mike viqueira joins me now. mike, i'm wondering what was going on right behind you in the white house as midnight approached in switzerland. >> we know that the president has had his negotiating team in lausanne, switzerland, right now, ray, and we learned that he convened a video conference with john kerry, the secretary of state. the secretary of energy, and windy sherman, top state department officials, a key person in these negotiations. all along in the united states a video conference held by the president, his national security team and those individuals on his team negotiating with switzerland. no decision whether they gave him any idea whether they are were close to a deal, all the sporadic reports late in the evening here in switzerland various diplomats quoted anonymously saying that they're getting close to a deal. there are high stakes at the last minute. >> what are you hearing at the other end of pennsylvania safe? for weeks the congress has been making rumbles on laying on more sanctions even as t

mike viqueira is live in washington. mike this incident took place nearly four months ago.hy do you this there was a delay in acknowledgment by the obama administration? >> reporter: it's a great question randall, and one of the outstanding ones we expect to here from the white house in a daley briefing. but we know about the situation on the border there between pakistan and afghanistan, and it is ruled by outlaws, literally. the tribal areas now subject to a pakistani army push an offensive against many of the groups that make their home there, driving many of the fighters into afghanistan, this as the united states is trying to withdraw from afghanistan, relying on its afghan partners to stand up and do the job there. the question becomes what kind of assets does the united states have on the ground in that area in order to identify exactly what happened? over the coming hours and days that is surely going to be pieced together. meanwhile it was a rueful and somber president obama who appeared in an unscheduled appearance this morning, and announced what he called the in

mike viqueira tells us the situation could affect the iranian nuke liar stalks. >> the -- nuclear talks. >> the scope is filled with kay as soon as. overwhelmed hospitals, short its of food and fuel. >> battles in the street as houthi fighters take control of. of the country. four weeks after lumping air strikes, objectives have been achieved. and it is calling a halt. the operation about continue until midnight. then the operation of returning home will begin with the government which has to rebuild yemen in a safe and secure manner. >> there is little indication that the houthis have retreated. the saudi arabia-led coalition has been criticized because of casualties caused by the strikes. 944 were killed and 3,000 injured since the campaign began. houthis are approachies for iran they accuse iran of supplying the rebels with aid. iran denies sending weapons, on tuesday iran's president called for an immediate ceasefire. >> we hope that everyone comes to their senses and that iran's proposal is realised. it is for an immediate ceasefire addressing the situation of the injured and findi

al jazeera's senior washington correspondent mike viqueira is with us.looks like the white house considers it a breakthrough, not later. >> they do. a lot of experts agree, a lot were surprised with the level of space iffisty achieved in this agreement. it came two days after the white house wanted it to come. it came nonetheless, and what you saw was the president today trying to seize the initiative. in a sense the hard work is yet to come. we heard the tick-tock, the behind the scenes details, the secretary of energy, ernst monese in switzerland negotiating with his counterpart. this morning, 6:00a.m. swiss time midnight in corey washington, nailing down the final details according to the aids, of the research and development programme. they wanted to preserve some of that. they came to the agreement and president obama at midnight was on the phone to negotiators, midmorning, when the president met with advisors he gave the go ahead to the deal. after that you saw president obama appear in the rose garden, there's no question that the white house is t

that'll require congress it will be a tough vote and is not expected to come soon. >> mike viqueira at the white house >>> meanwhile, the fight against i.s.i.l. took center stage as iraqi prime minister abd-rabbu mansour hadi met with president obama. the iraqi leader came to washington looking for help to stop i.s.i.l. but the end result fell short of what he hoped for. >> reporter: haider al-abadi arrived in washington. his staff in baghdad making it clear that he was coming for reentosment in the fight against the islamic state of iraq and levant. on his list, surveillance drones attack helicopters and fighter jets. they said they needed those. didn't get it. when asked. this is how president obama responded. >> this is why we are having the meeting. making sure that iraqi security forces are in a position to succeed. >> the press secretary went further. >> there were no requests made. >> the u.s. is pledging aid. >> the u.s. president was very specific on one point. when it comes to actability they would be responsible for any war crimes committed with that equipment. >> human righ

mike viqueira joins me now. is that why the secretary of energy, the president's spokesman and the president himself was out there? >> it's clear when you read the te leaves that they are concerned. the magic number is 67. any number of senators, 67 or over is enough to override the presidential veto on a bill likely to come out of the senate. that would give the congress the right to give the thumbs up and down. if that were to happen. the administration warns that it would scuttle the deal and humiliate the united states on the world statement. there was six nations, plus iran and the european union. the white house has trumpeted the deal for the moment they shook hands. you saw president obama, and last week you saw president obama give a # 46 minute interview - i just watched it again to tom freedman. where they covered the water front. a number of cropped up, chief to the interpretation that iran makes, and the interpretation that the administration is putting forward, putting out details not agreed to. >>

mike viqueira, al jazeera. washington. >> joining us from massachusetts is jim walsh research associate at mit security studies program. jim, good to see you. the most important thing is that iran does not get to the point where it has a path to a bomb, but aren't we past that? isn't the best we can hope for from this deal is iran's bath to a bomb is a little longer? >> well, i would say--i would divide it a little differently antonio. i would say you're right to say that iran has a basic capability. that's what the director of national intelligence the top intel official in the u.s. has testified to these last several years. they know how to build a centerfuge. you can't bomb that knowledge out of their head. they have a basic capability. but he goes on to say that iran has not made a decision whether to pursue nuclear weapons. they have not made the political decision which in my study in the nuclear age that's what is critical when a country says i want t and they make it a political priority. >> let me ask

our senior washington correspondent mike viqueira was there. >> reporter: people trashing baltimore are criminals and thugs, says president obama, and there's no excuse for their violence. >> when individuals get crowbars and pry open doors to loot they are not protesting. they are not they are not making a statement. they are stealing. when they burn down a building they are committing arson. >> reporter: tensions 2010 law enforcement and minorities are not new, but part of a low-rolling violence lasting decades. they are more frequent now and the president struggled to balance empathy for police and those killed in law enforce. operations. from the trayvon martin case. >> if i had a son, he'd look like trayvon martin. >> to the aftermath of ferguson where he made a perm vow. >> part of the reason in is different is the president of united states is deeply invested in making sure. >> reporter: the president pledged millions for police body cameras, a review of hardware and data on police stops, frisks and arrests. broken by demographics to be made public. the president pledged change.

. >> mike viqueira joins us live from washington. mike how is the u.s. reacting to this news, and what does it mean for u.s. ships near the gulf of aden? >> well, good evening to you. this has always been a three-level issue for the united states. a lot at stake right here. all of it getting tangled up in the situation in yemen right now. late in the afternoon the white house put out a somewhat perfunctory is statement welcoming what the saudis have announced. they want the u.n.-brokered peace talks to go forward in yes pen. obviously those talks in somewhat of a shambles. but when you look at the coming to yemen and has been for the last several years, it's defeating al qaeda on the arabian peninsula, through the cooperation with the president. and his president abd-rabbu mansour hadi. with the government advancing, they are enemies, and enemies of a close ally the saudis, and the saudi arabia-led coalition, the americans over the course of the last four weeks, since the outset of the air strikes, leading support in terms of logistics and help to the sa

mike viqueira of at the white house, how is president obama trying to approach all this? >> reporter: david, he said that he wants congress to have a role but he doesn't want to give them real power to accept or reject the deal. he gave interviews over the weekend, and again today as all part of the pr blitz in the white house david appears to be very concerned now pushing congress to put a bill on the floor that would in fact give them power to accept or reject the deal. of course, the magic number is 67 and if opponents get past that number, 67 votes or more, they could override presidential veto. that's congress. abroad prime minister benjamin netanyahu a vocal opponent to this deal. he wants iran to admit or concede israel's right to exist. today president obama gave an interview and replied directly to netanyahu. >> the notion that we would condition iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal on iran recognizing israel is really akin to saying that we won't sign a deal unless the nature of the iranian regime completely transforms. that, i think is a fundam

i want to go to mike viqueira who is in washington. mike she said we can. it almost reminded me of obama's inauguration speech, saying yes we can. >> the american society up by the boot straps story someone who overcame being the and granddaughter of a share cropper, and also a lesson in american politics. she came before the senate last year when the democrats controlled the senate, sailed through her confirmation hearing. her opponents did not lay a glove on her hearings. it appeared she was on the fast track. the senate democrat said they would put it off when the republicans held the senate. and she did get entabled in american politics and senate procedure. she's following eric holder who had the controversial immigration and she did not oppose what the president was doing. she could hardly be expected to after being nominated by the were. but it was held up by that and issues of abortion and procedural stuff that we won't get into, but now loretta lynch is now attorney general. >> the vote with 56-43 in her confirmation last thursday. with some, i bel

i'm wondering, mike viqueira mentioned it off of the top here. cap and trade in 2009 and those who are critical of the president in this area said that the president should have done more to get cap and trade through congress. he had the majorities in the house and the senate. >> in the house he probably had the majority vote in the senate but a minority member of in the senate were able to block it with a filibuster, and then when the president came in he lost the legislation. >> 20/20 hindsight, a lot of people say that he focused more on climate change than obamacare, but the industry has mobilized effectively to oppose it and throw out the arrogance about whether climate change is real. a false narrative today that continues in the discussion. >> as a grade, how would you rate this president on his environmental record, on issues of climate change, how would you rate him? >> i would give him probably an a minus. >> really? you would rate him that high? >> within the limited authority that he has under the clean air act, he has been doing a gr

mike viqueira joins us live. mike how are folks in washington reacting to tehran's ultimatum, if you will? >> it's fascinating morgan. politics are being played on both sides. not just geopolitics but no sooner had that deal been declared done, it became clear that the two sides had different ideas of crucial aspects on what they just agreed to. the two senior leaders of iran, you heard president hasan rouhani, and the supreme leader eye toe ayatollah co-many any. ayatollah khomeini. those sanctions those economic sanctions are what brought iran to the table to begin with. they're desperate to have them removed as quickly as possible. but officials are assisting that it will be a gradual process. it will match step by step. president obama was in jamaica attending a regional summit when asked about this. he said stepped very carefully around comments of the iranian officials. >> this is not done until it's done. the next two to three months of negotiations will be absolutely critical for making sure that we're mem

mike viqueira joins us from washington with that. >> reporter: heartfelt both at home and abroad. and president obama said the bottom line was what he was striving for in the deal, the path to a nuclear weapon is blocked but the president on the home front is already calling congressional leaders trying to lay the groundwork, when they return from their recess on april 13th to either ratchet up the sanctions against iran, or insist on the right of congress to either accept or reject the deal. both of those things, the president very desperately does not want. >> if congress kills the deal, not based on expert analysis, and not offering any reasonable alternative. >> then the united states will be blamed for failure of diplomacy. and the conflict will widen >> reporter: john boehner specifically opposes it. and the conference call today. the lifting of sanctions the u.s. sanctions david will be step-by-step in accordance with iran meeting benchmarks of the deal. >> we mentioned the international concerns, that countries like israel and saudi arabia have, and with them. >> reporter:

. >> mike viqueira joins us live from washington. mike you just heard what josh earnest said is this an uphill battle for the white house selling this deal to congress. >> it's interesting how josh earnest is spuing a spin on this and perhaps being a little disingenuous. the white house is fully expected in turn of the legislative efforts taken by republicans when they get back into town on april is 13th, it's not just republicans. there will be democrats who have angst about this bill, the president's ace in the hole in all of these efforts is the fact that he has the veto, and as it stands right now in the wake of this deal it appears that he will have enough votes to override or at least to turn back an effort to override the veto that is undoubtedly going to come. one of the key points of the controversy are the interpretations between iran and the united states on a couple of issues. chiefly sanctions. iran wants them lifted as quickly as possible to bolster it's ailing economy. president obama said it will be a process over time

mike viqueira has more from washington. >> it will not be another meeting. the summit of america taking place in panama has taken over overtones. there's likely to be a face to face meeting between the american president and raul castro. the president making a surprise announcement. for years the united states blocked cuba from attending the gathering. last month the president said he wanted an american embassy to open in havana before the summit of americas. a breakthrough has not been yielded and the goal of opening an embassy will likely not be met. a poll suggests a majority of cuban americans favoured normalizing relations. also in the summit latin leaders expected to press president obama to do more to go along with emigration reform. >> and relations is also likely to be a sore point after president obama orders sanctions for human rights violations. the president arrives at panama on thursday. >>> al jazeera's david ari oft af joining us again. the attention to center stage may play out between the president in the class. nicolas madura has the chanc

mike viqueira joins us live from washington, and mike, what's this all about? >> well, it's funny david. the president says that he's entering the fourth quarter of his term, but there's one word that the white house is loathe to use a legacy. talking about president obama's record. but there's one issue and that is the environment where the white house isn't shy about calling that record historic. the only problem for the white house, not all environmentalists agree. it's not just the direct cost to the environment, says president obama but climate change is a danger to human health. >> there are a whole host of public health impacts that are going to hit home. >> reporter: mr. obama said that climate change can contribute to asthma, allergies and heat related details. it's a campaign to build support for his environmental policies. a coordinated effort from a president who has invested capital in creating a green legacy. coal fire plant emissions and increased fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, and tax credits for wind and solar energy. but they s

. >> our mike viqueira has more on what the president had to say from the white house mike? >> down, you're right. he was in the rose garden with the japanese prime minister. but his remarks were about baltimore. while he condemned the violence he asked for a national soul searching. >> people who trash baltimore are criminals and thugs say president obama, and there is no excuse for think violence. when individuals get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot they're not protesting. they're not making a statement. they're stealing. they're burning down a building and committing larceny. >> tensions are not new but are part of a slow-rolling crisis that has lasted for decades. the president has struggleed for support for police. >> from the trayvon martin case. >> if i had a son, he would look like trayvon. >> the president of the united states is deeply invested. the. >> president invest millions for police body cameras. transferring military-style hardware to law enforcement. and data broken down by democratics to be made graphic. after eric garner was killed in a stru

and our senior washington correspondent, mike viqueira is in washington d.c. for us, and what did the president have to say? >> well, tony, president obama took a hard line against the looting and the chaos that unfolded on the streets of baltimore last night. but practicallily in the same breath he asked for soul searching to look for some of the root causes in society that bring many of these young people out into the street and the protests and the violence. the president appeared in the rose garden with the japanese prime minister, and they talked about a host of issues. but it wasn't until the president was asked specifically by a reporter for his reaction to the events unfolding in baltimore that he talked first about the people that he characterized as criminals and thugs carrying out the violence. >> when individuals get crowbars and start prying open doors to loot, they're not protesting. they're not making a statement. they're stealing. when they burn down a building, they're committing arson. >> but then the president moved onto what he considered s

and you heard mike not mike viqueira say that one of the criteria that they need near certainty that the intelligence is accurate. and that near certainty assessment that that was an al qaeda compound that was targeted that turned out to be correct. but the near certainty that there would be no civilians injured in the attack, that turned out to be wrong. >> what i would admit to you in the aftermath of a situation like this, it raises additional questions about whether additional changes need to be made to those protocols. to put it more bluntly he national security protocols based on those we know so far and yet it still resulted in this unteamedded but very tragic consequence. >> so this announcement by the obama administration left human rights advocates and critics a bit slack squad. they're saying look, what the white house is admitting they carried out the attack with no idea of who was in the compound. could have been the al qaeda people, women and children, it could have been anyone. they knew it was an al qaeda compound but didn't know who was inside. the president has orde

mike viqueira is live in washington for us. mike. these guidelines are being updated for the first time since 1997. it seems like a larger role for japan. what are some of the other major changes? >> randall you're absolutely right, and the big picture goes back further. 70 years since the defeat of japan in world war ii announceed a hint of militarism since that time. they've relied on the u.s. until this day. they have relied on bases scattered throughout that country. now we have japan against a backdrop of insecurity and anxiety willing to step up and play a larger role in its own defense and even if the circumstances warrant perhaps going into a more proactive or military posture over the next several years. japan is worried about china. there is an on-going dispute over the senkaku islands. the united states has sworn to defend them should china comes forward militaristically to try to take them. there is the continued instability and worry exactly what north korea is going to do a nuclear powered country inscrutable to western

defense agreement, let's go to mike viqueira who is in washington, d.c. what is significant about these guidelines. >> we focus on people around the world, recently in the middle east and the current events unfolding in nepal but there is no shortage of upheaval and change in east asia and heightening tensions with every moment. mostly because of an ascended china. north korea doing what north korea does. the new york arm north korea destabilizing the entire region and a japan that has been weak quickcally for quite some time. and japan quite in terms of the security. i've done a lot of reporting and research on this here. the japan japan is only tasked with defending the japanese islands. itthere are some 40,000 american troops that have been in japan at various air bases marine bases. you heard of the controversial one in okinawa. you heard of where they're thinking of moving to guam because of local concerns of the behavior and growing noise there. but it has come to the head over the islands that is nothing more than a pile of rocks the japanese call

al jazeera's white house correspondent mike viqueira is live with us this morning. , the president just spoke about the deaths of the hostages expressing his grief and offering condolences to the families. >> reporter: he did, and if you were to choose a word to describe the president's mood outside of somber i would say it was rueful. he actually seemed to get emotional at one point. he has spoken many times about how heavily these counter terrorism operations weigh on him and now tragically the death of two american citizens held hostage. he had been working with the usaid on small businesses helping pakistani small businesses get off the ground. taken from his place of residence, said to be the country he loved some three years ago. lisa stark sat with them after the controversial release of bo bergdahl for five individuals who had been held in guantanamo bay. lisa sat down with the family. they expressed hope at the time that something similar could be worked out for dr. weinstein, unfortunately we find today that back in january, a counter terrorism operation wh

our mike viqueira is live at the white house. mike was inside that news conference. mike for you, what is the big message? >> reporter: well i think there were two things that leapt out at me and it came in the form of answers to questions that were asked, and those two issues you mentioned one of them there iran the president going along with that legislation in congress. you have to remember the president very strenuously opposed when it was taking shape. compromises were reached but still the white house not entirely happy with it. it was very clear, though that the flood gates were open it wasn't only republicans but democrats who were on board, so the white house more or less just jumped out in front of the parade but the president warning yet again if the united states were to back off its commitment to lift sanctions as per the agreement that was reached with iran then the sanctions regime if they had to be put back on iran if there was disunity among the countries then the sanctions would begin to frey. and the other top issue was libya. obviously a chaotic m

senior correspondent mike viqueira has more from the white house. >> three hours late for an event on jobs in kentucky. president obama made an apology. >> first of all, sorry i'm late. i had a couple of things to do. specifically. announcing what he hoped is a landmark deal. >> today the united states together with allies and partners has reached an historic understanding with iran. which if fully implemented will prevent it from obtaining a nuclear record. >> reporter: moments of brinkmanship was described, and energy secretary ernst money cleared away a staking point after an all-night session. the president spoke by phone at midnight going over final issues signing off on the agreement at midmorning. >> the framework cuts off every pathway iran could take. the president said a deal ensures inspectors would have unprecedented access. a crucial goal that some in relation say has been met. >> the verification goes further than expected. the concern is not what happened. it's whether there's undeclared secret facilities and it gives the i.a.e.a. significant authority to go around insp

mike viqueira is live from washington.e just heard from president obama -- not a news conference my error, he took no questions -- what else do we know? >> reporter: it came as a complete surprise. the president appearing in the briefing room taking full responsibility a somber even rueful president obama, taking responsibility for those two hostages. here is a little bit more. >> as president, and as commander in chief, i take full responsibility for all of our counter terrorism operations including the one that inadvertently took the lives of warren and geovany. on behalf of the united states government i offer our deepest apologies to the families. >> reporter: the president says that the operation was fully consistent with the guidelines under which these operations run. of course it happened on the border between afghanistan and pakistan. dr. weinstein taken from his home in pakistan some three years ago. >> mike this happened in january, why do you think it took so long for this acknowledgment to be made by president

. >> mike viqueira for news washington. appreciate it. thank you. loretta link was sworn in as the country's 83 attorney general this morning. she is the first african-american woman to lead the doj. >> if a little girl from north carolina when used to tell her grandfather in the fields to lift her up on the back of his mule so she can see way up high grand daddy, can grow up to be the chief law enforcement officer for the united states of america, we can do anything. >> amazing country. lynch's nomination was held up for months because of a disagreement between democrats and republicans over human trafficking bill. >>> the funeral services for freddie gray are wrapping up. gray's open casket was a place near the altar and family and friends waited in line to say their good buy goodbyes. gray died while in the custody of baltimore police. >>> a series of aftershocks are rattling the nerves of survivors in nepal and making the recovery even more challenging. the death toll has now surpassed 4,000. is a number likely to riseed a rescue workers and rel

mike viqueira has more. >> reporter: the nuclear keel is not done yet. russia had plans to sell the hardware over u.s. objections. >> we don't believe it's instruct difficult at this too to move forward. >> the russian made missile is designed to shoot down aircraft and missiles, the deal made five years ago. russia cancelled after the u.n. imposed sanctions on iran over the nuclear programme. the obama administration said the sale would not violate international sanctions. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov agrees, and argues that the technology is no cause for alarm. >> i want to mark the antimissile complex s 300 is of a different nature. it is not skinned to attack nor threaten security of any eejon including israel. >> the white house said it today. the nuclear option is on the table, if iran breaks its agreement and tries to build a bomb. if systems are deployed in iran. they may be difficult to strike. at the white house on monday, president obama held two closed door meetings, part of an effort to win support with the interim deal. this assis

. >> thanks mic mike at -- mike viqueira at the white house. >>> a hearing has just wrapped up in new orleans where judges are considering president obama's executive actions on immigration. jonathan martin joins us live in new orleans. what is going on there right now? >> good afternoon, randall, the court is technically still underway but the hearing portion has wrapped up and there are still a lot of people outside of the courthouse. this are people who support the president in issues on immigration. they have been chanting and circling the courthouse. today what happens really does affect a lot of these people here and it is really a test for the president's initiatives on immigration. justice department lawyers are here arguing the president's plan to shield some 5 million undocumented persons from deportation, they are arguing that should move forward. but you might remember back in february randall a u.s. district judge in texas issued a nationwide injunction. after 26 states had sued. and others talked about the financial burden it would place on their states. things like havi

address the issue at about midday today when he meets with the japanese prime minister and our mike viqueiras going to be reporting on that at around about midday. ally ja cummings is the long time african american congressman for this very area where the riots happened. yesterday a group of faith leaders came down right into the middle of the rioters, with him at the front, and it has a very very calming effect. now here is elijah cummings. take a listen. >> the pain and frustration of young people many of whom i know, who are crying out, and they are crying out, they are saying look you know, we want to be better educated. they want we want jobs. we want recreation centers. and they are concerned about all of the austerity, but they are saying what about us? >> reporter: and when i saw elijah cummings yesterday, he looked absolutely angry and depressed and fed up in a way i have never seen him look before. it was a very, very grim day for him yesterday, but he and the faith leaders in that group came right here where i am now, seemed to have an effect. people calmed down when they were the

mike viqueira reports from washington. >> reporter: good morning, this should be a crucial day in theks with iran on capitol hill and in congress where a key committee, the senate foreign relations committee is going to take up legislation that would effectively give congress veto power over a deal if the president is to strike one with iran or its nuclear program. the senator from tennessee will take up this legislation saying congress will have the ability to review the deal before the president can wave sanctions against iran. sanctions one of the bedrock elements here. but they say that if iran were to comply with a deal then the president would waive congressionally imposed sanctions. this bill gaining republican and democratic support, and would allow the congress to have a review period of up to 60 days before the president could do that. the president has said time and time again that this bill would be vetoed if it passes the senate and congress but the senate is moving forward nonetheless. before heading into a closed door meeting, secretary kerry stopped at the microphones

mike viqueira has more. >> hours, if not moments after being sworn in as the newest attorney-general the first african-american woman faces her major challenge on the streets of baltimore. we understand attorney-general loretta lynch met at the white house. scheduled as a courtesy call to check up on the first day on the job. it turned into a briefing on the situation in baltimore. attorney-general lynch telling obama about what the justice department is doing. there's an ongoing investigation after the death of freddie gray wanting to see and waiting to see, discussing what they can do to diffuse the situation. >> as for president obama, he woke with stephanie rawlings-clarke, offering assistance that the government could provide. valerie jar et the president's confidante. spoke before the national guard was activated. according to the mayor, they'll work with the baltimore police over the course of the next hours or days and speaking with representatives of elijah cummings from baltimore and has a high profile role. >> thank you. we'll close with the latest from baltimore. hunt dre

mike viqueira has the response from the white house. >> in jamaica for a regional summit president obama stepped carefully around provocative comments by iran's top leaders. >> it's not done until it's done. the next 2-3 months of negotiations will be critical. >> iranian's president hassan rouhani is disputing the white house version of a key issue, how quickly will sanctions be lifted after a final deal is struck? >> we will not sign an agreement unless all economic sanctions are lifted on the first day of implementation of agreement. >> that is at odds with the president obama administration which on thursday repeated its stance. sanctions relief will come gradually. >> sanctions will be phased on completion of specifics. >> on the streets of tehran the deal was hail as a breakthrough. in his first public comment. iran's supreme leader ayatollah khamenei warned the agreement could yet fall apart. >> what has been achieved so far does not guarantee a deal neither do the talks leading up to the deal. it doesn't guarantee that the talks will continue until the end and lead to a deal. >>

. >> mike viqueira in washington. thank you. and mike lions is retireed army major and al jazeera contributor, he's back in our studio tonight. give me a sense--first of all why did the saudis stop had this air campaign? >> they've been in control since the beginning and they look at it as the humanitarian crisis will turn against them. the level of bomb, the level of civilian casualties over 900 now at this point. they have to take a better control because we're going to have a human humanitarian crisis crisis. >> the guard to join the campaign. >> 120,000 troops. that's a fighting force. if they enter yemen with what the plan can be, that's an occupying force. that's similar to what the u.s. had in iraq. i hate to use the word, but that's going to be a quagmire if they decide to get in there and i'm not sure how they get out that have situation. >> what impact could it have? does this just make the war go on longer? or how do you stop it? >> it's going to drag things out, and where saudi arabia may think this is a show of force

mike viqueira is in washington. d mike what does the white house now expect will be achieved with this meeting? >> well that big step that would normalize relations between the countries. the state department from what we understand from a democratic senator who has been briefed by the state department has recommended that that state sponsorship of terrorism designation now held by only four countries around the world, including syria, iron sudan, and cuba be lifted against cuba. there are a number of economic restrictions in place as a result of being listed on the state sponsor of terror list. assets are frozen banking, economic sangionings. president obama spoke today and as he frequently does when he travels overseas he spoke on the need for a civil society, speaking about civil and human rights both in the united states and other countries. what is different about this occurrence, he is speaking to a group of nations who feel the united states have interfered in their affairs for decades, so some resentment ther

mike viqueira joins us from the white house, and mike, president obama wants the prime minister to make some reforms in this country, and what is the president actually looking for? >> well, he certainly is. and this is prime minister abadi's first visit since he was elected to the post several months ago and president obama made it clear that he wants to see all of different elements fighting in iraq, fighting against isil, not only on the same side, some of them opposing each other under normal circumstances but he wants to see all of them under abadi's control. shia are under iranian influence, and there are reports of atrocities and retribution after the city of tikrit was liberated from isil under these forces. president obama said that it's very important to have all of these elements report up to abadi and have abadi in control of the forces. >> none of this works unless there's a perception with all of the parties involved, shiites and others inside of iraq that this is an inclusive government. >> this visit in washington was intended at the white house to showcase after the zas

and tough rhetoric before the final deadline on june 30th >>> senior washington correspondent mike viqueira joins us now. some of the words sound like decades of hostility, it cannot be encouraging to hear the man in iran that has the last word talking in this way. how has the administration been reacting? >> it's clear since the deal was signed between both sides that they have different interpretations as to what was greed to. president obama and ayatollah khamenei challenge two of the pillars of argument that president obama is making to his own opposition chiefly the congress. first is the inspection. the white house says intrusive inspections can happen anywhere any time will go forward most likely by the i.a.e.a. but iran insist it will not happen at military sites. u.s. says yes, it will transparency and sudden intrusive inspections are essential. the second thing from president hassan rouhani and erica's piece is they are denying the sanctions will come off slowly. they want them off quickly instantaneously once a deal is signed. the white house insists they'll be taken off in step

now we are joined by mike viqueira at the white house. president obama got an update on the talks. what do we know about what he learnt? >> it was the president's second opportunity to speak with his negotiating team in switzerland. he spoke from the situation room. you see the familiar scene - the president flanked by vice president joe biden, susan rice and others left behind. john kerry, wendy sherman. also there happying with the technical details. we know that the white house refuses to say - here is the mantra let me put it to thu way. nothing is done until everything is done. they are not giving any indication that they are as close to a deal as some diplomats that are leaving the meetings in wits have indicated. earlier today the state department and the white house left open the possibility that the deadline would slide past midnight. this is the deadline by the united states, and no other party, and the white house said it was arbitrary, take it would continue into tomorrow but they gave an indication that they would not agree if they did not think they were close. there'

. >>> mike viqueira joins us from washington. the white house says the president did not personally sign off on the strikes that killed the aid workers and the two affiliated with al qaeda. is the fact that he didn't sign off unusual or normal procedure? >> well it's normal procedure. unless of course the president knew that they were americans under the gun if you will that were going to be the tarts of the strikes. the president would have signed off. there has been controversial issues and a debate. in yemen, for example, the american who was instrumental on the arismendy alcantara peninsula. that the president had to sign off. these are the protocols set forth, including a key speech at national defense university last week. >> the white house says the president did not sign off on the attack for the reasons we stated. nevertheless he is apologising for what happened for the killing of the two captives but not the killing of the two other individuals that the white house alleged to be part of al qaeda. short on the details is

mike viqueira has more than shinzo abe's visit. >> reporter: prime minister shinzo abe arrives in washington for a 3-day state visit. behind the pomp and ceremony including a formal welcome, state dinner and speech to congress, there's a host of issues on the agenda. first, trade. the u.s. and japan haggle for market access for u.s. products especially in agriculture and auto. now they are closer than ever. part of a 12 nation deal the trans-pacific partnership, or t.p.p. opening markets across asia pacific. potential stumbling blocks opposition at home to president obama, for members of his own party, democrats proposed for a deal. the talks focus on asia pacific security. china's power is rising. there's a dispute between china and japan. over a set of islands in the east nina ski. they are angry over what they say is his desire to play down the actions of the army especially over the issue of the comfort women. there'll be a media event on monday when top officials sign a deal with japan, where they agree to take a bigger role in providing for self-defence. they visit boston san francisco

. >> all right, mike viqueira in washington and the united nations calls it the worst migrant disaster in the mediterranean in history. the u.n. says that more than 800 migrants drown when their boat capsized this weekend off of the libyan coast. and the italian coast guard said that it rescued more than 100 of them. >> and still they keep on coming no matter how dangerous the journey. 446 people, their wooden boat leaking, and all they can do is appeal for help in the south sea. they were lucky an italian fishing boat found them just in time. and in sicily, meanwhile the authorities are helping the few frightened men who survived the sinking of a libyan boat in the morning. the scale of that disaster has turned out to be horrible accurate. >> we have now interviewed most of the survivors of saturday's boat tragedy in the mediterranean. according to them, they came from tripoli libya on saturday morning and it had 850 people onboard. many of these were children, and among those onboard, 350 arrow trans, as well as people have somalia and avery coast and ethiopia. >> italian prosecutors

mike viqueira has more from washington. >> reporter: doug hughes arrived in federal court wearing a postal service uniform. >> do you have any comment? inside he faced two charge, including violating air space. if convicted he could face four years in prison. hughes flew through the most restricted air space, rules put in place after september 11th. many assumed it was impenetrable. that's not the case. as he made his way down the pam secret service, capital police unaware, the f.a.a. had no idea neither the secretary of homeland security, jeh johnson. >> my first reaction was "what's a giro copter", highs light was undetected by all but tourists. >> this is not good. >> this individual literally flew in under the radar. >> hughes insists he has the best tension. >> terrorists don't announce their flights before they take off or broadcast the flight path. >> reporter: hughes talked with the tampa bay times and posted a video and interview. >> i'm going to violate the no-fly zone. >> that much is certain. he violated the a.d.i.z. the air defense identification zone around washington, opened

. >>> mike viqueira is at the white house tonight mike, what happens now that the president has mades decision? >> reporter: john, this is more than a symbolic move, it will have real world financial implications essentially cuba is now open for business. banks, american banks that were restricted from doing any kind of business, where it be credit card or dealing with cuban banks, loaning money to cuban embassies, will not have anymore fear of u.s. government restrictions or retaliation or punishment against them. similarly, international institutions like the world bank which handles a great deal of american tax payer money restrictions placed on it by congress, they are now free to do business in cuba, lend cuba money. it is a very big deal for cube actual the cuban economy and a major step forward ever since president obama announced the opening to cuba unexpected unexpectedly on december 17th. >> the president has plenty of critics on this. so what do we hear from congress? >> reporter: well, the usual suspects those you might expect to oppose this, those who have voiced opposit

mike viqueira has been following that part of the story. mike. >> reporter: john you're absolutely right. an immediate challenge for loretta lynch, the first woman, african-american to be the attorney general of the united states. she met with president obama on her first day shortly after being sworn in by joe biden today at the department of justice. obviously, this unfolding and escalating situation in baltimore is at the to which of the list. the president spoke with the mayor. we just heard her conduct that press conference. stephanie rawlings-blake about the ongoing situation in baltimore. the president assured her he was monitoring the situation and offering to help in any way that he could. valerie jarrett is the confidant and consequence lor to president obama spoke with a couple of people today. larry hogan is among them. we stee that we are waiting now for an appearance from governor hogan. he's the newly minted republican governor only in office for a few months now. he too, faces an immediate challenge here as the unrest and cha