The sun was not quite up as Eric Helera unlocked the doors of his jeepney, wiped down its two long passenger benches, and checked his brake fluid before another day ferrying Manila commuters.

The makeshift minibus named Princess is part of a smoke-belching, colourfully decorated fleet that forms the backbone of a Philippine transportation sector being hammered by surging fuel prices driven by the US-Israeli war with Iran.

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/TEL AVIV, March 24 (Reuters) - Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, the Israeli military said, after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb the Islamic Republic's power grid because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials.

The missiles triggered air raid sirens in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv where blasts from interceptions were heard. In one attack, homes in northern Israel were damaged by falling debris following an interception. No deaths were reported.

Israel said on Tuesday that its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, as deadly strikes pounded the country.

In the latest unprecedented step by Lebanese authorities since a new war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah, Beirut's foreign ministry declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata, giving him until Sunday to leave the country.

Hezbollah strongly objected to the move, calling on the government to reverse it.

By Andrea Shalal

March 23 (Reuters) - Moscow's shipment of modernized drones to Iran made Russian drone production sites legitimate military targets, a top Ukrainian diplomat said on Monday, urging Western powers to equip Ukraine with weapons capable of hitting those sites.

March 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is quietly weighing Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad ⁠Bagher Ghalibaf, as a potential partner, and even a future leader, Politico reported on Monday, citing two administration officials.

Ghalibaf is seen by at least some in the White House as a workable partner who could lead Iran and negotiate with the Trump administration in the war's next phase, the report said.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Porter)

International markets and the world at large have grown used to US President Donald Trump's abrupt reversals, but Monday's about-face on Iran was one of his most spectacular yet.

Since returning to power last year, Trump has openly embraced governing "by instinct."

On the Mideast conflict, he has made a flurry of contradictory statements about goals and the timeline, and even declared on March 13 that the war would end when he "felt it in his bones."

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Iran arrests -

Iranian authorities said that 466 people have been arrested, accused of seeking to destabilise the country through their online activity.

The exact nature of the online activity nor the dates of the arrests were provided. Internet has been shut down in Iran since the start of the war on February 28.

- New Iran chief -

By John Irish

PARIS, March 23 (Reuters) - Bahrain has put forward a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would authorise countries to use "all necessary means" - diplomatic language for force - to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, according to a text seen by Reuters on Monday.

Diplomats said the draft text was backed by other Gulf Arab states and the United States, although they said it was unlikely to succeed.

By Erin Banco, Gram Slattery and Maayan Lubell

WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM, March 23 (Reuters) - Less than 48 hours before the U.S.-Israeli strike on Iran began, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone to President Donald Trump about the reasons for launching the kind of complex, far-off war the American leader once had campaigned against.

BRUSSELS, March 23 (Reuters) - Soldiers were deployed on the streets of leading Belgian citieson Monday to bolster security for the Jewish community, after what officials said were antisemitic attacks in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The move follows an explosionthis month at a synagogue in Liege that authorities called an antisemitic act.

“From today we're putting soldiers back on the streets in Brussels and Antwerp because safety is a basic right,” Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said in a post on X on Monday.