- Israel wants Lebanon 'normalisation' -

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said his country is seeking "peace and normalisation" with Lebanon, as the two countries prepared to meet later Tuesday in Washington for their first direct talks in decades.

"We want to reach peace and normalisation with the state of Lebanon," Saar said at a press conference. "Israel and Lebanon don't have any major disputes between them. The problem is Hezbollah," the Iran-backed militant group whose opposition is dampening hopes of any breakthrough at the talks.

Israel's ongoing military campaign in Lebanon is threatening to derail the fragile US-Iranian ceasefire agreement announced a week ago.

- New US-Iran talks? -

Pakistan is working to bring Iran and the United States together for a second round of talks, senior Pakistani sources told AFP, with one saying negotiators were working to extend the countries' current two-week ceasefire "to allow for additional time".

Washington and Tehran held historic face-to-face talks in Islamabad over the weekend, but failed to reach an agreement on ending the war.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had urged Trump and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian to restart talks.

- Hormuz meeting Friday -

France and Britain will co-host a video conference Friday of more than 40 countries ready to contribute to a "purely defensive mission" to secure the Strait of Hormuz, officials said.

France's Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair the meeting to discuss a plan to "restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when security conditions allow", the French presidency said.

The plan would be put in place "once the conflict ends", a spokesman for Starmer's office said.

- Stocks rise, oil falls -

Stocks rose and oil fell on hopes for a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with Trump saying Tehran had called to seek an agreement, even as a US blockade of Iranian ports began.

Both main oil prices, West Texas Intermediate and Brent North Sea Crude, fell to hold below $100, with the former down more than two percent.

- Oil demand plunge -

Demand for crude oil will likely decline this year for the first time since the Covid pandemic, said the International Energy Agency.

Surging prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and damage to production facilities will force countries and industries to curtail oil use, and "demand destruction will spread as scarcity and higher prices persist", the IEA said in its monthly report.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to sink ships entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas in the Gulf, imposing a blockade that came into force at 1400 GMT Monday.

- US blockade 'irresponsible': China -

China accused the United States of "dangerous and irresponsible" behaviour over its blockade of Iranian ports, with President Xi Jinping vowing Beijing would play a "constructive role" in promoting peace in the Middle East.

The blockade "will only exacerbate tensions and undermine the already fragile ceasefire agreement and further jeopardise safety of passage through the Strait (of Hormuz)", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a news conference.

China also vowed "countermeasures" if Trump made good on his threat to impose new tariffs following reports Beijing has supplied or intends to supply weapons to Iran.

- Israeli soldiers wounded -

The Israeli military said overnight clashes between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah militants had left 10 soldiers wounded in the key southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, which Israel's forces have encircled.

- EU jet fuel fears -

The European Commission said it fears Europe could face jet fuel supply issues in the near future, with no end in sight to the war roiling global energy markets.

- Trump: Iran wants a deal -

Trump said Iranian representatives had called to make a peace deal after talks in Pakistan ended at the weekend without agreement.

"I can tell you that we've been called by the other side. They'd like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly," he told reporters outside the Oval Office, without identifying which officials had called.

Trump also said 34 ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, but the figure could not be immediately corroborated.

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