Trump says interim accord with Iran to end war is “over”

TEHRAN – US President Donald Trump said on July 8 that the ceasefire with Iran was “over” after the two sides traded fire, but added that negotiators could keep talking to Tehran.

Trump blasted Iran as “scum” and “cuckoo” after Washington launched strikes on the Islamic Republic overnight and Iran’s Guards said they had targeted US bases in the Gulf.

Oil prices jumped 5 per cent after Trump’s remarks.

“I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them any more, they’re scum,” Trump said at a NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara when asked if the truce with Iran was now finished.

“They’re scum, they’re sick people, they’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”

Trump said he would speak to businessman-turned-negotiator Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have been dealing with the Iranians, but insisted it was up to Tehran to return to the table.

“Frankly, I don’t want to waste my time with them. Now, I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it,” Trump said.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them. They’re liars.”

Trump accused the Iranians of repeatedly misrepresenting what had been agreed in the ceasefire that Washington and Tehran signed on June 17.

“Everyone’s agreed, no nuclear weapon. We make a deal. They go outside, joke to the press, they say we never even talked about it. There’s something wrong with them, they’re cuckoo,” Trump added.

NATO chief Mark Rutte, with whom Trump was meeting when he made the comments, backed the US strikes on Iran.

“I think what you did last night was absolutely necessary. It was a very strong response, and I’m with you on this,” Rutte told reporters.

‘Not happy’

But despite Rutte’s efforts to placate Trump – whom he called “Daddy” at a NATO summit in 2025 – the US leader again hit out at NATO for failing to get involved in the Iran war.

“I’m not happy with NATO because of the fact that they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror, that’s Iran. They were unwilling to help us,” Trump said.

“I spoke with UK, and the prime minister said, ‘well, we don’t want to help you now, but we’ll help you when the war is over.’ I said that’s not good. And likewise, I spoke to Germany, they didn’t want to help. Spoke to France, didn’t want to help.”

The US military said it had struck over 80 targets including Iranian speedboats in response to Iranian attacks on ships in the vital Strait of Hormuz.

The strategic shipping route remains a flashpoint in the conflict, which began in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Tehran insists on controlling the waterway, saying it will charge fees for passage and threatening to hit vessels that deviate from its authorised route.

Its military has struck at least three ships in recent days, which prompted extensive US strikes against Iranian targets on July 7 followed by retaliatory attacks from Iran on Gulf countries.

Both sides reported hitting dozens of targets, placing fresh strain on an interim deal to end their war and pushing oil prices to their highest level in two weeks.

Iranian state media on July 8 reported a wave of explosions around the strait, including six on the island of Qeshm, seven in the city of Sirik and more in the major port city of Bandar Abbas.

It later also reported a series of blasts in the port city of Bushehr, which hosts the country’s only civilian nuclear power plant and lies near Kharg island, the main oil terminal through which 90 per cent of the nation’s crude exports transit.

State media said a member of the military’s Revolutionary Guards was killed in Iran’s south-west.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces had struck over 80 targets, including Iranian air defence systems, coastal radar sites and 60 IRGC small boats.

The strikes aimed “to degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor”, it said.

Tehran’s reply came quickly, with the Guards saying they hit dozens of US military facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain, where an AFP journalist heard blasts.

Early on July 8, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry and the Kuwaiti army both reported their air defence systems were triggered, but did not offer details of any possible damage.

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused the United States of “major” breaches of their memorandum of understanding, including by reinstating oil sanctions and “violating Iranian adjustments in the strait”.

Washington revoked sanction waivers on Iranian oil sales, raising pressure on Tehran as it negotiates over a final settlement to the conflict.

The US Treasury Department cancelled a licence announced in June that had allowed Iran to produce, sell and deliver crude oil and related products through Aug 21.

“Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences,” a US official told AFP.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the US-Iran memorandum of understanding was “entirely performance-based”, warning that Tehran would see benefits only if it showed “good behaviour”.

Hormuz attacks

British maritime security agency UKMTO said on July 7 that an “unknown projectile” hit a tanker near Hormuz, causing a fire, before two more vessels were struck, at least one by a drone.

CENTCOM identified the ships as the Marshall Islands-flagged Al Rekayyat, the Saudi Arabia-flagged Wedyan and the Liberia-flagged Cyprus Prosperity.

All three vessels were struck close to Oman, which had proposed a temporary transit corridor hugging its coastline – an initiative opposed by Iran as it seeks to impose fees on ships using the narrow waterway.

The Al-Rekayyat is Qatari, and Doha denounced the “unacceptable” attack on international maritime navigation and summoned Iran’s deputy ambassador to lodge a complaint.

Iran voiced “dismay” over Qatar’s accusations in a statement carried by state news agency IRNA, calling the claims “unacceptable”.

“We are now in a sensitive period where potential alternatives to an Iranian toll or fee system are being explored,” Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King’s College London, told AFP.

“Iran is sending a clear signal that no alternative will be accepted.” AFP