“We hit them very hard last night,” Donald Trump told reporters in Turkey on Wednesday. “We’ll probably hit them hard again tonight.” With that, the U.S. president declared the ceasefire with Iran finished.
He was speaking at the NATO summit, and the threats came quickly. Trump said Washington could go after Iran’s electric plants and desalination facilities if the fighting widens. He also floated taking Iran’s main oil export terminal. “Maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island. We may take over Kharg Island. There’s not a thing they could do about it,” he said.
Tankers, then strikes
The trigger was Tuesday’s attack on three commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States said the assault broke the truce and endangered one of the busiest shipping lanes anywhere. U.S. Central Command answered by hitting more than 80 targets. Its list ran from air defense systems and command networks to coastal radar sites and anti-ship missile capabilities, plus more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and around the strait.
CENTCOM called Iran’s actions “unwarranted aggression” and a “dangerous violation of the ceasefire.” American forces, it added, remain “prepared to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not adhered to or obeyed.”
According to CNN, as relayed by iHeart, the two sides traded fire overnight. The Revolutionary Guard claimed attacks on U.S. military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait. The Treasury Department put sanctions back on Iranian oil sales, and crude prices jumped by more than 6% after Trump spoke.
Talks that nobody expects to work
Trump blamed Tehran for breaking the memorandum of understanding signed last month, citing the shipping attacks and strikes on American interests. His language about Iran’s leaders was harsh. “They’re scum,” he said, and called them “vicious, violent people.” Yet he said U.S. negotiators could “keep talking if they want.”
“I don’t care. They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time. They’re a bunch of lying guys,” he said.
The timing was awkward for diplomats. Negotiators had been due to start work on a final agreement once the multi-day funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ended on Thursday. Khamenei was killed on Feb. 28, in the first moments of the war. The talks were meant to tackle the hardest questions: fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz and rolling back Iran’s disputed nuclear program.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte backed the American response, calling it “absolutely necessary” given Iran’s violations of the ceasefire.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, answered on X. “The era of bullying and extortion is over,” he wrote. “It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”
On the margins of the summit, Trump also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while alliance leaders discussed the war in Ukraine and Europe’s long-term security.
Sources
- Trump declares Iran ceasefire 'over,' threatens more US strikes
- Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire "Over" Amid Rising Tensions | iHeart
