Middle East crisis live: Trump casts doubt on Iran war ceasefire over continued closure of strait of Hormuz

US president says that warships are being reloaded with weaponry to strike Iran if Saturday’s Islamabad talks fail to produce a deal

JD Vance warns Iran against trying to ‘play’ the US in peace talks

Netanyahu says there is no ceasefire in Lebanon as Israel launches fresh strikes

The streets of Islamabad are on strict lockdown as Pakistan’s capital prepares to play host to historic negotiations between Iran and the US that have dangled the promise of an end to war that has devastated the Middle East.

Even as the US-Iran ceasefire looked increasingly precarious, amid Israel’s continued bombardment of Lebanon and disputes over the terms of the talks, Pakistani officials insist that the make-or-break peace negotiations will be going ahead over the weekend as planned