Hours after declaring his recent ceasefire agreement “dead” in light of renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is no longer even interested in trying to reach a deal with Iran.
“I’m not sure I want to make any deal with them,” Trump said of Tehran during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, where he was visiting to attend a summit of the NATO military alliance.
“We can play games, but I’m not sure I want to make a deal,” Trump said. He added, “Let’s finish the job.”
The president was asked why he had grown so angry at Iran’s rulers – most recently blaming them as “scum” and “sick people” – when just a month earlier he had praised them, calling them “smart,” “very rational” and “good to deal with.”
Trump responded, “I know him.”
He said he still believes they are more rational than previous leaders whom the US killed in the war that began on February 28.
He added, “But based on their actions over the last week or two, they’re not doing that, they’re not serving the people, and I think that more than anything else, I know them.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said the US ceasefire with Iran was “over” following the latest outbreak of violence in the Middle East.
Tehran attacked three commercial ships in or near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, according to US Central Command and this Joint Maritime Information CenterA US-led naval group.
Following those attacks, the US revoked a waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil sales that was part of a temporary ceasefire agreement between the two countries last month.
Then, the US said it launched dozens counter attack On Iranian military infrastructure and small boats.
The strait, a major route for the world’s oil trade, has been a major focus of tension during the war. Iran’s ability to block the waterway, and its intention to begin charging tolls on ships passing through, gives it an enormous advantage in opposing a larger US force. Trump retaliated by ordering a naval blockade of Iranian ports in the region.
As part of the agreement, the US agreed to lift its blockade and Iran agreed to make “its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels” in the Gulf region.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei accused the US of violating that section of the agreement in an ex-post on Wednesday afternoon, claiming it “insists” that Iran is responsible for “setting arrangements” for ships passing through the strait.
“The US has challenged this clause and, in practice, has violated the structure of the agreement through its unilateral actions and aggressive attacks against Iran,” Bakaei wrote. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will resolutely safeguard its national interests and exercise its sovereignty.”
“I don’t want to make any deals with them anymore,” Trump said of Iran on Wednesday. He said trying to deal with the Islamic Republic was a “waste of time”.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” Trump said of the ceasefire.
He later vowed that the US would take more military action “tonight”. But he later walked back his threat, saying at a press conference that he could “order” those attacks.