Day 73 of Middle East conflict — Trump says ceasefire on ‘life support’

Our live coverage has moved • Get the latest updates on the war with Iran here. Read more All catch up 43 Posts Link Copied! Key developments • Ceasefire latest: Some Trump aides said he is now more seriously considering a resumption of major combat operations in Iran, according to sources. Trump has said the ceasefire is on “massive life support” following Iran’s latest counterproposal to end hostilities. The talks are unlikely to make significant progress until Trump meets his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week, a regional source told CNN. • Iran rejects criticism: Iran’s foreign ministry said earlier that its proposal, which state media reported included recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, was “reasonable” and “generous.” • Energy crisis: Oil prices are climbing after Trump’s dismissal of Iran’s latest terms, sparking fears of a fresh escalation in the conflict that would keep the vital Strait of Hormuz closed even longer. Read more Link Copied! Trump can't "enter Beijing triumphantly," advisor to Iran's supreme leader says By Lucas Lilieholm US President Donald Trump should not mistake the current lack of fighting between the US and Iran as a victory as he heads to Beijing for a high-stakes meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping later this week, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader has warned. “Mr. Trump, never imagine that by taking advantage of Iran’s current calm, you will be able to enter Beijing triumphantly,” Ali Akbar Velayati said according to a report from Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. “We defeated you on the “battlefield”; so never think that you will emerge victorious in diplomacy as well” Trump said Monday that the monthlong ceasefire between the US and Iran is on “massive life support.” Both Iran and the US have fired shots at each other in the Strait of Hormuz since the ceasefire took effect. Read more Link Copied! Sources: Trump more seriously considering resuming combat operations than he has in weeks By Alayna Treene and Jennifer Hansler President Donald Trump arrives for a "Rose Garden Club" dinner, in honor of Police Week, at the White House on Monday. Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images President Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with how the Iranians are handling negotiations to end the war, and some Trump aides say that he is now more seriously considering a resumption of major combat operations than he has in recent weeks. Trump has grown impatient with the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as what he perceives as division in Iranian leadership that is preventing them from making substantial concessions on nuclear talks, sources familiar with the discussions said. The latest response from Iran, which Trump has deemed both “totally unacceptable” and “stupid,” has led several officials to question whether Tehran is willing to take on a serious negotiating position, they said. There are different camps within the administration that are recommending alternating paths for how to proceed, the sources said. Some, including officials in the Pentagon, have argued for a more aggressive approach to pressuring the Iranians to the table — including targeted strikes that further weaken Tehran’s position. Others, however, are still pushing to give diplomacy a fair shot, the sources said. Many in Trump’s orbit want Pakistani mediators to be far more direct in their communications with the Iranians. Some Trump officials have long questioned whether the Pakistanis are aggressively conveying Trump’s displeasure with the state of talks, as Trump has done publicly. Some administration officials also believe that Pakistan is often sharing a more positive version of the Iranian position with the US than what reflects reality, two of the sources said. There has been an intense push by countries throughout the region and by Pakistan to convey to the Iranians that Trump is frustrated and this is the last chance for them to seriously engage in diplomacy, but it does not appear that Iran is listening or taking anyone seriously, a regional official said Monday. This official said that the US and Iran are operating on two different tolerances and timelines in their approach to negotiations, and Tehran has withstood economic pressure for decades. Trump met with again with his national security team at the White House on Monday to discuss options moving forward. Sources familiar with the talks say a major decision on how to proceed is unlikely to be made prior to the president’s departure to China, which is slated for Tuesday afternoon. CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report. Read more Link Copied! Former US negotiator: Getting a deal with Iran is "much tougher" now By Arpita Dasika A former State Department negotiator told CNN on Monday it is now “much tougher” to get a deal with Iran than it was when he participated in negotiating the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and major world powers. Alan Eyre, a key Farsi-speaking member of President Barack Obama’s negotiating team for the Iran nuclear deal, told CNN’s Omar Jimenez that President Donald Trump’s accusations of Iranian backtracking reflect “either miscommunication or fabrication.” He said he found it “unbelievable” that Iran would agree early in the current talks to export all of its highly enriched uranium directly to the United States. “A lot of what we are hearing in public is not tracking with underlying reality, from either side,” he said. Eyre, who is currently a fellow at the Middle East Institute, also said that Iran is “a lot less likely” to make a deal than it was in 2015, when it had “a relatively more moderate leadership.” Now it has a “more hard-line and radical leadership,” and more issues are on the table than just its nuclear program, notably the Strait of Hormuz, he said. “So it’s going to be much much tougher to get a deal now with this Iranian administration,” Eyre said. Video Ad Feedback Ceasefire with Iran is on "massive life support," Trump says 2:07 • Source: CNN Ceasefire with Iran is on "massive life support," Trump says 2:07 Read more Link Copied! US offering up to $15 million for information on IRGC's financial mechanisms By Jennifer Hansler The Trump administration is offering a reward of up to $15 million “for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms” of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as the United States seeks to ratchet up pressure against Tehran. The bounty is being offered by the State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program and comes amid efforts by the administration to choke off the Iranian economy and pressure Tehran into a deal. The Rewards for Justice Program is offering the bounty for information “on the sources of revenue for the IRGC, IRGC-(Qods Force), its branches or its key financial facilitation mechanisms,” including front companies, people helping the IRGC evade sanctions or financial institutions doing business with them. It is also looking for information on “how the IRGC is transferring funds and materials to its terrorist and militia proxies and partners,” “financial institutions or exchange houses facilitating IRGC transactions,” or businesses owned by the IRGC. Earlier Monday, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on 12 individuals and entities for their roles in allegedly enabling the IRGC’s sale and shipment of Iranian oil to China. Read more Link Copied! US sanctions companies it says enable Iranian oil sales to China ahead of Trump-Xi meeting By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn The Trump administration on Monday imposed sanctions on 12 companies and individuals it says are helping to facilitate the sale and shipment of oil from Iran to China. The announcement comes just days before President Donald Trump is set to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent touted the move in a statement, insisting the agency will “continue to cut the Iranian regime off from the financial networks it uses to carry out terrorist acts and to destabilize the global economy.” China’s support for Iran will likely be a topic for discussion in Beijing. Last month, CNN reported that US intelligence indicated China was preparing to deliver new air defense systems to Iran, according to three people familiar with recent intelligence assessments. Earlier on Monday, Trump said a monthlong ceasefire between the US and Iran is on “massive life support.” Read more Link Copied! Iranian negotiator says Tehran is “prepared for any option” By Max Saltman Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, pictured in November 2024. Majid Asgaripour/Wana News Agency/Reuters/File Iran’s top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Monday that his country is “prepared for every option” as negotiations with the United States remain at an impasse. “Our armed forces are prepared to deliver a lesson-giving response to any aggression,” Ghalibaf said on social media . “A strategy of miscalculation and mistaken decisions will always produce mistaken results; the whole world has understood this by now. We are prepared for every option. They will be surprised.” Later Monday, Ghalibaf said in another post that “there is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal ” submitted by Iran earlier this month. “Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another,” Ghalibaf added. “The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it.” Ghalibaf, who served as lead negotiator in talks last month with the US in Islamabad, Pakistan, has been criticized by Iranian hard-liners in recent weeks for a supposedly lenient attitude toward the US. The parliamentary speaker made his latest statements after US President Donald Trump called Iran’s latest proposal “unacceptable” and said the ceasefire is on “massive life support.” Read more Link Copied! Why talks between Iran and the US are deadlocked Analysis by Mostafa Salem People walk past a billboard with a graphic design about the Strait of Hormuz in Tehran, Iran, on April 27. Majid Asgaripour/Wana News Agency/Reuters The negotiations deadlock between the US and Iran stems from differing priorities, with US President Donald Trump seeking what one analyst said was a “quick and easy” triumph that includes immediate concessions on Iran’s nuclear program, while Tehran is determined to delay those demands and snag its own concessions first. In one of its proposals, Iran has put forward a staggered, phased approach to negotiations, with the initial stages focused on declaring an end to the war on all fronts, lifting sanctions and ending any US naval blockade, while deferring talks on its nuclear program to later stages. Trump, however, has demanded that Iran formally halt its nuclear program for a defined period — US officials seem to want at least 10 years — and turn over its existing stockpile of an estimated 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium. “There’s a clash of perception,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the London-based Chatham House think tank. “We’re in a standoff because President Trump doesn’t understand why these guys are not making a deal to save themselves.” “They will not give him concessions at the start of the agreement because they don’t trust him,” Vakil said, adding that the Iranians have been “personally burnt by him.” Read the full analysis here . Read more Link Copied! Gas and diesel spike is costing American households nearly $300 each By Matt Egan A customer pumps gas into his car at a gas station in Los Angeles on May 4. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images American consumers are facing a $37 billion hit from the spike in gasoline and diesel prices since the war with Iran started, according to research from Brown University. As of Monday afternoon, that increase in costs amount to more than $284 per household. The estimates are based on the Iran War Energy Cost Tracker , a Brown University tally of the extra cost for gasoline and diesel since the war started on February 28. The tracker compares current prices with a “no-war” counterfactual estimate of where energy prices would be without the conflict. The surge in gasoline prices — from $2.98 a gallon when the war started to