On April 8, President Trump called for a ceasefire with Iran during “Operation Epic Fury,” an Israeli-U.S. joint operation against the country. Yesterday, July 8, the ceasefire ended.
To read a recap on the beginning of the Iran conflict and Operation Epic Fury, click here.
Despite a deal being reached with Iran to end the war on June 18, which would end all military action entirely, the fighting continues.
On July 8, President Trump attended a NATO Summit in Turkey, where he stated that “as far as I’m concerned, (the ceasefire is) over.” The president confirmed his stance with follow-up strikes against Iran, the recordings of which Trump posted on his Truth Social account yesterday.
The President ended the ceasefire after Iran fired on unarmed commercial ships despite promises not to engage. After the ceasefire ended, the U.S. fired multiple drone and missile strikes against Iran, the most recent hitting over 90 targets.
“I say we hit them 20 to 1 – every time they hit us, we’re going to hit them 20, and we did it last night,” Trump said after returning to Washington, D.C. from the summit. “They did a little something today, but it was really retribution for last night … when they hit, we hit back much harder.”
The president thought the summit consistently expressed his distrust and disgust towards Iran, and claimed that “They’re a bunch of lying guys.”
“I don’t want to deal with them anymore; they’re scum. Do you know what scum is?” Trump said. “They’re scum, they’re sick people. They’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people, and if they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it.”
The president also called Iran the “Islamic Republic of Japan” during the summit.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that he is uncertain if the war is back on, but that Iran “badly” wants to stop hostilities.
The president followed up by stating that if the war resumed, the U.S. would “win it very quickly.”
The president made similar claims during the conflict, stating on Truth Social that it would end within a week, then a few weeks, then a month, then simply put that it would end “soon.” The conflict lasted four months until the deal was signed.
After it was signed, the president presented it as a major win for the U.S. and expressed pride in the accomplishment.
“The United States is committed to PEACE, and we encourage everyone in the Middle East Region to maintain their commitment to allowing our negotiations to beautifully unfold. The Markets are loving what is happening with Oil Prices way down, and Stocks way up,” posted Trump. “We expect a complete Ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon, Hezbollah, and Israel. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Now, with the ceasefire over, President Trump has seemingly gone back on his confidence in the deal.
“I’ll let our wonderful negotiators keep talking if they want, but I don’t see it happening,” Trump said.
