Trump Claims Iran Sought Truce as Missile and Drone Attacks Hit Qatar and Kuwait
Trump said Wednesday that Iran’s president has asked the United States for a ceasefire, but he tied any possible pause in fighting to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, even as Tehran publicly rejected the idea that negotiations with Washington are underway. Regional tensions also deepened after reported Iranian attacks struck targets in Qatar and Kuwait.
In a post on Truth Social before a planned national address, US President Donald Trump said, “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!” He added that Washington would only weigh such a request once the Strait of Hormuz is “open, free, clear.” Trump then warned, “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!!!”
The remarks came as the war’s fallout continued to spread across the Gulf. News reports said a projectile or missile struck a tanker in waters near Doha, while an Iranian attack set off a major fire at fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport. Those incidents added to fears over shipping security and energy supply in one of the world’s most critical transit corridors for oil.
While Trump presented Tehran as seeking an off-ramp, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave a sharply different message in an interview with Al Jazeera. He said Iran had exchanged messages with Washington but denied that any negotiations were taking place.
Araghchi also made clear that Tehran was not backing away from the conflict. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”
The conflicting messages leave the next phase of the crisis uncertain. Trump is signaling that military pressure will continue unless maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is restored, while Iran is insisting it will not negotiate under threat. With attacks now hitting Gulf infrastructure and shipping, the risk of a wider regional and economic shock remains high.
