WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is setting the stage to take an off-ramp in the five-week Iran war, dispatching Vice President JD Vance to deliver an ultimatum to Iran to make a deal or face attacks on key infrastructure.

Trump is scheduled to deliver a rare primetime address on Iran as the Strait of Hormuz remains largely shuttered, with markets in turmoil and economic growth threatened worldwide.

Vance sent a message through intermediaries as recently as Tuesday, which contained a stern warning that Trump was impatient and that there would be increased threats on strategic assets until the Iranians negotiate, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to disclose private communications.

He also communicated that Trump is open to a ceasefire, as long as certain U.S. demands are met, the person said.

Trump is expected in his address to tout U.S. military successes against Iran and reiterate a two- to three-week timeline for concluding the operation, according to a White House official.

The president has sent conflicting signals on his exit strategy. Earlier Wednesday, Trump said in a social media post that Iran’s “New Regime President” has asked the U.S. for a ceasefire, adding that the U.S. would only consider an end to hostilities if the strait were reopened. “Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion,” he added.

Iran’s foreign ministry said the claim of a ceasefire request was “false and baseless,” according to state TV.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a letter addressed to Americans on Wednesday, arguing that his country has no enmity with the U.S. and has acted in self-defense. He warned that “continuing along the path of confrontation is more costly and futile than ever before” and noted that attacks on infrastructure directly target the Iranian people.

On Tuesday, Pezeshkian said the Islamic Republic has “the necessary will” to end this war — with certain guarantees.

The U.S. leader has vacillated throughout the month-long conflict between threatening a military escalation and saying a deal is imminent.

Trump’s remarks have continued to whipsaw markets. Oil prices fell in choppy trading on Wednesday as traders grappled with whether a ceasefire agreement would translate to increased flows through the vital Strait of Hormuz quickly. U.S. crude futures ended the session above $100 again while Brent crude traded near $100 a barrel.

Trump suggested on Tuesday he’s keen to exit the conflict sooner rather than later — regardless of a deal with Iran or arrangement to re-open Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for global energy supplies. “We’ll leave because there’s no reason for us to do this,” he told reporters.

Iran ensured Hormuz was closed off to most ships not long after the U.S. and Israel began airstrikes on Feb. 28, choking off key commodities including fertilizer as well as oil and gas. The country hasn’t offered any terms or timeline for a reopening. Its parliament approved legislation this week to impose fees in the waterway, Fars news outlet reported.

The future of the strait will be decided by Iran and Oman, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday, according to the state-run Press TV. He said previously his country has been in direct contact with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, but told Al Jazeera that “does not mean that we are in negotiations.”

Hormuz won’t be opened based on the “absurd displays of the American president,” state-run IRIB added, citing a statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

A coalition of U.S. allies is preparing a diplomatic push to persuade Iran to open the strait and weighing potential sanctions on Tehran if the waterway remains closed.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will chair a virtual meeting on Thursday with counterparts from some 35 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and the United Arab Emirates to discuss a plan to restore freedom of navigation in the strait. The U.S. is not due to attend.

The UAE also is among Gulf countries calling on the United Nations to authorize the use of force to reopen the strait.

Trump on Tuesday called on other nations to wrest control of the strait, saying those that rely on energy supplies from the waterway should step up. He’s repeatedly expressed frustration at allies — especially those in NATO — for not joining in the war. European allies fear that Trump’s rhetoric is eroding the military alliance at a critical time.

Meanwhile, Iran fired missiles across the Middle East and Israel and the U.S. kept up their bombardment of the Islamic Republic. Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE all reported attacks overnight and into Wednesday, while QatarEnergy said a fuel oil tanker was struck in Qatari waters. That incident highlighted the ongoing threat to regional shipping.

Emirates Global Aluminium, the Middle East’s top producer of the metal, halted operations at its Al Taweelah smelter after the site was struck by Iranian missiles and drones over the weekend, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Trump has suggested the U.S. has achieved military goals such as preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon. “We have had a regime change now,” he added, after U.S. and Israeli strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior figures. Khamenei was later replaced by his son, Mojtaba. Pezeshkian has been president since 2024.

Trump told Reuters in a Wednesday interview that Iran’s enriched uranium is “so far underground, I ​don’t care about that.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co. head Jamie Dimon said the U.S. needs to permanently remove any threat from Iran. “It’s much more important that this be successfully completed, than what the market does,” he told Fox & Friends on Tuesday. Anything less will likely leave the world economy vulnerable to shocks, he said.

U.S. military assets, including ground troops, continue to be amassed in the region. A third U.S. aircraft carrier strike group left Virginia for the Middle East on Tuesday, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

Araghchi said his country is ready for any confrontation with American forces. He added that Iran had zero trust in Washington and doesn’t expect any talks to produce results.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the war so far, almost three-quarters of them in Iran, according to government organizations and the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Just over 1,300 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a parallel war with Iran-allied Hezbollah.

On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced a plan to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and said about 600,000 residents who have been forced to leave the area will not be allowed back until the safety of Israel’s northern communities is assured.

The war has pushed U.S. pump prices above $4 a gallon, threatening political pain for Republicans in a midterm election year. The president realizes that the current situation is untenable, according to a person familiar with his thinking who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

_____

With assistance from Devika Krishna Kumar, Magdalena Del Valle, Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Catherine Lucey, John Bowker, Iain Marlow, Tom Fevrier and Jeff Mason.

_____

©2026 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.