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Iran says deal with IAEA hinges on lack of hostile action, including sanctions snapback

DUBAI (Reuters) -Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that Tehran would scrap an agreement to let the U.N. watchdog inspect its nuclear sites if Western powers reinstated U.N. sanctions.

A set of U.N. sanctions on Iran are due to be reimposed at 0000 GMT on Saturday after Britain, France and Germany accused Tehran of violatinga 2015 deal with major powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks to the media as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

Sharif calls for American investment in Pakistan in Trump meet

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Pakistan's Prime MinisterShehbaz Sharif invited American companies to invest in the country during a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House that also focused on how to end to the war in Gaza, his office said on Friday.

Sharif, along with army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, met Trump on Thursday, in a further sign of warming relations with the United States, which had been frozen under the previous U.S. administration.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, September 2, 2025. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Pool/File Photo

Netanyahu says Palestinian state would be 'national suicide' for Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Friday in an angry UN address to block a Palestinian state, accusing European leaders of pushing his country into "national suicide" and rewarding Hamas.

Netanyahu, who said his speech was being partially broadcast on Israeli military loudspeakers in Gaza, vowed to "finish the job" against Hamas even as President Donald Trump said he thought he had sealed a deal on a ceasefire.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the United Nations General Assembly

Iran sanctions look set to return even as nuclear inspections resume

Deep sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program look set to go into force once again, even as a UN watchdog confirmed Friday inspections of its atomic sites had resumed.

Russia failed in an effort with Beijing Friday to delay the reimposition of the measures on Tehran, with Moscow raising the prospect that it may not enforce the sanctions -- despite being required to under international law.

Following the US withdrawal, Tehran gradually broke away from its commitments under the agreement and began stepping up its nuclear activities

Donor nations provide emergency financial aid to Palestinian Authority, Norway says

OSLO (Reuters) -A group of nations providing financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority has agreed to an emergency package increasing the support, Norway's foreign ministry said on Friday.

Saudi Arabia, Spain, Britain, Japan and France were among the nations supporting the initiative dubbed the Emergency Coalition for the Financial Sustainability of the Palestinian Authority.

It was not immediately clear how much funding the initiative would raise.

The Norwegian government said its contribution was for 40 million Norwegian crowns ($4.0 million).

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike amid an Israeli operation, as seen from central Gaza Strip September 25, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Britain's former PM Blair eyes key role in Gaza under Trump peace plan, FT says

(Reuters) -Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair seeks a senior role in running postwar Gaza under a peace plan being developed by the Trump administration, the Financial Times said on Thursday, citing people briefed on the proposal.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Blair had been proposed to chair a supevisory board called the “Gaza International Transitional Authority,” the paper added.

Blair was part of a late August meeting Trump presided over to tackle Israel's war in Gaza and post-war plans for the Palestinian territory.

FILE PHOTO: Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair attends the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change's annual Future of Britain Conference, in London, Britain, July 9, 2024. REUTERS/Claudia Greco/File Photo

Foreign doctors in Gaza describe worst wounds 'they've ever seen'

International doctors and nurses who treated Palestinians in Gazan hospitals described wounds more severe than civilians had suffered in other modern conflicts, according to a peer-reviewed study published Friday.

For the research in the leading medical journal BMJ, 78 humanitarian healthcare workers mostly from Europe and North America answered survey questions describing the severity, location and cause of the wounds they saw during their stints in the Gaza Strip.

Civilians suffered more than twice the number of wounds from explosions in Gaza than other modern conflicts, according to a new study

UN to vote on Iran as sanctions loom

The UN Security Council will take up the dispute over Iran's nuclear program again Friday as China and Russia seek to give more time for diplomacy on the eve of new sanctions against Tehran.

European powers, complaining that Iran has not cooperated, have triggered a return of sweeping UN sanctions that are set to go into effect at the end of Saturday.

China and Russia will put forward a draft resolution, seen by AFP, that would give another six months, or until April 18, 2026.

Following the US withdrawal, Tehran gradually broke away from its commitments under the agreement and began stepping up its nuclear activities

Trump says he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank

By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank, rejecting calls from some far-right politicians in Israel who want to extend sovereignty over the area.

Trump addressed the topic after what he described as a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss resolving the Gaza conflict.

"I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It's not going to happen," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 25, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

UNRWA chief insists it must be part of Gaza reconstruction

The UN Palestinian relief agency has a vital role to play in Gaza's reconstruction even though it wasn't consulted on a nascent US peace plan for the territory, its head told AFP Thursday.

UNRWA, the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, supplied healthcare, welfare and education services in Gaza before Israel launched its devastating assaults on the territory in retaliation for Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.

UNRWA, the main humanitarian agency for Palestinians, supplied healthcare, welfare and education services in Gaza before war broke out between Hamas and Israel