Iran confirmed on Monday that an Israeli strike had killed the commander of the naval force of the Revolutionary Guards, who Israel had said was responsible for the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz.

A statement carried by the Guards' Sepah News website said Alireza Tangsiri "succumbed to severe injuries" from the attack last week.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Thursday that an Israeli airstrike had killed Tangsiri, describing him as the "man who was directly responsible for the terrorist operation of mining and blocking the Strait of Hormuz".

Iran hanged two men on Monday for membership of a banned opposition group, with rights groups describing them as political prisoners and expressing fear of a surge in executions aimed at cowing the population during the Middle East war.

Akbar Daneshvarkar, 60, and Mohammad Taghavi-Sangdehi, 59, were hanged at dawn in the notorious Gehzel Hesar prison in the Tehran satellite city of Karaj for membership of the outlawed People's Mujahedin of Iran, also known as Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK).

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said two of its personnel were killed Monday in the second deadly incident in 24 hours in the country's south, where Israel and Hezbollah are fighting.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed "when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle". Two other peacekeepers were wounded, one of them seriously.

KABUL, March 30 (Reuters) - Afghanistan and Pakistan have traded heavy fire, both sides said, days after they announced a temporary pause in fighting, escalating tensions in the volatile region as Islamabad prepares to host talks between the U.S. and Iran.

The border clashes came on Sunday, the day Pakistan hosted regional powers to discuss de-escalation in the war in the Middle East, with an announcement that Islamabad could host the talks in coming days.

SYDNEY, March 30 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday said he wanted more certainty from U.S. President Donald Trump on the objectives of the ongoing war in Iran.

"I want to see more certainty in what the objectives of the war are and I want to see a de-escalation," Albanese said, responding to a question about his view on how Trump was prosecuting the war.

More than 1,000 people of Iranian descent gathered in the US capital on Sunday to voice support for the war, riding on calls to bring back Iran's exiled crown prince who has emerged as a figure of intense interest.

Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's last shah who was ousted by the 1979 Islamic revolution, has positioned himself as a potential transitional leader following the killing of Tehran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes last month.

By Trevor Hunnicutt, Asif Shahzad, Alexander Cornwell and Sabrina Valle

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, March 30 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran have been meeting "directly and indirectly" and that Iran's new leaders have been "very reasonable", as more U.S troops arrived in the region and Tehran warned it will not accept humiliation.

Trump's remarks on Sunday came after Pakistan, which is acting as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington, said it was preparing to host "meaningful talks" in the coming days aimed at ending the month-long Iran war.

Ministers from the G7 will hold talks on Monday to unpack the economic consequences of the war in the Middle East, the French government said, as oil and gas prices continue to soar.

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February and Tehran has hit back by targeting crude-exporting countries in the region and halting shipments through the Gulf.

The squeeze on supply has pushed oil and natural gas prices higher, with drastic knock-on effects for supply chains in countless industries.

By Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday hinted at differences among his top aides on their approach to Iran, saying that his intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard was "softer" than him on curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Trump, who also suggested that a deal could be near to contain Tehran's nuclear ambitions, said "yeah, sure," when asked by a reporter whether he retained confidence in Gabbard, the U.S. director of national intelligence.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday said he and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa want 80 percent of Syrians in Germany to return to their homeland, as the former Islamist rebel leader visited Berlin.

Europe's top economy is home to the largest Syrian diaspora in the European Union at more than a million, many of whom arrived during the peak of the migrant influx in 2015-2016.

After meeting Sharaa in Berlin, Merz said the two leaders were "working jointly towards more Syrians being able to return".