Saudi Arabia turned down multiple requests by Israel to send its own planes to retrieve passengers from a diverted flydubai flight, a Saudi source with knowledge of the matter told AFP Thursday.

"They asked to send military warplanes. 2 or 3 direct to Tabuk airport,” the source told AFP. "Turned down."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday welcomed the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq as a "historic victory" and called for American troops to leave the Middle East.

The Revolutionary Guards "congratulate the proud nation of Iraq, the united front of the Islamic Resistance, and the revolutionary fighters of the Islamic world on this historic victory," the IRGC said in a statement carried by their official media.

Pakistan confirmed on Thursday it had conducted "planned and calibrated" airstrikes on neighboring Afghanistan, where it says militants are based and coordinate attacks.

"Based on credible intelligence, selective targeting of terrorist camps and hideouts at two locations belonging to Fitna al khwarij, Fitna al Hindustan and their affiliates has been carried out in Afghanistan with precision and accuracy," the information ministry posted on X, referring to the militant groups it targeted.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday he would present "heroism" awards to four Israelis who helped overpower a flydubai co-pilot and prevented him from crashing the plane they were on.

"You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster. Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society," Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said in a statement.

Iraqi armed factions backed by Tehran said Wednesday that they were "not bound by any timeline or agreement" to surrender their weapons to the state, as the government seeks to disarm them under mounting U.S. pressure.

A plane heading to Tel Aviv from Dubai was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, after one of the pilots allegedly tried to crash the plane and kill everyone onboard.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is understood to be "extremely obese", Seoul's spy agency said Wednesday, citing its latest assessment of the reclusive leader's health.

A heavy smoker who has long been obese, Kim's health is closely watched internationally as his sudden death could raise questions over succession and stability in the nuclear-armed state.

Israeli leaders said on Wednesday that a "jihadist" pilot had aimed to crash a flydubai plane with mostly Israeli passengers, who overpowered him and prevented a "major disaster".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that one of the pilots of a flydubai plane bound for Tel Aviv had planned to crash it and kill its mostly Israeli passengers, who stopped a "major disaster."

"During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," Netanyahu said in a video message, calling the passengers "heroes" who "prevented a major disaster."

A passenger on a rerouted flydubai flight that was bound for Tel Aviv said one of the pilots tried to crash the plane and kill everyone on board, after both pilots were found to be wounded on landing in Saudi Arabia.

In the first comment by an official, Israel's far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir alleged an attempted "terrorist" attack in the incident, in which none of the passengers reported injuries.