US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire agreement with Iran was ‘over’ and called the Iranian leadership ‘scum’ and a ‘cuckoo’ after gunfights broke out overnight.
Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Turkey that the United States “hit them very hard last night” and “will probably hit them hard again tonight.”
“I’m not happy,” Trump said, accusing Iran of violating a temporary agreement the two countries signed in June calling for an end to the conflict, calling it “lies” and “deception.”
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati warned that new US attacks would face an “immediate response.”
Tuesday night into Wednesday marked the worst exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran since the agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding (MOU), was signed on June 17.
It included 14 items, including a 60-day ceasefire period during which negotiations should continue, safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iran.
Asked about the deal at the NATO summit on Wednesday, Trump said: “I think I’m done. I don’t want to do any more business with them. They’re scum… They’re led by sick people and they’re evil, violent people.”
“We made a deal. They (Iran) go out and talk to the press, and they say, ‘We never talked about it.’ There’s something wrong with them. They’re cuckoos. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”
At a press conference after the summit, President Trump said he did not think the war with Iran would start again and that “whatever happens, it will end quickly.”
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, “President Trump’s remarks are not a show of strength, but an admission that years of policies based on brute force, sanctions and threats have failed.”
He added that Iran must speak “Trump’s language.” “Apparently he (Trump) understands the language of force better!”
Ahead of the summit, Trump said U.S. negotiators could continue talks “if they want,” but that it would be “a waste of time.”
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said on Tuesday it had launched a “heavy-duty” strike in response to an attack on three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said Wednesday it had attacked U.S. bases in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes.
The United States also announced that it had lifted temporary sanctions on oil sales to Iran.
Oil prices surged after Trump’s comments but are still well below their peaks during the period when the strait was completely closed.
Iranian state media reported that eight Iranian soldiers were killed in U.S. airstrikes in Bandar Abbas and Bushehr in southern Iran.
Centcom said Wednesday that more than 20 U.S. Navy warships continue to patrol waters across the Middle East.
