VIENNA / AP Two senior diplomats say that the six world powers that negotiated a nuclear deal with Iran have approved a large shipment of natural uranium to the country as compensation after Tehran exported tons of heavy water. The diplomats say that the agreement foresees delivery of 116 metric tons (nearly 130 tons) of natural uranium from Russia. …

  WASHINGTON / AP A US military official says a US Navy warship fired multiple warning shots at Iranian patrol boats in the Persian Gulf after the Iranian vessels ignored other warnings. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an incident not yet publicly announced, said a US destroyer, the USS Mahan, was transiting the Strait of …

  BEIRUT / AP Syrian President Bashar Assad said in remarks published on Monday that he was prepared “to negotiate everything” at talks set to begin in later this month in Kazakhstan, seeking to cast himself as a peacemaker after his forces’ recapture of Aleppo last month. However the upcoming talks, brokered by Ankara and Moscow, are still in doubt …