President Trump said Wednesday at the NATO summit in Ankara that he believes the ceasefire with Iran is over after an exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran.
"I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum," Trump told reporters in Ankara, and he called Iranian leaders "vicious, violent people." He said top U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner want to negotiate, but added, "as far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars."
The comment came after the U.S. and Iran traded attacks overnight Wednesday, the second such escalation since the sides signed an interim deal in mid-June; the strikes followed attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. said it carried out strikes on Iranian targets and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said it responded by launching missiles and drones against Kuwait and Bahrain.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the U.S. strikes "absolutely necessary" and said, "It was a very strong response, and I'm with you on this."
The U.S. also revoked a general license allowing the sale of Iranian oil, and Brent crude jumped 6% to nearly $79 in morning trading.
At the summit, Trump pressed NATO members to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP and said he had "been testing" allies about helping with the war, adding that Italy, Germany and France had turned the United States down; he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and discussed easing sanctions on Turkey and possibly allowing it back into the F-35 program, saying, "I have no concerns at all about anything." He also spoke at the summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump warned the U.S. is likely to carry out further strikes, saying the United States will possibly "hit Iran hard again tonight," and he issued a broader warning that the U.S. military would carry out another round of strikes following the recent retaliation over attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Stocks dropped and gas prices spiked after Trump said negotiations with Iran were "a waste of time" and declared the ceasefire over.