Iran live updates: White House calls on other nations to secure Strait of Hormuz

The Israel Defense Forces launched "limited and targeted" ground operations in southern Lebanon, Israel said on Monday, saying the military was targeting "key Hezbollah strongholds."

"This activity is part of broader defensive efforts to establish and strengthen a forward defensive posture, which includes the dismantling of terrorist infrastructure and the elimination of terrorists operating in the area, to create an additional layer of security for residents of northern Israel," the IDF said on social media.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an IDF spokesperson, said in a briefing that Israeli troops were on Monday operating in new areas farther into southern Lebanon. A week ago the IDF said it had taken five "hardened positions" in Lebanon along Israel's northern border with the country.

Shoshani said Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, has fired around 1,000 rockets and drones at Israel over the past two weeks. He said Hezbollah was "expanding" its attacks into Israel and the IDF needed to respond.

He reiterated Israel's political goal that Hezbollah "cannot be an armed group" and echoed a phrase previously heard from Israel's political leadership, saying that "one way or another" Israel is committed to achieving that goal.

As the war in Iran enters its third week, President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One Sunday night that he is talking to countries about policing the Strait of Hormuz, saying he is looking at "about seven," but declined to give specifics on which countries they may be.

Trump also said that the Strait of Hormuz is "something that we don't need," arguing that other countries should step in and assist because it affects them more than the U.S.

"I really am demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory, because it is their territory. It's the place from which they get their energy, and they should come and they should help us protect it," the president said.

Trump also suggested the U.S. not assist at all.

"You could make the case that maybe we shouldn't be there at all because we don't need it. We have a lot of oil people with the number one producer anywhere in the world," he said.

-ABC News' Meghan Mistry and Emily Chang

As President Donald Trump continues to urge countries to assist with the escalating crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, he reportedly issued a warning to NATO on Sunday, saying it will be "very bad" for the global alliance if they do not respond or comply.

"If there's no response or if it's a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO," he reportedly told the Financial Times in a phone interview.

The president has spent the weekend insisting that because other countries, particularly Europe and China, are dependent on the oil that flows through the Strait, they should be responsible for assisting with the escalating oil crisis.

"It's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there," Trump said.

The president also floated postponing his trip to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which a White House official previously told ABC is currently scheduled for March 31 to April 2. He did not say how long he may delay the trip.

Trump told the FT that he would "like to know" if China would help with unblocking the Strait of Hormuz before the summit takes place.

-ABC News' Emily Chang and Meghan Mistry

Pope Leo XIV demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East on Sunday in his strongest comments to date, directly addressing the leaders who launched the war in Iran.

"On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict," Leo said. "Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened. Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace that the people are waiting for."

Leo didn't cite the United States or Israel by name in his comments at the end of his Sunday noon blessing. But history's first U.S. pope mentioned the attacks that targeted a school, an apparent reference to the missile strike on an elementary school in Iran in the opening days of the war that killed over 165 people, many of them children.

U.S. officials have said outdated intelligence likely led to the United States launching the strike, and that an investigation is ongoing.

The Vatican has highlighted the carnage of the Minab strike, running an aerial photo of the mass grave being dug for the young victims on the March 6 front page of its official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, under the headline "The Face of War."

Click here for more