Trump rejects Iran's ceasefire counterproposal, describes existing ceasefire as on "life support"

President Trump on Monday rejected Iran's written response to a U.S. ceasefire proposal, calling the document "a piece of garbage" and saying the ceasefire is now on "massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, 'Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living.'" Trump made the remarks from the Oval Office, adding that he had not finished reading Iran's submission.

Iran's counterproposal, described by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, included demands that the United States stop what Tehran described as "maritime piracy against Iranian ships," release frozen Iranian assets held in foreign banks, ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and provide security across the region including Lebanon, according to the Washington Examiner. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the proposal also emphasized Iran's rights as a nation, per NPR.

Trump stated that Iranian officials had previously agreed in conversation to allow the removal of enriched nuclear material from a site he described as having been struck by U.S. forces, but that this commitment did not appear in the written document sent to Washington, according to Fox News. Trump's position, as reported across sources, is that Iran must end its nuclear weapons program and that its stockpile of highly enriched uranium must be removed from the country.