The jihadists who have declared a Muslim "caliphate" in parts of Syria and Iraq call themselves the Islamic State but detractors say they represent neither Islam nor any state.

In a speech outlining his strategy against the group on Wednesday, President Barack Obama pointedly denied the extremists their chosen appellation.

Eleven years after refusing to follow Britain and the United States into Iraq, France is now trying to take center stage in a country overrun by jihadists with a leading diplomatic -- and possibly military -- role.

Just days before an international conference in Paris on peace and security in Iraq, French President Francois Hollande on Friday visited Baghdad, pledging "support and solidarity" for the country's embattled government.

French Ambassador to Lebanon Patrice Paoli ruled out on Friday any foreign intervention in the presidential elections, saying there is no “veto” on any candidate.”

“The Lebanese should agree on a new head of state... Which is a necessity in order to rebuild the state institutions and revive them,” Paoli said in an interview published in al-Joumhouria newspaper.

Nearly two-thirds of French people want beleaguered President Francois Hollande, who is grappling with record unpopularity, double-digit unemployment and a stagnant economy, to resign, a poll said Thursday.

But while 62 percent said Hollande should quit the top job, 61 percent thought he would remain France's leader until 2017 when his term expires, an Ifop poll published in Le Figaro Magazine said.

A "particularly dangerous" man suspected of recruiting jihadists and cultivating links with terrorist groups in Syria has been arrested in Turkey and handed over to French authorities, France's interior minister said Thursday.

Mourad Fares was arrested on August 16 in Turkey and taken into custody in France on Wednesday, Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement.

Iran and world powers have a "difficult road" ahead as they attempt to agree a nuclear deal by a November deadline, with major differences remaining, Tehran's lead negotiator said Thursday.

"We are always optimistic. But we have a difficult road to go," Abbas Araqchi told reporters after a day of talks in Vienna with officials from France, Germany and Britain.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun have agreed on the necessity to elect a president who best represents Christians as a report emerged that France is seeking to convince Iran and the Vatican to support a consensus candidate.

Al-Liwaa daily on Thursday quoted a Hizbullah official as saying that Nasrallah and Aoun also agreed during their latest meeting that the new president should be “strong.”

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday that France was prepared to take part in air strikes on Islamic extremists in Iraq "if necessary."

"In Iraq... we support the formation of an inclusive government. We will participate if necessary in an aerial military action," Fabius said in a speech in Paris.

People in most European Union countries want Britain to stay in the bloc -- with the exception of France -- according to a new poll published Wednesday.

The German Marshall Fund think tank surveyed people in the major EU countries for its annual poll of global public opinion, and for the first time asked whether Britain should leave the bloc.

The singing of a contract between France and Saudi Arabia to provide Lebanon with military assistance is being delayed over a political decision linked to the Lebanese presidential elections, Saudi sources said.

The sources told An Nahar newspaper published on Wednesday that it was up to Saudi King Abdullah to sign the contract but the delay was caused by a “political decision” linked to the outcome of the polls.