Trump calls Iran’s government a ‘cancer’: Why were US-Iranian strikes renewed? What does this mean for peace negotiations? | Today’s news
US President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday, July 8, that the memorandum of understanding with Iran is “over.” US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran’s government was a “cancer” that needed to be removed soon, adding that US forces had hit Iranian targets “very hard” overnight.
Reversing the already fragile peace that came in place of a cease-fire agreement signed by Iran and the US, Trump said: “These are evil, sick people. And we have to get rid of that cancer… You have to get the cancer out soon (sic).”
The US president made the announcement at the NATO summit in Ankara alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
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Trump said Iran had fired missiles at the ships instead of focusing on funeral services for its slain leader, and said the US response was “20 times tougher”. The US president also said Iran could not get a nuclear weapon, saying Tehran had had “problems” for 47 years.
His remarks sent Brent crude down 6% to $78 a barrel, sent European stock markets down 1.6% and lifted government bond yields as investors braced for renewed inflationary pressure.
What prompted renewed US attacks on Iran?
According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the strikes hit “more than 80 targets” in Iran in direct response to attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz: the Marshall Islands-flagged M/T Al Rekayyat, the Saudi Arabian-flagged M/T Wedyan and the Liberian-flagged M/T Cyprus Prosperity, all reportedly off the coast of Saile.
Iran has ordered international shipping to use a designated “safe route” that encircles its own coast in a strait and designates a stretch of Omani waters as a “no-go zone”. Local broadcasters said the tankers had ignored warnings from Iranian forces to change course.
CENTCOM said in a statement that “U.S. forces have engaged Iran’s air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar stations, anti-ship missile capabilities, and more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats in and near the strait to reduce Iran’s ability to continue attacks on international commerce flowing through the international trade corridor.” The command also warned that more strikes could follow if Iran continued to act “outside the deal.”
Which Iranian locations were hit by the latest strikes?
Iranian state media reported explosions in the southern port city of Sirik, where commercial and fishing piers were hit and several people were injured by shrapnel, although the full extent of casualties remains unclear.
Other strikes were reported on Qeshm Island, a strategically important point in the Strait of Hormuz, and near Bandar Abbas, a port that was previously blockaded by the US Navy before the memorandum of understanding took effect.
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Two military installations in Iran’s southern Bushehr province were also hit, according to a provincial security official quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency.
One base was hit in Dashti district and another near Chogadak town. Fars reported no deaths or injuries from either incident.
Has Washington taken any other economic steps?
Along with the military response, the U.S. Treasury Department announced late Tuesday that sanctions on Iran’s oil exports had been reinstated, reversing a waiver Trump granted during the previous conflict to ease a global energy crisis triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The 60-day waiver, part of a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17, allowed Tehran to continue selling oil and was due to run until August 21.
The renewed sanctions apply to sales of new oil from July 7 onwards, although a grace period will allow previously contracted shipments to continue, with the proceeds held in a “blocked, interest-bearing account”, the Treasury said.
How did Iran retaliate?
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck 85 US military targets across Bahrain and Kuwait, with air raid sirens sounding in both countries. The IRGC said it “destroyed 85 major US military installations in Port Salman, the (US) Fifth Naval Base in Bahrain and Kuwait’s Ali Salem Air Base and shot down an enemy MQ9 drone that attempted to interfere with the operation. One IRGC member was reportedly killed in the exchange.”
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it called “aggressive attacks and gross violations” of the memorandum of understanding, saying “the terrorist US military, in clear violation of Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter, has committed military aggression against several monitoring and surveillance centers on the southern coast of Iran.”
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The ministry added that the strikes “constitute a flagrant violation of paragraph 1 of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Termination of War, which mandates the cessation of military operations.”
It further warned that Iran’s armed forces “will not hesitate to defend Iran’s territorial integrity, national sovereignty and national security against US military aggression in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and will target the source and origins of aggression.”
Parliament Speaker and Chief Negotiator Mohammad Ghalibaf wrote on X that the strikes, reimposed sanctions and continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon together constituted “a grave violation of the MoU by the US” and declared: “The era of bullying and blackmail is over. It’s not going anywhere. We’re not folding.”
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Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a cabled statement that the U.S. strikes “made key, fundamental elements of the agreement to end the war ineffective,” adding that “the U.S. regime, which has violated its commitments, bears responsibility for the dangerous consequences of this escalation.”
What will happen to the US-Iran peace talks now?
The talks, which began after a 60-day memorandum of understanding halted fighting across the region, including Lebanon, now hang in the balance. The deal required Iran to restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels in exchange for relief from US sanctions and an unfreezing of Iranian assets while the two sides worked to address Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump’s comment that the deal was effectively “done,” tempered only by his acknowledgment that he “could let my great negotiators keep talking,” left diplomats and analysts uncertain about Washington’s next move.
Wednesday’s escalation is the third time the U.S. has launched major strikes against Iran while talks were still ongoing, a pattern Tehran says continues to erode trust between the two sides.
