NATO defense ministers gathered Thursday for talks focusing on bolstering forces and deterrence along the military alliance's eastern borders to dissuade Russia from planning further aggression.

The war by the Kremlin in Ukraine since February has led allies to rethink strategies and to agree that NATO forces should be present in greater numbers on that flank. They have already beefed up the deployment of troops and material and want to guarantee a long-term presence of forces.

Iranian authorities have arrested a person accused of having a link to two French citizens being held on espionage charges, state television reported Thursday.

The report said the suspect was a Marxist who visited two French spies before the May 1 International Workers' Day, as part of a plot to "create unrest among workers."

The leaders of major EU powers France, Germany and Italy vowed Thursday to help Ukraine defeat Russia and to rebuild its shattered cities, in a visit to a war-torn Kyiv suburb.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian premier Mario Draghi arrived in Ukraine by train and headed to Irpin, scene of fierce battles early in Russia's invasion.

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested Wednesday that he would soon go to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky but said he would not publicly discuss details about such a trip.

Answering a journalist's question during an official visit to Romania, Macron said the timing was right for a visit to Ukraine's capital but that he would not "enter into logistics." Ukraine has been at war since Russia invaded the neighboring country more than 3 1/2 months ago.

Iran acknowledged Wednesday it plans two tests for its new solid-fueled rocket after satellite photos showed preparations at a desert launch pad previously used in the program, even as tensions remain high over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

The Islamic Republic will launch its satellite-carrying Zuljanah rocket twice more after conducting a previous launch, the state-run IRNA news agency quoted Defense Ministry spokesman Ahmad Hosseini as saying. He did not elaborate on a timeframe for the tests, nor said when the previous launch occurred.

Ukraine said Wednesday it was outgunned and appealed to Western allies for greater military aid to fend off Russia's invasion ahead of a gathering of NATO officials in Belgium to discuss more supplies.

Russia said Wednesday its forces destroyed a depot containing NATO-supplied arms in western Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western allies to speed up arms deliveries to his country.

Swiss airspace reopened Wednesday morning after a computer glitch grounded flights across the Alpine nation for several hours, officials said.

Iran on Tuesday said it still believes that negotiations can succeed to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, despite a recent rebuke from the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

Turkey is "a safe country," its foreign ministry said on Tuesday after Israeli authorities urged their citizens to leave over fears of Iranian attacks.