US president Donald Trump has said the Iran ceasefire is on “life support” after rejecting Tehran’s latest proposal, which officials said included some nuclear concessions. Trump also proposed suspending the federal gas tax to help with higher fuel prices caused by the war.

The stalled diplomacy and recent exchanges of fire could tip the Middle East back into open warfare and prolong the worldwide energy crisis sparked by the conflict. Iran still has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil and gas shipments, and America is blockading Iranian ports.

Asked at the White House if the ceasefire was still in effect, Trump said it’s on “life support”.

“I would call it the weakest right now after reading that piece of garbage they sent us,” Trump added. “I didn’t even finish reading it.”

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade this morning as negotiations to end the war between ‌the US and Iran appeared fragile, with Tehran’s response to a US proposal highlighting stark differences that kept supply concerns alive.

Brent crude futures were up 30 cents, or 0.29 per cent, at $104.51 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate gained 31 cents, or ​0.32 per cent, to $98.38.

“As long as the US-Iran negotiations remain inconclusive and physical flows through the Strait of Hormuz stay restricted, we should see prices holding above $100,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at ​KCM Trade.

The Trump administration has announced sanctions against three people and nine companies, including four based in Hong Kong and four in the United Arab Emirates, for aiding Iran’s shipment of oil to China. The ⁠ninth company is based in Oman.

The US Treasury move follows sanctions announced on Friday on individuals and companies aiding Iranian purchases of weapons and components used to make drones and ballistic missiles.

It comes days before US president Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Xi Jinping, where he is expected to press the Chinese leader to help resolve the standoff ⁠with Iran and reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Treasury said ​the ⁠new designations by the Office of Foreign Assets Control were aimed at individuals and entities that helped Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sell and ship its allotment of Iranian oil to ⁠China using a series of front companies.T

reasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would keep using ​sanctions to ⁠deprive the Iranian government and military of ‌funding for weapons, its nuclear program or support for proxies in the region.

“Treasury will continue to cut the Iranian regime off from the financial networks it uses to carry out terrorist acts and to destabilize ‌the global economy,” Bessent said.

• US president Donald Trump has claimed the Iran ceasefire is on “life support” after rejecting Tehran’s latest proposal, which officials said included some nuclear concessions

• Iran sent its response to the latest US proposal to end the Iran war via Pakistani mediators over the weekend, but Trump rejected it in a social media post as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”

• The US government has imposed sanctions against three people and nine companies, including four based in Hong Kong and four in the United Arab Emirates, for aiding Iran’s shipment of oil to China

• Oil prices rose in early Asian trade this morning as negotiations to end the war between ‌the US and Iran appeared fragile