True peace cannot be built with humiliation and threats
Two months after the United States and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran, the ceasefire that briefly interrupted the fighting is now collapsing under the weight of incompatible demands and mutual distrust. President Trump has dismissed Iran's latest peace proposal as worthless, while Tehran's parliament vows retaliation and threatens to pursue weapons-grade uranium enrichment if attacked again. What began as a fragile pause in hostilities is revealing itself to be something older and harder — a confrontation between nations that do not yet share a common language for peace.
- Trump declared the ceasefire 'on life support' after calling Iran's latest proposal 'garbage,' signaling he is prepared to resume military strikes without waiting for Congress.
- Iran's parliament is openly threatening to 'teach a lesson' to any aggressor, and lawmakers have warned that a renewed U.S. attack could push Tehran to enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels.
- The war has already cost $29 billion, driven U.S. inflation to a three-year high of 3.8%, and collapsed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz by 90% — a supertanker turned back off Oman just this week.
- In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed six people despite an active ceasefire agreement, and Hezbollah has rejected direct peace talks with Israel, insisting its weapons are a purely internal matter.
- With Trump flying to Beijing and Pakistan quietly sheltering Iranian aircraft on its airfields, the diplomatic landscape is shifting in ways that could either open a new path — or accelerate the next escalation.
The ceasefire between the United States and Iran is visibly dying. President Trump said as much on Monday, calling it 'on life support' after reading Iran's latest response to an American peace proposal and dismissing it as 'garbage' — a document he claimed he couldn't even finish. The conflict began on February 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran. The ceasefire that took effect on April 8 was always fragile, held together more by exhaustion than genuine agreement.
Iran's response has been defiant. Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared the military ready to 'teach a lesson' to any aggressor, while deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote that real peace cannot be built on humiliation and coercion. Tehran's demands — a permanent end to the war, compensation for damages, an end to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, sanctions relief, and respect for sovereignty — appear far from what Washington is prepared to offer. An Iranian lawmaker warned that if the U.S. attacks again, Iran will consider enriching uranium to 90 percent purity, or weapons grade. Iran already holds enough uranium enriched to 60 percent to theoretically produce around ten nuclear weapons if further processed.
The economic toll is severe. The Pentagon has spent $29 billion on the conflict so far. U.S. inflation has climbed to 3.8 percent annually — its highest in nearly three years — driven by energy prices that have surged 28 percent compared to last year. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen by 90 percent since the war began, and a supertanker carrying Iraqi crude turned back off Oman this week, caught between competing blockades.
In Lebanon, the violence continues despite a separate April 17 ceasefire. Israeli strikes killed six people in the southern town of Kfar Dounine on Monday night. More than 2,800 people have died in Lebanon since it was drawn into the conflict on March 2. Hezbollah has rejected direct Lebanon-Israel talks scheduled for Washington this week, calling them a concession, and its leader insists the group's weapons are not subject to negotiation.
Trump has made clear he believes he needs no congressional approval to resume strikes, with his administration arguing that the War Powers clock stopped when the ceasefire began. As he prepared to travel to Beijing to meet President Xi Jinping, questions swirled about China's potential role as a mediator — and about Pakistan, which has quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to shelter on its airfields, raising doubts about its neutrality. What comes next may depend on conversations held at altitude, somewhere over the Pacific.
The ceasefire between the United States and Iran is dying. President Trump said so himself on Monday, using the phrase "on life support" to describe what was supposed to be a path toward peace. He had just read Iran's latest response to an American peace proposal, and he found it so inadequate that he claimed he didn't even finish the document. "Garbage," he called it. "Unbelievably weak."
This is where things stand in mid-May 2026, nearly two months into a conflict that began when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran on February 28. The ceasefire that took effect on April 8 was always fragile, held together more by exhaustion than by any genuine agreement on terms. Now it is visibly fraying.
Iran's response has been defiant. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, said the country's military is ready to "teach a lesson" to any aggressor. The message was unmistakable: if the U.S. resumes attacks, Iran will strike back. Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, wrote on social media that true peace cannot be built on "humiliation, threats, and coercive score-settling." He listed what Iran wants: a permanent end to the war, compensation for damages, an end to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a repeal of sanctions, and respect for Iranian sovereignty. None of this, he suggested, is what the Trump administration is offering.
The sticking points are real and substantial. Trump wants Iran to allow the U.S. to remove its highly enriched uranium and to guarantee it will not develop nuclear weapons for an extended period. Iran initially agreed to let the U.S. extract the uranium, Trump said, but then retracted that offer in its latest proposal. An Iranian lawmaker, Ebrahim Rezaei, warned that if the U.S. attacks again, Iran will consider enriching uranium to 90 percent purity—weapons grade. As of June 2025, Iran possessed about 970 pounds of uranium enriched to 60 percent, enough to theoretically produce roughly ten nuclear weapons if further processed. The threat is not abstract.
Meanwhile, the human and economic toll of the war continues to mount. The Pentagon's acting comptroller, Jules Hurst, testified Tuesday that the conflict has cost $29 billion so far. Inflation in the United States has accelerated to 3.8 percent annually, the highest rate in nearly three years, driven largely by energy prices. Gasoline prices have jumped 28.4 percent compared to a year earlier. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical waterways, has plummeted by 90 percent since the war began. A supertanker carrying Iraqi crude oil turned around off the coast of Oman this week after attempting to transit the strait, apparently blocked by the competing blockades that Iran and the U.S. have imposed.
In Lebanon, the fighting continues despite an April 17 ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government. Israeli strikes killed six people in the southern town of Kfar Dounine on Monday night. More than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since the country was drawn into the conflict on March 2. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, has rejected direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel scheduled for this week in Washington, calling them a concession. The group's leader, Naim Kassem, urged the Lebanese government to pursue indirect talks instead, as it has done in the past. He also insisted that Hezbollah's weapons are not a subject for negotiation—they are, he said, an internal Lebanese matter.
Trump has made clear he does not believe he needs congressional approval to resume military operations. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska that the administration believes the president has all the authority he needs under Article II of the Constitution. When the 60-day window under the War Powers Resolution passed on May 1, the administration argued that the clock had stopped with the ceasefire. Trump wrote to congressional leaders that "hostilities" with Iran had "terminated." Senate Democrats have attempted to pass resolutions limiting his war powers, but they have not succeeded.
As Trump prepared to travel to China to meet with President Xi Jinping, he said he did not believe China needed to help with Iran. Yet Iran's ambassador to China suggested that Beijing could play a crucial role in the coming weeks, echoing Tehran's demands at the summit. Pakistan, positioned as a mediator between the two sides, has quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on its airfields, apparently to shield them from American strikes—a move that prompted Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to question whether Pakistan should be trusted as a neutral broker. The situation, as Defense Secretary Hegseth put it, is "very dynamic." What comes next depends on decisions that will be made in the coming days, possibly on a long plane ride to Beijing.
Notable Quotes
True peace cannot be built with a literature of humiliation, threats, and coercive score-settling. When the party that has itself played a direct role in war, siege, sanctions, and threats through brute force rejects Iran's response simply because it is not a capitulation, it becomes clear that the real issue is not peace, but the imposition of political will through threats and pressure.— Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi
Our armed forces are ready to respond and to teach a lesson for any aggression. A bad strategy and bad decisions always lead to bad results.— Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Trump keep saying the ceasefire is on life support? Isn't a ceasefire either happening or not?
Because the fighting hasn't actually stopped. There are Israeli strikes in Lebanon, there are incidents at sea, there are skirmishes. The ceasefire is a legal agreement, but the reality on the ground is messier. Trump is signaling that he's losing patience with the diplomatic process.
What does Iran actually want that it's not getting?
Permanence and respect. Iran wants a lasting end to the war, not just a pause. It wants sanctions lifted and its sovereignty acknowledged. What it's hearing instead is demands—give up your uranium, promise not to build a bomb. From Tehran's perspective, the U.S. is dictating terms after starting the war.
The uranium enrichment threat—how serious is that?
Very. Iran already has enough material at 60 percent enrichment to make multiple weapons if it takes one more technological step. Enriching to 90 percent is that step. If Trump attacks again, Iran is saying it will cross that line. It's a red line of its own.
Why is shipping through the Strait of Hormuz down 90 percent? Who's stopping the ships?
Both sides are. The U.S. is blockading Iranian ports and vessels. Iran is threatening to attack any ship that doesn't have its permission. So merchants are choosing not to risk it. A tanker tried to pass this week and turned around. That's how much fear there is.
Is Congress actually powerless to stop Trump from restarting the war?
Legally, the administration says yes. The War Powers Resolution gives the president 60 days without congressional approval, and the administration claims the clock stopped when the ceasefire began. Democrats are trying to pass resolutions to limit his power, but they don't have the votes. So right now, Trump can restart the war on his own authority.
What's Pakistan doing allowing Iranian aircraft on its airfields?
It's trying to be a mediator while also hedging its bets. If the war restarts, Pakistan doesn't want Iranian military assets destroyed on its soil. But it also makes Graham and others question whether Pakistan can be trusted as a neutral broker. It's a contradiction that's hard to hide.