President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire and interim agreement with Iran effectively finished following a new exchange of military strikes between the two countries, though he said he would allow negotiations to continue.
"I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore," Trump told reporters at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, according to NBC News. Talks could continue, he said, but he dismissed the effort as "just a waste of time dealing with them."
The exchange began after the U.S. accused Iran of striking three commercial vessels — flagged to Liberia, Saudi Arabia, and the Marshall Islands — in the Strait of Hormuz. According to NBC News, U.S. Central Command reported that over 80 Iranian targets were destroyed using precision munitions — among them air defense infrastructure, command networks, radar installations along the coast, anti-ship missile systems, and upward of 60 small Revolutionary Guard vessels operating in and around the waterway.
In response, the Revolutionary Guard said it had fired missiles and drones at American military infrastructure in both Kuwait and Bahrain, according to BBC News. Bahrain's Interior Ministry activated air raid alerts and instructed the public to move to the nearest shelter. Foreign ministries from Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, and Kuwait each released statements calling Iran's strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait a "flagrant violation" of those nations' sovereignty and condemning what they described as Iran's "repeated attacks," according to NBC News.
Iran's foreign ministry, in remarks that preceded Trump's statement, said American and Israeli conduct had "rendered key and fundamental elements of the agreement to end the war ineffective." As of Wednesday morning, Tehran had offered no position on whether it regarded the ceasefire as finished, according to NBC News.
After Trump's announcement, Brent crude jumped to above $78 a barrel and the U.S. benchmark reached $74.55, pushing overall oil prices up by nearly 6%, according to NBC News.
European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas described the mutual strikes as having deepened the difficulties facing "already fraught talks," and labeled Iran's attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait "unacceptable," according to NBC News. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told Trump the U.S. response was "absolutely necessary."
Underlying the conflict is a fundamental disagreement over the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil and gas shipments, according to ABC News. Tehran claims authority over the waterway and has pushed to collect fees from passing ships — a stance Washington firmly rejects.
More on this story: Iran tanker attacks prompt U.S. military strikes, end of oil sanctions waiver
Update, July 9, 2026: The U.S. military said it had struck approximately 170 targets over the past two days, a higher total than the roughly 80 previously reported. Iran's Health Ministry said airstrikes across five provinces killed 14 people and injured 78. (per The Wall Street Journal)