President Donald Trump declared Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Iran was effectively finished, saying he no longer wanted to negotiate with Tehran even as he left open the possibility for US negotiators to continue talks.
Speaking at the NATO summit, Trump said the agreement was “over” and sharply criticized Iran’s leadership.
“I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore they’re scum … they’re led by sick people and they’re vicious, violent people,” Trump said.
“We make a deal. They [Iran] go outside, talk to the press, they say ‘we never even talked about it’. There’s something wrong with them. They’re cuckoo. As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”
Despite those remarks, Trump said he would not prevent his negotiating team from continuing diplomatic efforts.
“Now, I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it. I don’t like these people,” President Trump said.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring only to the US negotiating team, led by Vice President JD Vance along with senior advisers Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, or whether his remarks also included regional mediators such as Qatar, Pakistan and Turkey.
Trump also indicated the the US military would repeat the strikes on Wednesday night.
“We hit them very hard last night, very probably hit them hard again tonight,” he said. “They’ve been the bully of the Middle East and they’re not the bully anymore.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte defended the US military operation, describing the strikes as “absolutely necessary” and saying Iran was “basically violating the ceasefire.”
The comments came as fighting between the United States and Iran continued to intensify.
Earlier Wednesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said US military action and other alleged violations of the memorandum of understanding had rendered the agreement “ineffective.”
US Central Command said Tuesday it had launched “powerful” strikes in response to attacks on three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said Wednesday it had retaliated by targeting US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. The United States also announced it had revoked its temporary suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
