President Donald Trump said Monday that what remained of the U.S. ceasefire with Iran is “on life support” after Tehran sent a “unacceptable” against Washington’s proposal to end the war.
The state of the month-old truce is “incredibly weak,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I would say it’s the weakest, right now, after reading this garbage that they sent us — I haven’t even finished reading it,” Trump said.
“I would say the ceasefire relies on a mass resuscitation system, where the doctor comes in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has about a 1% chance of living,'” he said.
The uneasy ceasefire began on April 8, on the heels of Trump’s threats to destroy Iran’s “entire civilization” if no deal was reached. Initially it was only supposed to last two weeks, but Trump unilaterally extended it on April 21.
The ceasefire has been fragile since its beginnings, with each side accusing the other of violating its terms.
Trump, in announcing the truce on April 7, said the agreement was conditional on Iran immediately reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the vital route for global oil transportation that has been virtually closed since the start of the war.
After traffic through the strait failed to return to pre-war levels, Trump ordered a U.S. naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman to prevent ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
The ceasefire has failed to stop all attacks in the region. Just last week, Iran attacked the United Arab Emiratesthe United States and Iran exchange of fire in the strait and the Pentagon said it struck two Tankers flying the Iranian flag.
Trump and U.S. officials insisted last week that the ceasefire remained intact as the administration awaited a response from Iran to its proposal to end the war and begin new negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
In a Truth on social media On Sunday, Trump said he had received Iran’s response.
“I don’t like it – TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” he wrote.