Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran and Beirut on Saturday after US President Donald Trump said he was considering "winding down" military operations against Iran following three weeks of war.

After Iranian missile fire at Israel overnight, the Israeli military said it had carried out strikes on what it called "regime targets" in Iran's capital, which has been under bombardment since a US-Israeli attack started the war on February 28.

March 20 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the aim of Donald Trump's Board of Peace to fund and deliver the basics of a Gaza reconstruction plan to rebuild Palestinian homes and infrastructure, Politico reported on Saturday.

-“There is an objective there that was defined, approved by the Security Council, and we are cooperating actively with structures created by the Board of Peace,” Guterres told the news outlet in an interview.

By Jana Choukeir, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

DUBAI/WASHINGTON, March 21 (Reuters) - The Israeli military struck Iran and Beirut on Saturday as the U.S. was sending thousands more Marines to the Middle East and President Donald Trump accused NATO allies of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz.

More than 2,000 people have been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, while Americans appear increasingly concerned at signs the war could expand further as it enters its fourth week.

March 21 (Reuters) - The Israeli military said early on Saturday it was striking Hezbollah targets in Beirut, after issuing an evacuation warning for seven neighborhoods in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Israel has been stepping up airstrikes against Lebanon in the third week of its war with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday gave a 30-day authorization for the delivery and sale of crude oil and petroleum products of Iranian-origin loaded vessels, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Jasper Ward; Editing by Chris Reese)

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and his top officials have offered shifting objectives and reasons for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which critics say shows a lack of planning for the conflict and its aftermath.

Stated objectives and expected timeline have varied, including toppling Iran's government, weakening Iran's military, security and nuclear capabilities and its regional influence, as well as supporting Israeli interests.

Here is how Trump described his war goals and timeline:

WASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday the U.S. was getting very close to meeting its objectives as it considers winding down its military efforts in the Iran war and called on countries that use Strait of Hormuz to guard and police it "as necessary."

"The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not!," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

PANAMA CITY, March 20 (Reuters) - The Panama Canal is operating at top capacity with a daily passage of between 36 and 38 vessels, the waterway's chief Ricaurte Vasquez told reporters on Friday, adding that the Iran war is boosting demand by owners and operators of liquefied natural gas tankers, particularly those loading at U.S. ports.

The world's second busiest waterway, which was already seeing increased traffic of LNG vessels through Panama before the war, is getting ready to offer one slot per day for LNG tankers to pass the canal, from four per month in previous months.

A UN expert claimed Israel was systematically torturing Palestinians on a scale "that suggests collective vengeance and destructive intent", in a report released to media on Friday.

Francesca Albanese, the UN's special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said that since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the Gaza war, Palestinians in custody "have been subjected to exceptionally ruthless physical and psychological abuse".

By Aref , Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD, March 20 (Reuters) - Iraq has declared force majeure on all oilfields developed by foreign oil companies after military operations in the region disrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, halting most of the country's crude exports, three energy officials with direct knowledge of the decision said.