Turkish and US commanders on Saturday discussed measures against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, while Turkey’s prime minister said the struggle against the separatists was at a “critical stage”.

Hamas will step up attacks against Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank after a US-hosted peace conference next week, an official said in a statement on its website Saturday.

Ivory Coast’s foreign minister is scheduled to arrive here in Tehran Sunday night to attend the first meeting of the two countries’ joint economic commission.