President Trump told reporters at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, that the memorandum of understanding with Iran is finished, a blunt declaration that came hours after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched strikes on U.S. military targets in Kuwait and Bahrain and the U.S. retaliated with force of its own.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars," Trump said. "There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo. As far as I'm concerned, it's over."
The collapse of the MOU, signed June 17 and designed to start a 60-day negotiating clock on Tehran's nuclear program, marks the most significant breakdown in the diplomatic track since hostilities between the two countries escalated earlier this year. The overnight exchange of fire, a Treasury Department move to revoke sanctions waivers, and a more-than-5-percent spike in oil prices all point to a situation that has moved sharply away from any negotiated resolution.
The IRGC struck U.S. military targets in Kuwait and at Bahrain's Isa Air Base, which hosts American forces. The strikes came after the U.S. launched what officials described as "powerful" attacks against Iran on Tuesday in response to Iranian projectile strikes on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The British military reported that three tankers were hit by Iranian projectiles, the most in a single day since late April, The Hill reported. One tanker caught fire off the coast of Oman. Two others sustained damage but continued on their routes.
U.S. Central Command said its strikes were designed to "impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians." The Iranian Foreign Ministry blamed the United States for the escalation.
That is a familiar pattern. Iran insists it is the aggrieved party. The tanker crews who watched a ship burn in the Strait of Hormuz might see it differently.
The MOU was supposed to open a window. Signed on June 17, it gave both sides 60 days to negotiate over Tehran's nuclear program. But talks stalled almost immediately. Iran demanded control over the terms of reopening the Strait of Hormuz and insisted on an end to Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, conditions the U.S. had no intention of meeting unilaterally.
Even before the deal was signed, the diplomatic path was rocky. The White House earlier this year labeled Iran's claimed peace framework a "complete fabrication" after Iranian state media published what it said was a draft agreement. Trump himself said at the time that Iran was "negotiating on fumes," with its economy in freefall and its military capabilities degraded.
The Washington Examiner reported that a leaked 14-point version of the MOU drew sharp criticism from defense analysts, who argued it favored Iran strategically. The Institute for the Study of War assessed that "Iran has emerged from the conflict in a stronger strategic position" based on the leaked text. The deal reportedly offered Iran immediate economic relief, oil sale waivers, and a commitment to a $300 billion rehabilitation fund, concessions that alarmed hawks in Washington and allied capitals alike.
Iran expert Farzan Sabet of the Geneva Graduate Institute told the Associated Press that Iran's real achievement was survival, not victory. "It's too much to say that Iran has emerged a victor, but it could have been much worse," Sabet said, adding that he was "not very optimistic" about the next round of nuclear discussions.
That skepticism now looks prescient.
On Tuesday, the Treasury Department revoked a sanctions waiver that would have allowed the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals through August 21. Treasury said transactions authorized under the previous waiver must wind down by July 17. The revocation strips Tehran of the economic breathing room the MOU was supposed to provide.
Oil prices jumped more than 5 percent early Wednesday morning, a direct market response to the prospect of prolonged conflict in one of the world's most critical shipping corridors. Iran had appeared eager for negotiations in part because of the economic relief they promised. With the waiver gone, whatever incentive Tehran had to stay at the table has evaporated.
The New York Post reported earlier that Trump told a cabinet meeting Iran's economy was suffering 250 percent inflation and that its "whole economic system is broken down." He warned at the time: "It will be either that or we'll have to just finish the job."
Anwar Gargash, a top United Arab Emirates presidential adviser, posted on X that the strikes are a "clear indicator that Tehran remains incapable of committing to the requirements of de-escalation and turning the page on war." Qatar and Pakistan, which had served as intermediaries, have so far been unable to restart any channel.
The timing carries its own weight. The late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed when the war began at the end of February, is scheduled to be buried Thursday. His long-delayed funeral ceremonies are underway. Iran's leadership is navigating both a military confrontation and a symbolic transition, a combination that makes rational de-escalation harder, not easier.
Earlier in the conflict, Iran agreed to peace talks after losing dozens of senior leaders in U.S. military operations. That willingness now appears to have been tactical rather than strategic, a pause to regroup, not a genuine turn toward diplomacy.
The Iran crisis is not the only item on Trump's agenda in Ankara. During a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump announced the removal of sanctions on Turkey, potentially paving the way for resumed F-35 sales. Trump had enacted the ban on Turkey's access to the jets during his first administration.
"We're going to be taking the sanctions off. OK?" Trump told reporters, adding that he was working closely with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the matter.
Trump was also scheduled for bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the same day. The Senate war powers vote on Iran has added a domestic political dimension to the president's already complicated diplomatic calendar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, criticized Trump's move to resume F-35 sales to Turkey. Trump's standing in Israel has taken a hit. A poll cited by Newsmax showed his approval rating among Israelis plunging from a net favorability of +16 points to -23 points in just three weeks, a decline tied to his criticism of Netanyahu and the terms of the Iran agreement.
An unnamed U.S. official told CNN that the IRGC strikes constituted a "gross violation" of the memorandum of understanding. That language suggests the administration views the MOU not merely as stalled but as breached by Iran's actions.
The 60-day clock that started June 17 is still technically running. But with the sanctions waiver revoked, commercial ships under fire in the Strait of Hormuz, and the president himself declaring the deal dead, the diplomatic framework has no visible path forward. Iran's pattern of denying commitments it appeared to make at the negotiating table has only reinforced the administration's posture.
Fox News reported that Trump called Iranian regime leaders "scum" who cannot be trusted with a nuclear weapon. The network categorized the collapse under "War with Iran" tags, a framing that, given the overnight exchange of fire, is harder to dismiss as hyperbole than it was a week ago.
The open questions are serious. Will the U.S. escalate further if Iran continues targeting commercial shipping? Will intermediaries like Qatar and Pakistan find any remaining leverage? And does Iran's post-Khamenei leadership even have the internal coherence to negotiate in good faith?
None of those questions have reassuring answers right now.
Iran was offered a diplomatic off-ramp. It responded by firing on American bases and setting tankers ablaze. The administration gave Tehran economic relief, a 60-day window, and the benefit of the doubt. Tehran repaid every concession with a projectile.
At some point, the pattern stops being a negotiating tactic and starts being the answer.
