Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday called an early general election, saying it should be held "as quickly as possible" in a bid to avoid damaging the Jewish state's flagging economy.

"My duty as prime minister is to put the national interest before everything, and so I've decided that for the good of Israel we must go to an election now as fast as possible," he told a press conference, broadcast live on Israel's main television and radio stations.

Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court on Tuesday postponed a decision on the fate of the Constituent Assembly that is tasked with drafting the country's new constitution.

A ruling had been widely expected on Tuesday but Judge Farid Nazih put off the hearing to October 16 to review more documents, judicial officials said.

President Bashar Assad on Tuesday appointed Sattam Jadan al-Dandah as Syria's new ambassador to Iraq, the official SANA news agency reported. He replaces Nawaf Fares who defected in July,

"President Assad issued a decree appointing Sattam Jadan al-Dandah as Syrian ambassador to Iraq. He was sworn in by Mr. Assad," the report said.

Turkey warned Syria again on Tuesday that it would not hesitate to retaliate for any strike on its soil as the country's top military commander visited troops stationed at the reinforced border.

"It has become inevitable for our armed forces to retaliate in kind... as the Syrian administration maintains its aggressive position," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's decision to pardon protesters detained over the 2011 revolution is a positive step but the vague wording could see some left behind bars, rights activists said on Tuesday.

"It's a very good decision but the distinction between a political detainee and a criminal one is fundamentally problematic," said Heba Morayef, a Cairo-based researcher with Human Rights Watch.

Al-Qaida in Yemen has beheaded three Yemenis in the country's eastern province of Marib, accusing them of "spying" for the government, the ministry of defense said on Tuesday.

The "bodies of two Yemeni nationals ... were found with their heads severed," the ministry, citing a local official, said in a statement posted on its website. It said that officials were looking for the third body.

NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Tuesday against the dangers of the conflict in Syria escalating, saying alliance member Turkey had shown commendable restraint in response to shelling of its border area.

"I would like to commend the Turkish government for the restraint it has shown in its response to the completely unacceptable Syrian attacks," Rasmussen said as he went into a two-day NATO defense ministers meeting.

Libya has already gathered "considerable' evidence to prosecute the son of slain Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi for crimes against humanity, a lawyer told the International Criminal Court on Tuesday.

The domestic investigation "has already produced considerable results," Philippe Sands said at a two-day hearing to decide where Seif al-Islam should face justice.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday urged the Syrian regime to declare an immediate truce to bring an end to the conflict that he said had left 20,000 dead over the last 19 months.

"It is unbearable for the (Syrian) people to continue like this. That is why I have conveyed to the Syrian government (a) strong message that they should immediately declare a unilateral ceasefire," he said.

Iran's foreign ministry warned on Tuesday it could look at cutting diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates because of a festering dispute over three Gulf islands claimed by both countries.

"If making such anti-Iranian claims reaches a level that national interests lie in reducing or severing political ties... (such a move) will be implemented after consultations with experts," ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told the parliamentary news website icana.ir.