By Saleem Ahmed

ISLAMABAD, May 25 (Reuters) - More than 30 people died in a suicide bombing of a train in southwestern Pakistan on Sunday, officials said on Monday, in the latest attack claimed by separatist Balochistan militants.

Two provincial officials, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to disclose the information, said on Monday the death toll had risen to more than 30.

At least 24 people were initially reported as dead on Sunday after a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into the train.

By Steven Scheer and Maya Gebeily

JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, May 25 (Reuters) - Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume bombing Beirut in response to increased explosive drone attacks by Hezbollah on Israeli troops and northern Israel towns.

Smotrich's comments came after an Israeli soldier was killed by a Hezbollah drone attack on Sunday. Israeli media reported that Smotrich made similar remarks at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

The United States and Iran have both played down chances of a quick deal to end a war that has engulfed the Middle East and disrupted the global oil market.

US President Donald Trump said Monday that a deal with Tehran would either be "great and meaningful" or there would be "no deal" at all.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said progress had been made in talks with Washington, but a deal was not yet within reach.

What do we know about the possible agreement?

- Nuclear question -

By Liz Lee and Ethan Wang

BEIJING, May 25 (Reuters) - President Xi Jinping hailed China's "unbreakable" friendship with Pakistan on Monday as he met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Beijing, seeking to deepen their "all-weather" partnership.

Xi welcomed the Pakistani leader as an "old friend" at Beijing's Great Hall of the People and said the two countries had "understood, trusted and supported each other" over decades.

By Rami Ayyub

JERUSALEM, May 25 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told confidants in private conversations that Israel has little ability to influence Donald Trump's decision-making on Iran as the U.S. president negotiates a deal in the nearly three-month-old war, two sources said.

Netanyahu's comments, described to Reuters by two Israeli officials with knowledge of the conversations, come as Israel has largely been left out of talks to reach an initial deal to halt a war that began with joint U.S.-Israeli bombardment.

Being in Mecca has been nothing short of blissful for Hassan Qadiri, where participating in the festivities of the hajj pilgrimage is a welcome relief after weeks of devastating war back home in Iran.

Qadiri and his family took cover as intense Israeli and American bombing raids targeted his native city of Isfahan in central Iran until an April ceasefire began.

"We hear the call to prayer every day, not explosions here," Qadiri told AFP.

"I'm very happy."

May 25 (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday that conclusions have been reached on many topics discussed in a potential memorandum of understanding with the U.S., but this does not mean Tehran is close to signing an agreement.

The spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, added that Iran is negotiating an end to the war and is not currently discussing nuclear issues, and repeated that changes in the positions of U.S. officials create problems for any agreement.

(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly and Tala Ramadan; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

DUBAI, May 25 (Reuters) - Iran's top negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, has been reelected as the country's parliamentary speaker, semi-official Fars news agency reported on Monday.

(Reporting by Elwely Elwelly;Editing by Alison Williams)

Marco Rubio leads US foreign policy as diplomacy on Iran goes down to the wire, but he is also making time for cultural attractions as divergent as the Taj Mahal and the Village People.

Rubio, who serves as President Donald Trump's secretary of state and national security advisor, took a day for sightseeing in India on Monday, touring the Taj Mahal, the renowned monument to love.

"It's one of the wonders of the world," Rubio said of the imposing mausoleum in Agra.

"I think it's important to show respect to the culture of the countries that you visit."

The Israeli army intensified strikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to escalate its offensive in an effort to "crush" Hezbollah.

The airstrikes come as the United States and Iran seek to finalise the terms of an agreement to end the Middle East conflict, which could include the Lebanon front, where Israel and Hezbollah have waged war since March 2.

Despite a ceasefire that came into effect on April 17, Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have continued to exchange fire on a near-daily basis.