President Obama Does First Formal TV Interview as President with Al-Arabiya As special envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell heads off to the region to begin work on negotiating a cease fire between Israel and the Palestinians, President Obama has sat for his first formal TV interview with the Arabic cable TV network Al-Arabiya, ABC News has learned. The interview was taped this evening and is set to air at 11 pm ET, as Mitchell is in the air and on his way to the region. Based in Dubai, Al-Arabiya estimates that it has a potential audience exceeding 23 million in the Gulf region. source