The U.S. killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was meant to cripple Tehran's clout in the Middle East, but analysts see the allies of the Islamic Republic closing rank instead.

As the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, Soleimani oversaw Tehran's interventions in regional power struggles from Lebanon and Iraq to Syria and Yemen.

The U.N. Security Council will meet behind closed doors on Monday about the situation in Libya, as Turkish troops begun deploying to the country in a bid to shore up the U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, diplomats said.

Chancellor Angela Merkel will travel to Moscow Saturday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin amid escalating tensions following a U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian general, a German government spokesman said.

U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to slap sanctions on Iraq should Baghdad expel U.S. troops based there "is not very helpful", German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday.

Egypt announced Monday that it will hold a meeting with four European Mediterranean countries about developments in neighboring Libya after Turkey began deploying troops in the war-torn North African nation.

A former head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has threatened to turn the Israeli cities of Haifa and Tel Aviv "to dust" if the U.S. attacks targets in Iran.

"If America takes any measures after our military response, we will turn Tel Aviv and Haifa to dust," Mohsen Rezai, who currently heads the Expediency Council, a top state body, said in a Tweet.

The U.S.-led coalition on Sunday announced it was "pausing" its fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq, where U.S. troops training local forces have faced a spate of rocket attacks.

Iraqi protesters flooded the streets on Sunday to denounce both Iran and the U.S. as "occupiers", angry that fears of war between the rivals was derailing their anti-government movement. 

Iraq's parliament on Sunday urged the government to oust thousands of American troops from the country, stepping up pressure over the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general in Baghdad.

Saudi Arabia was not consulted by its ally Washington over a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, an official said Sunday, as the kingdom sought to defuse soaring regional tensions.