(Reuters) -Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that Iran does not seek war but if Israel and the United States attacked, Iran will stand against them "forcefully".
"America and Israel seek to divide and destroy Iran, but no Iranian wants Iran to be divided", he said in a pre-recorded TV interview.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Leslie Adler)
By Andrew Gray
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Foreign ministers from the European Union will confront their divisions over the war in Gaza on Saturday after the bloc's humanitarian aid chief called on them to "find a strong voice that reflects our values and principles."
Ministers from the EU's 27 member countries will discuss the war - launched in response to the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas - at a meeting in the Danish capital Copenhagen.
Qatari investment firm Al Mansour Holding has pledged $70 billion in investments across four southern Africa countries in a 10-day tour, a move analysts call strategic as US funding retreats from the continent.
Group leader and royal family member Sheikh Mansour bin Jabor bin Jassim Al Thani has met the leaders of Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe to sign commitments of major financing for projects spanning energy, agriculture, tourism and mining.
By Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Britain, France and Germany urged Iran at the United Nations on Friday to meet three requirements so their threat of reimposing U.N. sanctions can be delayed to allow space for talks on a deal to address their concerns about Tehran's nuclear program.
U.N. envoys for the three countries - known as the E3 - issued a joint statement before a closed-door Security Council meeting, a day after they launched a 30-day process to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
Turkey's top diplomat said Friday that Ankara had closed its ports and airspace to Israeli ships and planes, with a diplomatic source telling AFP the ban applied to "official" flights.
Ties between Turkey and Israel have been shattered by Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, with Ankara accusing Israel of committing "genocide" in the tiny Palestinian territory -- a term roundly rejected by Israel -- and suspending all trade ties in May last year.
(Reuters) -The U.S. is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September, the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Friday.
The restrictions mean that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would likely not be able to travel to New York to deliver an address to the annual gathering, as he typically does.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with President Xi Jinping in China next week, attend a security summit, and be the "main guest" of Xi's at a military parade on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Putin will be in China, Russia's biggest trading partner, from August 31 to September 3, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, saying a four-day trip of its kind was very rare for the Russian leader.
ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey has decided to bar Israeli vessels from using its ports, forbid Turkish ships from using Israeli ports and impose restrictions on planes entering Turkish airspace, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.
He provided few details in comments to parliament which appeared to summarise steps that Turkey has already taken against Israel over the war in Gaza or has started to implement.
The United States said Friday it will deny visas to members of the Palestinian Authority to attend next month's UN General Assembly, where France is leading a push to recognize a Palestinian state.
The extraordinary step further aligns President Donald Trump's administration with Israel's government, which is fighting a war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
Israel adamantly rejects a Palestinian state and has sought to lump together the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority with rival Hamas.
Palestinian factions in several Beirut refugee camps surrendered their weapons to the Lebanese army on Friday, an official said, as the government disarms non-state groups.
Ramez Dimashkieh, chairman of the official Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, told AFP that "the Palestine Liberation Organisation handed over three truckloads of weapons to the Lebanese army", including rockets and heavy weapons.
