Get you up to speed: US president Trump rejects Iran‘s ceasefire proposal amid escalating tensions
US President Donald Trump stated that the Iran ceasefire is on “life support” after he rejected Tehran’s latest proposal to end the ongoing conflict. Trump dismissed the proposal, which included some concessions on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, as “garbage.”
US President Donald Trump stated that the Iran ceasefire is on “life support” and described Iran’s latest proposal as “garbage.” According to officials, the proposal included concessions on Iran’s nuclear programme, but tensions remain high amid ongoing military exchanges and economic concerns.
US President Donald Trump is expected to encourage President Xi Jinping of China to exert pressure on Iran, as China is the largest buyer of Iran’s sanctioned crude oil. Meanwhile, the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz continues, affecting global fuel prices and markets, with Iran maintaining control over the vital shipping route.
Trump admits he didn’t finish reading Iran’s ‘garbage’ peace proposal | News US
Washington, DC on May 8, 2026. Trump is traveling to Sterling, Virginia, where he will participate in a LIV Golf dinner. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)” decoding=”sync”/>
Trump has refused to finish reading the latest proposal (Picture: AFP)
US President Donald Trump said the Iran ceasefire is on ‘life support’ after he rejected Tehran’s latest proposal to end the two countries’ ongoing conflict.
Officials said the proposal included some concessions on Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, but Trump dismissed it as ‘garbage’.
The stalled talks and recent exchanges of fire could tip the Middle East back into open warfare and prolong the energy crisis.
Iran still has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and America’s blockade of Iranian ports is still in place.
However, the US and Iran ostensibly reached a ceasefire last month – though tensions remain high.
Asked at an unrelated White House event if the ceasefire was still in place, Trump said it is ‘unbelievably weak’ and on ‘life support’ before taking aim at the recent peace proposal from Iran.
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‘I would call [the ceasefire] the weakest right now after reading that piece of garbage they sent us,’ Trump added. ‘I didn’t even finish reading it.’
Iranian strikes earlier in the conflict crippled neighbouring oil businesses (Picture: AFP)
Trump is expected to use a trip to China this week to urge President Xi Jinping to put pressure on Iran. Beijing is the biggest buyer of Iran’s sanctioned crude oil.
There are many contested issues standing in the way of a US-Iran peace deal. Trump has demanded a major rollback of Iran’s nuclear activities, while Iran is pushing for a more limited agreement that would reopen the Strait and lift the blockade ahead of further negotiations.
Two regional officials said that Iran has offered to dilute part of its highly enriched uranium and transport the rest to a third country. Russia has previously offered to take it.
Still, Trump has demanded that the nuclear material be removed completely, and is unlikely to accept other Iranian proposals for the formalisation of its control of the Strait.
Trump said on Sunday that Iran’s response to his latest proposal was ‘TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!’
A US blockade is still in place in part of the Strait of Hormuz (Picture: AFP)
Ending the blockade before discussing Iran’s nuclear programme would eliminate a major point of leverage for Trump.
In the meantime, the standoff over the Strait, which is a key transit point for the world’s oil and natural gas exports, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and rattled world markets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who launched the war with Trump on February 28, has kept insisting that the conflict was ‘not over’.
The US and Israel have killed dozens of high-ranking Iranian officials, including the country’s supreme leader, in the opening salvos of the war, and the conflict has inflicted heavy damage to Iran’s economy.
Iran’s proposal asked that the US recognise its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has effectively closed the Strait since the start of the war, allowing only a small number of ships to pass and charging tolls.
But experts say such an arrangement would likely violate international law that provides for freedom of navigation.
That proposal is also likely to be widely rejected by the international community, as the strait was open to international traffic before the war.
Iran is also demanding war reparations from the US, the lifting of international sanctions, the unfreezing of Iranian assets held abroad, and an end to the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to Iranian state TV.
Israel and Hezbollah have continued to exchange blows, mainly in southern Lebanon, since a nominal ceasefire took hold last month.
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