Trump says Iran’s president asked for ceasefire

Trump says Iran's president asked for a ceasefire, but the U.S. wants the Hormuz Strait open first.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran’s “New Regime President” has asked the U.S. for a ceasefire.

But the U.S. will “consider” the offer only once the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, and clear,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” he wrote.

Tehran denied that it requested a ceasefire, Al Jazeera reported later Wednesday morning, citing an unnamed Iranian official.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that Tehran is not looking for a ceasefire but is seeking to end the war.

“At present, there is no negotiation,” Araghchi told the outlet in an interview, according to a translation.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for additional information on the dispute over the alleged ceasefire request.

It was not clear if any request was made directly to the U.S., as Trump’s post suggested, or if it came via an intermediary, such as Pakistan.

And even if President Masoud Pezeshkian had asked for the ceasefire, he may not have had the last word: Iran’s supreme leader, not its president, has ultimate authority in the Islamic Republic.

The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Mujtaba Khamenei, has refrained from making public appearances since his accession following the killing of his father, the former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike at the start of the war.