Iran: Tehran says it has tested new weapon / Syria: General reported killed by sniper / Middle East: Those fleeing Gaza taken to W. Bank

Up to 40% of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage along Iran's southern coast. If Tehran shut down tanker traffic there, oil prices could be expected to skyrocket.

The warnings came two days after a deadline expired for Iran to respond to incentives from six world powers, offered in exchange for a promise to curb its uranium enrichment. A push for further sanctions is expected.

SYRIA

General reported killed by sniper

A sniper assassinated a senior Syrian general close to President Bashar Assad, according to reports in a Saudi paper and on websites for a Syrian opposition figure and a member of Syria's ruling party.

The sniper, on a yacht, killed Brig. Gen. Mohammed Suleiman at a beach resort in the northern port city of Tartus, said the website of exiled Syrian dissident Abdul-Halim Khaddam. The site said the general handled intelligence files and was a close Assad associate.

The other website, run by Ayman Abdul-Nour, said the senior officer was shot Friday night at his beach house.

There was no confirmation by officials in Syria, which restricts its media.

MIDDLE EAST

Fleers from Gaza taken to W. Bank

Israel drove 88 Palestinians allied with President Mahmoud Abbas to the West Bank, two days after they fled clashes with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel said 181 members of the Hillis clan, one of the most powerful Gaza families associated with Abbas' secular Fatah group, sought refuge Saturday in Israel after a fierce assault by Hamas that killed 11 people and wounded more than 90.

Hamas said it carried out the raid to detain men it accused of carrying out a July 25 bombing that killed five Hamas members and a girl.

Israel said it sent 60 Hillis family members back to Gaza, but ceased doing so when it learned Hamas was arresting them.

From Times Wire Reports