Trump claims Iran wants ceasefire; Iran says remarks ‘false baseless’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed Iran’s president wanted a ceasefire ahead of his speech to the American people.
Trump made the claim on his Truth Social website. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Trump’s remarks were “false and baseless.”
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two US officials said.
The carrier strike group consists of more than 6,000 sailors. It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other US officials.
Meanwhile, US gas prices jumped past an average of USD 4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.
Trump says US could leave Iran soon but might come back to do ‘spot hits’: The president told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of his televised address Wednesday night that the US would be finishing its war in Iran soon, but he wouldn’t give a timeline.
“I can’t tell you exactly … we’re going to be out pretty quickly,” he said.
But once the US leaves, he said “We’ll come back to do spot hits” on targets, as needed.
Somalia and Tanzania announce fuel price hikes amid global supply disruptions: Somalia’s government on Wednesday said it has limited control over fuel pricing, as imports are handled by private companies in a largely liberalised market.
Dahir Shire Mohamed, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, said prices have surged due to “external shocks,” linking the increase to “regional tensions affecting global supply routes.” The price per litre has increased from USD 0.70 to USD 1.75, marking a 150 per cent increase.
Tanzania’s Energy Ministry on Wednesday announced a 33 per cent increase in fuel prices, attributing it to the conflict in Iran, saying it had affected supply and shipping.
The ministry urged Tanzanians to use the available fuel “carefully and efficiently.”
US gives mediators ‘clear assurances’ that Iranian FM, parliament speaker won’t be targeted: American officials have given mediators “clear assurances” that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf won’t be targeted amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to stop the Iran war, according to two regional officials and one person briefed on the matter.
The person briefed said that Pakistan asked Washington to intervene to get Israel to remove the two officials from its hit list.
Israel’s prime minister’s office and the military didn’t respond to request for comment.
The assurances were also given at the request of other regional mediators to facilitate communications with Iran and push for indirect talks, said one of the officials, who is involved in the mediation efforts.
All three spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss sensitive diplomatic conversations.
A Gulf diplomat, briefed on the matter, said the US assurances were “crucial” to ensure neither the foreign minister or the speaker or their teams won’t be assassinated.
Reuters was the first to report that the two Iranian leaders were removed from a supposed hit list.