Ships anchored in the Gulf or transiting the Strait of Hormuz are changing their tracking data to boast links to China in an attempt to evade Iranian attacks, according to data from shipping tracker Marine Traffic analysed by AFP.

Iran has effectively closed the vital waterway since US-Israeli strikes on it began on February 28, and at least 10 vessels have been attacked since.

But by claiming to have an "all-Chinese crew" aboard, or changing their destination to "Chinese owner", vessels are linking themselves to Iran's most important economic partner, Beijing.

For Muslims across the world, Ramadan is synonymous with prayer, spirituality and joyful nighttime gatherings, but across much of the Middle East, the Iran war means evenings no longer have anything festive about them.

The celebrations that usually accompany the holy fasting month have been spoiled by bombing, displacement and cash shortages, all soundtracked by the frequent wail of air raid sirens.

Last week, Zainab El Masry, 40, of Lebanon, was preparing lentil soup and fattoush salad for iftar, the fast-breaking meal taken at sunset, with her family.

KYIV, March 9 (Reuters) - Ukraine is ready for new U.S.-backed peace talks "at any moment", but its partners' attention is currently focused on the Iran conflict, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday, adding that the U.S. had asked to postpone an upcoming meeting.

Writing on X, Zelenskiy said Moscow was trying to manipulate the conflict in its favour and aiming to turn Iran's strikes on its neighbours and U.S. bases into "a second front of Russia's war against Ukraine".

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Writing by Dan Peleschuk; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war on Tuesday:

- Oil prices fall -

- Comments from President Donald Trump declaring the Middle East war "pretty much" over sent oil prices down, and pushed US stocks skyward.

- Both the US crude oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude fell more than 10 percent, with WTI down to $85.29 per barrel and Brent at $88.95 at around 0230 GMT.

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was "nowhere near" deciding whether to send U.S. troops into Iran to secure the stockpile of highly enriched uranium there.

"We haven’t made any decision on that. We’re nowhere near it,” Trump told the New York Post when asked about reported discussions between Israel and the United States on possibly deploying special forces to Iran to seize and secure the material.

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is considering whether to designate Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention and could act as soon as Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis, editing by David Ljunggren)

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Monday said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told him five members of the Iranian national women's soccer team had been "taken care of" amid fears they could be punished.

Australia's SBS News earlier said five players had "broken free" after the team was eliminated from the Asian Cup tournament and were now under the protection of the federal police, seeking assistance from the government.

March 9 (Reuters) - Israel's U.N. ambassador Danny Danon said on Monday that the new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, has the same radical ideas as in the past and Israel will target anyone who promotes radical ideas against it.

"Changing the man at the top does not change the regime," Danon told reporters at the United Nations when asked about Iran's naming of Khamenei to replace his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war the U.S. and Israel launched against Iran at the end of last month.

By Olivia Le Poidevin

GENEVA, March 9 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva called on Monday for a de-escalation of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and a return to negotiations.

Oil prices have surged as some major producers cut supplies ​and stock markets have gone into a nosedive since the war began on February 28, and Iran has fired on Gulf states that host U.S. military bases, causing travel and business disruptions.

BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday called for a ceasefire in the Gulf region as soon as possible, stressing that the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Gulf countries should be fully respected, according to statements from his ministry.

Wang made the remarks in a phone call with his Kuwaiti counterpart Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Monday as Iran answered a U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign with strikes around the Gulf region.