Donald Trump Speaks Out; Historic Iranian Nuclear Deal Reached; Interview with U.S. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN GUEST HOST: We have a deal. The big question, is the world safer today than it was 24 hours ago? I'm John Berman. And this is THE LEAD. The world lead, the reaction pouring in from optimism to flat-out alarm after the United States and world powers strike a deal with Iran to stop their pursuit of the bomb. But can the president convince Congress that this is a good deal for America? Breaking news in the politics lead. Once, it might have been a hit bravo reality show. Now it is real reality. Donald Trump is in first place for the Republican nomination in a brand-new nationwide poll. This hour, we will hear from Trump in a special one-on-one interview. The national lead, a teenage girl found wandering through the woods after she walked away from a plane crash, she says she has reality TV to thank for saving her life. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm John Berman, in today for Jake Tapper. Don't trust, do verify. That is what President Obama said his administration will do now that the West and Iran have agreed to a nuclear pact, one that the White House insists will stop Iran from getting the bomb. Secretary of State John Kerry echoed his boss, telling CNN's Christiane Amanpour this is about the measurables and that should Iran fail to live up to this deal, all the sanctions snap right back into place. That's his claim. Even the possibility of military action against Tehran gets put back on the table.</s>JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We're putting to test whether or not there's a change of heart, a change of mind, a change of direction. And if there isn't, we have every option available to us every day that we have right now.</s>BERMAN: Kerry's Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, said he almost walked away from negotiations many times, but he had to get what we called inhumane sanctions stripped away. By and large, both sides are managing expectations. Both sides are saying this deal is not about normalizing relations. And both sides still have to sell this deal, the Iranian delegation to the hard- liners and the ayatollah in Tehran, the president and his team to a very skeptical Congress in Washington. CNN is tracking developments on this deal from around the world. Let's go first to CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott in Washington. Elise, what does the U.S. say is in this deal and, perhaps most importantly, is it the same thing that Iran says is inside?</s>ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as soon as the deal was announced, it was a battle of who won and who lost. Iran says it won international legitimacy for its nuclear program, while the U.S. and its partners argue this is a win for curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions. Both are right.</s>LABOTT (voice-over): A historic moment capping more than a decade of diplomacy, after the latest round of 18 days of intense and often fractious negotiations, both sides claiming victory in a deal they hope would transform the Middle East.</s>MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I believe this is a historic moment. We are reaching an agreement that is not perfect for anybody, but it is what we could accomplish, and it is an important achievement for all of us.</s>LABOTT: Secretary of State John Kerry called the final product proof the U.S. has held out for a good deal.</s>KERRY: Sanctioning Iran until it capitulates makes for a powerful talking point and a pretty good political speech, but it's not achievable outside a world of fantasy.</s>LABOTT: The deal curbs Iran's enrichment of uranium and reduces its stockpile of nuclear fuel, converts its underground nuclear site into a research facility and limits Iran's research of advanced nuclear technology for the next 15 years. U.N. inspectors get more access to Iran's nuclear program, but must give 24 days' notice for suspicious sites, a stipulation that will anger critics. In exchange, a windfall for Iran. Billions of dollars in U.S. and European Union sanctions will be lifted as Iran makes good on the deal. A U.N. embargo will end after five years, eight years for Iran's ballistic missile programs. But U.S. sanctions on terrorism and human rights will remain. Iran's president predicting a new chapter in his nation's relations with the world. As expected, three Americans being held in Iran and a fourth who went missing are absent from the deal. They were never part of the talks, though U.S. officials continue to call for their release. For now, their families left waiting. The family of jailed "Washington Post" reporter Jason Rezaian said they hope the deal will bring him home, saying in a statement -- quote -- "The outcome of the nuclear deal does not change Jason's cruel and illegal imprisonment for the past 356 days. Jason is completely innocent of all charges. Today, he should be reporting on the details of this agreement, rather than being subjected to continued incarceration."</s>LABOTT: And the danger is today's battle of narratives will end up being a battle of interpretation. If all sides are not on the same page about what was agreed upon, that could be a real Pandora's box when it comes to implementation, John.</s>BERMAN: There are still weeks, if not months of discussions about that. Elise Labott in Washington, thanks so much. From the minute the word came down the deal was done, the world's been evaluating its merit. The Vatican's view of the deal? Positive. Also giving the agreement a thumbs-up, Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who hailed the accord as a great victory. But two key U.S. allies, two countries that don't exactly agree on everything, they have lined up against the deal, the Saudis and the Israelis. A Saudi source brands the accord as a charade while, Israel labeled it a stunning historic mistake. CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is live in Vienna. And, Nic, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, not a fan of this deal.</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not a fan at all, has made that clear all along, John. And pretty much as soon as this was being announced here, he was one of the first to stand up and criticize it, bluntly saying it's a bad deal, bluntly stating that it's a bad deal of historic proportions.</s>BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The bottom line of this very bad deal is exactly what Iran's President Rouhani said today. The international community is removing the sanctions and Iran is keeping its nuclear program. By not dismantling Iran's nuclear program, in a decade, this deal will give an unreformed, unrepentant and far richer terrorist regime the capacity to produce many nuclear bombs, in fact, an entire nuclear arsenal with a means to deliver it. What a stunning historic mistake.</s>ROBERTSON: Well, what we heard today from the Iranian foreign minister was a repudiation and a reaction to that. He says that Iran's never been after the bomb. He says it doesn't matter how many pathways to a bomb you try to close down; we haven't been after one. The reality is here, this is what Iran's been saying for years. They have been talking the talk, but now they're going to get measured on this talk. They are going to have to, pretty much as Secretary Kerry said today, walk the walk. Otherwise, the sanctions and everything else are coming back -- John.</s>BERMAN: All right, Nic Robertson, terrific work in Vienna these last few weeks. Thanks so much, Nic. Now I want to go to Jim Acosta at the White House. Jim, the president and his team going to sell it to Congress right now. They say Congress will have plenty of time to examine every provision. He welcomes their input, he says, as long as they don't disagree with him, because if they do, he will veto it.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, John. President Obama is putting his legacy on the line with this Iran nuclear deal. While the White House is confident the deal won't be blocked by Congress, the president's critics are not holding back, predicting this agreement will fail, posing a major nuclear threat to the world.</s>ACOSTA (voice-over): When it comes to the fallout over the Iran nuclear deal, it's all on President Obama.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of this deal, the international community will be able to verify that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not develop a nuclear weapon.</s>ACOSTA: The president's global sales pitch has begun with a call list that includes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leaders in Europe, Saudi Arabia's king and Republicans in Congress.</s>REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The deal that we have out there, in my view, from what I know of it thus far, is unacceptable.</s>ACOSTA: The White House strategy, flood the Iran debate zone, with social media showing all of the ways the agreement will block Tehran's path to a nuclear bomb. The president's loudest critics say the billions of dollars in sanctions relief coming Iran's way will do just the opposite.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They're going to put it in their war machine. This is a death sentence for the state of Israel if this isn't changed.</s>ACOSTA: But if the deal works, it's an Obama legacy showpiece, right up there with health care reform, same-sex marriage and Cuba. Congress has 60 days to review and block the deal. But much of that time will be during lawmakers' August recess, pushing a likely showdown to September.</s>OBAMA: I am confident that this deal with meet the national security interests of the United States and our allies. So I will veto any legislation that prevents the successful implementation of this deal.</s>ACOSTA: Leaders from both parties already have problems with the deal. Consider the dispute resolution process, which may take 30 days to break through any Iranian opposition to inspections at suspicious sites, 30 more if the U.N. gets involved.</s>SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D), NEW JERSEY: The deal doesn't provide for anytime/anywhere inspections.</s>ACOSTA: The president phrases it differently.</s>OBAMA: Simply, the organization responsible for the inspections, the IAEA, will have access where necessary, when necessary.</s>ACOSTA: Others wonder what happened to the president's comments in 2013, when he suggested Iran would give up some of its facilities.</s>OBAMA: We know that they don't need to have a underground fortified facility like Fordow in order to have a peaceful nuclear program.</s>REP. ED ROYCE (R), CALIFORNIA: The president told us that Iran doesn't need to have an underground facility like Fordow in order to have a peaceful nuclear program. Yet this military complex will now stay open.</s>ACOSTA: But the big question comes down to this. Do the deal's opponents in Congress have the two-thirds vote needed to override a presidential veto, the one that he promised earlier today? The answer from both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue is, no, they don't. The president likes to say he will have enough time during the duration of his life to see whether or not this deal fails. Now it's all but certain he will have that chance, John, and he will have another chance to address these questions tomorrow, when he holds a news conference here at the White House -- John.</s>BERMAN: Be interesting to hear. Jim Acosta at the White House, thanks so much. Two-thirds is a high hurdle, but one senator, he is intent on beating that hurdle. He's been critical from the very beginning of this deal, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas. He called the deal a dangerous mistake. We will talk to him next.