Trump said an interim deal to end the Iran war was “over” and warned the United States would likely strike again Wednesday night, after Iran hit American bases in the Gulf.
Oil prices jumped roughly 7% following the exchange. Iran said Wednesday it had struck U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, a response to earlier U.S. attacks on Iranian targets carried out after tankers came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
The clash shook a fragile ceasefire and cast doubt on whether the memorandum of understanding signed June 17 would turn into a lasting peace agreement. The war began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
“If we make a deal with Iran I’m not sure that will stick,” Trump said, “because I found them to be very dishonourable people.”
Trump said he doesn’t expect the fighting to escalate into full-scale war again, though it remains unclear whether talks on a permanent deal will continue.
oil prices rise, stocks fall
Asked before a NATO summit in Turkey whether the memorandum of understanding still stood, Trump said: “It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” he told reporters in Ankara. He then added: “Now, I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it. I don’t like these people, you know that.”
A source familiar with the Ankara talks said Trump didn’t repeat those comments when he met with NATO leaders. But he later warned of fresh strikes ahead of a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“I’ll give a little warning: We’re going to hit them hard tonight,” Trump told reporters.
At a press conference afterward, he said he doesn’t think the war will restart. “Anything that happens is going to be over very quickly,” he said, “and will only make it safer, including for oil.”
Shipping data showed at least four oil and gas tankers turned back rather than attempt to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a corridor central to global energy trade.
Iranian state media reported eight Iranian service members were killed in the U.S. strikes on southern Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the attacks violated the memorandum by undercutting a clause that gives Iran responsibility for arranging safe passage of ships through the strait.
It wasn’t clear how Iran planned to respond. The hardline Revolutionary Guard, which is close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and widely seen as driving policy since the war started, hadn’t yet commented.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran must speak to Trump in the language of force to be understood. Iran’s Press TV cited an unnamed “informed source” saying Iran would close the strait if the U.S. attacks again.
iran says u.s. violated memorandum
A spokesperson for parliament’s National Security Commission said Iran’s retaliation options include withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, changing its nuclear doctrine, or closing the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea, another major shipping route.
Trump has pulled back from threats against Iran before, but oil prices and bond markets moved sharply this time. Brent crude futures jumped 7%, the biggest one-day gain since late May, to $79.07 a barrel.
That’s still well below the peaks above $120 seen at the height of the fighting. But it was enough to raise fresh inflation concerns in the bond market, especially after months of conflict have already drawn down global oil inventories. Wall Street’s main indexes fell.
The Revolutionary Guards said they attacked U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait and shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone that tried to interfere with the operation. Bahrain’s army said it had stopped the Iranian attacks.
The U.S. had launched its own strikes earlier and revoked a license that allowed Iran to sell oil, a response to attacks on three tankers in the strait. U.S. Central Command said the operation hit more than 60 small boats used by the Revolutionary Guard, intended to impose a heavy cost on Iran for striking shipping in violation of the ceasefire.
Trump said U.S. forces had “knocked out 28 boats last night” and would probably hit more later. He confirmed the U.S. had struck Iran’s main oil hub at Kharg Island and repeated a warning that U.S. forces could seize the island. “They may hit it again tonight,” he said.
iran seeks to exploit control of strait
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, called the U.S. strikes a “blatant act of aggression.” Iranian media reported explosions on Kharg Island, on Qeshm Island, and in the southern port cities of Sirik and Bandar Abbas.
A U.S. official told Reuters the strikes targeted Iranian air defense systems, coastal surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and drone launch sites. No civilian deaths were reported in Iran.
Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between Iran and Oman, has given Tehran substantial leverage in its negotiations with Washington.
Under the interim U.S.-Iran agreement, the U.S. Treasury had issued a general license allowing the sale of Iranian crude oil, petrochemicals, and petroleum products through August 21. The U.S. revoked that license Tuesday, giving Iran until July 17 to wind down any remaining transactions. Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the move a breach of the framework agreement.
