Trump Says Iran Ceasefire Is Over as U.S. Strikes Continue for Second Night

President Trump said Wednesday that the interim ceasefire with Iran is over, even as the United States prepared a second straight night of strikes and left open the possibility of further negotiations. Speaking on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Trump told reporters, “I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore,” according to PBS News. Asked about the state of the accord, he told reporters, “For me, I think it’s over,” Asharq Al-Awsat reported, adding that negotiators “can talk” but that he doubted the outcome.

Trump described the strikes as retribution for Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, when three tankers were hit. “When they hit, we hit 10 times harder,” he said, according to PBS. He also said the strikes were not meant to restart the war and that “we’re not looking for long term.”

U.S. Central Command said it hit Iranian air defense systems, radars and more than 60 small boats used by the Revolutionary Guard, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. A U.S. official told PBS that targets included Iranian radar, missiles and air defense, plus other Revolutionary Guard targets. Trump renewed threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric and desalination plants, and to seize Kharg Island, through which about 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports pass, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.

Iran struck back at its neighbors. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Iran targeted U.S. military installations in Bahrain and Kuwait, and PBS reported air raid sirens in Kuwait. Kuwait said it intercepted two ballistic missiles and 13 drones, and that shrapnel knocked some power lines out of service, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. State media reported explosions at several sites in Iran, including Bandar Mahshahr, where one Guard member was killed. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf rejected U.S. pressure, saying, “The era of bullying and extortion is over.”

Pakistan, which mediated the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, urged both sides to hold to it. “Pakistan urges all sides to uphold their respective commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” its Foreign Office said, and it called on “all parties to exercise restraint,” The Times of Israel reported. The memorandum set a 60-day negotiating window expiring Aug. 21, according to Al Jazeera, which reported that neither side had formally withdrawn from it.

The administration says the fault lies with Tehran. Washington has argued that Iran is blocking safe passage through the strait, and it revoked the oil license it had granted under the interim deal. Iran insists on controlling shipping routes and charging fees, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. The International Maritime Organization has said about 6,000 sailors remain stranded in the region, according to Al Jazeera.

Markets reacted. Brent crude rose more than 5 percent after Trump’s comments, Asharq Al-Awsat reported. Talks on a final agreement, covering the reopening of the strait and Iran’s nuclear program, had been expected after the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Feb. 28, the war’s first day. Whether those talks can still happen is now the question for the White House.