ANKARA, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Turkey is evaluating all aspects of potential measures that may be taken in the event of a conflict between its neighbour Iran and the United States, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Wednesday.

Iran and the United States resumed negotiations earlier this month as Washington builds up military capability in the Middle East. Iran has threatened to strike U.S. bases in the region if it is attacked, but Tehran's top diplomat said on Tuesday that a deal with the U.S. was "within reach" if diplomacy is prioritised.

Iran on Wednesday dismissed US claims about its missile programme as "big lies", after President Donald Trump said Tehran was developing missiles that could strike the United States.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump accused Tehran of "sinister nuclear ambitions" as Washington ups the pressure with a massive military deployment around the Gulf.

The two foes are scheduled to meet for a third round of talks on Thursday in the Swiss city of Geneva in an effort to reach a diplomatic solution.

By Alexander Cornwell

JERUSALEM, Feb 25 (Reuters) - India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Israel on Wednesday for a two-day visit that both countries have cast as a chance to deepen relations, as regional concerns mount over the risk of military conflict between the United States and Iran.

Modi, a Hindu nationalist, became the first prime minister in India's history to visit Israel in 2017, during which he and right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a barefoot stroll on a beach in the northern port city of Haifa.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed Iran is seeking to develop missiles that can strike the United States and accused Tehran of working to rebuild a nuclear program that was targeted by American strikes last year.

The United States and Iran are engaged in high-stakes negotiations over Iran's atomic program and other issues including missiles, with Trump saying he prefers diplomacy but is willing to use force if talks fail.

Along Egypt's Mediterranean coast, the oldest tram in Africa and the Middle East rumbles for a final few weeks before its removal -- the latest urban upheaval Alexandrians say is hollowing out their city's identity.

Government plans to replace the colourful streetcars on one of the city's routes with a partially elevated light rail line have angered Alexandrians, for whom the 163-year-old track is "heritage, not just a means of transport", local urban researcher Nahla Saleh told AFP.

When US and Iranian negotiators meet on Thursday in Geneva, Iran's top security chief Ali Larijani will be Tehran's key player behind the scenes.

Adept at balancing ideological loyalty with pragmatic statecraft, Larijani will not attend the talks, but is central to Tehran's nuclear policy and strategic diplomacy.

At the end of January, Larijani was Tehran's choice to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, and this month he has met with Gulf officials trying to mediate in the stand-off with the United States.

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. on Tuesday issued cyber-related sanctions against four people and three entities, including some based in Russia and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Treasury Department website.

The entities and people were targeted "for their acquisition and distribution of cyber tools harmful to U.S. national security," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

By Rami Ayyub

JERUSALEM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. will provide on-site passport services this week in a settlement in the West Bank, marking the first time American consular officials have offered such services to settlers in the occupied territory, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

Most of the world considers Israel's West Bank settlements illegal under international law relating to military occupations. Israel disputes that the settlements are illegal, and many on the Israeli right advocate annexing the West Bank.

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - U.S. military forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking it from Caribbean waters, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, adding that it was the third such interdiction in that region.

After capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid last month in Caracas, Washington has escalated its blockade on vessels that are under sanctions and going to and from the South American country, a member of the OPEC oil producers' group.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Dozens of aid groups said they have petitioned Israel's Supreme Court to allow them to keep operating in Gaza, warning of dire consequences if new rules obliging them to name staff force shutdowns.