SEOUL, Sept 18 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday he would not deploy any military assets to the Middle East that would draw the country into conflict related to the Iran war.

However, the government is considering whether to expand its role safeguarding navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Lee said at a news conference.

(Reporting by Jack Kim, Joyce Lee, Heejin KimEditing by Ed Davies)

WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The US Department of Statesaid on Thursday it had approved the potential sale of Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom is drawn deeper into war in the Middle East.

A sale would mark a significant policy shift from the US, potentially altering the balance of military power in the Middle East and testing Washington's definition of maintaining its ally Israel's "qualitative military edge."

Ed Sheeran faces boycott calls and desertions, leaving the British singer with a career crisis that underlines how even the world's biggest stars are being sucked into the politic

Sharon Sharabi shot into the limelight in Israel after the Hamas attack of

LONDON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A lightning advance by Yemen's Houthi group has brought the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait under its control, making the once ragged highland militia a regional player with global clout.

This is how the group evolved into a formidable fighting force with Iranian support that can disrupt vital shipping and strike critical oil and gas facilities in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

WHO ARE THE HOUTHIS?

By Parisa Hafezi

DUBAI, Sept 17 (Reuters) - China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen's Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the Iran-backed group's military blitz in the past week, according to three Iranian sources familiar with the matter.

Riyadh turned to China for help after the Houthis made rapid advances along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, moves that have left Saudi oil exports and shipping more exposed, the sources said.

(Adds U.S. reaction in paragraphs 4 and 5)

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, Sept 17 (Reuters) - A UN fact-finding mission on Iran said on Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States was behind two military strikes on a school and sports facility in Iran in February, and that these constituted war crimes.

It also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests.

By Simon Lewis

Sept 17 (Reuters) - The Trump administration will allow top Iranian officials to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week, the State Department said on Thursday, even as Washington and Tehran remain at war andcontinue intermittent talks aimed at ending the conflict.

A State Department spokesperson said a "core delegation from the Iranian regime" would be allowed to attend the meeting in line with the United States' obligations as the world body's host country.

The United States has approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia, the State Department said Thursday, the kingdom's latest major arms purchase since the start of the Iran war.

Saudi Arabia has long sought to buy F-35s, but officials from Israel -- currently the only country in the Middle East to operate the jets -- has voiced concern about their sale to Riyadh despite a push for the kingdom to normalize relations.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The United Nations General Assembly voted on Thursday to allow Palestinian PresidentMahmoud Abbas to address the annual gathering of world leaders next week via video - for the second year in a row - after the United States again denied him a visa to travel to New York.