Trump orders US naval blockade of Hormuz, Iran calls threats 'ridiculous'

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President Donald Trump said Sunday he does not care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the United States after talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal.

"I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, upon his return from Florida.

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a scathing attack on Pope Leo late on Sunday, calling him "weak" on crime and "terrible" for foreign policy after the religious leader criticized Trump's foreign and immigration policies.

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social. 

 U.S. President Donald Trump and his advisers are looking at resuming limited military strikes in Iran in addition to the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a way to break a stalemate in peace talks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing officials and people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

The  US Central Command said late on Sunday it will begin the blockade of Iranian ports on Monday at 10 am Eastern time. 

The announcement comes following the collapse of peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan. 

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Sunday that he was working to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war, even as Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu told troops in south Lebanon that the fight there was far from over.

The health ministry said at least six people were killed in Israeli strikes in the south on Sunday, including a Red Cross paramedic.

The Lebanese Red Cross said in a statement that its personnel were "directly targeted by an Israeli drone" while carrying out a humanitarian mission, noting "the ambulances and their crews bore the protective Red Cross emblem".

And the United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL said an Israeli tank rammed its vehicles on two occasions, "in one case causing significant damage".

Iran's parliament speaker, who led peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, said Sunday that his country would not give in to threats after US President Donald Trump ordered a naval blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"If they fight, we will fight, and if they come forward with logic, we will deal with logic. We will not bow to any threats, let them test our will once again so that we can teach them a bigger lesson," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told reporters after returning to Tehran from Islamabad, several Iranian news agencies reported.

Iran had very good initiatives to show goodwill in talks with the United States, which led to progress in the negotiations, the country's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said in comments carried by state media on Sunday.

Ghalibaf said U.S. President Donald Trump's new threats will have no effect on the Iranian nation.

"If you fight, we will fight, and if you come forward with logic, we will deal with logic," he said. 

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry summoned the Iraqi ambassador to deliver a formal complaint, state media reported Sunday, saying the protest concerned attacks launched from the country.

The ministry "stressed the kingdom's condemnation and denunciation of attacks originating from Iraqi territory against the kingdom and the Gulf states", the Saudi Press Agency said in a post on social media that included a photo of a meeting between the ambassador and a Saudi envoy.

The statement marks one of the first official accusations in the region, suggesting that attacks targeting the Gulf states during the fighting between Iran and the US and Israel may have been launched from Iraq.

The diplomatic protest comes just days after a similar complaint was issued by the US.

Along with the Gulf states, Iraq was dragged into the war between the US, Israel and Iran, with strikes repeatedly targeting both US interests -- especially the embassy in Baghdad -- and pro-Iranian groups in the country.

The Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that Iranian security forces had the Strait of Hormuz shipping bottleneck under their full control, warning that enemies would be trapped in a "deadly vortex" in the case of any miscalculation.

"All traffic... is under the full control of the armed forces," the Guards' naval command said in a Persian-language post on X after President Donald Trump ordered a US naval blockade of the Strait.

"The enemy will become trapped in a deadly vortex in the Strait if it makes the wrong move," it added, posting a video showing vessels in crosshairs.

In a separate statement released by the Guards' public relations office, the force's naval command insisted that "contrary to the false claims of some enemy officials", the Strait of Hormuz is "open to the harmless passage of civilian vessels in compliance with specific relevant regulations".

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said that an Israeli tank rammed peacekeeping vehicles on Sunday in the country's south, where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since last month.

"On two occasions today, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers rammed UNIFIL vehicles with a Merkava tank, in one case causing significant damage," the statement said, adding that the Israeli soldiers had blocked a road in south Lebanon's Bayada "that is used to access UNIFIL positions".

"Over the past week, Israeli soldiers have fired 'warning shots' in the area, striking and damaging clearly identifiable UNIFIL vehicles. In one case, a 'warning shot' landed a metre away from a peacekeeper who had dismounted his vehicle," the statement added.

Lebanese official media reported extensive Israeli strikes across the country's south on Sunday as the health ministry said at least five people were killed and the war's overall toll rose to 2,055 dead.

Israel says the fragile Middle East ceasefire does not apply to its battle with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and has kept up its attacks on the country, while the militants fight back.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israel attacks on around 30 locations in the country's south on Sunday, with additional strikes on the adjacent West Bekaa area.

The health ministry said an Israeli strike on Qana killed five people, including three women, and wounded 25 others, while the NNA said the raid targeted "homes and infrastructure".

The head of the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization, which sits under the country's judiciary, said on Sunday that 3,375 people in Iran had been killed in the war with the United States and Israel.

"During the recent imposed war, the bodies of 3,375 martyrs were identified by the Legal Medicine Organization using scientific and specialised methods," said Abbas Masjedi, state news agency IRNA reported.

He said the toll included 2,875 males and 496 females, without specifying if they were adults or children, according to the agency.

Due to reporting restrictions, AFP is not able to access the sites of strikes nor to independently verify tolls in Iran.

Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had summoned Iraq's ambassador over what it described as threats targeting the kingdom and other Gulf states from drones launched from Iraqi territory.

The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement that it had "emphasised the importance of Iraq dealing responsibly with these threats and attacks".

President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened China with "staggering" new tariffs on its goods entering the United States if Beijing provides military assistance to Iran during the Middle East war.

"If we catch them doing that, they get a 50 percent tariff, which is a staggering - that's a staggering amount," Trump told Fox News show "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo."

The US leader is scheduled to visit Beijing next month for talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, after delaying an earlier summit because of the war against Iran.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday reiterated his threat to destroy Iran's power plants and other civilian energy infrastructure if no deal is reached to end the conflict in the Middle East.

"I could take out Iran in one day," Trump told Fox News show "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo." "I could have their entire energy everything, every one of their plants, their electric generating plants, which is a big deal."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Sunday said Iranian security forces had the Strait of Hormuz key shipping bottleneck under full control, warning that enemies would be trapped in its "deadly vortex" in case of any miscalculation.

"All traffic... is under the full control of the armed forces," the Guards naval command said in a Persian language post on X after President Donald Trump ordered a US naval blockade of the Strait.

"The enemy will become trapped in a deadly vortex in the Strait if it makes the wrong move," it added, posting a video showing vessels in crosshairs.

Israel's war with Iran incurred 35 billion shekels ($11.52 billion) in budgetary expenses, with 22 billion shekels of that going to defence, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday, citing a preliminary estimate.

The amount has already been added to the 2026 budget, it said.

A sailing vessel was approached by a skiff with armed men on board 54 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's Hodeidah, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Sunday.

UKMTO said the skiff was turned away after the master deployed a flare.

Oman's foreign minister on Sunday called for more talks between Iran and the US and for the ceasefire to be extended, hours after negotiations failed to reach a deal during a high-stakes meeting in Pakistan.

"I urge that the ceasefire be extended and talks continue," Badr al-Busaidi wrote in a post on X.

"Success may require everyone to make painful concessions, but this is nothing as compared to the pain of failure and war."

President Donald Trump on Sunday said the US Navy would immediately start blockading the Strait of Hormuz and would also interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran.

Trump made his remarks in a Truth Social post.

Diplomacy is "essential" to resolve the war in the Middle East, a European Union spokesman said Sunday.

Noting failed US-Iranian talks hosted by Pakistan, EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said "we salute Pakistan for its mediation efforts" and added Brussels would contribute to further efforts to reach a settlement in coordination with its partners.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday that he was ready to help mediate efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.

"Vladimir Putin emphasised his readiness to further facilitate the search for a political and diplomatic settlement to the conflict, and to mediate efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.

The entire US negotiating team has left the failed Iran talks in Islamabad, a US official said Sunday, leaving nobody in the Pakistani capital to pursue back-channel discussions.

During a refuelling stop in Germany's Ramstein Air Base for Air Force 2, carrying Vice President JD Vance back from negotiations on ending the Middle East war, a US official told reporters that no team members stayed behind in Islamabad, including chief negotiators Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Speculation had risen that one or both of Trump's envoys might stay behind to pursue further discussions, after the marathon talks failed to produce any substantive progress over the conflict with Iran.

Israel is carrying out more raids in southern Lebanon, including the towns of Bint Jbeil and Siddiqin, Al Jazeera is reporting.

Raids were also reported earlier in Haniya and Shaitiya, also in the south.

Pope Leo XIV expressed his closeness to the people of Lebanon on Sunday, saying there was a "moral obligation" to protect them while calling on warring parties to seek peace.

"I am closer than ever, in these days of sorrow, fear, and unconquerable hope in God, to the beloved Lebanese people," the pope told the crowd at St Peter's Square following his Regina Coeli prayer, citing "a moral obligation to protect the civilian population from the atrocious effects of war."

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir raided the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Sunday, saying he was seeking greater access for Jewish worshippers and drawing condemnation from Jordan.

"Today, I feel like the owner here," Ben-Gvir said in a video filmed at the site and distributed by his office. "There is still more to do, more to improve. I keep pushing the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) to do more and more — we must keep rising higher and higher."

A statement from the Jordanian foreign ministry said it considered Ben-Gvir's visit to be a violation of the status quo agreement at the site and "a desecration of its sanctity, a condemnable escalation and an unacceptable provocation".

Ben-Gvir's spokesman said the minister was seeking greater access and prayer permits for Jewish visitors. He also said that Ben-Gvir had prayed at the site.

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was part of peace talks with the United States this weekend, said on Sunday that Washington was "unable" to win Tehran's trust during the discussions.

"My colleagues in the Iranian delegation... put forward constructive initiatives but ultimately the other side was unable to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations," Ghalibaf said in a post on X.

Iran's former foreign minister Javad Zarif, who led his country's delegation at 2015 nuclear talks, on Sunday blamed the failure of negotiations to end the Middle East war on US attempts to "dictate" its terms.

On X, he asked: "Want to know why negotiations did not succeed?" before quoting US Vice President JD Vance as saying: "They have not to accept our term".

"Bingo," said Zarif. "No negotiations - at least with Iran - will succeed based on 'our/your terms'.

"The US must learn: you can't dictate terms to Iran. It is not too late to learn, yet."

UK government minister Wes Streeting on Sunday said it was "disappointing" that negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad had stalled.

"It's obviously disappointing that we haven't yet seen a breakthrough in negotiations and an end to this war in Iran that is a sustainable one," Streeting told Sky News.

"As ever in diplomacy, you're failing, until you succeed. So while these talks may not have ended in success, (it) doesn't mean there isn't merit in continuing to try," the health minister added.

At least six people have been killed in an Israeli raid on the southern Lebanese town of Maaroub, Tyre district, on Sunday, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) is reporting. 

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Sunday urged a continuation of the Middle East ceasefire after US-Iran talks ended with no deal.

"The priority now must be to continue the ceasefire and return to negotiations," Wong said in a statement, adding it was "disappointing that the Islamabad talks between the United States and Iran have ended without agreement".

Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said on Sunday that its key east-west oil pipeline and other facilities had been restored following attacks by Iran on infrastructure across the Gulf.

"Energy facilities and the east-west pipeline damaged by attacks have recovered and regained their operational capacity, enhancing the reliability of supplies," the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing an energy ministry statement.

It added that the attacks had led to a "loss of approximately 700,000 barrels per day of pumping capacity through the east-west pipeline" and work was underway to restore full production capacity at the kingdom's Khurais oil field.