Israel and Oman have no diplomatic relations, but the Gulf state seemed to have been less reluctant in publicizing its relations with Israel. In 2018, the late Sultan Qaboos received Netanyahu in Muscat.

Two Reuters reporters said the tremors were strong and lasting, damaging buildings and leaving dust in the night air in central Antakya city, where it was centred. It was also felt in Egypt and Lebanon, Reuters reporters said.

The unmanned aerial vehicle was downed over a US-occupied natural gas field in Syria

The young Iraqi woman using that pseudonym was sentenced early this month to half a year behind bars for the light-hearted video clips that show her in tight-fitting clothes.

Iran and China on Tuesday signed 20 cooperation agreements in different fields during President Ebrahim Raisi's three-day visit to Beijing, his office said.

Pakistan dispatches winterized tents to Türkiye, meanwhile, schools across the South-Asian country are collecting funds for earthquake victims.

Israel has long accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme is aimed solely at generating energy.

An anti-aircraft system destroyed one drone and two others exploded, the ministry said, adding that there were no casualties and only minor damage to the site in the central province of Isfahan.

Turkey’s one hundred years as a Republic have seen the country go through difficult economic and political phases.

"All I want, sir, is one minute of your days' time for the next seven days devoted to thinking about the tribulations of the US hostages in Iran," Siamak Namazi wrote in an open letter to Biden.

The defence ministers of Russia, Turkey and Syria met in Moscow on Wednesday, the first such talks since a war broke out in Syria, the Russian defence ministry said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog thanked Morocco's King Mohammed VI for his country's provision of "safe haven" for Jews during the Holocaust, in a missive seen by AFP on Tuesday.