Tehran/Washington, DC: Iran has dismissed US president Donald Trump’s ceasefire extension as “meaningless” and a “potential ploy”, while saying that the siege on its ports is “no different from bombardment”.
“Trump’s ceasefire extension means nothing. The losing side cannot dictate terms. The continuation of the siege is no different from bombardment and must be met with a military response,” Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, posted on X.
“Moreover, Trump’s ceasefire extension is certainly a ploy to buy time for a surprise strike. The time for Iran to take the initiative has come,” he added, according to The Indian Express.
This came after Trump announced that the United States would extend its two-week ceasefire with Iran, reversing earlier remarks that military action was imminent.
The ceasefire would continue until Iranian negotiators present a unified proposal, he said, while refusing to remove the blockade on Iranian ports.
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured … and upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif … we have been asked to hold our attack,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The US president claimed later that Iran was undergoing a severe financial crisis and the country was “collapsing financially”.
“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed; they want it open so they can make $500 million a day,” he wrote.
“People approached me … saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately,'” he added.
The Republican leader also linked the issue to the prospects of a deal, warning that reopening the waterway without broader agreement would undermine negotiations.
“If we do that, there can never be a deal with Iran,” he said, adding that further escalation could follow if talks fail.
“Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately. Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!,” Trump said in another post.
