Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday stressed the importance of strengthening the "new order" in the region, on the first stop in a three-day visit to Iraq.

Ghalibaf's trip comes at a time when Iraq is facing American pressure to disarm factions close to Tehran, which wields significant political influence in Iraq.

Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who took office three months ago with US backing, has pledged to restrict weapons to the control of the state.

PARIS, Aug 19 (Reuters) - French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot condemned on Wednesday violence in the West Bank by Israeli settlers against Palestinians, and added that this justified France's recent sanctions against Israel's far-right police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

• "What is happening today in the West Bank is utterly disgraceful and should fill us all with revulsion," Barrot wrote on X.

• "This is why we have sanctioned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir, whose recent comments are unacceptable and inhuman," added Barrot.

Warnings are multiplying that violence could break out between rival political camps ahead of Israel's October 27 election, with powerful figures including top government ministers accused of incitement against opponents.

Israel was rocked in 2023 by mass protests against a judicial overhaul widely seen as an attempt to curb the courts' powers. Protests flared again after Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, this time against the government's conduct of the war in Gaza and the stalemate in hostage negotiations.

The Israeli military on Wednesday admitted its troops fired on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in 2024, saying it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing which drew international outrage.

Hind Rajab's body was recovered from a car riddled with bullets in Gaza City days after she was last heard from in a desperate, hours-long phone call to the Palestinian Red Crescent on January 29, 2024.

The Israeli military had previously denied its troops were present in the area near the incident.

Germany, France and the UN on Wednesday condemned remarks by Israel's far-right national security minister, who declared that Israel should kill "30 or 40" people every night in the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz "strongly condemns the inhumane appeals made by Minister (Itamar) Ben Gvir, which violate international law," German government spokesman Sebastian Hille said. "They are unacceptable."

Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders completed a move from Manchester City to Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah on Wednesday in a deal reportedly worth 61 million euros ($71 million).

An AFP correspondent saw Reijnders arrive at the club's headquarters in Al Khobar on Tuesday ahead of the official announcement by both clubs.

Reijnders, who represented the Netherlands at the recent World Cup, has signed a contract that runs until 2031.

Iran's armed forces warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military on Wednesday, hours after the United Arab Emirates announced it was severing economic ties with Tehran following new attacks on shipping.

The Gulf is dotted with US military installations, including in the UAE, which said on Tuesday that Iran had fired two ballistic missiles at vessels off its coast.

ANKARA, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Turkey firmly rejected on Wednesday what it called "untenable allegations" by Israel regarding its military position in Syria, after Israel bombed a Syrian air base near the Turkish border and said Syria was on the verge of permitting Turkish troops to deploy there.

Israel carried out airstrikes against the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from Turkey and criticism from a U.S. envoy who called the attack an "unnecessary escalation".

By Parisa Hafezi and Katharine Jackson

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday no talks were taking place with Iran and insisted the Strait of Hormuz was open, contradicting Iran's assertion that the critical waterway remained shut to shipping.