▲ U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on July 8, 2026, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Trump-Iran blockade

Trump says Iran MOU is over, warns U.S. may reimpose naval blockade

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that an interim peace deal between the United States and Iran is "over," warning that his administration might reimpose a naval blockade of the Islamic Republic.

His remarks during his attendance at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, Turkey, came after the U.S. military struck over 80 Iranian targets on Tuesday in response to what it calls Iran's latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The tit-for-tat exchange injected fresh uncertainties into the negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at fully reopening the strait, ending Iran's nuclear program and bringing their monthslong war to a close.

"To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with anybody (from Iran)," Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

He lambasted Iranian leaders as "scum," "sick people" and "liars."

"As far as I am concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They are liars," he said.

He was responding to a reporter's question about whether the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran, a preliminary peace deal, was over.

The U.S. and Iran signed an MOU last month to extend their ceasefire, allowing vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz freely for 60 days and initiate negotiations for a final agreement to end the war.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department revoked a general license that authorized the sale of Iranian oil, casting a cloud over the fate of the MOU.

The revocation came after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre, a British entity, announced that there were reports of three tankers struck by unidentified projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz or in an area east of Limah, Oman.

During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the margins of the NATO summit, Trump warned that the U.S. Navy could reimpose a blockade of Iranian ports, which was lifted as Washington and Tehran signed the MOU last month.

"We may put it back ... the blockade. It'll only be a blockade for Iran. Anybody else can have whatever they want," he said.

Trump also warned that the U.S. would strike Iran again on Wednesday night.

"We hit them very hard last night ... (We will) probably hit them hard again tonight."

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