Iran-US war latest: Trump hits out at Pope again as Tehran says US president ‘betraying diplomacy’

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has walked back on previous comments that any deal between the US and Iran would be a good deal.

He made the comments while speaking in Singapore on Friday.

But when asked about the comments, he claimed that he never said that any deal would be a good deal, accusing the press of being “disingenuous”.

“I said it will be a good deal, an important clarification that maybe CNN can get right,” he said.

He added that the president is “patient” and is “only going to get a great deal”.

A fierce heatwave gripping large parts of Asia is straining coal and gas markets as surging demand for air conditioning collides with the energy crunch caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran, increasing the risk of a severe crisis with the hottest months of the year still to come.

Donald Trump has unleashed his latest attack on Pope Leo, reigniting the feud between the US president and pontiff.

The two have stood at odds on several issues, including the war in Iran and Trump’s hardline immigration policy.

In his latest criticism of the religious leader, Donald Trump said Pope Leo needed reminding that Iran cannot have a nuclear-weapon.

It follows a jab from Trump earlier this month, in which he accused the Pope of “endangering a lot of Catholics”.​

He said the religious leader “would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

“I don’t think that’s very good,” he added.

“I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people, but I guess, if it’s up to the Pope. He thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”​

Prior to that, the Pope had criticised Trump’s “unacceptable” threat to Iran, in which he said a “whole civilisation will die”.

He also suggested that a “delusion of omnipotence” was fuelling the Iran war.

In response, President Trump took to Truth Social to say Pope Leo was “WEAK” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy.

He then posted a controversial AI-generated picture of himself as Jesus healing the sick.

The leader of the Catholic Church responded to say he had “no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the gospel”.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has come to Pope Leo’s support, denouncing Trump’s criticism as “unacceptable”.

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.”

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.”

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 place”,

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 it”.