Saudi Arabia has allowed adult women to travel without permission and granted them more control over family matters, further eroding a heavily criticized male guardianship system at a time of heightened scrutiny over its human rights record.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday that Iran was ready for the worst in an uphill struggle to salvage its nuclear deal with world powers abandoned by the United States, but that he was sure Tehran would eventually prevail.

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, targeting the country's top spokesman and potentially hurting chances of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions between the two countries.

The United States believes that Hamza bin Laden, a son of slain al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and himself a notable figure in the militant group, is dead, a U.S. official said on Wednesday.

Germany will not participate in a U.S.-led naval mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz, close to Iran, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday.

Iran is prepared for dialogue if Saudi Arabia is also ready, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Nigerian police are seeking help from the general public to arrest members of a banned Shi'ite Muslim group whose protests were declared illegal on Sunday, the country's most senior policeman said on Tuesday.

Oman plans to introduce value-added tax in 2021, it said in a document, further delaying a fiscal consolidation measure that economists say could be politically sensitive at a time of sluggish growth and high unemployment.

Iran was to revive maritime security talks on Tuesday with traditional foe the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in an apparent bid to calm tensions in the Gulf, although a Gulf official described the discussions as routine and technical.

The U.S. Senate on Monday failed to override President Donald Trump's vetoes of legislation passed by Congress that would have blocked the sales of certain weapons to Saudi Arabia.

A Nigerian court on Monday adjourned a bail hearing for the leader of a banned Shi'ite Muslim group, which says at least 20 of its followers died in clashes with police last week while holding protests to demand his release.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday he was willing to go to Iran for talks amid tensions between Tehran and Washington, but also called on Japan, Britain and other nations to join a maritime force to guard oil tankers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia aims to raise the capacity of its east-west pipeline by 40% in two years so more of its oil exports can avoid passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the energy minister said on Thursday.

Britain has started sending a warship to accompany all British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a change in policy announced on Thursday after the government previously said it did not have resources to do so.

A United Arab Emirates' military drawdown in Yemen is building momentum for a nationwide truce this year, bolstering efforts by the Saudi-led coalition it is part of to end a war that has tarnished the image of U.S.-allied Gulf states.

OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have discussed resuming oil production in jointly operated fields in the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone, Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA said on Wednesday.

No Iranian drone has been brought down, the ISNA news agency quoted Iran's Defense Minister Amir Hatami on Wednesday as saying, after the U.S. military said it taken action against two Iranian drones in the past week.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV on Wednesday quoted the military adviser to Iran's supreme leader as saying that any change in the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran says it protects, would open the door to a dangerous confrontation.

British ministers signed off nearly £650m worth of arms license exports to Saudi Arabia in the six months following the brutal murder of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by regime forces, The Independent newspaper said.

Nigerian troops and police clashed on Tuesday with Shi'ite Muslim protesters in the capital Abuja and gunfire could be heard, according to a Reuters witness.