By Aftab Ahmed and Saurabh Sharma

NEW DELHI, May 13 (Reuters) - The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is set to cast a shadow over atwo-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the BRICS grouping that kicks off in New Delhi on Thursday, testing the bloc's ability to reach a unified position and produce a joint statement.

The grouping, which originally included Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded over the years with the inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.

Lebanon's health ministry said 22 people including eight children were killed on Wednesday as Israel intensified strikes on the country, with several deadly raids hitting south of Beirut.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said Israeli airstrikes had pounded around 40 locations in Lebanon's south and east.

The fresh raids came on the eve of a new round of direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel in Washington brokered by the United States, as Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah remains strongly opposed to the move.

NICOSIA, May 13 (Reuters) - The United Nations is likely to launch a fresh push to resolve the decades-old split of Cyprus before the term of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expires at the end of the year, Cyprus's President Nikos Christodoulides said.

Christodoulides, who represents the Greek Cypriots in talks with Turkish Cypriots, made the comments in an interview on Tuesday night with Cyprus's Alpha TV.

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In the Strait of Hormuz, US warships menace Iran's oil tankers, while in Washington President Donald Trump demands "complete victory." But in Tucson, they're getting ready to welcome the Iranian football team as if nothing were amiss.

The city, an oasis of civilization in the Arizona desert, is set to be the base camp for "Team Melli" when the world's biggest sporting spectacle opens in the US, Mexico and Canada next month.

Major Wall Street stock indices shrugged off a surprisingly big jump in US inflation Wednesday and pushed to fresh records on artificial intelligence bullishness and hopes for ths US-China summit.

Oil prices pulled back as traders viewed the much-anticipated talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a potential route to a resolution in the US-Iran war.

By Florence Tan, Jonathan Saul and Phil Stewart

SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) - The trading arm of Vietnam's state oil company has urged the U.S. Navy to allow a crude oil tanker laden with Iraqi oil to sail through its blockade in the Middle East Gulf to provide a Vietnamese refinery with critical supplies, PVOIL said in a letter on Tuesday.

The U.S. military has expanded its shipping blockade on Iran to include cargoes deemed contraband, although it has said other oil exports from the Gulf are free to sail through.

By Michael Martina

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - Senior U.S. and Chinese officials agree that no country can be allowed to exact shipping tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, the State Department told Reuters on Tuesday,in a sign that the two countries are trying to find common ground on efforts to pressure Iran to give up control of the vital waterway.

The statement by the State Department comes ahead of a high-stakes summit between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week, where Iran's chokehold on the strait will be on the agenda.

By Timour Azhari and Parisa Hafezi

RIYADH/DUBAI, May 12 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said.

The Saudi attacks, not previously reported, mark the first time that the kingdom is known to have directly carried out military action on Iranian soil and show it is becoming much bolder in defending itself against its main regional rival.

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he will have a long talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the war in Iran during his upcoming trip to China, but added that he does not think he needs Xi's help.

"I don't think we need any help with Iran. We'll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise," Trump told reporters when departing the White House for China.

By Marwa Rashad and Ahmed Rasheed

LONDON/BAGHDAD, May 12 (Reuters) - Both Iraq and Pakistan have cut deals with Iran to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the Gulf, according to five sources with knowledge of the matter, in a demonstration of Tehran's ability to control energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.