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".

March 30 (Reuters) - Israel's parliament approved the 2026 state budget,a Knesset spokesperson said in a statement early on Monday, allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to head off early elections as his country's joint war with the U.S. on Iran continues.

The approval of the defence-heavy 699-billion shekel budget comes a month into the war, with Israel also fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon and its cost to the economy standing at about $1.6 billion a week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday the Latin Patriarch would get "full and immediate access" to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, after police denied him entry on Palm Sunday.

"I have instructed the relevant authorities that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, be granted full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem," Netanyahu tweeted on X.

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Britain's finance minister will urge her G7 counterparts on Monday not to pursue unilateral measures such as new trade barriers while the Iran war continues, saying such steps could further threaten energy security.

During a meeting with G7 finance ministers, energy ministers and central bank governors, Rachel Reeves will say the G7 "should act together, not in ways that shift pressure onto partners or weaken collective resilience", a statement released by her ministry said.

By Asif Shahzad and Alexander Cornwell

ISLAMABAD/TEL AVIV, March 29 (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Sunday it was preparing to host "meaningful talks" to end the conflict over Iran in coming days even though Tehran earlier accused Washington of preparing a land assault while seeking negotiations.

Speaking after talks between regional foreign ministers, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said they had covered possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region as well as potential U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad.

March 29 (Reuters) - The Israeli military said on Sunday it had found no negligence or ethical failures by officers involved in the killing of Israeli farmer Ofer Moskovitz near the Lebanese frontier earlier this month.

The head of Israel's Northern Command said on March 23 that Israeli forces had misfired artillery, killing 60-year-old Moskovitz, an avocado farmer from the town of Misgav Am.

The military had initially attributed the incident to cross-border fire from Lebanon.

Worshippers attended a muted Palm Sunday service at a Greek Catholic cathedral in Damascus after the city's churches decided to limit celebrations to prayers only after violence hit a Christian town.

On Friday night, Suqaylabiyah, one of the largest Christian communities in central Syria, was attacked, with shops vandalised and cars burned.

In the capital on Sunday, Fadi Shammas, a 37-year-old engineer, carried his infant daughter Nala, who wore a white dress.

March 29 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had instructed the military to further expand the existing security buffer zone in southern Lebanon, vowing to fundamentally change the security situation there.

"I have just instructed to further expand the existing security buffer zone. We are determined to fundamentally change the situation in the north," Netanyahu said in a video statement from the Northern Command.