US President Donald Trump was returning from China to the United States when he told reporters on Air Force One that he only agreed to a ceasefire with Iran as a “favour” to Pakistan. He said that he would not have supported it but only did it as a request from another nation.
“We did the ceasefire as a request from another nation. I wouldn’t have been in favour of it, but we did it as a favour to Pakistan. They are terrific people, the Field Marshal and the Prime Minister,” Trump said.
The US president reiterated his decision that he does not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons and that Tehran should give up the enriched uranium that it has accumulated over the years.
VIDEO | Interacting with the media on board Air Force One while returning from his two-day China visit, US President Donald Trump said, “We really did the ceasefire at the request of other nations. I wouldn’t have really been in favor of it, but we did it as a favor to Pakistan.”… pic.twitter.com/qXw9GIEc49
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 15, 2026
Trump Rejected Iran’s Peace Proposal After Reading First Sentence
He rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal after reading the first sentence because Tehran had not offered sufficient guarantees regarding the end of its nuclear programme.
“Well, I looked at it, and if I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away,” he said.
.@POTUS on Iran’s latest proposal: “I looked at it, and if I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away… if they have any nuclear of any form, I don’t read the rest of their letter.” pic.twitter.com/Kjm8nLAwBf
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 15, 2026
Trump said the Iranian negotiators claim that the US strikes had damaged the nuclear facilities, and they were not in a position to retrieve nuclear fuel.
“They came up with a terrible secret. They said that they can’t remove it because they don’t have the technology to remove it. They don’t have the time and the practice,” Trump said in response to questions on Iran.
What Trump And Xi Discussed About Iran
The Republican leader had gone to China quite weak because of the prolonged war in Iran but came without any major breakthrough on Iran.
Read | ‘Xi Said China Won’t Arm Iran, Offered To Help Open Hormuz Strait’: Trump
On Friday, when Trump was with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing, he said, “We did discuss Iran. We feel very similar about [how] we want it to end. We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon. We want the straits open.”
“We want them [Iran] to get it ended because it’s a crazy thing there, a little bit crazy. And it’s no good, it can’t happen”, he added.
Trump Did Not “Need” China’s Help With Iran
However, after pushing China for weeks to take an active role to convince Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said that the US did not need Beijing’s help.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said, “I don’t think we need any help with Iran,” and stated that the US will win the war “one way or the other”.
Read | Analysis: Trump Wants China’s Help On Iran, But Beijing Has Other Plans
The United States hopes to convince China “to play a more active role in getting Iran to walk away from what they’re doing now and trying to do now in the Persian Gulf,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News’ “Hannity” programme in a clip released on Wednesday.
“We’ve made clear to them that any support for Iran would obviously be detrimental for our relationship. That obviously is going to come up in this conversation on trade.” Rubio also said in the interview that took place on board Air Force One en route to China.
