political motivation, but in fact, Iran is quite transparent. All the sites are under inspection of IAE.

BLITZER: What would you do if there were -- if this issue was referred to the Security Council and sanctions were imposed against Iran?

KHARRAZI: There is no reason why Iran's (INAUDIBLE) should be referred to the Security Council. Because we are committed to our international commitments, and we are doing very cooperation -- good cooperation with IAE. And as long as these in the able hands of IAE, it should not be referred to the Security Council, because there has not been any violation.

BLITZER: But you will confirm, I suppose, that Iran is developing a long-range, medium-range missiles that have the potential of hitting throughout the Middle East, maybe even into Europe, including Israel -- the Israelis being very, very concerned about that missile.

What can you tell us about that?

KHARRAZI: Oh, it is defensive. It's not for pursuits. And certainly we have to be able to defend ourself (sic). And you see, there is threats these days against Iran. And therefore, we have to be able to defend also, and we are able to defend also.

BLITZER: If the Israelis were to do to the nuclear reactor or other nuclear facilities in Iran what they did to the Iraqi nuclear reactor in Osirak in 1981, namely launch an air strike to try to destroy it, what would you do?

KHARRAZI: Oh, certainly we are able to react, and we are able to defend, also. But we don't use our capabilities as first user. But it is defensive, and we would react to it.

BLITZER: And when you say you will react, what does that mean.

KHARRAZI: Oh, you have to wait and see that how do we react. I cannot tell you that how do we react here.

BLITZER: Is Iran hiding suspected al Qaeda terrorists?

KHARRAZI: In fact, we have arrested several al Qaeda members, and that has been a service to fighting with terrorism. Because if they were free in Iran or outside of Iran and they had their connections so they could lead many operations. Therefore, we have to be rewarded, because we have arrested them, put them in jail, and caught their connections with outside.

BLITZER: Why not hand them over to the United States or other parties?

KHARRAZI: There's no reason why we should hand them over to the United States. They have been arrested in the jurisdiction of Iran, and it's up to us how to deal with them. And certainly, they have to be judged and tried in Iranian courts in respective time.

BLITZER: How many al Qaeda terrorists are being held in Iran, approximately?

KHARRAZI: I don't have their numbers, but there are dozens of them. And also, they have been arresting new elements associated with al Qaeda. Forty of them were recently arrested, and they are in jail, as well.

BLITZER: How high ranking within the al Qaeda network are these terrorists that you're holding?

KHARRAZI: I cannot tell you, but there are different people with different capacities. The good thing is that now they cannot lead others, and they are in jail.

BLITZER: Is Iran trying to influence the scheduled elects in January in Iraq, which is, of course, your neighbor?

KHARRAZI: No. We are not going to influence any other nation. That depends on the people of Iraq to decide. But what is important for us is to have a democracy, a representative government in Iraq in place. And certainly, general election is the prerequisite for that.

And we hope that election would be held as scheduled by the end of January to have that representative government in Iraq, to be able to maintain security by itself.

BLITZER: I interviewed the Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi last week. And he said there were a lot of terrorists that were streaming across the borders, not only from Syria, but from Iran, as well.

Can you do better in tightening up the border between Iran and Iraq?

KHARRAZI: We are doing our best, but it is a long border. And it may be possible that some elements cross the border. That's not in our knowledge, as it isn't the knowledge of other neighboring countries.

This is the real situation in Iraq. Of course, Iraqi neighbors have to do their best, and we are doing our best. We are in contact with Iraqi government. We are going to establish a committee to take care of the borderline. We are doing our best.

BLITZER: Secretary of State Colin Powell said here on CNN on Sunday that the prime minister of Iraq, Ayad Allawi, would like to convene a regional summit -- Iran, Syria, other neighbors of Iraq -- together with the G8 -- the industrialized nations -- as early as October to try to deal with the problems facing the new government in Iraq.

Is your government prepared to participate in this kind of summit?

KHARRAZI: Yes, we endorsed that. That has been the original proposal, that there should be a gathering of neighboring countries plus (INAUDIBLE) some other key countries to cooperate with each other how to help interim government. And we are for that, and we certainly participate in that meeting.

BLITZER: Are you ready to have normal diplomatic relations with the new government in Iraq?

KHARRAZI: We have diplomatic relations. We have our ambassador. They have sent their ambassador to Tehran. We are going to send our ambassador. Right now, he's (INAUDIBLE).

We have diplomatic relations, and we work closely with their officials. Their deputy prime minister of Iraq was in Tehran. Right now, some figures are in Tehran. The deputy president of Iraq is in Tehran. And therefore, we have extended (ph) visits, and we cooperated with each other.

BLITZER: One final question about the future of your country, Iran. There have been a lot of reports, as you well know, especially here in the West that there are all sorts of murmurings underneath the scene -- not from the Mullahs, not from the government, but from young Iranians yearning for democracy, yearning to be free and to establish some sort of liberty, real liberty, in Iran.

Now, how concerned are you about the possibility of some sort of revolution against the Iranian regime?

KHARRAZI: Unfortunately, there are a lot of misinformation here in the United States because of the lack of relations and dependence on the interesting elements and source of information.

What is there is that we have young generations, 70 percent of people of Iran are under 35-years-old. They are part of the system. They are supportive of the system. They play important role in mass media, in education, in the business, everywhere.

And reform is an ongoing process, is inevitable. If you compare Iran today with 25 years ago, you find that there has been tremendous changes and reform in Iranian politics, Iranian social life.

But what is imagined here that there would be any change, that is absolutely incorrect. And you have to understand the dynamism of Iranian politics before making any judgment.

BLITZER: Kamal Kharrazi, the foreign minister of Iran, visiting the United Nations now. Thanks so much for joining us.

KHARRAZI: Thank you.

BLITZER: Betty, let me throw it back to you.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Wolf.

Well, we are following some other major developments, that, of course, is the release of CNN Producer Riad Ali from his captors. As you'll recall, yesterday he was taken hostage in Gaza City by some armed Palestinian men -- some unknown armed Palestinian men. He was traveling with CNN's Ben Wedeman at the time, as well as a photographer, when a car pulled out in front of their taxi.

A man jumped out and, at gunpoint, asked for Riad. He then pulled him out of the car. He was put in another vehicle and then driven away. But as of this hour, Riad Ali, CNN producer, has been released from his captors. We are still trying to get much more information on this. And when we get that, we will bring it to you.

But in the meantime, good news there. CNN Producer Riad Ali has been released by his captors.

We'll have much more to come. Stay tuned for more CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Time now to check in with Rhonda Schaffler in a stock market update. Hi there, Rhonda.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

NGUYEN: OK. Thank you, Rhonda.

Well, new album, new tricks, politics, and the story of U2 music that went missing. What's hot this fall on the music scene? That's next.

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NGUYEN: We are keeping an "Eye on Entertainment" today. Now that the weather is getting cooler, the music scene is starting to heat up. Fall is the time a lot of new CDs hit the market in preparation for the holiday season. And CNN music correspondent Shanon Cook is here with a preview of all of that. Hi there, Shannon.

SHANON COOK, CNN MUSIC CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Can you believe we're talking about the holiday season already? It's crazy

NGUYEN: It's not too far away, believe it or not. Well, let's talk about U2, because back in the early summer there was something about a CD that turned up missing. Did they ever find it?

COOK: Right. CD went missing while they were on a shoot in Nice. You know what? It never did show up.

NGUYEN: Oh, it didn't?

COOK: The band's record label was expecting it would show up on some peer-to-peer, you know...

NGUYEN: It's not even on eBay or anything like that.

COOK: No, nowhere. It remains a phantom -- the complete mystery album. But you know, the good news is that the official CD is getting ready to release. And U2 fans, like, they're absolutely...

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

COOK: They're so excited. The CD is called "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." Interesting title, kind of invokes the...

NGUYEN: Yeah, dismantle an atomic bomb.

COOK: Yeah, it invokes a theme of peace, though. This drops November 23rd on Interscope.

Now, the single, "Vertigo," has been exploding on radio the last few days. It's been a big success so far, and we're in luck because we actually have it cued up. So, if you haven't heard it yet, here it is. Here's "Vertigo."

(MUSIC -- U2 - "Vertigo")

NGUYEN: That's pretty good. I can get into that.

COOK: U2's very good. I can see you bopping your head away there, Betty. You're liking it.

Now that song, like much of U2's CD, was produced by Steve Lillywhite, who also produced U2's first three albums. A lot of rock and roll happening on this album, more so than their 200 album "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

Bono has actually said that this is their first rock and roll album. And he says that there's a lot of angry guitar playing by guitar player The Edge. Bono says Edge is growing increasingly frustrating with Bono's political exploits. He's apparently sick to death of seeing Bono shaking hands with politicians, and he's taking it out...

NGUYEN: Political season.

COOK: Right.

NGUYEN: Well, quickly, let's get to Eminem. We don't have much time left, but he has something coming out.

COOK: He does. He has an album called "Encore," meant to be a big, big release. It's the follow-up to his previous album, "The Eminem Show," the top-selling CD of 2002. People who have heard it are saying it's very politically charged. Expresses a lot of anti- Bush sentiment on this album.

The first single, "Just Move It," though, is very playful, very fun, and typical Eminem style. It's not political. He makes a few gratuitous swipes at Michael Jackson, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Eminem, always making fun of his fellow comrades in the music industry. That's tipped to be a very big album. I predict that it will sell extremely well.

NGUYEN: Is it going to have one of those labels that if you're younger than this particular age, you can't buy it.

COOK: Absolutely. Explicit lyrics. Definitely. And in fact, you know, he's also launching his own radio channel on Sirius Satellite Radio.

NGUYEN: What kind of programming?

COOK: Well, it's a hip-hop based program, and he will occasionally host the show. And Sirius has said that they're happy to let all profanity fly. So, that is bound to be an extremely colorful...

NGUYEN: Slim Shady at it again.

All right, let's talk about Gwen Stefani, because she has a single out. And some people were actually -- she's going with her solo debut, but some people wondering does this mean No Doubt is breaking up.

COOK: Right. And I'm happy to say that that is not true. In fact, the band members are planning to regroup next year and put out their next No Doubt album. But Gwen, she's always wanted to do a solo project, and why now? It's worked for Justin Timberlake. It worked for Beyonce.

She's calling this new CD her art project, something she could have complete creative control over without having to consider her bandmates. The first single I heard over the phone, her publicist played it for me, it's called "What You're Waiting For." Really impressive stuff.

NGUYEN: I heard that yesterday on the radio. COOK: Yes, it's just being released now. It's very up tempo, has a dance music feeling. Apparently the whole album is sort of leaning toward dance music. Also, she's very influenced by '80s music. And Martin Gore, who has been associated with Depeche Mode, plays guitar on one track. She's worked with some really heavy- hitting producers on this CD like Dr. Dre, Andre 3000 of OutKast, and Pharrell Williams.

With those big names...

NGUYEN: All right.

COOK: ... it's guaranteed to be a hit.

NGUYEN: Shanon Cook, I'm sorry, but we are absolutely out of time.

COOK: No worries.

NGUYEN: Thank you so much for that.

That's does it for us here at LIVE TODAY. It's time to toss it over to Wolf Blitzer in Washington -- Wolf?

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