Iran-US war latest: Trump says naval blockade in Hormuz will be lifted and pledges final decision on peace deal

Donald Trump has lashed out at Pope Leo over Iran again, saying someone needs to remind the pontiff that the country must be nuclear-free.

The president reshared a post from Democrat and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson of a prayer he attended with the Pope at the Vatican on Friday.

“Someone should explain to the Pope that the Mayor of Chicago is useless, and that Iran cannot have a Nuclear Weapon,†the president wrote.

The two have butted heads several time over the US's invasion of Iran, with Trump saying earlier this month that the pontiff was “endangering Catholics†by supporting Iran's nuclear programme.

Pope Leo responded saying “the mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to preach peace.

“If someone wants to criticise me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully. For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point.â€

The US has confirmed it disabled a Gambian-flagged vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

We reported earlier that bulk carrier Lian Star ignored several warnings from US forces and attempted to enter an Iranian port overnight.

A statement from the US Central Command said: “US forces operating in the Gulf of Oman enforced blockade measures by disabling a Gambia-flagged maritime vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, May 29.

“Centcom forces observed M/V Lian Star transiting international waters toward an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman and issued more than 20 warnings while informing the vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade.

“A US aircraft disabled the vessel by firing a Hellfire missile into the ship's engine room after Lian Star's crew failed to comply. The ship is no longer transiting to Iran.â€

It added that its forces had now disabled five commercial vessels since enforcing the blockade.

Our senior foreign reporter James Reynolds reports:

Tehran views its control of Hormuz and Washington its blockade of Iranian ports as their primary points of leverage. The United States suspects Iran aims to develop a nuclear weapon, a claim Iran consistently denies, asserting its atomic programme is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

The focus remains on Iran’s uranium enrichment, which can produce fuel for power but also material for a warhead. A potential agreement might eventually include a lengthy moratorium on enrichment and the export or dilution of existing stockpiles.

Iranian sources suggested Iran might eventually agree to dilute part of its highly enriched uranium in a friendly country to 5% purity, with subsequent return.

However, numerous other issues would still need addressing, including the duration of any nuclear programme halt, the potential dismantling of nuclear sites, the fate of 20% and 5% enriched uranium stockpiles, and the future of Iran's advanced centrifuges and research and development programmes.

A key US demand prior to the war was for Iran to limit the range of its ballistic missiles to prevent them from reaching Israel.

Iran has consistently refused to discuss its ballistic missiles, maintaining that its right to conventional weapons is non-negotiable and that it possesses a substantial arsenal.

Iran’s economy has been severely impacted by years of sanctions, contributing to nationwide unrest in January. Tehran urgently seeks the lifting of these sanctions, the release of tens of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian oil revenues held in foreign banks, and reparations for war damage.

Kazakhstan has offered to take custody of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium if Washington and Tehran reach a nuclear agreement.

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told the Financial Times that Kazakhstan has “a place where this could be stored safely,†since it has a “bank†for low-enriched uranium.

Iran's 440kg stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity has become one of the biggest sticking points in negotiations over a proposed deal to extend the ceasefire and restart talks on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Experts have said the material could be refined further to produce about 10 nuclear weapons.

Donald Trump has demanded the stockpile either be removed from Iran or destroyed under international supervision.

As we earlier reported, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the US stands ready to resume strikes on Iran if a peace deal falls through.

The US military's stockpiles, he said, are “more than suited for that, both there and around the globe, so we're in a very good placeâ€,

Speaking in Singapore on Friday, Hegseth also claimed that any deal with Iran would be a good deal.

It came after vice president JD Vance said negotiators are “not there yet, but we're very close and we're going to keep working at itâ€.

A ship trying to break through the American blockade of Iranian ports has been blocked by the US military, an official with knowledge of the situation has said.

Gambia-flagged bulk carrier Lian Star attempted to enter an Iranian port overnight, ignoring several warnings from US forces.

The official told the Associated Press that the ship was disabled by US aircraft in the Gulf of Oman and remains adrift there.

They said US forces had not boarded it.

After 88 days of a widespread internet shutdown in Iran, the Islamic Republic partially restored access for some users this week.

State media described the move as the “return of the internetâ€, but an investigation by Independent Persian, global data and reports sent to us from across Iran suggest that users still only have limited, slow and unstable access.

These reports indicate that the internet has not been restored to what it was before the January protests and the subsequent US-Israel war that began a month ago.

The large-scale internet blackout in Iran, imposed after the killing of Ali Khamenei and the start of the conflict, has become the longest state-imposed internet shutdown in modern history.

As state media hails the ‘return of the internet', Amirhossein Miresmaeili hears from users within Iran who say they only have limited access

Palestinian militant group Hamas has warned that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration that his country would expand its area of control in Gaza is a dangerous escalation.

European states and residents of the Palestinian territory have also voiced alarm at the plan, which would see the Israeli military further breach the terms of an agreed ceasefire deal.

Under the deal in October Israel’s military was to temporarily remain in control of 53 per cent of Gaza, but Netanyahu said on Friday that it would expand that area to an initial 70 per cent, without laying out details or a timeline.

“Any attempt to impose a new reality of occupation in Gaza is null and illegitimate,” said Ismail al-Thawabta, head of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, adding that Netanyahu’s statement “represents a dangerous escalation”.

More than eight months into the ceasefire, and with global attention fixed on the war in Iran, Gaza’s underlying conflict remains stubbornly unresolved with continued Israeli attacks, little aid reaching civilians and the risk of major new violence.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the territory since the ceasefire agreement was announced.

Israel has already expanded its area of control in Gaza from the 53 per cent lying behind a “yellow line” mapped into the ceasefire deal up to around 64 per cent, with an area it has designated as restricted in maps shared with aid groups.