Key events
A ceasefire meant to facilitate peace talks between Washington and Tehran came into effect in April. It has been largely observed, despite exchanges of fire and reports of strikes in the strategic strait of Hormuz, now under a double blockade by the US and Iran. It means only a minuscule number of vessels are passing through the waterway.
The US had presented a peace proposal a week ago, which, as my colleague Julian Borger notes here, was reported to consist of a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding that would reopen the strait while setting a framework for further talks on Iran’s much contested nuclear programme.
Iran presented a counter-offer sent to the US on Sunday which Donald Trump emphatically rejected, describing it as “totally unacceptable”. Tehran’s proposal reportedly included demands that the US lift its sanctions, end its naval blockade and called for an immediate end to the war with guarantees against any renewed attack on the country. It also called on Israel to end its war on Lebanon.
Trump says Iran ceasefire is on ‘massive life support’
We are restarting our live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran after Donald Trump said the ceasefire was “on life support” after rejecting Tehran’s peace proposal, calling it “totally unacceptable”.
Referring to the ceasefire in force since 7 April, 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.
“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.’”
Shortly after Trump’s comments, Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf, who has been chief negotiator in talks, wrote on X that his country’s armed forces were “ready to deliver a well-deserved response to any aggression”.
Trump is reportedly considering a resumption in major military attacks as he is frustrated with the stalled negotiations and the continued closure of the strait of Hormuz (to countries “hostile” to Iran), which has caused global energy prices to surge, including in the US where gas and fertiliser costs have soared.
Sources have told CNN that the US president is growing increasingly impatient with the division within the Iranian leadership making it hard for Washington to force Tehran into concessions on nuclear talks. Trump is unlikely to make the decision before he leaves to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for his diplomatic visit to China later this week, the sources said.
