Crowds packed central Tehran on Friday for the unveiling of a statue celebrating an ancient Persian victory over foreign enemies -- a show of defiance toward Iran's modern-day foes in the wake of its recent 12-day war with Israel.

Thousands filled Enghelab Square to see the monument depicting the triumphant Sasanian king Shapur I looming on horseback over the kneeling Roman emperor Valerian, whom the Persian ruler captured in the third century AD.

By Sam Tabahriti and Daphne Psaledakis

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States and Britain removed sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Friday, a day after the United Nations Security Council did the same ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump next week, with the European Union confirming it would follow suit.

Washington and London also lifted sanctions on Syria's interior minister Anas Khattab, according to notices on their websites.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Friday removed sanctions on Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a day after the United Nations Security Council did the same ahead of his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump next week.

According to a notice on the U.S. Treasury Department website, the United States removed Specially Designated Global Terrorist designations on Sharaa and Syria's interior minister, Anas Khattab.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Susan Heavey; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Turkey announced Friday that it had issued arrest warrants for genocide against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials in his government over the war in Gaza.

The announcement was met with a firm rebuttal from Israel. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel "firmly rejects, with contempt" the charges, calling them "the latest PR stunt by the tyrant (Turkish President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan".

The Istanbul prosecutor's office said in a statement that a total of 37 suspects were targeted by the arrest warrants, without providing a full list.

By Jonathan Spicer

(Reuters) -The United States fully backs the European Union using frozen Russian assets as a tool to support Ukraine and end the war with Russia, a U.S. source familiar with the situation told Reuters on Friday.

As the West seeks to ramp up pressure on Moscow, the European Commission has proposed a plan allowing EU governments to use up to 185 billion euros ($217 billion) - most of the 210 billion euros worth of Russian sovereign assets currently frozen in Europe - without confiscating them.

(Reuters) -Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said it will hand over the body of a deceased hostage on Friday evening as part of the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Under the October ceasefire deal Hamas turned over all 20 living hostages held in Gaza in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian convicts and wartime detainees held in Israel.

Hamas also promised to hand over the remains of 28 deceased hostages in return for remains of 360 militants. So far, 22 hostage bodies have been returned in exchange for 285 bodies of Palestinians.

By Nailia Bagirova

BAKU (Reuters) -Azerbaijan does not plan to send peacekeepers to Gaza unless there is a complete halt to fighting there between Israel and Hamas, an Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry source told Reuters on Friday.

As part of President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, the U.S. has been speaking to Azerbaijan, Indonesia, the UAE, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey about possible contributions from those countries to an International Stabilization Force (ISF) of around 20,000 troops.

The United States and Israel on Friday accused Iran of trying to kill Israel's ambassador to Mexico, with Tehran rejecting the claim as a "big lie" and the Mexican government saying it was unaware of the plot.

The purported assassination attempt came as tensions soared to new highs between Israel and Iran, which have each attacked the other's territory.

Israel said Mexican authorities had intervened to stop the attempt to kill its ambassador, Einat Kranz-Neiger, but Mexico's foreign ministry later said it had "received no information" on the alleged incident.

By Erin Banco, Jonathan Landay and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. gathered intelligence last year that Israel’s military lawyers warned there was evidence that could support war crimes charges against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza – operations reliant on American-supplied weapons, five former U.S. officials said.

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps plotted to assassinate Israel's ambassador to Mexico starting late last year, but the effort was contained and there is no current threat, a U.S. official said on Friday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plot against the ambassador, Einat Kranz Neiger, was active through the first half of this year.