WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - Secretary of State Marco Rubio has designated as wrongfully detained in Iran 70-year-old Iranian-American Kamran Hekmati, his cousin said on Monday.

"This designation is an official recognition by the U.S. Government that Kamran is being held on false charges in an effort by the Iranians to leverage the U.S. Government," Shohreh Nowfar said in a statement.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Chris Reese)

Israel's President Isaac Herzog told AFP Monday that Europe should back his country's fight against Hezbollah, as Israeli forces carried out ground operations in Lebanon.

In an exclusive interview at his Jerusalem residence, the Israeli head of state also said the US-Israeli war with Iran marked a "historical juncture".

"Europe should support any effort, any effort, to eradicate Hezbollah now," Herzog said.

"They should understand that if you want to get anywhere, sometimes you need to win war."

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - A "significant Israeli ground offensive" in Lebanon must be averted since it could have devastating humanitarian consequences, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Britain said in a joint statement on Monday.

Lebanon was sucked into the war in the Middle East on March 2 after the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah opened fire at Israel. Hezbollah said it aimed to avenge the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran.

March 16 (Reuters) - A Pakistani airstrike hit a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing or wounding an unspecified number of people, an Afghan Taliban spokesperson said on Monday, an action that Pakistan rejected, saying it had targeted "military installations".

Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a post on social media platform X that Pakistan had targeted "military installations" and "terrorist support infrastructure" in Kabul and Nangarhar.

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - A direct communications channel between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been reactivated in recent days, Axios reported on Monday, citing a U.S. official and a source with knowledge of the matter.

Axios said it was not clear how substantive the messages passed between Araghchi and Witkoff had been, adding it was the first known direct communication between the parties since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran.

Bangladeshi migrant Ahmad Ali, 55, was doing his regular round delivering drinking water to residents in the United Arab Emirates when Iran launched its first retaliatory attacks against Gulf countries.

Debris from a missile strike tore through his delivery van, killing him instantly and ending his three decades spent in the Emirates.

"My dad told my cousin he would be back soon," Ali's son Abdul Hoque said from Barlekha in eastern Bangladesh. "But those were his last words. He died instantly when his van was hit."

In southern Lebanon's Ain Ebel, close to the border with Israel, Suad Jallad holds a poster of her son, killed by Israel last week, saying she would rather be buried next to him than leave.

Ain Ebel, a village filled with red-riled roofs and surrounded by olive groves, is one of few Christian villages in the Bint Jbeil district whose residents refuse to evacuate, insisting they are not a party to the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

President Donald Trump is pressuring allies to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime choke point that has effectively been closed by Iran in response to the US-Israeli war launched last month.

Trump highlighted the dangers in remarks on Monday, noting that a "single terrorist" could "put something in the water" or shoot a missile at ships transiting the narrow waterway bordering the Islamic republic.

Trump said a number of countries that he did not specify had committed to help, while taking aim at others that were not "enthusiastic" about doing so.

Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war on Monday:

- Stocks rise as oil prices cool -

Global markets mostly rose as oil prices pulled back, with investors focused on the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf waterway through which a fifth of global crude oil passes, where traffic has been severely disrupted by the war.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude dropped 2.8 percent to $100.21, while the main US contract West Texas Intermediate fell 5.3 percent to $93.50.

- Drone strike sparks UAE oil field fire -

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping could be postponed as the U.S. president remains focused on the Iran war, the White House said on Monday.

Any delay in Trump's scheduled March 31 to April 2 China trip risks magnifying tensions between Washington and Beijing, as the Iran crisis has joined trade and Taiwan among the spectrum of issues separating the world's two biggest economies.