President Donald Trump said April 1 that Iran’s president has requested a ceasefire, which he said the U.S. would consider only after the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened to oil traffic. Tehran disputed Trump’s claim hours later.
“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!!!”
"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… pic.twitter.com/q1VhhPxtmi
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 1, 2026
Trump did not identify which Iranian leader he was referring to. Iran has a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father last month after he was killed in the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Iran’s current president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has held office since July 2024.
According to an Iranian state television report cited by AP News, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei called Trump’s claim that the country was seeking a ceasefire “false and baseless.” Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued a separate statement April 1 saying the Hormuz Strait is “firmly and decisively” under its control.
“This strait will not be opened to the enemies of this nation through the ridiculous spectacle by the president of the United States,” the statement said, according to AP News.
A spokesperson for the office of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian echoed that position, saying on social media, “The stance of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the defense of the homeland against the onslaught of the forces of evil and the conditions for ending the imposed war has undergone no change, and there is no regard whatsoever for the delusions and lies of the criminal aggressors.”
موضع جمهوری اسلامی ایران در قبال دفاع میهنی از کیان کشور در برابر تجاوز اهریمنان و شرایط پایان جنگ تحمیلی هیچ تغییری نکرده است و هیچ اعتنایی به توهمات و دروغ گویی جنایتکاران وجود ندارد.
— سيد مهدي طباطبايي (@tabaei1356) April 1, 2026
ملت ایران، مصمم ، استوار و متحد از کیان سرزمین خود دفاع میکنند. #وحدت رمز پیروزی ماست.
He added that the Iranian nation is “resolute, steadfast, and united” in defending its homeland, according to an unofficial translation of the post.
Trump is scheduled to address the nation during the evening of April 1. His latest post came on day 33 of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow chokepoint through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes — sending global energy prices higher. Trump has repeatedly warned he will expand strikes on Iranian power plants, the Kharg Island oil export hub, and possibly desalination plants if the waterway remains blocked.
In a phone interview with Reuters later April 1, Trump said American forces will withdraw from Iran soon but may come back for “spot hits.” He added that there is a “very good chance that we’ll make a deal [with Iran] because they don’t want to be blasted anymore.”
“They won’t have a nuclear weapon because they are incapable of that now,” Trump said, “and then I’ll leave, and I’ll take everybody with me, and if we have to, we’ll come back to do spot hits.”