Two people were killed by an explosion on Friday in front of the Hassakeh courthouse, in Syria's predominantly Kurdish northeast, state news agency SANA reported.

SANA quoted a security source as saying that the blast was from a hand grenade and that it killed, according to health authorities, a man and a 13-year-old child.

An Israeli airstrike on a house in the southern town of Arab Salim killed a young woman and wounded several people on Thursday, as Israel launched a wave of airstrikes outside the so-called security zone in response to an alleged Hezbollah drone attack.

The National News Agency said the woman "had been married for 48 hours."

A Lebanese judge told AFP on Wednesday that he has allowed a transgender woman to update her personal status record and change her gender, a rare move in a country where LGBTQ issues remain highly taboo.

Lebanon has never been a safe haven for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer people, but the community has long been visible and outspoken, defying crackdowns on its bars, nightclubs and community centers.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they had agreed with Oman to share any revenues earned from transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz.

"During negotiations with Oman, some agreements were made regarding the share of each country in the waters of the Strait and the share of Iran and Oman in its revenues," said Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi, adding that the US was "obstructing work" to finalize a deal.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday said that the "United States will achieve nothing" with its new round of economic sanctions, local media reported.

"Given the measures the government has undertaken, America will not achieve anything with economic pressure at this stage, just as it was unable to achieve anything in the war," Pezeshkian said, according to ISNA news agency.

As extreme heat fuels wildfires worldwide this summer, Lebanese officials and residents have accused Israel's military of systematically sparking blazes that have burnt swathes of forest and farmland in the country's south.

In the village of Shaqra, Haidar Qoteish, 36, says he has watched fires devour fields and orchards in his hometown of Houla, just five kilometers away but under Israeli military control.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a diplomatic deal was not possible with the "savages" who rule Iran as he hailed U.S. President Donald Trump's new campaign of economic pressure.

Recounting a recent meeting with Trump, Netanyahu told an event late Tuesday that they had discussed the possibility of diplomacy with Iran and said: "I doubt, however, that an agreement can be reached with that group there, with those savages. I tell you -- an agreement cannot be reached."

Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh predicted "another defeat" for the United States, saying the Islamic republic had a "two-year plan" to counter Washington's new sanctions.

"They have done everything they could to test the determination of the Iranian people and the country's officials, but they have failed every time. It seems they wished to suffer yet another defeat," Madanizadeh told state television.

Turkey on Tuesday welcomed the United States' decision to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, hoping that it would boost efforts to integrate the war-torn country with the world.

"We believe this decision will lend momentum to efforts to strengthen Syria's ties with the international community and to establish lasting security and stability in the country," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

China said on Tuesday it would safeguard its interests after Washington laid out plans for the "economic asphyxiation" of Beijing's economic partner Iran.

Almost six months into its war with Iran, the United States issued new penalties on some entities including in China and expanded secondary sanctions threats, urging governments worldwide to join its economic campaign.