Trump administration reveals plans for massive Washington arch

The US military said it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports Monday, after talks between the warring sides in Pakistan collapsed, and despite the Iranian military warning that it would treat any such action as an act of piracy. 

Trump had announced on social media he would blockade the strategic Strait of Hormuz trade route that he has been demanding Tehran fully re-open, after Vice President JD Vance left negotiations with an Iranian delegation in Islamabad.

The US military said the blockade would begin at 1400 GMT, and apply to all ships leaving or seeking to dock at Iranian ports on either side of the key waterway.

It was unclear, however, how the military would enforce such a blockade. 

Despite the threats, there was no indication that there would be an immediate resumption of the war that came to a screeching halt with a ceasefire that took effect last week, and which had engulfed the region in violence.

Oil prices, which had tumbled with the truce, jumped around eight percent Monday, with both key WTI and Brent contracts topping $100 a barrel.

The weekend's failed talks dashed hopes of a swift deal to permanently end the war that has killed thousands and thrown the global economy into turmoil since it began in late February.

Traffic through the strait, a key route for global oil and gas shipments, has been heavily restricted since the start of the war, with Iran only allowing through some vessels serving friendly countries such as China.

A sense of dread spread across the Middle East as fears of renewed fighting rattled an already tense region. 

"Things could change at any moment," said Aishah, a 32-year-old economic consultant based in Doha. 

"It's more about taking each day as it comes."

- Uncertainty -

"The 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," US Central Command said, adding it would begin at 1400 GMT on Monday.

US forces would not impede vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, it added.

In a lengthy social media post on Sunday, Trump said his goal was to clear the strait of mines and reopen it to all shipping, but that Iran must not be allowed to profit from controlling the waterway.

Nicole Grajewski, an assistant professor at Sciences Po's Center for International Research, said a US blockade was "not a minor coercive signal" but could rather be considered an effective resumption of the war.

Iran's military command issued a statement branding the upcoming blockade a criminal act of piracy and warned: "If the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran's ports in the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea is threatened, no port in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea will be safe."

China, Washington's great power rival and a big importer of Iranian oil, also criticised the plan. 

"The Strait of Hormuz is an important international trade route for goods and energy, and maintaining its security, stability, and unimpeded flow is in the common interest of the international community," foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said, urging Iran and the US not to reignite the war.

Russia, Iran's main international ally, said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would visit his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

Among Washington's NATO allies, much criticised by Trump for their reluctance to follow him to war, Spain's Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the planned naval blockade "makes no sense".

"It's one more episode in this whole downward spiral into which we've been dragged," she said. 

And in a BBC radio interview, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain will not join the US blockade, adding adding the UK "is not getting dragged in" to the war with Iran. 

- 'We'll see' -

Pakistan, which hosted the weekend's failed talks, has said it hopes to continue facilitating a dialogue and has called on both sides to honour the fragile two-week ceasefire.

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran's delegation in Pakistan, said Tehran would "not bow to any threats" from Washington, while navy chief Shahram Irani called Trump's blockade threat "ridiculous".

The strait was far from the only friction point jettisoning global efforts led by Pakistan to end the war, which began on when Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, which retaliated by attacking Gulf and Israeli cities.

The US delegation in Islamabad -- led by Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner -- was frustrated by Iran's refusal to give up what its right to what it insists is a civilian nuclear programme.

"I have always said, right from the beginning, and many years ago, IRAN WILL NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!" Trump later posted.

Vance told reporters in Islamabad that Washington had made Tehran its "final and best offer," adding: "We'll see if the Iranians accept it."

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Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday Germany will slash fuel taxes as households struggle with the energy shock from the Middle East war, while warning the conflict will have long-lasting economic consequences.

The announcement came after oil prices surged again following the collapse of US-Iran peace talks and US President Donald Trump's decision to blockade the Strait of Hormuz. 

Merz said the war "is the root cause of the problems we face in our own country", and stressed Berlin was doing all it could to try to bring the conflict to an end.

Following talks between his CDU party and its coalition partners, Merz said his government had decided to cut the tax on petrol and diesel by around 17 euro cents ($0.19) for two months.

"This will very quickly improve the situation for drivers and businesses in the country, and above all for those who, mainly for professional reasons, spend a great deal of time on the road," he told a news conference in Berlin.

Fuel prices in Germany, like elsewhere, have jumped sharply since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran at the end of February.

Employers will also be able to pay their staff tax-free bonuses of up to 1,000 euros ($1,170) to mitigate the impacts of inflation, which has already started rising in Germany, the government announced. 

Merz warned, however: "At the same time, we cannot offset every single outcome on the market with government funds... The state cannot absorb all uncertainties, not all risks, not all disruptions in global politics."

The government plans to bring forward an increase in tobacco taxes to finance the reduction in fuel duties, Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has been hard hit by the surge in energy costs at a time when many of its power-hungry manufacturers were already facing headwinds from US tariffs and fierce Chinese competition.

Merz warned the war's effects were likely to be long-lasting. "The German economy will face a significant burden over an extended period," he said.

Leading economic institutes this month slashed their growth forecast for Germany to just 0.6 percent for 2026, down from a pre-war prediction of 1.3 percent.

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Pope Leo XIV headed to Algeria on Monday at the start of an 11-day tour of Africa, the first international trip of his papacy that risked being overshadowed by criticism from US President Donald Trump.

Leo will become the first ever leader of the world's Catholics to visit the Muslim country of Algeria, where he aims to help "build bridges between the Christian and Muslim worlds," the Archbishop of Algiers Jean-Paul Vesco told AFP. 

Yet just hours before he left Rome, at around 0700 GMT, Leo became the target of criticism from Trump, who railed against the pope's entreaties for an end to violence in the Iran war.

"I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo," Trump told reporters, accusing the pontiff of "toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon".

Trump later suggested cardinals only elected Leo pope in May 2025 because he was American, and a potential bridge to Washington -- before posting an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as Jesus Christ.

Leo had criticised as "unacceptable" Trump's threats against civilians in Iran, although he did not name the president, while he has also previously criticised the Trump administration's "inhuman" treatment of migrants.

- Personal significance -

Trump's comments risk overshadowing the Africa trip, which will take in Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, covering more than 18,000 kilometres (11,000 miles) between April 13 and 23.

The pope's first stop on Monday will be the Algerian capital of Algiers, where he will meet with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, address diplomats and pay tribute to the victims of Algeria's 1954-1962 war of independence against France.

Already in Algiers ahead of the historic visit, the atmosphere of an imminent celebration pervaded the air, with walls repainted, roads repaved and green spaces adorned with plants and flowerpots. 

The visit to Algeria is also infused with personal significance for the pope as the country was the home of Saint Augustine (354-430), whose spiritual legacy permeates his pontificate.

The influential Christian theologian laid the foundations for the 13th century Augustinian order to which Leo belongs, one based on communal living and service. 

In his very first speech as pope, Leo presented himself as a "son" of Augustine, whose writings he often quotes. As head of the order, before becoming pope, the former Robert Francis Prevost twice visited Algeria.  

On Tuesday, the pope will visit the northeastern city of Annaba -- formerly the ancient Roman city of Hippo -- the one-time home of the saint whose autobiographical "Confessions" is a seminal work within the Christian tradition. 

Father Fred Wekesa, the rector of the Saint Augustine Basilica at Annaba where Leo will celebrate mass, said the pope's upcoming visit would give his small flock a "message of encouragement and solidarity".

- 'Capable of peace' -

Monday's itinerary also includes a visit to the Great Mosque of Algiers -- with the world's highest minaret -- and the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa, overlooking the Bay of Algiers.

Leo plans to pray privately in the chapel dedicated to 19 priests and nuns murdered during Algeria's 1992-2002 civil war. 

The pope will not, however, visit the Tibhirine monastery, whose monks were kidnapped and murdered in 1996, an event still shrouded in mystery.  

Wekesa lamented shadows still cast by Algeria's bloody civil war, when 200,000 people were killed in the conflict between Islamists and security forces.

Although some people still viewed Algeria "through the lens of the 'dark years'," Leo's visit will allow the world to see "the hospitality and generosity of the Algerian people," said Wekesa. 

"We are capable of living together in peace."

Although Algeria's constitution guarantees freedom of worship, subject to conditions, human rights groups say the repression of religious minorities is continuing. 

Three human rights groups called on Leo last week to push the issue during his visit. 

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US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he is "not a big fan" of Pope Leo XIV, after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for peace amid the war in the Middle East.

The 70-year-old American pope publicly implored leaders on Saturday to end the violence, telling worshippers at St Peter's Basilica: "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!"

"I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person, and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

He accused the pontiff of "toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon."

Trump later doubled down on his comments to reporters with a post on Truth Social, saying: "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," he said.

The president added that Leo had only been elected "because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump." 

"If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican."

Trump later posted an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as Jesus Christ. 

In the image, the president appears dressed in red and white robes as he cures a man with his healing hand. The American flag is shown over his shoulder. 

Trump and the White House have previously shared AI-generated images, including one that showed the president dressed as the pope.

- Rejecting a rift -

Washington and the Vatican have rejected reports of a rift.

On Friday, a Vatican official denied reports that a top Pentagon official gave the church's envoy to the United States a "bitter lecture" over Pope Leo's criticisms of the Trump administration.

The story in the Free Press -- which the Pentagon had already dismissed as "distorted" -- reported that Cardinal Christophe Pierre was summoned in January to the Pentagon, where he was given a dressing-down by US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby.

The military official reportedly told the cardinal that the United States "has the military power to do whatever it wants -- and that the Church had better take its side."

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement "the account presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth in any way."

While both parties insist the meeting was cordial, the Holy See and the White House have openly been at odds over the Trump administration's hardline mass deportation campaign -- which the pope called "inhuman" -- and the use of military force in the Middle East and Venezuela. 

When Trump made genocidal threats against Iran Tuesday -- saying "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" -- the pontiff slammed the "truly unacceptable" statement and urged parties to "come back to the table" for negotiations. 

Earlier this month, Pope Leo hailed the news of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran as a "sign of real hope."

But peace talks between the United States and Iran, held in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, ended abruptly and without a resolution on Saturday, with US Vice President JD Vance telling reporters after a marathon-session of talks that Washington has delivered its "final and best offer."

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Brazilian singer Luisa Sonza brought her newly released album "Brutal Paraiso" to Coachella this weekend in a performance she described as "a unique experience."

"I don't think I've felt that way, like I was doing something for the first time in a long time," Sonza told AFP in an interview at the Empire Polo Club, where the California music festival is held.

Sonza performed Saturday on the Gobi Stage -- which year after year hosts indie and alternative acts -- in front of a crowd that danced and sang along in an intimate yet energetic atmosphere.

"Doing a show with the new album was almost like being at the beginning of my career again. It was very special, a dream come true," said the 27-year-old singer, who brought along Argentine reggaeton artist Emilia to perform their collaboration "bunda."

Sonza reflected on "Brutal Paraiso," an album she composed to "talk about life and its difficulties and beauties."

"Life is brutal, but it is also a paradise, and it's about going through many different moments," said Sonza, who is from Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.

The project, released just before Coachella, blended a diverse range of rhythms such as pop, Brazilian funk, R&B and bossa nova -- a mix that, for Sonza, is the essence of Brazil.

"People from outside think that Brazil is just one thing, but Brazil is a country where we are a whole world in one (place). And I think that, obviously, is part of me," she said.

Sonza doesn't see musical genres and their rhythms as a label to fit into, but rather "as the feelings I had to sing about."

The Brazilian star, who is experiencing a meteoric rise in her career, maintained that music is what guides her.

"You have to have the courage to follow what you believe in, to take risks," she said. "I don't like to stay the same; I like to create and discover new things."

"Music keeps me moving, alive," she added.

The Coachella performance, a milestone in her burgeoning career, feels like a taste of what's to come for the artist as she prepares to embark on an international tour -- "showing the world a bit of 'Brutal Paradise'."

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A woman will command Australia's army for the first time since its founding 125 years ago, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Monday as he unveiled the "deeply historic" appointment.

Lieutenant general Susan Coyle was named Australia's Chief of Army following a three-decade career during which she has served in the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

"Her achievement means that she will be the first woman to command a service in Australian history," Marles told reporters. 

"And it is a deeply historic moment. As Susan said to me, you cannot be what you cannot see." 

Australia's army is in the throes of a major transformation, equipping itself with long-range firepower, drones and other modern combat tools.  

Coyle stressed her experience in areas such as cyber-warfare. 

"This breadth of experience provides a strong foundation for the responsibilities of command and the trust placed in me," she said.

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Iranian authorities executed at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest number since 1989, two NGOs said Monday, warning it risked using capital punishment even more extensively after protests in January and the war against Israel and the US.

The number of executions represented an increase of 68 percent on the 975 people Iran put to death in 2024, and also included 48 women who were hanged, Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) said in their joint annual report.

If the Islamic republic "survives the current crisis, there is a serious risk that executions will be used even more extensively as a tool of oppression and repression", the report said.

IHR -- which requires two sources to confirm an execution, the majority of which are not reported in Iranian official media -- said that the figure represented an "absolute minimum" for the number of hangings in 2025.

The figure amounted to an average of more than four executions per day.

The report said the number of executions was by far the highest since IHR began tracking it in 2008, and was the most reported since 1989, in the earlier years of the Islamic revolution.

The NGOs also warned that "hundreds of detained protesters remain at risk of death sentences and execution" after being charged with capital crimes over January 2026 protests against the authorities -- quashed by a crackdown that rights groups say left thousands dead and tens of thousands arrested.

"By creating fear through an average of four to five executions per day in 2025, authorities tried to prevent new protests and prolong their crumbling rule," said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

- 'Creating fear' -

Even during the war against Israel and the United States that began on February 28, Iran has hanged seven people in connection with the January protests: six convicted of membership in the banned opposition group People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK), and one dual Iranian-Swedish citizen charged with spying for Israel.

Raphael Chenuil-Hazan, executive director of ECPM, said: "The death penalty in Iran is used as a political tool of oppression and repression, with ethnic minorities and other marginalised groups disproportionately represented among those executed."

The report noted that the Kurdish minority in the west and the Baluch in southeast -- both of whom largely adhere to the Sunni strain of Islam rather than the Shia branch dominant in Iran -- are particularly targeted.

Almost half of those executed were convicted of drug-related offences, the report said. 

At least 48 women were executed, the highest number recorded in more than 20 years and a 55 percent increase from 2024, when 31 women were hanged, according to the NGOs.

Of these, 21 women were executed for the murder of their husbands or fiances, the report said. Rights groups have said women executed for killing spouses or relatives were often in abusive relationships.

Almost all hangings were carried out inside prisons, but public hangings more than tripled to 11 in 2025, the report said.

Iran's penal code allows for other methods of capital punishment, but in recent years all known executions have been carried out by hanging. 

Rights groups including Amnesty International say Iran carries out the most executions of any nation worldwide per capita, and the most of any country other than China, for which no reliable data is available.

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US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he is "not a big fan" of Pope Leo XIV, after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for peace.

"I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person, and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

He accused the pontiff of "toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon."

On Saturday, the 70-year-old American pope publicly implored leaders to end the violence, telling worshippers at St. Peter's Basilica: "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!"

Trump reiterated his comments to reporters with a post on Truth Social saying: "I don't want a Pope who think it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."

Washington and the Vatican have recently denied reports of a rift.

On Friday, a Vatican official denied reports that a top Pentagon official gave the church's envoy to the United States a "bitter lecture" over Pope Leo's criticisms of the Trump administration.

The story in the Free Press -- which the Pentagon had already dismissed as "distorted" -- reported that Cardinal Christophe Pierre was summoned in January to the Pentagon, where he was given a dressing-down by US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby.

The military official reportedly told the cardinal that the United States "has the military power to do whatever it wants -- and that the Church had better take its side."

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement "the account presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth in any way."

While both parties insist the meeting was cordial, the Holy See and the White House have openly been at odds over the Trump administration's hardline mass deportation campaign -- which the pope called "inhuman" -- and the use of military force in the Middle East and Venezuela. 

When Trump made genocidal threats against Iran Tuesday -- saying "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" -- the pontiff slammed the "truly unacceptable" statement and urged parties to "come back to the table" for negotiations. 

Earlier this month, Pope Leo hailed the news of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran as a "sign of real hope."

But peace talks between the United States and Iran, held in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, ended abruptly Saturday with US Vice President JD Vance telling reporters after a marathon-session of talks that Washington has delivered its "final and best offer."

sla/cms

Cooper Flagg's spectacular rookie NBA season ended in injury Sunday as he left the court with an ankle sprain during the Dallas Mavericks' win against the Chicago Bulls.

The 19-year-old forward who was the top pick in last year's NBA Draft departed during the second quarter of the Mavericks' final game, having played less than 10 minutes and scored 10 points.

"Cooper Flagg (left ankle sprain) will not return to tonight's game against the Chicago Bulls," said the Mavericks' social media account.

It was a bitter end to a regular season that was disappointing for the Mavericks, who failed to reach the playoffs, but full of personal records for Flagg.

Drafted first overall after a single college season at Duke University, Flagg this month became the first teenager to score 50 in an NBA game, during a loss to Orlando.

He also joined Michael Jordan as the only rookies to post multiple games of 45 or more points in their debut seasons.

Flagg is the favorite to win NBA Rookie of the Year, having scored 1,463 points with 462 rebounds and 315 assists.

His top competition comes from Charlotte Hornets star rookie Kon Knueppel -- a college roommate and teammate of Flagg.

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Oil prices surged and stocks sank Monday after US-Iran peace talks fell apart and Donald Trump announced a blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, adding to fears of energy supplies from the Middle East.

Negotiations in Islamabad at the weekend fell apart with the US delegation -- led by Vice President JD Vance -- blaming Iran's refusal to give up its nuclear programme and Tehran hitting out at "maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade".

The news dealt a blow to hopes for an end to the six-week conflict, which has sent crude prices soaring, pushing inflation up and sending shivers through the global economy.

Oil prices -- which tumbled last week after the United States and Iran agreed to a ceasefire -- jumped around eight percent Monday, with both contracts topping $100 a barrel.

Equities fell across Asia, with Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul off at least one percent, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei and Jakarta were also down.

In a lengthy social media post, US President Donald Trump said his goal was to clear the strait of mines and reopen it to all shipping.

But he said that Iran must not be allowed to profit from controlling the waterway -- through which a fifth of global oil and gas usually passes.

"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"

He said the blockade would only apply to vessels travelling to or from Iranian ports.

The US military said Sunday it will blockade all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT, effectively seizing control of maritime traffic.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said its security forces had full control over the strait and warned enemies would be trapped in a "deadly vortex" in case of any "wrong move".

Iran's navy chief Shahram Irani called Trump's threat "ridiculous and funny", according to state TV.

After the talks -- the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution -- Vance said Washington had made Tehran its "final and best offer," adding: "We'll see if the Iranians accept it."

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the rivals had been "inches away" from a deal, writing on X that "Iran engaged with US in good faith to end war".

But he added "we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade".

Nicole Grajewski, an assistant professor at the Center for International Research at Sciences Po in Paris, warned that a US blockade was "not a minor coercive signal" but would rather be considered an effective resumption of the war.

Fawad Razaqzada, a market analyst at Forex.com, said: "The fundamental issue remains trust — or rather, the lack of it — between two long-standing adversaries who still appear some distance from common ground."

Investors are also keeping an eye on attempts to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, as Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he was pushing to ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

"We will continue to work to stop this war, to ensure the Israeli withdrawal from all our lands, the return of all the prisoners, to rebuild our destroyed villages and towns, and the safe return of the displaced," Salam said.

The prospect of the Middle East crisis continuing for the foreseeable future ramped up inflation fears and weighed on gold amid expectations interest rates would be kept elevated.

Data Friday highlighted the impact of the conflict on prices, with the US consumer price index spiking at 3.3 percent in March, its highest since May last year.

- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -

West Texas Intermediate: UP 8.0 percent at $104.33 a barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 6.9 percent at $101.73 a barrel

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 56,357.40 (break)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.0 percent at 25,627.75

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,981.08

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1686 from $1.1728 on Friday

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3401 from $1.3463

Dollar/yen: UP at 159.67 yen from 159.19 yen

Euro/pound: UP at 87.20 pence from 87.11 pence

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