JERUSALEM, April 12 (Reuters) - Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday, saying he was seeking greater access for Jewish worshippers and drawing condemnation from Jordan.

The compound in Jerusalem's walled Old City is one of the most sensitive sites in the Middle East https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/where-is-al-aqsa-mosque-why-is-it-so-important-islam-2023-04-05/. Known to Jews as Temple Mount, it is the most sacred site in Judaism and is Islam's third-holiest site.

The US military said it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports on Monday, after talks between the warring sides in Pakistan collapsed with President Donald Trump blaming the Islamic republic's refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Trump had announced on social media he would blockade the strategic Strait of Hormuz trading route that he has been demanding Tehran fully re-open, after his vice president, JD Vance left negotiations with an Iranian delegation in Islamabad on Sunday.

MADRID, April 12 (Reuters) - A second flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza was due to set sail on Sunday from the Spanish port of Barcelona to try to break the Israeli blockade.

About 30 boats planned to leave the Mediterranean port city laden with medical aid and other supplies on the Global Sumud Flotilla, and more vessels are expected to join along the route towards Palestine.

The latest developments in the Middle East war:

- Trump says doesn't care if Iran returns to talks -

US President Donald Trump said he does not care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the United States after weekend talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal.

"I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, upon his return from Florida.

- Countdown to US Gulf blockade -

US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement, saying he was leaving after putting forward a "final and best offer".

Vance signalled that he was still giving time to Iran to consider the offer from the United States, which on Tuesday said it would pause attacks with Israel for two weeks pending negotiations.

"We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We'll see if the Iranians accept it," Vance told reporters after 21 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

By Ariba Shahid, Asif Shahzad and Parisa Hafezi

ISLAMABAD, April 12 (Reuters) - Negotiations between the United States and Iran appeared to have concluded for now, Iran's government said early on Sunday, after a series of talks in Pakistan https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistani-five-star-hotel-becomes-unlikely-site-us-iran-talks-2026-04-11/ to end the six-week war https://www.reuters.com/world/iran/ between Washington and Tehran.

LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Police said on Saturday they had arrested 212 people at a protest in London's Trafalgar Square opposing Britain's banning of the Palestine Action group.

The gathering was the first since London's High Court ruled in February that a ban designating the pro-Palestinian group as a terrorist organisation was unlawful L8N3Z90PY. UK Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood has been granted approval to appeal the ruling.

By Joshua McElwee

VATICAN CITY, April 11 (Reuters) - Pope Leo https://www.reuters.com/world/pope/ on Saturday urged world leaders to end what he called the "madness of war," in an impassioned appeal as senior U.S. and Iranian officials met in Pakistan nL1N40U01A to discuss ending the six-week conflict.

At a special prayer vigil in St. Peter's Basilica, the first U.S. pope decried the use of religious language to justify war and said a "delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us ... is becoming increasingly unpredictable".

Pope Leo lashed out against warmongers on Saturday while calling on billions of people around the globe to embrace peace and "believe once again in love, moderation and good politics".

In one of his most passionate entreaties yet to end the raging conflict in the Middle East, the American pope said faith was needed "in order to face this dramatic hour in history together".

Police in London said they had arrested more 200 pro-Palestinian protesters Saturday at a demonstration in support of the banned group Palestine Action.

Officers carried away activists to cheers and clapping from other demonstrators who gathered for the sit-down demonstration in the capital's Trafalgar Square.

The protesters held placards in support of the banned group Palestine Action, making them liable for arrest.