Al-Qaida's leader in Yemen has accused Shiite rebels sweeping across the country of collaborating with the United States and Iran to try to "destroy" Sunni Muslims.

An audio message purported to be from Nasser al-Wuhayshi, posted online Friday, says the aim of the "crusaders and the Iranians is to destroy effective Sunni forces and the faithful mujahideen, and to empower their collaborators."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry claimed Wednesday he was "driving towards the finish" to secure what would be a historic deal with Iran over its nuclear program as a November 24 deadline looms.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Kerry said there was "no intention at this point of talking about an extension" as ministers stepped up shuttle diplomacy ahead of the deadline.

After the election drubbing suffered by his Democrats, President Barack Obama will face a Republican-controlled Congress critical of his foreign policy -- and which could rebel against any eventual Iran nuclear accord.

Aside from the war against the Islamic State (IS) group in Iraq and Syria, Tehran's nuclear program is undoubtedly the top foreign policy issue before Congress, with negotiations between the Islamic republic and world powers coming down to a November 24 deadline.

When Islamic State militants retreated from the embattled town of Jurf al-Sakher last week, the Iraqi military was quick to flaunt a rare victory against the extremist group, with state television showing tanks and Humvees parading through the town and soldiers touring government buildings that had been occupied by the militants since August.

However, photos soon emerged on independent Iraqi news websites revealing a more discrete presence — the powerful Iranian general Ghasem Soleimani — whose name has become synonymous with the handful of victories attributed to Iraqi ground forces. Local commanders said Hizbullah was also on the front lines.

Iran's relationship with the United States could soon be redefined by a nuclear agreement, but at a protest Tuesday marking the storming in 1979 of the American embassy, antipathy still ran deep.

With chants of "Death to America", several thousand gathered in Tehran to mark 35 years since the day students breached the embassy's walls and seized hostages, sending diplomatic relations into free-fall.

The incoming head of Israel's Northern Command, Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, has warned that terrorist groups could join Hizbullah and Iran in carrying out attacks on the Jewish State.

“The radical axis of Iran, Syria and Hizbullah, which operated for many years to harm the state of Israel, may be joined by the threat of terror organizations that possess an extremist ideology and can change their goals and begin targeting the state of Israel,” Kochavi said on Sunday.

Iran wants all Western sanctions to be lifted before striking a deal on its contested nuclear program by a November deadline, a top official said Wednesday.

The announcement came amid intensifying efforts to conclude a definitive pact. The six powers in the talks with Iran -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States plus Germany, known as the P5+1 -- have set November 24 as the deadline.

Iran's government was forced to deny Tuesday it had already struck a nuclear deal with the West, after a lawmaker accused its negotiators of secretly selling the country short.

In a sign of the domestic political tension surrounding talks being held abroad with world powers, Iran's foreign ministry threatened to prosecute the member of parliament who said an agreement that breaches the Islamic republic's "red lines" had been settled.

Some 130 people were taken to hospital and more than 100 schools closed Monday in southeast Iran after an incident at a sewage works caused an outbreak of poisonous gas.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of dumping expired pesticide which reacted with water to produce a noxious gas that left people with breathing problems, headaches, dizziness and vomiting.

Iran's judiciary chief has tasked his deputy to lead an investigation into several acid attacks on women that have sown fear across the Islamic republic and provoked rare protests in cities.

With political attention increasingly focused on the attacks -- at least four women have been doused in acid by assailants on motorcycles -- Iran's authorities have pledged to find and punish those responsible.