President Donald Trump said the tentative ceasefire with Iran is “over” after an intense bombing campaign overnight that followed Iranian attacks on commercial shipping.
“For me? I think it’s over,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re scum.”
He said talks with Iran could continue, but they’re a waste of time. “They’re liars, they’re cheats. They’re sick people.”
US CLAWS BACK KEY CONCESSION TO IRAN AFTER FRESH ATTACKS ON COMMERCIAL SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
The comments may signal an end to weeks of talks that followed both sides signing a memorandum of understanding, in which they agreed to allow traffic to resume in the Strait of Hormuz and spend 60 days negotiating a long-term peace deal.
But Iran struck at least three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday, and the U.S. military responded with strikes on more than 80 targets in Iran.
On Wednesday the Kuwaiti military said it intercepted two Iranian ballistic missiles and 13 drones.
“We attacked very powerfully last night the very dangerous people from Iran,” Trump said.
He noted that the U.S. had given Iranians a week off from negotiations for the funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“We said, go and do your funeral stuff,” he said. “And instead of that, they started shooting rockets at ships yesterday.”
He continued to insist the U.S. would “denuclearize” Iran and likened the country’s leadership to cancer. “You know what you do? You’ve got to cut out cancer early.”
TRUMP ENTERS FINAL NATO SUMMIT DAY AS UKRAINE, DEFENSE SPENDING TAKE CENTER STAGE
On Tuesday, the U.S. clawed back oil sanctions waivers — a key concession offered to Iran as part of the memorandum of understanding.
British maritime authorities confirmed a vessel was struck by a projectile near the coast of Oman Monday, while Iranian state media reported the ship had ignored warnings from Iranian forces. The attack reportedly caused a fire on board, but there were no immediate reports of fatalities.
A second vessel, the Saudi-flagged crude tanker Wedyan, also sustained damage near the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official confirmed.
On Tuesday, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that another tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz had been struck by an unidentified projectile.
Iran has insisted it should play a leading role in managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and has sought to collect fees from commercial vessels transiting the strategic waterway. The Trump administration has rejected that position, insisting the strait remain open to free international navigation.
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