The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency warned Thursday that the "space for negotiation and diplomacy ... is getting smaller" over Iran's advancing atomic program as wars in the Mideast rage on and as President Donald Trump will return to the White House.

Rafael Mariano Grossi of the IAEA was visiting Tehran in an effort to restore his inspectors' access to Iran's program and answer still-outstanding questions over it, as he has on previous trips with limited success since Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from the Islamic Republic's nuclear deal with world powers.

President-elect Donald Trump is making a victor's return to Washington.

President Joe Biden will welcome him to the White House on Wednesday for an Oval Office visit that is a traditional part of the peaceful handoff of power — a ritual that Trump himself declined to participate in four years ago.

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency.

The acronym "DOGE" is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House "advice and guidance" and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to "drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before." He added that the move would shock government systems.

Russia struck Kyiv with a sophisticated missile and drone attack for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday morning and damage is still being assessed, a top official in the Ukrainian capital said.

Air raid warnings blared for hours. Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City military administration, said defense forces destroyed several cruise and ballistic missiles and up to a dozen drones.

Donald Trump's election victory created a profound conundrum for the judge overseeing his criminal case in New York. Can he go ahead and sentence the president-elect, or would doing so potentially get in the way of Trump's constitutional responsibility to lead the nation?

Court documents made public Tuesday revealed that Judge Juan M. Merchan has effectively put the case on hold until at least Nov. 19 while he and the lawyers on both sides weigh in on what should happen next. Trump's sentencing had been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 26.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi is set to visit Tehran on Wednesday for crucial talks on Iran's nuclear program, warning just ahead of his trip that room for maneuver is narrowing.

North Korea ratified a major defense treaty with Russia stipulating mutual military aid, the North's state media reported Tuesday, as the U.S., South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.

Russia had completed the ratification of the treaty last week after it was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. It is considered both countries' biggest defense deal since the end of the Cold War.

The Kremlin on Monday denied a U.S. media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump shared a call about the Ukraine conflict.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that Trump had urged the Russian leader not to escalate the war in Ukraine.

Iran signalled an openness towards Donald Trump Saturday, calling on the U.S. president-elect to adopt new policies towards it after Washington accused Tehran of involvement in a plot to kill him.

Iran's foreign ministry on Saturday described as "totally unfounded" U.S. accusations of a plot by Tehran to assassinate president-elect Donald Trump.