Cairo: The Pope pushed back Monday on President Donald Trump’s criticism of him over the US-Israel war in Iran, telling reporters that the Vatican’s appeals for peace and reconciliation are rooted in the Gospel, and that he doesn’t fear the Trump administration.
Leo XIV’s comments came as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to have come to a halt, an intelligence firm said, and oil prices resumed their climb after Trump announced on social media that the United States would blockade the waterway.
US Central Command later said the blockade would involve all vessels entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, and that it would still allow ships travelling between non-Iranian ports to transit the strait, a step down from the president’s earlier threat to blockade the entire strait.
Trump confirmed the timing and some details of the CENTCOM statement in a post on his social media site early Monday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the strait remained under Iran’s “full control” and was open for non-military vessels, but military ones would get a “forceful response,” two semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported.
The moves came after marathon US-Iran ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement, setting the stage for a showdown. Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who led Iran’s side in the talks, addressed Trump in a statement on his return to Iran: “If you fight, we will fight.”
The war, which is entering its seventh week, has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets.
Here is the latest:
Netanyahu says fighting to continue in Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said fighting is continuing in Lebanon on Monday, focused on the Bint Jbeil area, a strategic point that has been the site of fierce battles between Israel and Hezbollah over the years.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that Israel’s military is expanding beyond the five hilltops it controlled in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire with Hezbollah in 2024 towards a “solid, deeper security zone, which both prevents the danger of invasion and keeps the threat of terrorism away.”
Previously, Netanyahu said Israel wants to control the territory 8-10 kilometres (5-6 miles) from the border in southern Lebanon to remove the threat of short-range rockets or anti-tank missiles targeting Israeli cities and towns on the border.
Iran and Qatari foreign ministers discuss failed Islamabad talks
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by phone with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
The ministers discussed the Islamabad talks between Iran and the US which failed to achieve a deal, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.
Iran’s Quds Force chief says US will leave Mideast empty-handed
The US will leave the Middle East without any achievements, Iranian media reported on Monday, citing Brig Gen Esmail Qaani, commander of the powerful elite Quds Force.
He noted that the US and Israel should remember how they left Yemen likewise empty-handed in a prior campaign, according to the Tasnim and Mehr semiofficial news agencies.
Qaani suggested that the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels could close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as they did between 2023 and 2025. The attacks in Bab el-Mandeb prompted the US to launch an air campaign against the Houthis. The rebels stopped attacking ships in the Red Sea after a deal with the Trump administration.
EU chief says bloc’s fuel bill is over USD 25B higher due to Iran war
The European Union’s fuel bill has risen by more than USD 25 billion since the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran and is likely to mount, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday.
“Our bill for fossil fuel imports has increased by over 22 billion euros – 44 days, 22 billion euros,” she said, noting that “the disruption of energy supplies will continue for some time to come.”
Von der Leyen recommended that EU governments start coordinating how they use their oil and natural gas supplies to avoid adding pressure on the market. She proposed easing restrictions on state aid rules while the crisis lasts to help protect vulnerable consumers and sectors from high energy prices.
Trump is bluffing’ over Hormuz threat, Iranian security official says
A US threat to block the Strait of Hormuz is “more bluffing than reality,” according to Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission.
Rezaei warned that Tehran is prepared to respond if the situation escalates militarily.
“It will make the current situation (Trump) is in more complicated and will further agitate the market he is angry about, and we may also reveal other cards that we have not used in the game,” Rezaei said in a post on X.
Netanyahu spoke with Vance after Pakistan talks ended
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he has spoken with US Vice President JD Vance about the negotiations in Pakistan.
Netanyahu said the pair spoke Sunday while Vance was on a plane returning from the negotiations in Islamabad.
Israel supports Trump’s “strong stance to impose a naval blockade on Iran,” Netanyahu said, and backs the US position that Iran must remove all of its enriched nuclear material and refrain from any more enrichment within Iran for several decades.
Maritime expert previews potential conflict in Strait of Hormuz
The coming days could be a stress test for the rules that are supposed to govern the Strait of Hormuz, according to Sal Mercogliano, a maritime historian at Campbell University.
It remains unclear, he added, how the US would track, intercept and board vessels moving from Iranian ports through the strait.
Any US or Iranian attempt to choke off the waterway would run counter to the principle of freedom of navigation, said Mercogliano, who has testified before the US Senate on commercial shipping and written for the US Naval Institute.
“We are challenging the concept of freedom of the seas,” Mercogliano said on his “What’s Going on With Shipping?” podcast, which has more than 600,000 followers on YouTube.
Russia warns blockade of Strait of Hormuz will rattle global markets
Asked to comment on the U.S. announcement of a blockade on Iran’s ports and coastline, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Most likely, such actions will continue to negatively impact international markets, this can be assumed with a high degree of certainty.”
Peskov told reporters: “Many details remain unclear and incomprehensible, so I would refrain from making any substantive comments at this time.”
Iran and Saudi Arabia discuss Islamabad talks
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken by phone with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Iranian semiofficial media reported.
The ministers discussed the talks between the U.S. and Iran in Pakistan which failed to achieve a deal, Mehr News agency said, without elaborating further.
US-Iran ceasefire could be extended, Turkey says</hl2>Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire could be extended for 45 to 60 days to allow negotiations to continue.
Fidan, whose country has supported mediation efforts, said the U.S. and Iranian delegations presented initial “maximalist” positions during the talks in Pakistan, adding that Iran is expected to review U.S. proposals and respond.
“If the parties make good progress, an additional ceasefire could be introduced – lasting 45 to 60 days – so that negotiations can continue,” he said in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency. He cautioned however, that Israel remains “a factor” that could disrupt the negotiations. The nuclear issue could also become a sticking point, he said.
“If the nuclear matter turns into an all-or-nothing situation, especially regarding enrichment, we could face a serious obstacle,” Fidan said. “But hopefully, with the support of mediators and other countries, we will try to overcome this as well.
AP
