A British couple held in Iran on espionage charges spoke by phone Tuesday with relatives in the UK for the first time since they were detained in January, their family announced.

It comes after their children learned over the weekend that Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both 52, have been moved to separate prisons in and near Tehran, heightening fears for their welfare.

Iranian authorities seized the pair in Kerman, in central Iran, in early January while they were on a round-the-world motorbike trip, claiming the following month that they were suspected spies.

More countries must recognise a Palestinian state and stand up to Israel to stop its "genocidal activities", South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola told AFP in an interview Tuesday.

Pretoria has been a leading critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, bringing a case before the UN's top court in December 2023 arguing that its war in the Palestinian territory amounted to genocide.

As some of Israel's allies "are now also saying, no, this can't continue, it means that it is bringing us closer and closer to the Israel regime to stop the genocidal activities", Lamola said.

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has appointed Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to the supreme leader, as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.

The appointment takes place amid institutional changes following a 12-day air war with Israel in June, the Islamic Republic's most severe security challenge since a war with Saddam Hussein's Iraq in the 1980s.

United Nations special rapporteurs called Tuesday for the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to be immediately dismantled, saying aid was being "exploited for covert military and geopolitical agendas".

An exceptionally-large group of the UN-mandated experts voiced grave concerns over the GHF's operations.

The private organisation began distributing food in Gaza Strip in May as Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade on the Palestinian territory that had exacerbated existing shortages.

Lebanon's cabinet on Tuesday tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Hezbollah by year end, an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago.

The thorny decision follows heavy US pressure and comes as part of implementing a November ceasefire that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah including two months of all-out war.

By Huseyin Hayatsever

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey's parliament launched a commission on Tuesday to oversee the disarmament of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group following its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan's call for it to end its insurgency.

Thirty PKK militants burned their weapons in a ceremony in northern Iraq last month, marking a symbolic first step towards ending a decades-long struggle with Turkey in which more than 40,000 people have been killed.

NICOSIA (Reuters) -Decades-old property disputes stemming from Cyprus's unresolved division are stirring tensions on the island, threatening to derail fragile progress in United Nations-led reconciliation attempts.

Recent detentions on both sides over disputed property claims have exposed the enduring grievances of tens of thousands of internally displaced people.

"I'm very concerned. I fear the property issue will cause major problems in the coming months," outgoing U.N. envoy Colin Stewart said in an interview with Turkish Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen.

By Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam

BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon's cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss Hezbollah's arsenal, after Washington ramped up pressure on ministers to publicly commit to disarming the Iran-backed group and amid fears Israel could intensify strikes if they fail to do so.

The session scheduled for 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) at Lebanon's presidential palace is the first time that cabinet will discuss the fate of Hezbollah's weapons - unimaginable when the group was at the zenith of its power just two years ago.

By Maayan Lubell and Nidal al-Mughrabi

JERUSALEM/CAIRO (Reuters) -Israel's cabinet could authorise on Tuesday a complete military takeover of Gaza for the first time in two decades, media reported, despite international pressure for a ceasefire to ease appalling conditions in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leaning towards an expanded offensive and taking control of the entire enclave after 22 months of war against militant group Hamas, Israeli Channel 12 reported.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel must "complete" the defeat of Hamas in Gaza to secure the release of the remaining hostages, days ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss an updated war plan.

Recent footage of weak and emaciated captives has sparked outrage in Israel, while UN experts also warn of an unfolding famine for Palestinians in Gaza.