Iran, budget dominate "Face the Nation"
(CBS News) -- In an interview with CBS’ Elizabeth Palmer Sunday on “Face the Nation,” Iranian Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said it was “a very wrong move” for the U.S. Treasury to freeze business transactions of companies seeking to evade U.S. sanctions in Iran. Zarif said he was “blindsided” by the news, which came last week just as Iranian diplomats were finalizing a deal that commits the United States to no additional sanctions.
“We are committed to the implementation of the plan of action that we adopted in Geneva,” Zarif said. “But we believe that it takes two to tango.”
Zarif’s comments were picked up Sunday by NPR, USA Today, Politico and Bloomberg.
The Iranian Foreign minister also told Palmer he has “no idea” about the whereabouts of Robert Levinson, the American who disappeared while on CIA mission in Iran.
Zarif said Levinson is "not incarcerated by the government, and I believe the government runs, pretty much, good control of the country.”
Read more about Zarif’s take on the missing American at the Associated Press, The National Review, Reuters, The Week, and Bloomberg.
Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., appeared later in the program from Kiev, Ukraine, where protesters have been demonstrating against their President for refusing to sign a trade pact with Europe.
"This is a country that is in a really bad economic state, and they need an IMF loan, and they need assistance. And if they turn back to Russia — I think that the consequences that they believe would happen would be rather serious,” McCain told host Bob Schieffer.
“They are tired of corruption, they are tired of a bad economy, because of that and they really want to change and that change is epitomized by a turning to Europe and a relationship with Europe that they think will benefit them and their lives.”
You can read more about Bob Schieffer’s interview with the Arizona Senator at Politico, The Hill, The National Review and The Wall Street Journal.
Turning to the budget battle here in Washington, McCain said he’ll support the Murray-Ryan budget agreement. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., appearing later in the program, said he’d need the support of additional Republicans to pass the bill.
"We have a handful (of Republicans), but we need more. Some are still thinking about it,” Durbin said.
"We will need about eight Republicans to come our way. I feel we'll have a good strong showing from the Democratic side, but we need bipartisan support to pass it," he said.
Durbin’s assessment of the bill’s future made headlines Sunday at Reuters, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Politico, United Press International, and The Financial Times.
Finally, in light of Friday’s school shooting in, Gov. John Hickenlooper joined the program from Centennial, Colorado.
Hickenlooper credited security tactics put in place after the Columbine massacre for helping contain Friday’s shooting.
"It's nice to see how well the system worked. It's a remarkable improvement from before. This could have been much, much worse," he said.
Read more about our conversation with the Colorado Governor at The Associated Press, The LA Times, US News & World Report, The Washington Post and Reuters.
