Israel's foreign minister said Tuesday he expected ongoing talks in Rome with Lebanon to help implement an agreement on two "pilot zones" in southern Lebanon, referring to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from those areas.

"We are ready to move forward implementing these two pilot zones. I hope and tend to believe that this round of discussions in Rome will promote it," Gideon Saar told journalists at a press conference in Jerusalem.

Lebanon and Israel are holding new negotiations under U.S. auspices in Rome on Tuesday, against the backdrop of a regional escalation between Washington and Tehran.

The two countries, officially at war for decades, reached a framework agreement on June 26, after five rounds of negotiations in Washington, aimed at ending the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah and paving the way for potential peace.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said they targeted Saudi Arabia's Abha airport on Monday in retaliation for strikes on Sanaa airport that they blame on the kingdom -- though the Riyadh-backed government claimed those attacks.

The United States launched a third night of strikes on Iran as U.S. President Donald Trump reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports and proposed that all ships pay a fee to the United States to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Bahrain on Tuesday said it intercepted several Iranian attacks on its territory, as fighting between Washington and Tehran escalated over the vital Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to charge all cargo shipped through Hormuz to pay for keeping the strait open, and to reinstate a blockade on Iranian ships.

Lebanese authorities said Monday they had detained a Syrian commander from the Islamic State group, as Damascus investigates an IS-linked cell accused of bombings during a visit by France's President Emmanuel Macron.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said Europe was ready to defend itself and freedom with "blood" if necessary, before a meeting of Ukraine's allies to reaffirm support for Kyiv and step up pressure on Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the United States was "taking over" the Strait of Hormuz as fighting over the strategic waterway threatened to derail efforts to permanently end the war in the Middle East.

"We're taking over the Strait. They have nothing. They've got nothing," Trump said in an interview with "Fox and Friends," where he also complained about the tactics of Iranian negotiators seeking changes on what was agreed during hours of talks "yesterday."

Hungarian lawmakers are to vote Monday on changing the constitution to oust the president, as Prime Minister Peter Magyar pushes to loosen the grip of nationalist ex-leader Viktor Orban on the country.