An oil tanker linked to an Israeli billionaire reportedly came under attack off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, authorities said Friday, an assault that killed two crew members.

The attack Thursday night targeted Liberian-flagged oil tanker Mercer Street just northeast of the Omani island of Masirah. The location is over 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Oman's capital, Muscat.

Days of political turmoil in Tunisia over a crippled economy and surging coronavirus infections have left the country's allies in the Middle East, Europe and the United States watching to see if its fragile democracy will survive.

European countries — most notably nearby Italy — worry about a flood of migrants should Tunisia slide further into chaos.

Israel said it had restored the fishing zone off Gaza Friday and would allow resumed imports for international aid projects after a return to calm around the territory.

The fishing zone and imports are routinely used by Israel to punish or reward Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas for the security situation.

Tunisia's parliament speaker Rached Ghannouchi, in an interview with AFP, has called for a return to democracy after President Kais Saied's shock power grab at the weekend.

Ghannouchi, also leader of the Islamist-inspired party Ennahdha, voiced regret at the lack of dialogue with the presidency, and warned that if no agreement is reached on the formation of a government and the reopening of the legislature, "we will invite the Tunisian people to defend their democracy".

Tunisia's President Kais Saied accused 460 businessmen of embezzlement as he launched a crackdown on corruption, days after grabbing power in what his opponents have dubbed a "coup."

Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz told his French counterpart his country took "seriously" espionage allegations concerning the Pegasus software developed by Israeli firm NSO that is suspected of targeting President Emmanuel Macron and other French officials.

Gunmen on Thursday killed eight Syrian regime fighters and captured 15 others during the fiercest clashes in the southern province of Daraa since it came under government control, a war monitor reported.

Five Iraqi troops were killed Thursday when their helicopter crashed on a "combat mission" north of Baghdad, the military said, as a security source confirmed it had been hit by ground fire.

Two rockets were fired early Thursday at Baghdad's fortified Green Zone which houses the U.S. embassy, without causing any casualties or damage, an Iraqi security source told AFP.

The United States will return to Iraq some 17,000 archaeological treasures dating back 4,000 years and looted in recent decades, an "unprecedented" restitution, the culture minister in Baghdad said Wednesday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi was set to take back the artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia on his aircraft, when he returns Thursday from Washington where he met US President Joe Biden.