President Donald Trump said the interim ceasefire with Iran was “over” but left negotiations open after fresh strikes, sanctions and missile alerts raised fears of renewed conflict across the Gulf.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that an interim ceasefire with Iran was “over,” even as he said U.S. representatives would be allowed to continue negotiations following a new round of Iranian attacks on American military sites and commercial shipping in the Gulf.
The remarks came after Iran targeted U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, both home to American forces, and after Washington launched strikes inside Iran and reinstated sanctions on Iranian oil sales. U.S. officials said the American strikes were carried out in response to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global energy shipments.
The renewed crossfire threatened to unravel a fragile pause in fighting and raised the prospect of a wider Middle East conflict that could again disrupt shipping through the strait. Oil prices climbed after Trump cast doubt on the ceasefire’s survival, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, rising more than 5%.
“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire.
Trump said talks could continue, but he questioned whether they would produce results.
“They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.
The negotiations had been expected to begin after funeral ceremonies for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in the opening moments of the war. The funeral, scheduled to end Thursday, had been intended as a period of reduced tensions before talks over difficult issues, including the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and limits on Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf rejected pressure from Washington.
“The era of bullying and extortion is over,” Qalibaf wrote on X. “It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”
U.S. Central Command said American forces struck Iranian targets “to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.”
The military said the targets included air defense systems, radars and more than 60 small boats used by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Those boats have been central to Iran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, where one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war.
During the conflict, Iran’s ability to bring shipping through the strait to a near standstill became one of its most significant strategic advantages, increasing pressure on energy, fertilizer and food prices while pushing the United States toward a deal.
Central Command said U.S. forces remain “prepared to hold Iran accountable when the agreement is not adhered to or obeyed.” The military said the latest round of American attacks had concluded.
Iranian state media reported explosions in multiple locations, including Bandar Mahshahr, where a Revolutionary Guard member was killed. State media also reported attacks in Bushehr, where Iran’s nuclear power plant complex is located.
Missile alerts sounded Wednesday morning in Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and Kuwait, where U.S. Army forces are based. The Revolutionary Guard later acknowledged targeting U.S. military installations in both countries.
Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones launched by Iran. The country’s Electricity Ministry said several lines were knocked out of service after shrapnel fell on them.
The strikes resembled a similar exchange late last month, when Iranian attacks on shipping led to U.S. retaliation and Iranian strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait. Wednesday’s violence unfolded while Trump was in Turkey for a NATO summit.
Anwar Gargash, a senior diplomat in the United Arab Emirates, said Iran’s attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait showed that Tehran was not meeting de-escalation obligations.
Gargash called the strikes “a clear indicator that Tehran remains incapable of committing to the requirements of de-escalation and turning the page on war.”
Before the latest American strikes, the United States revoked a license that had allowed Iranian oil sales under the interim deal. The license had paused U.S. sanctions and permitted Iran to sell oil openly in U.S. dollars for the first time in years. Iran had long been suspected of selling sanctioned crude to China at below-market prices.
The decision followed attacks on commercial shipping. One tanker off the coast of Oman was hit and caught fire, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center. Iranian state television said the tanker was attacked after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim responsibility.
Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said the tanker was carrying Qatari natural gas and called the strike an “unacceptable attack” on international navigation and global energy security. Qatar, which has served as a key mediator in the talks alongside Pakistan, holds Iran “fully legally responsible,” he said.
Two other ships sustained damage, but no injuries were reported, and both continued on their routes, according to the U.K. agency.
Under the interim agreement, Iran and the United States agreed that ships could pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without paying charges. Tehran, however, has insisted it must control vessel routes and has vowed to charge passage fees later, a move that would alter decades of practice in the waterway.
The ships attacked Tuesday appeared to be traveling near Oman’s coast rather than along a route ordered by Tehran. The United States and many Gulf Arab states have said they will not accept Iranian fees for passage through the strait.
As military tensions rose, funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued Wednesday in Najaf, Iraq. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attended, along with other Iranian and Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi. Funeral prayers were also scheduled at the Imam Hussein shrine in Karbala.
Khamenei’s son, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has not appeared at the ceremonies, which began Saturday in Tehran. He is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.
Ali Khamenei’s body is expected to be returned to Iran for burial Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his birthplace.
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