Pope Leo XIV on Monday told reporters that he has “no intention to debate” with Donald Trump after the US president posted a more than 300-word diatribe on social media accusing the pope of catering to the “Radical Left” and being “terrible” for foreign policy, AFP reports.

Over the weekend, Leo, the first US-born pope, entered the international political arena when he said prayer for peace is “a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.”

On Monday, the pope had a simple message for reporters aboard the papal plane as they headed to Algeria for the pontiff’s first visit to Africa: “I am not a politician.”

“I have no intention to debate with (Trump),” Leo said. “The message is the same: to promote peace.”

On Sunday night, Trump posted on Truth Social that Leo was “Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons”.

“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s terrible that America attacked Venezuela…And I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do,” Trump said.

In the same post, Trump added: “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.” An hour after the intial statement, Trump posted an AI-generated image portraying him as Jesus, blessing an elderly man on a bed while a nurse and soldier gaze up at him in awe.

When pushed on Monday, UK prime minister Keir Starmer refused to take a harder stance on the conflict and speak out against Donald Trump.

When asked by BBC’s 5Live Breakfast on whether he held Trump responsible for the rising energy costs caused by the closure of the strait of Hormuz, Starmer said he blamed Iran, which began preventing ships and tankers from traversing the waterway in response to the US and Israel striking thousands of targets and killing dozens of the country’s most senior leaders.

“Where the blame lies, it’s Iran that has caused the restriction on traffic and vessels through the Gulf and they’re doing that in breach of international law,” Starmer said.

On Sunday Trump once again lashed out at the UK’s actions during the conflict and repeated a jibe that appeared to compare Starmer to Neville Chamberlain, who has long been criticised for following a policy of appeasement toward Adolf Hitler.

But Starmer refrained on Monday from responding to Trump’s jibes and instead reiterated his position that any UK action in the conflict will remain purely defensive and in protection of British lives and interest.

“My decision has been very clear that whatever the pressure – and there has been some considerable pressure – we are not getting dragged into the war. The UK is not getting dragged into the war,” Starmer said. “That is not in our national interest because I’m not going to act unless there’s a clear lawful basis and a clear thought-through plan.”

UK prime minister Keir Starmer on Monday reiterated his government’s position that the UK will not be involved in a blockade of the strait of Hormuz.

In an interview with BBC’s 5Live Breakfast, Starmer said all British efforts at the moment are focused on getting the strait fully open.

“All the time the strait is shut or not free for navigation in the way it should be, that means oil and gas is not getting to market, that means the price is going up and everybody listening to this is facing higher energy bills,” Starmer said. “I don’t want that to happen. I want their energy bills to be stablised and lower.”

Donald Trump had previously said on Fox News that “it won’t take long to clean out the strait” and that “numerous countries are going to be helping us”, adding that the UK and other nations were sending minesweepers.

Starmer confirmed that while the UK does have minesweeping capability in the region, “all of the marshalling diplomatically, politically…that’s all focused on geting the strait fully open.”

For more, follow here for live updates on UK politics.

President Donald Trump has delivered an extraordinary broadside against Pope Leo XIV, saying he didn’t think the US-born leader of the Catholic church was “doing a very good job” and that he was “a very liberal person”, while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the Radical Left”.

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.

“I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he said.

Trump’s comments came after Leo suggested over the weekend that a “delusion of omnipotence” was fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran. While it’s not unusual for popes and presidents to be at cross-purposes, it’s exceedingly rare for the pope to criticise a US leader – and Trump’s stinging response is equally uncommon.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president wrote in his post, adding: “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

You can read our full report here:

Donald Trump’s threat to impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz has driven the oil price back over $100 a barrel again, as hopes of an end to the conflict soon take another knock.

My colleagues on the business desk are covering the impact over in our business live blog.

You can read their coverage here:

We also have this explainer here:

If you’re just tuning in to today’s live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran, here’s the latest to bring you up to speed. It’s 9.30am in Tehran, 9am in Tel Aviv and Beirut and 2am in Washington DC.

• Donald Trump has said he doesn’t care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the US after the weekend talks in Pakistan ended without a deal. “I don’t care if they come back or not,” Trump told reporters in Maryland on Sunday. “If they don’t come back, I’m fine.”

• 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.

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that “approaching military vessels to the strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire”.

• Oil prices rose in early market trading after Trump’s blockade announcement. The price of US crude oil rose 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude oil – the international standard – rose 7% to $102.29. Australia’s share market dropped sharply on Monday morning.

• Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf taunted Trump on X, saying in a post: “Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.” Earlier he said Trump’s new threats would have no effect on the Iranian nation: “If you fight, we will fight … We will not bow to any threats.”

• 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.

• Trump launched a scathing attack on Pope Leo XIV, saying he was “weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy”, was catering to the left and was “hurting the Catholic church”. Leo should “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician”, the president said on Truth Social. The attack came after Leo denounced a “delusion of omnipotence” as fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran and urged political leaders to stop and negotiate peace.

• Lloyd’s List Intelligence said “all traffic” 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.

• Trump’s threatened blockade could boost oil prices by $5 to $10 a barrel, estimates Michael Lynch, a distinguished fellow at the Energy Policy Research Foundation.

• 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 “triple shock” involving energy, food and weaker economic growth, reports Richard Partington.

• Trump reiterated his threat to destroy Iran’s power plants and other civilian energy infrastructure if no deal was reached to end the war.

• 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.

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.

In a report issued amid doubts over a fragile ceasefire, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said the world was facing a “triple shock” involving energy, food and weaker economic growth, reports the Guardian’s Richard Partington.

The agency tasked with tackling poverty said the conflict was reversing gains in international development, with the impact expected be felt unevenly across regions.

Alexander De Croo, administrator of the UNDP and former prime minister of Belgium, said:

A 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.

You will see an enduring impact, especially in the poorer countries, where you push people back into poverty.”

Energy prices have surged since the first US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran, and Iran’s 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 “food security timebomb” has been set for the developing world.

See the full report here:

Reports indicate that the reopening of the strait was one of the major sticking points in the weekend negotiations between the US and Iran. 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 “freedom of navigation”.

Despite the US president’s 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.

If Trump’s strategy succeeds, he will eliminate Iran’s greatest point of leverage in negotiations and clear the strait again for global trade, potentially lowering oil prices.

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.

Experts say it’s 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 – and if that doesn’t work, they will launch armed boarding parties to take physical control of the ships, experts say.

“Trump wants a quick fix,” says Dana Stroul, a former senior Pentagon official during the Biden administration and now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The reality is, this mission is difficult to execute alone and likely unsustainable over the medium to long-term.”

Donald Trump has said he doesn’t care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the US after the weekend talks in Pakistan ended without a deal.

“I don’t care if they come back or not,” Trump was quoted as telling reporters on Sunday at Joint Base Andrews military base in Maryland on his return from Florida.

If they don’t come back, I’m fine.”