U.S. President Donald Trump approved military strikes on Friday against Iran in retaliation for the downing of an unmanned $130-million surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching the attacks, the New York Times said.

The U.S. Senate will vote on Thursday on legislation seeking to block President Donald Trump's plan to complete $8 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, lawmakers said, making clear they want a harder line against what they see as human rights abuses by the two countries.

The White House will not invite Israeli government officials to a Bahrain conference devoted to gaining support for a Palestinian economic plan in order to keep the event apolitical, a senior administration official said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised on Tuesday a U.S.-led conference on the Palestinian economy in Bahrain, and a source said a former Israeli general would be among the participants.

The White House will not invite Israeli government officials to a Bahrain conference devoted to gaining support for a Palestinian economic plan in order to keep the event apolitical, a senior administration official said on Monday.

Israel will attend the US-led Mideast conference in Bahrain slated for June 25-26, officials announced Sunday.

Palestinians are preparing for a "popular uprising" in protest at US President Donald Trump's so-called "deal of the century" which is set to be unveiled at a Bahrain conference later this month.

Iran's supreme leader told Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday that it was pointless to reply to a message he had brought to Tehran from U.S. President Donald Trump, as a peacemaking visit was overshadowed by attacks on tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said that his country will not take part in Bahrain's conference because Palestinians themselves will not.

Egypt, Jordan and Morocco have informed the Trump administration they will attend a U.S.-led conference in Bahrain this month on proposals for boosting the Palestinian economy as part of a coming U.S. peace plan, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.

The United Nations will not be taking part in a conference in Bahrain to present the economic aspects of a US peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

A US-led conference on economic aspects of a Middle East peace plan will go ahead next month in Bahrain despite Israel's snap elections, the State Department said Thursday.

The Trump administration will go ahead with its Bahrain conference in late June to lay out the economic part of its long-awaited Middle East peace plan, a U.S. official said on Thursday, despite the start of a new Israeli election campaign.

Iran will not negotiate with the United States, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, after President Hassan Rouhani signaled talks with Washington might be possible if sanctions were lifted.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday sustained President Donald Trump's veto of a resolution demanding an end to military support for the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen, in a victory for the White House's policy of continued backing for the kingdom.

The new U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, retired general John Abizaid, arrived in Riyadh on Thursday, an embassy statement said, filling a position vacant since President Donald Trump took office more than two years ago.

Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East, has spoken out against Washington’s decision to block all exports of Iranian oil, saying unilateral sanctions were unwise because they hurt the countries that rely on the supplies.

Iran will continue to export oil despite U.S. pressure aimed at reducing the country's crude shipments to zero, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump has vetoed a congressional resolution that sought to end U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, the White House said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump said on Monday he would name Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, in an unprecedented step that drew Iranian condemnation and raised concerns about retaliatory attacks on U.S. forces.