The US president has given Iran until 1am UK time to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying that otherwise ‘a whole civilisation will die tonight’. Pope Leo, an American, has condemned Trump’s threats, while Pakistan has called on the US to extend the deadline by two more weeks. 

Also on the programme: US Vice President JD Vance travels to Hungary to endorse its right-wing Prime Minister Victor Orban ahead of this weekend’s general election. 

And we hear from historian William Dalrymple about three millennia of Persian history.