Trump was speaking in Ankara ahead of a NATO summit in the Turkish capital.
U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of NATO meeting at the Bestepe Presidential complex, in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP)
ANKARA: U.S. President Donald Trump said an interim agreement to end the war with Iran was “over” on Wednesday after Tehran carried out new attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf.
In a flare-up of hostilities that pushed oil prices up to a two-week high, Iran said it had targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after U.S. forces struck Iranian targets in response to attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The attacks further undermined efforts to turn the interim ceasefire agreement that was reached last month into a permanent peace deal to end the war, which began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
Asked before a NATO summit in Turkey whether the memorandum of understanding reached last month was over, Trump said: “It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them.”
“They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people,” he told reporters in Ankara. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them.”
Earlier, the U.S. military unleashed a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday and revoked a license allowing the country to sell oil after three tankers were hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said it completed strikes that hit over 80 targets in an effort to impose what it called heavy costs.
The military command said it struck more than 60 small boats of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.
