Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, began a visit to Iraq on Wednesday, aiming to deepen already close ties with the neighboring country on his first trip abroad since taking office.

The three-day trip comes amid turmoil in the Middle East sparked by the war in Gaza, which has drawn in Iran-backed armed groups around the region and complicated Iraq's relations with the United States.

Most U.S. stocks are ticking higher, offering a respite following weeks of sharp swings. The S&P 500 was up 0.4% in early trading Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 67 points, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.8%. Oracle jumped 10% after delivering better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Stocks have been careening down and up since setting their latest all-time high in July amid worries about the slowing economy and whether coming cuts to interest rates will keep the U.S. out of a possible recession. Treasury yields were relatively steady in the bond market.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

Coming off the worst trading week in close to a year-and-a-half, markets on Wall Street are poised to rebound at the opening bell Monday.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% in premarket trading.

A Lebanese judge Monday issued an arrest warrant for ex-central bank chief Riad Salameh, a judicial official said, after the embattled former governor was questioned in an embezzlement case.

Salameh, 74, who led the central bank for three decades, faces numerous charges including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion in separate probes in crisis-hit Lebanon and abroad.