VAUX-DE-CERNAY, France, March 26 (Reuters) - Foreign ministers from the world's leading Western democracies meet in France this week against the backdrop of wars in Iranand Ukraine, economic uncertainty, and mounting unease over an increasingly unpredictable U.S. foreign policy.

The two-day gathering at the restored 12th-century Abbaye des Vaux-de-Cernay, about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Paris, brings together ministers from the G7 – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S. – alongside the European Union.

With the war in Iran leading to a near-total internet blackout in the country, activists around the world -- especially in the United States -- are mobilizing to help Iranians stay connected via Starlink.

Despite being banned, billionaire Elon Musk's satellite internet system has gained ground in Iran thanks to a network of international activists, multiple people involved in these efforts told AFP.

By Samia Nakhoul, Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily

BEIRUT, March 25 (Reuters) - Iran has told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement with the United States and Israel, six regional sources familiar with Iran's position said, linking an end of the war to a halt to Israel's offensive against Hezbollah.

Iran's Press TV on Wednesday cited an Iranian official saying Tehran wanted any deal with the United States to secure an end to the war both on Iran and other "resistance groups" in the region.

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would visit China for a rescheduled state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15, rescheduling a closely watched trip that was delayed due to the ongoing Iran war.

Trumpadded that he would host Xi for a reciprocal visit in Washington later this year.

"Our Representatives are finalizing preparations for these Historic Visits," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "I look very much forward to spending time with President Xi in what will be, I am sure, a Monumental Event."

By Nandita Bose and Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump will hit Iran harder if Tehran fails to accept that the country has been "defeated militarily," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

"President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again," Leavitt told reporters in a press briefing.

KYIV, March 25 (Reuters) - Russia sought to blackmail the United States by offering to stop sharing military intelligence with Iran if, in return, Washington would cut off Ukraine from its intelligence data, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday.

Zelenskiy, who said on Monday that Ukraine's military intelligence has "irrefutable" evidence that Russia is continuing to provide intelligence to Iran, told Reuters he had seen the data but provided no further details.

By Nandita Bose and Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON, March 25 (Reuters) - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday said the United States is tracking "very closely" how to get oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

"As far as tankers through the Strait, it's something we're tracking very closely," Leavitt told reporters about the key shipping lane near Iran. However, the press secretary said there is no "specific timeline" on when the tankers could move freely.

A fireball erupted over Gaza on Wednesday as an Israeli strike tore through a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians, killing one person and injuring seven, the territory's civil defence agency said.

The bloodshed was the latest to rock the war-shattered Palestinian territory despite a ceasefire in place since October 10.

The strike hit the Al-Sitt camp in the Deir el-Balah area, said the civil defence agency, which operates as a rescue service under Hamas.

AFP photographs showed flames engulfing the tents, sending thick black smoke into the sky.

By Abdelaziz Boumzar and Yara Nardi

NABATIEH, Lebanon, March 25 (Reuters) - Wearing identical uniforms, a dozen paramedics gathered around a pair of caskets in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh, crying so heavily their shoulders shook, as they prepared to bury two of their own killed in an Israeli strike.

US President Donald Trump insisted Wednesday that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran's denials were because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.

"They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly. But they're afraid to say it, because they figure they'll be killed by their own people," Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.

"They're also afraid they'll be killed by us."

The US leader's comments came after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that "we do not intend to negotiate".