Jan 17 (Reuters) - The Trump administration wants nations to pay $1 billion to stay on his peace board, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing a draft charter.

United States President Donald Trump would serve as its inaugural chairman and each member state shall serve a term of no more than three years from this charter's entry into force, subject to renewal by the chairman, the report said.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Thousands of people rallied in France on Saturday in a show of support for demonstrators in Iran risking their lives to demand an end to theocratic rule.

The protests in Iran over past weeks are the largest since the "Woman, Life, Freedom" street movement in 2022-2023, sparked by the death in custody of an Iranian Kurdish woman arrested for allegedly not following a required dress code.

"Woman, Life, Freedom," chanted marchers in the French capital, some holding portraits of deceased Iranian protesters.

BAGHDAD, Jan 17 (Reuters) - U.S. forces have withdrawn from Iraq's Ain al-Asad Airbase, which housed U.S.-led forces in Western Iraq, and the Iraqi army has assumed full control, the Iraqi defence ministry said on Saturday.

In 2024, Washington and Baghdad reached an understanding on plans for the withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces from Iraq and a move towards a bilateral security relationship.

TEL AVIV, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Saturday that this week's Trump administration announcement on the composition of a Gaza executive board was not coordinated with Israel and ran counter to government policy.

It said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would raise the issue with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The statement did not specify what part of the board's composition contradicted Israeli policy. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.

Israel said on Saturday it objected to the line-up of a Gaza panel that will operate under US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace, which oversees post-war governance in the Palestinian territory.

The panel, known as the Gaza executive board, notably includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and a Qatari official and was announced by the White House on Friday.

The Board of Peace began to take shape on Saturday as the leaders of Egypt, Turkey, Argentina and Canada were asked to join.

Iran's supreme leader said Saturday that authorities "must break the back of the seditionists", whom he accused of killing thousands during the wave of protests that were brutally repressed in the country.

The demonstrations were sparked by anger over economic hardship that exploded into the biggest protests against the Islamic republic in more than three years.

But demonstrations have subsided after the crackdown that rights groups say left thousands of people dead under an internet blackout that has lasted more than a week.

DEIR HAFER, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Syrian troops swept through dozens of towns and villages in the country's north on Saturday after Kurdish fighters withdrew under an agreement that aimed to avoid a bloody showdown between the rival forces.

For days, Syrian troops had amassed around a cluster of villages that lie just west of the winding Euphrates River and had called on the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces stationed there to redeploy their forces on the opposite bank of the river.

Syria's army has seized swathes of the country's north, dislodging Kurdish forces from territory over which they held effective autonomy for more than a decade.

The government appeared to be extending its grip on Kurdish-run areas after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree declaring Kurdish a "national language" and granting the minority group official recognition.

The Kurds have said Friday's announcement fell short of their aspirations, while the implementation of a March deal -- intended to see Kurdish forces integrated into the state -- has stalled.

One move in the wrong direction and Kiarash would have been dead, he said, as a shooter opened fire on him and other protesters in the Iranian capital during a wave of demonstrations met by a deadly crackdown.

Blood stained the street after a person dressed in a full chador covering shot at a large crowd that had gathered in the north of Tehran on January 10, during anti-government protests sparked by economic strain that exploded in size and intensity on January 8.

CAIRO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he valued an offer by U.S. President Donald Trump to mediate a dispute over Nile River waters between Egypt and Ethiopia.

In a post on X, Sisi said on Saturday that he addressed Trump's letter by affirming Egypt's position and concerns about the country's water security in regards to Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

(Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Toby Chopra)