US presidential envoy to the coalition fighting insurgent group Islamic State said on Friday (September 23, 2017) that Kuwait would hold a conference on reconstruction in Iraq early next year.

An Iraqi Yazidi group backed by Turkish Kurds and Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary clashed on Friday near the border with Syria, a local security official said.

A Saudi cleric who said women should not drive because their brains shrink to a quarter the size of a man’s when they go shopping has been banned from preaching, state television said.

The United Arab Emirates said on Friday it considers that Iran violates both the “letter and spirit” of the 2015 nuclear deal agreed between the Islamic Republic and world powers.

The United States “strongly opposes” the planned independence referendum by Iraqi Kurds and urges Iraqi Kurdish leaders to engage in negotiations with the Baghdad government instead, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

Germany’s deadliest weapons manufacturer will no longer sell weapons to war zones or countries that are corrupt, including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Israel.

Iraq launched an offensive on Thursday to dislodge Islamic State from Hawija, west of the oil city of Kirkuk and one of two areas of the country still under the control of the militants.

A large Saudi public university announced it would dismiss employees suspected of ties to the banned Muslim Brotherhood, adding to concerns that the government is clamping down on its critics in academia and beyond.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had not yet given up on convincing U.S. President Donald Trump to change his view of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on Wednesday that all parties to the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers were complying with the agreement.

Hackers probably linked to Iran’s government have hit Saudi and Western aerospace and petrochemical firms, marking a rise in Iranian cyber-spying prowess, security firm FireEye said on Wednesday, an assessment shared by other U.S. experts.

The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that the United States should experience “painful responses” following President Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of Tehran at the United Nations.

The United States said on Wednesday it is weighing whether the Iranian nuclear deal serves its security interests even as Iran said it did not expect Washington to abandon the agreement.

Iran is prepared for all possible scenarios if U.S. President Donald Trump scraps a nuclear deal reached between Tehran and six major powers in 2015, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday urged Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani to call off a planned referendum on independence for his autonomous region to avoid further "crises" in Iraq and the region.

Saudi Arabia will lift its ban on internet calling applications on Wednesday, authorities said, easing restrictions online as the conservative kingdom faces new criticism over censorship.

Britain and Saudi Arabia signed a framework deal on military and security cooperation, Saudi state news agency SPA said on Tuesday, redoubling efforts to counter Iran in the Gulf region and defeat Islamic State.

French President Emmanuel Macron hit back at U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday staunchly defending the “good” Iran nuclear deal saying that those who did not respect it were irresponsible.

Iran denounced U.S. President Donald Trump’s U.N. remarks as “shameless and ignorant” and said his speech on Tuesday showed his lack of knowledge about Tehran’s fight against terrorism, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Tuesday renewed a call for “unconditional dialogue” to end a crisis pitting Qatar against four Arab states while U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected the dispute to be resolved quickly.