Iran-US war latest: Trump insists Tehran wants to make a deal as US blockade in Strait of Hormuz begins

The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, said ⁠on Monday he hopes another oil stockpile release is not needed but “we stand ready to act” if the energy shock resulting from the war with Iran ⁠requires it.

The 32-member ​IEA agreed ⁠last month to release 400 million barrels of oil from reserves, the largest ⁠coordinated release ever, in a bid to ​calm ⁠oil markets.

The US, ‌the world’s largest oil and gas producer, agreed to release 172 million barrels from its Strategic ‌Petroleum Reserve.

“I hope, very much ‌hope, we don’t need to do it but if it is needed we are ready to act,” ⁠Birol said. Birol reiterated at an Atlantic Council event that the war has resulted in the worst global energy disruption ever and said that more than 80 oil and gas facilities including production, terminals and refineries across the Middle East ‌have been damaged by war with Iran.

Benchmark oil prices are trading near $100 ‌a barrel. Due to ⁠the vast extent of the production shut-ins ⁠and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the oil ‌releases are “not a ​solution,” Birol said, “it’s just ‌reducing the pain.”

Trump’s threats to the Strait of Hormuz will make America a pirate nation and risk conflict with China, making Beijing seem like the grown-ups, explains world affairs editor Sam Kiley.

Donald Trump ⁠that ​the ⁠US ‌may “stop by” ‌Cuba after ‌its current ⁠focus on tensions with ‌Iran ​concludes.

Donald Trump said ⁠on Monday that ⁠Pope ​Leo ⁠XIV was ⁠wrong ​on issues ⁠of ‌law and order, continuing his criticism with the pontiff over crime, policing and views on US war ‌with ​Iran.

He earlier branded Pope Leo XIV as “weak” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy, in a late-night Truth Social blitz which also saw him uploading an AI-generated image of himself dressed as Jesus, which has now been deleted.

A picture depicting Donald Trump as Jesus Christ has been deleted from the president’s Truth Social account after a wave of backlash from religious right figures accusing him of blasphemy.

The image, posted to his account after he delivered a screed against Pope Leo XIV, depicts the president dressed in a white robe with a glowing hand on the forehead of a man in a hospital bed.

In another post on Truth Social, the US president said: “34 Ships went through the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, which is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began.”

The US president is holding a press conference at the moment.

He says ​that ⁠Iran ⁠wants to ​make ⁠a ‌deal and that ‌he will not ‌come ⁠to any agreement that allows Tehran to ‌have ​a nuclear ‌weapon.

“[The sticking point] was over nuclear, […]Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

“And we agreed to a lot of things but they didn’t agree to that. And I think they will agree to it, I’m almost sure of it. In fact I am sure of it, if they don’t agree there’s no deal, there will never be a deal.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And we’ll get the dust back. We’ll get it back either way; we’ll get it back from them, or we’ll take it.”

He adds that he believes Iran is “really blackmailing the world”.

“Iran will ‌not have a ​nuclear weapon,” ‌Trump tells ⁠reporters at the White House. “We ⁠can’t let a country ‌blackmail ​or extort the ‌world.”