Trump said from the White House that Iran is “collapsing,” calling for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen: Iran has not confirmed

U.S. President Trump posted on the White House’s official X account at 16:13 UTC on April 28, claiming that Iran has informed the U.S. that it is in a “State of Collapse” and calling on the U.S. to “Open the Hormuz Strait” as soon as possible.

Trump’s original statement reads: “Iran is dealing with a leadership issue.”

The White House account’s full quote of Trump’s remarks: “Iran has just informed us that they are in a ‘State of Collapse.’ They want us to ‘Open the Hormuz Strait,’ as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation (Which I believe they will be able to do!)”

Translation: “Iran just informed us that it is in a ‘State of Collapse.’ They want us to open the ‘Hormuz Strait’ as soon as possible. They are dealing with their leadership situation (I believe they will be able to handle it!).”

Iran has not confirmed, and the White House has not explained the messaging channel; Rubio remains skeptical

According to multiple U.S. media outlets, including Axios, The Hill, and USNews, this statement has three items that need clarification:

Iran’s officials had not confirmed the claim before the deadline

The White House did not explain through what channel the message was delivered, who the sender is on the Iranian side, and it also did not respond to media inquiries

Trump’s remarks are unclear in terms of their basis (“It’s unclear what Trump is basing his comments on”)

More importantly, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when interviewed by Fox News on 4/27, remained skeptical about the proposal that Iran recently made to lift the blockade of the strait: “What they mean by ‘opening the strait’ is ‘the strait can be opened, but you have to coordinate with Iran, get our approval—otherwise we will blow you up and charge you.’”

In context, Iran has indeed recently proposed a plan of “first lifting the blockade of the strait, then discussing the nuclear issue,” but the two sides have not reached consensus on the channels and conditions.

Oil market backdrop: Brent breaks 110, UAE announces withdrawal from OPEC the same day

This statement occurred at a time when multiple market pressures intertwined:

Iran’s war has entered its ninth week

The Hormuz Strait is effectively under blockade, so oil-producing Gulf countries have shut down production of about 9.1 million barrels per day (OilPrice’s estimate)

Brent crude is trading above $110 per barrel; WTI is at $100.20, up $3.83 on the day (+3.97%)

On the same day, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it will exit OPEC and OPEC+ on 5/1, and OPEC loses its third-largest oil producer

For the market, the message in Trump’s post is not that the Iranian regime has “collapsed,” but rather that a White House-level release is signaling negotiation progress. Follow-up points include whether Iranian officials respond, whether the U.S. provides any details about communication channels, and whether the oil market prices ahead of any stance taken by Iran.

This article, Trump says Iran is “in collapse” and demands reopening the Hormuz Strait: Iran has not confirmed, first appeared at ABMedia.