U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the memorandum of understanding with Iran “is over” and called Iranian leaders “sick people” after a new wave of strikes in the Gulf threatened to collapse the fragile ceasefire between the two countries. Shortly after, it was announced that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth canceled his planned trip to Israel.
Speaking at the start of the NATO summit in Turkey, Trump accused Iran of being “dirty players” for targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and violating the ceasefire.
(Photo: SAUL LOEB / AFP)
“I think it’s over,” Trump said when asked about the agreement with Iran. He added that he did not want to continue dealing with Tehran, describing the Iranians as “sick people.”
Trump’s comments came after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched strikes on US military targets in Bahrain and Kuwait in response to American strikes on Iran.
The U.S. president said Washington was wasting time talking with Iran and expressed a desire to move away from diplomacy.
“We have to rid their cancer, their cancer,” Trump said. “And you know what you do? You’ve got to cut out cancer early. And that’s the way I feel.”
The latest escalation followed US strikes on Iran after Washington said Tehran attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, further putting pressure on the already fragile ceasefire.