United States President Donald Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is \u201cover\u201d, describing Iranian leaders as \u201csick people\u201d after Iran and the US exchanged military attacks.<\/p>\n
Trump made the comments from the NATO summit in the Turkish capital of Ankara, about three weeks after the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cease fighting, lift the US naval blockade of Iran, and open the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
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That agreement served as a launch point for 60 days of talks on more intractable issues, including the future of Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, future administration of the Strait of Hormuz, and access to billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s over. I don\u2019t want to deal with them any more; they\u2019re scum,\u201d Trump said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re scum, they\u2019re sick people, they\u2019re led by sick people, and they\u2019re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they\u2019d use it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite saying the truce was \u201cover\u201d, Trump also said US negotiators would be allowed to continue talks with their Iranian counterparts.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankly, I don\u2019t want to waste my time with them. Now, I\u2019ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don\u2019t see it,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
The US president\u2019s comments come after the US and Iranian forces exchanged attacks in the Gulf.<\/p>\n
US Central Command said it launched \u201cpowerful strikes\u201d against more than 80 \u201ctargets\u201d after Iranian attacks on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, an arterial waterway through which about 20 percent of the world\u2019s daily oil trade transited prior to the US-Israel war on Iran that began on February 28.<\/p>\n
The latest US attacks came hours after the US Treasury said it revoked a sanctions waiver allowing sales of Iranian crude oil.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its forces responded by attacking 85 US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a NATO event on Wednesday, Trump also re-upped a laundry list of past threats against Iran.<\/p>\n
He said the US will \u201cprobably\u201d launch more strikes on the country tonight. He said the US could reinstate its naval blockade on Iran and target its electricity and water plants \u2013 attacks that international law experts say constitute war crimes. Trump added that US forces \u201cmay take over\u201d Iran\u2019s Kharg Island, a prospect that would all but assuredly require boots on the ground.<\/p>\n
Sitting next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO gathering, Trump again cast doubts on diplomacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we make a deal with Iran, I\u2019m not sure that will stick, because I found them to be very dishonourable people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In a subsequent speech, Trump again appeared to contradict himself, saying he did not think a full-fledged war was \u201cgoing to start again\u201d.<\/p>\n
Reporting from Ankara, Al Jazeera\u2019s James Bays said Trump\u2019s rhetoric marks a stark departure from a few weeks ago, when he delivered \u201csomewhat complimentary\u201d remarks about the Iranian leadership.<\/p>\n
Bays says the question is whether \u201cthis [is] just tough talk from Trump \u2026 or does this mean he is really tearing up the memorandum of understanding [MoU] that was agreed on about three weeks ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
GCC slams attacks on Gulf states<\/p>\n
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned the Iranian attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, describing them as a flagrant violation of the two countries\u2019 sovereignty and a continuation of Tehran\u2019s efforts to undermine regional peace efforts.<\/p>\n
In a statement, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed AlBudaiwi said the strikes represented a direct threat to the safety of citizens and residents and a grave breach of international law and the United Nations Charter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe attacks confirm Iran\u2019s continued approach aimed at undermining international and regional efforts to establish security and peace and resolve the crisis,\u201d said AlBudaiwi.<\/p>\n
Reporting from Doha, Al Jazeera\u2019s Malik Traina said he believes \u201cwe\u2019ll see a measured approach from the Gulf countries\u201d following these latest US and Iranian attacks, as \u201cnobody here in the Gulf wants to see a resumption of hostilities\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s going to be a diplomatic push from across the Gulf to bring Iran and the US back to the negotiating table. Nobody wants to see a breakdown of this ceasefire, or the MoU,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera\u2019s Resul Serdar Atas said Trump\u2019s remarks \u201cwill definitely have repercussions in Tehran\u201d.<\/p>\n
Following its attacks on the two Gulf countries, Iran\u2019s IRGC has said that \u201cin the coming days, they are going to retaliate in a harsher way\u201d, Serdar Atas said.<\/p>\n
While the Iranian leadership has accused the US of violating several articles of the MoU, \u201c[neither side has] said that it\u2019s over yet\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n
The latest flare-up comes after a promised pause in US attacks as Iran holds funeral processions for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in joint US and Israeli strikes at the start of the war on February 28.<\/p>\n
US war critics, supporters react<\/p>\n
In the US, top critics of Trump\u2019s war said the latest comments underscored the gargantuan task of disengaging from the conflict.<\/p>\n
While the MoU bolstered hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough, Washington and Tehran have made little progress in addressing the more fundamental issues of the conflict.<\/p>\n
For example, Trump on Wednesday again said Washington\u2019s top goal was \u201cde-nuclearisation\u201d of Iran. Tehran has rejected abandoning its civilian nuclear programme.<\/p>\n
The MoU only contains a repeat of Iran\u2019s years-long claim that it was not seeking a nuclear weapon, while committing to \u201cmaintain the current status quo of its nuclear programme\u201d during the negotiating period.<\/p>\n
In a post on X, US Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, accused Trump of botching the talks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe negotiations are a \u2018waste of time\u2019 because Trump\u2019s negotiators change by the day. So do his goals and demands,\u201d Murphy wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all gross incompetence that is costing American taxpayers and consumers billions.\u201d<\/p>\n
US House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries said the latest updates showed that \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s reckless war of choice in Iran has been a disaster\u201d.<\/p>\n