extensive and exclusive interview with the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu at his home, and we're going to bring that to you in full in just a few moments. but first, voters tonight went to the poll in five states. it was a very big night for mitt romney. new york, connecticut, pennsylvania, delaware and rhode island, ballots were cast and there was a victor, and the general election has begun. it was a very big night for mitt romney. just moments ago he talked to supporters and talked about his democratic rival. >> four years ago, barack obama dazzled us in front of greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change. but after we came down to earth, after all the celebration and the parades, what do we have to show for 3 1/2 years of president obama? >> nothing! >> is it easier to make ends meet? >> no. >> is it easier to sell your home or buy a new one? >> no. >> have you saved what you needed for retirement? >> no. >> john avlon is in new york with the latest. john? >> thanks, erin. it is a huge five-state sweep for mitt romney tonight in the northeast, and the general election has begun. in that speech in new hampshire tonight he laid out the themes for the general election, drawing a clear contrast with president obama on the issue of the economy, pointing to his private sector experience and saying that the real hope and change is still on the way with proven economic policies rooted in the free market. romney pulling no punches. gearing up despite the fact his republican rivals newt gingrich and ron paul are still technically in the race. he is looking past them well into the fall and toward an election victory, lighting up a crowd eager for what's ahead. mitt romney, a strong night. effectively locking up this republican nomination. erin? >> thanks, john. well, as we talk about the election in the u.s., one of the most crucial issues has everything to do with where i'm sitting right now. that is what will israel do about iran? it's a crucial question, and i had a chance to talk about it with the prime minister of israel, benjamin netanyahu. i went to and visited him in his home. it's an important week for israel. memorial day and the country's 64th anniversary as a nation. what does israel as a nation mean? what will they do about iran? and benjamin netanyahu made some news on the palestinian question. here he is on iran. >> mr. prime minister, thank you so much for inviting us and letting us come and see your home. >> well, welcome to jerusalem. take a look around. >> we came here to your courtyard. i know we had to move -- there was a table here earlier. when we got here, there were two coffee cups on it. i guess it was yours and tony blair's from when you were talking this morning. but how important is this space for you? this is sort of your -- this is your get away space, right? >> no, this is my prison courtyard because the prime minister of israel like i suppose the president of the united states and maybe the pope, one or two other people -- >> so you feel like you're sort of under house arrest? >> for good reason, but i suppose so. but it doesn't mean that there aren't an endless number of people that want to get into this prison cell and live here. >> i'm sure there are. iran. there's been 16 years of diplomacy, as you've talked about. you've said it repeatedly. you said it in march. i know you said it on the army radio this morning. it's not a problem of days, but it's also not a problem of years. now, you said that first in march, so i would imagine not years plural. that means you think this will be resolved by next spring? >> well, i hope it's resolved. and i hope it's resolved peacefully. certainly the international community is putting a lot of pressure on iran and make clear that its nuclear program must stop. if it stops with sanctions, the combinations of sanctions diplomacy, other pressures, i as the prime minister of israel will be the happiest person in the world. >> do you think that sanctions are working? i mean, i saw a story today i think it was 56% of iranian -- of iran's fleet of tankers sitting off the coast with oil, full of oil, because they can't sell it. it would appear that sanctions are working. >> well, they're certainly taking a bite out of the iranian economy, but so far they haven't rolled back the iranian program or even stopped it by one iota. i mean, i hope that changes. but so far i can tell you the centrifuges are spinning. they were spinning before the talks began. recently with iran, they were spinning during the talks and they're spinning as we speak. so if the sanctions are going to work, they'd better work soon. >> how do you know what they're doing? >> oh, we know. >> you know? >> we know and others know and we share what we know. this is not the case of the questions that people had about saddam hussein. >> they say that it's for peaceful purposes. >> they say it's for peaceful purposes. >> they say it's for peaceful purposes. >> when you have a sense of humor. i mean, they said it's for medical isotopes. that's why they're developing icbms to carry medical isotopes to europe or israel or the united states. that's why they're building these underground bunkers, hidden between -- underneath mountains, for medical isotopes. you know, that's why they're telling the world they're going to erase israel, with medical isotopes. this is a farce. nobody can seriously -- nobody can take them seriously. >> no nations with nuclear weapons have ever gone to war with each other. i mean, take india and pakistan. they haven't used them. could it be that israel and iran could end up in the situation like that where the acquisition of the nuclear weapon ensures it would never be used? >> well, i'm not going to comment on israel's purported capabilities. i will say that to date since the advent of the nuclear age after hiroshima, all nuclear powers have been very careful with the use or, more accurately, the non-use of the nuclear weapon. when it comes to a militant islamic regime, i wouldn't be too sure. because unlike, say, the soviets, they can put their ideology before their survival. so i don't think you can bet on their rationality. iran is giving its terror proxies hamas in gaza, hezbollah in lebanon, it's giving them the most advanced lethal weapons. whatever weapons they have, they use them. they've fired now 10,000 rockets on israeli cities. they have been helping them to murder diplomats worldwide and to kill american soldiers in afghanistan. think of what they'd do with nuclear weapons. i don't think you want them to bet the peace in the middle east and the security of the world on iran's rational behavior. i think it's a much safer bet to do what i and president obama and others have said, prevent iran from acquiring atomic bombs. >> one thing that's interesting, though, when you talk about the nuclear parts of the regime, there is a jewish member of parliament in tehran. and one of the most popular soap operas there was zero degree turn. the main character, an iranian, falls in love with a jewish woman, he helps smuggle jews out of paris to save them from the holocaust. it's very popular in iran. what makes you so sure that they are anti-semitic in a way that would cause them to use the weapon against israel? >> well, i draw a distinction between the people of iran and the regime that is tyrannizing them and taking over their lives. >> the regime let the show air, though. >> well, the regime is the one that, you know, has to kill people in the streets and goes into their homes after they cull the internet and they just make people disappear. so this is a regime that is very brutal to its own people. iran is not free. jews in iran have a lot to worry about. but the jewish state that iran openly calls a cancer that has to be excised from the middle east, that has to be eradicated, certainly must take seriously iran's claims to annihilate it. >> the way the talks seem to be going, u.s. negotiators, iranian negotiators, seem to be saying that the sanctions are working and that they may in fact roll back some sanctions. that's what the iranians want and there has not been a direct rebuttal to that from the other side. the really tough sanction that's are supposed to take effect this summer. what happens -- okay. >> i think it would be a big mistake to rescind the sanctions or lighten the sanctions. i think there has to be a cascade of sanctions. so far, that's the acid test. the sanctions haven't worked. how do we know that? because nothing has been stopped. what has stopped in the iranian program? >> what if they halted full enrichment to 20%, started importing that? would that be enough? >> i think what they need to do are three things. one, they have to stop all enrichment. second, to take -- >> all enrichment, even to 3% for medical? >> yes. because they say they need it for, what medical isotopes? so you can -- the second point is after you stop all enrichment is remove the enriched material. and you'll get these rods from another country that can allow you to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. and third, dismantle the underground bunker at qom. if they have no military goals, they should respond to this readily. what we want are factual results. we want to see the iranian program rolled back. that's unfortunately not achieved by talks in which iran has one goal -- to stall, delay, run out the clock. that's basically what they're doing. >> do you worry that you're going to put yourself in a position now that you may have to strike, a strike which even former head of the mossad has said would only delay, not end the iranian nuclear program? that by saying it's not days, it's not years you're going to end up with a date where if you don't do it you look like you couldn't or you wouldn't? so you have to. >> i'm not worried about what we look like. i am worried about stopping this. and i think there are really three principles that should guide us and they've been echoed by the united states. and i think any sensible person understands. the first is that iran's nuclear weapons program must be stopped. the second is that containment is not an option. and the third is that israel, the state of the jewish people, must have the capacity to defend itself by itself against any threat. >> obviously, very significant that the prime minister is saying the only standard israel will accept is that iran not enrich at all. not even the 3% they would need for medical use. there could be an issue that's even bigger for israel right now. and we're going to talk about that next. >> i could deliver a peace agreement. i could get the israeli people to follow me if i believed that i have a serious partner on the other side. [ camera clicks ] ♪ it's hard to resist the craveable nature of a nature valley sweet & salty nut bar. what ? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it ? hello ? hello ?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello ? ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense. >> announcer: this is the day. the day that we say to the world of identity thieves "enough." we're lifelock, and we believe you have the right to live free from the fear of identity theft. our pledge to you? as long as there are identity thieves, we'll be there. we're lifelock. and we offer the most comprehensive identity theft protection ever created. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. well, you just heard a little bit of my exclusive interview with benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of israel. we are "outfront" tonight live from jerusalem where you can see the old city behind me. israel right now honoring its dead in memorial day. we had a chance to talk about iran, as you just heard. zero enrichment is what he's willing to accept on that front. he said he knows what iran is doing. but there is an issue that could be bigger, and that issue has to do with palestine, which you haven't heard a whole lot about recently, maybe because iran has been dominating the headlines. but he had something to say about palestine he has never said before. >> i want to ask you about another issue that hasn't gotten much coverage recently because iran has been getting so much coverage. i was in dubai recently interviewing sheik mohammed the prime minister of the uae, ruler of dubai. and we talked about israel and here's what he said. >> you know, i tell you, we have nothing against israel. we have nothing against israel. and what we want is for the palestinian, a country for the palestinian and a country for israel. and i promise to you that if the arab world open to israel israel will benefit more than us because israel have things to offer in the market. >> that's very wise. that's very wise and i agree with him. i think peace would benefit us, as i think it would benefit the palestinians, as it would benefit the entire region. i think there's one other thing. i think that i could deliver a peace agreement. i could get the israeli people to follow me if i believed that i have a serious partner on the other side willing to make the necessary compromises on the palestinian side. many compromises that people talk about on the israeli side, but there are necessary compromises on the palestinian side, and you know, peace is always a two-way compromise. >> would you accept their belief, though, that they should have a country which is contiguous, not islands here and islands there, but one space? >> yeah, we talked about that. >> no checkpoints. >> i don't think that this is what -- no checkpoints? i am the prime minister who removed 400 checkpoints, barriers, road blocks, and so on to facilitate the growth of the palestinian economy. this is in line with what i believe is essential, that is, the economic growth that is a great supplement and a great bulwark of actual peace. it's not a substitute for a political peace, but it helps. and i'm very much in favor of that. look, there are so many issues to discuss, but you have to discuss them. you can't discuss them in the press, not even on cnn. you have to sit down opposite one another. that's what leaders do. >> yesterday, i saw some of the best of israel. we saw a winery. we saw the moroccan oil, the hair plant i was telling you about. >> i haven't used it recently. >> at the end of the day, sunset, we went to a refugee camp outside jerusalem, and we were actually -- we were going to talk to some adults, but you know what happen. children come flocking over. and lots of boys came flocking over. and they were playing soccer. football. and i asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up? and they all spoke in arabic. and they said -- and this is pretty amazing considering that most of them weren't in school. dentist, engineer, and i want to fight israel. every one of them. >> the first two i like. the last one i didn't. >> how can you change that? you talk about hinges of history. isn't this issue more important than iran or anything else? >> how do you change it? you change it by educating people for peace. i think one of the failings of the palestinian authority has been that they air under national media, they control the media, they air all this stuff about israel, doing away with israel. they have kindergartens for reveling in suicide bombers. kindergarten kids. so i'm not surprised that kids grow one this hatred. the only way you change it is by having peace agreements and speaking peace to your people. i spoke three years ago to my people about a solution of a demilitarized palestinian state that lives alongside -- recognizes the jewish state. because they'll become dentists -- >> how can you have a state that's demilitarized? >> they'll become dent sxifts doctors if they have a peaceful state. >> don't they have a right for rail state? demilitarized. >> well, demilitarized is a real state. it just means they can't field armies or fire rockets. we want to make sure if we have a peace arrangement and we walk away in certain areas they won't be used a third time by iran and it's palestinian proxies on to fire rockets on tel aviv and jerusalem. but we don't want to run their lives. i don't want to govern the palestinians. i don't want them as subjects of israel or citizens of israel. i want them to have their own independent state. but a demilitarized state. >> and to be clear, one that isn't separated by israel as in there's a palestine part here and israel? >> no. swiss cheese, no. >> swiss cheese an analogy that was used by george w. bush years ago. at that time, benjamin netanyahu did not support it. contiguous a crucial word. is there going to be a contiguous state, not something that the prime minister said before. we talked to sources in the palestine -- the plo today and they said it's not something he had discussed with them. so that could be significant if peace talks do again start, to have a contiguous, to use that word contiguous. a lot of weight in that particular word. well, we're going to hear what the prime minister has to say about the u.s. elections. it's an important issue for him and what he has to say about iran important there. how well does he know mitt romney? we're going to get some answers to that. plus his obsession with the map. and a new case of mad cow disease in the united states. a lot of people are wondering what it means. and we have some answers. i'm an expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow. to keep big winter jobs on track, at&t provided a mobile solution that lets everyone from field workers to accounting, initiate, bill, and track work in real time. you can't live under a dome in minnesota, that's why there's guys like me. 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"outfront" tonight, live from the old city in jerusalem. i was spending time with prime minister netanyahu today. one of the interesting things about it was not only that we were talking there in the courtyard where he smokes his cigars because his wife won't let him do in the house, but we also got to go inside and see his study. and while we were there, we saw a map of, well, the middle east. here is a quick glimpse of a kind of interesting moment. >> this is your neighborhood. >> this is gigantic israel. you know, i can cover it with my thumb. i mean, this is the arab world, right? saudi arabia, iran. this is all of -- this is this gigantic israel that you hear about. that's it. from here to here. >> with all the focus on iran, what about egypt? your foreign minister said that could be a bigger threat to you than iran. >> well, you know, i'm not sure that's a correct quote, but certainly where he's concerned with iran and we're both concerned with the direction of egypt and i hope that any government that is established in egypt understands that peace between egypt and israel is as much an egyptian interest as it is an israeli interest. and i hope they continue the