U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the reporters at the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 11, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (May 11, 2026) said the ceasefire with Iran was at its “weakest” and on “massive life support”, a day after he rejected Tehran’s proposal to end the months-long war as “totally unacceptable”.
Also read: West Asia war updates on May 11, 2026
“It is at its weakest… After reading that piece of garbage they sent us… It’s on life support, massive life support,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the Oval Office in response to a question on the ceasefire with Iran in the wake of the rejection of the peace proposal.
During an event on Maternal Healthcare at the White House, Mr. Trump asked the participants to keep their remarks short, as he had a meeting with a large group of generals on the issue of Iran.
Mr. Trump received the Iranian proposal on Sunday (May 10, 2026) amid hopes that it could lead to a breakthrough to end the war with Iran that began on February 28, blocking the key sea route for global oil supplies, leading to fuel shortages in several countries.
“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called Representatives.’ I don’t like it,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday (May 10, 2026), calling the response “totally unacceptable”.
On Monday (May 11, 2026), the President described Iran’s proposal as a “piece of garbage” which he was not going to waste time reading.
“They think that I’ll get tired of this, or I’ll get bored, or I’ll have some pressure, but there’s no pressure; there’s no pressure at all. We’re going to have a complete victory,” Mr. Trump said.
“I have the best plan ever. Iran has been defeated militarily. Totally. They have a little left; they probably built up during this period of time. We’ll knock that out in about a day. But I have a plan. You know, that’s a very simple plan. I don’t know why you don’t say it like it is. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. They’re very dangerous. They’re very volatile,” Mr. Trump said.
Asked about the status of the ceasefire with Tehran, Mr. Trump said it is “unbelievably weak.”
“I would say I would call it the weakest right now. After reading that piece of garbage, they sent us. I didn’t even finish reading it. They said, I’m not going to waste my time reading it. I would say it’s one of the weakest right now,” he said.
The President also said that Iran told him that the U.S. would have to dig out the “nuclear dust” at its facilities because it is buried so deep that they can’t get to it.
Mr. Trump said that he doesn’t know at this moment how the U.S. would get into Iran to proceed with the removal. He said it is a matter for further negotiation.
The U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran started on February 28, and attacks have been paused since April 8, when the warring sides agreed to a ceasefire. The U.S. and Iran have been negotiating a deal to end the hostilities for good, but peace has been elusive so far.
Pakistan hosted one round of direct talks between Iran and the U.S. on April 11, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement.
The U.S. has been insisting that Iran give a clear commitment to end its uranium enrichment programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions and release of billions in frozen Iranian funds.
The negotiations also entail both Iran and the U.S. lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway for one-fifth of the global crude supplies.
Published – May 11, 2026 11:51 pm IST
