US President Donald Trump says he believes his country’s ceasefire with Iran is over, responding to a question about the state of the truce following fresh attacks across the Gulf.
Whether it means a return to all-out war remains to be seen, given Mr Trump said he would continue speaking with his negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner about the next steps.
But he labelled the Iranians as “liars”, “scum” and “sick people”.
“They’re cuckoo. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” he said at a NATO summit in Türkiye.
“It’s just a waste of time dealing with them.“
It comes after the US military launched fresh strikes against Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf, in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US also revoked a licence allowing Iran to sell oil, a key part of the memorandum of understanding signed by Mr Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian just three weeks ago.
In response, Iran launched missiles and drones across the Gulf, targeting countries such as Bahrain and Kuwait.
Kuwait’s state news agency said two ballistic missiles and 13 drones were fired at the country on Wednesday morning, local time, but there was no damage or casualties recorded.
“They’re liars, they’re cheats, they’re sick people,” Mr Trump said, sitting alongside the secretary-general of NATO, Mark Rutte, in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
“I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking, but I don’t like it,” he said.
The week-long funeral procession for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been underway for a number of days, leading to a pause in the technical talks between Iran and the US on a lasting peace deal.
On Tuesday, before Mr Trump’s comments, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a warning to the United States to tone down its threatening rhetoric.
“Negotiations on final Deal will not commence if threats continue Honor your signature,” he posted on social media platform X.
Oman, the country on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, condemned the latest strikes across the Gulf.
“The Sultanate of Oman affirms that the escalation of military tensions in the region poses a threat to its security, to navigational safety, to the smooth flow of international trade, and to energy supplies, renewing its total rejection of any actions that would undermine the security of states or expose civilian and commercial ships to danger,” its foreign ministry said on social media.
“The Sultanate of Oman calls on all parties to exercise restraint, halt the escalation, prioritize the language of dialogue and diplomatic solutions, and commit to the full implementation of the signed understandings in support of efforts to consolidate security and peace.”
The European Union also called for calm.
“The exchanges of fire between the US and Iran further complicate already fraught talks to end the war,” the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said.
“Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait are unacceptable.”
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