Iran war briefing: Trump ‘orders extended blockade’ in attempt to hurt Tehran’s finances

• Donald Trump has directed his team to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, with talks to end the war held at an impasse in an attempt to hurt the country’s finances, according to a report.
• Trump has also told White House aides that Iran’s latest peace proposal shows that its leadership is negotiating in bad faith.
• Former US officials have criticised the lack of transparency over the deadly Minab school strike, calling the Pentagon’s silence “highly unusual”.
• Energy prices are expected to surge by 24 per cent in 2026 if the most acute disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East end in May, the World Bank said.
• Donald Trump said during a White House state dinner with King Charles that the monarch agrees that Tehran should never have a nuclear weapon.