US President Donald Trump is unhappy with Iran’s latest ceasefire proposal because it doesn’t address the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, said a US official briefed on Trump’s Monday meeting with advisers.

According to unnamed US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal, Trump did not reject Iran’s proposal outright during the meeting, but suggested Tehran was negotiating in bad faith and was unable to commit to halting its uranium enrichment and never seeking a nuclear arms.

The officials said the White House would likely make a counterproposal in the coming days.

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said in response to the reports that the US “will not negotiate through the press” and has “been clear about our red lines,” while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Monday interview that Iran’s proposal was unacceptable.

Rubio’s statement came after Axios reported that Iran had proposed an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the war, while delaying negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear program for a later stage.

In a separate report, the Wall Street Journal said Iran was seeking to avoid a costly oil production shutdown, and has resorted to delivering barrels of crude by rail or holding them in “junk storage” sites because its oil shipping has cratered since the US imposed a blockade on it on April 13.

At least six tankers loaded with Iranian oil have been forced back to Iran by the US blockade in recent days, ship-tracking data showed, underscoring the war’s impact on traffic.

Meanwhile, Iran’s oil inventories have grown more than tenfold, from 4.6 million barrels before the war to some 49 million, out of a maximum capacity of 95 million, the Wall Street Journal said, citing the Kpler energy data firm.

Analysts cited by the Journal said Iran could run out of space to store crude in less than two weeks.

The US imposed its blockade five days into a truce that had been conditioned on Tehran lifting its own blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian blockade effectively choked off the waterway, which normally carries some 20 percent of the world’s energy shipments.

Iran’s blockade began soon after the US and Israel launched the war on February 28 in a bid to destabilize Iran’s regime and destroy its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

The war has caused a sharp rise in energy prices worldwide and intensified the rift among Trump’s supporters, many of whom are leery of US intervention abroad.

US Vice President JD Vance, an erstwhile critic of American adventurism overseas, has in private expressed concern that the war was depleting US weapons stockpiles as well as skepticism of the rosy picture that the Pentagon has given Trump of the war in Iran, The Atlantic reported Monday, citing unnamed administration officials and advisers to Vance.

Hopes of reviving peace efforts have receded since Trump on Saturday scrapped a visit by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to mediator Pakistan, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shuttled in and out twice during the weekend.

Senior Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters Araghchi presented a proposal in Islamabad that envisioned talks in stages, with the nuclear issue to be set aside at the start.

A first step would require ending the war and providing guarantees that the fighting could not start up again. Then negotiators would resolve the US naval blockade and the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran aims to reopen under its control. Only then would talks look at other issues, including Iran’s uranium enrichment, which Iran demands to continue and the US seeks to end.

Though Iran, whose leaders are sworn to destroy Israel, denies seeking nuclear arms, it has enriched uranium to levels with no peaceful application and obstructed international oversight of nuclear facilities. Washington has said nuclear issues must be dealt with from the outset.

The path forward for negotiations remains unclear. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled on Monday that Iran was not desperate for talks. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Iran was “humiliating” the US in the drama surrounding the talks.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 Rubio rejects new Iranian proposal to reopen Strait of Hormuz, with future of talks in limbo

2 Iran said to offer US deal to reopen Hormuz, end war and put off nuclear talks

3 Inside storyAs Hamas prepares to choose 1st leader since Sinwar, postwar Gaza’s fate hangs in the balance

4 IDF chief slams ‘unethical’ conduct by soldiers; cites smashing of Jesus statue, inciteful insignia

5 Slain soldier’s girlfriend says at funeral that she saw his death in Lebanon in real time

6 3 women take Chief Rabbinate exam for first time in history, after delay ended by court order

7 Kyiv summons Israeli envoy, EU warns of sanctions after 2nd ‘stolen’ grain ship incident

8 IDF strikes Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley for first time in 3 weeks as some towns in north cancel school

2026 US-Israel war with Iran

Iran's nuclear program

© The Times of Israel