Ata mārie and welcome to your Monday recap of international news from the weekend.
First up, US President Donald Trump said the US Navy will start a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, his first comments since talks between the US and Iran failed to reach agreement, the ABC reported.
Trump said Iran had promised to open the Strait of Hormuz but "knowingly failed to do so and Iran's actions were 'world extortion'."
"Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be blown to hell," Trump said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the waterway remained open for civilian vessels but said that military ships “will be dealt with severely”.
Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf blamed the US for the failure of negotiations, claiming US officials failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation, Al Jazeera reported.
US Vice President JD Vance.
US Vice President JD Vance said 21 hours of marathon talks had failed to reach consensus on ending the Middle East war amid a volatile ceasefire, the ABC noted.
"I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America," he said.
News agency Tasnim reported that "excessive demands" by the US had hindered negotiations. CNN said oil prices are expected to climb in response to a US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, exacerbating already slowed oil transportation.
“If we have a blockade, we still have the problem of a shortage in the market of about seven million barrels of crude, four million barrels of product not getting out. And we just added to that by making the Iranian barrels off the market,” Karen Young, senior scholar at Columbia University, said.
European airports warned that jet fuel shortages could hit the summer holiday season if oil supplies don’t resume flowing through the Strait of Hormuz within the next three weeks, the Guardian said.
Airports Council International Europe reportedly wrote to EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas about the impending shortages, according to the Financial Times.
In developing news, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat after 16 years in power. Péter Magyar is set to be the country's new prime minister with a landslide victory, the BBC reported.
Orbán's defeat will come as a blow to his close allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump. Magyar, a former Orbán ally, promised closer ties to the European Union and a strong anti-corruption agenda.
Meanwhile, US inflation soared in March as the war dragged on, with prices up 0.9% compared to February, and 3.3% on an annual basis, the Guardian reported.
The annual inflation rate had not pushed past 3% since 2024. Other key data showed US consumer confidence fell to a record low in April, according to a University of Michigan survey, CNBC reported.
The headline index of consumer sentiment fell to 47.6, down 10.7% from the March survey. Current conditions and expectations indexes also notched double-digit monthly declines.
The drop in sentiment coincided with a sharp spike in inflation expectations, with respondents expecting prices to jump 4.8% in a year from now.
In other news, a United Nations’ peacekeeping force in Lebanon said Israeli soldiers rammed UN vehicles with a tank, causing “significant damage”. The Israeli Defence Forces was assessing the allegations, CNN reported.
“Israeli soldiers have continually blocked peacekeepers’ movements on this road in recent days, in addition to denials of freedom of movement recorded in other areas,” the UN said.
Finally, China unveiled ten new incentive measures for Taiwan, including easing tourist restrictions, allowing in “healthy” television dramas, and food sales, CNBC reported.
Taiwan’s largest opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) chair Cheng Li-wun completed a trip to China and met with President Xi Jinping and talked about the need for peace and reconciliation.
