United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was on “life support” after Tehran submitted what he described as an unacceptable counterproposal to Washington’s efforts to end the conflict.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the month-old truce had become increasingly unstable following Iran’s latest response to U.S. negotiators.
“The ceasefire is unbelievably weak,” Trump said.
“I would call it the weakest, right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us. I didn't even finish reading it,” Trump said.
“I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living,’” he said.
The ceasefire began on 8 April after Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s “whole civilisation” if an agreement was not reached. Although the truce was initially intended to last for two weeks, Trump later extended it unilaterally on 21 April.
Since its introduction, both Washington and Tehran have repeatedly accused one another of breaching the terms of the agreement, leaving the ceasefire under pressure from the outset.
Trump had originally stated that the ceasefire depended on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically vital oil shipping route that has remained heavily disrupted since the conflict began.
When shipping activity through the Strait failed to return to normal levels, Trump ordered a U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman aimed at preventing vessels from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
Despite the ceasefire, violence has continued across the region. Over the past week, Iran launched attacks against the United Arab Emirates, while U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire near the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pentagon also confirmed strikes on two Iranian-flagged oil tankers.
The Trump administration had maintained last week that the ceasefire remained intact while awaiting Tehran’s response to a proposed framework aimed at ending the conflict and restarting discussions over Iran’s nuclear program.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump confirmed he had received Iran’s response.
“I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” he wrote.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also adopted a defiant tone during negotiations over the weekend.
“We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat,” he said in a post on X in Persian, translated via Grok.
Meanwhile, concerns over global oil supplies intensified after Reuters reported that three crude oil tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz last week and on Sunday, with tracking systems switched off to avoid potential Iranian attacks, citing shipping data from Kpler.
