Middle East & North Africa

TEHRAN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Monday his country will ensure "maximum security" for Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran.

He made the remarks at a weekly press conference in Tehran, commenting on a January deadly attack on Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran, after which Baku decided to shut down the mission, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Kanaani said Iran is well aware of its responsibility of ensuring the security of diplomatic missions on its soil and will act responsibly in this regard.

TEHRAN, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The Irani Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani on Monday condemned the E3 group of Britain, France and Germany for their "failure to honor their obligations" under a 2015 nuclear deal.

Kanaani made the remarks at a weekly press conference in the capital Tehran in response to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council last week, the official news agency IRNA reported.

TEHRAN, Jul 9 (NNN-IRNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister, said yesterday that, his country and Sudan have agreed to resume bilateral relations in the near future.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Algerian counterpart, Ahmed Attaf, held after their talks in the Iranian capital, Tehran earlier in the day.

JERUSALEM, July 9 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet on Sunday decided that Israel would work to prevent the collapse of the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA), but did not offer any concrete steps to do so.

Israel has been stepping up military operations against armed groups in the occupied West Bank, where the PA has limited autonomy.

The volatility has laid bare the weakness of the PA in the face of hundreds of Palestinian militants and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

ISTANBUL/WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden expressed a desire to see Sweden join NATO "as soon as possible" in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in which they discussed Sweden's bid to become a member of the Western alliance, the White House said on Sunday.

Turkey, along with Hungary, has been a stumbling block to Sweden's bid, which requires unanimous approval by all NATO members.

TRIPOLI, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan government announced on Sunday that a 10-year ban on Libyan civil flights over Italian airspace has been lifted.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has conveyed the decision to her Libyan counterpart Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah, the Libyan government said in a statement.

The decision marks a significant improvement in relations between Italy and Libya and is expected to have a positive impact on air travel and aviation cooperation between the two Mediterranean countries, analysts said.

06 July 2023; MEMO: Iranian judicial authorities have ordered that a foreign-flagged tanker that allegedly ran into an Iranian vessel in the Sea of Oman be impounded for violation of maritime rules, state media reported on Thursday, Anadolu Agency reports.

A Bahamas-flagged oil tanker, "Richmond Voyager", reportedly collided with an Iranian vessel in the Sea of Oman on Tuesday, causing injuries to the seven-member Iranian crew and flooding the vessel.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Four militants attacked a police station in southeastern Iran and killed two security forces, state TV reported Saturday.

The assault took place in Zahedan, a city in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Pakistan. It triggered a shootout that left two security forces were killed, the report said.

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that the four militants were killed.

BEIRUT (AP) — Russian fighter jets have “harassed” American drones over Syria for the third day in a row this week, the U.S. military said.

Tension between Russian and U.S. troops is not uncommon in Syria as both countries conduct patrols on the ground as well as overflights. Syria’s 12-year conflict has left half a million people dead and over 1 million wounded.

The U.S. military said in a statement that Friday’s encounter lasted for about two hours during which three MQ-9 drones were “once again harassed” by Russian fighter aircraft while flying over Syria.

06 July 2023; MEMO: Kuwait aims to invest over $300 billion in the energy sector by 2040, the Gulf states' oil minister told the UAE's WAM news agency.

Global investment in the energy sector faces significant gaps that need to be filled to prevent crises that could adversely affect the markets and the global economy, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Oil and Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs of Kuwait, Saad Al Barrak, said.