Trump Demands Opening of Strait of Hormuz as Condition for Iran Ceasefire

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that the Iranian president had requested a truce, posting on his Truth Social platform that the "President of the New Regime in Iran" had asked for a ceasefire, while setting the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as the sole condition for considering any halt to hostilities. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied the claim, telling Al Jazeera that Iran had made no such request and warning that Tehran would not respond to threats or ultimatums. The conflicting statements came hours before Trump was scheduled to deliver a primetime televised address at 21:00 ET on Wednesday regarding the course of the five-week-old conflict. Trump did not identify by name the Iranian official he said made the request, though multiple outlets noted it likely referred to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has served as president since 2024. No independent confirmation of a ceasefire request from Tehran was available at the time of publication.

Trump threatens total destruction if Hormuz stays closed In his Truth Social post, Trump warned of severe consequences if the strait remained closed and no deal was reached.

„The President of the New Regime in Iran, much less Radicalized and much smarter than his predecessors, just asked the United States of America for a TRUCE! We will consider it when the Strait of Hormuz is open, free and unobstructed. Until then, we are blowing Iran into non-existence, or as they say, back to the Stone Age!!!” — Donald Trump via Truth Social, as reported by Reuters

Two days earlier, on March 30, Trump had threatened to destroy Iranian power plants, oil wells, Kharg Island, and desalination plants if negotiations failed. In a Reuters telephone interview on Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. military would leave Iran "fairly quickly" and could return for "point strikes" if necessary. He stated that U.S. military action had ensured Iran would not possess a nuclear weapon, adding: "They won't have a nuclear weapon because they are incapable of it now." Trump also expressed hope that a deal could be reached with Iran's new leadership, saying: "We have a very good chance of making a deal because they don't want to be bombed anymore." On the question of enriched uranium still held by Iran, Trump said it was "so deep underground that I don't care about it" and that the U.S. would monitor it by satellite.

The conflict began on February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the operation. Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali Khamenei's son, was subsequently appointed Supreme Leader on March 9, 2026. Masoud Pezeshkian has served as Iran's president since 2024, following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. According to reporting by Iran International, cited in source articles, growing tensions between the Pezeshkian administration and Iran's military leadership have pushed the president into a "total political impasse," with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps effectively blocking presidential appointments and taking control of key state functions.

Iran's foreign minister flatly rejects ceasefire narrative Abbas Araghchi pushed back sharply against Trump's characterization of events, stating in his Al Jazeera interview that Iran had not entered into negotiations and that only Tehran and Oman would decide the future of the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi confirmed that messages had been passed between Washington and Tehran through U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff but said these did not constitute negotiations.

„You cannot talk to the Iranian people in the language of threats and ultimatums. We do not set deadlines for defending ourselves.” — Abbas Araghchi via Al Jazeera, as reported by Adevarul.ro

Araghchi also warned that Iran was prepared for a land war and that it would further restrict enemy ships' access through the strait. The contradictory public statements from both sides highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the conflict, with both governments simultaneously projecting toughness while leaving open the possibility of a negotiated outcome. Source articles noted that Trump's latest comments appeared to mark a shift from earlier suggestions that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was not a prerequisite for ending the war. The strait's near-total closure by Iranian forces had already pushed Brent crude oil prices to 112.57 (USD per barrel) — Brent crude peak this week, highest since 2022, up from approximately 73 dollars per barrel before the conflict began on February 28. By Wednesday, however, oil prices fell roughly 2% to approximately 102 dollars per barrel following Trump's comments about a potential deal.

Trump threatens NATO exit, markets climb on deal hopes Alongside his Iran statements, Trump told Reuters that one element of his Wednesday evening speech would be an expression of "disgust" toward NATO over what he described as the alliance's failure to support U.S. objectives in Iran. Trump told the Daily Telegraph that he was "absolutely" considering withdrawing the United States from the alliance, calling it a "paper tiger" and saying the withdrawal was now "beyond reconsideration." "They weren't friends when we needed them," Trump said in his Reuters interview. "We never asked them for much... it's a one-way street." A day earlier, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth had declined to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to NATO's collective defense clause, saying the decision rested with Trump, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington would need to "re-examine" its relations with the alliance once the Iran conflict ended. Financial markets reacted positively to the prospect of a deal: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 363 (points (0.8%)) — Dow Jones gain on ceasefire hopes Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also recording gains. The Pentagon was simultaneously preparing military options for Trump and deploying additional forces to the region, including the USS Tripoli with approximately 5,000 sailors and marines, the USS Boxer, and thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division along with special forces units.

2026-02-27: 73, 2026-04-01: 112.57, 2026-04-01: 102