Asked at a Nato summit in Turkey whether the memorandum of understanding (MoU), which provides a framework for US-Iran peace talks, was over, Trump said: “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.”
In practical terms, this means Iran insists that commercial vessels, above all the oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, gain Iranian permission for their voyages and take a shipping route through the north of the Strait close to Iran. The US has encouraged vessels to take a southern route, without receiving Iranian permission, hugging the Omani coastline.
On Monday and Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck three vessels using the Omani route. In a graphic demonstration of Iran’s capacity to make the latter waterway too dangerous for tankers to use, the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat was set on fire and is stationary with its crew evacuated near the Strait. A day after it was hit by a projectile, it is awaiting salvage operations which will begin once the fire in its engine room has been extinguished. The vessel’s tanks containing the LNG have not been ruptured, reducing the risk of an explosion. “Breaching a main tank would be catastrophic,” an industry source told Reuters.
The US retaliated in response to the Iranian attack, striking at some 80 targets in Iran, in a sign that Washington wants to show that it has “escalatory dominance”, and can escalate disproportionately against Iran. But Iran wants to demonstrate equal determination and military capacity, striking at US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday as it has often done before.
The US has also struck back by revoking oil sales authorisation for Iranian crude exports, which was one of Iran’s big gains under the MoU signed on 17 June. However, Iran expert Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington says that Iran had been having difficulty finding customers for its crude because of the instability in the Gulf.
Though Trump says that [the MoU](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/five-key-questions-trumps-iran-deal-4481466?srsltid=AfmBOoo6OOyDeyF73hd8Cqx2JXigTy1rRUUXfYKmJGrHM22SGcUnCyxV&ico=in-line_link) is over, it is unlikely that either he or Iran wants a full-scale resumption of hostilities as occurred after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February. This is not to say that both sides might not tumble into full-scale warfare as they seek to strengthen their positions. The US remains far and away the superior military power, but Iran was able to absorb over 20,000 US-Israeli airstrikes during the war without the regime collapsing or giving ground militarily or politically.
Assuming Trump is unable to launch a full-scale ground invasion of Iran, like that of Iraq in 2003, he does not appear to have any option but to talk to the Iranians, though he will continue to pressure them by any means available. Resumed sanctions on Iranian oil exports are a serious blow to its economy, but the regime evidently believes that it can inflict enough damage on the world economy to put it in a very strong negotiating position. Oil prices jumped on Trump saying the interim peace agreement was over, with Brent crude futures leaping 6 per cent to $79 (£59) a barrel – though still far below the $120 (£90 seen during the height of the fighting.
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, condemned the US strikes as a “blatant act of aggression” and warned that Tehran would not allow US interference in the management of the Strait. A senior Iranian negotiator and parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said “the era of bullying and extortion is over,” in a post on X, adding: “We don’t fold.”
Trump has still not accepted or understood that for all his claims of winning a decisive victory over Iran, his war has in fact made the regime stronger.
coolkavo on
Donald does have the only play his administration most likely advised him as the consequences of initiating aggression–a land invasion with boots on ground which will not play out as he imagines. It will be devastating and there will be casualties.
softDisk-60 on
Not true, he can go to Cuba, Greenland, Canada, Australia, Antarctica etc
One-Emu-1103 on
Trump said that he wanted a deal to avoid a world-wide economic collapse. So is that back on the table?
Over-Willingness-933 on
The Iranian regime wants war. They fired on shipping and pushed too far. They promised unfettered access and they broke it.
maximusheaviosity on
I kindly invite him to go to hell.
Live_Entry_7831 on
A deal is just unworkable as the wants for both sides is zero sum. Iran wants control over Hormuz and America cant let them have it. I see no real compromise here, because anything else you can offer them (like sanction relief), you can take away 5 min after they sign on….just like the JCPOA. And the Americans cant let a war of their choosing upend the freedom of navigation principle that is backed by their own navy.
I just cant see a real middle ground here.
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[Donald Trump has said](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/humiliated-trump-says-iran-are-scum-knows-hes-in-trouble-4632090?srsltid=AfmBOorezq_1fa2puTSe7WOKYvtdtnI4rxNcqMlcEkaONJhkqxWESCz5&ico=in-line_link) that the interim agreement to end the US-Iran war is over, as the battle to control the Strait of Hormuz escalates sharply.
Asked at a Nato summit in Turkey whether the memorandum of understanding (MoU), which provides a framework for US-Iran peace talks, was over, Trump said: “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.”
Military action between the US and Iran is [more intense](https://inews.co.uk/news/trump-threatens-iran-will-no-longer-exist-for-ceasefire-violation-4611466?srsltid=AfmBOooOPq9pL1aeOE-rhzxGCxDbS5vJHn1FysdioH3JbVNh-NOuZfHw&ico=in-line_link) than at any time since a ceasefire on 8 April brought an end to the five-and-a-half-week-long war. At the heart of the renewed conflict is Iran’s determination to retain its control of the Strait of Hormuz, which was its most important gain in the war and its main source of diplomatic leverage, while the US wants to erode this advantage.
In practical terms, this means Iran insists that commercial vessels, above all the oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, gain Iranian permission for their voyages and take a shipping route through the north of the Strait close to Iran. The US has encouraged vessels to take a southern route, without receiving Iranian permission, hugging the Omani coastline.
On Monday and Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) struck three vessels using the Omani route. In a graphic demonstration of Iran’s capacity to make the latter waterway too dangerous for tankers to use, the Qatari LNG carrier Al Rekayyat was set on fire and is stationary with its crew evacuated near the Strait. A day after it was hit by a projectile, it is awaiting salvage operations which will begin once the fire in its engine room has been extinguished. The vessel’s tanks containing the LNG have not been ruptured, reducing the risk of an explosion. “Breaching a main tank would be catastrophic,” an industry source told Reuters.
The US retaliated in response to the Iranian attack, striking at some 80 targets in Iran, in a sign that Washington wants to show that it has “escalatory dominance”, and can escalate disproportionately against Iran. But Iran wants to demonstrate equal determination and military capacity, striking at US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait on Wednesday as it has often done before.
Iran’s second biggest strategic gain from the war is its ability to strike at will at [America’s allies on the south side of the Gulf ](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/trump-control-gulf-risks-terrifying-scenario-warships-iran-4297507?srsltid=AfmBOoqiu4ojaD4NJoJSlgDPaO72mWaHpA7JKxxIB-iWQtt9aNr1Kfob&ico=in-line_link)– Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman – without America being able to defend them. Kuwait says that some districts have lost electricity supply in the latest Iranian strikes.
The US has also struck back by revoking oil sales authorisation for Iranian crude exports, which was one of Iran’s big gains under the MoU signed on 17 June. However, Iran expert Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington says that Iran had been having difficulty finding customers for its crude because of the instability in the Gulf.
Though Trump says that [the MoU](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/five-key-questions-trumps-iran-deal-4481466?srsltid=AfmBOoo6OOyDeyF73hd8Cqx2JXigTy1rRUUXfYKmJGrHM22SGcUnCyxV&ico=in-line_link) is over, it is unlikely that either he or Iran wants a full-scale resumption of hostilities as occurred after the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February. This is not to say that both sides might not tumble into full-scale warfare as they seek to strengthen their positions. The US remains far and away the superior military power, but Iran was able to absorb over 20,000 US-Israeli airstrikes during the war without the regime collapsing or giving ground militarily or politically.
Assuming Trump is unable to launch a full-scale ground invasion of Iran, like that of Iraq in 2003, he does not appear to have any option but to talk to the Iranians, though he will continue to pressure them by any means available. Resumed sanctions on Iranian oil exports are a serious blow to its economy, but the regime evidently believes that it can inflict enough damage on the world economy to put it in a very strong negotiating position. Oil prices jumped on Trump saying the interim peace agreement was over, with Brent crude futures leaping 6 per cent to $79 (£59) a barrel – though still far below the $120 (£90 seen during the height of the fighting.
Despite [his usual belligerent bombast](https://inews.co.uk/news/trump-says-hes-the-boss-but-its-clear-to-all-hes-lost-this-war-4485346?srsltid=AfmBOorpQCavl8dQ1KrAT0ygKZxw5MFGNpHPcm2EOokyQXqz19r2skMP&ico=in-line_link), Trump said that the talks on a wider peace agreement would continue, though he claimed that he expected little from them. But his options are limited because there is no feasible US action that can stop Iran rendering the Strait unsafe for shipping and intimidating the Arab oil producers on the south side of the Gulf. The Iranians understand – and may even exaggerate – the strength of their strategic position.
Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, condemned the US strikes as a “blatant act of aggression” and warned that Tehran would not allow US interference in the management of the Strait. A senior Iranian negotiator and parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said “the era of bullying and extortion is over,” in a post on X, adding: “We don’t fold.”
Meanwhile, the Iranian regime is continuing the prolonged obsequies for [the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/who-could-be-next-leader-iran-how-trump-might-react-4170628?srsltid=AfmBOoo3lxcHLaM-bG6EafCkYx-enAhkNNqznlGn30h-HKgpYgwprG5Y&ico=in-line_link), who was assassinated along with his family on the first day of the war. He is now being presented as the latest in a long series of martyrs for the Shia faith with funeral processions following his coffin in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Kerbala before returning to Iran.
Trump has still not accepted or understood that for all his claims of winning a decisive victory over Iran, his war has in fact made the regime stronger.
Donald does have the only play his administration most likely advised him as the consequences of initiating aggression–a land invasion with boots on ground which will not play out as he imagines. It will be devastating and there will be casualties.
Not true, he can go to Cuba, Greenland, Canada, Australia, Antarctica etc
Trump said that he wanted a deal to avoid a world-wide economic collapse. So is that back on the table?
The Iranian regime wants war. They fired on shipping and pushed too far. They promised unfettered access and they broke it.
I kindly invite him to go to hell.
A deal is just unworkable as the wants for both sides is zero sum. Iran wants control over Hormuz and America cant let them have it. I see no real compromise here, because anything else you can offer them (like sanction relief), you can take away 5 min after they sign on….just like the JCPOA. And the Americans cant let a war of their choosing upend the freedom of navigation principle that is backed by their own navy.
I just cant see a real middle ground here.