President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran’s new leadership has asked the United States for a ceasefire.
In a Truth Social post, Trump stated the request came from Iran’s “New Regime President.” Trump said the new president was “less radicalized” and “more intelligent” than his predecessors.
“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear,” Trump wrote. “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”
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It is not clear who the new “regime president” of Iran is, and Trump did not specify further in his statement.
The Strait of Hormuz is a key maritime channel through which about 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies are shipped. Iran’s closure of the strait has led to a steep increase in the cost of oil, leading to a spike in the price of gas, which hit a national average of $4 a gallon on Tuesday.
Trump waved off the rise in gas prices when asked by reporters, saying that they would come down when the U.S. military operations against Iran end.
“All I have to do is leave Iran, and we’ll be doing that very soon, and they’ll come tumbling down,” Trump said.
The president projected Tuesday that the war against Iran would be over “within maybe two weeks, maybe a couple of days longer to do the job.”
He has repeatedly insisted that Iranian negotiators want to make a deal to end the war and that they allowed oil ships through the Strait of Hormuz last week to show they are “real and solid,” despite public posturing from Iranian officials that no negotiations are taking place.
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“Well, I guess they were right, and they were, they were real, and I think they were Pakistani-flagged,” Trump said. “And I said, ‘Well, I guess we’re dealing with the right people.’
Trump is set to address the nation Wednesday night at 9 p.m. Eastern, though it is not clear what he plans to speak about.