PARIS, France (AFP) — The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Hezbollah urges Lebanon against Israel talks

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem on Monday urged Lebanon to cancel a planned meeting with Israel in Washington, reiterating his group’s rejection of direct negotiations with Israel.

“We call for a historic and heroic stance by cancelling this negotiating meeting,” Qassem, whose Iran-backed group has been at war with Israel since March 2, said in a televised address.

The Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States (US) are scheduled to meet on Tuesday.

Tough outlook for energy markets

April could shape up to be a tougher month than March for energy markets and the economy, the head of the International Energy Agency said Monday.

Fatih Birol said March saw delivery of cargo loaded before the crisis in the Middle East, but “during the month of April, nothing has been loaded.”

“The longer the disruption is, the more severe the problem becomes,” he told reporters after a meeting at the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

Trump says ships pass Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump said that 34 ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz, but the figure could not be immediately corroborated.

“[This] is by far the highest number since this foolish closure began,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday.

No Trump apology

Trump said he had “nothing to apologise for” after criticising Pope Leo XIV’s calls for an end to the conflict in the Middle East.

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I’m doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran,” said Trump, adding that the US-born pope was “very weak on crime and other things.”

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned Trump’s criticism of Leo as “unacceptable”.

Trump: Iran wants a deal

Trump said Iranian representatives had called to make a peace deal after talks in Pakistan ended at the weekend without agreement.

“I can tell you that we’ve been called by the other side. They’d like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly,” he told reporters outside the Oval Office, without identifying which officials had called.

US to destroy Iran ‘attack ships’

Trump said US forces would destroy any Iranian “fast attack ships” that approach the American naval blockade of Iranian ports that came into effect on Monday.

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED,” he said on his Truth Social network, adding that the rest of Iran’s navy had been “completely obliterated.”

The US military would be “using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at sea,” the president said, referring to airstrikes on alleged narcotics boats off the coast of Venezuela.

Pakistan: truce ‘holding’

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a ceasefire between the United States and Iran was “holding” and that efforts were underway to reach an agreement after weekend talks failed to do so.

“The ceasefire is still holding and, as I speak, full efforts are underway to resolve the outstanding issues,” Sharif told a cabinet meeting in brief televised remarks.