By Saeed Shah and Maha El Dahan

ISLAMABAD/DUBAI - With many Arab nations feeling a rising threat from Israel, the Saudi-Pakistan defense pact announced this week brings Pakistan - and its nuclear umbrella - into the region's security equation.

The "Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement" signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday effectively marries Riyadh's money with Pakistan's giant nuclear-armed military, analysts said.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said on Friday his government supported the efforts made by the European Commission to monetize underlying frozen Russian assets held in the EU to help finance the Ukrainian government.

"From Spain, we've been advocating for increasing as much as possible the financing for Ukraine..." Cuerpo said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "We are advocating to actually look at creative ways to also use those immobilized assets."

By Maha El Dahan and Muayad Hameed

DUBAI/BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's attempt to ease its chronic power shortage with gas from Turkmenistan routed through neighbouring Iran has failed under U.S. pressure, leaving Baghdad scrambling for alternatives to keep the lights on.

Oil-rich Iraq has struggled to provide its citizens with power since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, forcing many to rely on expensive private generators, causing economic hardship and sparking social unrest.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - MI6 chief Richard Moore said on Friday that he sees "no evidence" that Russian President Vladimir Putin has any interest in a negotiated peace short of Ukrainiancapitulation.

In a speech in Istanbul to announce plans to use the dark web to recruit informants and receive secret information from agents in Russia and worldwide, Moore also said Putin has "bitten off more than he can chew" and underestimated Ukrainiansinthe war.

(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer, Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever, Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

LONDON (Reuters) -The United States seeks to regain control of Bagram air base in Afghanistan, President Donald Trump said on Thursday during a press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but an Afghan official dismissed the need for any U.S. presence.

The historic Soviet-built airstrip was the main base for American forces in the mountainous South Asian nation following the attacks of September 11, 2001, until their 2021 withdrawal led to a takeover by the Islamist Taliban movement.

By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese departs for the U.S. this week, raising expectations of a first meeting with President Donald Trump, where the AUKUS defence partnership and China are likely to dominate talks between the security allies.

According to his office, Albanese departs on Saturday for the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where the prime minister said he will attend a reception hosted by Trump on Tuesday.

More than 140 world leaders will descend on New York next week for the annual United Nations General Assembly summit, which will be dominated this year by the future of the Palestinians and Gaza.

One world leader who will miss the gathering is Mahmud Abbas, the Palestinian president who Washington denied a visa to attend, along with his officials.

The United Nations Security Council voted Friday, after European pressure, to reimpose deep economic sanctions on Iran over its resurgent nuclear program, triggering an angry reaction from Tehran.

Britain, France and Germany are signatories to a 2015 deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) intended to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

The trio allege that Iran has broken its promises under the treaty.

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's goal of re-occupying Bagram air base in Afghanistan might end up looking like a re-invasion of the country, requiring more than 10,000 troops as well as deployment of advanced air defenses, current and former U.S. officials say.

Trump, speaking to reporters on Thursday during a trip to London, said "we want that base back" and cited what he called its strategic location near China.

"It's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons," Trump said.

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group of U.S. senators introduced on Thursday the first Senate resolution to urge recognition of a Palestinian state, further signaling a shift in Washington sentiment toward Israel nearly two years into its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.