President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that US forces would strike Iran "hard" in the coming night, after earlier declaring Washington's ceasefire with Iran over at a NATO summit in Ankara.
"We're gonna hit 'em hard tonight," he said before holding talks with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, adding, "They violated the agreement..."
Earlier, the US president declared the ceasefire with Iran "over" on Wednesday. Trump noted he would allow his negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, to continue talks if they wished, after fighting flared amid tensions over attacks on ships in the vital Strait of Hormuz.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's over," Trump said at a NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday when asked if the truce was intact. "It's just a waste of time dealing with them," he added. "I'll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don't see it. I don't like these people."
Trump's announcement follows a massive strike on more than 80 targets in Iran, after the US accused the Islamic Republic of targeting three merchant ships near the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route. While the US military described the operation as a response to Iranian aggression, Tehran has warned it will take all necessary measures to protect its national interests.
These statements put the fragile 14-point memorandum of understanding, signed by US President Trump at the Palace of Versailles on June 17 and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in jeopardy. The MoU was aimed at ending the active hostilities that began in late February, and was intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping, reduce military tensions in the Gulf, and lay the groundwork for broader diplomatic talks.
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Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued a fierce rhetorical pushback against Washington. In a statement published on X, Ghalibaf accused the United States of "major violations" regarding the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), a tenuous ceasefire agreement aimed at managing regional friction.
In his post, Ghalibaf outlined five specific grievances, condemning what he termed "attacks on southern Iran," "persistent threats of further strikes," the reinstatement of crippling oil sanctions, and US interference with Iranian maritime operations in the Strait. He additionally tied the breakdown of the MoU to broader geopolitical dynamics, listing "continued Zionist aggression" against Lebanon as a primary breach.

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