Prime Minister Naftali Bennett warned the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Friday that Israel was prepared to use it's "right to self defense" to stop Iran's nuclear programme.

The comments came after IAEA chief Rafael Grossi met Bennett Friday morning during a whirlwind visit.

Bennett's warning is a reiteration of Israeli vows to do whatever it takes to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb. It comes with tensions rising over stalled efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers aimed at preventing Iran from developing such a weapon.

In his small office in the Israel Diamond Exchange near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, Pravin Kukadia proudly presents his collection of precious stones.

Between Kukadia's homeland, India, and his country of residence, Israel, diamonds have forged a key diplomatic and economic link -- representing some 1.5 billion dollars a year and roughly half of all trade between the nations, according to diamond experts.

An auto repair garage in Saudi Arabia is turning to an untapped source for new car mechanics: Saudi women, who just four years ago weren't even allowed to drive.

At the Petromin Express garage in Jeddah, on the Red Sea coast, new female recruits check oil and change tyres alongside their male counterparts, part of a nationwide push to bring more women into the workforce.

Yet the women trainees have, perhaps inevitably, encountered a host of barriers as they enter a field that is male-dominated the world over –- and even more so in the conservative Muslim kingdom.

US President Joe Biden will visit Saudi Arabia this month, reports said Thursday, a stark reversal for a leader who once called for the kingdom to be made a pariah.

The reported decision comes hours after Saudi Arabia addressed two of Biden's priorities by agreeing to a production hike in oil and helping extend a truce in war-battered Yemen.

The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN, quoting anonymous sources, said that Biden would go ahead with the long-rumored Saudi stop on an upcoming trip.

The United States confirmed Thursday it would join Europeans in backing a resolution urging Iran to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, despite warnings from Tehran that the move could scuttle diplomacy.

"We can confirm that we plan to join the UK, France and Germany in seeking a resolution focused on the need for Iran to fully cooperate with the IAEA," State Department spokesman Ned Price said ahead of a meeting next week.

New York prosecutors have seized five Egyptian antiques from the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of an international trafficking investigation involving the former head of Paris's Louvre Museum.

The artifacts -- which include a group of painted linen fragments, dated between 250 and 450 BC, depicting a scene from the Book of Exodus -- are worth more than $3 million, according to the Manhattan district attorney's office.

A New York state judge ordered their confiscation on May 19, a court document shows.

Thousands paraded through the streets of Jerusalem waving rainbow flags on Thursday, taking part in colourful celebrations for the Pride March against a backdrop of heavy security.

Mickey Levy, the speaker of the Israeli parliament, said he would join the march for the first time because it was necessary "to support the fight of LGBTQ people for equal rights".

Jerusalem has held an annual celebration of LGBTQ+ rights since 2002, often contending against protests from ultra-Orthodox Jews and far-right extremists.

Dozens of Israeli fighter jets conducted exercises over the Mediterranean and warships held Red Sea drills this week, the army said Thursday, as it readies for different "scenarios" against Iran.

The two arch enemies have been locked in a shadow war that comes amid tensions over stalled efforts to revive a deal meant to ensure Iran is unable to develop a nuclear weapon.

Israel is staunchly opposed to the 2015 nuclear deal and has vowed to do whatever it takes to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.

Major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Thursday to open the taps wider than expected amid soaring prices and hard on the heels of an EU ban on Russian oil imports.

Analysts had foreseen OPEC+ producers sticking to their policy of modest output increases, as they have done since May 2021.

However, pressure has been rising for the 23-strong group to boost output further to try to stabilise prices, which have hit record highs since Russia invaded Ukraine, drawing heavy Western sanctions.

Dozens of Israeli fighter jets conducted exercises over the Mediterranean and warships held Red Sea drills this week, the army said Thursday, as it readies for different "scenarios" against Iran.

The two arch enemies have been locked in a shadow war that comes amid tensions over stalled efforts to revive a deal meant to ensure Iran is unable to develop a nuclear weapon.

Israel is staunchly opposed to the 2015 nuclear deal and has vowed to do whatever it takes to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.