Trump declares MoU with Iran 'over' as Hegseth cancels trip to Israel
Trump said diplomacy with Tehran was “a waste of time” after renewed attacks around Hormuz, as US defense chief reportedly cancels Israel visit.
WASHINGTON/ANKARA — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said an interim agreement with Iran was effectively dead, following a new exchange of US and Iranian strikes.
“To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them,” Trump told reporters in Ankara on the sidelines of the NATO summit.
The remarks came in response to a question about whether the interim agreement signed by Washington and Tehran on June 18, which opened a 60-day window for negotiations aimed at permanently ending the fighting, remained in effect.
Trump added that negotiating with Tehran was “just a waste of time.”
The US president later warned that the United States would likely strike again later Wednesday. “We hit them very hard last night,” Trump said. "We’ll probably hit them again tonight."
Trump also suggested the US may reimpose its naval blockade of Iran. “We may take over Kharg Island,” Trump added, reiterating a previous threat to seize Iran’s main oil export terminal.
Background: Trump’s comments came after three commercial tankers were hit by projectiles while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
In retaliation, US Central Command said American forces struck more than 80 Iranian military targets overnight, including air defense systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radar sites, anti-ship missile capabilities and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats operating in or near the strait.
CENTCOM described the attacks on shipping as a dangerous breach of the ceasefire and freedom of navigation.
Iran resumes Gulf attacks: Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the top military command body responsible for coordinating the country’s armed forces during wartime, condemned the US strikes as a “blatant act of aggression” and warned that any source of support for US operations against Iranian sovereignty would be considered a legitimate target.
Iran struck two Gulf countries later Wednesday, targeting Bahrain and Kuwait.
Kuwait’s armed forces said they intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones, while Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry said the kingdom’s air defenses intercepted Iranian projectiles.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said several overhead power transmission lines were damaged by shrapnel during Kuwait’s response to the attacks. Reuters reported later Wednesday that Kuwait had restored power to all residential areas affected by outages linked to the transmission lines going out of service.
The Gulf Cooperation Council called the strikes a “blatant assault” on Bahrain and Kuwait’s sovereignty.
UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said Gulf Arab states could not remain caught between Tehran’s “logic of escalation” and the path of stability.
Iranian strikes “are a clear indicator that Tehran remains incapable of committing to the requirements of de-escalation and turning the page on war,” Gargash wrote on X.
Hegseth cancels Israel visit: Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's planned visit to Israel following the NATO summit has been canceled, a well-placed source confirmed to Al-Monitor.
The reason for the cancellation was not immediately clear.
During what would have been his first visit to the Jewish state as US secretary of defense, Hegseth was expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, CNN reported earlier Wednesday.
One of the agenda items Hegseth was expected to raise with Israeli officials was the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey amid strong Israeli opposition to the sale, a source familiar with the planned discussions said.
The sale “would destroy the power balance in the Middle East because Turkey has aggressive aspirations,” Netanyahu told CNN earlier this week.
During his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit, Trump said that his administration would remove sanctions imposed on Turkey under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
The removal of the sanctions could clear the path for Turkey to acquire F-35 fighter jets. CAATSA sanctions were imposed on Turkey in December 2020, after Ankara took delivery of the first components of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system in July 2019. As a result, Turkey was blocked from acquiring F-35 fighter jets from the United States.
This developing story has been updated since initial publication.
