High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey were in Tehran on Monday for meetings with Iranian authorities to try to avert renewed fighting between Iran and Israel and the United States, two regional officials said.

The talks come as many in Iran are girding themselves for the possible return to a return to all-out war, as Israeli and American leaders have been sharpening their threats ahead of pending elections in both countries, while Iranian leaders have remained defiant.

Many Iranians are bracing for a return to all-out war as Israeli and U.S. leaders sharpen their threats ahead of elections in both countries in the coming days, and as Iran's leaders remain defiant despite mounting pressure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces a close vote Tuesday, says Iran's leadership must be eliminated. U.S. President Donald Trump vows to "finish the job" in Iran eight months after the war began, as a third aircraft carrier and thousands of troops make their way to the region. Some fear attacks just after the U.S. midterms on Nov. 3.

In southern Lebanon, visual artist Lina Jouni turns shrapnel from Israeli military munitions into sculptures, keychains and decorative objects.

Since 2024, she has collected fragments from the rubble of destroyed homes in Roumin.

U.S. President Donald Trump has bristled when asked how far he was from a possible attack on Iran. He recently said on social media he would not hit Iran again before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

“Do you really think I’m going to tell you if I’m going to do it?" Trump responded. “And there’s a possibility I will. There’s also a possibility we’ll have a nice, big, beautiful agreement.”

The U.S. State Department is reducing staffing at four U.S. embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence that Iran has stepped up efforts to target American personnel in the region and elsewhere.

Prince Harry's wife, Meghan, said Friday she was "deeply distressed" by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at her father's former home. She also revealed that a letter containing "troubling allegations" about him had been sent to London police in 2018.

Meghan, also known as the Duchess of Sussex, issued the statement after The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper, reported that her brother found the images while clearing out the home of their father, Thomas Markle Sr., in the Philippines.

Scientists doubling as art detectives have traced Vincent van Gogh's " The Starry Night " to a celestial scene that suggests a new date for one of the world's most famous paintings.

Their findings indicate that rather than being a product of van Gogh's imagination, "The Starry Night" may have been inspired by what he saw as he gazed heavenward from his French asylum 137 years ago.

Spain's growing influence on world football will be on full display at next week's Ballon d'Or gala, the annual award ceremony honoring the sport's top performers.

Four of the five nominees for the Johan Cruyff Trophy for men's coach of the year are Spanish, as are two of the candidates for the women's trophy.

The Asian Football Confederation has endorsed Gianni Infantino for another term as FIFA president in an apparent turnaround in its stance from two months ago when it criticized the head of football's world governing body for a breach of trust.

AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa embraced Infantino with a large hug Friday in front of the Asian membership at an extraordinary congress meeting in Tokyo, where he delivered his endorsement. It was a timely boost for Infantino as he campaigns for re-election amid strong opposition from Europe

Pope Leo XIV will miss a planned trip to Assisi next week after doctors advised against the helicopter journey to the Italian town as he recovers from lung cancer surgery, the Vatican said Friday.

The pope had been due to attend a gathering on Tuesday marking the 40th anniversary of St. John Paul II's World Day of Prayer for Peace.