The July 2 explosion at a key Iranian nuclear facility was likely an attack organized by an external actor.

A Lebanese man convicted of financing Hezbollah was freed from jail in the US last month as a result of indirect contacts between Tehran and Washington that are expected to yield more releases, three senior Middle East officials told Reuters news agency.

Turkish security forces have neutralized more than 17,000 terrorists since July 2015, the country’s defence minister said on Wednesday.