The Iran War entered its 33rd day on Wednesday as President Donald Trump claimed that Iran’s president had requested a ceasefire but said the U.S. would not consider it unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened, declaring in a Truth Social post: “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”
On Tuesday afternoon, Bloomberg News had reported, citing IRNA news, that Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian had signaled a desire to end the war, running the headline “Iran President Says Ready to End War, Seeks Guarantees: IRNA.”
Subsequent statements from Iranian officials contradicted those reports, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling Al Jazeera Tuesday evening that Tehran is prepared to sustain the war for “at least six months,” while insisting Iran is not engaged in negotiations with Washington and will accept only a full end to the war—not a temporary ceasefire—along with guarantees against renewed attacks.
Iran’s Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Ghalibaf suggested on Wednesday morning that Bloomberg’s and Trump’s claims were based on bad reporting, writing on X: “Out-of-context quotes + manufactured FOMO = War profiteering 101. Do Your Own Research.”
Iran’s IRGC said in a statement provided to Tasnim News Agency on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz is now “decisively and fully under the control” of Tehran and said it had carried out five large-scale missile and drone operations since dawn targeting U.S. and Israeli assets across the Gulf and Indian Ocean, including strikes it said hit U.S. positions in the UAE and Bahrain, “an oil tanker belonging to the “illegitimate Zionist regime,” and drones launched toward the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Shipping industry outlet Lloyd’s List confirmed on Wednesday morning that the UAE-owned tanker chartered to QatarEnergy, Aqua 1, was struck by two projectiles while anchored north of Qatar, with one detonating on impact and sparking a fire while a second failed to explode and remained lodged in the engine room.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the UAE is pushing for military action to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, including lobbying for a U.N. resolution and signaling it is prepared to join a U.S.-led coalition, according to Gulf officials.
The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Wednesday that Britain will host talks this week among 35 countries on a coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after fighting stops. The move comes after Trump told allies that the U.S. will not use military force to re-open the strait, directing other foreign governments on Tuesday to “go get your own oil!”
At least two drones struck a fuel and engine oil warehouse near Erbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Wednesday, setting off a massive fire and sending black smoke over the area, according to local reporting in Iraq. The targeted facility belongs to Castrol, a subsidiary of British Petroleum.
U.S.–Israeli strikes reportedly hit major Iranian steel sites overnight, with Iranian media reporting damage at Mobarakeh Steel in Isfahan and its Sefid Dasht Steel subsidiary in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. The steel complex in Isfahan was previously attacked last Friday.
Multiple impact sites were reported across central Israel overnight following an Iranian missile barrage, including in Bnei Brak and Tel Aviv, where the U.S. embassy branch was nearly struck, according to Channel 12. Videos uploaded to X showed the rubble of a collapsed building in Tel Aviv caused by the Iranian attacks.
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