Lee Jae Myung said the U.S. ally, whose support for the Iran war President Donald Trump has criticized as insufficient, was focused instead on safeguarding navigation in the region.

A deadly building collapse in Gaza has highlighted ongoing hardships for Palestinians nearly a year after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he has spoken to Tehran "directly," adding that the Iranians "want to make a deal" with the United States. He also said the war, which began on Feb. 28, is "hopefully" coming to an end in the near term.

Clashes between Iranian-backed Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed government forces have been reported near oil-rich Marib Province.

It is the second consecutive year the State Department has prevented key Palestinian officials from attending the U.N. meeting in New York.

The international fact-finding mission on Iran says the findings center on a pair of airstrikes, including one on a school in the southern city of Minab.

Iranian forces in recent days have brought down at least two American MQ-1 unmanned aircraft, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

Market bets on further European Central Bank rate hikes are being driven largely by higher energy prices but policymakers will look ​at a much wider set of economic indicators when deciding their next moves,