US President Donald Trump has told his aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported early Wednesday, as both Washington and Tehran were reported to believe that time is on their side, more than a week after the truce agreed to earlier this month was initially set to expire.

Also on Wednesday, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that the Islamic Republic “can’t get their act together” and “better get smart soon.”

“They don’t know how to sign a non-nuclear deal,” the president wrote, apparently referring to a deal to address the nation’s nuclear program and rule out development of a nuclear weapon.

Trump wrote the comments alongside an AI-generated image of himself holding a firearm against the backdrop of explosions, with the writing “No more Mr. Nice Guy.”

According to The Journal, which cited US officials, Trump has assessed that returning to active combat carries significant risk, while the continued blockade is stressing Iran’s economy – or, as he has claimed Iran itself estimates, placing it in a “state of collapse.”

The newspaper reported that Trump is receiving conflicting advice from those close to him, with hawkish Senator Lindsey Graham urging continued pressure on Iran, but business leaders worried about the economic consequences of keeping the strait closed amid rising energy prices.

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According to officials cited by the report, Trump will not drop his demand that the Islamic Republic suspend all enrichment of uranium for at least 20 years, and accept restrictions after that.

The regime denies it seeks a nuclear weapon, but has enriched uranium to levels beyond any civilian need and obstructed international inspectors, while frequently vowing to destroy the State of Israel.

Amid the blockade, the Iranian rial has plummeted to a record low, trading at around 1.8 million rials against the US dollar on Wednesday, according to the Bonbast and AlanChand tracking websites.

When the war erupted two months ago, one dollar was traded at about 1.7 million rials. Iran officially has several fixed exchange rates, but the two websites are generally used as benchmarks for unofficial rates.

Hegseth to testify in Congress

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face questioning from lawmakers on Wednesday for the first time since American and Israeli forces attacked Iran on February 28. Democrats have challenged the conflict as a war of choice lacking congressional approval.

The hearing before the House Armed Services Committee is being held to discuss the administration’s 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion. Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, are expected to stress the need for more drones, missile defense systems and warships.

Democrats are likely to pivot to the ballooning costs of the Iran war, the drawdown of US munitions, and the mistaken bombing of an Iranian girls’ school, located next to a military base, early in the war. Some lawmakers may also question how prepared the military was to shoot down swarms of Iranian drones, some of which penetrated US defenses and killed American troops in the region.

Hegseth has avoided public questioning from lawmakers about the war, although he and Caine have held televised Pentagon briefings. Hegseth has mostly taken questions from conservative journalists, while citing Bible passages to castigate mainstream outlets.

The defense secretary will face a much different dynamic on Wednesday as well as on Thursday, when he and Caine are also set to face the Senate Armed Services Committee. Lawmakers’ questions are likely to go beyond the budget, and even the war, to Hegseth’s ousting of top military leaders.

Iran has ‘no trust’ in US, doesn’t see war as over

During a White House state dinner on Tuesday, Trump told Britain’s King Charles III and other guests that Iran has been “militarily defeated.” He added that “Charles agrees with me even more than I do — we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.”

But an Iranian army spokesman told state TV on Tuesday that “we do not consider the war to be over,” saying Tehran had “no trust in America.”

“We have many cards that we have not yet used… new tools and methods of fighting based on the experiences of the past two wars, which will definitely allow us to respond to the enemy more decisively” should the fighting resume, Amir Akraminia said in an interview.

Efforts to end the war have stalled in recent days, with US Vice President JD Vance last week canceling plans to fly to Pakistan for new talks.

The latest Iranian proposal, passed along by Pakistan and studied by Trump administration officials in a meeting on Monday, laid out red lines including on nuclear issues and Hormuz, according to Iran’s Fars news agency.

The plan would reportedly see Tehran ease its chokehold on the strait and Washington lift its retaliatory blockade on Iranian ports while broader negotiations continue, including over the thorny question of Iran’s nuclear program.

Qatar — a US ally that was hit by Iranian strikes despite its role as a mediator — warned on Tuesday of the possibility of a “frozen conflict” if a definitive resolution is not found.

Oil prices jumped on Qatar’s warning and the reports that Trump was unlikely to accept the Iranian proposal.

Brent is above the level it hit before the two sides announced a ceasefire in early April, sitting at around $112, while West Texas Intermediate broke $100 Tuesday for the first time in two weeks.

Both contracts were slightly higher on Wednesday.

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