Gwadar Port, Pakistan: With its 600-kilometer coastline, Gwadar is a key deep seaport currently operated by China, which seeks to gain direct access to the Indian Ocean via Gwadar in line with its $64 billion Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (CPEC) mega project.

Indian media reports, however, claim that Russia has announced the suspension of S-400 missile systems to China and said the resumption of further deliveries is yet to be ascertained.

US arch-foe Iran is a key player on the side of the Syrian government in the country's conflict and is aligned with Huthi rebels in Yemen fighting the government, supported by a coalition led by US ally Saudi Arabia.

Ukraine has been fighting separatists backed by Russia in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions since 2014 following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula. More than 13,000 people have been killed since fighting broke out in 2014, despite the peace accords signed in Minsk.

A priest from the minority Zoroastrian community who lived in the United States has been killed on a visit to Iran, state news agency...