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Ceasefire declared over
The U.S. launched more strikes against Iran on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said the U.S.-Iran ceasefire was over, with U.S. Central Command saying the attacks were meant “to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.”
“In short: Donald Trump has flagged the US could hit Iran "hard" with fresh strikes in coming hours after declaring the ceasefire between the two countries is "over”
Iranian state media reported explosions in several cities, including Bushehr, Bandar Abbas and Sirik, and the U.S. military said the strikes came from both land and sea.
Trump warned on social media that strikes would “get much worse” if Tehran attacked more ships in the strait, and he posted an image of an altered photograph published by Getty Images from June 15, 2025 in Tehran.
The BBC reported that the latest round of strikes came after the U.S. said it had struck “over 80 targets” in strikes aimed at Iran on Tuesday, and it added that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it responded with retaliatory attacks on US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Trump’s threats and replies
Trump issued a fresh warning from the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, writing, “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi retorted on X that Trump’s remarks “are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure” of U.S. policy toward Iran, as the AP reported.
The BBC said Trump also told reporters, “To me, I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re scum,” and it reported that Iranian state media said power was cut off in parts of Chabahar.
In response to Trump’s language, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Islamic Republic will not respond to “vulgarity with vulgarity,” adding, “but with action: fearlessly and with great valor.”
Energy stakes and talks
The AP said the action raised fears that the war in Iran could reignite, noting that the Strait of Hormuz is where a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war.
“United States President Donald Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is “over”, describing Iranian leaders as “sick people” after Iran and the US exchanged military attacks”
The U.S. military said it was holding Iran accountable for “recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” while the BBC reported that the U.S. strikes were aimed at expanding beyond Tuesday’s scope.
Al Jazeera reported that Trump said US negotiators would be allowed to continue talks even after declaring the ceasefire “over,” and it described the memorandum of understanding as a launch point for 60 days of talks on issues including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
DW reported that Pakistan called for restraint and urged “all parties to exercise restraint,” while it also quoted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s spokesperson saying the secretary-general called on all parties to “exercise maximum restraint, avoid any further escalatory action, and take immediate steps to de-escalate.”
