Trump renewed his past threats to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalinisation plants, and to seize Kharg Island, which includes most of the Islamic Republic’s oil facilities.
“We hit them very hard last night,” Trump said when asked about a possible return to hostilities. “We’ll probably hit them hard again tonight.”
Trump made the remarks in Ankara, Türkiye, on the sidelines of a Nato summit.
He said the strikes are continued retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“They are behaving very badly,” he said of Iran, accusing the country of launching drones and a missile at ships. After three tankers were hit on Tuesday, the US launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by attacking American military sites in the Gulf.
The latest exchange of fire raised fears that the war in Iran could reignite, and Trump fuelled those concerns by saying the interim agreement to pause fighting was “over,” although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue.
Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump’s comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke.
A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait that are crucial to the global economy.
“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that US representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.
Trump has threatened to seize Kharg Island at previous points in the war, including last month, when he also questioned whether the US “has the stomach for it.”
Some 90 percent of Iranian oil exports pass through the island.
Negotiations to reach a final deal had been due to start after the dayslong funeral for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in the war’s first moments.
The funeral, which ends on Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.
The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X. “It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”
Funeral ceremonies for Khamenei were held on Wednesday in the Iraqi city of Najaf. Attending the services were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other Iranian as well as Iraqi officials, including Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi.
Funeral prayers were planned later at the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala.
Khamenei’s body will then be returned to Iran to be buried on Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace. (AP)
