Trump Declares Iran Ceasefire Over After Hormuz Tanker Attacks

President Donald Trump declared the US-Iran ceasefire effectively finished on Wednesday, telling reporters at NATO’s annual summit in Ankara that the June agreement was “just a waste of time” — a statement that came hours after Iranian forces struck three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the United States responded with strikes on more than 80 targets inside Iran.

“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump said, seated beside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the Ankara summit, according to Bloomberg. The remarks were the most explicit public signal yet that the 60-day memorandum of understanding signed in June may be unraveling.

What Triggered the Collapse

The sequence began on the night of July 7, when Iranian missiles struck three vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz — the largest single-day attack on shipping since the US-Iran peace deal took effect last month. Among them was the Al Rekayyat, a Qatari liquefied natural gas carrier hit approximately eight nautical miles east of Limah, Oman. A Saudi crude oil tanker was also damaged while departing the strait. Both vessels sustained significant damage; there were no reported casualties.

The attacks on the Al Rekayyat posed a particular diplomatic problem. Qatar had served as one of the two primary brokers — alongside Pakistan — between Washington and Tehran throughout the ceasefire talks. Analysts noted that targeting a Qatari vessel directly undercut Doha’s standing as a neutral intermediary and raised questions about whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was acting independently of Iran’s formal negotiating posture.

The broader context of those tanker attacks is covered in detail in our earlier report on Iran’s Hormuz strikes and the revocation of oil sanctions waivers.

The US Military Response

American forces struck more than 80 sites inside Iran in the hours that followed, according to Bloomberg. Targets included Iranian air defense systems, command-and-control networks, coastal radar installations, anti-ship missile batteries, and more than 60 IRGC small boats. A separate wave of strikes on Bandar Abbas and other installations had already been underway before Trump’s Ankara statement.

Simultaneously, the White House revoked a sanctions waiver that had permitted buyers to continue importing Iranian crude — a measure offered as part of the June MoU as an economic incentive for Tehran’s cooperation.

Oil markets reflected the deterioration immediately. West Texas Intermediate surged approximately 3 percent to above $72 a barrel, while Brent crude closed near $74, according to Bloomberg’s commodity desk. Tanker traffic through Hormuz slowed sharply, with shipping operators raising threat levels and holding vessels at anchor pending further developments.

The MoU at Risk

The agreement now in jeopardy was signed on June 17 and brokered by Qatar and Pakistan. The 14-point memorandum established a 60-day ceasefire, provided a framework for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to full commercial traffic, and set a negotiating agenda covering Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, sanctions relief, and freedom of navigation. The 60-day clock and its implications for a longer-term nuclear arrangement are examined in our piece on the Iran nuclear deal timeline.

The Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — had welcomed the agreement but conditioned their endorsement on progress against Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed proxy groups across the region. Since the MoU’s signing, both Washington and Tehran had exchanged charges of violations, with officials offering conflicting interpretations of which activities the agreement permitted.

The NATO Context

Trump’s declaration came at an alliance gathering whose primary agenda items were Ukraine, defense spending commitments, and European security architecture. Iran’s maritime attacks and the US military response have now imposed themselves as a parallel crisis. European allies had generally supported the MoU framework and urged continued talks; it remains unclear whether Trump’s remarks represent a formal policy shift or a venting of presidential frustration.

NATO Secretary General Rutte did not immediately comment on the ceasefire question during the joint appearance, per Bloomberg’s live summit coverage. The allied rift over how to handle Iran — with European governments broadly favoring diplomacy and the US now threatening military re-escalation — is detailed in our broader NATO Ankara summit analysis.

What Comes Next

Iran had not formally responded to Trump’s Ankara remarks as of publication. The US State Department had no immediate comment, and it remains unclear whether back-channel communications through Doha or Islamabad remain active. The 60-day MoU clock, which would have run through mid-August, had set a deadline for both sides to reach a broader framework deal; with Trump calling the agreement “over,” that diplomatic runway may be gone.

Shipping insurers and tanker operators are watching closely. The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20 percent of globally traded oil. A complete breakdown in the ceasefire framework would likely push Brent crude significantly higher — adding pressure to markets already unsettled by the week’s strikes and counter-strikes, and increasing insurance costs for any vessel attempting the transit.