LIVE: Blow for Trump as US counterterror chief resigns over Iran conflict

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday called for a dialogue to tackle the current conflict in West Asia.

Dar, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and exchanged views on the latest developments in the ongoing regional situation and its broader implications, the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Dar "emphasised the importance of diplomatic engagement, dialogue, and sustained efforts to promote peace, stability, and security in the region,” it said.

Separately, Acting US Chargé d’Affaires Zachary Harkenrider met Dar in Islamabad, and their discussions focused on Pakistan-US bilateral relations and ongoing regional developments, the FO said in a separate statement.

Dar "emphasised the importance of diplomatic engagement and underscored the urgent need to promote peace and stability in the region,” it said.

The latest engagements of Dar are a part of wider Pakistani efforts to contain the Middle East conflict, and both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Dar have been frequently interacting with the Muslim leaders.

Pakistan’s role has been acknowledged by Iran, whose Foreign Minister Abbas Araqhchi, in a post in the Urdu language, thanked Islamabad for supporting his country.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his counterparts from the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) in Brussels focusing on global flashpoints in Ukraine and West Asia as well as ways to deepen India's relations with Europe.

Jaishankar is on a two-day visit to the Belgian capital at the invitation of EU Foreign and Security Policy Chief Kaja Kallas to attend a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the bloc.

“The stronger convergence between India and EU in a multipolar world is also expressed in closer consultations. Discussed the West Asia conflict, the Ukraine situation and the Indo-Pacific in today’s gathering,” he said.

The Foreign Affairs Council discussed how to better protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, including possible contributions by the EU's naval mission Aspides, and a European security strategy, Kallas told reporters.

The closure of the strait is hurting the global economy and it is helping Moscow fund its war, Kallas said, days after the US temporarily lifted sanctions on procurement of Russian crude oil.

She said the focus on the Middle East should not take the focus away from the war in Ukraine, and the easing of US sanctions on Russian oil sets a "dangerous precedent".

"We also discussed developments in the Middle East and in Ukraine. De-escalation, stability and energy security are our shared objectives," she added.

Iran's top diplomat says the key Strait of Hormuz is only cut off for vessels of the United States, Israel and their allies.

“From our perspective it is open,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said of the strait. “It is only closed to our enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.” Araghchi spoke at a press conference in Tehran on Monday.

A vessel tracker says a first tanker carrying non-Iranian oil has transited through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pakistani-controlled tanker Karachi, which carries crude oil from Abu Dhabi, passed the strait on Sunday, according to data from MarineTraffic.

The tanker is now sailing in the Gulf of Oman, it said.

Italy is the latest country to react cautiously to Trump's demand that allies help open the Strait of Hormuz.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters in Brussels on Monday that Italy backs reinforcing EU naval missions in the Red Sea.

But he added: “However, I don't think these missions can be expanded to include the Strait of Hormuz, especially since they are anti-piracy and defensive missions.” US President Donald Trump said he has demanded about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries.

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.