• Iran warns of reciprocal steps over new US visa restrictions seen as ‘breach of deal’

  Iran will take reciprocal measures in response to any breach of this year’s nuclear deal, the Foreign Ministry warned on Monday. Tehran earlier said new US visa restrictions contravened the historic agreement. “Any steps taken outside the agreement are unacceptable to Iran,”Reuters quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari as saying. The US Congress passed a law earlier this month restricting visa-free travel rights for people who have visited Iran or hold dual Iranian nationality.

• Israel Defense Ministry sacks head of missile-defense program for ‘information breach’

  The Israeli Defense Ministry says it has dismissed Yair Ramati, a senior official, for a “serious information security breach,” AP reported. Ramati headed a branch of the ministry developing Israel’s missile defense system and served in the position for four years. Defense officials said he had kept sensitive information on his personal computer. Israel is developing a multilayered system designed to defend against everything from long-range guided rocket attacks to crude missiles.

• Yemen ex-leader Saleh calls for talks with Saudi, rejects negotiations with govt

  Yemen’s pro-rebel ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh has rejected further peace talks with the government, urging dialogue with Saudi Arabia, AFP reported. Riyadh has been leading a military campaign since March against Houthi rebels, who have been supported by Saleh loyalists. “We will not take part in [future] dialogue… unless the war ends,” Saleh told members of his General People’s Congress party late on Sunday. GPC representatives attended UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland last week. The parties agreed to meet again on January 14 as there had been no major breakthrough in the talks.

• Catalonia party undecided if Mas should lead parliament, secession in limbo

  A secession drive in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia is in limbo after a far-left party could not decide whether Artur Mas should lead the regional parliament, AP said. Mas heads the “Together for Yes” alliance. It won 62 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament last September. To form a pro-secession parliament, Mas needs the support of the Popular Unity Candidacy, which won 10 seats. The CUP voted 1,515-1,515 on the proposal for Mas to head a separatist coalition, and the party leaders will meet on January 2 to try to break the deadlock. New elections must be called if no leadership deal is reached by January 10. Catalonia is on a path to seek independence by 2017.

• S. Korea, Japan ‘reach agreement’ to resolve comfort women issue

  South Korea and Japan reached a landmark agreement on Monday to resolve the issue of “comfort women,” Reuters reported. The women were forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels, and the issue has long plagued ties between the neighboring countries. The Japanese government feels “deep responsibility” and will contribute to a fund to help the women, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said after a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Yun Byung-se. Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe “once again expresses his feeling of heartfelt apology and remorse to all those who, as ‘comfort women’, experienced much suffering and incurred incurable psychological and physical wounds,” Kishida said. If the steps pledged by Japan are fully carried out, South Korea will consider the matter resolved “finally and irreversibly,” according to Yun.

• 1 killed, 13 injured in Kabul suicide attack – police chief

  A suicide bomb attack has killed at least one person and injured 13, including three women, on a road near Kabul Airport, head of Kabul police Abdul Rahman Rahimi said on Monday, according to Reuters. Local police on the spot says the suicide bomber walked up to a pickup truck and detonated the explosive device he was wearing. The terror attack came after a series of incursions this month claimed by Taliban militants, including suicide bombing nearby Bagram airbase last week that killed six US troops. The Taliban has gained more ground in Helmand over the last seven days, where the world’s lucrative opium crop is cultivated, with Sangin being the latest district to fall under Taliban control.