High Powerball Up For Grabs Tonight; Iran Frees 10 Detained U.S. Sailors; Released Sailors Transferred To Shore; No Indication U.S. Sailors Were Harmed; Jordan's King States Iran Actions A Concern; U.S. Set To Unfreeze Billions Of Iranian Assets; Polls Show Tightening Race For Democrats; Democratic Debate Schedule Under Fire
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: That sounds crazy.</s>PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I mean, when he says, put it in the bank, I'm sure --</s>JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Money in the bank is your reality, I guess. That's the bottom line.</s>CALLAN: In an index fund or -- you know, but --</s>BANFIELD: Yes,</s>CALLAN: -- invest conservatively. You're very rich.</s>JACKSON: Ice cream?</s>CALLAN: You don't need to want that.</s>JACKSON: I want steak at a minimum.</s>CALLAN: You know, you don't need to invest it.</s>BANFIELD: OK. Well, you're going to have to talk to Wolf Blitzer about that, because we're walking into his show right now. Thanks, guys. Nice to see you.</s>CALLAN: Oh, OK.</s>JACKSON: Thank you, Ashleigh.</s>BANFIELD: Thank you, everyone. Good luck on the Powerball. If I'm here tomorrow, I didn't win. See you.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 9:30 p.m. in Teheran, and 10:30 p.m. in Kabul. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>BLITZER: The breaking news, brand-new video of the moment 10 U.S. sailors were detained by Iran in the Persian Gulf. The crew made to kneel and put their hands behind their heads as armed men surround them after drifting into Iranian waters. The sailors were eventually freed this morning after Iranian officials said they got an apology as well as a promise from the Americans that the mistake would not be repeated. The U.S. State Department pushing back. The spokesman, John Kirby, tweeting out specifically, quote, "absolutely zero truth to rumors that John Kerry apologized to Iran over sailors. Nothing to apologize for." Of course, the timing is all critical. All of this happening just a few days before Iran is set to start receiving billions of dollars in sanctions relief as part of the nuclear deal President Obama helped negotiate. It was held up as one of his signature diplomatic achievements. Joining us now, our CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr and our Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto. Barbara, that brand new video of the sailors, what more are we learning about the timeline of the sailors' capture and their eventual release?</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they were, indeed, held in Iran overnight, said to be for safety reasons of navigation in the dark. They were released in the late morning, about 5:00 a.m. Washington time. They were brought out to a ship -- U.S. Navy ship in international waters, transferred there from their two small patrol boats. Those boats then taken on by other additional U.S. Navy personnel. So, it's raising the big question, Wolf, were their boats ever really disabled? How did they drift, if they did in fact, into Iranian waters? How did all of this happen? The Navy now debriefing all 10 sailors, asking them all of these questions about what happened. But the answers, Wolf, not yet forthcoming to the public. It seems clear that someone in the U.S. Navy has some idea now of what did happen but they are not saying as this debrief of them goes on. As you look at this video of the sailors on their knees, disarmed, hands behind their heads, this is very disturbing to see. But it is, in fact, a fairly typical maritime procedure in those waters. The U.S. Navy does the same thing when it boards small boats of people who are not its allies. But, nonetheless, very difficult to watch, obviously, and a very difficult optic. The Pentagon insists the sailors were treated fine by the Iranian naval personnel that had them overnight, that they were fed, given water, food, that they were looked after. But there are some pretty significant questions here, Wolf. The people who took them were part of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Court, the most assertive hard-line portion of the Iranian military. By all accounts, they were released because of pressure from the central government which has its eyes on that nuclear agreement and doesn't want anything to come between it and getting their money back through that agreement. So, a lot of politics involved here in the middle of all of these military maneuvers -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Yes, I wonder if the Ayatollah Khomeini had to get involved and make a final decision between the government and the Revolutionary Guard. We'll check that out. Jim, the Iranians say the Americans apologized. Those sailors who were there, they apologized for getting into Iranian waters. The secretary of state, John Kerry, he's suggesting there was no apology from the U.S. What are you hearing?</s>JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, in terms of official apology, the answer is very clear. John Kerby, Spokesman for the State Department, John Kerry, himself, saying there was no official apology, that the U.S. expressed gratitude to the Iranians for the swift resolution of this. But that there was no apology from Kerry, for instance to his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif. There are reports on social media, even images circulating out there, the possibility that the sailors, themselves, gave some sort of apology to their captors, that we made a mistake. We did not intend to be in these waters. That's not confirmed by U.S. Defense or administration officials, at this point. And the broader message you're hearing from the administration, this is across the board, that this is actually a victory for diplomacy. That without the channels that have been developed between the U.S. and Iran, as a result of the nuclear negotiations, this could not have been resolved so quickly. Here's what John Kerry said at a speech at the National Defense University on this just a few moments ago.</s>JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm appreciative for the quick and appropriate response of the Iranian authorities. All indications suggest or tell us that our sailors were well taken care of and provided with blankets and food and assisted with their return to the fleet earlier today. And I think we can all imagine how a similar situation might have played out three or four years ago.</s>SCIUTTO: Interestingly enough, the U.S. in Iran, at least the foreign minister and the secretary of state, somewhat on point here. Javad Zarif tweeting similar just a short time ago, happy to see dialogue and respect, not threats and impetuousness. Swiftly resolved the sailors episode. Let's learn from this latest example. And that's true, Wolf. You did not have these diplomatic channels two years ago, certainly with the administration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But, listen, those images that Barbara was describing just a short time ago, that's a difficult one to digest and call diplomatic when you have those sailors, even if this is the law of the sea in common. But when you have those sailors on their knees with their arms behind their heads, at least from an image standpoint, it's troubling to see. But it also raises the question, were they taken under duress? Were they taken at gunpoint? And these are still questions to be answered -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: And very quickly, Barbara. One of the sailors was a woman, right?</s>STARR: Indeed. Nine men, one woman. And as we saw that photo, initial photo of them inside a room sitting on a floor, I think everybody noticed that this woman did have her hair covered. Pretty standard. It happened in the past when British naval forces, a couple of years ago, were taken by the Iranians. They -- there was a British female sailor. She, too, had her head covered while she was in Iranian custody.</s>BLITZER: All right, Barbara Starr, Jim Sciutto. Guys, thanks very much. Earlier today, I sat down with Jordan's king, Abdullah II. You can hear the full interview later today in "THE SITUATION ROOM." I asked him about his country's relationship with Iran in light of this incident involving these 10 American sailors.</s>BLITZER: As we speak, 10 American sailors have been freed from Iranian custody. It was a brief incident. Does Jordan trust Iran?</s>KING ABDULLAH II, JORDAN: We have relations with Iran, but we obviously see their involvement beyond the borders in Yemen and in Africa. Obviously, they are involved in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Afghanistan. So, we have to contend with their presence beyond their borders.</s>BLITZER: As you know, in the coming days, the U.S. and other international partners, are going to lift sanctions. A hundred billion dollars maybe will flow into Iran very, very quickly. They can do with it whatever they want. Is that a source of concern to Jordan?</s>ABDULLAH: It's a concern to a lot of us in the region. And I think they're further (ph) afield. And so, that's what I said, there's linkages between the nuclear deal and how Iran performs on the other portfolios. And so, I think they are going to be held up to how they perform also on those other sectors. And we'll have to see how that happens and where we hold them accountable on what other potential mischiefs may be -- may be found.</s>BLITZER: Now, we've just learned that King Abdullah and President Obama just had a previously unscheduled meeting at Joint Base Andrews outside of the Washington, D.C. The king had been here for a few days. He met with the vice president, met with the secretary of state, the defense secretary. No meeting had been scheduled with the president. In the last minute development, the president found some time and met with King Abdullah. They just had a meeting. The president heading out to Nebraska and Louisiana from Andrews Air Force base. We're going to have much more of my exclusive interview with King Abdullah of Jordan later today in "THE SITUATION ROOM." That airs 5:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN. Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman, Debbie Wassermann Schultz. She's the chair of the Democratic National Committee, also a representative from Florida. Congresswoman, thanks very much for joining us.</s>REP. DEBBIE WASSERMANN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA, CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Thank you, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Are you confident? I know you voted for the Iran nuclear deal. Are you satisfied with the way it's being implemented right now? And hundred billion dollars in sanctions relief should start flowing immediately to Iran.</s>SCHULTZ: Well, the entire goal of achieving the nuclear agreement with Iran was to make sure that we could prevent them from ever attaining a nuclear weapon. And, you know, part of the agreement requires them to have shipped 98 percent of their enrichment uranium out of the country. You know, and other very specific, important requirements, dismantle their rocket reactor permanently and, you know, other key elements of their nuclear program so that they could actually be prevented from ever achieving those goals. And so, once they reached that, you know, and we get to so-called implementation day, then they are entitled, under the agreement, to get access to their funds. But keep in mind, a lot of those funds, you know, already were previously obligated. So, the amount of resources that are going to be available to them, you know, particularly because they have debt that they have to cover, are really not going to be as much as previously thought. And, you know, I think an example of the ability for us to quickly negotiate the release of our sailors yesterday was directly related to the fact that we have been working through Secretary Kerry and the Iranian leadership over these last two years. And without that relationship, I think that the result could have been very different and very unfortunate.</s>BLITZER: It's not just the hundred billion dollars in sanctions relief or a hundred fifty billion dollars in sanctions relief, Congresswoman, it's the many 10s of billions of dollars of additional income they are going to get because trade restrictions against Iran are being lifted at the same time. Here's the question. Are you concerned that a lot of those billions will go to the Revolutionary Guard which, obviously, has been responsible for all sorts of activities the U.S. regards as terrorist activities in the region?</s>SCHULTZ: Of course there is a real concern because Iran certainly isn't a good actor in the region, on the contrary. We don't -- we don't trust them. And that's why we have our sanctions in place on so many other things that need to continue to be enforced. And Iran needs to understand that they are going to be watched very carefully and sanctions applied aggressively. And we've got to make sure that we hold their feet to the fire. And so, this isn't a blank check or a free ride, by any means. We've actually added accountability on Iran and made sure that if they want to join the world stage, they are going to be expected to act in a peaceful way. And they're going to have to earn that trust back which is going to be a long time in coming.</s>BLITZER: Now, let's talk about the race for the White House, the Democratic presidential contest right now. A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Senator Bernie Sanders now leading Hillary Clinton in Iowa 49 percent to 44 percent. Another poll from CBS News and the "New York Times" shows Bernie Sanders closing the gap with Hillary Clinton nationally. He's down just seven points right now, compared to a 20-point gap last month. We're seeing both of these candidates step up their attacks against each other. Is there a time, and you're the chair of the DNC, to approve more debates between these two candidates?</s>SCHULTZ: You know, our candidates, with our debate schedule and our schedule of other candidate forums, have had a large variety of opportunities to be seen by voters. You can see from, whether it's Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders, to some degree Martin O'Malley, their exposure, through a variety of those opportunities, have given them the ability to be successful and to attract attention and to build support. That's with the schedule that we've had. I want to point out, wolf, that 58 of the 61 debates in 2008 and 2012 actually had lower, you know, or as good, as we've had in the debates that we've had now. We've actually exceeded viewership by a lot of the view -- with the debates we've had this year, compared to 58 of 61 debates in 2008 and 2012. And, in fact, our candidate with the least amount of time on our debate stage has actually had as much time as the frontrunner on the Republican side has had. So, I'm very confident and satisfied with the amount of time our candidates have had on the debate stage, through candidate forums and, importantly, through being able to get up close and personal in those early state primaries which is really important.</s>BLITZER: So, just to be precise, no additional debates are being authorized?</s>SCHULTZ: We have six debates, and we are proceeding with that schedule.</s>BLITZER: Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the Congresswoman from Florida, the Chair of the DNC. Thanks very much, Congresswoman, for joining us.</s>SCHULTZ: Thank you, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Coming up, President Obama gave his last State of the Union address. We're going to talk about his legacy and a whole new -- and a whole lot more. And a new poll out in Iowa shows an even tighter race for the Republican presidential contest. The candidates, they are heating up their own attacks. Stay with us. We'll update you.