Poland and Israel have taken a step toward normalizing diplomatic ties, the Polish president said, as the Israeli ambassador officially presented his credentials in Warsaw.

President Andrzej Duda tweeted that he and Israeli President Issac Herzog have "agreed that it's time to return to normal relations."

Iran said U.S. President Joe Biden's trip to the Middle East, which starts on Wednesday, will not bring about security for Israel, the Islamic republic's regional arch-enemy.

"If the visits of the American officials to the countries of the region are to strengthen the position of the Zionist regime and to normalize the relations of this regime with some countries, their efforts will not create security for the Zionists in any way," President Ebrahim Raisi said in a statement, referring to Israel.

U.S. President Joe Biden started a Middle East tour on Wednesday in Israel, where leaders will urge tougher action against their common foe Iran, before a delicate stop in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. 

Biden's visit to Jeddah on Friday will be the focus of the tour, after he branded Saudi Arabia a "pariah" over the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution Tuesday extending a system for cross-border aid to Syria by six months, the duration demanded by Russia while other members had sought a full year.

The leader of the Islamic State militant group in Syria was killed Tuesday in a U.S. drone strike, the Pentagon said.

Maher al-Agal was killed while riding a motorcycle near Jindayris in Syria, and one of his top aides was seriously injured, Pentagon Central Command spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn told AFP.

The U.N. special envoy for Yemen said Monday he plans to explore the possibility of a longer and expanded truce with the country's warring parties in the coming weeks.

Hans Grundberg said an extension could be a good step in moving toward a cease-fire in the country's eight-year civil war. He didn't provide details of the length or expansion he is seeking ahead of the Aug. 2 expiration of the current two-month truce extension.

The Security Council headed toward approval of a U.N. resolution Tuesday to extend humanitarian aid deliveries to 4.1 million people in Syria's rebel-held northwest, after Russia won its demand for only a six-month mandate.

Ireland and Norway, which had sponsored a resolution calling for a yearlong extension that was vetoed Friday by Russia, circulated a new draft Monday that provides for a six-month extension of deliveries through the Bab al-Hawa crossing until Jan. 10, 2023.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Tehran on July 19 for a Syria summit with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin announced Tuesday. 

Japan's former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated Friday by a gunman who opened fire on him as he delivered a campaign speech on a street in western Japan.

Here's a global look at other high-profile assassinations in the 21st century:

The family of an Israel-American girl killed in a 2001 Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem is seeking a meeting with President Joe Biden in hopes of forcing Jordan to extradite a woman convicted in the deadly attack.

The parents of Malki Roth turned to Biden on Sunday asking to meet with the president when he comes to Jerusalem this week. They want the president to put pressure on Jordan, a close American ally, to send Ahlam Tamimi to the U.S. for trial.