President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) effectively dead on Wednesday, unloading on Tehran’s leaders as “scum” and “sick people” after Iranian attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the Strait of Hormuz shattered a deal that had survived just 21 days.
Trump also warned that the United States could launch another round of strikes against Iran Wednesday night.
“We hit them very hard last night — very, very hard — and we’ll probably hit them hard again tonight,” Trump said from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. “I’ll give them a little warning, we’re gonna hit them hard tonight.”
“They’re scum. They’re sick people,” Trump said during the NATO summit in Ankara, when asked whether he still viewed the memorandum as salvageable.
The president added that further negotiations with Iran would be “a waste of time,” signaling a dramatic reversal from the optimism that surrounded the agreement’s signing on June 17.
Trump also defended his negotiating team, saying Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Vice President JD Vance spent months trying to reach a lasting agreement with Tehran.
“So we’ll see now as to whether or not Steve Witkoff, Jared, JD, and everybody working on that will talk — I guess they can talk, but I’m not seeing it with them,” Trump said. “My whole life is deals. I don’t see it.”
The MOU was negotiated after the United States and the Iranian regime agreed to a ceasefire on April 8 following a period of escalating military conflict. While not a formal treaty, the agreement was intended to serve as a roadmap toward a broader settlement to address Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, maritime security, and regional stability.
Under the MOU, Iran agreed to cease military operations against the United States and its allies, ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, enter negotiations on a final agreement within 60 days, and reaffirm that it would not develop a nuclear weapon.
In return, the United States agreed to begin lifting its naval blockade, issue waivers for Iranian oil exports, refrain from imposing new sanctions during negotiations, and pursue broader sanctions relief and economic normalization if a final agreement is reached.
Critics of the agreement argued that Tehran was stalling negotiations and using the MOU’s 60-day negotiating period to buy time. Those concerns intensified after Iran and Oman announced plans to negotiate the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz, including navigation services and associated costs, after the MOU’s 60-day toll-free period expires.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later warned that charging commercial vessels to transit the waterway “will never be an acceptable condition of any deal.”
Trump now argues that Tehran violated the agreement and negotiated in bad faith.
“These people, they lie, and they cheat, and you have an agreement, and they’ll go outside,” Trump said. “For instance, they agreed, ‘Well, we’ll never have a nuclear weapon.’ They agreed. Then they go outside, they have a news conference, or they leak that we never discussed the subject.”
The collapse also appears to have ended a 91-day ceasefire that had mostly halted direct attacks between Washington and Tehran following months of military confrontation.
The breaking point came when Iranian forces targeted three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, triggering a forceful American response, including strikes against more than 80 Iranian targets, according to U.S. Central Command.
Trump warned that the latest strikes stopped short of targeting some of Iran’s most critical infrastructure, including bridges, power plants, desalination facilities, and major oil-export infrastructure.
“We attacked Kharg Island last night, we knocked out a piece,” Trump said. “I said don’t touch the oil, because maybe we’ll take over Kharg Island. We may take over Kharg Island; there’s not a thing they can do about it. But I said don’t hit the pipes, just hit everything else.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf accused Washington of violating the agreement, writing that, “The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don’t fold.”
Trump also said the United States could restore the naval blockade that was suspended under the MOU.
“We may put back the blockade,” Trump said. “And it’ll only be a blockade for Iran. Anybody else can have whatever they want.”
The naval blockade was suspended under the MOU. Before it was lifted, U.S. forces had intercepted more than 140 vessels suspected of violating sanctions or supporting Iranian maritime activities.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration also rolled back sanctions relief provided under the MOU. The Treasury Department gave companies until July 17 to wind down existing business but barred new purchases, sales, loading, or delivery of Iranian oil after July 7.
A U.S. official said the waiver was contingent on Iranian compliance with the memorandum of understanding and was revoked after Iran attacked the tankers, calling Tehran’s actions “wholly unacceptable.”
The collapse of the agreement comes as Iran remains in the middle of a massive state funeral for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and days after members of Iran’s Assembly of Experts appeared to endorse the assassination of President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring that anyone who gains access to the two leaders is obligated to “send them to hell.”
Under the slogan “We Must Rise,” Iranian authorities have spent months organizing ceremonies across Iran and Iraq in what officials hope will become one of the largest public gatherings in modern history. The funeral has been promoted by the regime not only as a memorial service but also as a demonstration of national unity and political legitimacy following months of war and the regime massacring protesters.
Trump said Iranian officials had specifically requested that the United States refrain from attacking during Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies.
“They said this, ‘Please don’t kill us during the funeral.’ I said, ‘I won’t,'” Trump said. “And we didn’t, we didn’t do anything.”
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