Updated May 11, 2026 at 1:47 PM MDT
President Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is "on life support" after he rejected the Iranian response to the latest U.S. proposal to end the war.
Speaking at the White House Monday, Trump said Iran's response was "just unacceptable."
"The plan is they cannot have a nuclear weapon. And they didn't say that in their letter," he said.
Asked by a reporter if the ceasefire, which took effect in early April, is still in place, Trump gave a bleak prognosis. "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. "Right now it's on life support."
The White House has not disclosed details of the U.S. or Iranian proposals.
According to Iran's semiofficial Tasnim news agency, Iran's response included demands of an end to the war on all fronts, the lifting of U.S. sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil, lifting the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and the unfreezing of assets.
Trump announced his rejection of the Iranian response on social media Sunday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday the U.S. "continued to insist on their unreasonable demands." He said Iran "did not demand concessions" but Iran's "legitimate rights."
Iran delivered its response to Pakistani mediators on Sunday, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
IRNA, citing a source familiar with the matter, also said, "the current phase of negotiations is focused exclusively on the cessation of hostilities in the region."
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote online on Sunday, "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 the goal was to uphold Iran's rights and national interests.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting also said that the Iranian "response given to the U.S. remains in line with our previous positions, including readiness to continue the ceasefire in exchange for the reciprocal opening of the Strait of Hormuz and advancing negotiations focused on ending the war in the region."
The U.S. has given various reasons for launching the war, alongside Israel, against Iran on Feb. 28, including ending Iran's nuclear program, reducing its missile capabilities and forcing it to end support for regional proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Since Iran responded by closing the Strait of Hormuz to almost all shipping, the U.S. has imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports, cutting off a key route for global oil shipments and causing an economic shockwave around the world that has led to higher fuel prices.
A tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has largely held since it was agreed on last month, but a shadow drone war has continued, with Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Iran reporting over the weekend interception of drones in their territories.
The rising tensions moved regional countries to engage in diplomatic efforts to end the war. Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani met on Friday in Washington with Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff. He held calls with foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran, and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key mediator in the U.S.-Iran talks about ending the war.
Aya Batrawy contributed to this report from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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