War in the Middle East: latest developments

The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Israel army chief orders 'Hezbollah kill zone' -

Israel's military chief of staff said he had ordered areas south of Lebanon's Litani River to be turned into a Hezbollah "kill zone" as troops pressed a major offensive there.

- China supports 'momentum of peace talks' -

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart that Beijing "supports maintaining the momentum of the ceasefire and peace talks" as Pakistani officials landed in Tehran to discuss a second round of US-Iran negotiations to end the war.

- US says it blocks nine vessels from Iran ports -

The US military's Middle East command CENTCOM said it had successfully stopped nine vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports during the first 48 hours of a naval blockade against the Islamic republic.

But ship tracking data indicated at least three ships sailing from Iranian ports crossed the Strait of Hormuz, though some vessels taking the route later turned back.

- Pakistan shuttle diplomacy -

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Saudi Arabia at the start of a four-day diplomatic blitz which will also take him to Qatar and Turkey.

Another Pakistani delegation led by powerful army chief Asim Munir was welcomed in Tehran by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

- 11 nations urge economic support -

The finance ministers of 11 countries including Britain and Japan called for "coordinated emergency support" from the IMF and World Bank to help countries hit by disruptions from the war in the Middle East.

- Stocks boost -

Stock markets were largely up on signs that talks were on course, with Wall Street indexes opening higher, adding to a string of gains that have pushed the S&P 500 back to levels seen before the start of the war.

- Israel hails Lebanon talks as chance to end Hezbollah -

Israel hailed the opening of direct talks with Beirut as a "historic opportunity" that could end Hezbollah's grip on Lebanon.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer also said there was "no ceasefire discussion" with the Iran-backed militant group.

- Starmer 'won't yield' -

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would not "yield" to pressure from Donald Trump to join the Iran war after the US president threatened to renege on a UK trade deal.

"We're not going to get dragged into this war. It is not our war," Starmer told parliament.

- Iran firm on uranium, keeps talking -

Iran's foreign ministry said Tehran's right to enrich uranium was "indisputable" although the level of enrichment is "negotiable", as it said that exchanges with the United States had continued following failed negotiations over the weekend.

- Iran in Red Sea warning -

Iran's military warned it would block trade through the Red Sea, along with the Gulf and Sea of Oman, if the US naval blockade on Iranian ports continues.

In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the head of the military's central command centre said if the US continues with its blockade and "creates insecurity for Iran's commercial vessels and oil tankers", it will also constitute "a prelude" to violating the ceasefire.

- Trump's Chinese arms demand -

US President Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox Business he asked China's leader Xi Jinping not to supply weapons to Iran, and that Xi replied saying he was not doing so.

"I had heard that China's giving weapons to, I mean -- you're seeing it all over the place -- to Iran," Trump said.

"And I wrote him a letter asking him not to do that, and he wrote me a letter saying that essentially he's not doing that."

- UN call for Lebanon support -

United Nations refugee chief Barham Salih urged the international community to provide urgent support to Lebanon, with a fifth of the country's population displaced by the Israel-Hezbollah war.

burs-pdw/yad