U.S. President Donald Trump has bristled when asked how far he was from a possible attack on Iran. He recently said on social media he would not hit Iran again before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Israel's defense minister said that about 2,000 Palestinians had been displaced in the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank in an Israeli military operation following the killing of two Israeli soldiers.

Iran's judiciary said that its chief held a rare meeting with the country's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has yet to appear in public since being appointed.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that many Iranians were struggling to put food on the table, as the economic pressure from the Middle East war with the United States mounts.

They will not govern Israel, but Arab-majority lists could be the kingmakers in Israel's close-fought elections next week, guided by a voter base fed up with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The United States appears to be preparing to resume large-scale strikes against Iran, but there is unlikely to be a military solution for either side in the devastating conflict, experts say.

The United States could strike Iran as soon as this weekend, a U.S. envoy said, after mounting threats by both Washington and Israel.

Iran has "substantially increased" its efforts to target Americans in the Middle East and beyond, U.S. national intelligence chief Jay Clayton has warned.

Iran said on Saturday that U.S. military ships would never be allowed to enter the Gulf "under any circumstances" and President Donald Trump will "take that dream to his grave".

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow next week, Iranian media reported.