KYIV, March 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten discussed joint arms production during his visit to Kyiv on Sunday, and he stressed Ukraine's unique experience in defending against Iranian-made drones used by Russia.

"It is important that we are producing weapons together with the Netherlands – and we will certainly continue and expand this joint work," Zelenskiy said on X, adding they had discussed investments and possible production volumes in detail.

Iran's foreign minister said Sunday that the Iranian people, not Donald Trump, will elect their new leader and demanded that the US president apologize for starting the war with Iran.

"We allow nobody to interfere in our domestic affairs. This is up to the Iranian people to elect their new leader," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Trump on Sunday reiterated his demand to have a say in picking Iran's next supreme leader after Ali Khamenei died in the opening salvos of the US-Israeli attack that began nine days ago.

Iraq, which had recently regained some stability after decades of conflict, was immediately dragged into the Middle East war triggered when the United States and Israel attacked Iran last weekend.

Within hours, warplanes filled Iraq's airspace. Air strikes pounded bases hosting Tehran-backed groups across the country. Iran-backed groups in turn launched attacks on US interests in Iraq, while Tehran struck Kurdish militants in the north.

Residents of Tehran woke up on Sunday morning to find it was still dark outside, an apocalyptic sight created by thick black smoke billowing from oil depots hit by Israeli strikes.

With the Sun blotted out, disoriented people in the Iranian capital had to turn on their lights to see through the gloom.

"I thought my alarm clock was broken," a driver in his fifties told AFP on condition of anonymity.

By 10:30 am local time (0700 GMT), cars still needed their headlights to drive along Valiasr Street, a main thoroughfare that runs north-south through the city.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in cities across the world Sunday to mark International Women's Day and denounce the war in the Middle East.

From Rio in Brazil, Caracas in Venezuela and cities across France, Spain, Turkey and other European countries, demonstrators marched to demand women's rights across a range of issues.

By Gwladys Fouche and Nora Buli

OSLO, March 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. embassy in Oslo was hit by a loud explosion early on Sunday, causing minor damage but no injuries in what may have been a deliberate attack linked to the crisis in the Middle East, Norwegian police said.

"It's natural to see this in the context of the current security situation and that this could be an attack deliberately targeting the U.S. embassy," Frode Larsen, head of the Oslo police investigation unit told a news conference.

VATICAN CITY, March 8 (Reuters) - Pope Leo said on Sunday that deeply troubling news continued to arrive from Iran and across the Middle East, urging an end to the violence and renewed efforts to open space for dialogue.

Speaking at the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said the conflict was fuelling fear and hatred and raised concerns that it could spread further, dragging other countries, including "dear Lebanon".

March 8 (Reuters) - A week into a war with Iran that is already unpopular with much of the American public, President Donald Trump has offered various explanations for the bombing campaign, estimated the strikes could last weeks, cautioned there will likely be more U.S. casualties, and dismissed concerns about surging oil and gas prices.

BEIRUT, March 8 (Reuters) - At least four people were killed when an Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Ramada hotel building in central Beirut early on Sunday, with Israel saying it targeted Iranian commanders operating in the Lebanese capital.

The attack marked the first Israeli strike in the heart of Beirut since Israel-Hezbollah hostilities resumed last week, and prompted fears the scope of Israel's strikes would expand outside areas where Hezbollah has traditionally operated.

ZURICH/FRANKFURT, March 8 (Reuters) - The United States and Israel have broken international law with their attacks on Iran, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister said in an interview published on Sunday, the latest European leader to raise concerns about the conflict.

Legal experts have said many countries will consider the attacks unjustified under the United Nations Charter, under which member countries must refrain from using force or the threat of force without U.N authorisation or unless acting in self-defence.