Aya Bhattarawi

He said Iran would not tolerate people acting as, quote, mercenaries for foreigners.

Iran also says Israel is inciting violence.

Protests erupted December 28th after the local currency fell to its lowest level in Iran.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say Iranian police and Revolutionary Guard Corps have used live fire to disperse some of the protests, killing people.

Hundreds have also been detained.

Aya Bhattarawi, NPR News, Dubai.

Defense Minister Israel Katz was addressing Jewish settlers in the West Bank to mark the expansion of 1,200 new housing units there when he said...

God willing, in due time, Israel will establish Israeli communities in areas of northern Gaza where Jewish settlements were dismantled 20 years ago.

And he said, quote, we will not leave all of Gaza.

But only hours later, the Israeli defense minister issued a statement saying the government has no intention of establishing settlements in Gaza and that his remarks were made solely in a security context.

without elaborating.

But his initial comments had already grabbed headlines in Israel and were welcomed by a far-right settler group.

Aya Bhattarawi, NPR News.

The last time Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Washington was seven years ago, just before his aides killed Saudi critic and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, sparking international outcry.

But the heir to the Saudi throne returns to Washington as a partner, not a pariah.

The prince, known also for major social and economic reforms that have changed life in Saudi Arabia, has vowed hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the U.S.

under Trump.

He's expected to ask for F-35

fighter jets, advanced AI chips, nuclear technology, and a defense pack that wouldn't require congressional approval.

Underpinning those talks are personal ties between Trump and Prince Mohammed.