US President Donald Trump said that the tentative ceasefire with Iran was “over,” raising the prospect of a renewed military conflict between the two nations.
However, Trump noted that negotiators can “keep talking if they want”.
This comes after the United States and Iran exchanged strikes across the Middle East.
On being asked before a NATO summit in Turkey whether the Memorandum of Understanding was over, the US President replied, “It’s a very interesting question. To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them.”
“They’re scum. They’re sick people. They’re led by sick people. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying.
Trump’s statement comes after the US military launched a new wave of strike against Iran, hitting over 80 targets.
The Trump administration even revoked a license allowing Tehran to sell oil in retaliation for attacks on three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran hit back with strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait.
The attacks further threatened efforts to resume fuel shipments in the Strait of Hormuz that are crucial to the global economy.
Negotiations to reach a final deal was due to begin after the burial of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28.
The US military’s Central Command informed that they launched strikes “to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.”
It added that they targeted Iran’s air defense systems, radars as well as over 60 small boats used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.