Israel has entered into a state of maximum alert to confront Iranian threats amid tensions linked to a suspected Israeli attack on an Iranian nuclear facility and a suspected Iranian attack on an Israeli commercial ship, Al-Arabiya TV reported on Tuesday.

“Israeli media circles have said that the ship attack is the beginning of a series of Iranian attacks,” Al-Arabiya’s correspondent in Israel said.

An Israeli-owned commercial ship was attacked with a missile Tuesday near UAE’s Fujairah, Arab and Israeli media reports said.

Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen television channel, which is close to Iran, identified the ship as the Bahamas-flagged Hyperion Ray, which is operated by Israeli firm Ray Shipping.

The megaship which blocked Egypt's Suez Canal and crippled world trade for nearly a week has been "seized" on court orders until the vessel's owners pay $900 million, canal authorities said Tuesday.

Egypt has freed prominent dissident journalist and politician Khaled Dawoud after more than 18 months in detention, a fellow journalist and a lawyer said Tuesday. 

Dubai restaurants are no longer required to shield passersby from the sight of food during Ramadan fasting hours, according to authorities in the Gulf emirate, where the Muslim holy month began Tuesday.

The Syrian president on Tuesday dismissed central bank governor Hazem Karfoul whose three-year tenure coincided with a severe economic crisis.

Saudi Arabia fervently denies involvement in Jordan's royal feud, but the arrest of an advisor to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has stirred unease in Riyadh, which sources say is pushing for his release.

Turkey and Libya on Monday renewed their commitment to a controversial maritime deal signed in 2019, as Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah paid his first official visit to Ankara.

Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday demanded Syria's government be held accountable after an investigation from a global watchdog said the regime used the chemical weapon chlorine in a 2018 attack. 

Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest shrines, announced that the holy fasting month of Ramadan will start on Tuesday, as Muslims worldwide face coronavirus curbs.

"Tomorrow, Tuesday... is the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan this year," the kingdom's supreme court said in a royal court statement.