The United Arab Emirates' energy minister doubled down Monday on an oil alliance with Russia that's helped buoy crude prices to their highest in years as Moscow's war on Ukraine rattles markets and sends energy and commodity prices soaring.

The minister said Russia, with its 10 million barrels of oil a day, is an important member of the global OPEC+ energy alliance.

Israel on Monday hosted the foreign ministers of four Arab nations and the United States in a bid to strengthen its position in a rapidly shifting Middle East.

The gathering brought together the top diplomats from all but one of the Arab countries that have normalized relations with Israel in U.S.-mediated negotiations, including three that signed the so-called Abraham Accords during the Trump administration in 2020.

The militant Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Monday after a pair of Arab gunmen killed two people and wounded four in central Israel before they were killed by police.

The two killed in the Sunday night attack were Israeli police officers, authorities said.

The Saudi-led coalition carried out air strikes in Yemen early on Sunday after the country's Huthi rebels called a three-day truce and offered a permanent ceasefire, Saudi media said.

The U.S. and Israel are committed to ensure Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, as the allies acknowledged differences over negotiations with Tehran.

"When it comes to the most important element, we see eye to eye. We are both committed, both determined, that Iran will never acquire a nuclear weapon," Blinken told reporters in Jerusalem, alongside his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid, who said Israel had "disagreements" with Washington about a possible deal to revive the 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran.

A Yemeni rebel attack on a Saudi oil plant set off a huge fire near Jeddah's Formula One circuit during televised practice sessions on Friday, part of a wave of assaults on Aramco facilities.

Russia's war on Ukraine has drawn unprecedented sanctions that have seen it banned from most international sports in a Western-led break with the long-standing convention against politics mixing with sport.

For many Arabs, who have seen their own sportsmen and women punished for refusing to compete with Israelis in protest at successive wars, the exception made for a European conflict smacks of double standards.

Iran, under sweeping economic sanctions, was hawking weapons on Wednesday at a Qatari defense exhibit, a surprising sight at the major conference also showcasing American companies and fighter jets.

Tucked away in the far left corner of the carpeted convention center, commanders from Iran's defense ministry marketed their missiles and air defense weapons systems. The defense ministry manufactures arms for both Iran's military and its powerful paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard, a group that plays a singular role in the creation and execution of Iran's national security and foreign policy.

The foreign ministers of Iran and Syria, two allies of Russia, discussed the war in Ukraine and other developments during a meeting in Damascus on Wednesday. Syria's top diplomat said Moscow is defending its people.

Faisal Mekdad spoke to reporters in Damascus after his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, held talks with President Bashar Assad, Mekdad and top security official Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk.

At least four Israelis were killed Tuesday in a stabbing attack outside a shopping center and a gas station in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, Al-Jazeera TV reported.

The TV network added that the attacker was also killed in the incident.