Donald Trump said the Iran war ceasefire was "over" at a Nato summit in Turkey after the US and Iran exchanged strikes overnight. He tied the remarks to a fresh round of violence that reached Bandar Abbas and the Strait of Hormuz, with Washington and Tehran again trading blame and military action.
Trump said, "I don't want to deal with them anymore, they're scum." He added, "They're sick people, they're led by sick people... As far as I'm concerned, it's over," while also saying negotiators on both sides can continue to talk, though "I think they're wasting their time."
US strikes and Iranian response
Late on Tuesday, the US said it had fired at more than 80 Iranian targets after attacks on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not directly claimed responsibility for the tanker attacks, but it said it was targeting US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to American strikes overnight.
Multiple strikes on Bandar Abbas were captured on video overnight, with several explosions visible and flames rising over a facility in the city. It was not clear from the footage what the US was targeting, leaving the location as the most concrete sign of where the exchange pushed next. For readers trying to track the shipping risk, the line from tanker attacks to strikes near the Strait of Hormuz shows how quickly the Gulf has become part of the fighting again.
Nato and Qatar react
Mark Rutte said the US strikes were "absolutely necessary" and accused Iran of "basically violating the ceasefire". Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the US "breached the truce". Qatar described Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait as "unjustified" and a "blatant breach" of international law and the two countries' sovereignty.
Qatar's foreign ministry said dialogue and diplomacy should be pursued to de-escalate tensions and build upon the progress achieved under the memorandum of understanding. Tehran and Washington signed that 14-page memorandum of understanding last month, aimed at extending the ceasefire and ending the conflict "on all fronts". The latest exchange was described as the worst between the US and Iran since it was signed on 17 June.
Whether the ceasefire survives this exchange depends on whether negotiators keep talking or whether the new strikes force a break in the memorandum of understanding. Trump said talks can continue, but his own line at the Nato summit leaves the next move with Washington and Tehran rather than with the summit room.
