March 15 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday he had asked Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to put an immediate end to attacks against countries in the Middle East whether directly or through proxies, including in Lebanon and Iraq.

"I reminded him that France is acting within a strictly defensive framework aimed at protecting its interests, its regional partners, and freedom of navigation, and that it is unacceptable for our country to be targeted," Macron said in a post on X.

By Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer

BRUSSELS, March 15 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers will discuss on Monday bolstering a small naval mission in the Middle East but are not expected to decide on extending its role to the choked-off Strait of Hormuz, diplomats and officials say.

The EU’s Aspides mission was established in 2024 to protect ships from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group in the Red Sea. It currently has an Italian and a Greek ship under its direct command and can also call upon a French ship and another Italian vessel for support.

JERUSALEM, March 15 (Reuters) - Israel and Lebanon are expected to hold talks in the coming days aimed at securing a durable ceasefire that would see Hezbollah disarmed, two Israeli officials said on Sunday, though the timing and terms have yet to be agreed.

Beirut is forming a delegation for talks but no date has been set. Lebanon needed clarity on whether Israel would abide by President Joseph Aoun's first point — a demand for a full ceasefire to allow negotiations to take place, three Lebanese officials said on Saturday.

By Joey Roulette

March 15 (Reuters) - An Afghan immigrant who previously worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and later sought asylum in the United States died this weekend in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas, a U.S. veteran-led advocacy group said on Sunday.

FRANKFURT, March 15 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Sunday that he was sceptical about a potential widening of the European Union's Aspides naval mission to the Strait of Hormuz.

Wadephul said that the mission to help commercial shipments pass through the Red Sea was "not effective".

"And that is why I am very sceptical that extending Aspides to the Strait of Hormuz would provide greater security," he said in an interview on Germany's ARD broadcaster.

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Klaus Lauer; Editing by Alexander Smith)

By Timour Azhari

RIYADH, March 15 (Reuters) - Iran's relations with Arab Gulf states will require a "serious review" in light of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, limitingthe power of external actors so the region can become prosperous, Tehran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Reuters on Sunday.

Asked if he was concerned that relations would be harmed by the war, Ambassador Alireza Enayati said: "It's a valid question, and the answer may be simple. We are neighbors and we cannot do without each other; we will need a serious review."

JERUSALEM, March 15 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video of himself getting a cup of coffee and chatting with his aide on Sunday, after rumours that he was dead or injured were aired by Iranian state media and spread online in Iran.

In the video, taken at a cafe in Jerusalem's outskirts and posted on Netanyahu's Telegram account, his aide asks him about the rumours.

Netanyahu responds with a pun on the word dead -- which in Hebrew slang can be used to describe "being crazy about" someone or something -- as he reaches for a cup of coffee.

March 15 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said on Sunday it had released $2 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE) to support the health response in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria amidst the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

The conflict has triggered a large-scale population movement, the WHO said last week, estimating that more than 100,000 people in Iran have relocated, and up to 700,000 people in Lebanon have been internally displaced.

By Ahmed Kerdi

BEIRUT/SIDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Hussain Murtada and his family are camping in the back of a small truck, a flimsy tarpaulin shielding them from a storm on Sunday, with no room left at shelters for displaced people in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.

"We are putting tarp over it because we're soaked," said Murtada, using string to fasten the plastic sheet over the back of the truck parked on the seafront. Inside, an infant peered out, surrounded by pillows, blankets and other possessions.

Hundreds of people turned out in London Sunday for a pro-Palestinian march banned by the government after police said it was organised by a group "supportive of the Iranian regime".

Police said in a statement they had arrested 12 people and were investigating anti-Israeli chants allegedly made at the rally.

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood said earlier this week she had agreed to the ban to "prevent serious public disorder" in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, where Iran has launched strikes in retaliation against a US-Israeli offensive.