Any decision by Israel on whether to attack Iran in a bid to halt its nuclear program remains "very far away," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told army radio on Wednesday.

"We don't have a decision to go forward with these things. We don't have a decision or a date for taking such a decision. This whole thing is very far away," he said.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel confirmed on Wednesday that the investigators of the U.N.-backed court probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri requested the fingerprint records of some Lebanese citizens.

“I informed them that I can’t evade the legal framework that organizes such requests,” Charbel told As Safir newspaper.

Iran on Tuesday denied an allegation from France that it was sending weapons to its ally Syria in violation of a U.N. embargo.

"The declarations from French officials are incorrect," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters in a regular weekly briefing.

Russia on Monday distributed a new draft resolution on the Syrian crisis at the U.N. Security Council after facing weeks of criticism over the slow pace of talks, diplomats said.

Western diplomats said however there is no apparent change in the Russian position opposing any strong U.N. action against President Bashar al-Assad's crackdown on protests which has left thousands dead.

Iran has repeatedly violated a U.N. arms embargo with exports to protest-hit Syria, the French foreign ministry said on Monday, citing a U.N. group of experts.

"The U.N. panel of experts on Iran has identified and informed the Security Council of several violations of the embargo on arms to or from Iran set up by... the United Nations Security Council," said spokesman Romain Nadal.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe on Sunday decried the "silence" of the U.N. Security Council on Syria's deadly crackdown on protests, saying the situation was becoming "intolerable".

"The massacre continues, the silence of the Security Council too. This situation is becoming intolerable," he said at a press conference during a visit to Myanmar.

Gemayel Meets Ban, Says Lebanon’s Sovereignty over Shebaa Farms Key Element

Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel stressed on Saturday that the situation in the South is linked to Syria’s recognition of Lebanon's sovereignty over the Shebaa Farms.

Iran is looking at "punishing" those behind the assassination of one of its nuclear scientists, a senior military official said on Saturday, pointing the finger at the United States, Israel and Britain.

"We consider committing a terrorist act of killing a scientist to be a threat to the nation... We are looking at punishing those who were behind the scenes of the martyrdom (assassination) of Mostafa Ahmedi Roshan," the deputy chief of Iran's joint armed forces, Masoud Jazayeri, was quoted as saying by several media.

Russia said on Friday it strongly disagreed with changes to its draft U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria that are being promoted by Western states.

"Unfortunately, the West's approach radically differs from ours," Deputy Foreign Minister Gannady Gatilov was quoted as saying by Interfax.

New sanctions against Iran will be perceived by the world community as an attempt at changing the regime in the Islamic republic, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gannady Gatilov said on Friday.

"Additional sanctions against Iran, as well as potentially any military strikes against it, will unquestionably be perceived by the international community as an attempt at changing the regime in Iran," Gatilov was quoted as saying by Interfax.