UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -U.S President Donald Trump promised Arab leaders he would not let Israel annex the occupied West Bank, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing six people familiar with the matter.

Two people described Trump as being firm on the topic during their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Politico reported.

Two others familiar with the matter, Politico reported, said the U.S. team presented a white paper outlining the Trump administration’s plan to end the Gaza war, including the promise against West Bank annexation.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Iran has no intention to build nuclear weapons, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, just days before international sanctions could be reimposed on his country over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

"I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb. We do not seek nuclear weapons," Pezeshkian said.

Iran's president repeated Wednesday that his country is not seeking nuclear weapons, after military strikes by Israel and the United States earlier this year, and impending sanctions triggered by European powers.

"I hereby declare once more before this assembly that Iran has never sought and will never seek to build a nuclear bomb," President Masoud Pezeshkian told the United Nations General Assembly.

"The one disturbing peace and stability in the region is Israel, but Iran is the one that gets punished," he said.

Iranian officials at the UN summit this week won't be able to shop in New York after the US government barred them from purchasing everything from bulk household goods to expensive watches.

The restrictions on the visiting Iranians were described by a State Department spokesman as "maximum pressure."

"We will not allow the Iranian regime to allow its clerical elites to have a shopping spree in New York while the Iranian people endure poverty, crumbling infrastructure, and dire shortages of water and electricity," Thomas Pigott said.

The United Nations called Wednesday for an investigation into alleged drone attacks against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that prompted Italy and Spain to send naval ships to help.

The Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists including Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg, blamed Israel for more than a dozen explosions heard around its vessels off Greece late on Tuesday.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said anyone responsible for the "violations" should be held accountable, and called for an "independent, impartial and thorough investigation".

By Angeliki Koutantou and Alvise Armellini

ATHENS/ROME (Reuters) -An international aid flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza said on Wednesday it was attacked overnight by drones in international waters off Greece, prompting Italy to send a navy ship to come to its assistance.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is using about 50 civilian boats to try and break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, with many lawyers and activists onboard, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

(Reuters) -The Afghan women's refugee team will take the field for the first time in an international tournament when they compete in a four-team friendly competition in the United Arab Emirates next month, world governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.

The team's creation stems from the Taliban's ban on women's sports following their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, prompting players to flee the country fearing persecution.

ROME (Reuters) -Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto on Wednesday strongly condemned an overnight attack on an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza.

In a statement, Crosetto also said he had redirected an Italian navy ship to head towards the flotilla to possibly offer assistance.

(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Gavin Jones)

US President Donald Trump has presented a plan to end the Gaza war in a meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders this week, his envoy said Wednesday, as Gaza's civil defence agency reported dozens killed in Israeli attacks.

US envoy Steve Witkoff, who has been involved in months of mediation efforts seeking an end to the nearly two-year war, said Trump had detailed a "21-point plan for peace in the Mideast and Gaza" in Tuesday's meeting with a group of leaders from Arab and Muslim nations.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli forces pushed towards the heart of Gaza City on Wednesday, risking the lives of Palestinians who had stayed put in hopes that growing pressure on Israel for a ceasefire would mean they would not lose their homes.

U.S. President Donald Trump met leaders of Muslim countries at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday for talks which the Emirati state news agency WAM said focused on an end to the war.