The International Monetary Fund says it is allowing Egypt to draw on about $2.3 billion from an earlier approved loan, noting that the country has made progress in restoring economic stability and reducing inflation as part of a reform program.

The IMF said in a statement Wednesday that the decision to release the funding followed reviews of the government reforms, which it credited with bringing about "a broad-based economic recovery" in the world's most populous Arab country. It noted that the gross domestic product grew at a rate of 4.4% from 2024 to 2025.

As U.S. forces mass in the Middle East, Iran faces the threat of major strikes by the world's most powerful military, potentially targeting its leaders, military, nuclear sites and critical infrastructure.

Iran has nowhere near the same capabilities, and is even more vulnerable after last year's war launched by Israel and recent anti-government protests. But it could still inflict pain on American forces and allies, and may feel it has to if the Islamic Republic's survival is at stake.

An Israeli strike on Thursday killed at least two Palestinians and wounded five others east of Gaza City, according to Fadel Naeem, director of Al-Ahli Hospital, where the casualties arrived.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

Syrian government forces and Druze militiamen who control areas in the southern Sweida province on Thursday exchanged prisoners taken in clashes last summer, a rare step toward a possible political resolution of simmering tensions in the country.

The exchange was the first major sign of progress in attempts by the United States and Jordan to broker a political settlement between the two sides.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that he was hopeful ahead of the third round of talks with the United States, adding that they could help end the standoff with Washington.

"We see a favorable outlook for the negotiations," said Pezeshkian in a speech.

Syria's interior ministry confirmed on Wednesday the mass escape of relatives of suspected Islamic State group jihadists from the Al-Hol camp last month following the withdrawal of Kurdish forces who had overseen the facility.

"When our forces arrived, they found cases of collective escapes due to the camp having been opened up in a haphazard manner," ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said at a press conference.

A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday, blaming Israel for two-thirds of the deaths.

It was the second consecutive annual record for press deaths and the deadliest year since the CPJ began collecting data more than three decades ago.

The Central Intelligence Agency offered help to potential informants in Iran on Tuesday, providing Farsi-language instructions on ways to safely contact the U.S. spy agency as President Donald Trump mulls possible military strikes.

The post is the latest in a series of recruitment pitches in Farsi, Korean, Russian and Mandarin that offered secure ways to contact the CIA. The Farsi-language message posted Tuesday to X, Instagram and YouTube, however, comes at an especially uneasy time in U.S.-Iran relations and as the Iranian theocracy faces new protests at home.

Iran pushed back Wednesday against U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure tactics ahead of critical talks in Geneva over Tehran's nuclear program, alternating between calling his remarks "big lies" to saying negotiations may yield an agreement through "honorable diplomacy."

The remarks by two Iranian officials ahead of Thursday's talks come as America has assembled its biggest deployment of aircraft and warships to the Middle East in decades, part of Trump's efforts to get a deal while Iran struggles at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests last month.

Japan's government said Wednesday that a Japanese national has been detained in Tehran since January and demanded the Iranian authorities release them swiftly.

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki, asked about foreign media reports on the case, confirmed only that the Japanese citizen was taken into custody on Jan. 20 but gave no further details, citing privacy issues.