Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to make an atomic bomb within two to four months and then would need an additional eight to 10 months to build the device, experts said Monday.

The authors of a new report on Iran's nuclear program say Tehran has made progress in its uranium enrichment effort but that the United States and U.N. weapons inspectors would be able to detect any attempt at a "breakout" -- at least for the moment.

Israel has deployed Patriot anti-missile batteries near the northern port city of Haifa, Israeli media reported Monday, just two days after an unidentified drone infiltrated the country's airspace.

A military spokeswoman confirmed to Agence France Presse that the U.S.-made missiles, which can shoot down drones, had been stationed near Haifa but refused to confirm the move was related to the Saturday infiltration.

Barack Obama has "failed to lead" in the Middle East and the strained ties between his White House and Israel have emboldened Iran, presidential challenger Mitt Romney declared Monday.

In a major foreign policy speech, Romney warned the president's dithering had increased instability in a region clamoring for U.S. leadership and left both the United States and its Middle East allies less safe than they were.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on Monday said its radars did not detect the crossing of any surveillance drones from Lebanon into the Israeli airspace, amid Israeli suspicions that a drone shot down by Israeli warplanes on Saturday over the Negev area could have been sent by Hizbullah.

In an interview with Radio Voice of Lebanon (93.3), UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said the U.N. peacekeeping force did not witness any event of a drone flying from Lebanon into the Israeli airspace.

The armed wings of Gaza's ruling Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad group announced Monday they had fired a series of rockets at Israel, a day after an Israeli air strike that injured 10 people.

"In response to the injury of civilians in the most recent strike on Rafah, the Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades fired a number of rockets at enemy military positions," Hamas's Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades armed wing said.

Mitt Romney will call for a U.S. change of course in the Middle East on Monday, saying President Barack Obama's muddled strategy has failed to confront the challenges of extremism.

The Republican White House hopeful, offering a foreign policy vision that he and his campaign believe differs sharply from Obama's, said he would keep Iran in check, chase terrorists in Libya, put conditions on U.S. aid to Egypt and help arm Syrian rebels.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have "agreed" on fighting the Iranian threat in all its forms and on managing ties with the United States, a joint statement said.

The defense minister had reportedly expressed views that conflicted with the prime minister's over the Iran nuclear issue during a recent visit to the United States, which favors sanctions and diplomacy over military action.

An unarmed drone shot down by Israel on Saturday after it entered the country's airspace from the Mediterranean Sea could have been sent by Hizbullah, an Israeli official has suggested.

The Israeli army dispelled the notion that the drone might have been launched from the Gaza Strip, and was looking into the possibility that Hizbullah may have dispatched it, a military official told Israeli public radio.

The Israeli air force shot down an unarmed and unidentified drone on Saturday after it entered the country's airspace from the Mediterranean Sea, an army spokesman reported.

"An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was identified penetrating Israeli airspace this morning, and was intercepted by the IAF at approximately 10:00 am (08:00 GMT)," a military spokesman said.

Israeli police entered the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday after being stoned by worshipers, following several days of clashes there, Israeli police and witnesses said.

"Several hundred worshippers threw stones at police who were stationed at the Mughrabi Gate, forcing them to go onto the plaza and push them towards the middle," police spokeswoman Luba Samri told Agence France Presse.