U.S. President Donald Trump said an interim agreement to end the war with Iran was "over" on Wednesday after Tehran carried out new attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf.
Smoke rises at an unknown location following what U.S. Central Command says is a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, in this still image taken from video released July 7, 2026. U.S. Central Command/Handout via Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump said an interim agreement to end the war with Iran was "over" on Wednesday after Tehran carried out new attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf.
In a flare-up of hostilities that pushed oil prices up to a two-week high, Iran said it had targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after U.S. forces struck Iranian targets in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks further undermined efforts to turn the interim ceasefire agreement that was reached last month into a permanent peace deal to end the war, which began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
Asked before a NATO summit in Turkey whether the memorandum of understanding reached last month was over, Trump said: "It's a very interesting question. To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them."
"They're scum. They're sick people. They're led by sick people," he told reporters in Ankara. "As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them."
Writing by Timothy Heritage
US President Donald Trump issued his most searing assessment yet of the Iranian regime on Wednesday, threatening to resume military strikes if Tehran fails to honour the memorandum of understanding signed last month, and describing its rulers in terms that stripped away any remaining diplomatic veneer.
The new attacks by the U.S. on Iran were "absolutely necessary," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Wednesday.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday after the U.S. launched a wave of military strikes on Iran in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
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