60 Minutes - 9/18/2022: President Biden, Ebrahim Raisi

Episode Date: September 19, 2022

President Joe Biden discusses inflation, Russia's war on Ukraine, U.S.-China tensions, the midterm elections and more; Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Ukraine, and those top-secret documents stored in Donald Trump's home. When you saw the photograph of the top-secret documents laid out on the floor at Mar-a-Lago, what did you think to yourself? How that could possibly happen, how anyone could be that irresponsible. As you'll see, Mr. Biden made news and may have stirred up a new presidential election controversy himself. Sir, are you committed to running again? My intentions, I said to begin with, is that I would run again. But it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen.

We met Iranian President Raisi at his presidential compound in Tehran for his first interview with a Western reporter. I was told how to dress, not to sit before he did, and not to interrupt him. We were given one hour for the interview. I'm Leslie. Can we start with the negotiations on the nuclear deal? I'm Leslie Stahl. I'm Bill Whitaker.

I'm Anderson Cooper. I'm Sharon Alfonsi. I'm John Wertheim. I'm Scott Cooper. I'm Sharon Alfonsi. I'm John Wertheim. I'm Scott Pelley. Those stories and more tonight on the 55th season premiere of 60 Minutes. Summer was going so well for the president, the White House threw a party last week with a concert by James Taylor. Mr. Biden's streak began in June when he signed a bipartisan gun safety law. Then in August, over Republican objections, he signed the largest investment ever on climate change, a minimum tax on corporations, a law to lower prescription drug prices, and student loan

forgiveness. But Tuesday, as James Taylor sang Fire and Rain, it seemed like both descended on the president's party. The Dow plummeted nearly 1,300 points after a dismal inflation report. At the White House on Thursday, we spoke to President Biden about the economy, Ukraine, those top-secret documents in Donald Trump's home, and whether Mr. Biden will run again. The president made news and will ignite a few controversies. Mr. President, as you know, last Tuesday, the annual inflation rate came in at 8.3 percent. The stock market nosedived. people are shocked by their grocery bills. What can you do better and faster?

Well, first of all, let's put this in perspective. Inflation rate month to month was just an inch, hardly at all. You're not arguing that 8.3 is good news. No, I'm not saying it is good news. But it was 8.2 or 8.2 before. I mean, it's not, maybe I can make it sound like all of a sudden, my God, it went to 8.2 percent. It's the highest inflation rate, Mr. President, in 40 years. I got that.

But guess what we are? We're in a position where for the last several months it hasn't spiked. It has just barely—it's been basically even. And in the meantime, we created all these jobs and prices have gone up, but they've come down for energy. The fact is that we've created 10 million new jobs since we came to office. We're in a situation where the unemployment rate is about 3.7%, one of the lowest in history. We're in a situation where manufacturing is coming back to the United States in a big way. And look down the road.

We have massive investments being made in computer chips and employment. So look, this is a process. This is a process. BILL MOYERS Is the economy going to get worse before it gets better? JOHN TURNER No. I don't think so. We hope we can have, what they say, a soft landing, a transition to a place where we don't lose the gains that Iran

to make in the first place for middle-class folks, being able to generate good-paying jobs and expansion, and at the same time, make sure that we are able to continue to grow. And you would tell the American people that inflation is going to continue to decline? No, I'm telling the American people that we're going to get control of inflation. And their prescription drug prices are going to be a hell of a lot lower. Their health care costs are going to be a lot lower. Their basic costs for everybody. Their energy prices are going to be lower.

They're going to be in a situation where they begin to gain control again. I'm more optimistic than I've been in a long time. BILL MOYERS, Sir, with the Federal Reserve rapidly raising interest rates, what can you do to prevent a recession? JOHN KERRY, Continue to grow the economy. And we're growing the economy. It's growing in a way that hasn't in years and years. BILL MOYERS, How so? JOHN KERRY, We're growing the economy. It's growing in a way that it hasn't in years and years. How so?

We're growing entire new industries. Six hundred and ninety-five, I think it is, or 85,000 new manufacturing jobs just since I've become president of the United States. Continue to grow the economy and continue to give hardworking people a break in terms of we pay the highest drug prices in the world of any industrialized nation, making sure that Medicare can negotiate down those prices. By the way, we've also reduced the debt, reduced the deficit by $350 billion my first year.

This year it's going to be over $1,500,000,000,000 billion dollars reduced to debt. So to continue to put people in a position to be able to make a decent living and grow and grow and increase their capacity to grow. To see what he means, we went with Mr. Biden to the Detroit Auto Show last Wednesday. He celebrated his new funding of a network of charging stations for electric vehicles. But the newly crowded convention center brought a different question to mind. Mr. President, first Detroit auto show in three years. Yeah. Is the pandemic over?

The pandemic is over. We still have a problem with COVID. We're still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over. If you notice, no one's wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it's changing. And I think this is a perfect example of it. The car show was a reminder that gasoline prices hit a historic high last June, in part because Russia cut fuel supplies in its war on Ukraine. Mr. President, the price of gasoline is down about 26 percent from the $5 high. What can you

do to keep that price down while Vladimir Putin is throttling energy supplies? There's a couple of things we've done. For example, remember I got some criticism for releasing a million barrels of oil a day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And then along came the industry saying they'd produce another million barrels a day by the spring. So I think we're in relatively good shape. Vladimir Putin is going to try to break your will on Ukraine and use energy prices to do it. Sure he is. But, you know, we, the United States, are in much better

shape than anyone else is, and relative to Russia particularly. But he's been trying that for a while. He's not going to succeed. Anybody want to go to Washington, jump in. But at this very moment that Mr. Biden steered for the future. A 19th century form of transport threatened to wreck the economy. A deadline for a national rail strike was two days away. The White House brokered a deal Thursday after a 20-hour marathon of negotiations. One of the things that happens in negotiations, particularly if they've been elongated like these have, is people say and do things where their pride gets engaged as well. And it's awful hard to back off of some of these things. They both sat down, in my view, and they were in the office today saying, well, we finally

figured out this is fair on both sides. And it took that time to focus, and the alternative was just not thinkable. What do you mean? If, in fact, they had gone on strike, the supply chains in this country would have come to a screeching halt, and we would have seen a real economic crisis. The other crisis on the president's desk, Ukraine, was also improving last week,

as Ukrainian forces recaptured about 3,000 square miles from the Russian invasion. Is Ukraine winning the war? Ukraine, through their significant help we and our allies are giving them, and the incredible bravery and the incredible determination of the Ukrainian people, are not losing a war, and they're making gains in certain areas. Winning the war in Ukraine is to get Russia out of Ukraine completely and recognize its sovereignty. They're defeating Russia.

Russia's turning out not to be as competent and capable as many people thought they were going to be. But winning the war, the damage it's doing and the citizens and innocent people are being killed, it's awful hard to count that as winning. After the horrors of seven months of war, President Biden has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. It has been barbaric, what he's done. His attacks on civilian, everything from civilian hospitals to people's old-age homes, to neighborhoods where ordinary people live.

Schools. Schools. It's just outrageous. And so the price Ukrainian people are paying for this war is extremely high, but we're going to stay with them as long as they need our help. You're already north of $15 billion in terms of those commitments. How far do you go? As long as it takes. Ironclad commitment. Yes. JOHN YANG, Former U.S. Secretary of State for the United States of America, As Ukraine

succeeds on the battlefield, Vladimir Putin is becoming embarrassed and pushed into a corner. And I wonder, Mr. President, what you would say to him if he is considering using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons. VLADIMIR PUTIN, Former U.S. Secretary of State for the United States of America, Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't. Don't.

It will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II. And the consequences of that would be what? What would the U.S. response be? Do you think I would tell you if I knew exactly what it would be? Of course I'm not going to tell you. It'll be consequential. They'll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been. And depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur.

On the same day we spoke to the president, Putin met with China's leader, Xi Jinping. There's concern that Russia's attempt to force reunification with Ukraine could inspire China to attack the island of Taiwan. U.S. policy since 1979 has been to recognize Taiwan as part of China, but remain silent on whether the U.S. military would defend the democratic government there. This is among the places where our interview runs into controversy. What should Chinese President Xi know about your commitment to Taiwan? We agree with what we signed on to a long time ago, and that there's a one-China policy, and Taiwan makes their own judgments about their independence. We are not moving,

we're not encouraging their being independent. We're not, that's their decision. But would U.S. forces defend the island? Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack. After our interview, a White House official told us U.S. policy has not changed. Officially, the U.S. will not say whether American forces would defend Taiwan, but the commander-in-chief had a view of his own. So unlike Ukraine, to be clear, sir, U.S. forces, U.S. men and women,

would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion? Yes. For the first time, Mr. Biden spoke about the classified documents that the FBI found in former President Trump's home. The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation. Have you been briefed, sir, on the top secret documents that were found at Mar-a-Lago? No. No one has come to you to warn you that important national security secrets were revealed by the storage of those documents at the former president's home? I have not personally spoken to anyone in that regard. I'm sure my administration is aware of all of that, and so is the National Security Council, but I have not.

Were you notified of the FBI's execution of a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago? No, not ahead of time. The FBI spread the documents out on a floor to make a record of what was found. When you saw the photograph of the top-secret documents laid out on the floor at Mar-a-Lago,

what did you think to yourself, looking at that image? How that could possibly happen. How anyone could be that irresponsible. And I thought, what data was in there that may compromise sources and methods? By that I mean names of people who helped, etc. And it's just totally irresponsible. And you don't know what was in those documents?

I have not asked for the specifics of those documents because I don't want to get myself in the middle of whether or not the Justice Department should move or not move on certain actions they can take. I agreed I would not tell them what to do and not, in fact, engage in telling them how to prosecute or not. When we come back, a surprising answer to the question of whether President Biden will run for a second term. Meet Tim's new Oreo mocha ice caps with Oreo in every sip. Perfect for listening to the A-side or B-side or bull-side.

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President Biden told us he hopes to retain control of the House and the Senate in the midterm election in November. But given the president's job approval rating of around 40%, that remains to be seen. For his part, Mr. Biden has said he plans to run again in 2024, but here is another place where our interview may cause controversy.

Sir, are you committed to running again, or are there certain conditions that have to be right? Look, if I were to say to you, I'm running again, all of a sudden a whole range of things come into play that I have requirements I have to change and move and do. In terms of election laws. In terms of election laws. And it's much too early to make that kind of decision. I'm a great respecter of fate. And so what I'm doing is I'm doing my job. I'm going to do that job.

And within the time frame that makes sense after this next election cycle here, going into next year, make a judgment of what to do. You say that it's much too early to make that decision. I take it the decision has not been made in your own head. Look, my intentions I said to begin with is that I would run again, but it's just an intention. But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen. Mr. President You are the oldest president ever pretty good shape, huh? Which leads to my next question You are more aware of this than anyone Some people ask whether you are fit for the job and when you hear that I wonder what you think

Watch me. I mean, honest to God, that's all I think. Watch me. If you think I don't have the energy level or the mental acuity, then, you know, that's one thing. That's another thing is just watch and, you know, keep my schedule. Do what I'm doing. I think that, you know, I don't want to I sit down with our NATO allies and keep them together, I don't have them saying, wait a minute, how old are you? What are you, what did they say?

You know, I mean, it's a matter of, you know, that old expression, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I mean, I respect the fact that people would say, you know, you're old. But I think it relates to how much energy you have and whether or not the job you're doing is one consistent with what any person of any age would be able to do. How would you say your mental focus is? Well, it's focused. Look, I have trouble even mentioning, even saying to myself in my own head the number of years. I no more think of myself as being as old as I am than fly.

I mean, it's just not, I haven't observed anything in terms of, there's not things I don't do now that I did before, whether it's physical or mental or anything else. You have had a string of legislative successes recently. How does an old guy do that? But your approval rating in the country is well below 50 percent, and I wonder why you think that is. This is a really difficult time. We're at an inflection point in the history of this country. We're going to make decisions, and we're making decisions now, that are going

to determine what we're going to look like the next 10 years from now. I think you'd agree that the impact on the psyche of the American people as a consequence of the pandemic is profound. Think of how that has changed everything. People's attitudes about themselves, their families, about the state of the nation, about the state of their communities. And so there's a lot of uncertainty out there, a great deal of uncertainty. And we lost a million people, a million people to COVID. When I got in office, when I got elected, only two million people were vaccinated. I got 220 million. My point is it takes time. We were left in a very difficult situation. It's been a very difficult time, very difficult.

And a difficult life for the president. In 1972, he lost his wife and daughter in a car accident. He lost his son Beau to cancer in 2015 at the age of 46. And his son Hunter has been a lightning rod for suspicion. Hunter Biden's former addiction to crack cocaine led to a life he describes as nonstop depravity. He has also acknowledged a federal investigation into his taxes. Congress investigated Hunter Biden's job with a Ukrainian company at the time that his father ran Ukrainian policy in the Obama administration. A Republican investigation, however, uncovered no wrongdoing by then-Vice President Biden. Mr. President, if you run again,

Republicans are most likely to go after your son Hunter once again. And I wonder what you would like to say about your son and whether any of his troubles have caused conflicts for you or for the United States. I love my son, number one. He fought an addiction problem. He overcame it. He wrote about it. He wrote about it. And no, there's not a single thing that I've observed at all that would affect me or the United States relative to my son Hunter.

Republican investigations are likely to resume if Mr. Biden loses either the House or the Senate, and history shows that presidents usually lose seats in Congress in a midterm election. If so, the president's remaining ambitions may be beyond his reach. For example, we passed the most extensive gun legislation in 30 years, although I'm not going to rest until we get assault weapons banned, which I did once before when I was a senator.

Assault weapons banned? Assault weapons banned. There's no rationale. Deer aren't running through the woods wearing Kevlar vests. Somebody came in and told you about Uvalde when it happened. And I wonder what you thought. Again, I've gone to every one of those places. And in Uvalde, I spent time with everything, four hours,

four hours, and the pain, the pain. And it was just so, so unnecessary, so wrong. Who the hell knew? Don't get me going, but I met with every one of those families and extended families for four hours. Look, our kids should be learning how to read and write, not duck and cover. Think about that. Think of the mental impact on these kids going back to school. You saw it. It's wrong. It's wrong.

It's not who we are. But we've got to stop it. We've got to stop it. And the NRA continuing to push the sale of assault and semi-automatic weapons is bizarre. The much more modest bipartisan gun law that passed this summer may be the best example of the president's legislative breakthroughs that no one thought possible. How'd an old guy do that, he asked us earlier. We have a theory. Joe Biden is among the longest-serving politicians in Washington. If there is less bounce in the step than there once was, if the words don't flow like they used to. Maybe there's something to be said for know-how. Five decades on the Hill and in the Oval. Concerning politics, Mr. President,

you were elected to the Senate in 1972. You were 29 years old. And in those days, it seemed that the parties worked together to move the country forward. And I think many Americans feel that that no longer happens and, in fact, may be impossible now. Well, I don't think it's impossible, but it's changed. What we do today, think about it. It's all personal attacks. It's about motive. It's not about I disagree on the subject matter. And secondly, I think that it's fair to say that we've not had a president like the last president who has made all of it so personal. I've had six Republican senators,

I promised I'd never say their names, and I won't, come up to me in the last two years and say, Joe, I agree with you, but if I vote this way, they're going to primary, I'm going to lose an election. It didn't used to be that way. But it's coming back a little bit. It's coming back. Do you see it?

It seems to me, Mr. President, that when you first came to the Senate, the other guy had a bad bit. It's coming back. Do you see it? It seems to me, Mr. President, that when you first came to the Senate, the other guy had a bad idea. And now the other guy is a bad guy. Yeah. And I don't know how you get back from that. Well, I tell you what, think about this. I was able to get a, we were able to get a bipartisan $1.2 trillion package done for dealing with the whole question of rebuilding the country, the roads and highways. The fact of the matter is we've gotten a lot of things done bipartisanly. When everybody said, we're not going to do anything, don't let Biden have any successes, et cetera. So it's still a way to go, but I think we're making some progress. You have lived a long life of triumph and tragedy. In November, you'll be 80.

And I wonder what it is that keeps you in the arena. Well, look, I've had tragedies. I've lost part of my soul, and I lost my son, Beau, and I lost my wife and my daughter in an accident. I think of all the people who've gone through what I've gone through and a lot more without what I had. I had an incredibly supportive family. There's so many literally heroes getting up every day putting one foot in front of another with no help. I constantly think, what would Bo want me to do? What would I want? And, you know, this gets me a long way, this rosary.

Catholic and devout, he keeps a rosary in his pocket. And he showed us his other inspiration in a cartoon that his father had framed. In it, the Viking Hagar confronts God after a lightning strike, a blow like those endured by the president. And he's looking up, and once he says, he says, Why me, God? The next scene, a voice from heaven, why not? That's my dad. Why not, Joey?

Why not you? Why not? What makes you so different? Just get up. My mom's a question with, just get up. Get up. Get up. And you feel you have more to give. A lot more to give. A lot more to give. The United States first placed financial sanctions on Iran back in 1979 during the hostage crisis. For nearly four decades, the U.S. State Department has designated Iran one of the world's leading state sponsors of terrorism.

But the Obama administration, along with five other countries, agreed to billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for Iran's agreement to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to extensive international inspection. The Trump administration, distrusting Tehran, pulled out of the deal and stepped up crushing economic pressure. That's where Ibrahim Raisi found himself when he was elected president a year ago. Last month, Iran and the 61-year-old hardliner were on the verge of striking a new deal. But then Iran submitted demands that sent the nuclear talks into a stalemate.

Sir, thank you. I'm Leslie. We met President Raisi Tuesday at the presidential compound in Tehran for his first interview with a Western reporter. I was told how to dress, not to sit before he did, and not to interrupt him. We were given one hour for the interview. Can we start with the negotiations on the nuclear deal? Do you want to have that deal renewed? Because you know there are some American officials who are beginning to think that you don't. If it's a good deal and fair deal, we would be serious about reaching an agreement. It needs to be lasting.

There needs to be guarantees. If there were a guarantee, then the Americans could not withdraw from the deal. But you can pull out of the deal. I mean, just as well as we could pull out of the deal. You see, the Americans broke their promises. They did it unilaterally. They said that, I am out of the deal.

Now making promises is becoming meaningless. Are you saying that you cannot trust the Americans? We cannot trust the Americans because of the behavior that we've already seen from them. That is why if there is no guarantee, there is no trust. The U.S. says the West can't trust Iran, for instance, when it claims its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes. As far as we can tell, you don't use it for, you know, things that can help your citizens like electricity, you say that you want it for peaceful reasons. Like what? Like in medicine, agriculture, oil, gas.

In terms of peaceful purposes, one available figure from the UN nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, is that only 1.8% of the country's electricity is generated by nuclear power. There seems to be some evidence that you had been working at least before toward a bomb, a bomb, a weapon, and that you might be doing that again. We have responded to these claims several times.

They are baseless. The Islamic Republic of Iran has said many times that possessing nuclear weapons has no place in our doctrine. However, the U.S. intelligence community has assessed with high confidence that Iran did attempt to develop a nuclear bomb in the past. And then there are the American citizens being detained in Tehran, three of whom were born in Iran. If there is a deal, would you agree to release the four Americans who are being held here?

Could that be part of it? There are Iranian nationals also imprisoned inside the U.S. These people are only in there because they simply tried to circumvent sanctions. And the Americans? We have told them that we can talk to them about this. It can be conducted separately from the nuclear talks. It can be done between the two countries. It is a humanitarian issue. This can be negotiated. You're off to New York. You're going to speak at the United Nations.

You know, President Biden is going to be there. Are you open to a meeting with President Biden, a face-to-face? No, I don't think that such a meeting would happen. I don't believe having a meeting or talk with him will be beneficial. What do you think the difference is, from your perspective, between the Trump administration and the Biden administration. The new administration in the U.S., they claim that they are different from the Trump administration.

They have said it in their messages to us, but we haven't witnessed any changes in reality. His major grievance against President Biden is that he has maintained the sanctions on Iran that President Trump imposed. The sanctions are very tyrannical. This is a tyranny against the people of Iran. It is important to us to have the sanctions lifted. thrust Iran into a two-year recession, mainly because oil exports from refineries like this one fell overnight from 2.8 million barrels a day to about 200,000. Businesses have been cut off from international banking. With inflation today in Iran at over 40 percent, virtually everything 100%. Virtually everything is more expensive. And yet, we found traffic here as clogged as in New

York. And as we saw, Tehran's bazaars are teeming with shoppers. The ones we met were friendly to us. How are you? Oh, I'm good. How are you? Fine, thanks. And you? Good. Do you study English in school? No. One reason for the bustling commerce is something the president calls the resistance economy, in which businesses are encouraged to make more of the things themselves that they used to import. So, do you know where these are made? Made in Iran. In Iran?

Yeah. Homemade blue jeans. For our country. Also made in Iran. Washing machines, refrigerators, TVs. They also have their own version of Uber Eats called Snap Food. Iran is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations, dating back to 4000 BC. It's where the foundations of algebra and chemistry were developed.

Today, while there's attention to religious tradition in the Islamic Republic, it's one of the most westernized countries in the Middle East, with a well-educated population. This mall could be anywhere in America, with an ice skating rink, a food court with hot dogs and burgers, and the least expected, sexy window displays. And yet, President Raisi just signed a decree making women who don't dress modestly subject to arrest. A young woman died Friday after the Morality Police took her into custody for violating the rules on head coverings. Eyewitnesses say they saw her being beaten while in a police van. President Raisi's office says he ordered an investigation. Syed Ibrahim Raisi descends from the Prophet Muhammad as his black turban signifies,

according to Shiite Muslim tradition. He's a hardline conservative cleric like his mentor, the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. I want to ask you about your own record. There is a personal sanction against you. You took part in a commission that was responsible for executing up to 5,000 political dissidents. They were hanged or shot by firing squad. I want to ask if you regret that action. were hanged or shot by firing squad. I want to ask if you regret that action.

What kind of proof can you offer for this? These are just allegations and claims made by members of a terrorist group. You're saying that that was not true and that the act... Anybody who commits a crime in Iran stands trial in official courts of law and they receive punishments for what they did. They were assassinating people and what happened to them was exactly proportionate to what they did.

But the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Raisi personally for human rights violations over this. And Amnesty International called it a crime against humanity. The president was feisty with us, sprinkling his answers with a predictable antipathy toward Israel and Jewish people. The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was scathing when he tweeted on the same subject in English in 2018, Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor that has to be removed and eradicated. Do you believe the Holocaust happened?

That six million Jews were slaughtered? Look, historical events should be investigated by researchers and historians. There are some signs that it happened. If so, they should allow it to be investigated and researched. So you're not sure? I'm getting that, you're not sure. What about Israel's right to exist? You see, the people of Palestine are the reality. This is the right of the people of Palestine who are forced to leave their houses and motherland.

The Americans are supporting this false regime there, to take root and be established there. You know that Morocco, Bahrain, Sudan, and the United Arab Emirates have all recognized Israel and have relations with Israel. And it is said that Saudi Arabia is also talking directly with Israel. And I wonder if you'd want to comment on that. If a state shakes hands with the Zionist regime, then they are also an accomplice to their crimes, and they are stabbing the very idea of Palestine in the back. You have vowed revenge on the U.S. government

for the killing of General Soleimani. More than two years ago, the U.S. killed General Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike. A revered military hero in Iran, he masterminded deadly attacks on American forces throughout the region for years. The Supreme Leader has called for retaliation. Are you intending to retaliate by assassinating officials from the Trump administration? What the then-American government did, by the direct order of Trump himself, to assassinate Mr. Qasem Soleimani, this was a heinous crime. We want justice to be served.

We are not going to forget about this. I'm wondering what you mean by justice. Does it mean an eye for an eye? There was this assassination, now we're going to have an answer assassination. That's the type of the actions that the Americans and Zionist regimes are doing in the world. We are not going to carry out the same actions. And yet the U.S. Department of Justice has charged a member of Iran's Revolutionary Guard with just that, plotting to assassinate John Bolton, President Trump's former National Security Advisor. As he prepares for his trip to the U.N., President Raisi is defiant. His message? No concessions in the nuclear deal.

Iran will not back down. And it can survive the sanctions, which he says could well backfire against the United States. Yes, they can create restrictions and problems for us and difficulties, but there's a number of countries that are being sanctioned. By doing this, they are bringing them closer together, making them more united, and this will render American sanctions ineffective. Chinese, Russians, Iranians getting closer.

This approach won't work. As we ended what seemed to be a cordial conversation, we were surprised when a member of Raisi's staff reached up and blocked one of our cameramen from shooting our goodbyes. Another one of our cameramen's phones was confiscated and held by President Raisi's security team for two and a half hours. Five decades of covering Iran. He calls you, Imam, forgive me, his words, not mine. A lunatic. You are like a CIA investigator. Go inside the 60 Minutes archive at 60minutesovertime.com.

Tonight marks the opening of our 55th season of 60 Minutes. At its heart, the broadcast is remarkably unchanged. As in the days of Mike Wallace and Harry Reasoner, it continues to be built around reporting and writing a good story. Tell me a story, Don Hewitt, 60 Minutes creator, used to say. Tonight, we introduce a new weekly feature for you, The Last Minute. It may be an important update on a story we've reported, a commentary, a look at an upcoming story, or pointed viewers' comments from our mail.

It's not a replacement for Andy Rooney. Nothing could be. But we promise something interesting at the end of each Sunday evening. I'm Bill Whitaker. We'll be back next week with another edition of 60 Minutes. Tomorrow morning, be sure to watch CBS News live coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.