Israel reopened the border between Gaza and Egypt on Monday for people on foot, a move that would allow Palestinians to leave the enclave and let back in those who want to return after fleeing Israel’s war in the enclave.

The Iranian Parliament has designated the armed forces of EU member states as ‘terrorist organizations’, mirroring the bloc’s recent decision to blacklist the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, to the Kremlin on Friday, in an unannounced high-level meeting.

EU foreign ministers have agreed to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization,” the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, announced on Thursday.

Washington’s closest Gulf allies – Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – have said they will not permit their territory or airspace to be used for US military action against Iran.

American military assets – including an aircraft carrier, warplanes, and air-defense systems – are massing in the Middle East after US President Donald Trump promised that “help is on its way” to protesters in Iran.

A US naval strike group led by an aircraft carrier has deployed to Middle Eastern waters, the United States said Monday, as Tehran warned it was ready to hit back at any American attack launched in response to a crackdown on anti-government protests.

Iran has prevailed over the US by curbing the violent protests that gripped the country, the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said.

US President Donald Trump on Friday gave a key role in post-war Gaza to former British prime minister Tony Blair and appointed a US officer to lead a nascent security force.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, amid mass protests that have gripped the Islamic Republic in recent weeks.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the formation of a Gaza "board of peace," a key phase two element of a US-backed plan to end the war in the Palestinian territory.

The United States is withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbours it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.