The parliament in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region elected a speaker on Wednesday, more than two years after elections were held, with the chamber still riven by party divisions.

Israel's president on Wednesday urged political leaders to compromise in forming a government after an election he said had no clear winner and condemned "racist" rhetoric against Arab parties.

Hours after U.S. voters stripped President Donald Trump's Republicans of control of Congress, partly over the Iran war, thousands gathered Wednesday outside the former U.S. embassy in Tehran for an annual anti-American rally.

Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Wednesday that anyone expecting a shift in U.S. policy was "seriously mistaken", hours after midterm elections dealt a blow to President Donald Trump.

"Those who still harbor even the slightest hope that the behavior of the hegemonic system might change through partisan or factional shifts, or who imagine that making concessions to the United States can dissuade it from hostility towards the Iranian nation, are seriously mistaken," Khamenei said in a written statement published on his website.

Prime minister Nawaf Salam warned on Wednesday against plunging the country into a new war if the Middle East conflict resumes, in an apparent message to Hezbollah.

"Faced with the risks of renewed war in the region, I renew my warning of the dangers of dragging Lebanon into a new senseless adventure in service of outside interests," Salam said.

U.S. First Lady Melania Trump will host "representatives" of Russia and Ukraine in Washington, the White House said Tuesday, without specifying a date or offering further details about who may attend.

The meeting between parties from the two warring countries will take place at the White House and represents an "extraordinary moment in American history," the statement said.

Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday that Tehran reserved the right to self-defense following U.S. attacks on Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran retains the right to legitimate self-defense until the military aggression has been completely and permanently brought to an end," Gharibabadi said according to Iran's ISNA news agency.

Qatar said on Tuesday it remained hopeful that an interim deal could be reached between the United States and Iran as both sides review proposals put forward by mediators including Doha.

In recent days, diplomatic efforts have been underway to prevent renewed fighting after the United States threatened major new strikes -- though U.S. President Donald Trump signaled diplomatic progress with Iran.

The Kremlin confirmed Tuesday that U.S.-mediated Russia-Ukraine talks to end more than four years of war will take place in Abu Dhabi next week.

"The Russian delegation will arrive on November 10-11 in Abu Dhabi to take part in trilateral talks," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that presidential aide and former culture minister Vladimir Medinsky will represent Moscow at the meeting.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had no involvement in reported U.S. strikes on an Iranian island, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent threats to resume war with Tehran.

Asked if Israel was involved in secret attacks reported by U.S. media outlets on Qeshm Island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz, an Israeli military spokesperson told AFP, "No".