(Sarah Roderick-Fitch, The Center Square) The ceasefire with Iran is on “life support” and “very weak,” according to President Donald Trump.
The president commented Monday during an event in the Oval Office following Iran’s rejection of a peace deal proposal over the weekend, which he called a “piece of garbage” and “totally unacceptable.”
The deal reportedly failed to include the cessation of the production of nuclear weapons and pushed to end the disarmament of its proxies, including Hezbollah. Trump has been adamant about his desire for Iran not to have a nuclear weapon.
The president described the Iranian leadership as “dishonorable people,” accusing them over the weekend of “playing games with the United States and the rest of the world.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump accused the Iranian leadership of “tapping” the U.S. along for 47 years, while “keeping us waiting, killing our people with their roadside bombs” and killing protesters.
Though the president said the ceasefire is in a fragile state, he hasn’t indicated a red line for the U.S. to restart combat operations in Iran. However, he did tell reporters Monday that he was set to meet with a large group of generals to discuss Iran.
Trump has told reporters he is considering restarting Project Freedom, which operated for one day. The president implemented Project Freedom on May 4, which provided military escorts for commercial maritime vessels. He paused the program a day later, citing a pending deal with Iran.
Despite putting a pause on Project Freedom, the U.S. Naval blockade on Iranian ports has remained intact for nearly a month, resulting in the redirection of 62 commercial ships and the disabling of four, according to U.S. Central Command.
The Trump administration claims the blockade is costing Iran up to $500 million in lost oil revenue each day.
Trump is scheduled to head to China later in the week to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. One topic of discussion is expected to be the war in Iran. China has been aligned with the Islamic Republic, being the country’s largest oil consumer, accounting for about 90% of Iran’s oil exports.
Iranian crude oil accounts for about 12% of China’s total crude oil imports, according to the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia. However, China imports nearly half of its crude oil from Middle Eastern countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.
With nearly 50% of China’s crude oil imports relying on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, Trump will likely lean on China’s influence with Iran to put pressure on the Islamic Republic to clear the vital waterway. The strait has been essentially closed since the beginning of the conflict, which began at the end of February.
While the president said he and Xi will have a long list of things to discuss, Trump could also use the visit to discuss China’s reported military support of Iran. In April, the president wrote in a Truth Social post that “China have agreed not to send weapons to Iran,” however, following the implementation of the blockade on Iranian ports, U.S. forces intercepted a ship inbound for Iran carrying what Trump describes as a “gift” from China to Iran.
