Donald Trump has said he doesn\u2019t care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the US after the weekend talks in Pakistan ended without a deal. \u201cI don\u2019t care if they come back or not,\u201d Trump told reporters in Maryland on Sunday. \u201cIf they don\u2019t come back, I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump said earlier that the US Navy would start blockading the Hormuz strait and also prohibit every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran. US Central Command said later it would begin a blockade of all Iranian Gulf ports and coastal areas on Monday at 10am ET (5.30pm in Iran and 1400 GMT), effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards warned that \u201capproaching military vessels to the strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire\u201d.<\/p>\n
Oil prices rose in early market trading after Trump\u2019s blockade announcement. The price of US crude oil rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude oil \u2013 the international standard \u2013 rose 7% to $102.29. Australia\u2019s share market dropped sharply on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf taunted Trump on X, saying in a post: \u201cEnjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called \u2018blockade\u2019, Soon you\u2019ll be nostalgic for $4\u2013$5 gas.\u201d Earlier he said Trump\u2019s new threats would have no effect on the Iranian nation: \u201cIf you fight, we will fight \u2026 We will not bow to any threats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Hormuz strait, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials and people familiar with the situation.<\/p>\n
Trump launched a scathing attack on Pope Leo XIV, saying he was \u201cweak on crime and terrible for foreign policy\u201d, was catering to the left and was \u201churting the Catholic church\u201d. Leo should \u201cfocus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician\u201d, the president said on Truth Social. The attack came after Leo denounced a \u201cdelusion of omnipotence\u201d as fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran and urged political leaders to stop and negotiate peace.<\/p>\n
![\"Pope](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776067389_433_3333.jpg\")
Pope Leo presides over the vigil for peace service at St Peter\u2019s Basilica in the Vatican on Saturday. Photograph: Stefano Costantino\/SOPA Images\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Lloyd\u2019s List Intelligence said \u201call traffic\u201d through the strait of Hormuz stopped after Trump announced the US naval blockade. It said two vessels that were leaving the strait turned around after the post.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s threatened blockade could boost oil prices by $5 to $10 a barrel, estimates Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation.<\/p>\n
More than 32 million people worldwide could be plunged into poverty by the economic fallout from the Iran war, with developing countries expected to be hit hardest. The UN Development Programme said in a report that the world was facing a \u201ctriple shock\u201d involving energy, food and weaker economic growth, reports Richard Partington<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump reiterated his threat to destroy Iran\u2019s power plants and other civilian energy infrastructure if no deal was reached to end the war.<\/p>\n Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said negotiations to stop the war should resume quickly, as the country called for the full reopening of the Hormuz strait and free navigation for all nations.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.41 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Nine people were killed and 13 wounded in an Israeli attack on the town of Tefahta in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the state-run National News Agency said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since 2 March, at least 2,055 people have been killed and 6,588 wounded in the conflict, according to Lebanon\u2019s Ministry of Public Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Donald Trump launches extraordinary attack on Pope Leo calling him \u2018weak\u2019 and \u2018terrible\u2019<\/p>\n President Donald Trump<\/a> has delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo XIV, saying he didn\u2019t think the US-born leader of the Catholic church was \u201cdoing a very good job\u201d and that he was \u201ca very liberal person\u201d, while also suggesting the pontiff should \u201cstop catering to the Radical Left\u201d.<\/p>\n Flying back to Washington from Florida on Sunday night, Trump used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticise Leo, then kept it up in comments on the tarmac to reporters.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not a fan of Pope Leo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s comments came after Leo suggested over the weekend that a \u201cdelusion of omnipotence\u201d was fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran. While it\u2019s not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross-purposes, it\u2019s exceedingly rare for the pope to criticise a US leader \u2013 and Trump\u2019s stinging response is equally uncommon.<\/p>\n \u201cPope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,\u201d the president wrote in his post, adding: \u201cI don\u2019t want a Pope who thinks it\u2019s OK for Iran<\/a> to have a Nuclear Weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n You can read our full report here: <\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a>Oil price rises back over $100 a barrel after Trump announces naval blockade of strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s threat to impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> has driven the oil price back over $100 a barrel again, as hopes of an end to the conflict soon take another knock.<\/p>\n My colleagues on the business desk are covering the impact over in our business live blog.<\/p>\n You can read their coverage here<\/a>:<\/p>\n We also have this explainer here:<\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a>Interim summary<\/p>\n If you\u2019re just tuning in to today\u2019s live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a>, here\u2019s the latest to bring you up to speed. It\u2019s 9.30am in Tehran, 9am in Tel Aviv and Beirut and 2am in Washington DC.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has said he doesn\u2019t care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the US after the weekend talks in Pakistan ended without a deal. \u201cI don\u2019t care if they come back or not,\u201d Trump told reporters in Maryland on Sunday. \u201cIf they don\u2019t come back, I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump said earlier that the US Navy would start blockading the Hormuz strait and also prohibit every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran. US Central Command said later it would begin a blockade of all Iranian Gulf ports and coastal areas on Monday at 10am ET (5.30pm in Iran and 1400 GMT), effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards warned that \u201capproaching military vessels to the strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire\u201d.<\/p>\n Oil prices rose in early market trading after Trump\u2019s blockade announcement. The price of US crude oil rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude oil \u2013 the international standard \u2013 rose 7% to $102.29. Australia\u2019s share market dropped sharply on Monday morning.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf taunted Trump on X, saying in a post: \u201cEnjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called \u2018blockade\u2019, Soon you\u2019ll be nostalgic for $4\u2013$5 gas.\u201d Earlier he said Trump\u2019s new threats would have no effect on the Iranian nation: \u201cIf you fight, we will fight \u2026 We will not bow to any threats.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the US blockade of the Hormuz strait, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials and people familiar with the situation.<\/p>\n Trump launched a scathing attack on Pope Leo XIV, saying he was \u201cweak on crime and terrible for foreign policy\u201d, was catering to the left and was \u201churting the Catholic church\u201d. Leo should \u201cfocus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician\u201d, the president said on Truth Social. The attack came after Leo denounced a \u201cdelusion of omnipotence\u201d as fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran and urged political leaders to stop and negotiate peace.<\/p>\n Pope Leo presides over the vigil for peace service at St Peter\u2019s Basilica in the Vatican on Saturday. Photograph: Stefano Costantino\/SOPA Images\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Lloyd\u2019s List Intelligence said \u201call traffic\u201d through the strait of Hormuz stopped after Trump announced the US naval blockade. It said two vessels that were leaving the strait turned around after the post.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s threatened blockade could boost oil prices by $5 to $10 a barrel, estimates Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation.<\/p>\n More than 32 million people worldwide could be plunged into poverty by the economic fallout from the Iran war, with developing countries expected to be hit hardest. The UN Development Programme said in a report that the world was facing a \u201ctriple shock\u201d involving energy, food and weaker economic growth, reports Richard Partington<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump reiterated his threat to destroy Iran\u2019s power plants and other civilian energy infrastructure if no deal was reached to end the war.<\/p>\n Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said negotiations to stop the war should resume quickly, as the country called for the full reopening of the Hormuz strait and free navigation for all nations.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.41 EDT<\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Middle East amid the countdown to the US naval blockade<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n Mourners pray over the six coffins of members of the Al-Jalib family \u2013 killed last Wednesday in Israeli strikes in Beirut \u2013 at their funeral in the village of al-Sour, in north-eastern Syria\u2019s Deir al-Zour province. Photograph: Ghaith Alsayed\/APPeople gather near a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike targeted a building in the Ain Mreisseh neighborhood of Beirut, Lebanon. Photograph: Wael Hamzeh\/EPAChristian Orthodox pilgrims hold up candles during the Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photograph: Mahmoud Illean\/APMourners react during the funeral of 13 state security officers killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon\u2019s coastal city of Sidon. Photograph: Emilio Morenatti\/APHouthi supporters take part in a rally in Sana\u2019a, Yemen, in solidarity with Iran. Photograph: Yahya Arhab\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Circling back to Donald Trump\u2019s coming naval blockade, the US military said it would block all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 10am ET on Monday (5.30pm in Iran and 1400 GMT), effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cThe blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,\u201d US Central Command said on X.<\/p>\n The US would \u201cnot impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> to and from non-Iranian ports\u201d, it added.<\/p>\n The move was a step back from Trump\u2019s original vow to entirely blockade the strait, with early reports indicating ships had stopped crossing the waterway.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said Iranian security forces had full control over the Strait of Hormuz and warned enemies would be trapped in a \u201cdeadly vortex\u201d in case of any \u201cwrong move\u201d, Agence France-Presse reports.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s navy chief, Shahram Irani, called Trump\u2019s threat \u201cridiculous and funny\u201d, according to state TV, adding the country\u2019s military was \u201cmonitoring and supervising all the movements\u201d of the US army in the region.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.52 EDT<\/p>\n The failure of negotiations to end the US-Israeli war against Iran<\/a> has unleashed a barrage of starkly partisan political responses in the US, with leading Republicans calling for Donald Trump to \u201cfinish the job\u201d while top Democrats warned that it would be disastrous for the president to resume hostilities.<\/p>\n The former UN ambassador during Trump\u2019s first presidency, Nikki Haley, led the Republican charge, telling CNN on Sunday that the current two-week ceasefire was a test of nerves. She said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis is like a game of chicken. It\u2019s who caves first. The Iranian regime is hoping that Trump will cave. Today, he showed he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n She said the US could launch a relatively quick special forces operation to seize Iran\u2019s stash of enriched uranium in order to prevent it acquiring nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n Former UN embassador Nikki Haley. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo\/EPA<\/p>\n Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate\u2019s intelligence committee, fiercely rebutted Haley, telling CNN that attempting to seize Iran\u2019s 1,000lb [454kg] canisters of highly volatile enriched uranium would be \u201cvery, very dangerous\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markIt would take 10,000 troops on the ground guarding a perimeter. We\u2019d have to send special operators in, and the Iranians could then bomb their own facility, potentially trapping our troops.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, as well as announcing a blockade of the strait of Hormuz, Trump threatened to bomb Iran\u2019s water treatment facilities and its power plants and bridges \u2013 repeating an earlier threat \u2013 if Tehran did not agree to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.<\/p>\n There\u2019s more on this and the day\u2019s other key Trump administration<\/a> stories here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.22 EDT<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s prime minister says peace negotiations to end the growing Middle East war should resume quickly, as the country called for the full reopening of the strait of Hormuz and free navigation for all nations.<\/p>\n Hours after Donald Trump said he would institute a US blockade of the strategic waterway<\/a>, Anthony Albanese urged Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations in Pakistan.<\/p>\n The PM said:<\/p>\n double quotation markWe want to see the strait of Hormuz opened and with freedom of navigation taking place, so obviously, the lack of a resolution in the negotiations that took place on the weekend were disappointing.<\/p>\n We want to see de-escalation and we want to see those negotiations resumed.\u201d<\/p>\n Navy chief V Adm Mark Hammond, who has been named the Australian defence forces\u2019 new chief starting from July, said Australian forces would be ready to contributing to an international effort to reopen the strait, if the government made a decision to assist.<\/p>\n \u201cThe navy is ready as it ever has been,\u201d Hammond said.<\/p>\n The navy\u2019s major combatant ships were \u201cfitted with one of the most advanced radars in the world … and some of the most advanced missile-engagement systems in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump has name-checked Australia as among countries not assisting with the US war effort, even as he insisted no help was required.<\/p>\n Albanese stressed the Australian government\u2019s view was that the ceasefire should extend to Israel\u2019s fighting with Hezbollah<\/a> militants in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.02 EDT<\/p>\n Iran war could plunge 32 million into poverty, says UN<\/p>\n More than 32 million people worldwide could be plunged into poverty by the economic fallout from the Iran<\/a> war, with developing countries expected to be hit hardest.<\/p>\n In a report issued amid doubts over a fragile ceasefire, the United Nations Development Programme<\/a> (UNDP) said the world was facing a \u201ctriple shock\u201d involving energy, food and weaker economic growth, reports the Guardian\u2019s Richard Partington<\/a>.<\/p>\n The agency tasked with tackling poverty said the conflict was reversing gains in international development, with the impact expected be felt unevenly across regions.<\/p>\n Alexander De Croo, administrator of the UNDP and former prime minister of Belgium, said:<\/p>\n double quotation markA conflict like this is development in reverse. Even if the war stops, and a ceasefire is obviously very very welcome, but the impact is already there.<\/p>\n You will see an enduring impact, especially in the poorer countries, where you push people back into poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n Energy prices have surged since the first US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, and Iran\u2019s closure of the strait of Hormuz has choked global oil and gas supplies to the world economy. With a knock-on impact on fertiliser supplies and global shipping, experts warn that a \u201cfood security timebomb<\/a>\u201d has been set for the developing world.<\/p>\n See the full report here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.26 EDT<\/p>\n Strait of Hormuz blockade explained: why is Trump threatening it now and how will it work?<\/p>\n Reports indicate that the reopening of the strait was one of the major sticking points in the weekend negotiations between the US and Iran<\/a>. Tehran has indicated it would like to retain control of the waterway after the war has finished, and has floated a plan to charge a fee of up to $2m a ship to transit through the waterway. Donald Trump and other world leaders have rejected such a plan as an attack on \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d.<\/p>\n Despite the US president\u2019s claims that reopening the waterway is not his responsibility, he is under pressure to resolve the issue before the continued closure of the strait unleashes an even greater crisis for the global economy.<\/p>\n If Trump\u2019s strategy succeeds, he will eliminate Iran\u2019s greatest point of leverage in negotiations and clear the strait again for global trade, potentially lowering oil prices.<\/p>\n The US military has not offered many details yet, including how many warships will enforce it, whether warplanes will be used and whether any Gulf allies will assist in the effort.<\/p>\n \u2018Difficult\u2019 mission: the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Andre M Chang\/ZUMA Press Wire\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Experts say it\u2019s unlikely the US military will fire missiles or other weapons at vessels, given the risk of an environmental disaster. The most likely option is the US navy will try to force them to change course through threats \u2013 and if that doesn\u2019t work, they will launch armed boarding parties to take physical control of the ships, experts say.<\/p>\n \u201cTrump wants a quick fix,\u201d says Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official during the Biden administration and now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.<\/p>\n double quotation markThe reality is, this mission is difficult to execute alone and likely unsustainable over the medium to long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Donald Trump\u2019s threatened blockade could boost oil prices by $5 to $10 a barrel, estimates Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation.<\/p>\n The blockade would take an estimated 2m barrels of oil per day off the market, and the Iran<\/a> war had already taken roughly 10m barrels a day out of supply, Lynch said.<\/p>\n double quotation markThis is a pretty big insult to a pretty big injury, I guess, is the way to put it.\u201d<\/p>\n But Lynch said the blockade might be short-lived as Trump would be pressured to walk it back.<\/p>\n double quotation markI wouldn\u2019t be surprised to see him to give it up by midweek, especially if oil prices keep going up.\u201d<\/p>\n Brent crude oil \u2013 the international standard \u2013 has gone from roughly $70 a barrel before the war in late February to more than $119 at times.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.42 EDT<\/p>\n Lloyd\u2019s List Intelligence has said \u201call traffic\u201d through the strait of Hormuz stopped after Donald Trump<\/a> announced on Truth Social that the US would blockade the waterway. It said two vessels that were leaving the strait turned around after the post.<\/p>\n A trickle of traffic had returned to the strait in the days since the US and Iran<\/a> agreed to pause the conflict. Three supertankers fully laden with oil passed through the strait on Saturday, shipping data showed. In normal times up to 140 vessels transit through the waterway.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.06 EDT<\/p>\n Trump: ‘I don’t care’ if Iran doesn’t return to negotiations<\/p>\n Donald Trump has said he doesn\u2019t care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the US after the weekend talks in Pakistan ended without a deal.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t care if they come back or not,\u201d Trump was quoted as telling reporters on Sunday at Joint Base Andrews military base in Maryland on his return from Florida.<\/p>\n double quotation markIf they don\u2019t come back, I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n More here on Donald Trump tearing into Pope Leo XIV, branding him \u201cweak on crime and terrible for foreign policy\u201d and claiming he is hurting the Catholic church.<\/p>\n The US president also posted on his Truth Social platform that it was only because he was president that the US-born Leo became pope.<\/p>\n double quotation markI like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA. He gets it, and Leo doesn\u2019t!<\/p>\n Trump also said in his post:<\/p>\n double quotation markUnfortunately, Leo\u2019s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me\u2026<\/p>\n Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It\u2019s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it\u2019s hurting the Catholic Church!<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s attack came after the pontiff denounced a \u201cdelusion of omnipotence\u201d as fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran and urged political leaders to stop and negotiate peace.<\/p>\n Pope Leo leading the angelus prayer from the window of his apartments at the Vatican in Rome on Sunday. Photograph: ABACA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Leo also presided over an evening prayer service in St Peter\u2019s Basilica on Saturday as the US-Iran talks began in Pakistan<\/a> amid the fragile ceasefire, the Associated Press reports<\/p>\n The pope didn\u2019t mention the US or Trump by name in his prayer but the pontiff\u2019s tone and message appeared directed at Trump and US officials, who have boasted of US military superiority and justified the war in religious terms.<\/p>\n Trump spoke to reporters in Maryland soon after his social media post and said: \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s doing a very good job,\u201d adding that \u201cI\u2019m not a fan of Pope Leo\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.09 EDT<\/p>\n Opening summary<\/p>\n![\"Tom](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776067389_744_Tom_McIlroy.png\")
Tom McIlroy<\/p>\n