President Donald Trump announced Friday that the ceasefire with Iran is over, though the United States has agreed that talks will continue.
Trump took to Truth Social on Friday morning to declare an end to the ceasefire.
“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! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote.
The United States carried out strikes in Iran on consecutive days this week, hitting roughly 80 military targets in Iran on Tuesday and approximately 90 on Wednesday, after Iran attacked commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz in violation of the ceasefire.
While returning from the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday aboard Air Force One, Trump told reporters that Iran called following the second round of strikes seeking to make a deal.
“They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly,” Trump said. “I just don’t know if they’re worthy of making a deal. I don’t know if they’re going to honor the deal. That’s the problem.”
Trump said that the regime is “sort of crazy” and “a little bit out of control,” when asked why Iran would attack ships in the Strait if it wanted to reach an agreement with the United States.
“We just hit them very hard,” Trump also noted. “We hit them 20 to 1. Every time they hit us, we’re going to hit them twenty[-fold].”
Trump notably took the old Air Force One for the first leg of the return flight from Turkey, which borders Iran, instead of the new plane gifted by Qatar, which entered service earlier this month after being modified by the military.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung pointed to “distraction and misdirection” in a statement obtained by the New York Times.
“[T]he new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff,” Cheung said.
“As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats,” Cheung continued.
Trump notably said during the return flight that he is Iran’s top target, and that reporters with him were “probably on a dangerous flight.”
“I have a threat all the time. I’m number one on their list, before you, but if I go, you go, right?” he told reporters. “So perhaps someday you want to change professions.”
The end of the ceasefire comes weeks after the administration and Iran reached a memorandum of understanding towards a resolution.