Conflict appears to have reached painful stalemate, but leaders in Tehran and Washington seem to think victory is near

The month-old ceasefire between Iran and the US appeared to be in new peril on Tuesday with a fresh barrage of Iranian missiles reported to have targeted the United Arab Emirates as US naval forces pressed ahead with efforts to reopen the strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian strike on the UAE was the second in 48 hours, and came shortly after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, insisted the shaky truce which has paused the war in the Middle East was intact, despite the new increase in violence.

From economic woes to concerns that war could break out again at any moment, underlying worries run deep

In the weeks since the fragile ceasefire with the US and Israel took hold, life in Tehran has – on the surface at least – largely returned to something like prewar normality. Many security checkpoints have been taken down, coffee shops are bustling, parks are full of people gathering for picnics, musicians are playing again in the streets, highways are jammed with traffic and the metro – free to use since the war – runs packed.

But underlying worries run deep, and many Iranians fear the war could return at any moment. The uncertainty was underlined on Monday when the US and Iran launched fresh attacks in the Gulf as the two sides continue to blockade of the strait of Hormuz. The war’s economic toll has been severe too. Many people have lost their jobs and inflation is surging. The International Monetary Fund estimates it could reach 70% this year.

Letter from House Democrats to secretary of state calls for end to ambiguity over Israel’s nuclear weapons programs

House Democrats have asked the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, to publicly announce that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, arguing that Washington must end decades of ambiguity over the issue amid the conflict with Iran.

In a letter sent on Monday, 30 Democrats wrote that it was unsustainable for Donald Trump to collaborate with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on a military campaign against Iran – with the stated goal of preventing the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon – without publicly acknowledging the US ally’s possession of the bomb.

UK chancellor said to have told US treasury secretary she did not like his tone during meeting in Washington in April

• UK politics live – latest updates

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Rachel Reeves had an angry exchange with her US counterpart, Scott Bessent, in Washington last month over the war in Iran, sources have said, in the latest sign of the deepening tensions between the two countries.

The chancellor and the US treasury secretary argued in person during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, according to people briefed on the exchange, confirming a story first reported by the Financial Times.

US president directs fresh criticism at pontiff days before secretary of state Marco Rubio’s visit to Vatican

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Donald Trump has issued a fresh verbal attack against Pope Leo XIV, accusing the pontiff of “endangering a lot of Catholics” because “he thinks it’s fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon”.

The remarks come two days before Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, meets Leo at the Vatican in an effort to ease the tensions sparked by Trump’s previous broadside against the Chicago-born pontiff over his condemnation of the US-Israeli war on Iran.