US President Donald Trump says Tehran has asked for a ceasefire in its conflict with the US and Israel.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on 1 April, Trump said the “new president of Iran” had “just asked the United States of America for a ceasefire”.
“We will consider it when the Strait of Hormuz is open, free and clear. Until then, we are taking Iran back to oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Age,” he added.
Iranian authorities have not yet reacted to the statement.
The day before, on March 31, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the next few days would be “decisive” in the conflict. He also cited intelligence assessments indicating weakened Iranian forces, declining morale, manpower shortages and reports of defections after sustained US attacks.
The joint US-Israeli operation against Iran, which began on 28 February, resulted in the death of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a large number of other senior Iranian regime officials.
In response, the Iranian military has attacked with missiles and drones not only Israeli or US military installations in the region, but also many of its regional neighbours, which Tehran considers US allies.
Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz almost as soon as the war in the Middle East began. Up to a fifth of all offshore oil exports (about 20 million barrels per day) and liquefied natural gas passed through the strait. Blocking the strait led to a sharp rise in oil prices. At the end of March, the Iranian parliament announced its intention to charge tolls for passage through the strait