(3rd LD) Trump claims Iran's president has asked for ceasefire; Iran denies it

▲ U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from reporters after signing an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on March 31, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Yonhap)

(3rd LD) Trump-Iran war

(3rd LD) Trump claims Iran's president has asked for ceasefire; Iran denies it

(ATTN: RECASTS headline; ADDS more info in paras 6, 8-13)

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday the president of Iran's "new regime" has asked the United States for a ceasefire, and Washington will consider it when the crucial Strait of Hormuz is "open, free and clear."

Trump made the remarks in a social media post, a day after he signaled a potential end to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran "within two or three weeks" amid mounting concerns about the conflict's impact on oil prices and inflation.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, dismissed Trump's claim about the ceasefire as "false and baseless," the Associated Press reported, citing a report on Iranian state television.

"Iran's New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"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!!!" he added.

Iran's retaliatory missile and drone strikes along the Strait of Hormuz have effectively choked off the vital waterway, leading to a rise in oil prices and deepening concerns over the conflict's impact on inflation and the global economy. The strait is responsible for about a fifth of the world's oil supply.

As the Trump administration seeks an exit from the war, The Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump told his aides he is willing to end the war with Iran even if the strait remains largely blocked.

In an interview with Reuters ahead of his planned address to the nation on Wednesday evening, Trump said that the U.S. military will conclude its operation against the Islamic Republic "pretty soon," and could return for "spot hits" if needed.

"I can't tell ‌you exactly ... we're going to be out pretty quickly," Trump was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Trump also said that he would say in the speech that he was considering pulling the U.S. out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Reuters said, as he has expressed his frustration over NATO allies' lack of support for the U.S. military campaign against Iran.

He has decried NATO members for not acceding to his calls to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling them "cowards," while saying that without the U.S., the transatlantic alliance is a "paper tiger."

On Tuesday, Trump said that the U.S. would not have anything to do with "what happens with the strait," while calling on countries -- unable to import oil via the strait due to the war -- to either buy oil from the U.S. or "go to the strait and just take it."

Meanwhile, Axios reported, citing U.S. officials, that Washington and Tehran are in talks over a potential deal that would involve a ceasefire in return for Iran opening up the strait.

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