Middle East crisis live: US talks with Iran set to continue despite Iranian walkout

US-Iran talks set to continue despite Iranian walkout The first round of face-to-face talks between the US and Iran ended in Switzerland on Monday, mediators said, after a tense opening marked by Tehran saying it had again closed the strait of Hormuz and Donald Trump repeating his threats to resume attacks on Iran. Mediators Qatar and Pakistan said Washington and Tehran agreed to a roadmap towards ⁠a final deal within 60 days and that technical talks ​would continue for the rest of the week in the Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock . The parties agreed to a mechanism to end Israel’s war in Lebanon and opened a communications line to help ensure safe passages for commercial ships through the Hormuz strait, ⁠ according to the joint statement which said that the first session of talks under the US-Iran agreement had concluded. Just before the high-stakes talks officially began on Sunday, Fox News ​reported that Trump said he had told Iranian officials regarding the strait of Hormuz: “You close it and you won’t have a country. You won’t even make it back to your fucking country.” Trump also reiterated an earlier threat that the US would ‌take over the strait and possibly charge a toll of its own, it said. In other developments: The talks had a tense start, with Iranian negotiators walking out in protest against Trump’s threats . Iranian state media said the talks had entered a “difficult phase” and recessed after the “publication of an insulting message by the US president”. …