Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran ‘is over’ and launched new bombing raids on Wednesday night after calling the country’s leaders ‘cuckoo’ and ‘scum’.
At the Nato summit in Turkey, the US President said the truce was finished and threatened to target Iran’s bridges, electricity grid and water-cleansing plants.
Later, addressing the second night of attacks, Mr Trump wrote on social media: ‘This is in retribution for Wednesday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!’
He also posted videos and photos of the raids, with images of smoke billowing into the sky after an apparent bombing.
The US had renewed its onslaught on Iran on Tuesday night as ‘punishment’ after tankers came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz.
More than 80 US air strikes targeted military facilities, including craft used to harass tankers in the strait and air defence systems. Iranian state media said eight people died in the attacks.
US Central Command said they were launched to ‘impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway’.
The US also revoked a licence for Iran to sell oil on global markets as part of the Memorandum of Understanding between the countries agreed last month.
At the Nato summit in Turkey, the US President said the truce was finished and threatened to target Iran’s bridges, electricity grid and water-cleansing plants. He is pictured here at the event with Keir Starmer
Emmanuel Macron is seen going for a morning jog in Ankara, Turkiye, where he arrived for the summit
In response, Iran targeted US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait and declared the agreement ‘dead’. It claimed to have shot down a US MQ9 drone and to have damaged 85 US facilities. Earlier, Mr Trump told the summit: ‘These are evil, sick people – they’re cancer. And you’ve got to cut out cancer early.’
After the President’s threats, Tehran vowed to turn the Middle East into ‘a sea of fire’ and close the Strait of Hormuz.
Officials also threatened to ‘rain missiles’ on Israel and claimed Iran’s regional proxies, such as Yemeni-based Houthi rebels, had their ‘fingers on the triggers’. The speaker of Iran’s parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said: ‘We don’t fold.’
After hostilities resumed crude oil prices rose by 5 per cent, while Gulf states such as Qatar condemned Iran’s ‘explicit violation’ of international law.
The US action was backed by Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte, who confirmed the alliance’s position that Iran should never acquire a nuclear weapon.
Away from the serious talks, French president Emmanuel Macron was spotted out for a morning jog in shorts and shades.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login