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.

From his small shop in Beirut, facing a building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike, Qassem Saad said he was exhausted by repeated Israeli wars on Lebanon, and hoped negotiations could end decades of suffering.

"We know that Israel will remain an enemy to us, but we are tired," 49-year-old Saad, who suffered a minor injury in the strike, told AFP.

A meeting is scheduled to be held Tuesday in Washington between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors there to discuss the possibility of direct negotiations between the two countries, which have technically been at war for decades.

JD Vance had two jobs last week: get an Iran deal and keep Hungary's Viktor Orban in power. Neither happened for the US vice president.

The 41-year-old Vance looked exhausted as he left Pakistan on Sunday after 21 hours that failed to produce an agreement with Tehran to end a war he had never wanted to begin with.

At a terse press conference in Islamabad, Vance delivered the "bad news" and took just three questions before getting on a plane for the long flight back home.

But just before landing there was more bad news.

WASHINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - The United States made a lot of progress in talks with Iran, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier on Monday.

Vance, asked whether more talks were coming, said the ball was in Iran's court.

He added that the U.S. expects Iran will make progress on opening the Strait of Hormuz, warning that the negotiation would change if Tehran does not.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Writing by Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Christian Martinez)

By Ariba Shahid, Parisa Hafezi, Saad Sayeed, Asif Shahzad and Humeyra Pamuk

ISLAMABAD/DUBAI/WASHINGTON April 13 (Reuters) - After a sleepless and at times tense night in Islamabad, Iranian and U.S. officials ended their highest-level talks in decades https://www.reuters.com/world/iran/ without a breakthrough, but 11 sources familiar with the negotiations said dialogue was still alive.

BEIRUT, April 13 (Reuters) - Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Monday called on the Lebanese government to cancel a Tuesday meeting between the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors in Washington, describing the talks as pointless.

In a televised speech, Qassem said the armed group will continue to confront Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Lebanon's foreign minister said Beirut would use Tuesday's face-to-face negotiations nL1N40W0I3 to press for a ceasefire in the war.

(Reporting by Laila Bassam; Editing by Toby Chopra)

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington on Tuesday, reiterating his group's rejection of direct negotiations with its foe.

Israeli strikes have killed more than 2,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million since the Iran-backed group Hezbollah drew the country into the Middle East war.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States are scheduled to meet in Washington on Tuesday to discuss holding direct negotiations between the two countries.

ROME, April 13 (Reuters) - A prolonged crisis in the Strait of Hormuz could trigger a global agrifood catastrophe by disrupting fertiliser and energy exports, driving up food prices and squeezing crop yields, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said on Monday.

FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero said poorer countries were most exposed because planting calendars meant delays in access to key inputs could quickly translate into lower output, higher inflation and slower global growth.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, editing by Gavin Jones)

By Helen Coster and Joseph Ax

April 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure on Sunday, drawing widespread criticism even from some religious conservatives who typically support him, before deleting the post on Monday.