Watch the 'provocative' question on Iran that earned Major Garrett a chiding from Obama

Obama was not pleased with a question from CBS reporter Major Garrett

(Image credit: AP/YouTube)

published 16 July 2015

President Obama's press conference Wednesday on the just-sealed Iran nuclear deal may well be best remembered for his answer about Bill Cosby and rape, but the question that dominated cable news on Wednesday night came from CBS News correspondent Major Garrett.

Garrett asked the president about four Americans, including a Washington Post reporter, being held by Iran on what the White House calls trumped-up charges, then added: "Can you tell the country, sir, why you are content, with all the fanfare around this deal, to leave the conscience of this nation, the strength of this nation unaccounted for in relation to these four Americans?"

Obama started out congratulating Garrett on how he manages to "craft those questions," then sternly disputed the premise that he's "content, as I celebrate, with American citizens languishing in Iranian jails," adding: "Major, that's nonsense, and you should know better." You can watch the exchange, and Obama's explanation for why it would have been foolish to tie the fate of the four Americans to the nuclear deal, below.

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After the news conference, Garrett explained to his CBS News colleagues that he had meant to strike a nerve with his question. "Was it provocative? Yes. Was it intended to be as such? Absolutely," he said. "Sometimes you have to take a scolding from a president to get to an answer."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.