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U.S. Lifts Economic Sanctions Against Iran; Iran Frees 4 U.S. Prisoners in Swap, 5th Separately; Benghazi Movie Reignites "Stand Down" Order. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired January 16, 2016 - 19:00   ET

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


[19:00:02] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

We begin with breaking news on what is a historic day that will no doubt be talked about for years and years. A number of U.S. and European economic sanctions against Iran have been ended. They have been lifted in just the past few hours.

We also know that an American named Matthew Trevithick has left Iran. He has been released from prison there today. Four other prisoners, American prisoners held in Iran are supposed to depart very shortly after enduring life inside a notoriously tough Iranian prison.

In the eyes of the international nuclear observers, Iran has completed the necessary steps to limit its nuclear program. The relationship between the United States and Iran is now on the verge of significant change.

The United States implemented sanctions back in 1979 in the wake of the Iranian hostage crisis.

The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry just said this today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: But the fact is that today marks the first day of a safer world, one where we believe it is possible to remain safer for years to come, and particularly with the compliance of this agreement. I think we have also proven once again why diplomacy has to always be our first choice and war our last resort. And that is a very important lesson to reinforce.

We have approached this challenge with the firm belief that exhausting diplomacy before choosing war is an imperative. And we believe that today marks the benefits of that choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: In lock step with the sanctions being lifted, five American prisoners held in Iran have been set free. They are "Washington Post" reporter Jason Rezaian, American Christian pastor Saeed Abedini, marine veteran Amir Hekmati, and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari. Matthew Trevithick is also part of this deal. He is student detained in Iran for just a few months. And U.S. officials do note that his release was not part of the release but he will be flying home with those other four Americans.

Fourteen months of secret, intense talk happened on the sidelines of the nuclear negotiations, all leading up to this prisoner swap being finalized today. The United States agreed to drop sanctions related charges against seven Iranians. At this point, though, we still don't have the names of those Iranians who will be released from the United States.

I want to bring in my colleague Wolf Blitzer. He is covering this from Washington this evening.

Good evening, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, Poppy.

Our team coverage on this deal conference the globe. Many, many fascinating aspects, all critically important. This is history unfolding as we speak.

Let's go to our global affairs correspondent Elise Labott and our CNN investigations correspondent Chris Frates. He's over at the White House.

Elise, this prisoner swap on the very same day of the lifting of these long in place sanctions against Iran. The Obama administration insists it all sort of worked out and is a coincidence. Although a lot of people remain skeptical.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And I'm one of those people, wolf. It really would be a very strange coincidence as this all kind of came to fruition on the same day. And while it is pretty clear that the U.S. is very insistent that this nuclear deal was not, you know, part and parcel of the negotiations to release Americans. They didn't want to link the two, because they were afraid that would put the Americans further hostage to what happens with the deal.

But, certainly, over the last 14 months, there was a separate track in which the U.S. would have separate meetings with the Iranians about the release of those Americans, we're told as that deal was signed in July, those conversations intensified. So, what U.S. officials are saying tonight is that they had no idea that it would come to fruition on the same day. But in recent days, as it seemed, the deal to release the Americans was coming very close to the implementation day of this nuclear deal, they said let's make a big day of it and announce it together.

I'm a little skeptical. I would suspect that Iran would not be releasing the Americans until they saw the lifting of sanctions, until they saw that they were officially announced they were implementing the deal and on their way of receiving upwards of $150 billion.

But, certainly, good news for the five Americans that are soon to be on their way home to their families, Wolf.

BLITZER: But still a disappoint for three other American families.

[19:05:01] At least two other Americans are still being held by the Iranians, Siamak Namazi and Nizar Zakka. And a third American, Robert Levinson, who the U.S. believes is being held by the Iranians. The Iranians deny that they know about his whereabouts. They do know about the whereabouts of the other two, they are in jail in Iran.

What are U.S. officials saying why they weren't included as part of this swap?

LABOTT: Well, they say they are not included but still working very hard to gain their release. On the case of Robert Levinson, the Iranian authorities have always maintained they do not know anything about Robert Levinson's whereabouts. You remember he disappeared on Iran's Kish Island in 2007. And it's been very unclear whether the Iranian government knew about it, whether he was in jail. The U.S. said from time to time that it believed that he was held in one of Iran's prisons. That was never really verified by the Iranian government.

But, today, as the U.S. announced this deal, they said the Iranian government has assured them they will seek information about Levinson's whereabouts, try to find out where he is, and try and let the U.S. know something about the fate of Robert Levinson, Wolf.

BLITZER: The other part of the deal, seven Iranian prisoners in the United States, six of whom have U.S.-Iranian citizenship, they are being given clemency. They will be released from jail. Some of them were already convicted. Others were awaiting trial.

So, they will be free and 14 Iranians who are on a watch list, U.S. sought their extradition through Interpol. The U.S. is giving up on that as well.

What do we know specifically about who these individuals are?

LABOTT: Well, what U.S. officials insist is that none of these individuals were either charged with or are serving time for anything related to violence or terrorism. These are all individuals that were either charged with or are serving time for crimes related to the violation of economic sanctions against Iran or the trade embargo against Iran. Officials say when they started talking to the Iranians, the Iranians presented a much larger list of dual nationals they wanted released. The U.S. whittled it down to those they felt comfortable were not any threat to the U.S. or anybody else.

Now, you know there are others in U.S. jails, including an individual serving time for a plot to kill the Saudi ambassador here in Washington. That person was not part of this release. The U.S. says none of these people posed any threat. They were all about the sanctions.

Since a lot of the sanctions were being released a as part of that deal, they felt comfortable it was good to get the release of those Americans.

BLITZER: Elise Labott reporting for us here in Washington -- Elise, thank you.

Chris Frates is over at the White House.

You have been speaking with U.S. officials over there. The Secretary of State John Kerry said twice in his remarks in Vienna, Austria, we would all be hearing later from the president who has more details on the prisoner exchange. We haven't heard from the president yet.

Are officials saying what the delay is?

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Officials aren't saying what the delay is, Wolf. But I can tell you, as we've all been waiting and seeing when the president might come out and speak, I can tell you that we know that the president has left the White House. White House officials aren't saying where he is going, but they have said that there won't be any coverage of this, making it unlikely it is an official announcement of any kind.

Tomorrow happens to be First Lady Michelle Obama's birthday. The Obamas have a history of going out to dinner to celebrate birthdays. We don't have that officially yet. But there is a sense it may be more time if the president makes any statement at all.

But we also heard from the senior administration officials that Matthew Trevithick, the student in Iran, has left Iran. But the four other Americans are still in Iran.

And the other piece of information that we got was the information about how the seven Iranians who are being swapped will be treated. We're told that the president himself has to pardon or commute the sentences of those Iranians. And officials were very -- didn't provide a lot of details saying they wanted to wait until the Americans left Iran before they talk more details about who these Iranians are and how that process will proceed and how they will be released from prison when the U.S. makes their trade.

So, the other piece to mention here, Wolf, is that senior administration officials defending their approach, saying that the diplomacy channels that were open on the nuclear deal allowed negotiations for the Americans to be released.

[19:10:02] That those strong ties, those strong channels all happen to come together today at the same time, and really defending against some of the attacks we are seeing from Republicans on the campaign trail, saying that this was a bad deal, that the deal hurts America. The White House feeling secure that diplomacy won the day here. And we are still waiting to see if maybe the president will speak once he returns to the White House, Wolf.

BLITZER: Well, let's hope that the departure of those four American prisoners is a technical delay. It isn't substantive. We're, of course, anxious to make sure they got on that Swiss plane, get out of the there. They were supposed to fly to Switzerland first then in to Landstuhl in German.

Let's hope that takes place soon. It was supposed to have happened by now. There has been some delay.

Chris Frates at the White House -- thanks very, very much.

Let's take a quick break. Much more on the breaking news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The lifting of sanctions against Iran and the prisoner swap with Iran sure to be a focus in the Democratic debate in South Carolina tomorrow night. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a statement today saying if she is elected president, she would, quote, "vigorously enforce the nuclear deal."

Let's get go straight to CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny.

Jeff, you are in Charleston. You are there on the eve before the last debate before the Iowa caucuses. It will take place tomorrow night.

How much credit can Hillary Clinton take on the stage tomorrow night for this deal that ultimately came to fruition under Secretary Kerry?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Poppy, look, I think Hillary Clinton will use it as part of her -- the breadth of her experience. And it did -- all these talks did start while she was secretary of state. Now, I mean, she was not certainly there for the most recent talks. John Kerry deserves most of the credit here. But she definitely will be able to credibly saying she was part of the Obama administration's effort here to open up these discussions.

Poppy, it reminds me of something that happened eight years ago when she was running against Barack Obama when she called Senator Obama at the time naive for suggesting that he could have negotiations with Iran. So, I would not be at all surprised if one of her Democratic rivals perhaps happened to bring that up because she was -- you know, had to change her tune a little bit after she joined his administration.

But there is no question she can claim, you know, to have been a part of this. And everyone on stage, the three Democratic candidates will certainly agree with this deal.

[19:15:04] The opposition, of course, comes from the Republican candidates. And we have heard a lot of that already.

HARLOW: When you look at the polling, the question becomes, did the Clinton team underestimate Bernie Sanders? You look at the national polls, it has him seven-point spread this week, going from 20-point spread back in December. You know, how does she break out tomorrow night from this?

ZELENY: There's no question. The Clinton advisers I talked to, they do say they underestimated him. They underestimated his rise. They have basically spent the last several months ignoring him. They viewed him as a socialist who's sort of an electable.

But, Poppy, he's exactly what the base of this party is. So, now, what he has to do is show that he is actually electable. And that's -- a burden for him tomorrow night.

HARLOW: It absolutely is a burden for him tomorrow night. At the same time, in South Carolina, the African-American vote is critical. And Hillary Clinton is winning that in the polling by a wide margin. You've got that FOX News poll from December showed she had 82 percent of the black vote, Sanders has 11. He kicked off this bus tour of historically black colleges in South Carolina Thursday.

Can he get enough of the African-American vote?

ZELENY: Poppy, I think it depends how he does in the earlier states. If he wins Iowa, New Hampshire, I think he could, because they would be sort of taken by his win. But as it stands now, it's a big challenge for him to broaden his base beyond that.

Look, it is -- he is on her tail in Iowa and New Hampshire. He is doing so well there. And South Carolina has a bit of time to think about this. So, Bernie Sanders is doing a lot of campaigning in black churches, in black universities and colleges. He's really trying to make this pitch.

He was an original sort of marcher in the civil rights movement back in the day. So, he is trying to explain that he is, you know, certainly with black voters on issues. But, frankly, they don't know him very much. He is from Vermont, almost a white state entirely. So, it's an uphill climb for him no question. But, boy, if he emerges as a winner from those first two contests, it changes everything entirely.

HARLOW: Momentum matters. It certainly does.

Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much.

ZELENY: It does.

HARLOW: All right. A few, very few but there are some Democrats who voted against the Iran nuclear deal. I will speak live with one of them next and get his reaction to everything that is happening today.

Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:20] HARLOW: Welcome back to our continuing coverage today. The deal between Iran and the United States, those sanctions lifted and five Americans on their way home.

Among those Democrats, though, who voted against the Iran/U.S. nuclear deal last year is California Congressman Brad Sherman. He was among the toughest of its critics, he said the agreement will result in, quote, "terrorism with impunity." He joins me now from Washington.

Thank you for being with me this evening, sir.

REP. BRAD SHERMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: Good to be with you.

HARLOW: As you saw what happened today, I'm sure you saw Secretary Kerry speaking live in Vienna, those sanctions lifted. And on the side of those nuclear negotiations, we now know they were negotiating to free these Americans.

What's your reaction today? Would you have voted against it knowing what we know now?

SHERMAN: Yes. We share the joy of these five American families. But America paid a big price today.

Iran got something very important. They are now able to inspire their network of terrorists and their network of illegal military procurement folks. They are able to tell their people, look, even if you get caught, we will get out. We are still holding two American hostages after this deal, and if those aren't enough, we'll seize more.

And we are going to see these seven who are released. Six of them will be able to stay in the United States. They can engage in more military procurement to help the nuclear missile program, or they can engage in acts of terrorism. We don't know.

But we do know even if they do nothing, that Iranian network of terrorism financing of illegal missile and nuclear technology procurement and terrorism itself, that's an inspired network now. They know even if they get caught, Iran can get them released. That is very valuable to the government in Tehran that has killed and helped kill hundreds of thousands of people in Syria and Yemen.

HARLOW: So let me ask you this, Congressman, because you're a Democrat. To make this very clear for our viewers, you're a Democrat. It sounds to me on this issue like you agree with what Marco Rubio, the Republican candidate for president said today. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We shouldn't be involved in swaps. This should never have happened. That's my point. I'm glad, if these reports are true, of course, we're happy for them and their families. But they should have never been there.

And the fact of the matter is, this tells us all we need to know about the Iranians. They take people hostage in order to gain concessions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Do you agree with that? They can take people hostage in order to gain concession. Is he right?

SHERMAN: Well, that part is right. But this may turn out to be a good foreign policy move if it is followed by intense sanctions designed to dissuade Iran from continue to go help Assad kill thousands of people every week. If it's new sanctions to prevent Iran from killing so many people in Yemen.

So, we're getting our hostages out. That's either a first step toward a bad foreign policy, or it's a first step toward a good foreign policy. But you cannot just rejoice with the families without looking at Syria and knowing that Iran is Assad's number one ally and he is killing thousands of people every week.

HARLOW: Do you think that the release of these four Americans would have come without this deal and the sanctions being lifted, because the word that John Kerry, the secretary of state, used today was, quote-unquote, "accelerated by the nuclear agreement."

SHERMAN: Well, we -- the one thing both sides agree on, because here's a lot of contention about that deal, is that sanctions on Iran work. The president said it's because of our sanctions that we got a very good deal. Netanyahu said, if we only continue the sanctions we get a better deal. Whichever was right, they both agree sanctions work.

And if we had intense sanctions on Iran, the innocent people they had seized would be released and we wouldn't have to release the guilty people who can now inspire the other parts of Iran's terrorist and military procurement network. Sanctions should have been opposed, keyed just to these hostages. We shouldn't have had to let criminals not only out of jail but perhaps continuing to live in the United States.

HARLOW: How concerned are you the U.S. businessman Siamak Namazi and Bob Levinson -- Bob Levinson has been held there eight years now -- how concerned are you that they are not coming home?

[19:25:05] SHERMAN: Very concerned. I mean, obviously yesterday none of the hostages was being released. Today we can celebrate with five American families. But we do know that if Iran wants something else, they'll have these two hostages. And they will seize others if they find it necessary. We have to show that seizing American hostages leads to new sanctions. It doesn't lead to new concessions.

HARLOW: Congressman Brad Sherman, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you, sir.

SHERMAN: Thank you.

HARLOW: Still to come, the release of this American prisoner did not happen overnight. All the American prisoners. This was a 14-month process. We will find out how more than a year of a secret discussion culminated in the news of these five Americans will be coming home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: We are continuing to follow the breaking news out of Iran. Five Americans held in Iran are heading home to the United States. This is as the U.S. lifts many economic sanctions in place in Iran after the country officially completed steps to limit its nuclear program.

Right now, freed American prisoner Matthew Trevithick has left Iran. That's what we are told. He is on a plane on his way home. His release negotiated in secret. And it is not part of the more complex prisoner swap. His release is separate.

Four other prisoners, including "Washington Post" reporter Jason Rezaian are shortly to be on a plane, but it has not departed Iran yet. This was a swap negotiated in secret over the course of 14 months. In exchange, the United States has agreed to release seven Iranian prisoners.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has more on the intense diplomacy that led to what is indeed a historic day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the announcement here by the director general of the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. Yukiya Amano, paving the way for the sanctions to be lifted against Iran.

[19:30:15] We heard from the EU foreign policy chief, we heard from U.S. Secretary from state John Kerry detailing how the sanctions would be lifted.

But from Secretary Kerry saying very clearly that this was the first day of a safer world and explaining just how Iran had measured up to its commitment so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Today we can confidently say that each of the pathways that Iran had toward enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon has been verifiably closed down. That begins with the Iranian path.

Before the negotiations began, Iran was adding rapidly and without constraint to its stockpile of enriched uranium. As it committed to do back in July, Iran has now reduced that stockpile to less than 300 kilograms, sending the rest of it out on a ship which has gone to Russia to be processed there. That means that their current level of enriched uranium is two percent of what it was before we completed the agreement. The rest is shipped out of the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: He detailed as well the enrichment centrifuges, the dismantling of the (INAUDIBLE) nuclear facility, the removal there of any fissile material and also the (INAUDIBLE) heavy water production facility that potentially could produce plutonium for a bomb. How that had been dismantled. The core filled by concrete. But the final pathway to making a bomb, the third pathway, that from the extraction of uranium, Secretary Kerry explaining how that pathway as well also closed down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: The IAEA now has visibility and accountability of the entire supply chain that supports Iran's nuclear program from start to finish. From uranium mines and mills to centrifuge manufacturing and operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Secretary Kerry also saying that the director general of the IAEA would be going Sunday to Tehran to begin this process of inspection and verification in the next stages. This is something the director general Dr. Yukiya Amano also laid out very clearly in his statement that Iran has complied so far. But it will now enter a new phase of commitment to the IAEA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. YUKIYA AMANO, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: We have come a long way since the IAEA first started considering the Iran nuclear issue in 2003. A lot of work has gone into getting us here and implementation of this agreement will require a similar effort. For our part, we are ready to get on with the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: The additional protocols the director general spoke about there, giving the inspectors stronger powers on the ground to designate sites they want to go and see, not necessarily sites that the Iranians have declared. The ball very much in the Iranians' court to continue make good on the commitments they made.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Vienna, Austria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Nic, thank you very much.

CNN global affairs analyst Kimberly Dozier is back with me live. Kim, it's interesting because Obama administration officials keep noting these were two separate tracks of negotiations. There were two separate - the timing obviously not just a coincidence, why are they pressing the distinction of two separate tracks?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: They seem to want - they don't want to hand the GOP the ammunition that they were negotiating with a state that supports terrorism over the nuclear program to get Americans back.

Because as Republican lawmakers have already said, all Iran has to do, if this was the case, is just take more Americans prisoner. So there's this political sort of nicety that the Obama administration is sticking to saying the letter of the law is there are two separate negotiations.

As we were told in a background call with senior administration officials, the relationships they developed in one set of negotiations simply helped with the other. And that's the story they're sticking with.

HARLOW: Still, you have two Americans who continue to be held in Iran. At least two. One of them is Bob Levinson, who has been held there now since 2007. He was not part of this deal. So as we look forward, what does that tell us?

DOZIER: Well, one of the people is a businessman who was recently taken. But the Bob Levinson case is much more murky. He was a former FBI agent in the employe of the CIA doing research when he went to Kish Island, and was interviewing someone who was allegedly implicated in the attempts to kill the Saudi ambassador in the United States, an Iranian plot that was reported a few years ago.

[19:35:10]

So Levinson disappeared. The Iranian government long insisted they don't have him. And the bit of proof of life, the most recent proof of life that his family got is a video that made it look like he was being held by some unspecified militant group. And it said that he was in ill health. So one of the concerns of the U.S. intelligence agency is that even if he was actually being held by some part of the Iranian government that he has passed away and that they simply don't want to admit to the American government that he died in their custody.

HARLOW: What do you think this means, Kimberly, for the parliamentary elections next month in Iran? I mean are the moderates really winning out long-term here?

DOZIER: Well, it does strengthen the hand of the moderate candidates in that they have negotiated with the United States. And they have done several things that both the president and the ayatollah said they would never do. Sent out some of their nuclear material out of the country. Dismantled some of their nuclear facilities and also allowed this full-time inspection regime. So they're getting the - these billions of dollars coming in. That should be - not by February but it should start signaling to the Iranian public that their economic situation is going to get better.

So we will have to see how the moderates do in the February parliamentary elections. But that could strengthen the president's hand and possibly lead to other negotiations across the Middle East. At least that's what the Obama administration is hoping.

HARLOW: You have to think about a key U.S. ally in all of this, Israel. A statement just came out from the spokesman of their prime minister saying they will continue to monitor Iran's negative activities. It will take all necessary measures to maintain its security and defend itself. Israel not happy to all. Netanyahu came here, spoke in front of a joint session of Congress. How concerned, worried, should Israel be right now?

DOZIER: Well, the U.S. intelligence and military apparatus are both also keeping a close eye on Iran. You have to think about the fact that the U.S. is vying for Iraqi government's sort of allegiance against Iran, in that country. In Syria, they are fighting on one side, the coalition against ISIS. Iranian forces are on the ground supporting Bashir Assad. The U.S. has said they want him to go.

In Yemen, Saudi Arabia is backing one side and the Iranians are supplying weapons to the Houthi rebels on the other side. You know, Saudis are U.S. ally. So in all these different areas, the U.S. is watching Iran closely, and has its own interest to guard against, in addition to Israel. So it's not as if they're going to stop watching every move Iran makes across the Middle East.

HARLOW: And you know Israel will be watching every single one of those moves, as well. Kimberly Dozier, live for us in Washington. Thank you so much.

Also, I want to note that CNN spoke to "Washington Post" reporter Jason Rezaian just six weeks before he was detained in Iran, that was back in 2014. Our Anthony Bourdain, host of "Parts Unknown" sat down with Rezaian and his wife in northern Tehran. Here's part of the interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST "PARTS UNKNOWN": Are you happy here?

JASON REZAIAN, "WASHINGTON POST" REPORTER: Look, I'm at a point now after five years where I miss certain things about home. I miss my buddies. I miss burritos. I miss having certain beverages with my buddies and burritos in certain types of establishments but I love it. I love it and I hate it. You know, but it's home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: CNN will re-air that Anthony Bourdain episode featuring Jason Rezaian, in one of his last interviews. You can watch that only right here tonigh, in just about 20 minutes, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Stay with us for that.

Coming up, a new movie on the Benghazi attack renews a heated political debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Benghazi is under attack. We need immediate assistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The controversial plot twist getting panned by democrats but praised by some on the right. We'll talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:53]

HARLOW: More than three years after terrorists launched a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, a new Hollywood blockbuster is reigniting the debate over what really happened that night. The creators of the film "13 Hours, the Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" say the movie is not meant to be political. There is no mention of President Obama or then Secretary of state Hillary Clinton in it. However, it does include a detail that is earning rave reviews from some conservatives. It alleges that military contractors called to defend the compound were initially told to, "stand down." That is a claim that they say is pure Hollywood fantasy. Let's talk about all of it with David Brock, founder of Correct the Record, a pro-Clinton superpac. Thank you for being with me.

DAVID BROCK, FOUNDER, CORRECT THE RECORD: Thank you.

HARLOW: I haven't seen the film. Have you?

BROCK: I haven't. But, I run an organization called Media Matters. And our staff has seen it. We have written a review of it.

HARLOW: OK. So Donald Trump went to great lengths to make sure that his supporters in Iowa saw the film. He rented a theater for a screening. You got a group of Republican lawmakers who chose to watch a screening as well over watching the debate. Your reaction?

BROCK: Look, I think it's fine for a filmmaker to do what they want and use a little dramatic license. I think where the issue is that people shouldn't be confused between that, the movie and what really happened. So there is room there for some confusion. Every congressional investigation, including investigations led by Republicans, have concluded that this incident they make so much of in the movie, the so-called standdown order, never happened.

Secretary Gates, a Republican, has testified it never happened. And so, you know, it didn't happen. Now, you know, Donald Trump wants to engage in some conspiracy theories, that's up to him.

HARLOW: All right. Also, so congressman, your fellow democrat Congressman Adam Schiff came out and said this - "if the film portrayed them as having ordered a stand-down, it's clearly at odds with the facts." It went on to say "it may make for good entertainment. It does not make for a well-informed public."

[19:45:06]

Still I would say is, you know, movies can be very persuasive. Do you see this as hurting Clinton in any way among any voter bloc?

BROCK: I really don't. I don't think there's any concern about that. As I said, Secretary Clinton has been targeted by this investigation. And yet a Republican high-level official said they were just doing that to drive her poll numbers down. And it didn't succeed. She testified for 11 hours. I think they has put the issue to bed. I mean, you're certainly right that in the popular culture you can perpetuate various means and even myths. But I don't think it's going to stick in that way. I'm not certain yet this film is even a blockbuster.

HARLOW: We'll see. Some are saying it could be the next "American Sniper". We'll see what it is. Aside from this film, since I have you, I just want to talk about Clinton's strategy heading into tomorrow night. You got the final debate before the Iowa caucuses. You got that gap between Sanders and Clinton narrowing so much in the past two weeks.

I had a surrogate for Bernie Sanders campaign on earlier tonight, who said basically their strategy is win Iowa, win New Hampshire and then they can take South Carolina. What does she do on the stage tomorrow night to widen that gap again with Sanders?

BROCK: Well, I think what Secretary Clinton has to do is show that she's the best candidate. She has the strongest and toughest plans. Specific plans to solve the problems that are facing Americans. And to show also that she's the one who can get the job done. I believe she is.

HARLOW: But that doesn't sound like anything that's going to - I mean, that sounds like a typical debate, sort of goal. But when the numbers are getting so much closer.

BROCK: Right.

HARLOW: - how specifically is she going to go after Sanders? Where do you think he's the weakest?

BROCK: Well, I think there is incredible vulnerability on the gun issue among the democratic primary electorate. 82 percent of millennials favor stronger gun control. He has been on the side of the NRA. He took a vote, some have considered the biggest special interest vote in a while on this issue.

HARLOW: The 2005 vote, they gave the manufacturers immunity, which he said that he would reconsider.

BROCK: That's right. He said that he stand by the vote, I believe. And then the Charleston loophole. I'm in Charleston tonight and the shooter there got a gun based on that loophole. Senator Sanders supported it. Secretary Clinton doesn't. That's one big issue. Then I think the Wall Street issue, he's got a half baked plan on financial reform. Hillary has a 5,000 word plan that is solid that can really solve the problem. It deals with shadow banking, which Senator Sanders doesn't address. So I think you got to get into details.

I think she's got a better approach to Obamacare to expand it but not dismantle the biggest progressive legacy of the Obama administration. Because it's a true progressive champion in the race.

HARLOW: Let me ask on the flip side, David, where is her weakness that Sanders is attacking most effectively?

BROCK: Well, look. I mean, I think Senator Sanders talks a really good game. And I have a lot of respect for that. And I think he's exciting a lot of people on issues that are super relevant. And he's clearly got some momentum here. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think the people tuning in tomorrow night, you're going to have a lot of young people who want to see Bernie Sanders. But they're also going to Hillary Clinton. And I believe when she gets the nomination, they're going to come around and support her as well.

HARLOW: Are you worried that those young people, the young vote that we saw an extraordinary sway towards Sanders in the "New York Times"/CBS news poll this week, could they be the equivalent of what elected, what got President Barack Obama elected in 2008? That enthusiasm to come out en masse.

BROCK: Sure. I don't think so. When you really look at it, Secretary Clinton is the one with the broad, diverse support in the democratic party. Not Senator Sanders. She's the one who cannot only put the Obama coalition to work but I think add to it in places. I think she's got a much broader swath of support, particularly once you go into states beyond the first couple. So, no, I don't think so at all.

HARLOW: David Brock, appreciate you joining us live tonight from Charleston, South Carolina. Enjoy the debate tomorrow night.

BROCK: Thank you.

HARLOW: Thank you.

BROCK: Thank you very much.

Coming up, a Chicago journalist found dead on her vacation in Central America. Why police in Belize believe that Ann Sweeney was murdered and reaction from her heartbroken family is ahead.

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[19:52:54]

HARLOW: Police in Belize are investigating the death of an American journalist there as a brutal murder. Anne Swaney was a producer with ABC 7 News in Chicago. She died while she was on vacation in the Central American country.

Our Sara Ganim has the latest and she also has reaction from Anne's heartbroken family.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, the family of 39-year-old Anne Swaney is still looking for answers, telling me that they're dealing with the fact that this is all happening so far away.

Swaney was an executive producer for ABC 7 in Chicago and he was found murdered Friday in Belize. A police chief there saying she was laying face down in a river in the Cayo District, which is near the Guatemalan border. He said there were obvious marks on her neck, a laceration to her head and they believe she was sexually assaulted. She'd gone missing the day before from a resort where she was staying. It had horseback riding tours but she had stayed behind to let someone else ride. Her family told me she has been to the resort before and was friendly with the owner. They said Swaney was a lively opinioated but also caring person who loved her work, loved to travel, telling me, "she probably first and foremost loved her family and loved horses. When he wasn't working she was visiting family or traveling the globe."

The general manager of ABC 7 in Chicago said this on their website about Swaney. "She was a trailblazer in the digital news space and was one of our first website employees but most importantly she was a kind person who always had a smile and a positive attitude."

Now the State Department doesn't have any travel warnings or advisories in effect for Belize, but it does cite the nation's high rate of crime and recent increase in homicides, especially in the Cayo district where Swaney was staying. Tourists have been targets, especially those traveling alone. And the State Department says robberies and sexual assaults are reported in resort areas. Swaney is the second American believed to be murdered abroad this month. Poppy?

[19:55:00]

HARLOW: Sara, thank you very much for that sad story.

Checking top stories right now, at least 28 people were killed when terrorists stormed the luxury hotel in West Africa and opened fire on unsuspecting victims. An Al Qaeda affiliated claiming responsibility for the massacre. Survivors describe the scene, they say there was, "blood everywhere." Officials say they killed four tourists - terrorists I should say and a counter assault, two of the attackers were women.

A new video showing a violent explosion at a cafe in Mexico City. You can see the debris launched into the street there. Ten people were hurt. Thankfully no one killed. It was apparently caused by a gas leak that ignited in the kitchen.

Walmart has announced that it will close 269 stores this year as the company tries to revive slumping finances. As many as 10,000 employees could be out of work in the U.S.. The retailer is saying they will try to transfer as many of those workers to other Walmarts as they possibly can.

Ahead, what the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran may very well mean for you when you fill up your car at the gas station. We'll bring you the number, next.

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HARLOW: A historic day certainly as the international economic sanctions have been lifted against Iran. And with Iran's access to world markets now restored, a new flood of oil from that country will likely push oil prices lower very soon. But how much lower can they go? Tonight's number is 29. That is the price in dollars of a barrel of crude as of the market close on Friday. Prices have been tanking, dropping below $30 a barrel for the first time in 12 years. They had been over $100 a barrel for quite some time. Those days are long gone and you're all going to see the results at the gas station.

Another number that we're talking about tonight is five. That is how many Americans will soon be coming home from Iran after being set free from an Iranian prison today. One of them Matthew (INAUDIBLE) is already on a plane headed home and is expected the other four including "Washington Post" report Jason Rezaian will soon follow.

CNN's Anthony Bourdain, host of "PARTS UNKNOWN" sat down with Rezaian and his wife in northern Tehran just six weeks before he was captured in 2014.