President Trump announced Wednesday that a memorandum of understanding with Iran is effectively void following overnight airstrikes targeting 80 Iranian sites in response to attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
"To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum," Trump stated in Ankara, Turkey, referring to the preliminary peace deal signed on June 17. He described the Iranian leadership as "vicious, violent people" and "liars, cheats, sick people."
"Frankly, I don’t want to waste my time with them," the president added. "Now I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it."
Iran's lead negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, issued a statement asserting that "the era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold."
The memorandum of understanding had established a 60-day period to negotiate the status of Iran's nuclear program, which Trump identified as a core war aim, alongside potential sanctions relief and the unfreezing of Iranian assets. Iran had attacked three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday, insisting that all vessels adhere to a Tehran-approved shipping route, diverging from a route favored by the U.S. and its allies along the Omani coast.
While tensions have flared over the strait since the memorandum's inception, Trump's public remarks marked a more personal and emphatic response. He referenced past Iranian plots to assassinate him, stating, "They want to take out the US leader, me. I’m on every list." He further commented on reports of his name appearing on Iranian assassination lists, adding, "These are evil, sick people and we have to rid their cancer."
Iran has been asserting increased control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of global oil exports transit annually, including the imposition of new shipping fees.
