Trump says ceasefire is 'over' after US and Iran trade strikes
US President Donald Trump says the ceasefire agreement with Iran is "over", blasting the country's leadership as "scum" and "cuckoo" after fresh exchanges of fire
US President Donald Trump says the ceasefire agreement with Iran is "over", blasting the country's leadership as "scum" and "cuckoo" after fresh exchanges of fire. Speaking ahead of a Nato summit in Turkey, the president said US negotiators could continue talks "if they want" but said he saw it as "a waste of time". Oil prices spiked by around 6% after Trump's comments, although are still well below the highs seen during the full closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The US and Iran renewed fighting late on Tuesday into Wednesday, in the worst exchange of fire since they signed an interim deal in June that called for an end to the conflict and safe passage of vessels through the strait. "I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore they're scum... they're led by sick people and they're vicious, violent people," Trump said.
"We make a deal. They [Iran] go outside, talk to the press, they say 'we never even talked about it'. There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo. As far as I'm concerned, it's over." The fresh wave of strikes began after three oil tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, with US Central Command (Centcom) saying on Tuesday it had launched "powerful" strikes in response.
On Wednesday, Iran said it targeted US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in retaliation to the US strikes. The US also said it had revoked its temporary suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
The BriefWire