The move paves the way for the Taliban to appoint their own team and is another diplomatic success for the group. Their takeover of diplomatic missions in Turkey pushes the number of overseas embassies and consulates under Taliban control to more than 40.

Sanctions include blocking International Criminal Court officials from entering the U.S. The ICC had issued an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his actions toward Palestinians in Gaza late last year. Neither the U.S. nor Israel is a member of or recognizes the court.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggested that “there should be no negotiations with such a government,” but stopped short of issuing a direct order not to engage with Washington. Khamenei’s remarks appeared to contradict his own earlier comments that opened the door to talks.

Syria is open to letting Russia keep its air and naval bases along the Mediterranean coast as long as any agreement with the Kremlin serves the country’s interests, Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra said in an interview this week, underscoring the pragmatic approach taken by his government as it charts new alliances and reassesses old ones forged under the previous regime.

Iran has inaugurated its first drone-carrier warship, saying the vessel is capable of operating in oceans far from its mainland, the official IRNA news agency reported Thursday.

President Trump has signaled that a grand Middle East bargain is a top foreign-policy priority, and MBS, as Saudi Arabia’s de-facto leader is known, sees the deal as an opportunity to get what he wants — namely a defense, technology and nuclear cooperation agreement with the U.S. But Trump’s musing on Gaza is putting the prince in a tough spot.

The resource-rich province of Deir al-Zour saw rebels oust Assad loyalists in 2012, before being supplanted by jihadi fighters, who in turn were soon kicked out by Islamic State militants. It remains hostage to competing ambitions by the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led SDF, the new government and Islamic State sleeper cells.

Palestinians will mark this year the 77th anniversary of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel, an event that is at the core of their national struggle.

President Donald Trump’s top diplomat and his main spokesperson on Wednesday walked back the idea that he wants the permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, after American allies and even Republican lawmakers rebuffed his suggestion that the U.S. take “ownership” of the territory.

President Donald Trump offered a jaw-dropping performance during his joint news conference Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting that Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip could be permanently resettled elsewhere and that the U.S. might stage a long-term takeover of the vacated region — even leading redevelopment efforts to make it a seaside paradise in waiting.