Trump Says Iran Interim Deal Is 'Over' and Warns of Strikes 'Tonight' After Attacks on US Bases

On Wednesday, ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, President Donald Trump was asked whether the interim agreement with Iran was still alive. His answer was blunt: "I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them." The remark came after Iran struck US military bases in Bahrain and Kuwait, an attack that followed American strikes on Iranian forces for hitting oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The agreement in question is a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17. It was meant to be the bridge from a ceasefire to a lasting end to the war, which began on February 28 with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. The latest exchange has put that bridge under strain.

Trump went on to say Iran's leaders were "scum" and "sick people," and that dealing with them was "a waste of time." He allowed that his negotiators could keep talking if they wished, but said he didn't see the point. He also doubted any deal would hold, calling Iranians "very dishonourable people." He did not declare a return to full-scale war. But before meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, he told reporters: "We're going to hit them hard tonight."

The sequence began at sea. After attacks on three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States launched new strikes and revoked a licence that had allowed Iran to sell oil. US Central Command said it targeted more than 60 small boats belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to make Iran pay for attacking shipping despite the ceasefire. Trump said the US had "knocked out 28 boats last night" and indicated more would follow.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards then said they hit US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait, and claimed they shot down a US MQ-9 drone that tried to interfere. Bahrain's army said it had thwarted the attacks. Iranian media reported explosions at Kharg Island, Qeshm Island, Sirik and Bandar Abbas. Central Command's account did not mention Kharg Island, which exports about 90% of Iran's crude oil. A US official told Reuters the strikes hit air defence systems, coastal surveillance systems, surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drone launch sites. No civilian deaths were reported in Iran.

Markets reacted quickly. Oil prices rose and global stocks slipped. Shipping data showed at least four oil and gas tankers turned back rather than cross the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's key energy routes.

Reactions split along familiar lines. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called the US strikes "absolutely necessary." EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote on X that the exchanges "complicate already fraught talks to end the war," adding that Iran's attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait were "unacceptable." Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters called the US strikes a "blatant act of aggression," promised a "crushing response," and said Tehran would not allow US interference in the Strait. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf posted on X: "The era of bullying and extortion is over. We don't fold."

What to watch now is whether the strikes Trump promised for tonight come, whether Iran answers them, and whether tanker traffic through Hormuz and oil prices keep moving the way they did Wednesday.