zarif made his most upbeat comments today. cameras had been kept a long awaywayaway finally we're getting something. meetings in brussels with european foreign ministers the diplomacy is underway, at a hectic pace. >> if i'm john kerry my hard work is paying off. u.s. iran bilateral relationships and the nuclear negotiations more generally in aan unprecedented phase. we are in the home stretch in the 11th hour. he more than anyone else with the possible exception of president obama wants to seal the deal. >> secretary kerry is expected to stay in lausanne all week. zarif will return here for more talks in the coming days. but the iranian delegation will leave at the end of the week to get home for its yacial annual holiday. >> what's happening now? >> as james bays spaicted in his report the foreign minister mr. zarif, earlier he had a one on one with fredericka margarini, she was aware there were still gaps between the two sides, but she was hoping the eu could help close the gaps. that bilateral meeting has now been expanded

foreign minister zarif will return here for further talks in the coming days. the iranian delegation is leavedue to leave at the ends of the way. it's iranian new year. with a deadline for a framework agreement set at the end of this month, time to get a deal is tight. james bays al jazeera, lusanne. >>> in isusinusis's election, they have made their final appeal. prime minister benen min netanyahu has vowed to strengthen construction in east jerusalem settlement. his party is trailing the centrist zinist union. a report from west jerusalem. >> when prime minister benjamin netanyahu forced snap elections last year it was all but certain he would keep his job. but as israelis go to the polls, his future is less clear. ♪net and his right-wing lakud party are trailing behind center left rivals. many political analysts say the vote has essentially become a referendum on his 9-year tenure. at this rally, organized by pro-israeli settlement groups on sunday, the strain was starting to show. >> they are attacking me. we don't close the gap with our rivals, there is a

foreign minister zarif i liken him to the kissinger of our time.e is a great statesman and a superlative strategist. the iranians have gone into this negotiation very clear and without any mistaken, wishful thinking that somehow congress and particularly the pro-israel lobby and i in washington is somehow going to embrace iran. i do not think this will inhibit them in any way, but they're certainly not going to -- if there were any inclination to trust president obama's word or secretary kerry's word, this letter certainly hurts that. they are certainly not going to go down that road. it will be more focused on getting international guarantees. for example, through united nations security council resolutions, through increased relations and cooperation agreements with russia and china. both russia and chinese presidents will be visiting iran this spring, so prime minister zarif and iranian leadership and their foreign-policy and national security council -- they are focused on getting what they want. they have a plan, and they are not going to let

secretary of state john kerry is negotiating directly with iranian foreign minister zarif after 36 years of mistrust these are difficult and protracted negotiations that have been going on for months and months. >> both sides made it clear that their negotiations are strictly limited to the iran nuclear file. when you have important people talking and living in the same hotel, other issues are also being discussed on the sidelines. >> and a break in the talks - foreign minister zarif went for a walk on the lake front. he confirmed to me that yemen has been discussed. >> this is the hot issue of the day. anybody, any diplomats sitting in a case will discuss that issue. it doesn't mean that we negotiate about it. negotiations are confined to the period. >> any deal here could have more implications. so far the only person to state that publicly is the e.u. foreign policy chief. >> we might have a unique opportunity to create a different regional framework. >> it makes significant changes in the regional framework. certainly as far as the western powers are concerned and iran. what it doesn

zarif is in brussels to continue negotiations with european foreign ministers. simon mcgregor wood joins us from brussels. what has he been discussing with the european foreign ministers simon? >> well, as fredericka margarini told journalists before mr. zarif arrived, she understood there were big gaps between the two sides over clinching this deal and she hoped she would be able to play an active role, the eu would be able to play an active role in helping to close some of those gaps. we understand that foreign minister zarif has had his little bilateral meeting with ms. margarini and that meeting has been extended to include the france germany permanent members of the p-5 plus one the plus one being germany who are integral to this whole process. i think it's clear that they will want a briefing from mr. zarif on what has been described as a meeting in lausanne today after this evening session mr. zarif returns to lausanne to continue the talks with the americans tomorrow tuesday. as this week progresses all the while the deadline for this framework deal bein

a break in the talks foreign minister zarif went for a walk on the lake frond. he confirmed to me that yemen has been discussed. >> any two diplomats sitting in a place will discuss that issue. doesn't mean we negotiated about it. our negotiations are confined to the nuclear. >> any deal here could have wider implications. so far the only person to state that publicly, is the u.n. policy chief fredericka margarini. >> certainly as far as the western powers are concerned and iran is concerned what it doesn't do is change attitudes behaviors and suspicions particularly in the middle east. both israel and most arab governments are very suspicious of iran. and they're not very keen on this deal. >> reporter: the u.s. has long standing alliances with major nations in the region like egypt, saudi arabia and turkey. it may privately hope a new nuclear deal will bring leverage with iran too. but the middle east remains a combustible area where every action has a reaction. james base, al jazeera. >> from the capital abuja yvonne ndege reports. >> the nigerian military sa

secretary of state john kerry is negotiating directly with iranian foreign minister zarif. after 36 years of mistrust and antagonism these are difficult and protracted negotiations that have been going on for months and months. both sides have made it clear that negotiations are strictly limited to the iran nuclear file. but when you have important people talking and living in the same hotel other issues are also being discussed on the sidelines. foreign minister zarif went for a walk on the lake front and confirmed to me that yemen has been discussed. >> this is the hawkish issue of the day. >> any deal could have much wider implications. so far the only person to state that publicly is the e.u. >> we might have an unique opportunity to create a framework. >> it will make difficult changes in the framework. what it doesn't do is shape attitudes, behaviors and suspicions particularly in the middle east. both israel and most arab governments are very suspicious of iran. they are not very keen on this deal. >> the u.s. has longstanding alliances with major nation notice regio

foreign minister zarif said we're finally getting somewhere. that fast-approaching deadline when foreign minister z ararif left, secretary of state kerry took some time off by the lake side. i said how are things going he auf gave me a thumbsgave me a thumbs up. the dploimsdiplomas continues all week. we believe the foreign minister of iran, zarif will be coming back and the p-5 plus one will be back. there is another complication which is coming up, iranian holiday, the iranian delegation will be going home at the end of the week. >> negotiations will start the week after that and you'll be following that, james bays our diplomatic editor in lausannee . thank you. meanwhile, ministers have been discussing the sanctions against russia. diplomats argue that extending sanctions can be the only way to make sure russiaing does what it says it would do in minsk. >>> weeks of rioting ten yearsing ago remembered by demonstrators during the weekend in paris. the pair were electrocuted in 2005 while hiding from police at a power substation in the suburb

he left mr zarif made upbeat comments. cameras had been kept a long way away. we could make out his words. finally we are getting something. mr zarif was whisked by motorcades by a plane to brussels, the diplomacy is under way at a hectic pace. >> i'm happy, my hard work is paying off. putting the u.s. center on bilateral relationship and more generally in an unprecedented face. now he's in the home stretch, we are in the 11th hour and he more than anyone with the exception of president obama wants to seal the deal. >> the foreign minister returns for talks in the coming days. but the iranian delegation is due to meet at the end of the week. it's a deadline at the end of this month, time to get a deal is tight >>> the u.s. government has uncovered dozens of priceless artefacts sold illegally in the united states. they have been handed over to iraqi officials in washington. kimberley halkett reports. >> reporter: more than 60 ancient artefacts thought lost forever are set to return to their origins. a limestone head of the king dating back to 713 b.c. worth mill

zarif made his most upbeat comments today. cameras had been kept a long way away, we could make out his words, "finally we're getting something." and meetings in brussels, a dploiks meetingdploims isdiplomacy is underway .1is. >> now he's in the home stretch. we're in the 11th hour and he probably more than anyone else with the possible exception of president obama wants to seal the deal. >> secretary kerry is expected to stay in lausanne all week. are zarif will return in the coming days but the end of the iranian new year or nauruz. time to get the deal is tight. james bays al jazeera lausanne. >> the obama administration is scrapping plans to pull thousands of troops out of afghanistan. the u.s. is planning to reduce its force from 10,000 to nearly 5500. appealing to president obama to keep more service members on the ground to help with training and counterterrorism efforts. president obama meets with ashraf ghani. >> after the uz u.s. imposed sanction he on venezuela. few now know how the new law will be used. >> sweeping

zarif also has critical voices at home, hard liners who oppose any deal. analysts say the stakes are high. >> the domestic political pressure that both sides are feeling have not receded in anyway, shape or form. as they continue to reach closer to that march 31st deadline, the pressure has only increased. i think you're only going to see a sense of urgency that perhaps we haven't seen before. an perhaps some greater flexibility that we haven't seen before. like any soccer or football match the craziest things have the propensity to happen as you approach the 90s minute. >>> behind closed doors the talks have made some progress, building on months of earlier negotiations. one of the main sticking points is sanctions, iran wants them all lifted as soon as possible. but the current array of e.u. u.s. and u.n. sanctions took many years to put in place. the u.s. is pressing for what it calls snap back provisions, a way that sanctions could be quickly reinstated if iran violates the terms of any deal. among the international delegations negotiating are iran, fr

and we are accepting verification. >> ann curry with iran's foreign minister mohammad zarif. those nuclear talks will resume on march 15th. >>> it's a busy news tonight. a lot to tell you about. a firestorm over hillary clinton's private e-mails. up next, new revelations about what was being kept in her home as subpoenas now start flying. >>> also ahead, a big announcement tonight about the menu at mcdonald's. >>> we're back now with some new revelations tonight about hillary clinton's communications when she was secretary of state. not only was mrs. clinton using a private e-mail account instead of an official one, a new report claims she was storing them on a server at her own house. now her political enemies in congress are demanding a look at them. our kristen welker has the story. >> reporter: speaking to a friendly audience in washington last night, hillary clinton ignored the e-mail controversy. but today republican lawmakers investigating the benghazi attack have subpoenaed all of clinton's relevant documents after revelations clinton exclusively used her personal e-m

when i spoke to mr salahi i asked him a question and he said it's a question for foreign minister zarif, not whether it will impact the talks. when they sit down to talk about the nuclear programme, you will have around the table the rain iranians who have in the past been supporters of the houthis, and the u.s. who is a close ally sitting around the table talking about the nuclear programme. both sides said we are only talking about the nuclear programme. not discussing other issues like the war in syria, for example. i suspect during the talks, there'll be no discussion about the situation in yemen, but given the number of iranian officials here and the u.s. officials on the sidelines when they are staying in the statement hotel, i suspect they'll be talking about it and expect that secretary kerry, and foreign minister zarif will in their private time away from negotiations spend a bit of time on the phone with the escalating situation in yemen. >> there were talks that one of the pilots of the crashed germanwings jet was locked out of the cockpit before the plane went down. 153 peop

zarif. his opportunity to get a deal play be closing. mr. zarif. analysts say the stairks are high. >> well, the domestic political pressure that both sides have been feeling have not receded in any way slaip or form. as they loom closer to that march 31st deadline the pressure only increases. you will see a sense of urgency that you haven't seen before. like a soccer or football match the craziest things have a propensity to happen as you approach the 90th minute. >> behind the doors of this opulent hotel talks have made some progress, building on months of negotiations. sanctions, iran wants them all lifted as soon as possible. but the current array of eu, u.s. and u.n. sanctions snap-back provisions a way for sanctions to be reinstated if iran violates any part of the deal. france is known to be the most hawkish almost certainly because of this, israel's newly reelected prime minister, benjamin netanyahu sent a delegation to paris earlier this week. he's strongly opposed to the sort of de

zarif. then there's got to be one between president obama and the congress and as you suggest given the letter that you saw two weeks ago, this could be an extremely difficult prop situation particularly once the details are out there. prime minister netanyahu was out arguing about a vague concept but it's going to be a lot easier to argue once the opponents say you're leaving them with 3,000 centrifuges? and then there's a third agreement between president rahani and the mullahs. we think that's pretty well wired. it could come unstuck as well because there are a lot of forces in iran that dislike this as much as the republicans in the senate dislike it. >> what's the b.b. factor? will it be more of the same or will he be emboldened to speak against the deal and does that make the nut harder for the president to crack? >> i think it's going to make it harder because he's got a lot of influence in congress still. >> ok. we'll be watching that. it's an amazing story. you'll be there next week

zarif and the u.s. secretary of state john kerry have been trying to hammer out a deal on the iran nuclear programme during talks in switzerland. zarif says binyamin netanyahu is trying to influence negotiation, but progress has been made since the last round of discussions, rosalind jordan has been following the discussion of the speech for us from washington d.c. >> the question has been raised whether binyamin netanyahu's speech to the u.s. congress will have an impact on ongoing bilateral talks between the u.s. and iran taking place. u.s. officials said they don't believe there's impact because negotiations are not between the u.s. and iran other world powers russia and china are involved, and they have a valid stake in how the deal is constructed, if one is, indeed completed. the other point is there are areas of disagreement. points which the secretary of state john kerry and zarif are trying to reconcile. they brought in the energy secretaries and technical experts, but at this point, at the begi

not clear if a meeting started yet with secretary kerry and foreign minister zarif. it is not unusual for the meetings to slip. we had a chance to talk to the foreign minister this morning. i wanted to know if a deal is possible by the 31st of march. this is what he told me. >> do you think a deal is possible by the 31st of march? >> i think indeed it is possible at anytime. it depends on the political will to reach one. >> reporter: you know which is interesting because earlier in the week, a lot of technical issues where secretary kerry had said the emphasis was on political will. i asked the foreign minister what was his response to president obama's message to the iranian people. he told me he tweeted that already. the tweet is interesting. i'll read it to you. he says iranians have clearly made their choice. engage with dignity. it is high time for the u.s. and its allys to choose. this really is where you see the pressure coming out from the iranian side here. he says it is high time for the u.s. and allies to choose. pressure or agreement. he seems to be imply

and we are accepting verification. >> ann curry with iran's foreign minister mohammad zarif. those nuclear talks with resume on march 15th. >>> it's a busy news night. we've got a lot to tell you about. late word tonight in the fire storm over hillary clinton's private e-mails. up next, new revelatio what was being kept as subpoenas now start flying. >>> also ahead, a big announcement tonight about the menu at mcdonald's. announcement tonight about the menu at mcdonald's. (vo) maggie wasn't thrilled when ben and i got married. i knew it'd take some time. and her sensitive stomach didn't make things easier. it was hard to know why... the move...her food...? so we tried purina cat chow gentle... ...because it's specially formulated for easy digestion. she's loved it ever since. and as for her and ben... ...she's coming around. purina cat chow gentle. one hundred percent complete and balanced for everyday feeding of adult cats. meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become num

zarif, cnn, sir is. how is it going? >> it's going. >> it's going where, sir?audible ]. >> well a little hard to hear what he was saying in the final reply, he kept walking, but looking very relaxed. what he actually said was, we're trying. and that's certainly what we're hearing from the state department. the deadline is less than two weeks away the 31st of march for a framework agreement. what we heard from state department officials yesterday was that some progress has been made in discussing the sort of how to get around some of the technical issues the options that are available, but not so much as saying that there is an agreement, just sort of progress discussing how agreement might be made on those technical issues. political issues still remain a challenge, secretary kerry has said this is a time where iran needs to make those tough political choices about sanctions, about, if you will coming clean about tear past military use or not of nuclear material. that's still a key issue. so the deadline approaching, why no meeting so far today? we're told it's

john kerry is negotiating with mohamed jabad zarif. after 60 years of mistrust and antagonism these are protracted negotiations that have been going on for months and months. both sides have made it clear that their i negotiations are strictly limited to the iran nuclear file. but when you have people talking and living in the same hotel other issues are also being discussed on the sidelines. in the break on the talks foreign minister zarif went for a walk on the lake frond. he confirmed that yemen has been discussed. >> this is the hot issue of the day, that doesn't meanwhile we negotiated about it, our negotiations are confined to the nuclear. >> reporter: any deal here could have much wider implications. so far the only person to state that publicly is the eu foreign policy chief fredericka margarini. >> it would make changes in the framework, so far as the western powers are concerned and iran is concerned. what it doesn't do is change attitudes, behaviors and suspicions particularly in the middle east. both israel and most arab go

zarif came out of the meeting yesterday saying well finally we've got something. you know an indication there that he felt that he was making some gains, but then he went to europe yesterday, met with the french germany and british and told the "reuters" that significant gaps remain. despite the long session with the europeans, differences hadn't been narrowed. that seems to be the tone around the talks. the talks are going on. but the gaps are still there. and that's a problem. michaela? >> how to bridge those gaps is the biggest challenge. nic, thanks so much. >>> a huge turnout is expected as israelis head to the polls this morning. prime minister benjamin netanyahu pledging if there were re-elected there will not be a palestinian state. reversing course on promises he made to the u.s. cnn's orrin lieberman is live in jerusalem outside a polling center with the latest for us. good morning. >> good morning, michaela. a busy morning here and across israel. we spoke with election official who is say voter turn-out is up 2% from two years ago, it will mean 70% for

zarif made upbeat comments today. cameras were far away, but we could clearly make out his words, and finally we're getting something. mr. zarif was whisked away by motorcade to fly into brussels to meet with foreign minute stress. >> if i'm john kerry i ahappy. i'm happy. we're in the 11th hour he more than anybody. >> with a deadline for framework agreements set at the end of this month time to get a deal is tight. james bays, al jazeera, lausanne. >> during this round of talks, there are gaps between the agreement. then the final deal must be reached by the end of june. in return, international sanctions against tehran worth about $7 billion were temporarily relaxed. but there is still disagreement over how big iran's nuclear program will be. they oppose any deal with iran, and they could block pro protests against iran. simon mcgregor wood has more from brussels. >> they arrived in brussels earlier monday evening. he had a bilateral meeting that's now being expanded to include the foreign ministers of france and g

it is how secretary kerry deals with zarif. they have to choose if they want agreement or put pressure. progress has been made there are still divisions and issues that haven't been resolved of the eye the. the iranians are pushing back. now this article is something we are hearing already on the margins that france's position and view is more in alignment with israel. it wants the united states position on the talks to be tougher. they have a voice in these talks. it is not just secretary carry kerry. to have a direct input at the talks with the additional knowledge with the knowledge that they have from being inside the talks. it can potentially make getting a deal harder and the road rockier to get. >> a very rocky road with a lot of obstacles. thank you, nic robertson in london. >>> to yemen, u.s. officials declaring yemen on the brink of the civil war. the president is calling on other persian gulf states to prevent houthis from advancing. this as we learn britain has also pulled the last of its forces out of yemen. the u.

secretary of state john kerry is negotiating with mohammed zarif. after 36 years of mistrust and antagonism these are difficult and protracted negotiations going on for months and months. both sides say they're restricted to the iran nuclear profile. but when you have so many people talking and living in the same hotel other issues are being discussed on the sidelines. the break in the talks foreign minister zarif went for a walk on the lake front. he confirmed to me that yemen has been discussed. >> we discuss that issue. it does not mean that we've negotiated it. >> we might have an unique opportunity to create a regional framework. >> it will make very significant changes. certainly as far as the western powers are concerned and iran is concerned. what it doesn't do is change attitudes behaviors and suspicions particularly in the middle east. israel and most arab governments are very suspicious of iran, and they're not very keen in this deal. >> the u.s. has a longstanding alliance with egypt saudi arabia and turkey and privately hope that a nucl

kerry and mohamed java zarif have been joined by the p-5 plus one p-5 plus one countries. there's no deal ready to be signed yet. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov decided to leave again arriving less than 24 hours before. the break from negotiations in the middle of the day the chinese foreign minister wang yee went for a jog. later he told reporters positions are narrowing, i'm cautiously optimistic we can reach a deal. in the high security of this lake side hotel the other foreign ministers apart from mr. lavrov are left to make a deal just hours before the deadline. secretary kerry and the u.k. foreign secretary phillip hammond took a walk discussing supposedly the remaining stickingsticking points. >> with a deal with such high stakes, it is not unusual for brinksmanship, going on until the last hour. each side is hoping the other will bumming. the foreign ministers understand very clearly that they are running out of time and this process is no longer sustainable. >> talks are remaining on the main problem areas the future on iran's nuclear research and developm

[applause] now two years ago we were told to give president rouhani and foreign minister zarif a chance to bring change and moderation to iran. some change. some moderation. rouhani's government hangs gays, persecutes christians, jails journalists and executes even more prisoners than before. last year the same zarif who charms western diplomats laid a wreath at the grave of the terrorist mastermind who spilled more american blood than any other terrorist besides usama bin laden. i would like to see someone ask him a question about that. iran's regime is as radical as ever. its cries of death to america that same america that is called the great satan as loud as ever. now this shouldn't be surprising because the ideology of iran's revolutionary regime is deeply rooted in militant islam and that's why this regime will always be an enemy of america. don't be fooled. the battle between iran and isis doesn't turn iran into a friend of america. iran and isis are competing for the crown of militant islam. one calls itself the islamic republic. the other calls itself the islamic state. both wa

zarif had his own message that he had tweeted earlier. he told me when i asked about it he said it is high time for the united states and its allies to choose putting the choice here back on the united states for the united states to choose pressure or agreement. the indication there, a big push-back from the iranian side if the united states john kerry wants to get a deal here he needs to stop pressuring the iranian side. alisyn? >> nic, it's all so complicated, thanks so much for explaining it to us. >>> and there's a new complication in u.s./israeli relations this morning, president obama calling benjamin netanyahu yesterday, to congratulate him for winning re-election two days after the fact. but he also issued a warning to the prime minister. that the u.s. is now reassessing their relationship. we have complete coverage beginning with cnn white house correspondent michelle kosinski. what's the word there this morning, michelle? >> well this time it was benjamin netanyahu's turn to get schooled by the white house. which very publicly

zarif and kerry meeting twice in the span of three hours. they are doing the same thing tomorrow and into wednesday as you get a sense that these talks are accelerating. erin? >> jim sciutto, thank you very much. it feels like this time they won't be able to delay. "outfront," neftali bennett traveling with benjamin netanyahu and steve cohen, he's jewish and will not attend the speech tomorrow. you've heard john kerry say he's worried that netanyahu will release sensitive information. you've worked closely with the prime minister ahead of this speech. is this true? >> our goal is to prevent a disastrous deal that is being created as we speak. this deal legitimatizes iran's ability to enrich uranium. why should they be allowed to enrich uranium? there's dozens of countries in the world that have nuclear energy and do not enrich uranium. canada sweden mexico and many others. if this deal happens, it will spell an unmitigated disaster. we need to do everything in our power to stop it. >> interesting point you make that other countries with a pe

it invested a great deal of time, staying in this resort all week same for zarif. one of the main issues is how they are going to lift slowly the sanctions of iran in a way that there are some sanctions in place that could be reimposed if iran was going to breach the deals of any terms. the third tract is not just the u.s. there's the p5+1. so there are representatives of all the other five countries in the international community in that group who are having meetings here >>> james, and the view - is a deal likely if not, what happens then? >> well i think it's fair to say they are making progress. everyone you speak to says progress is taking place, can i tell you if there's going to be a deal i can't. we are getting all the information from snatched conversation, the meetings taking place in closed rooms. an iranian negotiator says when they do much of the internal deliberation, they do it going for a walk because they are worried the rooms in the hotel may be bugged. >> james bays, thank you for that >>> coming up on al jazeera - the retrial of two al jazeera j

zarif also has critical voices at home hard liners who oppose any deal.nalysts say the stakes are high. >> the domestic political pressure that both sides have been feeling has not reseeded in any way shape or form and as they continue to reach closer and closer to that march 31st deadline, the pressure has only increased. so i think you're going to see a sense of urgency that we haven't seen before and greater flks flexibility that we haven't seen before. because the craziest things happen as you approach the 90th minute. >> reporter: the talks have made some progress. one of the main sticking points is sanctions. iran wants them all lifted as soon as possible. but the current array, of e.u. u.s. sanction took many years to put in place. the u.s. is pressing for what they are snap-back sanctions. among the international delegations negotiating with iran, france is known to be the most hawkish, almost certainly because of israeli's newly elected prime minister benjamin netenyahu sent a delegation to paris this past week. and is strongly opposed to a negot

he was ready to work behind the weekend although it is start of the iranian hold of naruz, joining zarif and kerry in lausanne. talks were joining the approaching the final leg. kerry had to return to the states for a meeting will afghan president ashraf ghani. and giving p-5 plus one to make sure their position is unified before they return. it is emerged in recent days that france is taking a much more hawkish line than others. james bays, al jazeera lausanne. >> talks have resumed in morocco to try resolve libya's political crisis. u.n. envoy coordinating the talks says the pressure is on to find a solution. >> this should be a decisive moment because as we, i said before in previous meetings, running out of time. in the past days we have seen more fighting, we have seen air strikes, we have seen more actions by daesh. not only in libya but also in the region. >> a ceremony has just been held to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the battle of iwo jima. the two countries have marked the battle together for decades. >> meanwhile, foreign ministers are south korea and japan are meeting

zarif wouldn't use that language, but they never recognized the legitimacy of israel and who knows ifsual or particularly newsworthy iran would not accept the legitimacy of israel as state. >> all right. thanks so much. mika, back to you. any other questions? >> i was going to say, though back to both of you at the same time though wasn't talking about the annihilation of jews across the globe, of course at the same time a tweet appeared eded not just to take aim at benjamin netanyahu regime but the state of israel. again, israeli leaders brought up for quite some time, ads run in the united states that there is a long history of iranian leaders talking about the need to annihilate the state of israel. what kind of impact do you think this will have in israeli politics today? your interview? >> well you know it's hard for me to judge because i'm not in israel but i know that the interview is being widely played in the israeli media including in the "jerusalem post" and in several other newspapers. >> it's being picked up. >> especially given the israeli election for netanyahu's re-ele

secretary of state john kerry and mohamed jarar risksd zarif. >> i expect any time of the day or night. >> the u.s. energy secretary ernest moniz was giving nothing away. >> mr. secretary are things going well? >> well. >> are you hopeful you will get an agreement this weekend? >> they are going. >> germany's foreign minister has told reporters when he looks at the mountains it reminds him the hardest part of any climb is the last bit. that's where we are with these negotiations. james bays, al jazeera lausanne. >> voting in nigeria's presidential election, because of violence and technical problems. yvonne ndege reports from the capital, abuja. >> rafael casts his vote for a new president and parliamentarians at the national assembly provincial office polling station in abuja. he's part of more than 60 million people taking place in this exercise. this process is happening in 120,000 locations in the country. >> the personal vote, i believe that can take us to the level this country wants to go. under security and education and the structure. >> reporter: as expected there was some vi

he met with foreign minister zarif this morning.round a little longer. we're obviously at crunch time right now. the next couple days leading up to this weekend will be key. we fully expect we will take until the end of the month to determine if we can get to an agreement that both sides can live by. the fact is we continue to believe while there's a lot of technical talks, they're actually both. our technical experts have been working together with each other. that's why we have the secretary of energy with us to delve into those technical peeks, but we're being to keep working at it and keep negotiating for the coming two weeks. it's a key time we're in. >> jen, let's talk about former secretary of state hillary clinton's e-mails. she said she has turned everything over that's relevant to the state department. when will you release them? >> well it's going to take several months. she turned over 55,000 pages. that is quite a lot. that's several boxes of payments. we need to go through those. we're using foia standards to determine

>> well, you even have similar comments from the iranian foreign minister zarif as he's leaving. he said finally we're getting to something. confident tones coming from the iranian side. very intense diplomacy because the talks here between the iranian foreign minister, u.s. secretary of state john kerry lasted for nearly five hours and they now move to brussels, but that does not mean that it stops here. because we've got the political directors of the international community, the p5+1 meeting the iranians. the secretary kerry is going nowhere. he's stay hearing in lausanne, and we're expecting the iranian minister back here. they seemed relaxed after what happened during the talks here, to hit the road and go on a bike ride as he rode past me he gave me a thumbs up. not clear if that is in response with regard to the talks. everyone knows this is a crunch moment because the deadline for trying to come up with a deal is coming up very soon. deadline from framework and talks to be concluded in the end of june. >> how much do we know in the way of detail of what the leaders are ta

mohamed zarif has been joined by p-5 plus one countries. it was an important meeting but it showed there's no deal ready to be signed yet. russian foreign minister sergey lavrov who arrived in lausanne less than 24 hours earlier decided to leave again. he may be back close to the midnight time on tuesday. the break from negotiations in the middle of the day chinese foreign minister wang yee went for a jog near lake geneva. >> are the talks going well? >> it's too soon. >> later he told the media positions are narrowing and cautiously optimistic we can reach a deal. lavrov left just within hours of reaching deal. discussing the remaining sticking points. >> in negotiations of such complement and with such -- complexity each is hoping the other will budge at the last minute. the negotiators understand very clearly they are running out of time and this process is no longer sustainable. >> talks remain on the future of iran's nuclear development and the lifting of international sanction he but the time ahead of that deadline is fast running out

secretary of state john kerry and iranian foreign minister moasmedmohamed javad zarif talks continual throughout the day. >> evening night. whenever. >> the u.s. energy secretary ernest monez heading the technical discussions for his country, is giving nothing away. >> mr. secretary, are things going well? >> they are going. >> do you hope to have an agreement this weekend. >> they are going. >> germany's foreign minister has told reporters when he looks at the plts mountains it reminds him the hardest climb is at the end. that's where they are. james bays, lausanne. >>> the attacks happened in towns of biri in gombe state. voting in nigeria's presidential poll has been extended for a second day. decision comes after violence and technical problems caused some voting centers to close. yvonne ndege reports from the capital, abuja. >> rafael cast his vote for a new president and parliamentarians,ing in abuja. he's one of 60 million people taking part in this historic exercise. things went smoothly here but this process is happening in 120,000 locations across the country. >> i believe t

secretary of state john kerry and his counterpart zarif took part in the talks. iran said its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposers, some fear they are seeking weapons. >> syria's president is looking to end the war. he has had no direct contact with washington but is willing to open a dialogue with the u.s. if it does not threaten the sovereignty. >> we could say every dialogue is a positive thing. we'll be open to any dialogue with anyone in the united states regarding anything, based on mutual respect. >> earlier this month the secretary of state says the u.s. must negotiate with the government. kerry's government was walked back by the state department. >> a joakim nordstrom member used of helping i.s.i.l. appeared in court. he was boarding a flight to egypt and was arrested. his cousin jonas edmonds was custody. they planned to attack a military installation in illinois. they are charged with conspiring to support terrorism. >> there was an explosion here and a fire spread to two other vehicles. a number of residents were forced to jump from windows an

first meeting of the day secretary of state john kerry stat down with the iranian foreign minister zarif. he said, are you expecting a good day? he said we're expecting an evening today. evening, night midnight morning. i think they're prepared for the long haul here in lausanne to reach a deal before the first of april. and i don't think they actually want to reach a deal in the early hours in the first of april. it may seem a minor thing but i don't think anyone wants the headlines of an april fool days day's day deal. >> now somali troops have taken control of a hotel after al-shabab attacked it. >> al-shabab fighters were held up for 12 hours inside this hotel. they blasted their way in and sprayed bullets at anyone in their way. some people jumped out of windows toes to escape. >> a car bomb went off in the entrance of the hotel and then gunmen attacked. that caused more casualtyies. >> an unity somali special forces engaged the attackers in a fire fight that lasted until saturday morning. the africa union mission also joined the operation to rescue hostages. among those killed were

zarif and kerry continue to hold talks in switzerland, the deadline is the end of march >>> al jazeera's defence minister in baghdad as they attempt to win back tikrit. they are advancing towards the city. jane arraf is in the capital. they are advancing. it's not an easy capital. >> it isn't. they find i.s.i.l. fighters that rigged the town with bombs. they have tape back a down ador 10km outside of tikrit. that was one that the iraqi military said they have taken two days ago. they have retreated. there are reports from the military. some of the i.s.i.l. leaders are leaving the city and heading for the mountains. the iraqi military is finding road side facilities. it's a suf battle a complicated battle because. pension for conflict >>> still ahead - massive fires in the mountains around cape town are threatening to burn all week. >> and the might of one of chillie's most active volcanos goes at it you >>> these are the top stories dozens of minors are feared dead after an explosion at a goal mine. it happened at a mine in the don basket area. according to reuters over 30 would have bee

republicans and tom cotton with his own really nicely passive aggressive letter written in english, zarifembers of u.s. congress find it appropriate to write to leaders of another quote country. not only do the authors not understand international law but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy. you idiot. republicans in congress have been working very hard to kill the administration's talks with iran on the nuclear issue. they've been doing that for a very, very long time. they threatened legislation to try to scuttle the deal. that was something that might have even had democratic support before mitchell mcconnell tried to fast track it last week and got all screwed up. they invited israel's prime minister to give a speech denouncing the deal before the whole u.s. congress. the most visionable effect of that thus far appears to be the endangerment of benjamin netanyahu's prospects for re-election at home. well done. but this letter is such a sad sack attempt to stop the talks and stop the deal

kerry is on his way to switzerland to zarif on iran's nuclear program.ur diplomaticested, james bays joins us from. let's deal with what kerry said earlier. how significant are his comments about negotiating with the syrian president? >> i think it's quite significant. you heard what zena said. there is no meaningful political process underway. what john kerry wants and i think there is quite a lot of international civil servants and diplomat diplomats is to find a way to get that political process going. the u.s. has been involved in the geneva process graying the syrian government and opposition around table that. failed a year ago. what he is talking about now ishas not happened before which is the u.s. sitting down directly with other international actors and the assad government. let's listen to what john kerry had to say. we are working hards with other interested parties stosew if we can because everybody >> there will be increased pressure on assad. >> kerry of course right now, james, on his way to where you are in lusanne. how close are they to

at one session the secretary of state john kerry and foreign minister zarif joked the talks would continue through the day. >> i expect all day, evening, day. >> morning. >> morning. >> reporter: there weres to be a growing confidence. but the secretary heading technical discussions is giving nothing away. mr secretary, are thing going well. >> they are going. >> are you hopeful you'll get a deal this weekend? >> they are going. >> the hotel where the talks are taking place looks out over the lake and the alps. german's for instance says when he looks over the mountains the hardest part of the climb is the last bit. that's where we are >>> in the occupied west bank there has been fighting between palestinian protesters and israeli troops. demonstrators threw stones. one protestor was wounded and another arrested. the violence happened as palestinians were preparing for land day which is on monday. the annual demonstrations commemorate mass protest against the confiscation of land. in nigeria 14 people, including a state legislator. the attack happened and is seen as an attempt to disrupt t

john kerry met with iran's foreign minister javad zarif earlier this morning.autiously optimistic. >> we continue to believe that our odds of reaching this agreement are at best 50/50. it is going to require the iranian leadership including those who aren't at the table to sign onto this agreement. >> joining us from new york our global affairs analyst, bobby ghosh. what do you think, bobby? 50-50. 60-40. how does it look? >> 50-50 sounds about right. it has been more or less that position for several weeks now. as the spokesman said there, the sort of elephant in the room is the one who's sitting in tehran the supreme leader of iran grand ayatollah khamenei. how much is he prepared to give? he's been sort of playing both sides of the fence a little bit. on the one hand, he's empowered president rouhani and foreign minister zarif to negotiate a deal. on the other hand he's been making statements about how the united states and the west in general are not reliable that they will try to cheat iran of its legitimate rights. he's playing it both ways. that's how he

may not fully understand our constitutional system, the response from iranian foreign minister javad zarif who holds a ph.d. in international relations from the university of denver one should note questioned the signatory's own understanding "the authors may not fully understand that in international law governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfill the obligations they understand with other states and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations." democrats taking the senate floor to condemn the letter spearheaded by senator tom cotton, the republican from arkansas there is new evidence it is having an adverse effect. senator foreign relations chair bob corker sponsoring a bill that would require congressional approval of nuclear deals is one of seven who knows not to sign the letter and he told politico "i knew it was going to be only republicans on the letter. i just don't view that as where i need to be today. my goal is to get 67 or

last year the same zarif, which charms western diplomats, laid a wreath at the grave of the terrorist mastermind who spilled more american blood than any other terrorist besides osama bin laden. i would like to see someone ask him a question about that. iran's regime is as radical as ever. it cries of death to america. the same america that it calls the great satan. this shouldn't be surprising because the ideology of iran's revolutionary regime is deeply routed in militant islam, and that's why this regime will always be an enemy of america. and don't be fooled. the battle between iran and isis doesn't turn iran into a friend of america. iran and isis are completing for the crown of militant islam. one calls it's a the islamic republic the other calls its the islamic state. both want to impose islamic law on the empire. they disagree who will be the ruler of that empire. in this deadly game of thrones, there is no place for america or israel, no peace for christians jews or muslims who don't share the islamist medieval creed, no rights for women, no freedom for anyone. so when it com

that is why i will travel to switzerland tomorrow in order to meet with foreign minister zarif, and once again engage in talks to see if we can find a way to get that right deal. as i have said previously. it may be that iran kapt say yes to the type of deal that the international community is looking for. but we owe it to the future of everybody in the world to try to find out. if we cannot get to a diplomatic agreement. make no mistake, we obviously do have other options. but those options will mooep no transparency they will mean no verifiable set of commitments, and do not close off the potential pathways to a nuclear weapon for nearly as long as a netted agreement can, if it's the right agreement. so we will return to the talks, recognising that time is of the essence. the clock is ticking, and important decisions need to be made. with that i would be happy to answer a few questions. >> margaret brennan from c.b.s. i think we have mikes coming to you. >> mr secretary, thank you. would the deadline for a deal being so close, do you believe that a deal is within reach? and given the r