Donald Trump has announced that Iran’s new leadership is requesting a ceasefire, but warned any truce is contingent on the Strait of Hormuz reopening.
The President claimed that the ‘new regime president’ was ‘much less radicalized and far more intelligent that his predecessors’, without revealing with whom the US was negotiating, in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday morning.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) branded Trump’s claims ‘nonsense’ and said that the Islamic regime would not be moved by his ‘absurd displays.’
Stocks moved higher Wednesday, building on a relief rally the previous session, after Trump signaled he was prepared to end the war even if Hormuz remains closed.
The market buoyancy came even as Trump muddied the waters again, writing in his post that a ceasefire would only come when the Strait is ‘open, free, and clear.’
‘Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages,’ he added.
But this was also shot down by the IRGC which said: ‘The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is also firmly and dominantly under the control of the naval forces.’
Trump also said he was considering pulling out of NATO and planned to express his ‘disgust’ with the alliance during a 9pm ET address to the nation on the Iran war.
The Pentagon is giving Trump a range of military options, massing thousands of Marines and paratroopers on Tehran’s doorstep as America’s Arab allies urge the President to seize the opportunity to kill off the regime.
Trump said Wednesday morning that Iran’s new leadership has asked for a ceasefire
A ball of fire rises from the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a building adjacent to the highway that leads to Beirut’s international airport on March 31
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was spotted walking the streets of Tehran on Tuesday evening
The USS Tripoli arrived in the Middle East on Friday, composed of around 5,000 sailors and Marines distributed across several warships.
They will soon be joined by the San Diego-based USS Boxer amphibious assault ship, and two other vessels comprising the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Also heading to the region are thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne, who will apparently be accompanied by hundreds of Special Forces.
The UAE is reportedly prepared to deploy troops to help the US seize control of Hormuz, while European allies have insisted that they will not be dragged into the conflict.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Britons that it was ‘not our war’ as he outlined diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and called NATO the world’s ‘most effective military alliance.’
He said the UK had mobilized 35 nations to coordinate maritime security in the Strait – through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply flows. A meeting of the coalition countries will be convened later this week, Starmer said.
The Dow added 363 points, or 0.8 percent, while the S&P 500 was up 0.6 percent and the Nasdaq spiked by 0.7 percent.
Oil prices are also falling, with Brent crude down 2 percent to $102 per barrel, after touching $118 on Tuesday, its highest since the war started on February 28.
The national average for a gallon of regular gas stands at $4.10, up from $2.90 before the war began.
Trump previously ordered a stand down on military strikes targeting Iranian energy infrastructure as negotiations between Iran and the US continue.
The five-day ceasefire was later extended to a 10-day halt in targeting Iranian energy plants, power stations and oil wells after the President said the Iranian government requested an extension.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi made a rare appearance on the streets of Tehran last night.
‘I came to be among the people, to draw energy from the movement on the ground and to enjoy this unity,’ Araghchi told reporters at an evening rally.
‘This popular cohesion is our greatest defense against any external threat.’
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United States Marines conduct a simulated reconnaissance and surveillance mission at a naval support facility on March 24 in Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territories
Smoke rises after explosions struck the northeastern, western, and central areas amid Israeli attacks in Tehran, Iran on April 1
Trump said the ceasefire will hinge on whether Iran opens up safe transit in the Strait of Hormuz
Since the conflict began, Trump has issued a flurry of contradictory messages: from declaring the war won, to giving the regime ten more days to make a deal, to threatening to ‘completely obliterate’ Iran’s energy infrastructure if the Strait of Hormuz was not ‘immediately’ reopened for business.
NATO nations have been taunted as ‘cowards’ and nothing more than a ‘paper tiger’ alliance which the US ‘needs nothing from’, while at other points they are called upon to ‘go to the strait’ and reopen it themselves.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Tuesday he had received direct messages from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, but insisted those did not constitute ‘negotiations’, even as Washington expressed optimism about ongoing talks.
Trump could deliver an announcement tonight bringing the war to a close, but there is also the possibility he is touting peace as cover for an Easter invasion.
An invasion on Good Friday would coincide with the closure of Wall Street and major European markets for a three-day weekend.
Trump could time any operation for when markets are closed, especially if the military has short, sharp missions in mind before they reopen.
