Diesel hit a new record price in the U.S. on Friday, soaring to an average of $5.85 a gallon for the first time ever as the six-month war with Iran disrupts the world's flow of fuel.

Because diesel is used for many freight and delivery networks, higher diesel prices mean higher transportation costs for a long list of everyday goods.

President Joseph Aoun thanked the "United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump" in a statement Friday after the Red Cross transferred to Lebanon four more people detained by Israel, a day after a first person was freed.

Aoun in a statement expressed his gratitude "for all the efforts exerted, particularly by the United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump, and by international bodies, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross".

Four prisoners from Lebanon held in Israel were released and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross Friday as part of a deal between the two countries. In return, Lebanon agreed to search for the bodies of Jewish Lebanese citizens who went missing during the country's civil war decades ago.

Dozens of Lebanese prisoners are believed to be held in Israeli detention centers, including civilians as well as Hezbollah militants captured during fighting in southern Lebanon. A total of five detainees are being released under the current deal, all civilians.

Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally that hosts American forces in the Mideast, has paid a price for its relationship with Washington, which has made the kingdom's military bases a target of repeat Iranian strikes.

Hundreds of drone and missile attacks have added to other strains on Jordan that include a slumping economy and volatility in the neighboring West Bank, where Israeli settlers have ramped up attacks on Palestinians.

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday rejected the use of the word "war" to describe the U.S. fighting with Iran as he steered clear of predicting that the 6-month-old conflict would be over by November's midterm elections, in which Republicans are trying to hang on to their narrow majorities in Congress.

"I wouldn't call it a war," Vance said after being asked during a White House press briefing about whether the fighting could end before voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 congressional elections. "Right now, there is no active shooting."

Israel's defense minister on Friday hailed the capture of a strategic highland from Hezbollah as solidifying Israel's "security zone" in Lebanon and vowed that troops would not leave it.

"The capture of the Ali al-Taher ridge marks the completion of the phase of securing control in the security zone in southern Lebanon," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

Israel's military said on Thursday it had taken “operational control” of the strategic Ali Taher ridge area in southern Lebanon, the site of sporadic clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in recent weeks. It's where Hezbollah is believed to have an extensive underground military facility.

The military said troops had cleared Hezbollah fighters from two underground routes, killing some while others fled. It said operations were ongoing.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that Israel decided to release five captive Lebanese civilians after “significant efforts” were made to “locate and repatriate the remains of leaders of Lebanon’s Jewish community who were abducted and killed” in the mid-1980s.

“As part of the negotiations with Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed officials to advance efforts to locate and repatriate the remains of leaders of Lebanon’s Jewish community who were abducted and killed by terrorist organizations in the mid-1980s,” the office said.

Russia will shutter German cultural centers across the country, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Thursday.

The move comes after Berlin blamed Moscow for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport and announced the closure of both the Russian Consulate in Bonn and the Russian House cultural center in the German capital.

In a country where governments are famously short-lived, the perceived success of Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has often been attributed to her survival skills rather than her accomplishments.

Meloni's conservative administration became Italy's longest-serving uninterrupted government since World War II at 1,413 days on Thursday, surpassing the record set by the late Silvio Berlusconi between 2001 and 2005.