U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday the Senate could vote within weeks on legislation to punish Saudi Arabia over the war in Yemen and the death of a journalist at its consulate in Istanbul.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated a retired Army general to be the country's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, as Washington faces pressure to respond to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that U.S. sanctions announced last week have had no effect on Iran’s economy because Washington had already practically reimposed them earlier.

The United States is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, the United States and Saudi Arabia said on Friday, ending one of the most divisive aspects of U.S. assistance to the Saudi war effort.

The Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging service will be disconnecting some Iranian banks this weekend, said SWIFT chief executive Gottfried Leibbrandt at an event in Paris on Friday.

Turkey has been granted a waiver of around 25 percent on U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Friday, amounting to around three million tonnes of oil annually.

Bahrain-based Gulf Aluminum Rolling Mill Company (Garmco) said its US subsidiary has been granted tariff exemptions to facilitate smooth imports from the kingdom.

Interior Minister Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa received US Department of State (US-DOS) Counterterrorism Coordinator, Ambassador Nathan Sales.

The United States on Wednesday voiced concern over ally Bahrain's sentencing of the head of the country's Shiite opposition movement, although it stopped short of threatening countermeasures.

Democrat candidate in the US elections whom Bahrain expelled in 2014, after meeting members of Al-Wefaq society, won in the elections.

Alba CEO, Tim Murray, said that the company is working with the Bahraini government in order to exempt its exports from taxes levied on aluminium imports in the United States.

American journalist Nicholas Kristof called to pay attention to human rights situations in Bahrain, describing what is happening in Bahrain as “appalling repression”.

Iran said on Tuesday it had so far been able to sell as much oil as it needs despite U.S. pressure, but it urged European countries opposed to U.S. sanctions to do more to shield Iran, as Russia and Turkey also voiced their objections.

The Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging service said on Monday it is suspending some unspecified Iranian banks’ access to its messaging system in the interest of the stability and integrity of the global financial system.

The sons of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Sunday issued an appeal for the return of their father’s body and said they wanted to return to Saudi Arabia to bury him.

India and other leading oil buyers will benefit from the waiver the United States has granted them from Iran sanctions, the South Asian nation’s oil minister said on Saturday.

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry rejected on Saturday what it called US interference in its affairs after the US embassy issued a statement telling neighboring Iran to respect Iraq’s sovereignty allow demobilization of Shi’ite militias.

IranAir is looking to buy planes from any company not requiring U.S. sales permits and may consider Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet 100, the flag carrier’s head was quoted as saying, as Iran tries to renew its aging fleet despite facing U.S. sanctions.

The order to kill journalist Jamal Khashoggi came from the “highest levels” of the Saudi government, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in the Washington Post on Friday and he called for the “puppetmasters” to be unmasked.

The United States said on Friday it will temporarily allow eight importers to keep buying Iranian oil when it re-imposes sanctions on Monday to try to force Iran to curb its nuclear, missile and regional activities.