Iran Ceasefire Deal Is Over, Says U.S. President Trump
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ANKARA (Terror Monitor, Reuters, AP, AFP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding signed with Iran to end the conflict between the two countries is now “over,” adding that he no longer wants to engage with Tehran.
The interim ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran, brokered by Pakistan, was designed to provide a 60-day window for negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent deal. However, indirect talks held in Qatar ended last week without significant progress, after which the U.S. military launched a new wave of strikes against Iran on Tuesday.
Speaking ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Trump said, “I think it’s over now. I don’t want to deal with them anymore.”
Addressing NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump criticized Iran’s leadership, saying, “They are bad people, with a sick mentality, and their leadership is made up of such people. They are extremely brutal and violent.” He added that if Iran obtained nuclear weapons, “they would use them.”
Trump said he would speak with Steve Witkoff, his special envoy and former businessman-turned-negotiator, as well as his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have been involved in contacts with Iranian officials. However, he insisted that returning to negotiations was now Tehran’s responsibility.
“As far as I’m concerned, dealing with them is just a waste of time. They lie,” Trump said.
The U.S. president accused Iran of repeatedly misrepresenting the understanding reached between Washington and Tehran regarding the ceasefire announced on June 17.
Trump said both sides had agreed that “there would be no nuclear weapons,” but claimed that Iran later denied discussing the issue publicly. “We make a deal, then they go out and make a joke of it in front of the media and say we never talked about this subject,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the United States revoked a license that had allowed Iran to sell oil. The move came after three oil tankers were targeted in the Strait of Hormuz.
Under the interim U.S.-Iran agreement, the U.S. Treasury Department had issued a general license on June 22 allowing Iran to sell crude oil, petrochemicals and other petroleum products until August 21. Following the revocation of the license on Tuesday, Iran was given until July 17 to wind down all transactions conducted under the authorization.
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