An Iranian-linked hacker group claimed on Friday to have hacked the email account of US FBI Director Kash Patel and published personal photos and other material online.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that "malicious actors" had targeted Patel's personal email information and said it has "taken all necessary steps to mitigate potential risks associated with this activity."

"The information in question is historical in nature and involves no government information," the FBI said in a statement.

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - Iran's response to a U.S. peace proposal aimed at ending the war in the Middle East is expected later on Friday, according to a source briefed on the matter.

U.S. President Donald Trump and top White House officials have been told via interlocutors that Iran's counter-proposal would likely arrive Friday, the source said.

The war, which began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, has spread across the Middle East.

By Daria Sito-Sucic

SARAJEVO, March 27 (Reuters) - Slovenia’s Prime Minister Robert Golob launched talks on a broad coalition with leaders of political parties on Friday after an inconclusive election, pledging urgent measures to help the Alpine country's economy cope with soaring energy costs.

With nearly all of the votes in the March 22 election counted, Golob’s Freedom Movement (GS) has garnered 29 parliamentary seats, one more than the right-leaning Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) led by populist ex-premier Janez Jansa.

G7 foreign ministers Friday urged a stop to attacks against civilians in the Middle East war and urged Iran to immediately restore freedom of navigation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

A joint statement, released in the name of all G7 members, including the United States, called for "an immediate cessation of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure".

A senior Iraqi Kurdistan official told AFP the United States was not arming Iranian Kurdish opposition groups exiled in the autonomous region, reiterating his government opposed the groups' involvement in the Middle East war.

Since the war began on February 28 with Israeli-US strikes on Iran, Iraq has been drawn into a conflict it had sought to avoid at all costs.

US President Donald Trump initially appeared to support an offensive by Kurdish armed groups against Iran, before backtracking.

VAUX-DE-CERNAY, France, March 27 (Reuters) - The foreign ministers of the G7 group of nations called on Friday for an immediate stop to attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in the Iran war.

In a joint statement agreed on the second day of a G7 meeting in France - this year's host country - the ministers said they had underscored the importance of minimising the impact of the conflict on regional partners, civilian populations and critical infrastructure.

By Jana Winter and AJ Vicens

WASHINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - Iran-linked hackers have publicly claimed the breach of FBI Director Kash Patel's personal inbox, publishing photographs of the director and his purported resume to the internet.

On their website, the hacker group Handala Hack Team said Patel "will now find his name among the list of successfully hacked victims."

By Samia Nakhoul

DUBAI, March 27 (Reuters) - Gulf Arab states are telling the U.S. that any deal with Tehran should do more than end the war, and must permanently curb Iran's missile and drone capabilities and ensure global energy supplies are never again "weaponised", four Gulf sources said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has extended his deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which carries ​about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, or face the destruction of its energy plants.

By Ece Toksabay

BELEK, Turkey, March 27 (Reuters) - Iran’s men's national soccer team wore black armbands and held schoolbags as their anthem played ahead of a match in Turkey on Friday in what a team official said was a protest over the killing of schoolgirls on the first day of the Iran war.

Iran were playing a friendly against Nigeria in the resort town of Belek ahead of the World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada where their participation is in doubt over the conflict.

By Jonathan Saul

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - Two Chinese container ships turned backed after trying to exit the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, ship-tracking data showed, despite assurances from Iran that Chinese vessels could pass.

The operator, China's COSCO, had said in a March 25 client advisory that it had resumed bookings for general cargo containers for shipments from Asia to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Iraq.