BEIJING, March 4 (Reuters) - China is willing to work with the United States to promote communication on all levels, while upholding its "red lines" and principles, Lou Qinjian, a spokesperson for its parliament, said on Wednesday.

The National People's Congress opens its annual session on Thursday, where it will unveil this year's economic targets and policy priorities.

The meeting comes at a sensitive moment for China-US relations, as both sides look to stabilise ties ahead of an expected summit of leaders Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing at the end of March.

(Corrects to insert paragraph 1 dropped words "sailed through")

SINGAPORE, March 4 (Reuters) - An oil tanker sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, heading to a United Arab Emirates port to load crude in a rare voyage since the Iran war disrupted shipping in the Middle East, according to industry sources and shiptracking data.

Suezmax tanker Pola switched off its AIS tracker late on March 2, when it approached the Strait, and re-appeared on March 3 off Abu Dhabi, LSEG data showed.

By Parisa Hafezi and Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI/TEL AVIV, March 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. assault on Iran was ahead of schedule, said the top American commander for the Middle East, as Israel and the U.S. targeted sites deep inside the country, and Iran carried out strikes around the Gulf.

The five-day-old war continued to rattle global markets, as airline and tourism industries scrambled to deal with more than 20,000 flight cancellations and governments rushed to bring stranded travellers home from the Middle East.

By Erin Banco, Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Iranian Kurdish militias have consulted with the United States in recent days about whether, and how, to attack Iran's security forces in the western part of the country, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter.

March 4 (Reuters) - Several people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a four-storey residential building in the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, the state news agency NNA reported early on Wednesday.

Rescue teams were working to pull families from beneath the rubble, NNA said.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

From menstruation mishaps to a meditation on old age, and the challenges faced by Arab-Israelis in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks, one Oscars category is nothing if not varied.

"The live action short category, it's particularly diverse in its genres," Julia Aks, nominated alongside Steve Pinder for their satire "Jane Austen's Period Drama," told AFP.

"That makes me very hopeful that the Academy, the pinnacle and the barometer of the industry, is broadening."

President Donald Trump and his team scrambled Tuesday to reclaim the narrative on why he decided to attack Iran, after his top diplomat suggested the US struck only after learning of an imminent Israeli strike.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio alarmed Democrats -- who say only Congress can declare war -- as well as many of Trump's MAGA supporters on Monday when he said: "We knew that there was going to be an Israeli action."

By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to meet with executives from the biggest U.S. defense contractors at the White House on Friday to discuss accelerating weapons production, as the Pentagon works to replenish supplies after strikes on Iran and several other recent military efforts, five people familiar with the plan told Reuters.

Explosions rocked the Lebanese capital and Israel said it was launching a new wave of strikes on Iran, as the war engulfing the Middle East continued into Wednesday.

Here are the latest developments:

- US commander says 2,000 targets hit in Iran -

Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads US military forces in the Middle East, said in a video message that nearly 2,000 targets had been struck so far in Iran.

"We have severely degraded Iran's air defenses and destroyed hundreds of Iran's ballistic missiles, launchers and drones," he said.

March 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will take all necessary measures to defend its security and protect its territory, citizens and residents, the state news agency reported early on Wednesday, citing a cabinet statement.

An Iranian attack targeted the U.S. embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday amid ongoing Iranian missile and drone strikes on Gulf states that host U.S. bases, following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Nia Williams)