The Trump administration is removing Syria from a list of countries that are not allowed to purchase or import U.S. weaponry, a step that is part of a monthslong process of easing sanctions on the new government in Damascus and its leaders.

In a notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register, the State Department said it was amending its International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, so that Syria no longer was among the nations subject to a policy of denial for licenses and other approvals needed for the sale of U.S. weapons and munitions.

Saudi Arabia turned down multiple requests by Israel to send its own planes to retrieve passengers from a diverted flydubai flight, a Saudi source with knowledge of the matter told AFP Thursday.

"They asked to send military warplanes. 2 or 3 direct to Tabuk airport,” the source told AFP. "Turned down."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Thursday welcomed the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq as a "historic victory" and called for American troops to leave the Middle East.

The Revolutionary Guards "congratulate the proud nation of Iraq, the united front of the Islamic Resistance, and the revolutionary fighters of the Islamic world on this historic victory," the IRGC said in a statement carried by their official media.

The identity and motive of the Omani copilot who stabbed his captain on a flight to Israel, causing the plane to plummet dangerously and forcing it to land in Saudi Arabia, remained unknown on Thursday as investigators raced to learn more.

Israeli passengers on the FlyDubai flight carrying 174 people from the United Arab Emirates to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv have described how the bloodied Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door to let them in before they grappled with the copilot and stabilized a descent so sharp that the plane's rudder was torn away.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Thursday he would present "heroism" awards to four Israelis who helped overpower a flydubai co-pilot and prevented him from crashing the plane they were on.

"You put yourselves at risk to save others and prevented a terrible disaster. Today, the whole world saw the beautiful and courageous face of Israeli society," Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, said in a statement.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Thursday announced June 30 as a new deadline for armed factions to turn over their weapons to the state, following the end of the U.S.-led coalition's mission in the country.

"October 1 is considered a serious beginning to address the issue of weapons outside state control... according to a clear roadmap and agreed timelines extending no later than June 30, 2027," Zaidi said in a statement, after having backed away from an initial September 30 deadline.

Iraqi armed factions backed by Tehran said Wednesday that they were "not bound by any timeline or agreement" to surrender their weapons to the state, as the government seeks to disarm them under mounting U.S. pressure.

A plane heading to Tel Aviv from Dubai was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, after one of the pilots allegedly tried to crash the plane and kill everyone onboard.

Israeli leaders said on Wednesday that a "jihadist" pilot had aimed to crash a flydubai plane with mostly Israeli passengers, who overpowered him and prevented a "major disaster".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that one of the pilots of a flydubai plane bound for Tel Aviv had planned to crash it and kill its mostly Israeli passengers, who stopped a "major disaster."

"During the flight, as they approached the country, one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot, and apparently tried to crash the plane with everyone on board," Netanyahu said in a video message, calling the passengers "heroes" who "prevented a major disaster."