Moments before Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered last October, two of his suspected murderers waiting at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate fretted about the task at hand, according to a U.N. report published on Wednesday.

U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook will travel to the Middle East on Wednesday for meetings in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain to discuss "Iran's regional aggression," the State Department said.

French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic adviser traveled to Iran on Wednesday to hold talks with local officials as part of European efforts to reduce tensions in the Gulf region, a presidency official said.

Kuwait and Iraq called for wisdom and reason in dealing with the latest developments in the Gulf region in order to avoid tension and any clashes, Kuwait's news agency (KUNA) said on Wednesday.

The latest deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East, which was announced on Monday, will include a Patriot missile battalion, manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft and "other deterrence capabilities," the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis struck a power station in Saudi Arabia's al-Shuqaiq city, in the southern province of Jizan, with a cruise missile, their Al Masirah TV said on Wednesday, but there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other senior officials should be investigated over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi given credible evidence against them, a U.N. rights investigator said on Wednesday.

Iran has shot down a U.S. drone which the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday was flying over southern Iran, raising fears that a major military confrontation could erupt between Tehran and Washington.

The U.S. Senate will vote on Thursday on legislation seeking to block President Donald Trump's plan to complete $8 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, lawmakers said, making clear they want a harder line against what they see as human rights abuses by the two countries.

The number of unemployed graduates is expected to reach a record this summer in Bahrain with the graduation of 3,000 students from the University of Bahrain and other private universities at a time the government fails to find solutions for the issue of unemployment.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi stressed that "Jordan is invited to attend a workshop in Bahrain," explaining that "Jordan hasn't yet taken its decision on whether it will participate."

The German government has given the green light for arms shipments worth over €1 billion so far this year to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. The approval comes despite export restrictions being in place.

The White House will not invite Israeli government officials to a Bahrain conference devoted to gaining support for a Palestinian economic plan in order to keep the event apolitical, a senior administration official said.

The Appeals Criminal Court upheld verdicts against 5 defendants in a political case. It upheld a life jail sentence against an appellant out of 7, 10-year jail term against 2, 5 year-jail term against a female suspect and 3-year jail term against the last one, as well as their citizenship revocation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised on Tuesday a U.S.-led conference on the Palestinian economy in Bahrain, and a source said a former Israeli general would be among the participants.

A rocket landed near an Iraqi military base hosting U.S. forces in the northern city of Mosul late on Tuesday, an Iraqi military statement said, the second such incident in two days.

The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Corps said on Tuesday that Iran's ballistic missiles were capable of hitting "carriers in the sea" with great precision.

The United Nations extrajudicial executions investigator, Agnes Callamard, will issue her report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Wednesday, a statement said.

Yemen's Houthi movement and the United Nations have agreed on a mechanism to inspect ships docking at Hodeidah following the group's withdrawal from three Red Sea ports under a U.N.-sponsored deal, a Houthi official and a U.N. source said.

United Nations food chief David Beasley warned on Monday that a phased-suspension of food assistance in Yemen was likely to begin later this week over a diversion of aid and lack of independence in Houthi-controlled areas.