Israel's energy minister has approved construction of two additional seawater desalination plants.

Iran foreign ministry spokesman Baghaei said Pakistan army chief Asim Munir's visit produced neither positive nor negative signals. Baghaei said the ministry will assess the situation in line with national interest and implement decisions of competent authorities. He accused the US of treating negotiations as issuing orders, warned Iran will monitor adversary movements with maximum force and vigilance, and said Iranian armed forces will respond decisively to any aggression. He added the US should be held accountable for broad violations of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding.

European equities closed lower on Sept 1 (Tue): Germany's DAX fell 321.10 points (-1.22%) to 25,960.39; FTSE 100 fell 34.18 points (-0.32%) to 10,790.08; France's CAC 40 fell 32.65 points (-0.39%) to 8,301.85; STOXX Europe 50 fell 52.81 points (-0.82%) to 6,367.35; Spain's IBEX 35 fell 169.66 points (-0.85%) to 19,818.74; Italy's FTSE MIB fell 677.19 points (-1.29%) to 51,935.50.