President Masoud Pezeshkian, Sen. John Kennedy, Rep. Jim Himes

Margaret Brennan (0:01)

I'm Margaret Brennan in Washington, and this week on Face the Nation, President Trump turns his focus to the mid-Derm elections following a week of high-stakes summits with foreign allies and adversaries. The president spent much of last week striding the world stage without ever leaving the US., first delivering a stark warning to Iran in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

SPEAKER_2 (0:23)

Will a deal be made with Iran, or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly?

Margaret Brennan (0:31)

So what is the status of that potential deal? In a network exclusive, we'll hear from Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on his country's latest offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the conflict.

Then Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington drew no shortage of pomp and circumstance, but behind it all, serious tensions remain. Chief among them, the status of Taiwan. We'll check in with the territory's representative to the US. Ambassador Alexander Yu.

Plus, with midterm elections just weeks away, Republicans are scrambling to save their majority in both houses. We'll ask Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy about the outlook for the GOP and Connecticut Democratic Congressman Jim Himes on his party's plan to govern if it does take the majority. It's all just ahead on Face the Nation.

Good morning and welcome to Face the Nation. With just weeks to go before the midterm elections, President Trump is facing challenges on multiple fronts. Persistent voter concerns about the economy, rising prices for consumers, and growing questions about his strategy in the war with Iran. Adding to those pressures is an ongoing confrontation with the White House press corps. The major television networks resumed coverage of the president's daily activities after a federal judge ordered the White House to restore access to outlets that had been banned. That only after Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit was already underway. The administration continued to limit CNN's participation in the television pool yesterday. Regarding the war, President Trump told reporters yesterday he had rejected the latest offer to end it presented by Iranian officials during meetings in New York. But will he keep diplomacy alive or resume strikes? The Pentagon's public casualty count rose again last week, bringing the number of US military deaths to 19

The Iran conflict is where we begin this morning. A rare network exclusive interview with the leader of the country at war with the United States. We sat down with President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York on Friday, and we began by asking him about Iran's latest proposal, built on what was outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by both sides in June.

Masoud Pezeshkian (3:09)

Now, in fact, there is a framework along the same path, with the same objectives that were established. Ultimately, the requests that were included in that memorandum and MOU have now been broken down into stages so that we can proceed according to those stages. If the United States agrees to proceed in that way, everything will return to the way it was before. Because right now, it's the United States that's blocked our way, and naturally, Iran has also blocked the way from its side.

These are things that both sides need to open up first. Then we can sit down at the negotiating table and discuss other issues at hand.

Margaret Brennan (3:51)

If President Trump accepts this proposal, can you guarantee your military will abide by it?

Masoud Pezeshkian (3:59)

Obviously, we will abide by whatever we commit to.

Margaret Brennan (4:02)

Well, President Trump said he was open to meeting with you. When you were here, that didn't happen.

Would you be willing, if you want direct communication, would you be willing to speak directly to him, to meet with him?

Masoud Pezeshkian (4:18)

Now, the atmosphere of distrust that has developed between Iran and the United States is because we have had several rounds of talks with the United States.

Basically, we need to determine now what exactly we want to reach an understanding on. If we don't abide by what we have written down as necessary, can we really resolve it through dialogue? We wrote it down and signed it. It's clear, the first thing that needs to happen is that the distrust created by this war has to be overcome. We need to abide by what we have written down. The United States needs to show that it does not intend to overthrow our government or our administration. Put yourself in our position. Imagine someone came and martyred your supreme leader and then not abide by everything you had agreed upon. What would be your reaction?

It's not something that can be resolved that simply.

Margaret Brennan (5:11)