Weekly roundup of world briefs

Kerry denies claim he informed Iran of Israeli strikes in Syria

(JNS) — U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry on Monday denied allegations that he had discussed covert Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria with Iran’s foreign minister.

“I can tell you that this story and these allegations are unequivocally false. This never happened—either when I was Secretary of State or since,” Kerry tweeted on Monday night.

Kerry was responding to a leaked audio recording of a closed-door discussion involving Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and an Iranian economist, in which the Iranian...