Maersk, the major container shipping company, said Sunday it was halting passage through the Suez Canal and the narrow Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf, next to Iran, for "safety" reasons.

The Danish group was the latest of several shipping groups to make similar announcements after Iran's Revolutionary Guards declared the strait closed on Saturday.

"We have decided... to pause future Trans-Suez sailings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait for the time being," Maersk said in an online advisory.

CAIRO, March 1 (Reuters) - Six people were killed after a missile strike on the Israeli town of Beit Shemesh, the Israeli ambulance service said on Sunday.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Ros Russell)

Afghanistan said on Sunday that the war in neighbouring Iran would negatively impact the whole region and expressed "deep regret" over the violence flaring in multiple countries.

The Iranian flag was lowered to half-mast at the country's embassy in Kabul, an AFP journalist said, and a black cloth hung over the entrance following the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli attack.

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 1 (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday that attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran during U.S.-Iran negotiations were "unacceptable", according to state news agency Xinhua.

Wang said the "blatant killing of a sovereign leader" and the incitement of regime change were unacceptable, after Iran reported the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Saturday's barrage.

Key members of the OPEC+ oil cartel announced a greater-than-expected increase to production quotas on Sunday following US and Israeli strikes on Iran that triggered retaliation by Tehran across the Middle East.

The eight-strong V8 (Voluntary Eight) group in the alliance, which includes top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia -- as well as several Gulf states bearing the brunt of Tehran's missile strikes -- said they had agreed a "production adjustment" of 206,000 barrels per day (bpd).

"This adjustment will be implemented in April," they said in a statement.

BRUSSELS, March 1 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday that the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was "a defining moment in Iran’s history".

"What comes next is uncertain. But there is now an open path to a different Iran, one that its people may have greater freedom to shape," Kallas said on social media platform X.

"I’m in contact with partners, including those in the region that bear the brunt of Iran’s military actions, to find practical steps for de-escalation."

SEOUL, March 1 (Reuters) - North Korea's foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement that Israel's attacks on Iran and the U.S. military operation were "illegal aggression" and a violation of national sovereignty, state media Korean Central News Agency reported on Sunday.

The U.S. military operation against Iran was "within the range of expectations," the spokesperson said, calling it an inevitable outcome given the "hegemonic and gangster-like" nature of the United States.

By Parisa Hafezi

DUBAI, March 1 (Reuters) - Some Iranians grieved while others celebrated the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, exposing a deep fault line in a country stunned by the sudden demise of the man who ruled for 36 years.

Iranian state TV announced his death in the early hours of Sunday, the voice of the broadcaster breaking with emotion as he confirmed Khamenei had been killed in the U.S.-Israeli attack on Saturday. Footage from Tehran showed mourners packed into a square, dressed in black and many of them weeping.

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in U.S. and Israeli strikes, state media confirmed as another wave of attacks hit the country on Sunday.

Below is international reaction to his death.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN

"Please accept my deep condolences in connection with the murder of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Ali Khamenei, and members of his family, committed in cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law."

SWEDISH FOREIGN MINISTER MARIA STENERGARD

The EU warned Sunday against a prolonged war in the Middle East, saying further escalation could threaten Europe and beyond, as it urged Iran to refrain from indiscriminate retaliation after US-Israeli strikes.

Foreign ministers from the bloc's 27 nations -- most of which are NATO members -- held extraordinary talks via video link on day two of an assault that killed Iran's supreme leader, as EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called for a "credible transition" in the country.