WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Iran has asked the United States for a ceasefire and said he will only consider the request after Iran has reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
Until then, Trump added, “we are blasting Iran into oblivion” and “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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
It is not clear who President Trump is referring to. There has been no confirmation of a ceasefire request from Iran.
Since the US and Israel began air strikes on Iran on 28 February, a number of senior Iranian leaders have been killed, including the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He was succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, on 8 March. He has issued a number of written statements since then, but has not appeared in public. Trump himself has said he doesn’t know if he is alive.
Iran does not have a new president. Masoud Pezeshkian, who was elected in 2024, has appeared in public – most recently yesterday, according to Iranian media. He said yesterday that Iran had the “necessary will” to end the war.
Trump has previously said the opening of the Strait of Hormuz is not a problem for the United States and has previously suggested it would open as soon as the war ends.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said, as cited by Al Jazeera, that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is “firmly and dominantly” under its control and “will not be opened to the enemies of this nation by the ridiculous displays of the US President”.
Later, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has made no ceasefire proposal, Al Jazeera reported, citing the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
He is also reported to have said the war will continue until “the aggressor is punished and full compensation is paid to Iran”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi:
🚨No ceasefire proposal has been made by Iran.
🚨The five-point plan allegedly proposed by Iran is media #speculation.
🚨The war will continue until the aggressor is punished and full compensation is paid to Iran.
— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) April 1, 2026
US to leave Iran in ‘two to three weeks’
On Tuesday, Trump said the US could end its military campaign against Iran within two to three weeks, stressing that Tehran would not need to agree to a deal for the conflict to conclude.
“We’ll be leaving very soon,” Trump said at the White House on Tuesday, adding the withdrawal could take place “within two weeks, maybe two weeks, maybe three,” reports BBC.
When asked whether diplomacy was necessary to end the war, Trump dismissed the idea. “Iran doesn’t have to make a deal, no,” he said. “No, they don’t have to make a deal with me.”
When asked about gas prices and American concerns over safety amid the war in Iran, President Trump said during a White House press event on Tuesday that, “All I have to do is leave Iran, and we’ll be doing that very soon.”
Read more: https://t.co/nv3TRH9CRG pic.twitter.com/drI4Ez3yjd
— ABC News (@ABC) March 31, 2026
‘We can see the finish line’
Earlier on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US can see the “finish line” in the war with Iran, while indicating that ties with NATO may be reassessed after the conflict.
“We can see the finish line. It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it is coming,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
The war began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting Tehran to respond with strikes targeting Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases.
Joint US-Israeli strikes in Iran, along with Israeli attacks in Lebanon, have killed thousands and displaced millions, while also pushing up oil prices and unsettling global markets.
SECRETARY RUBIO: We’re well on our way and ahead of schedule on each of our objectives. We can see the finish line.
Our military is achieving our objectives with extraordinary efficiency, something that I think will go down in history as one of the best-run tactical military… pic.twitter.com/g6d4ewPsnb
— Department of State (@StateDept) April 1, 2026
US ‘finishing the job’ in Iran
Earlier, Trump criticised European allies, singling out the United Kingdom in remarks on Truth Social, suggesting countries facing fuel disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz should take stronger action.
Trump said the US had largely achieved its objectives since launching air strikes in coordination with Israel late last month. He claimed efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear capabilities had succeeded and that Washington was now “finishing the job”.
The president also asserted that the US now dominates Iranian airspace and suggested that recent strikes had led to leadership changes in Tehran, describing the new leadership as “less radicalised” and “more rational”.
He further claimed Iranian officials were “begging to make a deal”, though such assertions have previously been denied by Tehran. Trump reiterated that the war could end without any formal agreement between the two sides.
Addressing concerns over rising fuel prices, Trump said costs would decline once US military operations come to an end.
