TRIPOLI — The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that more than 300 illegal immigrants have been rescued and returned to Libya.

A total of “307 persons were returned to Tripoli last night, in two different operations undertaken by Libyan maritime forces,” the UNHCR tweeted.

“Among them were 22 females and 11 children. UNHCR and partner IRC (International Rescue Committee) attended both disembarkations and provided medical assistance and relief items to survivors,” it said. (Libya-Immigrants-Rescue)

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TEHRAN — Iran has urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to refrain from making “hasty or politically-motivated” comments on the country’s nuclear program, the official IRNA news agency reported Wednesday.

With reference to the newly-published quarterly report of the IAEA about the implementation of Iran’s obligations to the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Mohammad Reza Ghaebi, head of Iran’s mission to the United Nations in Vienna, said the new report shows that the IAEA has continued its verification and supervisory activities on Iran’s commitments to the JCPOA.

“Despite the differences in our technical views with the agency, interactions between Iran and the IAEA are continuing with the aim of resolving the issues between the two sides,” Ghaebi was quoted as saying. (Iran-IAEA-Nuclear program)

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JERUSALEM — A Palestinian man was shot dead on Wednesday after he stabbed two police officers in East Jerusalem’s Old City, Israeli police said.

The incident took place in the evening near the Ateret Cohanim Yeshiva, a Jewish seminary dedicated to the promotion of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

“A terrorist stabbed a woman and a male Border Police officers,” said a police spokesperson in a statement.

The officers and a civilian security guard who was on patrol near the scene opened fire at the suspect and “neutralized” him, according to the statement. (Israel-Palestine-Shooting)

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ANKARA — A meeting over Turkey’s demand to acquire F-16 fighter jets between Turkish and U.S. defense officials was conducted in a “positive and constructive atmosphere” in Washington, said Turkey’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

The delegations exchanged views on bilateral and regional defense and security issues, and the two sides agreed to hold their next meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara, it said in a statement.

The Turkish delegation was visiting Washington for discussions on Turkey’s proposal to acquire more F-16 jets and for modernization of its current F-16 fleet with the money paid to the U.S. for the F-35 fighter jet program, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar spoke at the parliament budget meeting on Tuesday. (Turkey-U.S.-F16)