Trump Says Iran Told U.S. It Is in “Total Collapse” Amid Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening that Iran had conveyed it is in a state of “total collapse” and requested the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on his social network, Trump wrote: “Iran just informed us that it is in a state of total collapse. Iran asked us to open the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, while they try to figure out the state of their leadership, which I think they will manage to do!”

Earlier Tuesday, U.S. reports indicated that Trump had not fully ruled out Iran’s proposal, which calls for first discussing an end to the fighting and reopening the strait, and only later addressing broader issues. Under the proposal, reopening the strait would occur alongside a withdrawal of U.S. forces from the area.

Iranian media pushed back on Trump’s remarks, insisting that “the leadership is not divided.” Iran’s army spokesman, Mohammad Akrami Nia, said: “The enemy did not dare carry out a ground attack against Iran. We do not see the war as over, and during the war and the ceasefire we updated our target bank.”