LIVE: Israel steps up attacks on Lebanon; countries urge dialogue, end of Iran war

The top US military commander in the Middle East says American forces are zeroing in on Iran's threats to freighters carrying oil and natural gas through a vital chokepoint in the Persian Gulf.

“We will continue to rapidly deplete Iran's ability to threaten freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz,” Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, said in a video posted to X on Monday.

Iranian strikes on commercial vessels have effectively stopped shipping traffic in the waterway, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported. That has dramatically increased the price of oil and put pressure on Washington to do something to ease the pain for consumers.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said those that fled southern Lebanon in the face of Israeli fighting against Hezbollah militants won't be able to return home until northern Israel, which has been hit by barrages of rockets, is safe.

“Hezbollah will pay a heavy price for its aggression and activity in the Iranian axis to destroy Israel,” he said.

“We have promised security to the residents of the north, and that is exactly what we will do,” he said.

Iraqi Oil Minister Hayan Abdul-Ghani said Monday in a video statement that a pipeline from the northern city of Kirkuk to Turkey will be operational within a week, allowing the country to resume oil exports interrupted by the ongoing regional war.

Iraq previously exported around 3.4 million barrels of oil a day through its southern port of Basra, he said, but “in light of the military operations and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iraqi oil exports stopped two or three days after the beginning of the war in the region.”

Abdul-Ghani said the pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkey, with a capacity of 200,000 to 250,000 barrels a day, is currently undergoing hydrostatic testing. The route will bypass the semi-autonomous Kurdish area in northern Iraq after Baghdad could not reach an agreement with local authorities over conditions for exporting via another pipeline in the Kurdish region.

The United Arab Emirates was attacked Monday with six ballistic missiles and 21 drones coming from Iran. That's according to the Emirati Defence Ministry.

The ministry tallied 304 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,627 drones since the start of the war.

The attacks killed seven people including two troops, it said.

In a Monday statement, Lebanon foreign ministry recalled the government's decision which prohibits “the military and security activities of Hezbollah.” It added that the ministry's position in the matter is clear in which “no armed group operating outside the authority of the state” will be permitted to draw Lebanon further into instability in service of agendas that run counter to Lebanon's national interests.

The ministry was apparently referring to Iran, Hezbollah's main backer.

The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon known as UNIFIL said Sunday that peacekeepers were fired upon, “likely by non-state armed groups” on three separate occasions while conducting patrols around their bases in three villages in southern Lebanon.

The UN peacekeeping force did not say Hebzollah was behind the attacks.

As oil prices went down, stocks went up on Monday, though such moves have been quick to change since the war in Iran began.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed oil price surge and dismissed concerns about rising oil prices since the start of the Iran war.

“I don't know how many weeks it will be, but on the other side of this, the world will be safer, and we will be better supplied,” Bessent said on CNBC.

He said the Treasury Department hasn't traded oil futures to try to cap prices. Asked whether it would going forward, the secretary said: “I'm not sure under what authority or what auspices” that would happen.

Shrapnel from an interception fell on the rooftop of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, according to the Patriarchate. That's just metres from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the spot where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the impact.

Jerusalem's Old City, where there are holy sites sacred to Muslims, Christians, and Jews, has come under uncommon fire this war. In past missile exchanges with Iran — including the 12-day-war — the city had been spared the damage seen in nearby cities like Tel Aviv or Beersheba.

But since the start of the most recent war, shrapnel has struck multiple sites close to the Old City, including homes in east Jerusalem, a main highway into Jerusalem and a concert venue in West Jerusalem.

China has called on all countries to immediately stop military operations in West Asia in response to US President Donald Trump's appeal to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open for international transport, ruling out Beijing joining any international naval force risking its close ties with Iran.

The effective closure of the vital waterway by Iran in retaliation for airstrikes by the US and Israel has proved catastrophic for global energy and trade flows, causing the largest oil supply disruption and soaring global oil prices.

China also said it is in talks with the US about Trump's planned visit to Beijing later this month, amid the US President's assertion that he may delay his China trip due to the Iran war.

About Trump’s call to China and other countries to join, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian virtually ruled out Beijing’s participation in the naval armada to ensure safe passage of ships out of the Strait of Hormuz.

“China once again calls on parties to immediately stop military operations, avoid further escalation of the tense situation and prevent regional turmoil from further impacting the global economy,” he said. China is in “communication with relevant parties to work for the de-escalation of the situation”.