Iran Says Persian Gulf Not Theatre to Impose Foreign Will as Trump Claims Tehran “Dying” to Make Deal

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, on Thursday (April 30, 2026), said the Persian Gulf was not “an arena for imposing foreign will,” targeting the US for the face-off regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump claimed Iran was “dying to make a deal” to end the war, which was in its third week of ceasefire, and noted that no more airstrikes were planned against Tehran.

On Persian Gulf National Day, Pezeshkian said any attempt to blockade the Gulf region and impose maritime restrictions on Iranian ports was doomed to fail.

He posted on X that “Persian Gulf – Not a Theatre for Imposing Foreign Wills; Strait of Hormuz – Symbol of National Sovereignty and Iran’s Role in Regional Security; Iran Is the Guardian of the Security of the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz; Any Effort to Impose a Maritime Blockade on Iran is Doomed to Failure.”

In another statement, the Iranian President called the nation’s naval forces’ bravery a sign of its decisive role in protecting regional security and vital energy transport routes.

Mentioning the enemies’ shift in pressure to economic and maritime arenas, he called out the strategy of naval blockade. He said the restrictions on Iran’s maritime trade were “contrary to international law” and warned that the responsibility for any insecurity in the Persian Gulf was entirely on the US and Israel.

On April 26, Pezeshkian had said that Iran would not negotiate with the US under pressure, threats, and siege. He said such measures, together with threats, heightened doubts over the US commitment to the diplomatic peace process.

The Iranian President said the US’s so-called maritime restrictions on Iranian ports constituted a clear breach of the ceasefire agreement and were inconsistent with the United Nations Charter.

Ahead of his comment, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the Trump administration shifted from its strategy of “managing the world’s energy” to “disruption.”

The IRGC said Iran had not become the centre of the “coalition against disruption,” noting that the US had launched the disruption project to contain China, Russia, and Europe.

“But after 20 days, this assessment is deepening in the White House that the project has failed and Tehran has become the center of the ‘coalition against disruption,” IRGC posted on X.

Meanwhile, Trump’s claim that Iran was “dying” to make a deal with the US to end the war came during a media interaction at the White House, even as Iran threatened to retaliate in good measure if Washington resumed the war, which had paused on April 8.

“I don’t know that we need it (resuming airstrikes),” Trump said to a question on whether he was getting “to break the ceasefire.”