President Donald Trump believes the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is on “life support.”
Trump spoke on the subject Monday in the Oval Office.
“It’s unbelievably weak,” Trump told reporters who asked if the ceasefire with Iran remains in place.
“I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support [and] when the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a one percent chance of living,’” he said.
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Iran laid out its demands in a counteroffer sent to the U.S. over the weekend.
The New York Times reported the demands included war reparations, Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and an end to U.S. sanctions.
The president the counteroffer “totally unacceptable.”
On Monday, Trump referred to the counteroffer as a “piece of garbage,” adding he did not finish reading it.
Iran is also looking to separate nuclear talks from the negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration wants nuclear commitments up front.
The U.S. is also pressuring Iran to drop its claim on the Strait of Hormuz, for which Iran has thought about a long-term tolling system.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran wanted to focus on “what’s urgent” — “an end to the war in all its forms, including in Lebanon,” The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
