Trump declares Iran ceasefire is over, calls its leaders sick, bunch of scum
Weeks after signing an interim peace deal to end the war, Donald Trump said the US-Iran ceasefire was over as the countries traded strikes overnight. The US unleashed a new wave of military strikes on Iran after it claimed Tehran hit three ships in Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump suggested that the interim peace deal signed with Iran to end the conflict was "over", hours after America launched fresh strikes against Tehran in retaliation for attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking at a Nato summit in Turkey, a furious Trump called the Iranian leaders "scum" and "sick people", underlining that he did not want to engage with Tehran.
When asked about the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Iran barely three weeks ago, Trump put it bluntly. "For me, the MoU is over. I don't want to deal with them anymore," the US President said. What it means on the ground isn't exactly clear, even though oil prices soared by over 3% after Trump's remarks.
Weeks after signing an interim deal to end the war, the US and Iran have struggled to maintain their fragile truce. Behind the uneasiness is Iran's bid to leverage its control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the global energy flows.
On Wednesday, the US President was unsparing in his assessment of the Iranian leadership.
"They are scum. They are sick people. They are vicious, violent people. If they had a nuclear weapon they'd use it," Trump said.
Trump, however, suggested that negotiators of both sides could continue to talk, but dismissed the exercise as a "waste of time". He emphasised that there was little to gain from engaging with "cuckoos".
"I will speak to our negotiators... As far as I am concerned, it is just a waste of time dealing with them. They are liars," Trump said.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry had toed a similar line previously, saying that US actions have rendered "fundamental elements of the agreement to end the war ineffective".
US AND IRAN TRADE STRIKES
On Tuesday, any sense of calm in the region evaporated almost entirely after the US launched a broad wave of strikes in Iran. The US also reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
A US official told Axios that the strikes, which targeted over 80 military sites, were the most intense on Iran since May.
Surveillance systems, missile sites, and port facilities were also struck as Iran held its week-long funeral ceremony for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes in March.
On Tuesday night, explosions were heard across Bandar Abbas, Sirik, as well as on Qeshm Island.
The US said the strikes were in response to Iran's attacks on three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Among the vessels attacked on Tuesday was Al-Rekayyat, which was travelling off the coast of Oman to India.
While Iran called the accusations by the US "questionable", it has previously declared that only its approved route through Hormuz was safe. The vessels attacked on Tuesday were using the route close to the Omani shore, tracking details showed.
Iran, on the other hand, responded by targeting dozens of US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, which is home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards claimed it downed an MQ-9 drone as well, but there was no confirmation.
The sudden flare-up in the conflict between the US and Iran has again put the world on edge. While minor tit-for-tat strikes have continued over the past few weeks, Trump's remarks on the ceasefire are the most definitive statement to have been made since the signing of the MoU.
It was only last week that US and Iranian officials travelled to Qatar for indirect talks over Tehran's nuclear program. The back-to-back developments now add a new complication to the already tricky situation.