Trump says denuclearization with Iran is over, calling it a “waste of time to deal with them”

President Trump called Iran’s leaders “garbage” on Wednesday as he announced that talks with the country were over.

“They are dirty, they are sick people, they are led by sick people, and they are cruel, violent people,” said Mr. Trump at the NATO summit in the Turkish capital, Ankara. “And if they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it.”

“Everyone agreed, there is no nuclear weapon,” said the president. “We made a deal. They came out, they made a joke in the media, they said we never talked about it. There is something wrong with them, they are cuckoo.”

European Union chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday that the ongoing strikes between Iran and the US over the past two days are “pushing forward the intense negotiations to end the war.”

“Iran’s attack on Bahrain and Kuwait is unacceptable,” he wrote on the X website, criticizing Iran’s attack on Tuesday on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeting the countries of the Persian Gulf.

EU foreign ministers will meet their counterparts from the Gulf states on Monday to discuss “how to preserve freedom of navigation and the Red Sea,” Kallas said.

Global oil prices rose more than five percent on Wednesday after President Trump said the end of the war with Iran was over, following a new round of strikes in the Middle East.

International benchmark Brent North Sea crude jumped 5.3 percent to $78.09 a barrel, while the main US contract, West Texas Intermediate, advanced 5.4 percent to $74.23 a barrel.

The United States said it had struck more than 80 Iranians overnight following an attack on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting a wave of retaliation against American bases in the Gulf.

CBS/AFP

President Trump said Wednesday that the interim deal with Iran is “finished” but he will allow negotiations to continue.

“To me, I think it’s over,” Trump replied when asked about the status of the ceasefire. Referring to the country’s leadership as “sick,” he added: “It’s just a waste of time to deal with them.”

He spoke on the sidelines of a two-day NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, and hours after Iran struck in what the US described as retaliation for an attack on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

CBS/AP

Iranian media reported on Wednesday a series of explosions in the port city of Bushehr.

“An explosion was heard in and around Bushehr,” Mehr media said, without giving details.

A provincial official told Iran’s FARS news agency that two military bases in Bushehr province were targeted but there were no reports of casualties, according to Reuters news agency.

Located in southwestern Iran, Bushehr hosts the country’s only nuclear power plant and lies close to the island of Kharg, a major oil port where 90 percent of the country’s exports are exported.

CBS/AFP

Bahrain sounded the alarm for the third time on Wednesday morning after Iran launched an attack in retaliation for the United States attack.

Both Bahrain and Kuwait were targeted by Iran on Wednesday.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued a statement admitting to overseeing the deployment of US troops in both countries.

“The US military that kills children and terrorists … has clearly violated the ceasefire and violated the understanding of Islamabad by launching airstrikes on many coastal bases and civilian stations on the coast of the provinces of Hormozgan and Mahshahr,” it said, without addressing Iran’s attack on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on social media, “The time of bullying and fraud has passed. We are not going anywhere. We are not folding.”

Kuwait is worried about Iran’s attack on its country, which has undermined efforts to ease the tense situation in the region, according to the French news agency AFP.

CBS/AP

President Trump was surprised NATO leaders met in Turkey when he ordered the launch of a series of strikes on Iran late Tuesday and the revocation of the license that allowed Tehran to sell its oil on the world market.

The moves were a major turning point at a conference that was intended to show how coalition members were increasing defense spending and focusing on supporting Ukraine’s war with Russia.

The strikes were in retaliation after three merchant ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the fragility of a two-month temporary ceasefire agreement between the two countries. Mr. Trump launched the attack shortly after leaving a dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan where the leaders of the 32 member states of the alliance were meeting ahead of Wednesday’s talks.

Mr. Trump did not directly address the strikes Tuesday night. It is rare for US presidents to launch a war while outside the US, although former President Barack Obama authorized strikes in Libya during a trip to Brazil in 2011.