Russia said Monday that its claims over five Ukrainian regions including Crimea were "imperative" to talks aimed at resolving the conflict.

"International recognition of Russia's ownership of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk People's Republic, the Lugansk People's Republic, the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is imperative," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Brazilian newspaper O Globo, using the Kremlin's names for the Ukrainian regions.

Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah store of "precision-guided missiles" in a southern Beirut suburbs air strike on Sunday that prompted President Joseph Aoun to call for French and U.S. intervention.

"Under the instruction of Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, the (military) has strongly attacked infrastructure in Beirut where Hezbollah's precision-guided missiles were stored," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli drone strike on a border town Sunday killed one person, the latest attack despite a ceasefire that ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

The Israeli military said Sunday it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, where the Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the launch, saying it targeted an air base in southern Israel.

The United States and Iran reported progress in their latest round of nuclear talks on Saturday and agreed to meet again next week as they pursue a deal that could help ease soaring Middle East tensions.

Fires were still blazing on Sunday after a massive explosion tore through Iran's largest commercial port the day before, killing at least 25 people and leaving 1,000 others injured, according to state media.

A "massive explosion" and fire took place at a key port in the Iranian province of Hormozgan more than 1,000 kilometers south of Tehran, state media reported Saturday.

"The explosion occurred in a part of the Shahid Rajaee port dock, and we are extinguishing the fire," state television quoted senior Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration official Esmaeil Malekizadeh as saying.

Israel's military said Saturday it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, whose Houthi rebels have launched attacks throughout the Gaza war, as well as a drone approaching "from the east".

"Following the sirens that sounded recently in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted" before "crossing into Israeli territory", a military statement said.

Iran has offered Pakistan to act as a mediator in its conflict with India, Tehran's foreign ministry said Saturday, after an attack in Kashmir heightened tensions between the two Asian neighbors.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi "declared Iran's readiness to extend its goodwill efforts to help reduce tensions" in a phone call Friday with his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar, the foreign ministry said. Araghchi has said on X that his country was "ready to use its good offices" to resolve the conflict.

Hamas seeks an agreement to end the Gaza war that would include the one-time release of all remaining hostages and a five-year truce, an official from the Palestinian group said Saturday.

"Hamas is ready for an exchange of prisoners in a single batch and a truce for five years," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, as a delegation from his group was set to meet mediators in Cairo later in the day.