Trump claims Iran president wants ceasefire as US war build-up intensifies

WASHINGTON, April 1: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people. Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website. Iran had no immediate response to Trump’s post.

The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two U.S. officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors. It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other U.S. officials.

Meanwhile, US gas prices jumped past an average of $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up. President Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people.

Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website. Trump said "Iran’s New Regime President,” however. Iran still has the same president. Trump also said a ceasefire would only happen when the Strait of Hormuz is "open, free, clear.”

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

Iran had no immediate response to Trump’s post. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in an interview with Al Jazeera aired late Tuesday signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting.

"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.” (AP)