Iraq is home to ruins from some of the world's earliest civilisations, but teams led by international archaeologists have been forced by drone and rocket attacks in the Middle East war to cut short their expeditions.

Archaeologists told AFP that some of the projects interrupted by the war had been planned for years, but their teams have had to evacuate ancient sites since the United States and Israel attacked Iraq's neighbour, Iran.

Like other countries around the region, Iraq has become engulfed in the war, bringing to an abrupt end a period of nascent stability.

Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Tehran blasts -

An AFP journalist heard a series of explosions in central Tehran, as US-Israeli strikes wore on into their fifth week.

AFP journalists also confirmed that air defences had been activated over the capital, including in the north.

- UN slams Israel death penalty 'war crime' -

JERUSALEM, March 31 (Reuters) - Israel is prepared for "weeks" more of fighting in Iran, a military spokesman said on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview the war was "beyond the halfway point."

Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters the decision is up to political leaders. But "we are prepared to keep operating for weeks to come. We have the targets for that, the munition for that, the manpower for that, and it's up to the leadership to decide," he said.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer, Editing by William Maclean)

GENEVA, March 31 (Reuters) - Discussions are under way for a U.N. investigation into the killing of more than 390 employees in the two-year Gaza war, the head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said on Tuesday, making it the deadliest conflict in the body's history.

"I believe that we need to have a panel – a high-level panel of experts to look into the killing of our staff," said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General at a press conference in Geneva on the last day of his term.

ROME, March 31 (Reuters) - Italy has denied permission for U.S. military aircraft to land at the Sigonella air base in Sicily before flying to the Middle East, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday, confirming a newspaper report.

By Kentaro Okasaka, Uditha Jayasinghe and Lucy Craymer

TOKYO/COLOMBO/WELLINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) - Indonesia's leader visited Tokyo this week in Asia's latest flurry of fuel bartering efforts to offset crippling shortages caused by conflict in the Middle East, a key source of regional energy supplies.

The race for alternatives has hotted up as China, the world's second largest economy, imposed fuel export bans, while nations such as South Korea and Thailand try to exploit the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Russian energy as a stopgap move.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the war with Iran may be over in two or three weeks and it will be up to other countries to secure the vital Strait of Hormuz oil shipping channel.

The White House announced meanwhile that Trump would give an address to the nation at 9:00 pm Wednesday (0100 GMT Thursday) "to provide an important update on Iran."

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, March 31 (Reuters) - European Union governments should prepare for a "prolonged disruption" to energy markets as a result of the Iran war, the bloc's energy chief has told countries' ministers ahead of an emergency meeting on Tuesday.

In a letter to energy ministers, dated March 30 and seen by Reuters, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said governments were "encouraged to make timely preparations in anticipation of a potentially prolonged disruption".

DUBAI, March 31 (Reuters) - People accused of spying or cooperating with "hostile states" could face the death penalty and confiscation of all assets under a recently enhanced law, an Iranian judiciary spokesperson said, a month into the war with the United States and Israel.

Even sharing photos or videos that could aid enemy targeting may be treated as intelligence cooperation, the spokesman added.

BEIJING, March 31 (Reuters) - China's foreign minister and his Pakistani counterpart will discuss the situationin Iran during the latter's visit to China on Tuesday, China's foreign ministry said.

The two countries have similar positions on major international and regional issues, a spokesperson for the ministry said in a press briefing.

(Reporting by Ethan Wang and Liz Lee; Editing by Christopher Cushing)