- French-UK conference -

France and Britain will co-host a conference this week to discuss a multinational mission to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the leaders of both countries said on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the talks would look at establishing a "strictly defensive mission, separate from the warring parties to the conflict".

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said more than 40 nations had been invited to discuss ways to protect shipping "when the conflict ends".

- Israel backs blockade -

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his support for US President Donald Trump's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is focused on Iranian ports.

Netanyahu added that his government was in full coordination with Washington on the matter.

- Iran slams blockade -

Iran's military said the US naval blockade was illegal and amounts to "piracy", warning that no Gulf ports would be safe if its own were threatened.

Since the war against it began at the end of February, Iran has imposed control over the Strait of Hormuz and said ships from non-hostile countries wanting to use it need to pay Tehran a toll.

- China urges 'unimpeded' navigation -

China, which is reliant on energy supplies coming through the strait, called for "unimpeded" navigation through the waterway.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun also dismissed US accusations that Beijing intended to supply weapons to Iran as "baseless smears", after Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs on Chinese goods over the issue.

- Oil prices up -

Oil prices surged and stock markets broadly fell as investors digested the failure of weekend US-Iran peace talks and Trump's blockade order.

Both Brent North Sea Crude -- the international benchmark -- and West Texas Intermediate contracts jumped to more than $100 a barrel.

- Russia's uranium offer -

Russia said it would be ready to take in Iran's enriched uranium as part of any US-Iranian peace deal.

"This proposal was voiced by President (Vladimir) Putin in contacts with both the United States and regional states. The offer still stands, but has not been acted upon," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

- Pope not 'debating' Trump -

Pope Leo XIV said he had "no intention to debate" with Trump, after the US president criticised him over his comments on the war.

After the pope made a plea for peace, Trump said he was "not a big fan" of the pontiff, calling him "very liberal".

The head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley, defended the pontiff, saying: "Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the pope a politician. He is the vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls."

- Lebanon town surrounded -

The Israeli military said its troops had surrounded the key town of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon and begun an assault on it, after killing more than 100 fighters from the Iran-backed Hezbollah group over the past week.

"The fighting continues. It has not stopped," Netanyahu said in a video statement, adding that combat was concentrated in that Lebanese town.

- 'Long-time' effects -

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, will suffer the war's energy shock "for a long time to come, even after it is over", Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, as his government announced 1.6 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in fuel price relief.

Elsewhere in Europe, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said Trump's threatened blockade "makes no sense".

- Philippines trims taxes -

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said excise taxes on liquefied petroleum gas and kerosene would be trimmed to ease the fuel price shock wrought by the war.

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