By William James

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - Britain banned support for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a linked group on Monday following a series of antisemitic attacks, using new powers designed to stop the use of state-sponsored proxies.

The government and intelligence agencies have become increasingly concerned about foreign powers paying organised crime groups or low-level criminals for surveillance, sabotage or other activities on their behalf.

BRUSSELS, July 13 (Reuters) - The European Commission and more than a dozen countries launched an initiative on Monday to deliver €883.6 million ($1 billion) in aid projects to help Gaza recover from war.

The small coastal enclave remains in ruins more than 2-1/2 years after the conflict was triggered by the October 2023 attack on ​Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since last October, and the United Nations has estimated the cost of rebuilding work in Gaza at around $70 billion.

By Steve Holland, Parisa Hafezi, Phil Stewart and Yomna Ehab

WASHINGTON/DUBAI, July 12 (Reuters) - U.S. and Iranian forces have exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults, with Tehran targeting U.S. facilities in states across the Gulf on Sunday and saying it had again closed the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The renewed violence casts further doubt on the future of an interim U.S.-Iranian agreement signed last month that aimed to reopen the strait and end the war after a further 60 days of negotiations.

BAGHDAD, July 12 (Reuters) - Iraq's prime minister will visit Washington on Monday to deepen strategic ties with the United States, with oil and gas deals expected to be signed as part of a broader push for economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Iraq has been seeking to balance its ties with neighbouring Iran and the U.S. as military escalation between the two rivals continues.

By Steve Holland, Akanksha Khushi, Thomas Derpinghaus and Tim Reid

WASHINGTON, July 12 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, a one-time vocal critic of Donald Trump who went on to become one of the president's staunchest allies, died late on Saturday from a heart ailment caused by hardening of the arteries, his office said on Sunday. He was 71.

In an interview with Reuters, Trump said he spoke to Graham "minutes" before the South Carolina Republican was taken ill and ruled out any foul play.

JERUSALEM, July 12 (Reuters) - Israel is set to hold a national election on October 27, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, its first since Hamas' 2023 attack and the wars that ensued in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

The precise ballot date had been unclear since the Israeli parliament voted in May to disband, raising the possibility the election could be held early.

However, coalition head Ofir Katz told a parliamentary committee on Sunday that the original October 27 date set by law would be kept.