Iran's president said Wednesday that the world needs its help to stabilize a troubled Middle East, in remarks pointing to the wider ramifications of a deal over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
In a live televised speech marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Hassan Rouhani implicitly linked ongoing nuclear talks with world powers to resolving bloody conflicts in Iraq and Syria.

Western governments evacuated their diplomats from Yemen on Wednesday as conflict deepened in the impoverished Saudi neighbour which has long been on the front line of the war against al-Qaida.
Exactly four years after the start of Arab Spring-inspired protests that forced veteran strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh from power, his Western-backed successor is under effective house arrest, after being ousted by Shiite militia last week.

Foreign fighters are flocking to Syria at an "unprecedented" rate, with more than 20,000 volunteers from around the world joining the Islamic State or other extremist groups, U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday.
The foreign fighters have traveled to Syria from more than 90 countries, including at least 3,400 from Western states and more than 150 Americans, according to the latest estimate from the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC).

The United States on Tuesday denied that it was coordinating air strikes with the Syrian regime against Islamic militants and renewed its insistence that President Bashar Assad must step down.
In an interview with the BBC, Assad said Damascus was being informed about the U.S.-led coalition air strikes against the Islamic State group through messages conveyed via a third party.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Tuesday he has a "profound disagreement" with President Barack Obama over efforts by the U.S. and world powers to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue.
However, he said he is still trying to minimize the impact of the dispute on his country's relations with the United States.

Yemeni Shiite militia chief Abdelmalek al-Huthi warned his rivals Tuesday against any attempt to destabilize the country after his group grabbed power in Sanaa.
"It is in the interests of everyone, both inside and outside the country, that Yemen be stable," Huthi said in a televised address as U.N.-brokered talks seeking a way out of the crisis were held at a hotel.

Sweden announced a multi-million-euro Palestinian aid package Tuesday as President Mahmoud Abbas made his first visit to Stockholm since 2009.
Sweden became the first major Western European country to recognize Palestine in October, but Prime Minister Stefan Loefven stressed that the recognition came with responsibilities.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday confirmed the death of Kayla Jean Mueller, who was taken hostage in Syria by the Islamic State group, and vowed to track down her captors.
"No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla's captivity and death," he said in a statement.

A female doctor from Tajikistan kidnapped three months ago in violence-plagued Yemen was freed on Tuesday, her country's embassy in Saudi Arabia said.
Gul Rukhsor, in her mid-30s, will return to Tajikistan, said a diplomat at the mission who did not want to be named.

Syrian activists on Tuesday accused Jaysh al-Islam, a powerful Islamist group near Damascus, of detaining a group of their colleagues, in what they said was the latest in a string of abuses.
"An armed group believed to be loyal to Jaysh al-Islam stormed the office of Erbin's local (activist) committee... It kidnapped the team there and took them to an area near the frontline," said the non-violent Local Coordination Committees activist group.
