Graphic locates known sites related to nuclear research and production in Iran; 3c x 5 inches; 146 mm x 127 mm;

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he and his Cabinet are united in "strongly opposing" an emerging framework agreement on curbing Iran's nuclear program and demanded that any final deal contain Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist.

Iran and six world powers announced a series of understandings Thursday, with a final agreement to be reached by June 30. A final deal is meant to cut significantly into Iran's bomb-capable technology while giving Tehran quick access to assets and markets blocked by international sanctions.

Netanyahu has harshly criticized the negotiations, demanding instead that the Iranian program be dismantled. He claims Iran cannot be trusted, and that leaving certain facilities intact would allow the Iranians to eventually build a bomb. Iran denies it has nuclear weapons ambitions and says its program is intended for peaceful purposes.

However, it appears unlikely Israel will be able to prevent the final deal amid broad international support for such an agreement.

On Friday, the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday, Netanyahu convened his Cabinet for a special session to discuss the emerging framework, reached after a week of grueling negotiations in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Netanyahu said after the session that "Israel will not accept an agreement which allows a country that vows to annihilate us to develop nuclear weapons, period."

However, he also acknowledged the possibility of a final agreement being reached, saying that such a deal must "include a clear and unambiguous Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist."

Netanyahu said his Cabinet "is united strongly opposing the proposed deal," which he said would threaten Israel's survival.

"Such a deal does not block Iran's path to the bomb," he said. "Such a deal paves Iran's path to the bomb. And it might very well spark a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East and it would greatly increase the risks of terrible war."

The commitments announced Thursday, if implemented, would substantially pare back some Iranian nuclear assets for a decade and restrict others for an additional five years. According to a U.S. document listing those commitments, Tehran is ready to reduce its number of centrifuges, the machines that can spin uranium gas to levels used in nuclear warheads.

Of the nearly 20,000 centrifuges Iran now has installed or running at its main enrichment site, the country would be allowed to operate just over 5,000. Much of its enriched stockpiles would be neutralized. A planned reactor would be reconstructed so it can't produce weapons-grade plutonium. Monitoring and inspections by the U.N. nuclear agency would be enhanced.

However, Netanyahu argued that the emerging deal would leave much of Iran's nuclear infrastructure intact.

"They would not shut down a single nuclear facility in Iran, would not destroy a single centrifuge in Iran and will not stop research and development on Iran's advanced centrifuges," he said. "On the contrary. The deal would legitimize Iran's illegal nuclear program. It would leave Iran with a vast nuclear infrastructure. A vast nuclear infrastructure remains in place."

He called on the world powers to stand firm and increase pressure in Iran until what he termed a good deal is achieved.

The number of fighters leaving home to join Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group in Iraq, Syria and other countries has spiked to more than 25,000 from over 100 nations, according to a new UN report.

The panel of experts monitoring UN sanctions against Al Qaeda said in the report obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press that its analysis indicates the number of foreign terrorist fighters worldwide increased by 71 percent between mid-2014 and March 2015.

It said the scale of the problem has increased over the past three years and the flow of foreign fighters "is higher than it has ever been historically."

The overall number of foreign terrorist fighters has "risen sharply from a few thousand ... a decade ago to more than 25,000 today," the panel said in the report to the UN Security Council.

The report said just two countries have accounted for over 20,000 foreign fighters: Syria and Iraq. They went to fight primarily for the Islamic State group but also the Al-Nusra Front.

Looking ahead, the panel said the thousands of foreign fighters who traveled to Syria and Iraq are living and working in "a veritable 'international finishing school' for extremists," as was the case in Afghanistan in the 1990s.

A military defeat of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq could have the unintended consequence of scattering violent foreign terrorist fighters across the world, the panel said. And while governments are focusing on countering the threat from fighters returning home, the panel said it's possible that some may be traumatized by what they saw and need psychological help, and that others may be recruited by criminal networks.

In addition to Syria and Iraq, the report said Afghan security forces estimated in March that about 6,500 foreign fighters were active in the country. And it said hundreds of foreigners are fighting in Yemen, Libya and Pakistan, around 100 in Somalia, and others in the Sahel countries in northern Africa, and in the Philippines.

The number of countries the fighters come from has also risen dramatically from a small group in the 1990s to over 100 today — more than half the countries in the world — including some that have never had previous links with Al Qaeda associated groups, the panel said.

It cited the "high number" of foreign fighters from Tunisia, Morocco, France and Russia, the increase in fighters from the Maldives, Finland and Trinidad and Tobago, and the first fighters from some countries in sub-Saharan Africa which it didn't name.

The panel said the fighters and their networks "pose an immediate and long-term threat" and "an urgent global security problem" that needs to be tackled on many fronts and has no easy solution.

With globalized travel, it said, the chance of a person from any country becoming a victim of a foreign terrorist attack "is growing, particularly with attacks targeting hotels, public spaces and venues."

But the panel noted that a longstanding terrorist goal is "generating public panic" and stressed that the response needs to "be measured, effective and proportionate."

It said the most effective policy is to prevent the radicalization, recruitment and travel of would-be fighters.

The panel noted that less than 10 percent of basic information to identify foreign fighters has been put in global systems and called for greater intelligence sharing. As a positive example, it noted that the "watch list" in Turkey — a key transit point to Syria and Iraq — now includes 12,500 individuals.

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World powers, Iran reach framework for nuke deal

Tehran (AFP) - Iran vowed to stand by a nuclear deal with world powers Friday as President Hassan Rouhani promised it would open a "new page" in the country's global ties.

Keen to win over domestic sceptics, Iran's leaders pushed the merits of a potentially historic agreement, with clerics touting its virtues at Friday prayers in mosques.

The framework agreement -- reached Thursday after marathon talks in Switzerland -- was hailed by world leaders as a major breakthrough in the 12-year standoff between Iran and the West, which has long feared Tehran wants to build a nuclear bomb.

Diplomats warned Friday that much work remained and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Iran's arch-foe Israel said the potential agreement posed a "grave danger" to global security.

But in a live televised address, Rouhani said it could mark a turning point for the Islamic republic's relations with the rest of the world.

"If the other side honours its promises, we will honour our promises," he said.

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In this photo released by the Government Press Office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu del …

"New cooperation with the world -- both in the nuclear sphere and other areas -- will open a new page" for Iran, he said.

The Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who will have the final say on any deal, has not yet reacted to Thursday's announcement.

But the proposed agreement could still face opposition from Iranian hardliners against making any concessions limiting the country's nuclear programme.

Several conservative websites published comments from Mehdi Mohammadi, a political analyst, describing the deal as "in no way balanced" and parts of it as a "disaster".

- Cleric hails Iran 'victory' -

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (C) greets people as the nuclear negotiating committee …

The country's powerful religious authorities lined up behind it however.

In a sermon that state media said was replicated nationwide, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani praised the agreement to worshippers in Tehran.

"This framework is great and it is a victory for us as it made the Western world accept Iran's right to pursue nuclear energy and technology," Emami-Kashani said.

Earlier, well-wishers had hailed Iran's nuclear negotiators as they returned to Tehran from the talks in Lausanne, with dozens lining the streets and carrying Iranian flags.

Crippling sanctions over Iran's nuclear ambitions have left the country's economy reeling and the announcement of the deal was greeted with celebrations.

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Iranians celebrate in northern Tehran on April 2, 2015, after the announcement of an agreement in th …

Hundreds took to the streets of Tehran in the early hours of Friday, with drivers sounding their horns in approval, people flashing V-signs for victory and dancing while waving white handkerchiefs in a traditional Iranian celebration.

US President Barack Obama had earlier welcomed the "historic understanding" with Iran after decades of hostility, warning like other leaders that work remains to finalise a highly complex agreement by June 30.

Hostile Republicans in the US Congress, who remain suspicious of Iran's pledges, are also threatening to push for new sanctions from April 14.

And Washington's key ally Israel reacted with fury, with Netanyahu demanding that Iranian recognition of the Jewish state's right to exist be written into the deal, as he convened top officials for talks.

"This deal would pose a grave danger to the region and to the world and would threaten the very survival of the state of Israel," Netanyahu said.

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US Secretary of State John Kerry leaves after speaking to the press at the end of Iran nuclear talks …

"Israel will not accept an agreement which allows a country that vows to annihilate us to develop nuclear weapons."

Israel has repeatedly warned that it could take military action if threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran, though analysts say strikes are unlikely.

- 'Too early to celebrate' -

Under the outline deal, the United States and the European Union are to lift all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran once the UN atomic agency has verified that Tehran has stuck to its terms.

All past UN nuclear resolutions on Iran would also be lifted, but diplomats have warned that sanctions can be re-imposed.

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From left, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, Irani …

The proposed limits will see Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium cut by 98 percent for 15 years, while its unfinished Arak reactor will not produce weapons-grade plutonium.

The deal will also see Iran reduce by roughly two-thirds -- to 6,104 from around 19,000 -- the number of uranium centrifuges, which can make fuel for nuclear power but also the core of a nuclear bomb.

The so-called P5+1 group -- the United States, Britain, China, France and Russia plus Germany -- hope that the deal will make it virtually impossible for Iran to produce nuclear weapons.

Iran, one of the world's major oil producing countries, has always denied seeking the atomic bomb, saying its activities are for energy generation and research.

European Union heavyweights Germany and France warned Friday that a deal was far from done.

"It's too early to celebrate," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said following talks with his French and Polish counterparts in Wroclaw, Poland.

"There is no guarantee of successful negotiations," he said.

His caution was echoed by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who said Iran would "still have to go all the way" to a deal.

Jerusalem (AFP) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist be written into an emerging nuclear deal, as he convened top officials for talks on Friday.

After meeting his security cabinet, which comprises key ministers, National Security Adviser Yossi Cohen and other officials, he said they were unanimous in their opposition to the framework agreement which emerged Thursday from marathon talks in Switzerland between the Islamic republic and world powers.

"The cabinet is united in strongly opposing the proposed deal," he said in a statement at the end of the meeting, hours before the onset of the week-long Passover Jewish holiday.

"Some say that the only alternative to this bad deal is war," he added.

"That's not true. There is a third alternative – standing firm, increasing the pressure on Iran until a good deal is achieved."

And he stipulated that one of the provisions of a "good deal", must be an end to Iranian threats against the Jewish state.

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Iran and world powers have signed the outline of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran agreeing that i …

"Israel demands that any final agreement with Iran will include a clear and unambiguous Iranian recognition of Israel's right to exist,' he said.

"Israel will not accept an agreement which allows a country that vows to annihilate us to develop nuclear weapons, period."

Israel is the Middle East's sole, albeit unacknowledged, nuclear power.

Repeating previous Israeli warnings, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said Thursday that all options were open.

"If we have no choice, we have no choice... the military option is on the table," he said.

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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged US lawmakers to reject any nuclear deal with Ir …

Government spokesman Mark Regev said Friday that the path agreed in Lausanne toward a permanent deal was "a very, very dangerous direction".

"Iran's nuclear programme doesn't just threaten my country, Iran's nuclear programme threatens the peace and the security of the world," he told AFP

The framework deal clinched by Iran and the so-called P5+1 group of nations marked a significant breakthrough in a 12-year standoff between Tehran and world powers over its nuclear programme.

- 'Not a bad deal' -

Under the outline agreement, Iran agreed to sharply curtail its uranium enrichment capacity in return for the lifting of punitive sanctions that have crippled the country's economy.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly warned US President Barack Obama -- both se …

Netanyahu took his battle against the deal last month to the US Congress, where he laid out Israel's concerns to repeated standing ovations from lawmakers.

The trip infuriated the White House and plunged US-Israeli relations to their frostiest for years.

Shortly after the outlines of a deal targeted for the end of June was revealed, Israeli government officials slammed it as "a historic mistake which will make the world far more dangerous".

"It is a bad framework which will lead to a bad and dangerous agreement," they said on condition of anonymity.

Under the deal, Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium will be cut by 98 percent for 15 years, while its unfinished Arak reactor will not produce weapons-grade plutonium.

The powers hope that this, along with a reduction in its uranium centrifuge numbers, will make it virtually impossible for Iran to produce nuclear weapons.

Israeli media were divided over the accord, with an opinion piece in the daily Haaretz calling it "not a bad deal at all".

"Iran perhaps scored some victories in terms of the narrative... but the world powers made significant achievements of their own on the real practical issues," the left-leaning paper said.

The Jerusalem Post, in an article by British journalist Melanie Phillips, however, said the continuation of talks towards a lasting deal was a "terrifying situation".

"The US has been prepared to allow a regime that is openly pursuing America's destruction and the annihilation of Israel to achieve nuclear weapons breakout capacity," she wrote.

A relative of a victim is assisted by Red Cross staff as bodies of students killed on Thursday's attack by gunmen, arrive at the Chiromo Mortuary in Nairobi April 3, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

By Edith Honan

GARISSA, Kenya (Reuters) - The death toll in an assault by Somali militants on a Kenyan university is likely to climb above 147, a government source and media said on Friday, as anger grew among local residents over what they say was a government failure to prevent bloodshed.

Strapped with explosives, masked al Shabaab gunmen stormed the Garissa University College campus, some 200 km (120 miles) from the Somali border, in a pre-dawn rampage on Thursday.

Tossing grenades and spraying bullets at cowering students, the attackers initially killed indiscriminately. But they later freed some Muslims and instead targeted Christian students during a siege that lasted about 15 hours.

Anger over the massacre was compounded by the fact there were warnings last week that an attack on a university was imminent. Local residents accused the authorities of doing little to boost security in this little-developed region.

"It's because of laxity by the government that these things are happening. For something like this to happen when there are those rumors is unacceptable," said Mohamed Salat, 47, a Somali Kenyan businessman.

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Mortuary attendants assisted by Red Cross staff push bodies of the students killed in Thursday's …

Officials said almost 150 people died, with at least 79 wounded, many critically. But with an uncertain number of students and staff still missing, the casualties may yet mount.

"Yes, there is a likelihood of numbers going up," said one government source dealing with the Garissa attack.

Kenya's biggest-selling Daily Nation newspaper, citing sources, said the death toll would be significantly higher.

Outside the university gates, a throng of veiled women clung to the hope that missing people would still turn up alive.

"We are here waiting for news if we can find him, dead or alive," said Barey Bare, 36, referring to her cousin who worked as a clerk at the university and has been missing since Thursday.

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A Garissa University student is pictured at a temporary shelter as she waits for relocation after Th …

The violence will heap further pressure on President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has struggled to stop frequent militant gun and grenade attacks that have dented Kenya's image abroad and brought the country's vital tourism industry to its knees.

More than 400 people have been killed by al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab in the east African nation since Kenyatta took office in April 2013, including some 67 people who died in a blitz on a shopping mall in the capital Nairobi in September of that year.

Al Qaeda itself killed some 207 people when it blew up the U.S. embassy in Nairobi in 1998, an attack which remains the single biggest loss of life in Kenya since its independence from Britain in 1963.

Al Shabaab says its recent wave of attacks are retribution for Kenya sending troops into Somalia to fight the group alongside other African Union peacekeepers.

The group, which at one point controlled most of Somalia, has lost swathes of territory in recent years but diplomats have repeatedly warned this has not diminished al Shabaab's ability to stage guerrilla-style attacks at home and further abroad.

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A relative of a victim is carried by Red Cross staff as bodies of students killed in Thursday's …

"MOST WANTED" BOUNTY

Survivors of the Garissa attack spoke of merciless executions by the attackers, who stalked classrooms and dormitories hunting for non-Muslim students.

Reuben Mwavita, 21, a student, said he saw three female students kneeling in front of the gunmen, begging for mercy.

"The mistake they made was to say 'Jesus, please save us', because that is when they were immediately shot," Mwavita said.

Many students fled into the sandy scrubland, scaling barbed-wire fences and jumping off buildings, often half-naked, as they were awoken by the sound of gunfire and explosions.

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A Garissa University student rests at a temporary shelter as he waits for relocation after Thursday& …

"The attackers were just in the next room. I heard them ask people whether they were Christian or Muslim, then I heard gunshots and screams," said Susan Kitoko, 24, who broke her hip when she jumped out of the first floor window of her dorm.

"I don't know what happened to my two other roommates because I have not heard from them since then."

Within hours of the attack, Kenya put up a 20 million shillings ($215,000) reward for the arrest of Mohamed Mohamud, a former Garissa teacher labeled "Most Wanted" in a government poster and linked by Kenyan media to two separate al Shabaab attacks in the neighboring Mandera region last year.

The government also imposed a dusk to dawn (6.30am-6.30pm) curfew on Garissa, Mandera and two other crime-ridden regions near the porous 700-km border with Somalia.

However, diplomats and analysts say the move effectively concedes the government is not in control of these areas, which are widely seen to be Kenya's soft underbelly.

As such, al Shabaab is likely to continue its strategy of attacking "low risk and high reward" soft targets in marginalized parts of the country, according to Ahmed Salim, a senior associate at Teneo Intelligence.

(Additional reporting by Drazen Jorgic and Humphrey Malalo in Nairobi, Joseph Akwiri in Mombasa; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Crispian Balmer/Jeremy Gaunt)