JERUSALEM, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- An Israeli team will travel to Washington to discuss issues concerning the final nuclear agreement with Iran, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Monday.
Netanyahu made the announcement at the start of a Likud party faction meeting.
"I spoke last night with President Obama. We agreed that in the coming days an Israeli team led by national security adviser Yossi Cohen will go there to discuss the permanent agreement concerning Iran's nuclear program," Netanyahu said on Channel 10.
The permanent agreement must ensure that Iran's military nuclear capability is dismantled, Netanyahu said.
Referring to the agreement secured in Geneva before dawn Sunday by Iran and the P5-plus-1 countries -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany -- Netanyahu once again called the agreement aimed at halting the Islamic Republic's nuclear program a "bad agreement."
U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., told CBS "This Morning" Monday the deal falls far short of assurances Iran will end its nuclear ambitions.
"This deal, this interim deal with Iran is in fact dangerous. It is a deal which brings Iran closer to becoming a nuclear power," Cantor said.
"This deal that's been negotiated by the secretary of state, frankly, falls well short of the U.N. Security Council Resolution which called for no sanctions relief until Iran suspended its enrichment of uranium.
"And we see in this deal language, despite the -- despite protest to the contrary, language which says that Iran will have some type of right to enrich. As of yet, in the language of the deal, still to be defined."
Obama, in Seattle on a West Coast trip, called Netanyahu after the Israeli leader told reporters the six-month deal, intended to buy time to pursue more comprehensive talks to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, was "a historic mistake."
"The president underscored that the United States will remain firm in our commitment to Israel, which has good reason to be skeptical about Iran's intentions," the White House said in a statement outlining the Sunday call.
The deal reached in Geneva, calls for Iran to halt production of near-weapons grade nuclear fuel in exchange for some relief from economic sanctions amounting to $6.0 billion to $7.0 billion. Obama says the toughest sanctions will remain in place for now.
Obama told Netanyahu he wanted Washington and Jerusalem, as allies, to consult ahead of the first round of talks on a comprehensive agreement, the White House said.
GENEVA, Switzerland, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Saying Syria "needs new leadership," the top U.S. diplomat called talks between the Syrian government and rebels an "important meeting at an important time."
"The conference on Jan. 22 is the best opportunity to ... form a new transitional governing body through mutual consent -- an important step toward ending the suffering of the Syrian people and the destabilizing impact of this conflict on the region," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday in a statement.
Representatives of the Syrian government and the rebel opposition will begin peace negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 22, U.N. Secretary-General Ban-Ki-Moon said. The goal of the so-called Geneva II conference is to achieve a political solution to the conflict through "a comprehensive agreement" between the government and the opposition for full implementation of the Geneva communique adopted June 30, 2012, Ban said.
Noting the conflict began in March 2011 as a peaceful protest, Kerry said, "Now, in order to end the bloodshed and give the Syrian people a chance to meet their long-deferred aspirations, Syria needs new leadership."
Kerry thanked U.N-Arab League Special Representative to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi for his work in bringing Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, the opposition and the international community together "for this important meeting at an important time."
"We are well aware that the obstacles on the road to a political solution are many, and we will enter the Geneva conference on Syria with our eyes wide open," Kerry said. "No one should underestimate the difficulties ahead."
But to contain the threat of extremism and foreign fighters inside Syria, and to ensure respect for the country's sovereignty, "we cannot delay the work of establishing a transitional government," Kerry said.
"Since foreign states have considerable influence on the factions waging war within Syria, they too have an important role to play," he said. "While it is ultimately up to the Syrian people to form a new government and bring an end to the conflict, the United States and our partners can help get them there."
Kerry also called on the Assad regime not to wait until after the talks in January to ease the suffering in Syria.
"The Assad regime must stop using starvation as a weapon of war and immediately begin providing greater humanitarian access to besieged communities," he said. "The international community must be proactive and diligent in drawing greater attention to this issue and putting the necessary pressure in place to change behavior on the ground."
The communique, endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, outlines key steps in a process to end the violence, including the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers, including over military and security entities, based on mutual consent, the United Nations said.
"I expect all partners and parties to demonstrate their support for constructive negotiations," Ban said. "All must show vision and leadership."
The fighting has killed more than 100,000, driven nearly nine million from their homes, left countless missing and detained, and incurred terrible violations of human rights, Ban said.
The basis for talks between Syrian rebels and the Assad government also was muddled since oppositions groups have said Assad must leave office as part of any settlement and government officials have been equally insistent they wouldn't cede all power.
Also up in the air is whether Iran would participate, The New York Times said. Brahimi has said he believes Iran should be at the table because of its significance as a regional player. The agreement reached over Iran's nuclear program during the weekend should put Western governments more at ease with Iran's presence at Syria talks, a senior diplomat in Geneva told the Times, but so far the United States and Saudi Arabia have opposed Iranian involvement.
Nov. 23 (UPI) -- China and Japan have exchanged heated statements in regard to the airspace over a few disputed islets.
“The measures by the Chinese side have no validity whatsoever on Japan, and we demand China revoke any measures that could infringe upon the freedom of flight in international airspace,” Japanese PM Shinzo Abe said.
China has announced aircraft identification rules a zone that includes the islets they call the Diaoyu. Japan uses the name Senkaku to refer to the area.
Japan's Abe has been criticized recently for having a more aggressive foreign policy than his predecessors. The United States has said they are deeply concerned over the dispute but has yet to take sides in the matter.
BANGKOK, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Thousands of demonstrators forced their way into the Finance Ministry Monday in a second day of anti-government protests in Bangkok, police said.
The protesters, demanding the resignation of the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, broke barricades and police lines in front of the ministry, China’s Xinhua News Agency reported.
After a standoff that lasted hours, police at the ministry and the adjacent Budget Bureau retreated, allowing the protesters to occupy the premises, the report said.
Former Deputy Premier Suthep Thaugsuban, leading the protests, said his people planned to occupy other ministries beginning Tuesday in their effort to paralyze the Yingluck government.
On Sunday, about 100,000 demonstrators had turned up in Bangkok.
Thaugsuban urged civil servants to join the protests, CNN reported.
"We will separate into 13 groups to march to 13 locations to express our stance," he said. "Our protest will not stop until Thaksin's regime is wiped out."
Yingluck Shinawatra is the sister of former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, a wealthy telecommunications businessman who was forced out in a 2006 coup. Critics accuse her of being a proxy for Thaksin, who has lived in exile since his ouster.
Yingluck came under fire for backing an amnesty bill that critics contend is designed to allow Thaksin to return to Thailand. Earlier this month, the Thai Senate rejected the bill but that has not helped stop the protests.
Yingluck Shinawatra has appealed for unity and reconciliation.
The Bangkok Nation said many of the protesters who had traveled to Bangkok from the provinces were camping out in large tents in the capital.
Nov. 23 (UPI) --Ukrainian protesters have been pushed back by police after attempting to enter the government building in Kiev.
The current protests are the largest in Ukraine since the Orange Revolution in 2004.
The protests are over Ukraine's decision not to sign on to the EU and instead build relations with Russia.
"Should we go toward Europe or toward Russia?" opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk said to the crowd from a stage. "It's a choice between the past and the future."
KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai's approval remained the only major obstacle Monday to bringing the Afghanistan-U.S. Bilateral Security Agreement into force.
The green light from Karzai was in doubt since, while speaking to more than 2,000 elders at the traditional Loya Jirga Sunday, he appeared to hold firm to his earlier stand that he would not sign the document.
In his opening address to the Loya Jirga Thursday, he had said the document should be signed only in April when the country would have a new president following elections.
On Sunday, The New York Times quoted Karzai as telling the meeting he would only sign after further negotiations.
Karzai comments came even though the Loya Jirga had approved the strenuously negotiated security agreement. The agreement will determine how many American forces would remain in Afghanistan and under what terms after the U.S.- and NATO-led coalition forces end their combat operations of the past 12 years and return home by the end of 2014.
The critical approval of the Loya Jirga, though not binding, was needed to move the agreement forward for similar approval by the Afghan Parliament and for signature by the country's president.
In his speech before the Loya Jirga wound up its proceedings, Karzai called for more assurances from the United States about not interfering in the April elections and asked the Obama administration to assure no U.S. soldier will ever again enter an Afghan citizen's home during a military operation, The Washington Post reported.
"Peace, security and a transparent election are preconditions for signing," Karzai declared. "From now onward, Americans don't have the right to raid our homes. If they raid our homes one more time, there will be no" agreement.
The United States all along has been stressing that the agreement should be signed at the latest by the end of this year so it will have adequate time to plan a potential military mission with its NATO allies.
Secretary of State John Kerry, who had worked on the deal until the very last moment, said in a statement Sunday that the Loya Jirga had "powerfully backed" the agreement and that significantly, the Jirga also urged that agreement should be signed before the end of the year.
"I can't imagine a more compelling affirmation from the Afghan people themselves of their commitment to a long term partnership with the United States and our international partners," Kerry said.
"Afghans are rightly taking the lead in providing for their own peace and security. We remain committed to supporting those efforts, and look forward to signing an agreement that will enable us to do so," he said.
Earlier, White House press secretary Jay Carney had said the agreement must be signed before year's end.
"We've made clear that it's imperative that we do it as soon as possible, and further delay is not practical, nor tenable," Carney said, adding failure to meet the deadline "would make it impossible for the United States and our allies to plan for a presence post-2014."
Carney said the United States has negotiated in good faith and provided the assurances Karzai had sought.
Not ruling out the possibility of bringing home all U.S. forces by the end of 2014, Carney had said the BSA does not specify troop presence or duration of any presence of U.S. or NATO troops. That decision will be made by President Obama.
"But we have said that a BSA must be in place because we can't possibly have a further U.S. military presence there without an agreement in place," Carney said.
With the security agreement in place, most estimates are that there may be up to 10,000 U.S. troops beyond 2014. The agreement would also mean billions of dollars of international aid, which Afghanistan sorely needs.
"President Karzai should promise us, he should sign the [agreement] as soon as possible," the Post quoted Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, who headed the Loya Jirga, as saying. "This agreement will be beneficial for the people."
Robert Hilton, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, said Karzai's Sunday speech was being studied.
The Post said the Obama administration has said the BSA draft before the Loya Jirga was the final one, leaving no room for more negotiations.
"From this moment on, America's searching of houses, blocking of roads and streets, military operations are over, and our people are free in their country," The New York Times quoted Karzai as telling the meeting.
Western diplomats told the Times that while Karzai may be indulging in a risky game of brinkmanship, he could still change his mind and sign the document respecting the wishes of the Jirga.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The conservative ruling party and a leftist coalition both claimed victory in the Honduras presidential election.
With slightly more than half the ballots counted from Sunday's voting, the ruling party held a 5.0% point lead over the coalition led by the wife of a former president, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Juan Orlando Hernandez, candidate for the ruling National Party, had 34% of the vote while Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, the candidate for the Liberty and Refoundation Party, had 29%, preliminary results from Honduras' Supreme Electoral Tribunal indicated.
Castro is the wife of controversial former President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in 2009 by the military.
Hernandez claimed victory, with his party saying he had received congratulatory phone calls from other Central American leaders, including Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli, the Journal reported.
Castro also claimed victory and her party's officials accused the election tribunal of manipulating the results by first counting districts where the ruling party candidate won. Party officials said the final result could change when all the ballots from throughout Honduras were counted.
Eric Olson, an analyst at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, told the Journal both parties were reckless in declaring victory so early in the ballot-counting process.
"I think it's incredibly irresponsible for them to call it at this point," Olson said.
Up to 10% of polling places did not have electricity, meaning their results would take longer to tally, he said.
The ballot included a record nine political parties. Election observers said they noted few irregularities during voting.