Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Iran on Sunday that Israel would never allow Iranian leaders to develop a nuclear weapon, as he addressed a powerful US-Israel lobby.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday that the ball remained in Iran's court over its contested nuclear programme, though he was encouraged by new feelers being put out by Tehran and the West.
Japan on Friday insisted warnings by the WHO of a rise in the risk of cancer for people in Fukushima were overblown, saying the agency was unnecessarily stoking fears.
South Korea's new president Park Geun-Hye offered a "more flexible" engagement with North Korea on Friday if Pyongyang chooses a path of trust-building rather than provocation.
World powers and Iran were due Wednesday to respond to offers presented by both sides in a final day of talks aimed at breaking a decade of deadlock over Tehran's nuclear drive.
World powers condemned Iran just days before talks on its controversial nuclear programme, after an IAEA report said it had begun installing advanced equipment at one of its main nuclear plants.
Experts differ about the scale and immediacy of the military threat posed by North Korea's latest nuclear test, but there is little disagreement about the alarming proliferation risks it presents.
US Secretary of State John Kerry finally talked Sunday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who had been unavailable for days after the North Korean nuclear test.
President Barack Obama pledged Wednesday a "steadfast" commitment to defend Japan, including preventing nuclear attacks on its ally in the wake of North Korea's third nuclear test.
Iran on Tuesday scorned as a "laughing matter" comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Tehran is moving closer to making a nuclear bomb.