A senior Iranian official has firmly denied claims by US President Donald Trump that Iran’s “new regime president” has requested a ceasefire in the ongoing US-Israel war. The denial emerged just hours before Trump was scheduled to deliver a primetime address on April 1, 2026, which the White House stated would provide an “important update on Iran”.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump asserted that his administration would consider the purported ceasefire request only when the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear”. Alongside this claim, the US leader issued a stark warning, threatening to continue “blasting Iran into oblivion” and bombing the country “back to the Stone Ages” until the critical waterway is reopened.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz—a vital Gulf waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquified natural gas supplies transit—has sparked significant fears of a global economic downturn. As a result, the Trump administration is facing mounting pressure over skyrocketing global energy prices and widespread public opposition to the conflict in the US. Seeking to reassure the public, Trump recently claimed that energy prices would “come tumbling down” once the war ends, suggesting the conflict could conclude in two to three weeks.
However, experts remain deeply concerned about the administration’s contradictory rhetoric and the war’s devastating humanitarian toll. Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, noted that Trump’s messaging oscillates wildly, “giving people hope in one breath and … taking it away in the next”. Elmasry also emphasized the sheer scale of the destruction, pointing out that US and Israeli forces have already hit hundreds of schools and hospitals, as well as thousands of residential homes. He criticized the military campaign’s lack of precision, noting the use of 2,000-pound bombs that are wiping out entire city blocks and decimating civilian infrastructure.
As the world anticipates Trump’s upcoming address, Al Jazeera’s White House correspondent Alan Fisher reported that an immediate end to the war is highly unlikely. Instead, sources suggest Trump will likely brace the public for at least a few more weeks of conflict, framing the current financial difficulties as “short-term pain to get through”.
