Trump accuses Iran of violating ceasefire with Strait of Hormuz ship attacks
President Donald Trump said Sunday that Iran had violated the ceasefire agreement with the United States by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and he reiterated his threats to attack Iranian energy infrastructure unless he agreed to a deal to end the war.
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“Iran decided to fire bullets yesterday into the Strait of Hormuz – a complete violation of our ceasefire agreement!” he posted on Truth Social. “That wasn’t nice, was it?”
“We are offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and I hope they accept it because if they don’t, the United States is going to destroy every power plant and every bridge in Iran,” he continued. “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” »
His comments come as faltering diplomacy between the two sides saw Iran reimpose an effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, citing the continued US naval blockade of Iranian ports, just a day after declaring the waterway “fully open” under the current ceasefire.
Trump said Iran had targeted French and British ships, without providing further details. Maritime authorities reported gunfire and a projectile strike involving Indian ships in the strait on Saturday. Iranian state media confirmed that shots were fired near the two Indian ships to force them to turn back.
Iran’s semi-official Tasmin news agency reported that two other tankers, sailing under the flags of Botswana and Angola, were forced to turn back by Iranian forces on Sunday.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships against attempting to cross the strait, which it said would be considered “cooperation with the enemy,” adding that “any offending vessel would be targeted.”
Trump added that negotiators would arrive Monday evening in Islamabad, Pakistan, which last weekend hosted direct talks between the two sides, with the current two-week ceasefire set to end on Wednesday.
Iranian officials said Saturday that new U.S. proposals were being considered, but there was no confirmation of the next round of negotiations.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Saturday that progress had been made toward a peace deal, with some issues “concluded,” but he warned that Iran still had “total distrust” of U.S. negotiators.
Speaking on state television on Saturday evening, Ghalibaf, who is also Iran’s chief negotiator, said officials had “expressed our demands firmly”, adding: “Some issues in the negotiations have been settled, while others have not, there is still a way to go before reaching a final agreement.”
“We must ensure that this cycle of war, ceasefire and negotiations does not happen again,” he said.
Ghalibaf said Hormuz had been closed because the United States was only “partially implementing the ceasefire,” saying the strait would remain closed if “the naval blockade against us continues.”
“If the ceasefire is not implemented, we will not continue negotiations and we will start war,” he said.
Trump called a Cabinet meeting in the Situation Room Saturday morning to discuss the Strait of Hormuz and the situation in Iran, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the meeting.
He had said earlier that his administration was currently in talks with Iran and that the talks were going “very well.”
But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that Trump was seeking to deny Iran its “nuclear rights” and that Iran was trying to end the war “with dignity.”
“If a human being does not defend himself, he is dead,” he said. “They attacked us and we defended ourselves.”
The Trump administration said its blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect, with more than 20 ships turned away since Monday.
Following a 51-country summit co-chaired by France and the United Kingdom on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer “called for the unconditional, unrestricted and immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.”
They also announced a joint neutral mission to reassure merchant ships in the region.
