U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday called Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss efforts to end the U.S.-Iran war, amid a diplomatic push to avoid a new round of conflict.

The high-profile exchange was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic phone calls that saw Iran's top diplomat speaking to his counterparts in the Gulf, amid fears that Trump could resume strikes despite major losses in midterms elections.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement carried by state media Friday that two oil tankers caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, a day after Tehran claimed five other tankers had similar fates.

Since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28, Tehran has sought to limit traffic through the strategic waterway, which normally carries about one-fifth of global oil consumption.

Israel's largest Arab party grouping, the Joint List, said Thursday it would recommend opposition bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot for the formation of a new government after last week's election.

The European Union said Thursday it plans to start piloting an "AI literacy" certificate for schoolchildren, as part of efforts to address the impact of the fast-developing technology on education.

Portuguese football legend Cristiano Ronaldo announced on Thursday that he was retiring from international football.

The 41-year-old, who has played 234 times for Portugal and scored 146 goals, fell out with national coach Jorge Jesus last month after he refused to use him in a Nations League match and left the team camp.

Following the drubbing of U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican Party in the midterm elections, Iranians set fire to a giant poster featuring the American leader and his allies at a rally in Tehran.

In the capital's central Enghelab square, crowds gathered to observe the burning of the poster which also featured his Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Thursday that a ballistic missile fired by the group at the Medina region -- home to one of Islam's holiest cities -- had been intercepted.

"Air defense intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the Medina region," coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said in a post on X.

Israeli strikes targeted overnight Tallousa, Aita al-Jabal and Hadatha-Harees, the National News Agency said.

The strikes come hours after a drone targeted a motorcyclist in Qabrikha, killing the man and wounding another, the first such death since September.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish party long aligned with Benjamin Netanyahu declined on Thursday to recommend him to stay as Israel's prime minister, as signs grew that rival Gadi Eisenkot will have the first chance to form a government.

President Isaac Herzog was holding a second day of consultations with political parties after the October 27 election, in which neither Netanyahu -- a polarizing right-winger who has led Israel through three years of war -- nor Eisenkot secured enough votes for a majority.

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that the Iran war "must end" and suggested his party's incoming majority in Congress could use their control over government funding to press for that goal.