Trump Declares Ceasefire With Iran On ‘Massive Life Support’

President Donald Trump said Monday that the fragile ceasefire arrangement with Iran is now “on life support,” delivering a blunt assessment after rejecting what he described as an unacceptable proposal from Tehran to end the conflict.

Speaking to reporters inside the Oval Office, Trump dismissed Iran’s latest communication in unusually sharp terms and suggested the current truce may be nearing collapse.

“It’s unbelievably weak,” 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 said, ‘I’m not going to waste my time reading it.’”

The president then escalated his criticism further.

“It’s on life support,” Trump said before turning toward Mehmet Oz, who was standing nearby.

“Dr. Oz, life support is not a good thing, do you agree?” Trump joked, drawing laughter from several people inside the room.

Trump continued the analogy moments later, describing the ceasefire as being on “massive life support,” comparing the situation to a doctor informing a family that a loved one has only a “1% chance of living.”

The remarks came just one day after Trump publicly rejected an Iranian proposal to end the war, calling the offer “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”

The president also revealed Monday that he is considering reviving “Project Freedom,” the U.S.-led military initiative designed to secure international shipping routes through the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.

However, Trump suggested any renewed operation would be significantly larger in scope than before.

“This time around the U.S. guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz would be one small piece of what would be part of a larger military operation,” Trump said.

The president also made striking claims regarding Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, asserting that Iranian officials privately acknowledged their inability to recover what he described as “nuclear dust” from heavily bombed underground sites.

“Iran told me very strongly they intend to give US the nuclear dust,” Trump said.

“But you’re going to have to take it out, because the site was so obliterated that there’s only one or two countries in the world that could get it. It’s so deep and got hit so hard that there’s no way they have the equipment to move it. You and China are the only two countries in the world that could take it out!” he added.

Trump argued the comments validated the success of recent American military operations against Iran’s underground facilities.

“So we talked about it, and they said, you’ll have to take it out, because we don’t have the capability of doing it,” Trump continued.

“For those people that like to say that those great pilots in those great planes — well, we just ordered 22 more of them new and improved — that those great pilots didn’t do their job. They did their job.”

The president reiterated his long-standing position that Iran must never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons capability.

“Of course I have a plan — I have the best plan ever. And Iran has been defeated militarily, totally,” Trump said.

“I have a plan: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he added.

The escalating tensions come as the ceasefire between the United States and Iran appears increasingly unstable following continued military exchanges in the region.

Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended recent U.S. military responses after Iranian forces allegedly targeted American naval assets moving through international waters near the Persian Gulf.

“What you saw yesterday was U.S. destroyers moving through international waters, being fired upon by the Iranians, and the U.S. responded defensively to protect itself,” Rubio told reporters Friday.

“If you fire a drone or a missile at our destroyer, what are we supposed to do, let it hit?” Rubio said.

“We have to respond to it. We have to knock down the missile, and we have to knock out whatever it is that launched that missile. The alternative is to let it sink one of our ships. That’s crazy. So, of course, we responded to it,” he added.

Last week, Trump announced that “Project Freedom” would temporarily pause while negotiations with Iran continued.

Writing on Truth Social, the president cited pressure from Pakistan and other countries, along with progress toward a broader agreement with Tehran.

“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran, and additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” Trump wrote.

Despite those negotiations, Trump’s latest comments suggest confidence inside the administration that Iran’s military and nuclear capabilities have been severely weakened — while also signaling growing skepticism that a lasting diplomatic resolution is imminent.