President Trump is cooking. When it comes to Iran, the president is firing on all cylinders.

Friday was a productive day for the president when it comes to the state of things in Iran. He announced that the Strait of Hormuz was open again, though the Iranian ports remain blockaded (and left egg on the faces of Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron at the same time). When President Trump announced that, the news was confirmed by the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on X.

In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 17, 2026

However, there seems to be a small problem. The state media in Iran had a very strange reaction to Araghchi’s comments.

Araghchi wrote on the social platform X that the Strait of Hormuz was open “for all commercial vessels… for the remaining period of ceasefire,” which Iran’s government announced earlier in the day.

The Fars News Agency, reacting to the post, wrote on X that along with Araghchi’s “unexpected tweet about the liberation of the Strait of Hormuz, and following Trump’s subsequent nervous saber-rattling, Iranian society has been plunged into an atmosphere of confusion,” according to X’s translation from Persian.

The state-run outlet cited “international analysts” who have assessed that President Trump’s “recent behavior” comes from “desperation in the complex Iran arena.” The Fars News Agency added that Iranians worry about the “absolute and strange silence” from the country’s Supreme National Security Council and its negotiators.

“They [Iranians] accept it, but it is expected that at least a clear explanation be provided regarding the ‘reason for silence,’” the agency continued. “Public opinion raises this question: if it is in the country’s interest that the details of the negotiations or recent developments not be publicized, why is this very interest and the reason for avoiding transparency not explained to the people?”

Seeing that the Iranian people are still under an internet blackout, there is a lot of “transparency” they’re not getting right now. But then the speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, started tweeting (in Farsi) that Trump was lying, and that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz again if they so chose.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday criticized President Donald Trump, accusing him of making seven “false” claims in one hour.

In a series of posts on X, Ghalibaf warned that if the current U.S. blockade continues, “the Strait of Hormuz will not remain open.”

“They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either,” he wrote.

Ghalibaf added that any transit through the strait would require Iranian authorization and adherence to designated routes.

“Media warfare and engineering public opinion are an important part of war, and the Iranian nation is not affected by these tricks.”

And now we are getting to one of the biggest problems when dealing with Iran. Exactly WHO is in charge right now? We know it’s not really Ayatollah-in-name-only Mojtaba Khamenei, the handpicked choice of the IRGC who is so maimed that he can’t even go on camera. Is it Araghchi, who so far has managed to not get blown up? Is it Ghalibaf, who has managed the same thing? It seems the remaining leadership of the Islamic Republic is suffering from failure to communicate, and if one person thinks they are speaking for the regime, there’s apparently another person who believes that THEY are in charge. This crosstalk between leaders and the confusion of the state media is amplifying the chaos within Iran itself. So, how do you get a ceasefire negotiated when multiple parties believe they are the ones in charge?

Fortunately for the United States, this is the kind of chaos that President Trump sees as an opportunity. During a late Friday night gaggle on Air Force One, the president had plenty to say to the media about the state of affairs in the Middle East.

President Donald Trump said late Friday he may end the ceasefire with Iran unless a long-term agreement is reached by Wednesday.

“Maybe I won’t extend it, but the blockade is going to remain,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “So you have a blockade, and unfortunately we have to start dropping bombs again.”

Trump also said there had been some “pretty good news” regarding Iran but did not provide details.

“We had some pretty good news 20 minutes ago, but it seems to be going very well in the Middle East with Iran,” he said. “So we’re going to be knowing very shortly. I expect things to go well. Many of these things have been negotiated and agreed to.”

When asked what the news was, Trump said, “You’ll hear about it.”

“I just think it’s something that should happen. It’s something that only makes sense to happen. And I think it will. We’ll see what happens, but I think it will.”

The president also confirmed that there would be no tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, and all Iran’s nuclear “dust” will be taken by the United States, and that forever and always, the end goal is to keep Iran from ever gaining a nuclear bomb.

Until there is a signed deal in place, that blockade is staying, and that is putting maximum pressure on Iran’s economy. With the Strait now open for business, oil prices have dropped and China, who once offered their moral support to Iran and nothing else, is now “happy” (per President Trump) that they can get their oil shipped to them once more. One has to wonder if that “moral support” from China included some diplomatic pressure to get their oil flowing again – which might be why Foreign Minister Araghchi is sounding much more conciliatory than Speaker Ghalibaf. After all, they’re dealing with two different groups of people. Araghchi has to deal with the Chinese government, and Ghalibaf has to appease the IRGC. The two groups are not looking for the same results.

But in that gap between the two competing parties, President Trump sees the chance to get a deal made. It will be fascinating to see what kind of “pretty good news” the president says we will be hearing about, and just how soon “shortly” really is.

Featured image: President Donald Trump on March 5, 2026, official White House photo by Daniel Torok on the White House Flickr account, cropped, public domain