Trump Says Iran Is Without a Leader, ‘Infighting’ Creating Confusion

'Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know,' the U.S. president said.

Published: 4/23/2026, 4:27:34 PM EDT

Trump Says Iran Is Without a Leader, ‘Infighting’ Creating Confusion — U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at an 'Investing in America' event in Washington on April 30, 2025. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes the Iranian regime is effectively without a leader and is experiencing infighting between two factions because the U.S. military has "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know! The infighting is between the ‘Hardliners,’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘Moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY!” Trump wrote in an April 23 post on Truth Social.

"We have total control over the Strait of Hormuz. No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy. It is 'Sealed up Tight,' until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL."

A day earlier, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the Trump administration believes it knows the official in Iran who would sign a deal to end the conflict, as U.S. officials have discovered fracturing in the regime. The name of that official was not provided.

U.S. Central Command said in an April 22 post on X that it has directed 31 vessels to return to port or turn around since it began enforcing the Iran blockade earlier this month.

The reports of internal division were cited by Trump on April 21 when he announced the United States agreed to extend the ceasefire with Iran "until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal."

Amid the uncertainty, an Iranian regime spokesman told state-run media that it has not yet been decided if Iran would attend more peace talks with the United States. A previous round of negotiations in Pakistan earlier in April did not produce an agreement, while U.S. officials were due to meet with Tehran again in Pakistan on April 21 before Trump announced the ceasefire extension.

In another April 23 post on Truth Social, Trump said he was directing the U.S. military to "shoot to kill" Iranian ships that are placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz and said U.S. minesweeping ships are continuing to remove any explosive devices in the waterway.

The U.S. military said on the same day it seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil. Ship-tracking data showed the ship, Majestic X, in roughly the same location in the Indian Ocean as the oil tanker Tifani, which was previously seized by U.S. forces.

"International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain," the Pentagon wrote in a post on X.

On April 22, Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz and captured two of them, calling it retaliation for the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. A top Iranian official, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said in a post on X that the Strait of Hormuz would remain effectively closed and claimed it would be "impossible" to reopen while the U.S. blockade remains in place.

U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran that lasted several weeks killed dozens of regime leaders, including its top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named as the country's leader, but he hasn't been seen in public since he was named in mid-March.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times