May 4 (Reuters) - The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday meteorological monitoring equipment at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine had been damaged by a drone.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, was seized by Russian forces in the early weeks of Moscow's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Each side has since regularly accused the other of military action which could compromise safety at the plant, located near the war's front line.

May 4 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday condemned the Iranian drone and missile strikes targeting the United Arab Emirates.

Starmer called on Iran to engage in diplomacy to prevent further escalation in the Middle East, the prime minister's office said.

"We stand in solidarity with the UAE and will continue to support the defence of our partners in the Gulf. This escalation must cease. Iran needs to engage meaningfully in negotiations to ensure the ceasefire in the Middle East endures, and a long-term diplomatic solution is achieved," Starmer said.

By Gram Slattery, Jonathan Landay and Erin Banco

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that the time Iran would need to build a nuclear weapon has not changed since last summer, when analysts estimated that a U.S.-Israeli attack had pushed back the timeline to up to a year, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The assessments of Tehran's nuclear program remain broadly unchanged even after two months of a war that U.S. President Donald Trump launched in part to stop the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear bomb.

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday he looks forward to seeing China’s Xi Jinping later this month, saying he will remind his rival that the United States is leading in artificial intelligence as the two sides navigate tensions over trade and technology.

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Costas Pitas)

By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Monday it destroyed six Iranian small boats and intercepted Iranian cruise missiles and drones fired by Tehran as it sought to thwart a new U.S. naval effort to open shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump launched the operation, called Project Freedom, on Monday as he sought to wrest control of the critical waterway from Iran after it effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel started the conflict on February 28.

The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Iran 'not even started' -

Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that his country had "not even started" and that US actions in the Strait of Hormuz had put shipping at risk.

- Stocks sink on rising tension -

Stocks sank across Asian exchanges as a fresh spike in Middle East tensions fanned fears over the fragile US-Iran ceasefire, and oil prices fell back slightly after gains on Monday.

- Maersk sails through Hormuz -

By Simon Lewis

May 4 (Reuters) - The United States and Gulf Arab nations are drafting a U.N. Security Council resolution designed to condemn Iran for blocking the Strait of Hormuz in response to a U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.Mike Waltz said on Monday.

Waltz said negotiations will take place this week on the resolution, which comes after permanent Security Council members Russia and China blocked a resolution last month that Washington hoped would galvanize international efforts to restore freedom of navigation of the waterway.

KEY DETAILS

May 4 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Monday that South Korea should join U.S. efforts to protect ship movements near Iran, and added that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would hold a news conference on Tuesday with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas)

May 4 (Reuters) - Authorities in the United Arab Emirates' Fujairah said on Monday that a fire broke out at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone following what they described as a drone attack originating from Iran.

Civil defence teams were deployed immediately to contain the blaze, Fujairah Media office said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Iran.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Susan Fenton)

By Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - European officials have been working on ways to convince Donald Trump to keep the United States in NATO despite severe tensions over the Iran war. But his abrupt move to cut U.S. forces in Germany is the latest sign that such efforts have their limits and are far from certain to succeed.