The United States on Monday said it had not sought the arrest of the former lawyer of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, contradicting the United Arab Emirates' official explanation for the American citizen's detention.

The UAE on Saturday sentenced the civil rights lawyer, U.S. citizen Asim Ghafoor, to three years in prison followed by deportation on charges of money laundering and tax evasion. Ghafoor has rejected the charges and said he had no idea he had been convicted on the charges at some point in the past, in absentia.

Egyptian authorities suspended hot air ballooning over the ancient city of Luxor after two tourists were lightly injured during a ride early on Monday.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, a hot air balloon with 28 tourists drifted off course but eventually landed. The two injured tourists were taken to hospital for treatment, it said.

French President Emmanuel Macron hosted United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan for lunch in Paris on Monday, with increased diesel supplies on the menu for their official talks.

Tehran on Sunday accused Washington of provoking tensions in the Middle East, a day after U.S. President Joe Biden ended a tour to Iran's rival Saudi Arabia and arch-foe Israel.

A regional summit in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah has brought together U.S. President Joe Biden, the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.

Below is the full text of the summit's closing statement:

The closing statement of the Jeddah summit has called for abiding by the rules of good neighborliness in the region, urging Iran to keep the region free of weapons of mass destruction.

U.S. President Joe Biden told Arab leaders on Saturday that Washington would remain fully engaged in the Middle East and would not cede influence to other world powers.

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to discuss volatile oil prices during a summit with Arab leaders on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, the final stop of his Middle East tour.

Israel hit the Gaza Strip before dawn on Saturday in what it said was a retaliatory strike for rocket fire from the Palestinian territory controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas.

U.S. President Joe Biden met Friday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the man he once pledged to shun for human rights violations, and shared a cordial fist bump as he tried to reset an important diplomatic relationship, bolster Mideast security and increase the global flow of oil.

It was the first encounter for the two leaders, and their chummy gesture was swiftly criticized. But Biden insisted that he did not shy away from pressing the crown prince on the kingdom's abuses, particularly the 2018 murder of the U.S.-based writer Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence believes was approved by the heir to the throne.