ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Tehran’s “new regime president” has requested a ceasefire, stressing it would only be considered if the Strait of Hormuz is opened while describing the new leader as less radical.

On Thursday, Washington extended a deadline for the destruction of Iranian power plants as Iran and the US engage in talks under Pakistan’s mediation, while Tehran has denied considering them as official talks between the two sides. 

Washington has also warned Tehran that energy infrastructure could be targeted if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.

Prior to that, Trump said he had sent a 15-point document outlining a potential agreement with Iran, saying he was in contact with a top Iranian leader, while denying recognition of newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s position and role.

“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!,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Wednesday. 

Trump has claimed several times that Washington considers there has been regime change in Iran, as most of the top leaders have been killed.

He added that Washington 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,” Trump said. 

Trump, in late March, also said Tehran, as a sign of goodwill, allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz to facilitate renewed talks, though there is no independent evidence confirming the shipments.

It remains unclear who Washington is negotiating with, as Iran denies entering the renewed talks and most of Iran’s top leaders have been killed, among them the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top security chief Ali Larijani.

The new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to make an appearance and is believed to be badly wounded.

Tehran does “not have any faith that negotiations with the US will yield any results. The trust level is at zero,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in an interview with Al Jazeera, said on Tuesday, noting the lack of US honesty. 

Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, he said it will only remain closed “to ships of those at war with us,” adding that Tehran cannot “let our enemies use our territorial waters for commerce.”