Iran is pushing back on President Donald Trump\u2019s claim that it requested a ceasefire, with an official calling the statement “false and baseless in a blunt public denial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, made the remarks rejecting Trump\u2019s claim on Wednesday, according to a report on Iranian state television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump made the claim about Iran requesting a ceasefire in a Truth Social post Wednesday morning. But the president indicated that the U.S. will only entertain the prospect once the Strait of Hormuz is open for ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Iran\u2019s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” Trump asserted in the post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, however, issued its own statement saying the Strait of Hormuz “is firmly and decisively under the control” of its forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This strait will not be opened to the enemies of this nation through the ridiculous spectacle by the president of the United States,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran has effectively shut the critical oil choke point, through which about one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil passes, sending oil prices soaring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday. Analysts say that high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses\u2019 transportation and packaging costs pile up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump also told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of his televised address Wednesday night that the U.S. would be finishing its war in Iran soon, but he wouldn\u2019t give a timeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I can’t tell you exactly. … We\u2019re going to be out pretty quickly,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But once the U.S. leaves, he said, “We\u2019ll come back to do spot hits” on targets, as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n