Trump Says Talks With Iran Will Continue but Ceasefire Is Over

President Trump says the ceasefire is over but he is agreeing to resume peace talks with Iran.“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Mr. Trump said in a Friday Truth Social post.Mr. Trump made a less forceful comment Wednesday at the NATO summit in Turkey. “To me, I think it’s over,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a news conference at Ankara.Mr. Trump terminated the ceasefire after Iran carried out a series of attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz this week. The American military has carried out retaliatory strikes against targets in Iran. The United States Central Command says its latest strikes on Wednesday hit approximately 90 targets, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, and missile and drone storage sites.The Associated Press quoted a Central Command spokesman, Captain Tim Hawkins, saying there were “no operational updates at this time” when he was asked about Mr. Trump’s post.In a memorandum of understanding signed in June, the two sides agreed to stop fighting for 60 days to give negotiators time to craft a permanent deal.Iran says the MOU gives it control over shipping through the strait, and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has attempted to charge tolls. Mr. Trump says the agreement calls for open transit through the vital waterway that usually carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil supply.Iran also demands that ships pass through the strait on a route bordering its shoreline, and claims America has violated the deal by setting up a shipping lane on the opposite side of the strait bordering Oman. This week’s initial Iranian attacks targeted ships using that southern route.Shipping had picked up in the strait after the MOU was signed, but it has slowed again, according to groups that monitor shipping traffic. Oil prices have also inched back up this week.“Active conversations” between America and Iran are continuing indirectly, mediated by Qatar, CBS News reported on Friday citing anonymous sources.There are also questions about unclaimed airstrikes that hit Iran on Thursday. The attack came after the American military said it had finished its own strikes. Israel did not claim responsibility as it usually does when it strikes Iran.Other Gulf nations have also remained silent. Iran targeted Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar with fresh strikes after the unclaimed attack and has claimed that Gulf nations — some of which host American military bases — are supporting the United States’ war effort.Some congressional Democrats now accuse the Trump administration of underestimating Iran and failing to plan for what they consider to be obvious contingencies.“There has never been a true ceasefire. President Trump changes his mind on a daily basis, prolonging the conflict without a strategic plan to end it,” Senator Jack Reed said in a statement.The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Israel has shared new intelligence with the American military that shows Iran was considering a plan to assassinate Mr. Trump. The president has not commented specifically on any new plot but said Wednesday: “I’m on every single one of their lists.”On Friday afternoon, Mr. Trump posted a Fox Business interview with his former deputy national security adviser, KT McFarland. “President Trump is really fatalistic about it and he’s not fazed by it,” Ms. McFarland said.There were reports that security vulnerabilities were behind Mr. Trump’s decision to fly home from a NATO summit at Ankara on an older Boeing 747 instead of the Qatar-donated jet that he used to get to Turkey.

Trump Says Talks With Iran Will Continue but Ceasefire Is Over

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