US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the ceasefire and Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Iran were effectively “over,” declaring he no longer wanted to negotiate with Tehran after a sharp escalation in hostilities across the Gulf.
Trump described Iran’s leadership in scathing terms, saying, “I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re scum.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over. It’s just a waste of time dealing with them. They’re liars… There is something wrong with them. They are cuckoo,” Trump told reporters alongside Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in Ankara, signalling what appeared to be the collapse of the preliminary understanding reached between Washington and Tehran.
The statement by US President came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had launched missile and drone attacks on US military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for recent US strikes on southern Iran and Washington’s decision to tighten sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The escalation followed US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) announcement that American forces had launched a series of “powerful” strikes against targets in Iran after Tehran allegedly attacked at least three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM said the strikes were intended to “impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians” in the strategic waterway, through which about 20 per cent of global oil and gas supplies pass.
“Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
Trump accused Iran of violating the ceasefire by targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and reiterated that he saw little value in continuing diplomatic engagement.
“They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time. Frankly, I don’t want to waste my time with them,” Trump said, referring to U.S. negotiators. “I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it.”
The US president also described Iran’s leadership as “evil” and “a cancer” that needed to be confronted before it became a greater threat, while repeating Washington’s position that Tehran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s foreign ministry said the responsibility for the latest escalation in hostilities lies with the United States and also accused Washington of “treaty-breaking.”
In a statement, Tehran said U.S. military strikes, the reimposition of sanctions on Iranian oil exports and continued regional military actions had rendered key provisions of the agreement ineffective. It said responsibility for the deterioration in the situation rested with Washington.
Trump also criticised NATO allies, saying they had failed to sufficiently support the United States in confronting what he called “the number one state sponsor of terror, that’s Iran,” while again complaining that Washington was bearing a disproportionate share of the alliance’s defence costs.
Qatar blamed Iran for attacking Al-Rekayyat, a Qatari liquefied natural gas vessel, accusing the Islamic Republic of disrupting maritime traffic in the strait and violating international law.
The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, which is affiliated with the British Royal Navy, said on Monday a commercial tanker caught fire after being struck by a projectile while transiting near the coast of Oman. No casualties were reported.
Iran has warned oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz using Tehran’s approved routes or face a “forceful response” from its military.
The strikes on Al-Rekayyat and other ships come as huge crowds of people have attended the multiday funeral processions for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes at the end of February.
The latest escalation also prompted the Trump administration to revoke a sanctions waiver that had allowed the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals.
The U.S. Treasury Department said transactions previously authorised under the waiver must be wound down by July 17. The waiver had earlier permitted sales of Iranian oil through Aug. 21 and formed part of the ceasefire memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran last month.
The U.S. strikes occurred just hours after the Trump administration revoked a sanctions waiver that permitted the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals. The initial sanctions waiver was included in the memorandum of understanding signed by both the U.S. and Iran last month.
