BREAKING: Donald Trump Says Interim Deal With Iran To End War Is Over
President Trump early Wednesday said the interim agreement with Iran to pause fighting is over following a series of strikes between the U.S. and Tehran overnight.
“To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum,” Trump said, speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
“I’ll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate. They’re good people,” he continued. “But they have to come back to me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them [Iran].”
The president’s comments come hours after U.S. Central Command announced on Tuesday that the military deployed a series of “powerful” strikes against targets in Iran after Tehran attacked at least three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Additionally, the Trump administration revoked a sanctions waiver that had permitted the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals. The move came after Iran launched the first wave of strikes.
Following the U.S. retaliatory strikes on Tuesday, Iran’s top negotiator and parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the U.S. of violating the interim agreement.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
Early on Wednesday, Iran targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.
According to The Associated Press, senior United Arab Emirates Diplomat Anwar Gargash referred to Iran’s targeting of the Gulf countries as “a clear indicator that Tehran remains incapable of committing to the requirements of de-escalation and turning the page on war.”
Iran has been in the midst of large, multiday funeral processions for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes at the end of February.
When Trump was asked in Turkey if his comments saying he believed that the interim agreement meant that talks between the U.S. and Iran would not resume, the president said he did not care.
“They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time. They’re a bunch of lying guys,” the president said.
Trump went on to hit the regime in Tehran for suppressing Iranians who speak out against it, and said it was not possible for them to rise up against the nation’s leadership.
“They’ve hurt their people. They killed 54,000 people as of now that were protesting,” the president said. “When people say ‘How come they haven’t taken over?’ They can’t take over because they’re dead.”
“Nobody’s going to take over. They have no guns and the other side has machine guns,” he said.
Trump reiterated that he did not want to waste his time with Iranian leadership, but that he would let “our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want.”
“But I don’t see it,” he added.
