ISLAMABAD/DUBAI, April 14 (Reuters) - Negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Islamabad this week, four sources said on Tuesday, days after the highest-level talks between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution ended in the Pakistani capital without a breakthrough.

(Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Islamabad, Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore and Hafisa Paresi in Dubai; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

April 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. military began blocking shipping traffic in and out of Iran's ports, a move that would prevent roughly two million barrels of Iranian oil a day from entering the world's markets, further tightening global supply.

Here are details on the blockade and its implications for oil markets.

WHAT WAS ANNOUNCED?

DUBAI, April 14 (Reuters) - Iranian oil sales in recent weeks have been favourable and part of the revenue will be allocated to repairing damage to industry caused by wartime attacks, Iran's oil minister said on Tuesday.

Mohsen Paknejad said oil workers had maintained operations across facilities during the conflict, ensuring oil exports were not halted “even for a single day,” including at key export hubs such as Kharg Island.

The minister said last month that the selling price of Iranian crude had significantly increased nS8N3YJ01V.

Lebanese and Israeli representatives are scheduled to meet in Washington Tuesday for US-mediated talks on ending the war in Lebanon, but the prospects of an agreement appear slim.

Naim Qassem -- the leader of pro-Iran Hezbollah, which is battling Israel -- called for the talks to be scrapped before they even began, describing them as "futile."

Lebanon was pulled into the region-wide Iran war on March 2 after Hezbollah attacked Israel.

Electric vehicle sales have jumped in Southeast Asia as cost-conscious buyers have poured into dealerships looking to dodge the fuel price spikes driven by the Middle East war.

Asian nations have been particularly hard hit due to a sharp fall in the crude shipments they rely on -- and have few alternatives to replace them.

Yet the energy crisis has been a windfall for Vietnam's leading electric vehicle maker Vinfast as well as Chinese manufacturers.

Vietnamese office worker Do Thi Lan explained the simple math of the cars' appeal at a Vinfast showroom in Hanoi.

By Trevor Hunnicutt and Parisa Hafezi

WASHINGTON/DUBAI, April 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. military began a blockade of Iran's ports, angering Tehran and adding uncertainty around the crucial waterway, although hopes for dialogue to end the war provided some relief to oil markets nL1N40W14D where benchmark prices fell below $100 on Tuesday.

BEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for a more robust and dynamic partnership between China and the Arab world as the world undergoes unprecedented changes.

Greater coordination and cooperation are needed as human society faces the choices of peace and war, as well as unity and confrontation, Xi told the visiting crown prince of Abu Dhabi, according to a media pool report.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Dozens of protesters were detained by police in New York City on Monday during demonstrations calling for the blocking of arms sales to Israel and an end to U.S. military support for its ally.

Demonstrators included antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, which said around 90 people were detained. Among those detained was whistleblower Chelsea Manning https://www.reuters.com/technology/chelsea-manning-tech-more-efficient-than-laws-ensure-privacy-2023-11-14/, a former U.S. Army soldier and WikiLeaks source.

The Geneva watch fair, the watchmaking industry's biggest annual showcase, opened Tuesday with the impact of the Middle East war throwing up challenges for the luxury goods sector.

The Watches and Wonders salon, which runs until April 20, sees 65 major watch brands, including Rolex, Patek Philippe and Cartier display their latest creations.

Organisers are expecting around 60,000 visitors during the week -- up from 55,000 last year -- despite the Middle East war casting doubts on the travel plans of retailers from the Gulf states and East Asia.

Iran slammed a US blockade around its ports on Monday as a "grave violation" of its sovereignty, as Washington and Tehran's belligerent rhetoric rattled a fragile truce.

"The imposition of a maritime blockade constitutes a grave violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani wrote to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a letter seen by AFP.