DUBAI, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Parts of the Strait of Hormuz will close for a few hours on Tuesday due to 'security precautions' for shipping safety, semi-official Fars news agency reported, as the Revolutionary Guards conduct military drills in the waterway.

The strait is the world's most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom, Editing by Nayera Abdallah)

By Mushtaq Ali

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Militants rammed a vehicle filled with explosives into an army checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan, killing 11 security personnel and a child, the military said on Tuesday, as the South Asian nation battles a surge in violence.

Women and children were among seven wounded in Monday's attack in Bajur district, which lies along the border with Afghanistan, the military said.

Iran said Tuesday it had agreed with the United States in talks in Geneva on "guiding principles" for a deal to avoid conflict, but Vice President JD Vance said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington's red lines.

The Omani-mediated talks were aimed at averting the possibility of US military intervention to curb Iran's nuclear programme, weeks after the cleric-run state killed thousands of people as it crushed mass demonstrations.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. and Iran hold indirect talks in Geneva on Tuesday aimed at resolving their long-running nuclear dispute, with little clear indication of compromise as Washington masses a battle force in the region.

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will take part in the negotiations, which are being mediated by Oman, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

At an hour when Ahmad and Mohammed should have been in the classroom, the two brothers sat idle at home in the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

The 10-year-old twins are part of a generation abruptly cut adrift by a fiscal crisis that has slashed public schooling from five days a week to three across the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority's deepening budget shortfall is cutting through every layer of society across the West Bank.

President Donald Trump warned Iran of potential consequences should it fail to strike a deal with the United States, as negotiators prepare for the latest round of talks in Geneva on Tuesday.

Mediated by Oman, the recently resumed discussions are aimed at averting the possibility of US military action, with Tehran expressing cautious optimism at Washington's "more realistic" position on its nuclear programme.

By Steve Holland

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, Feb 16 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would be involved "indirectly" in talks between Iran and the U.S. over Tehran's nuclear program set to begin on Tuesday in Geneva, adding he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal.

"I'll be involved in those talks, indirectly. And they'll be very important," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

SYDNEY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his government would not repatriate Australians living in a Syrian camp that holds families of suspected Islamic State militants.

"We have a very firm view that we won't be providing assistance or repatriation," Albanese told ABC News.

Thirty-four Australians released on Monday from a camp in northern Syria were returned to the detention centre due to "technical reasons," two sources told Reuters.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

TV producer Dana Eden, who co-created the hit Israeli spy thriller series "Tehran", has been found dead in a hotel room in Athens, Greek police told AFP on Monday.

The 52-year-old Israeli national's body was found Sunday night at a hotel near Syntagma Square, in the heart of the Greek capital, the force said.

"An autopsy has been ordered, the surveillance cameras have been reviewed, and everything seems to indicate it was a suicide," a police spokesperson said.

ROME, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Italy stands ready to help train police forces in Gaza and elsewhere in the Palestinian territories, its foreign minister said on Monday, as Rome aims to play a role in stabilizing the Middle East.

"We are ready to train a new Gaza police force, and we are also ready to train a Palestinian police force," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told a news conference in Rome.