Tehran on Tuesday played down a decision by the United States to boycott meetings of the U.N. Conference on Disarmament when Iran takes over the body later this month.

"Pressure, presence or their boycott will not be important to Iran," newly appointed foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Araqchi told reporters when asked about the planned boycott by U.S. ambassadors when Iran takes over.

The purported head of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has claimed two recent deadly attacks in the northeast in a video obtained by Agence France Presse Monday, which also depicts women and children apparently being held hostage.

The video features Abubakar Shekau, declared a global terrorist by the United States, seated on a rug with a kalashnikov resting behind his right shoulder.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati and the European Union mission in Lebanon denied reports that the EU could withdraw its troops affiliated in United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

“EU Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst didn't relay a warning backed by U.S. that it would withdraw its troops over Lebanon's slackness in preventing abduction of UNIFIL members,” according to a statement issued by the EU mission in Lebanon and received by the Naharnet.

Syria's key National Coalition opposition group will meet May 23 to discuss a U.S.-Russian proposal for an international conference on a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

"The meeting will take place in Istanbul and last three days... to take a decision on the Kerry-Lavrov proposal and our participation," Coalition spokesman Sonir Ahmed told Agence France Presse, referring to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Gunmen opened fire on dozens of people marching in a Mother's Day neighborhood parade in New Orleans on Sunday, wounding at least 19, including two children, police said.

FBI spokeswoman Mary Beth Romig said federal investigators have no indication that the shooting was an act of terrorism.

The West Wing of the White House was temporarily evacuated Saturday morning after a minor electrical problem set off a smoke alarm, a White House official said.

"Early this am, an electrical transformer near the West Wing malfunctioned and set off a smoke alarm in the West Wing. The transformer problem was quickly resolved.

A U.S. naval strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz will arrive in South Korea this weekend for sea drills, officials said Friday, following joint exercises that infuriated North Korea.

As well as the nuclear-powered Nimitz, the group includes three guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, the U.S. military said in a statement, without specifying the total size of the group.

Syria on Thursday welcomed a U.S.-Russian initiative to find a political solution to its conflict, counting on ally Moscow to stand firm, even as Washington said President Bashar Assad would have to step down.

U.S. Secretary John Kerry, who announced the initiative earlier this week, said the embattled president would have to step down as part of the resolution to the conflict.

Israel has warned the United States that Russia plans to sell sophisticated missile systems to Syria that would complicate any foreign intervention there, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Journal reported late Wednesday that Israel had provided information to Washington about the imminent sale to Syria of Russian S-300 missile batteries, advanced ground-to-air weapons that can take out aircraft or guided missiles.

The United States praised on Thursday the Lebanese government for hosting and supporting the Syrian refugees on its territories, contributing an additional $100 million in humanitarian assistance.

“The U.S. commends the cabinet and the generosity of its people for hosting and supporting some 450,000 refugees or more from Syria, who fled the brutal violence of (Syrian President Bashar) Assad regime,” the U.S. embassy said in a statement.