US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire deal with Iran was “over” and described further engagement with Tehran as “a waste of time”, following a fresh escalation in tensions.<\/p>\n
His remarks came after air raid sirens sounded across Bahrain and Kuwait, while Iran claimed it had targeted 85 US military installations in retaliation for attacks on its Hormozgan province and the port city of Mahshahr.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump said the United States had struck Iran “very hard” and warned that Washington would respond to any further attacks. “I told them that every time you hit, we hit,” he said. <\/p>\n
He accused Iran of being \u201cdirty players\u201d and said they were a \u201ccancer\u201d that had to be cut out early. Calling Iranian government leaders \u201cevil people, sick people,\u201d Trump said, \u201c\u2026we have to rid of that cancer\u2026 You got to cut out cancer early.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to deal with them, but they\u2019re scum,\u201d Trump said. \u201cYou know what scum is? They\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
Also Read | US-Iran News LIVE: Trump says Iran ceasefire ‘over’; Oil prices jump 5%<\/a><\/p>\n Iran could not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, Trump said, adding that Tehran had been \u201ctrouble\u201d for 47 years. He reiterated that the US objective was the denuclearisation of Iran \u2014 \u201cWe’re going to denuke it.\u201d<\/p>\n Three ships were attacked in Hormuz, apparently by Iran, which has said repeatedly it won\u2019t allow vessels to transit the crucial energy waterway without its permission.<\/p>\n Slamming the attack, the US President said Iran had fired missiles at ships instead of focusing on funeral ceremonies for its slain leader and said the US response was \u201c20 times tougher.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also criticised NATO<\/a>, saying he was unhappy that the alliance had not done more to confront what he called \u201cthe number one state-sponsored terror,\u201d referring to Iran.<\/p>\n The end of attacks on commercial shipping and the US waiver were central elements of a memorandum of understanding that halted fighting between the US and Iran and set up a 60-day period for negotiations on a broader peace deal.<\/p>\n The US blamed Iran for the attacks on shipping, while Tehran said the military strikes and waiver revocation violated the agreement between the two countries.<\/p>\n Also Read | US launches \u2018series of powerful strikes\u2019 on Iran<\/a>US-Iran peace talks<\/p>\n Negotiators would continue to work toward a final deal between Washington and Tehran, but even before the most recent escalation, the prospect for a broader agreement remained uncertain, Bloomberg quoted a US official as saying.<\/p>\n There are a number of sticking points to resolve, including future tolls on traffic through Hormuz, unfreezing Iranian assets and the Islamic Republic\u2019s nuclear ambitions, the official said.<\/p>\n Talks between the US and Iran resumed last week after the two countries traded strikes. But the negotiations were suspended again as Iran conducted a weeklong mass funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on the first day of the conflict in late February.<\/p>\n Qatar has said the next meeting will be scheduled at the earliest possible time following the funeral processions. Khamenei is set to be buried in his home city of Mashhad<\/a> on July 9.<\/p>\n Also Read | US Senator slams Pakistan after Shehbaz Sharif attends Khamenei funeral<\/a>Oil prices jump 5%<\/p>\n