President Donald Trump said Iran has told him it’s in a “state of collapse” and wants the U.S. to open the Strait of Hormuz “as soon as possible” while they try to “figure out their leadership situation.”
He did not elaborate as to how that message was communicated or who exactly said it.
Trump’s remarks on Tuesday came amid reports he is unhappy with Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—a plan which is said to advocate for the U.S. to end its blockade of Iran’s ports in the waterway but sidelines questions regarding the nuclear program.
“We have been clear about our red lines and the President will only make a deal that’s good for the American people and the world,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told TIME when approached about the reported proposal.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed any notion of a proposal that doesn’t center the conversation about Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that at some point in the future if this radical clerical regime remains in charge in Iran, they will decide they want a nuclear weapon,” he told Fox News on Monday night, emphasizing that Iran’s nuclear capability remains a “fundamental issue” that “still has to be confronted.”
Asked whether Iran is serious about reaching a deal, Rubio suggested its negotiators are seeking to buy time.
“We can’t let them get away with it,” he said. “They’re very good negotiators. They’re very experienced negotiators, and we have to ensure that any deal that is made, any agreement that is made, is one that definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point.”
Rubio also said the reopening of the Strait cannot be contingent on Iran maintaining control over the key waterway through which around a fifth of global oil production flows.
“Those are international waterways. They cannot normalize nor can we tolerate them trying to normalize a system in which the Iranians decide who gets to use an international waterway and how much you have to pay them to use it,” he argued, reemphasizing that no vessel should have to pay a toll to Iran to secure safe passage.
Meanwhile, the U.S. naval blockade remains active.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Tuesday that Marines had stopped and searched another vessel to confirm the ship’s voyage would not include an Iranian port call. Per CENTCOM, 39 vessels have been redirected since the U.S. naval blockade began on April 13.
U.S.-Iran peace talks stall, with no clear end in sight for Iran war
The President canceled a planned trip by his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff to Islamabad, Pakistan on April 25 amid uncertainty over whether Iranian negotiators would attend.
“Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” he said of his decision. “Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’ Nobody knows who is in charge, including them.”
A similar trip by Vice President J.D. Vance, who had been expected to travel to Islamabad last week, was also canceled at the last minute.
The collapse of the talks has left the already fragile cease-fire in a prolonged stalemate.
The President has attributed the breakdown in negotiations to internal divisions within Iran’s leadership following the initial U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Their leaders are gone, which is a good thing, they were far more radicalised than the people we are dealing with right now,” Trump said Sunday. “The people we’re dealing with now, some of them are very reasonable people and others are not, and they are not getting along, there’s a lot of infighting.”
But Iranian officials have sought to push back on that characterization, issuing coordinated statements on social media to present a united front.
An Iranian military spokesperson also told state media on Tuesday that the conflict is ongoing and warned of potential retaliation to any military action.
“We do not consider the war to be over,” the spokesperson said, according to state media. “The situation is still considered wartime and the database of targets and forces’ equipment has been updated.
“The dear nation is assured that if any aggression is repeated by the enemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Islamic Republic of Iran Army will confront it with new tools and methods and in new arenas.”
Gulf Nations respond to Iran’s attacks on infrastructure amidst energy crisis
Saudi Arabia hosted a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Jeddah on Tuesday.
Leaders from Gulf and Arab nations met in-person for the first time since Iran began striking infrastructure across the region following the start of the war on Feb. 28. The attacks have subsided since the U.S. and Iran entered a cease-fire.
Officials from the United Arab Emirates condemned the attacks, describing them as a “blatant violation of national sovereignty and a clear breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.”
They also “affirmed the right of all targeted countries to respond to these attacks in a manner that ensures the protection of their sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity, and the safety of their citizens, residents and visitors.”
The ongoing disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, meanwhile, continues to place sustained pressure on global energy markets.
Elsewhere, the UAE announced it would exit the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC and OPEC+), effective May 1, 2026, removing one of the cartel’s largest producers.
Brent crude oil topped $112 per barrel on Tuesday, according to Trade Economics, signifying continued market instability amid the ongoing energy crisis.
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