Donald Trump has escalated his war of words with Tehran, publicly branding Iran's leadership 'stupid people' after the collapse of its latest peace counterproposal over one pivotal issue: who controls Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
The breakdown marks the sharpest rupture yet in Pakistan-mediated negotiations since a conditional ceasefire was brokered on 8 April 2026, a truce that halted military hostilities but has failed to resolve the underlying conflict that began with US and Israeli air strikes on Iran on 28 February.Trump declared Iran's counterproposal 'totally unacceptable,'while Tehran vowed it would 'never bow', prolonging a standoff that has choked thethe Strait of Hormuzand roiled global energy markets. With no resolution in sight, the stakes – nuclear, diplomatic and economic – have rarely been higher.
The president's frustration spilled into public view across multiple platforms and press interactions over the weekend of 10–11 May 2026.Trump wrote on Truth Social: 'I have just read the response from Iran's so-called "Representatives." I don't like it, TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!'
Speaking separately to reporters at the White House, Trump went further. 'Forty-seven years, they've been toying with these stupid people,' Trump said, referring to Iran's leaders. 'In many cases, stupid people. They should have been done by Obama. He went the other way. He was giving him cash.'
Trump also accused Iran of reneging on an earlier commitment to allow the United States to remove its enriched uranium. 'They told me, number one, you're getting it, but you're going to have to take it out,' Trump told reporters. 'They just can't get there,' he added. 'They agree with us and then they take it back.'
The president additionally described a divide within Tehran's negotiating structure. He told reporters that there are 'moderates' and 'lunatics' within Iran's camp, and that 'the moderates are dying to make a deal.'
🚨 WOW! President Trump just PUMMELED IRAN"Are they STUPID people? They didn't want to believe it. They think that, well, I'll get tired of this. I'll get bored or I'll have some pressure? But there's NO pressure.""They give us a STUPID proposal. It's a STUPID proposal.…pic.twitter.com/nAkIoxoKqc
The substance of the dispute centres on Iran's estimated 440-kilogram stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 per cent purity, a level well beyond civilian power-generation requirements. Under Washington's 14-point peace proposal, Iran would be required to halt all uranium enrichment for at least 12 years, hand over its entire enriched uranium stockpile and agree not to develop a nuclear weapon. In return, the United States would gradually lift sanctions, release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets, and both sides would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days of any signed agreement.
Tehran rejected those core terms outright. According to people familiar withIran's counterproposal, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, Tehran offered to dilute some of its highly enriched uranium and transfer the remainder to a third country, but with a provision requiring it to be returned if the United States exits any eventual deal. Iran also said it was willing to suspend enrichment for a shorter period than the 20-year moratorium Washington proposed, and rejected dismantling its nuclear facilities entirely.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei defended the counterproposal on Monday, stating: 'We did not demand any concessions, the only thing we demanded was Iran's legitimate rights. The American side still insists on its one-sided views and unreasonable demands.' Iranian state media characterised the US proposal not as a peace framework, but as a demand for 'surrender'.
Source: International Business Times UK
