Donald Trump has claimed Iran has a ‘less radicalised’ new president who has asked him for a ceasefire – but that he will refuse until the Strait of Hormuz has reopened.
It was unclear who the US president was referring to in his post on Truth Social, as Iran’s current president Masoud Pezeshkian has been in the role since July 2024.
Pezeshkian said yesterday Iran has the ‘necessary will’ to end the war ‘provided that essential conditions are met’, according to the president of the European Council following a phone conversation.
Trump’s post went further, suggesting the country’s leadership had asked the US for the fighting to end.
He wrote: ‘Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!
‘We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!’
It is the latest in a series of confusing posts from the president as pressure ramps up on the global economy.
The price of oil and gas has spiked while Iran continues to block tankers from passing through the crucial Strait.
In a post yesterday, Trump called on countries struggling with a lack of fuel supply to ‘build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.’
His comment raised questions over whether the US was preparing to withdraw from the Middle East without securing the reopening of the waterway.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said today the UK will host talks between 35 countries later this week to ‘assess all viable diplomatic and political measures we can take to restore freedom of navigation’.
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