Donald Trump has launched a fresh, sharp attack on Pope Leo XIV, calling the pontiff “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” and saying it’s hurting the Catholic Church.
The US president also posted on Truth Social that only because he was president did the US-born Leo become pope. In the same message, Trump wrote that “Unfortunately, Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me…” and urged the pope to “get his act together,” use “Common Sense,” stop “catering to the Radical Left,” and focus on being a “Great Pope, not a Politician.”
The criticism came after Pope Leo denounced what he called the “delusion of omnipotence,” describing it as fuelling the US-Israel war in Iran and demanding that political leaders stop and negotiate peace. Misryoum newsroom reported the pope also presided over an evening prayer service in St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday as the US-Iran talks began in Pakistan amid a fragile ceasefire. He did not mention the US or Trump by name in the prayer, but the tone and message were widely read as aimed at US officials who, in recent comments, have leaned on claims of military superiority and justified the war using religious terms.
Trump’s response was immediate too—speaking to reporters in Maryland soon after the post. Misryoum newsroom reported that he said: “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job,” and added that he was “not a fan of Pope Leo.” The back-and-forth lands as diplomacy has already stumbled. Misryoum editorial desk noted that the weekend talks in Pakistan were framed as an attempt to test resolve, but it also felt unlikely they could wrap up a dispute that stretches back years.
Misryoum analysis indicates the negotiations in Islamabad drew in large teams, with Iran sending two planeloads of negotiators and the US bringing not just vice-president JD Vance but nearly 300 other officials. Still, the talks appear to have collided with the sheer weight of issues—beyond nuclear ambitions, the future control of the strait of Hormuz and US compensation for its attack on Iran. Misryoum newsroom also reported the taunt from Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who posted on X an image suggesting US gas prices in the White House area, saying: “Enjoy the current pump figures. With the so-called ‘blockade’, Soon you’ll be nostalgic for $4–$5 gas.”
After the talks failed to reach a deal, Trump vowed to block the strait of Hormuz and said the navy would interdict every vessel in international waters that had paid a toll to Iran. Misryoum newsroom reported that US Central Command announced it would begin implementing a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on April 13 at 10am ET [1400 GMT], in accordance with the president’s proclamation. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that approaching military vessels to the strait of Hormuz is considered a violation of the ceasefire.
Even in markets, the shift was quick. Oil prices rose again in early trading on Sunday after Trump’s blockade vow, with US crude increasing 8% to $104.24 a barrel and Brent crude rising 7% to $102.29. Misryoum editorial team stated that the strait—through which about a fifth of the world’s traded oil typically flows every day—remains central to energy shipping. And somewhere in the background of all this, you could almost imagine the ordinary, physical world continuing: a muted hiss of traffic outside, the smell of coffee in a kitchen, while officials argue over which route ships take. The policy language, though, is stark—and it’s now shaping the next phase of the standoff, even as a longer diplomatic outcome still hangs in the balance.
Oil prices jump after Trump says U.S. will blockade Hormuz