Iran

On Monday’s NBC Today, chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel reported live from Tehran on the lifting of sanctions on Iran and sounded like an anchor on Iranian state television as he touted the authoritarian regime celebrating the development: “Well, this is an extraordinary time to be here in Tehran. The mood is one of expectation and optimism. People are encouraged by the deal. They think…

Hillary Clinton conducted interviews on four of the five major Sunday morning talk shows (the lone omission being Fox News Sunday) and while CNN’s Jake Tapper, NBC’s Chuck Todd, and even CBS’s John Dickerson asked questions of substance, the fourth interview offered a stark contrast with former Clinton official and Clinton Foundation donor George Stephanopoulos giving her a measly three questions…

During the 1980s, a favorite talking point of liberals was that President Reagan tended to confuse movies with reality. In a Friday article, Zack Beauchamp accused a current Republican presidential candidate, Ted Cruz, of doing something similar, and alleged that the GOPers who took part in Thursday’s prime-time debate stand for a “view of the world [that] is as much a work of fiction as” Michael…

Joe Scarborough on Thursday's Morning Joe attempted to express outrage over Iran's hostage video and the Obama administration's handling of it. But co-host Mika Brzezinski didn't want to listen, sarcastically suggesting Scarborough “go on for about 20 minutes with outrage." Scarborough questioned how anyone could be happy and grateful when the circumstance was so dire.

Despite dramatic video of U.S. sailors with guns near their heads, the journalists at NBC and ABC failed to question the incident's handling by the Obama administration. Only CBS This Morning’s David Martin contrasted, “Although administration officials publicly described it as a rescue at sea, video released by Iran made it look like the American sailors had been captured.”

Discussing Iran’s seizure of 10 U.S. Sailors (and release) on Wednesday’s edition of MSNBC’s The Last Word, former UK Ministry of Defense official and foreign affairs correspondent Michael Kay declared that there was “nothing alarming” and instead “standard protocol” taking place in the video released by Iranian state TV of the nine men and one woman being boarded and held for one day.

MSNBC host Chris Matthews apparently is incensed at Republican outrage over the Islamic Republic of Iran's capture of 10 U.S. Navy sailors. In his mind, they need to chill out. They sounded as though we'd never get our boys (and girl) back, he harumphed.

Iran's increasing belligerence towards the United States in the wake of — or, more accurately, as a result of — the so-called nuclear "deal" between the two countries is unmistakable, as is the Obama's willingness — no, make that eagerness — to kowtow before that rogue regime. Thus, the facade created at the New York Times by reporters Thomas Erdbrink and Helene Cooper after Iran released ten U.…

The arrest-and-release of 10 U.S. Navy sailors by the Islamic Republic of Iran was a diplomatic success story for the Obama administration, according to MSNBC's Ayman Mohyeldin and Kate Snow.

NBC News political director and Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd lamented in the final moments before President Obama’s final State of the Union Tuesday night that the “timing” of Iran’s seizure of 10 Sailors from the U.S. Navy “couldn't be worse for the President” as he went onto tout the Iran nuclear deal in his address.

On special pre-State of the Union coverage on MSNBC moments ago, Hardball host Chris Matthews unwittingly admitted President Obama's weakness vis-a-vis Iran as regards the Islamic Republic's capture of 10 U.S. sailors.

Hours before President Obama’s final State of the Union address, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell took to the airwaves of Tuesday’s NBC Nightly News to complain that Iran seizing 10 U.S. Sailors had created a “frantic” situation for the President that “could not have happened at the worst time.”

"I could be VERY WRONG but this feels more like Iran acting as Triple AAA than the Iranian Hostage Crisis Redux," ThinkProgress alum and BuzzFeed World News Editor/Reporter Hayes Brown tweeted earlier this afternoon. 

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough appeared on four of the five major Sunday morning talk shows in advance of President Obama’s final State of the Union on Tuesday night and, when comparing those he sat for with ABC’s This Week host George Stephanopoulos and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, the contrast couldn’t be any more stark with the former lobbing softballs as the latter…